Alright guys. Here is chapter 1!

Now, if you all remember, in the prologue I established a few changes to the characters from the Lion King. One of those changes being the Animals of the Pride Lands are special and can live for a couple hundred years like dwarves can. This is important because according to lore, Fili and Kili were apparently 82 and 77 during the quest, and this is starting off when they were 12 and 7 years old.

See the hurdles I have to jump for continuity? I can do homework to and take lore into account. Lol.

More information will be shared about the Pride Lands and how it ages under Scar in later chapters of course! But for now… let's just get this story underway and see what's in store for our first chapter!

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Chapter 1: Through Ice and Water.

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(70 Years ago.)

"Yahoo! Come on guys, this way!" the golden cub exclaimed as he bounded through the forest and slid down a small hill.

"Slow down, Simba!" the meerkat known as Timon exclaimed as he and his warthog companion, Pumbaa, raced after him, "You don't know what's out here!"

"I know, isn't it great?" Simba replied as he continued running through the woods.

It had been a few short months since Timon and Pumbaa took young Simba in. Since they found him half-starved on the edge of the Great Desert, the duo decided to remain in the oasis for a little while until Simba had regain his full strength. It was a pleasant place to live, filled with waterfalls, jungles, and a wide variety of insects, but after staying for a while, the group decided to press on. After all, Timon and Pumbaa were travelers, vagabonds, never remaining in one place for too long. Though they lived by their matto: Hakuna Matata, which meant 'no worries', they also went by another saying: 'home is where your rump rests'. So they went off into the unknown, going through mountains, valleys, and nearly every type of wilderness imaginable until they stumbled upon a land filled with large rolling hills, large pinewood forests, and rapid flowing streams littered with ice and snow.

Simba was naturally curious to know what adventures and mysteries laid in these lands, much to Timon and Pumbaa's dismay. Though Simba kept most of the more dangerous predators away, even though he was still a lion cub, it was they who would usually bail him out of trouble. The duo had saved him from falling off of waterfalls, from stealing prey from other predators, and even the time during their travels through the Great Desert where Simba sought out a wereworm to see if they truly existed. Needless to say… they concluded that wereworms were real and should not be eaten. Now, being in a strange new land, Timon and Pumbaa were once again trying their best to keep little Simba out of trouble.

"Simba!" Pumbaa called out, "Wait for us!" Suddenly, Simba stopped by a nearby river which was flowing rapidly, walked up to a nearby pine tree and began to climb it, which caused both Timon and Pumbaa to freak out.

"No, no, no!" Timon exclaimed as he and Pumbaa looked up near the base of the tree and watched as the cub continued to climb, "Simba! Come down this instant! You know the rules! No climbing a tree that's over a bazillion feet high!"

"Since when?" Simba asked as he peered his head out from one of the branches.

"Since now!" the meerkat exclaimed, "Now get down here!" His demand was met with a wet raspberry from the young lion cub as he continued to climb the tree. "Oy… kids these days."

"No respect." Pumbaa added on.

Meanwhile, Simba continued to climb until he got to the very top of the pine tree. That's when he looked out and saw the land before him. It was vast, with tall white mountains that were covered in what looked like a blanket of green pine tree heads. It was truly a sight to behold. It looked as though it went on for miles and miles. That was when the cub felt something cold and damp touch his nose, causing his ears to perk up as he tried to look to see what was at the end of his muzzle. It look like a little white flake of some kind which disappeared almost immediately. Suddenly, more of them began to gently float down from the sky, causing Simba to look up and smile with delight. He didn't know what they were but it was… magical. He swatted at a few and giggled as they swirled around in the wind. This was such fun! Nala would have lo-

Simba's eyes widened a little and his expression slowly turned from gleeful to depressed, as he thought just for a moment about his old life… and why he was out here in the first place. He sat down and laid back his ears as bits and pieces of his past came floating to the surface of his thoughts. This land was truly incredible and he did want to see it all… but… it still wasn't home. Ever since he left he had felt empty… guilty… alone… and just downright terrible. Deep down, Simba wished with all of his heart that he could go back home and see his family, but he knew he could never go back. Still, that didn't stop him from missing the Pride Lands, from missing his mother, from missing Nala… from missing his fath-

CRACK!

