Kula

**Kula** is a lioness cub.

#### *Nala's Dare*

Kula is first seen when she meets up with her friends, Chumvi and Nala, to go to "the ledge." As soon as Nala arrives, Kula suggests they get something to eat, but Nala teases her about how she always has food on the brain. Kula defends herself by saying that she is "a growing girl" and that dinners have been pretty skimpy lately. Nala nods sadly, remarking that it has been this way ever since Scar let the hyenas hunt in the Pride Lands.
The three friends make their way to their favorite spot, a long ledge on the far side of Pride Rock. But as they're walking along, Chumvi boasts that lions are the best animals in the world. Nala tries to point out that all lions are similar in their own way, but Chumvi starts to jeer at other animals. Kula apparently agrees with him, as she helps imitate a hippo and elephant alongside him. Nala tries to slacken the pace of the teasing, but Chumvi continues to say that lions are the best animals in the world. They reach the ledge, and Nala tells him that other lions are probably just like them. Chumvi asks her if she would ever talk to a rogue lion to find out. Nala says yes, but Kula asks her if she would be too afraid. Nala denies this, but Chumvi doesn't believe her. He dares her to talk to a strange lion and find out about his pride. Nala accepts the offer coolly. Chumvi then spots a rogue lion resting in some nearby grass and dares Nala to talk to him. Kula protests, pointing out that the lion looks "kinda weird." Nevertheless, Nala starts to approach the rogue lion, but is interrupted by a deafening roar. Her friends call her back, and the three hurry back to Pride Rock, for the roar signifies an emergency.

The three friends start racing back to Pride Rock. The cubs try to guess at what the emergency might be about, and Kula suggests that there may have been a hunting accident. She then complains that she hates emergencies, for they ruin her appetite. When the three reach Pride Rock, Sarafina comes rushing out to meet them. She tells them that a rogue lion has been spotted in the Pride Lands and that the adult lions on Pride Rock had roared to scare him away. Kula remarks that they'd seen him, and Chumvi asks if he is gone. Sarafina admits that she doesn't know, then bustles them back to the rock terrace. After Chumvi briefly teases Nala about escaping her dare, he admits that his mother doesn't want him staying out late anymore. He says goodbye to his two friends, then dashes off.

After Chumvi is gone, Nala remarks to Kula that he is in for a big surprise, for she would never drop the date; only a coward would do that. Kula protests and tells Nala not to be a lunatic. She suggests that Nala might not be thinking clearly because she is hungry, but Nala insists that she's not afraid of anything. She points out that she doesn't weasel out of dares and that Chumvi thinks she is a chicken. Kula reminds Nala that the rogue lion could be dangerous, but Nala ignores her and announces that she'll get up early, before her mother wakes up, to look for the lion on the far side of Pride Rock. Kula calls Nala a variant of names, including "nuts," "crazed," and "psycho," but finally says that if Nala is going, then she will have to get up early, too, to stop her. Nala tells her no; she *would* be following through on this dare. Kula points out that Nala is her friend. Nala gently thanks Kula, then points that she has to prove to herself that she can do this. She then adds jokingly that Kula won't get up before dawn; she's never gotten up that early in her life.

The next morning, Kula waits on the far side of Pride Rock for Nala. Nala is both surprised and delighted to find her friend waiting for her, but Kula is still stubbornly against the idea of Nala talking to the rogue lion. Nala shrugs impatiently, and Kula tells her to at least get something to eat before she talks to him. Nala asks Kula if she has some food, and Kula explains that she has a little stash she'd saved from last night's dinner. She leads Nala into the rocks and uncovers her secret hiding place, but when Nala peers down into it, she sees that it's empty. Kula is dismayed and exclaims that it's all gone. She then goes on to say that she's been robbed. Nala asks who would rob her, and Kula directs the blame on the nameless rogue they had spotted the day before. Nala points out that Kula doesn't know that, but Kula announces that she's going back to the terrace to tell the other lionesses. Nala begs Kula not to, or at least to wait until the dare has been carried through with. Angry and annoyed, Kula obediently follows Nala to the terrace.

When they reach the ledge, Kula once more tries to convince Nala to drop the dare, but Nala wants to prove to Chumvi (and herself) that she's brave. Nala strikes a deal with Kula: if she isn't back in ten minutes, then Kula can start worrying. Until then, she will have to be calm. Though disgruntled, Kula agrees to this.

Later, after Nala meets the strange lion, who turns out to be friendly, she asks him to come back to Pride Rock with her and tells him that she will introduce him to her two best friends, Chumvi and Kula. Shortly afterward, Nala and the stranger, Ni, are surrounded by vicious hyenas. But just as the situation begins to look hopeless, Sarafina rushes to the rescue, followed closely by Chumvi and Kula. After Sarafina and the stranger, Ni, chase the hyenas away, Sarafina reveals that Kula had come to get her and says about the cub, "Luckily she has a head on her shoulders." Kula and her friends then follow the older lions back to Pride Rock. During the trip, Kula asks Nala if Ni had really saved her, and Nala confirms this. She then whispers to Nala that if Ni groomed his fur, he'd be really cute.

After Ni is introduced to the Pridelanders, he shares a snack with Kula and her friends, much to Kula's delight. After the meal, they show him around the Pride Lands; the best climbing trees and their favorite caves. They have wrestling matches and play "stalk-and-ambush." But after the games, Ni tells Chumvi and Kula goodbye and lets Nala escort him out of the territory.

## 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 known to be very cautious as well as concerned about the safety of others. She isn't much of a daredevil and is against the idea of Nala talking to Ni. She is also shown to be a caring friend, as she is willing to go to extreme measures to keep Nala safe. It's also hinted at by Nala that Kula is lazy, as Nala comments that Kula has never gotten up before dawn in her life. Aside from these traits, Kula can mainly be identified by her extreme love for food; in almost any situation, she can connect feelings, sayings, and even other lions to some form of food or meal.