I peered out into the night but I was met with nothing but silence. Cold, dreary silence. I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. The stars were out but they were forming different shapes. I was looking directly at a constellation that took the form of a door. It was wedged right between a cow and a pocket knife. My eyes scanned the rest of the sky, searching for another object to catch my eye; unfortunately I found none. I huffed. The sky looked a shade darker than usual, casting dark shadows on Pride Rock. I twisted my mouth into a frown. I should go back to sleep. Tomorrow we're going to let the recently joined lions on their first hunt, just to see how they do.

Nala and Kiara are supposed to lead them. I'm nervous. Even though I know them for quite some time now, I can't help it. I guess it's the perfectionist in me. I just.. I want everything to go perfect. I cleared my head. It'll be alright. No one will get hurt. I've got to change my mind set. Maybe I should start meditating. It would probably help relieve a lot of stress. God, since when did I start turning into Simba? I thought. Mmm...I don't know. Maybe it all started when I took this fucking job! I sighed and looked down. I should stop ranting. It's time to go back to bed. One last look at the stars and I headed back into the den, this time determined to fall back asleep. The next day I woke up bright and early, much earlier than anyone else. I trotted out of the den, catching the glimpse of the sunrise as I exited the cave.

I looked out to the Pridelands, surveying the area. Everything was fine. There hadn't been any trouble for the last few weeks, except for a couple of rogue lions, which I scared off. Other than that everything seemed...normal. A little too normal. I heard footsteps behind me and I spun around to find Kiara behind me. She was staring at me, an unreadable expression on her face.

''Hey,'' I said, my voice husky from lack of use. ''Hey,'' Kiara responded, her voice light. She walked up to me, nuzzling me lightly. I nuzzled her back, finding comfort in her touch. ''You ok?'' she asked. ''I'm fine,'' I said. ''I'm just... I don't know. I'm kind of tripping out right now. I keep expecting danger at every corner and so far nothing's happened.'' I turned my back to her. ''Maybe I need to stop worrying so much,'' I said, defeated. ''I'm supposed to be king and yet here I am panicking at every corner. That's not what should be happening. I'm the leader of this pride now, I have control. Simba's no longer in charge here; I am. I need to show the pride that I'm strong, that I can be tough, that I can be just as strong as Simba. He entrusted me with his pride before he retired and I'm not going to let him down.''

''It's fine, Kovu,'' Kiara's vocie said, snapping me out of my thoughts. ''This whole being king thing is new to you. I heard everyone has kind of a rough time adjusting. You'll get the hang of it.'' I smiled at her. ''Yeah I guess you're right,'' I murmured, though I made sure I said it loud enough for her to hear me. ''You guess?'' Kiara scoffed playfully. ''Oh c'mon, Kovu, you know I'm right,'' she bragged. ''Aren't you always?'' I said wryly, returning back to my sarcastic self.

''Stop,'' Kiara teased, playfully slapping my face with her paw. I laughed, putting my paws on her chest and pushing her down. We both laughed. Kiara rolled on top of me, pinning me to the floor of the rock. I almost blushed. I had to admit, I wasn't expecting that. ''Now this is how I like it,'' I said seductively, my voice going an octave lower. ''Oh my God,'' Kiara laughed, getting off of me. ''I can't Kovu.'' I stood up. I liked fucking with her like that. Kiara and I have this weird relationship where we both tease (and occasionally mock) each other just to get on each other's nerves. It's fun; it's something we both take pleasure in. It's a strange thing that only we have, because we both get each other. ''Relax Kovu,'' Kiara said, having stopped laughing. ''You'll be a great king.'' She walked off leaving me alone in my thoughts.

I looked up at the rising sky was a bright pink, illuminating the ground below. Birds darted across the sky, trying to get to their destination. I smiled to myself and breathed deeply. It smelled so nice. The grass was deep and green and lush. The trees had grown back and were now bursting with flowers. I heard the faint humming of music. Classic Rafiki. Always playing music at every hour of the day, no matter how early or later it was. My wind switched back to today. Today was the big day. Time to see if my old pride was worthy of being part of the Pride Lands. One by one, they emerged from the cave, serious expressions painted on their faces. I slowly approached them.

''Today is a very important day,'' I said. ''Today is the day that the former Outsiders show our worth to Pride Rock. Now remember, I want you to know that whatever happens, I still care about you guys. I just want you to really try. Don't let your guard down. Always be alert. Use your sense of smell if you have to. ''Don't worry Kovu,'' Vitani said. ''We won't disappoint you.'' I nodded at her, showing my approval. Just then Nala walked up to the front; she was now only inches away from my face. ''No need to worry Kovu,'' she said gently. ''they'll be safe with us.''

''I'm sure you guys will be safe,'' I said. Of course they would. What could go wrong? Vitani approached me. ''It'll be fine, Kovu. We'll make it back in one piece.'' I nodded again. ''Now go off,'' I said, feeling that same nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Before she left, Kiara turned to me and smiled. ''I'll be back before you know it,'' she said confidently. ''Be careful,'' I said, nuzzling her. I didn't care if anyone saw us or not. It was our thing and it meant something to us. I pulled away from Kiara. She smiled back at me. ''I know you'll do well,'' I said and Kiara headed off with the other lionesses. I watched her go, feeling my heart pound in my chest. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to find Rafiki looking down at me with a small smile on his face.

''Kovu, how are you doing?'' he asked. ''I'm doing fine.'' I lied. I didn't want Rafiki to know what I was really feeling inside. I've always felt awkward expressing myself, as I never really learned how. It's a side that I don't really get to show a lot, especially now that I'm king. ''Be honest with me, I know your nervous.'' My eyes widened. How the hell was Rafiki able to figure that out? ''You- you can tell?'' I stuttered. ''Of course your horrible at hiding your emotions,'' Rafiki added. I huffed. Guess I was more obvious than I thought. ''Well I guess if we're being honest,'' I sighed. ''I'm nervous as shit. I don't know how this thing is going to go. I don't know how far into the Outlands they'll go. I don't know if they'll find danger or not. I don't even know if this will be the last time I'll see any of them again.'' I suddenly felt a lot better. I can feel my shoulders slip and my chest release itself from its self-imposed cage.

Thank God. That little fear was slowly killing me and I hadn't even realized it. ''There you are,'' I heard Rafiki say. ''Now don't you feel better?'' I nodded stupidly, feeling like a cub again. Maybe Kiara was right. Maybe opening up about my feelings would help me get to a ''better place,'' whatever that means. Rafiki shook my head, causing a few hairs from my mane to come out. ''They'll be fine kiddo. Stop worrying. You already have enough to worry about as it is as king, you don't need anything else.'' ''Yeah,'' I said. There was a slight pause. ''Thanks Rafiki,'' I said. ''I feel a lot better now. I guess I just had to get that out.'' Rafiki nodded in agreement. Just then I heard the rustling of grass. I looked over to find our lionesses running back to us, moving as fast as bullets. I gasped and climbed down from the rock. ''What's wrong?'' I asked, concern etched on my face. ''We were ambushed by a group of Outsiders,'' Kiara said. ''they were too much for us.''