Simba suddenly felt the entire branch give way from underneath him and he stumbled. He would have fell, but he was able to latch onto the breaking branch with his front claws and hold on for dear life.

"Simba!" Timon and Pumbaa exclaimed at the same time. "Hold on!"

"I'm trying!" Simba called back, fear and panic now in his voice as he looked at the rushing rapids just below him, "Guys help! I'm slipping!"

"Hold on kid! Uncle Timon is on his way!" Wasting no time, Timon instantly scurried up the tree, leaving Pumbaa down below, chewing on his hooves in fear of what would happen. Once Timon reached the top, he got to the point to where the branch was breaking off from the tree and held out his hand and called out: "Grab on kid!" Simba reached with one paw, in an attempt to grab a hold of Timon's hand. He was so close. Just a little bit farther…

SNAP!

"NO!" Timon reached out to grab the cub's paw, but it was just barely out of reach. Timon watched in horror as Simba plummeted straight down into the rushing rapids below, and disappearing beneath the white caps. As he quickly made his way back down the tree, Pumbaa was frantically following the current, calling out Simba's name, but there was no response nor was there a sign of the young cub surfacing.

Timon couldn't believe it as he ran down the tree and joined Pumbaa near the river, looking for the little lion cub. This had to be some bad dream, some nightmare. Simba couldn't be gone, he just couldn't!

"Simbaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

(In a cabin nearby...)

"Ha! missed again!" the blond dwarfling chided as he sidestepped out of the way of his younger brother who charged at him with a wooden sword.

"Hold still!" the dark haired dwarfling groaned as he went for another pass at his older brother, but the blond only parried his attack with ease with his own weapon.

"Come on, Kili." The blond dwarfling said, "You've got to do better than that if you want to beat me."

"Trust me, Fili." The younger one replied as he regained his footing, "I've haven't even begun to fight yet." He then rushed in with another attack, but Fili took this opportunity and swept Kili's legs out from under him. As Kili laid on his back, surprised and winded by the fall, Fili pointed the tip of his wooden sword to his brother's throat.

"Looks like I won this one, little brother." Fili said with a sly smile on his face. He would have gloated more, but the sound of a certain dwarodam's voice caught his attention.

"Fili!" Fili looked up to see none other than his mother, Lady Dis, standing right outside the front porch of their home, looking at him with a stern glare. "What have I told you about roughhousing with your younger brother?"

"Oh Mama." Fili groaned as he was once again being scolded by his mother, "Kili is alright. Honest. I was just showing him what Uncle- hey?!" without warning, Fili felt his own legs being kicked out from underneath him. As he looked up, he saw that his brother was now the one standing up with his sword pointed at his throat.

"Looks like it is I who has won this one, brother." Kili said triumphantly.

"Hey! No fair!" Fili groaned, but he couldn't suppress the chuckle he was trying to hold in, "I was distracted."

"Uncle Thorin always said don't stop fighting until your enemy is defeated." Kili explained, trying to imitate Thorin's tone of voice, which made him sound silly rather than serious.

"Well… you got me there." Fili all but chuckled as he held out his hand and was hoisted up by his brother. It warmed Dis' heart to see the comradery her two son's shared. Life had been difficult for her and her family. First with the Sacking of Erabor, the loss of her grandfather, father, and brother during the war, and then not long after that she lost her husband. Now all she had left was her brother, Thorin Oakenshild and her two precious son's Fili and Kili. Some days… it felt like they were the only things keeping her going. Thinking about it brought a few tears to the dam's eyes.

"Mama." Fili's voice snapped Dis out of her thoughts as she quickly wiped her eyes, "Can Kili and I go play down by the forest for a bit. There's something I want to show him."

"It's almost time for dinner." Dis responded, "and I don't think-"

"Please!" both Kili and Fili begged at the same time. Though they were both still children, Fili was around the age to where he could be trusted to wonder out a bit farther from the house, and where they had in mind wasn't too far out from Erid Luin. Giving into her children's pleas, Dis said, "Oh fine…"

"Yay!" both children exclaimed in delight.

