Alright… welcome back.

We're slowly getting closer to following the plot of TLK2, which wall take a huge place in the last chapters of this part. This will be the last part of what I call the transition phase between my original parts and the plot of the second movie.

By the way… congratulations to all the German medalists of the summer Olympics thus far.

Reldor: Who is the strange lion? Not going to tell you. You have to read for yourself. No need to apologize for not commenting on the last chapter. But thanks anyway

Chapter 11: parenthood

"What do we have here?"

He said with a slithering voice and brought his head down to close up on the scared dark brown cub. Kichwa was stumbling backwards until he fell over a fallen tree trunk and landed on his back. There was no chance for the young lion to escape. He glanced to the side to search for Ubuvila and if she would be safe. But much to his surprise, she was standing in the back with a neutral and almost smirking expression. But as soon as he turned to the side, he noticed the male now only inches away from his face as he shut his fangs just in front of him. "Now my little fellow… it is your end!"

He raised his paw to strike down on Kichwa before… "Fooled you!" He said and nudged the little cub on the nose before getting back up. The adult male got back up and now started straight at the young princess. "I see you've found new ones to play with." He said with a gentle tone and nuzzled her on her head.

Right then, Moyo, Akili and Ithunzi appeared and spotted the sight with Ithunzi lighting up his face and the sisters being frightened to death. Before they could call out to their brother, the beige cub to their side ran forward and shouted out towards the adult. "FATHER!" He called and the beige male lion turned around in joy. Quickly, the two padded over to each other and gave away a gentle greeting.

The two caramel female cubs joined their brother's side as he and Ubuvila came together just a few meters away from the duo. "Kichwa, is everything okay?" Akili asked nuzzling her brother before they all turned their heads towards Ithunzi and his father.

"You really thought that you would be in trouble young man huh?" The adult asked with a now eased up face while Ubuvila and Ithunzi joined the trio of lion cubs. Kichwa exhaled deeply as he observed the adult carefully. His expression seemed really caring and his fur looked more cleaned up than the ones of his parents did. He must be part of the royal pride.

Ithunzi came walking up to him giggling and put a paw on his shoulder. "Don't worry, my dad likes to scare cub he that doesn't know. But don't worry, he's completely harmless." The beige cub joked as his dad came walking up to him and padded his son on his back.

"So… you still didn't ask my question. Who do we have here?" The adult male then went in as he gave the three unknown lions a playful smile.

Akili and the others glanced at each other before she walked forward. "These are my siblings Moyo and Kichwa, and I'm Akili!" She introduced the three of them to the male who gave away a smile.

"Hmm, those are not north lands names. You come from outside of the kingdom. Oh by the way, my name is Itshe!" The beige lion answered with one raised eyebrow before he brought one front leg to his chest and introduced himself properly. "Where do you come from?" Itshe continued to ask with a curious expression on his face.

Moyo exchanged glances with her sibling before answering. "Actually… we come from the north lands. We were born here. Our parents migrated towards this place way before we were born." She answered and Ubuvila and Ithunzi narrowed their eyes a little bit. Itshe caught that and gave the two a sign to back down a little.

"Is that so!? Then where did your parents originally come from?"

"The pride lands!" Akili threw in right on the spot and forced every one of them to snap back.

"Really!?" Itshe asked in a mixture of curiosity, stun and disbelieve. Ubuvila made eye contact with Kichwa and the male cub noticed a little note of disappointment building up on the young princess. "I heard that the pride lands were a great place to live in. What made your parents leave that gracious place?" He questioned further hiding the little fact that he had a slight idea why.

But the cubs didn't caught that and all of them let their ears drop. "We don't know, they never really talk about their time before they moved to the north lands." This time, it was Kichwa to answer before her raised his head towards the sky again. It was then that he widened his eyes as he glanced upwards towards the position of the sun. "OH MY!" He faced his siblings to his left and right. "MOM AND DAD!" He called and the females to his side understood immediately.

