Hey, what's up? I'm back and just so all of you are aware, chapters will not be uploaded as fast as that last one so don't start expecting it. So, lately this week I've been busy with a Spanish exam, PSAT, and new anime videos I've been watching. Sorry if I'm a little late for some of you. This chapter is one some of you have been waiting for. Now for my reviewer shout outs! BTW, I plan on doing this for every chapter from now on.
To Shimmy Tsu – I'm currently taking Spanish in school and I can see why it's be so difficult to read. And I hope that this story will be satisfying enough so that you won't lose interest in it. Anyway, I wish I could type this up personally in Spanish but I feel that it would be totally unfair for other readers. But I really admire your dedication to reading stories that aren't even in your language. P. S. Gracias!
To TigerFlower08 – Good, that's what I was going for. I, like many others, feel that the makers of Lion King didn't go into depth with the characters and their backgrounds. Also, what I did with Vitani's line was sort of a…Well I was winging it. Actually that's what I'm doing with this entire story. I'm actually thinking of the ideas as I go on. But I already have a few parts and the ending so you don't have to worry about delays. Finally, thank you for reading and reviewing.
To Queen Mufasa94 – Kopa will be coming in very soon. It could be this chapter, it might be the next one. But it'll be very soon, no need to worry. Also, as much as I'd love to read your new stories, I'm not sure that they appeal to my taste. Don't take it personally, I love anything well written but some cases just don't apply. I'd love to read it but I just don't like certain topics like unfaithfulness unless it's applied to an OC or a character I think might actually be unfaithful. I also don't like gender bender or incest fics. So, The Lion Queen: The Beginning, Kiara's True Heir, and Love That's Forbidden might not appeal to me. Remember, it's nothing personal and I just want to let my other readers know that they should try them out if they'd like to. (To make up for me not reading them) I hope you don't hate me for this, I just hope you continue to read and review this story. Thank you.
Wow, that was longer than I expected. Maybe I won't do this…Eh, we'll find out. Tell me what you guys think, should I or should I not do this? Also, let me hear your thoughts. I'd really appreciate it. To the story!
-X-
"I just felt like a failure. Not as a meerkat, I always knew I was a failure at that but I just never cared about that. But as a son…" said Timon as he stared at the cold hard ground. "A long time ago, I would have never admitted it but I always wanted kits of my own. I always wanted to be a father. Taking Simba in gave me the chance to experience that but it's not the same as raising a kit"
"Well you could always have kits now. I'm sure it's not too late" tried Pumbaa.
Timon sighed and shook his head. "You don't get it Pumbaa, it's not that I'm too old or anything. It's that I've upset the natural order of not just the Circle of Life but the entire natural world! I raised a lion, a predator of meerkats, I was never good at digging, a basic skill that even newborns of my species could do, and I'm best friends with a warthog!"
As soon as those last couple of words left his mouth the meerkat immediately regretted them. He looked up at his friend to see him on the brink of breaking down and bawling.
"I never knew you felt that way" whispered Pumbaa sadly as he turned away.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean it, I was just ranting and it just slipped out" apologized Timon.
"It didn't sound like that to me"
Timon sighed and turned his back to him but he wasn't one to give up so easily. "Pumbaa…Buddy…You know I have trouble expressing my feelings. And I'm sorry for offending you, it's just that…I just upset the natural order of things all the time and it just feels as if I'm completely messed up. You're my best friend and I love you, there is no way I can deny that"
"You really mean that?"
Timon smiled and turned back to his best friend who was now tearing up out of happiness. "Of course, how could I ever lie to you?"
"Oh, thanks buddy!" exclaimed Pumbaa as he embraced the small mammal in his crushing grip.
"Gah...Pumbaa…Choking…Not breathing"
"Oh, sorry"
"It's okay, I guess I deserved it"
"You know, even though Simba isn't exactly your legitimate son, he's certainly like one to you. And isn't that close enough?"
"No…A young one needs more than a physical figure as a parent. He needs someone to be there for him emotionally. And I was never able to do that. Besides, I didn't even care about him at first; I just wanted him around to protect us"
"But you grew to love him"
"Yeah, I know! But I already told you, I want to be a real father, with a kit, not a lion cub. No offense to Simba or anything" said Timon as he walked back outside and slumped down.
Pumbaa came and joined him. Unlike Timon, emotional support was more of Pumbaa's scope of ability. It was easy for him to use words to get someone to feel happy again. For reference, just look at what happened when Simba had a nightmare as a cub, Pumbaa made him feel better with just a few choice words.