"But you both better be back before nightfall, and don't even think about going down to the river!" It was nearing the time of winter and the last thing Dis needed was one of her children falling in and ending up with frostbite.

"Don't worry, Mama." Fili stated, "I'll take good care of Kili. I promise." Satisfied with her eldest' answer, Dis waved her hands and watched as her two young princes' run down the hill and out into the forest. She knew she had nothing to worry about. Fili was very protective of his younger brother and she knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Still, her motherly instincts couldn't help but fear for their safety.

"So where are we going?" Kili asked as he scurried behind his brother with his wooden sword in hand, ready for anything that came at them.

"There is this spot Uncle plans on taking us fishing in a few days. I want to show you."

"B-But Mama said she didn't want us by the river." Kili responded, surprised by his brother answer.

"And we're not going by the river." Fili said calmly as they walked, "We'll just be seeing it from a distance. We're not going anywhere near the river. So… I'm technically keeping my word to Mama."

"Ohhhh…" Kili nodded, understanding exactly what Fili meant as he winked at him, "Gotcha."

Both boys giddily giggled as they ran through the snow towards the direction of the river. As they followed the road through the snow they saw it was starting to lightly snow.

"Looks like we're in for a snowfall tonight." Fili commented, trying to sound all grown up.

"Oh! Oh!" Kili said in excitement, "Maybe Mama will make us some hot coco and we can have some story time by the fire!"

"Oh yeah," Fili remembered, "That would be fun. But anyway, here we are!"

Looking down from a small hill, they saw an opening where a rather wide river poured into a little pond where all the fish would gather before heading back into a current that would take them farther down the mountain. Just looking from their high point, they could see bright colored trout trying to jump up the rapids to try and travel upstream against the current that was pushing more and more fish in.

"Oh wow!" Kili said as he took a step forward towards the bank, "Look at all the fishys!"

"Careful," Fili grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back, "Remember, we're not supposed to go down to the river. I just wanted to show-"

"Brother! Brother! What's that?" Kili suddenly jumped up and down and pointed. The older brother looked to where the little dwarf was pointing. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what Kili was looking at, but all he saw was the white caps of the rushing river pouring water into the slew. Suddenly, a flash of gold appeared out of the caps before going back in. His eyes widened, surprised by his younger sibling's keen sight as well as what he saw.

"Wha is it?" Kili asked as he held onto Fili's tunic.

"I don't know…" Fili said as he squinted his eyes.

Suddenly the figure was thrown into calm pond, where it floated. It appeared to be a feline creature of some sort, who was the size of a hound, holding onto a branch for dear life with its eyes shut. Fili tried to make out what it was when suddenly…

"Kitty!" Kili suddenly bolted forward and slid down the hill towards the bank with a determined look on his face.

"Kili!" Fili exclaimed in terror as he clutched his head, "What are you doing?!"

"Kitties can't swim!" Kili exclaimed as his stubby legs moved as fast as they could, "He needs help!"

"You can't swim either!" Fili called out as he ran after his brother. He was terrified now. Mother told them not to go to the bank of the river and yet that was exactly what they were doing! He had to stop Kili from trying to jump in after that golden cat before it was too late! Luckily, the creature drifted near shore but if something wasn't done then it would be caught in another current and sent downstream further and out of site.

In an act of desperation, Kili dived forward and slid to the shore line right as the creature's tail floated by. Reaching down into the icy cold water he grabbed a handful of fur on the tuff of the feline's tail and pulled it out of the water. Beings young, he wasn't used to the freezing temperature and his tiny body shivered.

"D-Don't worry kitty!" Kili exclaimed though he shivered from the numbing cold, "I g-got you! W-Whoa!" suddenly the young dwarf felt himself being pulled. Though he held on, he was still tiny and the cat was much bigger than he was, "K-Kitty! Stop!" he dug his tiny shoes into the snow but it did little to stop the branch from drifting off with the big cat and him. He stumbled and lost his footing and realized he was about to plunge into the icy water.