Right away, Itshe knew what the little lion was so hocked about and his face moved to a broad smile. "Getting late for dinner, and lost the feeling of time huh?" He said and the three children of Kula and Chumvi nodded their heads. "Don't worry, we'll get you home, just lead the way.

"CHUMMY! CHUMMY!" Kula called in panic as she ran through the various obstacles made of trees and stones before she entered the place she left Chumvi back with their fresh killed prey. Unrest was spread all over her face as she spotted the dark brown male sitting right by the dead Okapi and glancing at her wide and surprised eyes. "Chummy, they were not back at the meeting point. I called for them and they didn't respond." She continued with her mate not wasting a second to get to his feet.

Chumvi quickly moved the killed animal in a bush before walking over to her. "Calm down Kula, we're going to find them. It's not the first time they got lost or didn't return in time." He assured her and wrapped his right front leg around her and pulled her head to his chest.

But the caramel lioness still glared to the ground and was unable to his the panic in her voice. "Yeah but… they always heard my calls and responded!" She said and glanced back through the various trees that surrounded their home. Since she and Chumvi didn't become an official part of a pride, they always had to fear other lionesses and lions to attack their children, even though that was forbidden in the north lands. But like back in their home, laws were broken all the time.

"You know those three. Once they have their heads full in their games, they're out of control." He pulled her chin up and they both glanced at each other's eyes. "Come on, let's go!"

Together, the couple moved along the area and searched for the three offspring's of them. Kula kept her head up and roared once in a while in her typical family code. A signal that only her cubs could identify as their mother calling for them to come home. Chumvi on the other side had his nose lowered to the ground and sniffed for any kind of scent coming from his cubs.

After what seemed nearly like an eternity. The two lions reached their so called meeting point as they were already exhausted from the stress. It was then that Kula nearly broke together on the spot as she could feel her children being gone forever. Chumvi was right at her side supporting her stance as she continued to sob into his fur. "Don't give up just yet! We'll find them!" The dark brown male said but with shimmering glimpses of hope.

And then they heard silent yells in the distance and the caramel female couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even within miles and in a loud thunderstorm, she could still make out the laughter and calls of Akili, Moyo and Kichwa. And these noises were definitely coming from them. Chumvi too felt his heart make a giant leap as he could hear his cubs talking and yelling in the distance. Kula didn't waste any time and roared as loud as she could to make the three little lions respond. "MOYO, KICHWA, AKILI!" She yelled within an instant and rushed forward.

Short after, three little figures appeared around a corner and the two adults face lighted up at once. "MOM, DAD!" Akili shouted as she and her siblings ran over to her mother and wrapped their front legs around Kula's face. Kichwa was nuzzling her leg while Moyo was the first to greet her father.

"Oh great kings, we so were worried sick about you!" Chumvi exclaimed while shoving his head over the back of his daughter while holding his son with his paw. "What did we tell you about meeting times and places you are supposed to wait for us?" He continued to ask without noticing the group of visitors they had.

The three young lions glanced upwards to them and let their ears drop and their shoulders hang. "We're sorry!" Moyo mentioned while all three glared at their parents with sad eyes.

Kula's muzzle formed a slight smile as she nuzzled all of them once more. The caramel lioness couldn't dare herself to be that angry with them, the joy of not losing them this day was way more important than a possible anger for their absence during the day. Her eyes moved above the heads of her three cubs and she spotted the other group of lions standing in the distance. Her eyes set immediately on the male in the middle and her face drew a suspicious face. "Who are you?" She asked and Chumvi followed her gaze at once.

Before either one of them could react, Itshe walked forward with a broad smile and extracted his paw. "I'm sorry if we bothered you. But these three little whirlwinds got hung up with my son and his friend." He exclaimed pointing with his nose towards the two cubs at his feet. Ithunzi and Ubuvila walked a few steps forward as they received a nudge from the adult to move forward.

The brown female cub choked for a short moment yet not in a way which would make her seem afraid, but in a polite way. "I'm sorry, my friend and I are responsible for your cubs to miss their time to come home. I hope you can forgive us." The young princess faced the ground and received an approving nod from Itshe.

