Kula (lion)

Kula is a female lion. She is a member of Scar's pride.
When Chumvi dared Nala to speak with a rogue lion, Kula attempted to dissuade her. However, Nala refused to listen to reason, and so Kula fetched Sarafina to save Nala from hyenas. Afterward, Kula and her friends befriended and spent the day with the rogue, whose name was Ni.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Kula lived in the Pride Lands. Under Scar's reign, the kingdom suffered a drought and famine, which caused Kula to struggle with hunger. At some point in her life, she befriended two fellow lion cubs, Chumvi and Nala.
===Encounter with Ni===
Kula met up with her friends, Chumvi and Nala, to go to the ledge. As soon as Nala arrived, Kula suggested they get something to eat, but Nala teased her about how she always had food on the brain. Kula defended herself by saying that she was still growing and that dinners had been pretty skimpy lately. Nala nodded sadly, remarking that it had been this way ever since Scar had let the hyenas hunt in the Pride Lands.
The three friends made their way to their favorite spot, a long ledge on the far side of Pride Rock. As they were walking along, Chumvi boasted that lions were the best animals in the world. Nala tried to point out that all animals were special in their own way, but Chumvi merely jeered at other animals. Kula agreed with him, imitating a hippopotamus and elephant alongside him. Nala tried to slacken the pace of the teasing, but Chumvi continued to say that lions were the best animals in the world. They reached the ledge, and Nala told him that other lions were probably just like them. Chumvi asked her if she would ever talk to a rogue lion to find out. Nala said she would, but Kula asked her if she would be too afraid. Nala denied this, but Chumvi did not believe her. He dared her to talk to a strange lion and find out about his pride. Nala accepted the offer coolly. Chumvi then spotted a rogue lion resting in some nearby grass and dared Nala to talk to him. Kula protested, pointing out that the lion looked "kinda weird." Nevertheless, Nala started to approach the rogue lion, only to be interrupted by a deafening roar. Her friends called her back, and the three hurried back to Pride Rock, for the roar signified an emergency.
The three friends started racing back to Pride Rock. The cubs tried to guess at what the emergency might be about, and Kula suggested that there may have been a hunting accident. She then complained that she hated emergencies, for they ruined her appetite. When the three reached Pride Rock, Sarafina came rushing out to meet them. She told them that a rogue lion had been spotted in the Pride Lands and that the adult lions on Pride Rock had roared to scare him away. Kula remarked that they had seen him, and Chumvi asked if he was gone. Sarafina admitted that she did not know, then bustled them back to the rock terrace. After Chumvi briefly teased Nala about escaping her dare, he admitted that his mother did not want him staying out late anymore. He said goodbye to his two friends, then dashed off.
After Chumvi was gone, Nala remarked to Kula that he was in for a big surprise, for she would never drop the dare; only a coward would do that. Kula protested and told Nala not to be a lunatic. She suggested that Nala might not be thinking clearly because she was hungry, but Nala insisted that she was not afraid of anything. She pointed out that she did not weasel out of dares and that Chumvi thought she was a chicken. Kula reminded Nala that the rogue lion could be dangerous, but Nala ignored her and announced that she would get up early, before her mother woke up, to look for the lion on the far side of Pride Rock. Kula called Nala a variety of names, including "nuts," "crazed," and "psycho," but finally said that if Nala were going, then she would have to get up early as well to stop her. Nala told her no, for she would be following through on the dare. Kula pointed out that Nala was her friend. Nala gently thanked Kula, then pointed that she had to prove to herself that she could do this. She then added jokingly that Kula would not get up before dawn because she had never gotten up that early in her life.
The next morning, Kula waited on the far side of Pride Rock for Nala. Nala was both surprised and delighted to find her friend waiting for her, but Kula was still stubbornly against the idea of Nala talking to the rogue lion. Nala shrugged impatiently, and Kula told her to at least get something to eat before she talked to him. Nala asked Kula if she had some food, and Kula explained that she had a little stash she had saved from last night's dinner. She led Nala into the rocks and uncovered her secret hiding place, but when Nala peered down into it, she saw that it was empty. Kula was dismayed and exclaimed that it was all gone. She then said that she had been robbed. Nala asked who would rob her, and Kula blamed the nameless rogue they had spotted the day before. Nala pointed out that Kula did not know that, but Kula announced that she was going back to the terrace to tell the other lionesses. Nala begged Kula not to, or at least to wait until the dare had been carried through with. Angry and annoyed, Kula obediently followed Nala to the terrace.
When they reached the ledge, Kula once more tried to convince Nala to drop the dare, but Nala wanted to prove to Chumvi (and herself) that she was brave. Nala struck a deal with Kula: if she was not back in ten minutes, then Kula could start worrying. Until then, she would have to be calm. Though disgruntled, Kula agreed to this.
Later, after Nala met the strange lion, who turned out to be friendly, she asked him to come back to Pride Rock with her and told him that she would introduce him to her two best friends, Chumvi and Kula. Shortly afterward, Nala and the stranger, Ni, were surrounded by vicious hyenas. But just as the situation began to look hopeless, Sarafina rushed to the rescue, followed closely by Chumvi and Kula. After Sarafina and the stranger, Ni, chased the hyenas away, Sarafina revealed that Kula had come to get her and hinted that Kula had more sense than Nala. Kula and her friends then followed the older lions back to Pride Rock. During the trip, Kula asked Nala if Ni had really saved her, and Nala confirmed this. Kula then whispered to Nala that if Ni groomed his fur, he would be really cute.
After Ni was introduced to the Pride Landers, he shared a snack with Kula and her friends, much to Kula's delight. After the meal, they showed him around the Pride Lands, including the best climbing trees and their favorite caves. They had wrestling matches and played "stalk-and-ambush." After the games, Ni told Chumvi and Kula goodbye and let Nala escort him out of the kingdom.
==Physical appearance==
Kula has an anatomy similar to Nala's. Her fur is caramel-brown, and her eyes are red. She has a pink nose, colorless paws, a pale muzzle and underbelly, and a dark brown tail tuft.
==Personality and traits==
Kula is quite cautious and concerned about the safety of others. She is not much of a daredevil, as she was against the idea of Nala talking to Ni. She is also a caring friend and will go to extreme measures to keep Nala safe. Nala implied that Kula is lazy, as she commented that Kula had never gotten up before dawn in her life. Kula has an extreme love of food.
==Appearances==
* The Lion King: Six New Adventures
** Nala's Dare
==Trivia==
* Kula's name means "eat" in Swahili.
* It is implied that Kula has a crush on Ni, for she remarks that he would look "cute" if he groomed.
* Another character named Kula appears in Simba and Nala Help Bomo.
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Females
Category:Lions
Category:Pride Landers