"You know Timon…The way I see it…The natural order of things is like fate and like Kovu said, sometimes fate was meant to be broken" said Pumbaa slowly.
"Well I think I did more than break it" muttered Timon.
"Just look at what you've got Timon. You've got a mother that truly loves you, you're surrounded by predators but they don't eat you and instead most of them treat you like a friend, and finally you have me to support you. Just remember that if you ever fall, there are so many other that are there to lift you back up. Me, Simba, Ma, Kiara…We're all here for you"
Timon smiled as he lay down in the grass and looked up at the stars. "Yeah, guess I've been so busy self-pitying myself that I never realized how lucky I was to have friends and family like all of you"
"And you know, we're all lucky to have you as a friend. Me and Simba especially. If it weren't for you, I might've been alone for the rest of my life. And Simba might as well be dead"
"What are you talking about? You were the one who wanted to take the kid in"
"But when you realized that a diet of grubs wasn't enough to feed a growing cub, you taught him how to hunt even though you were afraid he might crave meat and later us"
"I just didn't want him to die on us. So I just gave him the most basic thing to do. Crouch, sneak, and pounce! Very similar, yet different to a meerkat's sniff, scurry, and flinch tactic" Timon chuckled. Then he pointed up at the stars. "I'm starting to believe that whole dead kings in the sky thing. For a moment I thought I saw an image of a lion smiling at me"
Pumbaa smiled and lied down next to him. "To be honest, though I always believed in my theory, I've always believed that Simba may have been right. Never for a single night have I ever not heard someone saying thank you to me since the day we rescued Simba. It's like his dad is thanking us"
"Okay that's just freaky, but you're not wrong. Sometimes I hear that too…I think I'll finally be able to sleep"
"Yeah…Me too"
"Good night"
"Sleep tight"
"Dream about bed bugs tonight" finished the two of them sleepily before falling into a peaceful sleep.
-X-
When the sun was still up hours earlier, there were two male lions and a female meerkat walking across what seemed to be a never ending desert. Actually the meerkat wasn't really walking, she was sitting on top of one of the lions.
"Thanks again for saving me back there Hasani" said the younger of the two lions. He had huge scars all over his sides. His eyes were similar to the royal red of Simba if maybe a little bit paler. The shade of his fur and mane were between that of Simba's and Kovu's, closer to the prior though. His size, again was in between the two lions mentioned earlier.
"I told you already, there's no need to thank me. I'm just that nice of a lion" said the other lion, Hasani. He was rather large in stature and had a very deep voice. He had lime green eyes and a dark brown mane. His fur in contrast was rather a light tan. "How did you almost fall into that pit of crocodiles anyway?"
"He's got very little balance" said the meerkat with a grin.
"No, I just lost my footing for a second, that's all" said the unnamed lion defensively.
"Sure…" chuckled the meerkat.
"I need to ask, what's a meerkat such as you traveling with a lion for?" asked Hasani.
"Junior here needed someone to take care of him. Now here are two questions for you, do you plan on eating me and why are you traveling in this direction like us?" asked the meerkat.
Hasani chuckled lightly before answering. "No, I don't plan on eating you. And I'm just a sightseer. The pride to the east just happens to be my next destination"
"Funny, we're heading there too! Maybe the three of us could travel together!" suggested the unnamed lion.
"By the way, I forgot to ask earlier but what are your names?" asked Hasani.
"I'm Tamina from the meerkat colony near the lion pride in the Western lands" said the meerkat.
"The Western colony! That's a long trip from the Eastern pride" said Hasani in surprise.
"Hey, I'm just a meerkat looking for a little excitement in my life" smiled Tamina.
"I'm Simba, to be honest I'm not sure where I'm from. I was in this accident when I was really young and I suffered amnesia so Tamina took me in" said the lion.
"Simba, huh, that's a strange coincidence, the king of the Eastern pride happens to have the same name" commented Hasani.
"Really? That's good because we think that the Eastern pride is tied in with Simba's past and that's why were heading there in the first place" said Tamina.
"Hey what's that?" inquired Simba stopping.
The other two looked in the direction he was facing. In the distance they could see a ton of foliage. Upon closer inspection it looked like a jungle of some sort that stood in the middle of the scorching desert. When they were standing in front of the jungle, Simba and Tamina remained gaping at it while Hasani just appeared amused by their reactions.
"It's an oasis; I've seen many of them on my travels. Good thing we bumped into one, I'm starting to get thirsty and a tad bit hungry too" chuckled Hasani as he entered with the other two following along.
