Chapter 6
"Excellent, lion cub... excellent indeed." Kaa said as he squeezed the coil tighter around Simba's neck. "You have come a long way as expected."
A few more years had come to pass since the incident with the bear. In that time Simba had finally grown a full, vibrant red mane and was now a young adult in lion terms. As of now, he was training once more to endure Kaa's strangling grasp as his large body was held in the air by his neck. He couldn't breath at all while he scratched at the scaly coil squeezing his throat, which Kaa felt only as a minor nuisance (even if his claws were more developed). However, he knew that years of this relentless torture had let him build up a strong tolerance for the pain and he could now easily stand it for over ten minutes at a time; that is, if he really tried. One slip up and the mighty lion would be dead within seconds.
Finally, Kaa released his hold and let Simba fall to the den's ground like a sack of coconuts, where he landed on his side. The lion gasped loudly for air as he took in precious breath while his eyes widened in fear. For a brief time he thought that his limit was about to be broken in that one instant, but not that he would admit that of course.
"Well done, my pet," hissed Kaa, half-impressed and half-coy. "That's the longest you've withstood it yet."
"Thank you, Master," said Simba, still recovering from the constriction.
"As a reward, I will let you hunt for this week's diner all on your own," said the python. "You've most definitely earned it this time."
"Great!" exclaimed Simba, leaping up excitedly. "You won't regret this."
"I'm sure I won't," said Kaa, confidently.
With that, the lion gave his master one more look before he eagerly sprang out of the den and into the sunlight outside, which was serenely streaming through the canopy of the trees. For quite some time now Simba had longed to be able to make a kill on his own and truly prove himself to his master, but every time he tried to do so Kaa would always show up and finish off his prey for him, claiming that Simba was not yet strong enough to do it by himself. Kaa would always say he only did it because he cared for him, but in reality the devious python only did it because he knew that if the lion were to slip up, he would have to go back to sneaking up on his prey by himself. Only now was he confident enough in Simba's strength and size to let him at least attempt the hunts on his own. And the way he saw it, if his pet were to prove successful in doing so, he could be able to relax for the rest of his life without ever having to hunt for himself again.
As Simba ventured into the jungle with teaming plant life scattering the place, he kept his wits about and his eyes, ears and nose pealed precisely as Kaa had taught him in the past. He kept at this for a long time as he went ever farther outwards, quietly walking deep into the heart of the jungle. Soon he did come across a region that lay rather close to the boundaries, where the jungle would end and the desert would begin. As oblivious as he was about this, his timing and location would soon prove to be absolutely crucial in every sense of the word.
While Simba walked forth through the low-laying plants around his paws, he did not see that a large lioness around his age was intently stalking him from the bushes close by. She cautiously stepped forth as to not make any sounds and took little notice that she was staring upon another lion. The silence was almost eerie in this time. Then when the time was right and Simba lingered directly into her line of sight, she made her move.
Maliciously roaring, the lioness leapt out to tackle him and was fully prepared to end his life right there. But Simba, who was at first caught off guard, looked to his left just quick enough so that he could see her ripping through the plants in his direction. His eyes widening in sudden shock, he dodged her the nick of time by swerving himself forth, making her fall and slide against the ground. Immediately leaping back up to her paws, Simba had not time to question the sudden attacker and realized he would have to put Kaa's skills to good use right then. Running forth at one another now, Simba roared ferociously when the two stared to fight. Simba brought her to the ground at first, but the lioness was quick and she swiped at his face with her claws, disorienting him for a moment. She took this opportunity to immediately start to bite at his neck to kill him, but Simba was fast and he used his unsheathed claws to rip at her body, forcing her away from him now. He pushed her off of him and the two stood against each other now growling relentlessly, their eyes burning with bloody malice.
But then as they were there in that brief standoff, the lioness stared deeply into Simba's eyes and unexpectedly, her expression softened somewhat. Something about his eyes seemed familiar to her, like something she had known in her past. She didn't want to let her guard down since for all she knew, this was just any other lion she'd never seen before. But deciding to take the risk out of relentless and unquenchable hope, she took a gamble.
"Simba?" she spoke, sounding rather bewildered. "Is... is that you?"
The lion was about to charge forth and attack her had she not said this. Immediately he cocked an eyebrow and his posture lightened. "What? H-how do you know my name?" asked Simba, sounding very clearly confused. "Do I know you?"
"Do you remember me? It... it's me, Nala." she replied with hope in her voice. She still wasn't completely sure if this was really him, but she still went ever on with her gamble. "I came all this way on blind faith, hoping the rumors were true. We... we need you, Simba. We have to go to Pride Rock."
But as much as he tried to, Simba didn't understand. "What's a Pride Rock?"
Nala sighed, sheathing her claws back. She looked away from him for a moment before she said looking him in the eye, "Do you remember me? We were friends as cubs back in the Pride Lands. We got into that mess with the hyenas, I used to always pin you, you'd always hate getting baths while I never minded... none of that sounds familiar to you at all?"
Simba shook his head. With her hope beginning to fail, she walked forth to Simba and came up closer to him, officially letting her guard down in terms of fighting.
"Look... I don't know if you're really him or not, but your eyes... they look exactly the way Simba's did."
"My name is Simba." He replied. "How do you know my name?"
Nala's heart soared once more when he said this. No other lion in all of Africa shared his name, so she had little to no choice but to believe that this was the same Simba she had known since childhood. Her eyes widened and she even managed to break out a weak smile.
"It has to be you."
"Look miss, if you're looking for someone, you could've just asked me." Simba said back to her. "At the very least, could you just tell me what you're doing here and who this other Simba is?"
Nala sighed. "You really don't remember, do you?" She asked in a sad way. But nonetheless, she wouldn't let her hope die just yet. "Maybe if I can explain this the right way, you'll remember."
"I doubt it, miss. W... what's your name?"
The lioness perked up, realizing she hadn't even told him her name. "My name is Nala."
Simba shook his head again, looking as though he was thinking about something. "No... doesn't sound familiar to me."
"So much for that, then." she muttered to herself. She cleared her throat. "All right, let's try something else. I tell you why I came down here, and at least try to remember anything at all, because I know you're him."
Although Simba was taken aback by these words in this unprecidented encounter as a whole, he soon came to the conclusion that this lioness no longer wanted to kill him. He figured that he could at least hear her our before doing anything.
