Scar kept Nala both contented and hidden for the next couple weeks. He worried that her parents would come searching for her, and his mental manipulation of the cub was a delicate task. He couldn't afford any interruptions. All through that time, he kept Nala stuffed full, presenting her with increasingly huge amounts of food whenever she asked for some.

Due to the constant pampering, Nala had fattened up quite a bit. Her walk had a very pronounced waddle to it--when she bothered to walk at all, which was infrequently--and her gut reached to the ground when she was standing up, not that she spent a lot of time standing, either. Her big stomach oozed out from between her legs when she was sitting; her legs themselves had thickened to the point where they were nearly as big as his own; her neck had nearly disappeared, replaced with rolls of chins that impeded her ability to move her head.

Scar made sure to spoil her as much as he could, catering to her every whim and doing things for her whenever he could. As a result, she became more demanding, less shy and polite about her food requests. He also regularly reminded her of the charmed life she lived with him, as compared to the way her parents wanted her to waste away. He wanted her unshakable loyalty, and he couldn't have her retaining any affection toward the idiots who had birthed her.

Nala, for her part, needed very little convincing to come around to Scar's point of view. Her new life was paradise, and the better it became, the worse her home seemed in comparison. She liked having her every desire fulfilled as soon as she expressed it. And what she mostly desired, of course, was food. She ate almost constantly, hopelessly addicted to the feeling of a distended, overfull stomach. Soon, the two antelope she'd devoured the first day were little more than an appetizer: As she gained weight and stomach capacity, she needed more and more food to get to that blissful bloated state that was her preferred mode of existence.

Then one day, her portions stopped growing. "What's this supposed to be?" she demanded, after being presented with the same amount of food she'd eaten the day before. Irrationally, she found herself growing angry at Scar. Was he really better than her parents if two hartebeests a day was all the food he would give her? Two weeks ago, she would have been grateful for any large quantity of food, but Scar had spoiled her well.

"I apologize, my dear. My hyenas, tragically marginalized as they are, have a limited hunting range. The best hunting ground belongs to the other lions; the hyenas can't set foot there, thanks to king Mufasa." Scar said his brother's name with real venom, which resonated with Nala's own bitterness.

"I wish you were king," she grumbled as she ate her meager meal. Scar smiled wanly.

"Ah, I do as well, Nala. But Mufasa is king, and Simba will be king after him. I'm barely a speck in the line of succession."

Simba. It had been a long time since Nala thought about her friend. She missed him, a bit, but he was an important part of the pride and, as Scar had told her over and over, the pride, like her parents, would hate her for her healthy appetite and try to starve her again. Nala had a little trouble believing that of Simba, but then again, the other cub had never said anything positive about her since she'd started gaining weight. He would be just like all the others.

"I wish Mufasa and Simba would just disappear!" she said angrily. It wasn't fair that they should be able to do whatever they want while she was barely getting anything to eat. Scar's grin stretched wide, displaying his sharp teeth.

"Really?" he said, his voice chastising. "You'd get rid of your best friend just so you could eat whatever you wanted?"

The censure in Scar's voice only strengthened Nala's resolve. It was an idle wish, and she didn't really think it through. Simba and Mufasa were abstract quantities to her at the moment, whereas her personal fulfillment was the most important thing in the world. If she had been face to face with her friend, she might have thought differently.

"Yes," she said determinedly.