"You mean there might be food for lions here?" said Simba.
"Well, maybe only small birds and a few lizards but they should be enough to keep us going for the rest of the journey to the East pride" informed Hasani.
"I see a lot of grubs for me to eat" commented Tamina as she eyed a few insects crawling up a tree.
"Just don't do it in front of me" Simba shuddered.
"Oh come on, if I can stand watching you eat a zebra carcass then you can handle watching me eat a worm or a snail" grinned Tamina.
"Did you really have to let that memory resurface?" whined Simba like a cub.
"Oh man up!" laughed Tamina.
"Guess there really is the first time for everything. Especially since I'm see a prey and predator behaving like long time friends for the first time" mused Hasani.
The two lions stopped near a water hole where they both bent down to take a few laps of water. Tamina hopped down from Simba to do the same. Before any of them could settle down and relax though, a voice called out to them from behind.
"Simba, is that you?"
Simba, of course responded immediately by turning around to see two meerkats behind them. One was a female who was maybe a couple years older than Tamina. The other was an old male with gray fur and cowering behind the female meerkat. He was maybe twice as old as Tamina. And trust Simba, Tamina wasn't the youngest meerkat in the colony.
"Erm, how do you know my name?" asked Simba.
"So I was right! You aren't him! You're predators here to eat us!" screamed the male meerkat in panic.
"Wait-" Simba tried.
"Uncle Max calm down, they have a meerkat with them" said the female meerkat.
Unfortunately the meerkat named Max screamed and passed out.
-X-
"I am so sorry for his reaction to your friends. He's still not used to lions coming here sometimes" said Ma as she poured some beetle stew into a bowl made of leaves for Tamina.
"That's fine, my colony isn't so used to it even though they live near the pride" said Tamina. She took a sip from her bowl and looked through the thick foliage. She saw dozens of meerkats roaming around, relaxing, eating grubs, anything they wanted. She had never seen so many meerkats above ground and having so much fun. Of course, many were not comfortable in the presence of two lions so the carnivores went off hunting for birds and lizards to avoid them. She turned her gaze back inside and noticed Max beginning to rouse from his unconscious state.
"So I'm guessing that your lion friends aren't from the Pride Lands then" assumed Ma.
"No, we're heading there actually, in hopes that it'll trigger some memory for Simba. He suffered through amnesia as a young cub and I took him in" explained Tamina.
"Huh, I never thought I'd live to see another meerkat crazy enough to take in a predator" muttered Max grumpily. He seemed a lot more calm and composed now that the lions weren't anywhere near.
"Max" scolded Ma. "Sorry dear, he's just grouchy. I'm Maisha by the way, but you can just call me Ma, everyone else does. And this is Max"
Tamina smiled. "No worries, lots of meerkats think I'm crazy. I'm used to that. But you and many of the others here don't. I'm going to guess that it has to do with this 'another meerkat' that Max mentioned right?"
"Well, yes, my son raised a lion cub himself. The cub had run away from his past for complicated reasons but then he returned and he's living there now. My son and his best friend are there right now too" said Ma. "That lion cub is like my son's foster son. Coincidentally, that foster son is also named Simba and he looks a lot like your Simba. Only without the scars, the darker fur, and not to mention that he happens to be king of the Pride Lands"
"So I see, I never thought there'd be another of my kind that would be brave enough to take care of a carnivore other than myself. Well maybe fearless Buzz as well" chuckled Tamina. It was meant to be taken lightly but Ma and Max tensed up.
"Maybe you should start from the beginning. Explain to us why you're traveling with two lions and why you're heading towards the Pridelands" suggested Max when he noticed Ma looking as if she wanted to cry.
Tamina noticed Ma's expression and nodded. She didn't know why or what it was about but she decided it might be for the best. "I guess I should start with when I first met Simba…"
-X-
Okay I'm going to end it right here. I know it may be a few hundred words less than a usual chapter but I just feel that the rest of my ideas won't fit here. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that we all know that this Simba is actually Kopa. So I'm just going to refer to him as Kopa (Unless someone says his name) to prevent any confusion when him and our Simba are in the same setting. And in my last chapter ending, I basically demanded reviews and I apologize for that. I feel as if I made some of you uncomfortable. I'd also like to apologize for the awkward transition from our familiar Timon and Pumbaa moment to an unfamiliar OC stage. But it had to be done. Hope none of you hate me and I hope you will all continue reading because the next chapter will be about Kopa. Finally! Please review if you want to.