These are the descriptions of characters so far.

Taji— means, "crown", has tan fur and (as a cub) a small dark brown tuft of hair on his head.

(The rest mentioned are canon.)

Taji popped one eye open immediately when he saw a liquid ray of light streaming through a small hole above him, sat up drowsily and took one look around the cave. Dozens of lionesses lay in various positions, but the one that caught his eye was his Aunt Vitani. She was literally sprawled out, somehow with her feet limp and stuck up straight in the air, and her tan-colored tuft of hair scraggly, unkempt and full of static and dust from the cave floor. Not only that, but she was snoring quite raucously, more than he'd ever heard her snore in his life. He wondered how the others could manage even an hour of sleep with that much noise, and try as he might to return to his blissful slumber, he finally admitted defeat.

Suddenly, he felt his mother stirring just slightly. Maybe she was awake too, and that way he wouldn't be alone, he hoped. But she only adjusted her position and returned to dozing. Despite his disappointment, Taji buried his whiskered face into her golden fur for more warmth and so he could feel the rhythmic rising and falling of her lungs as she slept soundly. He loved that sound for some reason—maybe it was just the peacefulness of it. Mom was always energetic, like him, but there was a great feeling of security and comfort when he was sleeping at her side. As he laid there a moment, he began to hear the gradual sounds of the savannah being awakened by the coming sunrise. I guess I need to get up, he admitted reluctantly to himself.

As he padded slowly on the cold rock beneath him to the edge of Pride Rock, Taji decided a moment later it is was worth losing sleep to see the dazzling effect the rising sun had on the savannah below. The rays on the horizon spilled and danced across the plains dressing them in red and orange and yellow and purple. He gasped in delight. Wow! He thought. It's so….

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a familiar voice behind him said, finishing his thought. Taji looked up to see his grandfather, Simba.

"Yeah…it's so amazing."

"You know, we could see everything better from up there," he nodded towards the top of Pride Rock. "Really?"

"Mmm hmm." Simba smiled as he looked down at the eager face of his young grandson. "Do you wanna take a look from up there?"

Taji's bright blue eyes lit up with anticipation. "Can we?"

The excitement was building as Taji followed Simba up the zig-zagging tracks of rock until they reached their destination. There, from the pinnacle, they could see the entire kingdom, lit up in all it's glory. Simba felt a warm breeze as the memories flooded his mind. Neither one could breathe, they only wanted to take it all in. Simba was the first to break the silence. "This reminds me of the morning my father took me up to look at the sunrise with him."

"In the same spot and everything?"

"Yup. And I wasn't much bigger than you."

Taji wrinkled his black nose thoughtfully. "Somehow I can't imagine you being as little as me, grandpa."

Simba raised his eyebrow and laughed. "I wasn't always this big. I had a nose, just like yours," he touched noses with Taji, "and ears…" he brushed his paw against the small tan ears, "…and a belly—just like yours!" And he tickled the little cub until Taji giggled uncontrollably. In return, Taji mock growled and attacked Simba's face, pulling on his mane and madly chasing his tail until they both collapsed in laughter. They both sighed. At length, with an important, serious look on his face that almost made Simba laugh out loud again, he asked, "What was your father like, grandpa?"

The golden lion was obviously surprised by the sudden question, and turned his head away. He knew that someday he would be asked this question, and no matter how much he had practiced his answer, somehow the words just seemed to flee away like the shadows beneath them in the emergent light of the sunrise. So many were the memories that flooded his mind at that moment, they were almost too much to bear. He was very near tears, and had to exert a mighty effort to keep them back.

"Grandpa? Are you okay?"

"He was kind…very kind…Taji. Warm, loving, attentive. The best father I could have asked for." Simba looked out over the horizon, lost in his thoughts for a moment. "I think he could have had a better son, though." This time he couldn't stop a large tear of regret from rolling down his cheek. He was surprised to feel a small warm body snuggle against his leg. Simba smiled in spite of his tears. "You seem like you would be a good kid, grandpa. I can't see how you would give anyone any trouble."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I forgot to mention that my dad was good at disciplining me too."

"Really? What did you do to make him do that, grandpa?"

Simba seemed to start to say something, but he seemed to think better of it. Instead, he extended his massive golden paw and ruffled the scruffy, dark brown tuft of hair on his grandson's head. "I'm not going to fill your furry head with ideas, little one. Why don't you go see if your mom and dad are up?"

"Okay!" And with that, Taji bounded away down the rocky path.

Simba shook his head and sighed in amusement at the cub's eagerness. He remembered when he was that carefree…his only hope was that he could give the next generation a better life than the one he had…"Hold on, I'll go with you."

Feedback would be appreciated, as well as ideas for the next chapter.--A.23