"Kili hang on!" Fili exclaimed as he was able to catch up with his younger sibling. The 12-year-old dwarf stumbled through his coat pocket and pulled out a small kitchen knife. Dis had caught him playing with the utensils several times and had warned him about taking sharp objects without supervision, but the young dwarfling couldn't help himself. Thinking quickly, he was able to stick it into a nearby tree with one hand before grabbing his brother by his boot with the other.

"Gotcha!" He exclaimed as the brothers found themselves in a rather peculiar and dangerous situation. Kili had one foot on the edge of the water with the other in the air and held by his other brother, all the while his arms were outstretched and holding onto the golden cat's tail with all his might. Fili meanwhile was having one had on his knife that was imbedded in the tree while his other hand was keeping Kili and the cat from drifting off down the rapids.

"Hold… on… Kili!" Fili groaned as he tried to pull the young dwarfling back onto solid ground.

"Trying!" Kili cried out, whimpering in his uncomfortable position. He tried to pull the big kitty in but it was no use. He wasn't strong enough and his grip was slipping. To make matters worse, he was chilled to the bone, hungry, and becoming extremely tired. Plus, he didn't want to fall into the water. He could let go… but he didn't want to let the kitty go. In desperation he and Fili began to cry for help, hoping that someone back at the roadside would hear them.

"Help! Help us!" Fili called out desperately.

"Mama! Uncle Thorin!" Kili cried out with tears streaming down his rosy cheeks.

They continued like this for several minuets, until suddenly they heard the faint sound of twigs breaking in the distance, and boots tromping down the snowy path.

"Boys!" a deep voice called out with worry and concerned laced in it. The brothers looked back with relief as a dwarf with long black locks and a short beard came tromping through the snow in his bulky fur coat. There was a look of fear and anger in his expression but they did not care. They were just so relieved to see family again. It was their Uncle, Thorin Oakenshield.

"Uncle Thorin!" They both called out in unison, "Help!"

"Kili!" Thorin called out as he was running with great haste to get to his boys in time, "Let go of that thing!"

"No!" Kili exclaimed defiantly, much to Thorin's surprise and distress, "Kitty hurt!" Thorin huffed at this statement. Sometimes his nephew's stubbornness could be a blessing and a curse. In this case, it was a curse. It was bad enough they were so close to falling in, but why in Durin's name were they trying to rescue a lion?!

"You both have a lot of explaining to do…" he said under his breath. Quickly, he grabbed both Kili and the lion cub and pulled them both on shore, causing Fili to stumble backwards onto the snow. Kili immediately hugged Thorin's leg and began to cry, feeling scared from almost plunging into an icy death. Fili meanwhile just looked up at Thorin with a nervous grin and scratched the back of his head. He knew they were in trouble.

"Um… well uh…" he stammered, "You see…"

"Fili," Thorin addressed the oldest sternly before taking the knife out of the tree and showing it to him with a look of displeasure, "It's one thing to take knives from the pantry and go by a river without supervision, but what possessed you both to risk your lives to pull a lion out of the rapids?" He gestured to the golden lion cub who was clearly unconscious and soaking wet from the icy river.

(Later that day…)

"There…" Dis said as she wrapped the golden cub in a blanket and set him by the fireplace, "That should warm him up. Poor little chap…"

Not long after she went into the house, Dis was greeted by a strange sight. Thorin was at the door with a big lion cub in his arms while Fili was shifting nervously beside him and Kili was shivering and hugging himself for warmth. It didn't take long for the dwarodam to tend to everyone, giving her boys blankets and tending to the cub. As she did, the brothers watched her from the living room couch while Thorin observed from the doorway leading into his nephew's rooms.

"Is… is kitty going to be alright mommy?" Kili asked as he shifted in his blankets.

"Kili it's not a kitty. It's a lion cub!" Fili pointed out gruffly, a bit aggravated due to the fact that they were both in trouble now.

"He should be fine, boys." She sighed as she stood up, "Nothing a little warmth, water, and food can't fix." As she looked back at them, however, her expression grew stern, "But right now there's the matter of you both going to the river… and having one of my kitchen knives." Both children winced at the sound of their mother's scolding voice. They hated it when they got in trouble… and when she talked to them like that.

"We…" Fili rubbed his arm while refusing to make eye contact with his mother, "We were just out exploring, Mama. We didn't mean no harm. Honest."

