ZIRA (softly, almost sympathetically):
"Look at you, Sefu… Battered, broken, alone. You were never meant to live like this."

SEFU (growling, her stance firm):
"I live as I must. And I do not need your pity."

ZIRA(tilting her head, voice laced with honeyed persuasion):
"Not pity. Understanding. You’ve lost everything—our father, your home, your place in the pride. You’re exiled, abandoned… and now you have these cubs. How will you protect them? Feed them? You can’t even protect yourself."

SEFU (baring her teeth):
"They are mine. I will do whatever it takes."

ZIRA(stepping closer, her voice dipping into something almost motherly):
"And what will that be, Sefu? Starvation? Wandering until the hyenas find you too weak to fight back? What kind of life is that for them?"

SEFU(firmly):
"One where they are not yours."

ZIRA(her patience thinning, her mask slipping):
"Why fight me on this? You conceived them with a rogue. A disgraceful act, one that enraged our father so much he cast you out like a mangy jackal! You *know* what that means—your cubs will never belong anywhere. But I can give them a future, a place in Scar’s kingdom. They’ll grow strong under my care, Sefu. Kovu could even be king one day. Don’t let your foolish pride doom them."*

**SEFU** (her single eye gleaming with fury, her voice low and unwavering):
"You think I don't know what you've done… But even in death, I won't let you claim what's not yours."

ZIRA (her patience snapping, her voice darkening):
"Then you leave me no choice, sister."

Sefu, the True Mother of Kovu and Vitani, never found peace in her brief life. Born among outsiders in Strangelion's pride, she was close to Zira, who treated her like a younger sister. Their bond was strong, and they spent much time together, playing and growing side by side. Zira even favored her over her older sister, who was always distant and preoccupied with her own ambitions. However, as time passed, their paths began to diverge.
Zira's father, Strangelion, was a lion consumed by an insatiable thirst for power. Bitter about having no son to succeed him, he became obsessed with securing control of the Pridelands. His lust for power gradually took hold of Zira as well, shaping her into someone willing to go to any lengths to achieve greatness. Unlike her older sister, Zira was unafraid of sacrificing anything to seize power.
After the death of Mufasa, Zira saw her opportunity to gain Scar's favor. Scar, equally desperate for an heir, was obsessed with securing a legacy. Zira, eager to fulfill that role, willingly offered herself to him. Scar took her as his mate, but months later, Zira discovered that she was barren. Her world crumbled—she had lost everything: her hope, her power, and Scar’s attention.
In a desperate bid to prove herself worthy of being Scar’s queen, Zira grew cold and ruthless. Her jealousy consumed her, and she betrayed her older sister, throwing her from a cliff into a raging river. Zira then took her sister's newborn cub, Nuka, and presented it to Scar, hoping to claim him as her own. But Scar, ever the skeptic, rejected Nuka, dismissing him as too weak and fragile. This rejection pushed Zira to a breaking point, but she refused to give up.
When Zira learned that Sefu was pregnant with two cubs of her own, fathered by a rogue lion, she saw an opportunity. Sefu, having suspected Zira’s dark intentions for some time, was not naive. She had seen the changes in Zira and knew the twisted games she played. But Zira was undeterred. She confronted Sefu and demanded the cubs, promising her peace if she complied. To her surprise, Sefu refused, already aware of Zira’s betrayal and the extent of her hunger for power.
The two sisters fought fiercely. Sefu was a skilled warrior, but Zira was ruthless and cunning. Zira knew Sefu’s weakness—her missing eye—and used it against her. In a final, deceptive move, Zira struck Sefu down, leaving her lifeless body behind.
Now with Kovu and Vitani, the newborn cubs of Sefu, in her care, Zira presented them to Scar. She lied, claiming that Sefu had left her cubs behind as a final act of loyalty, that she had been pregnant by Scar all along and wanted to surprise him with his true heirs. Scar, eager for an heir, was fooled by Zira’s deception. He accepted Kovu as his heir, and Zira’s grip on power tightened. But in the shadows, the true story of Sefu's sacrifice and Zira’s treachery simmered, waiting for the day when the truth would rise and shatter her cruel reign.