"And Ki-… the lion was in trouble!" Kili tried to plead his case like only a toddler would. There was no response from Dis, but Thorin however took a few steps forward in front of the young lads with his arms crossed and his stoic expression never leaving his face.

"Quarters. Now." He ordered in a deep, authoritative tone of voice. He had no time to deal with punishments at the moment. He had a lot on his mind… and a new problem to fix.

"Bu- but Uncle Thorin…" Kili stammered.

"Now!" Thorin bellowed, now much louder, causing both children to jolt before quickly running upstairs to their room and closing the door behind them. All grew silent in the room, save for the crackling of burning firewood. Oakenshield glanced at cub as he slept soundly in the blankets. It was so young, despite it being the size of one of the local hound. Still, it was too young to be out alone, which made his thoughts all the more worried.

"Durin's beard…" Dis sighed as she fixed her dress before she went to the kitchen to start cleaning the workspace up, "One minuet they are playing in the ram's stalls and the next they're bringing home golden lions. What's next? An elf?" she laughed at the last part but her brother didn't answer. Suddenly he walked past her to where he had an axe resting on one of the side walls and took it in hand.

"Thorin?" Dis noticed this and saw his gaze was fixed on the cub, "Thorin what are you doing?"

"We got to get rid of it, Dis." He stated simply before walking towards the cub. Her eyes widened before rushing in front of her brother.

"Now see here, brother!" she stood between him and the cub, realizing he had the intent of taking the young one's life, "What has gotten into you? You help my boys pull it out of the river, now you want to go out and dispose of it like some rat? I did not just spend 30 minuets of placing my finer blankets on the beast just so you could kill it."

"I would dare not do it in front of them, sister." He said sternly with a hushed whispered, trying to keep the conversation quiet so not to alert his nephews, "I'm saving them the sight of it. We'll say we let it go once it healed up. I'll get rid of the body after-"

"You will do no such thing!" She replied sternly but quietly, "This is foolishness, Thorin. It's not even full grown and yet you're treating it like we just brought in an adult warg."

"It might as well be," He replied in a tone that was equally as stern as the dam's, "The beast is too young to be out here in the wilds on its own. It must have a mother, or worse a pride in the territory. Our people have enough problems as it is, keeping wolves and wargs from taking our ponies and flocks at night. The last thing we need are more predators traveling through the mountains and making things dangerous for you, Fili and Kili."

"You act as though I can't take care of myself," Dis retorted as she pointed a finger up at him, "I understand your reasoning, brother, but you forget that you-"

"D… Dad…"

Both dwarves suddenly grew quiet as they heard a soft voice in the room. At first, they thought one of the boys had left their room upstairs and came down, but then they realized it had come from the cub by the fireplace. They looked at it, eyes wide with shock and wonder.

"Accident… Didn't… mean to…"

"I… I must be having illusions in my time cooped up in this house," Dis said in disbelief as her eyes remained fixed on the beast, "I could have sworn I heard the cub speak!"

"If so, then I share your illusion Dis." Thorin said quietly as he set the axe down before approaching the cub and kneeling by it. Looking at the lion with golden fur and tan muzzle, he ran a hand through the long fur that was sprouting on top the young one's head that would one day be his mane. The fur was dry and soft to the touch, and the cub flinched in response but would not wake up. Thorin however just looked down at it in both amazement and curiosity. He had heard stories in his travels but… how?

"How does a cub know the tongue of man?"

End of Chapter 1

Phew... Finally got it done.

Got to admit, I'm so excited by the support I'm getting for this story so far. Special thanks to Liam Holman, Stegosaurus, LouisianaFan, Ani-maniac, and Warstang! You're supporting words really got me in the mood to crank out this chapter and get this story under way!

Also, for anyone wondering about Timon and Pumbaa don't worry. We'll be seeing more of them soon enough. They'll be playing big roles in this story to.

(Yes. They live a long time to. I said Pride Lands animals. They were in the region, speak the tongue of man, so they count. Stupid continuity... lol)

Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed. Until next time, this has been Rogue Lion, signing off.

(Salute's Audience)