Chumvi raised his eyebrow at the strangely polite statement from the young female cub and glanced over towards his mate. "Um… well uhm… thanks… I guess!" He answered and smirked over to the female lioness to his side. They both went forward and nodded to the cubs in approval. "Don't worry about it, at least there has not been any damage." The dark brown male added.

In that moment, Kula came back and smiled over at the other male. "Thanks a lot for bringing our cubs back. What is your name?" There was strange feeling that was set inside in her mind about this new male. The way this lion was standing right in front of him was somehow unsettling; he seemed to be a little bit too nice for the behavior of a normal lion.

He smiled friendly and bowed his head as he spoke. "My name is Itshe!"

Already, Chumvi shook up his head. "I know you, you are one of the consultants of king Isitha! I remember your name when I was at king's hill." Chumvi answered with wide eyes and his cubs widened their' once more as well. Kula walked to his side and stared at the new lion with a curious glance. "Then that must be…" The dark brown male eyed the female right beside Itshe and then glanced down to his son who starred over to Ubuvila. "Wow… you really know how to make friends!" He raised his eyebrows and shifted on edge of his muzzle upward.

Kichwa returned the gesture with a shrug of his shoulder and a quick smirk. Kula padded her son on the back before she eyed the northlanders once again. "Once again, thanks a lot! Would you like to stay for a moment? We have a fresh killed okapi waiting at our home." She then offered but Itshe already waived off with his paw.

"We would love to but… these two need to get back to their home themselves. But I keep that offer in mind, maybe in a few days." The beige male replied and gestured his two little companions to say good bye. The first one was Ithunzi who waived with his paw and Akili as well as Moyo and Kichwa returned the gesture. The n it was Ubuvila who gave them a farewell which took a bit longer with Kichwa then it did with the sisters. Together, they moved through the lines of trees leaving the family of pridelanders back to themselves.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kula dropped down and put a paw on her sons head. "I see your day had been just as exciting as it could get!"

Far down south at the feet of pride rock, another group of cubs was chasing each other around the fields that lay to the feet of the huge rocky structure that had been the home of the king of the pride lands for generations. The king's daughter Kiara was running around with an orange colored female with blue eyes as well as a pale golden male with green eyes following her around the field while they laughed in joy and innocence. All the time, they were never let out of sight by a golden furred male that lay on the giant ledge of pride rock where one could see for miles and miles. He glanced down at the golden/cream cub adored and full of pride while he rested his head on his paws.

"I see there a complete new side of you!" A voice brought him out of his thought as he watched his wife and queen Nala to appear from behind and smirk over at him slyly. "Looks like you finally seem to relax when it comes to our daughter and her spare time." She sat as she walked forwards and nuzzled him gently.

Simba sighed a bit and continued to glance over at her. "The pride lands are peaceful for now. So I thought it might be wise to just lay down here and enjoy the sun. Besides, as long as they play near pride rock I am perfectly able to watch over our treasure." He then added and his mate shot back her head.

She let herself drop on the kings' back and forced him to shout out gasps as she kept smiling at him. "Well… I knew that there were other intentions to this than just relaxing." Nala smirked and rolled off from him.

"But now that you are here…" Simba replied and faced his mate again. "I need to talk to you about something. And I don't want you to freak out, I need your honest opinion." He said as the golden furred male brought his front paws up in an excusing manner. "Now. you must promise to hear me out!"

Getting curious, the queen sat back up and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "When hearing you begging me to hear you out and don't freak, I should better start taking cover." The cream furred lioness joked and smiled at the king. "Alright! What is it?"

Simba breathed for a short moment before he started to talk. "You know… beck when we were cubs. That day we went to the waterhole!?"

"The day you nearly got us killed?!" Nala interjected right away raising one eyebrow in a playful way.

The king caught that and tightened up his face. "ME? Who complained about me not mentioning that it was her idea to ditch the dodo?" He started to argue a bit baffled that she would make up this argument right at this time. "Besides, you told me that you thought I was really brave that day. You even gave me a kiss for standing up for you." Just like his old cocky self. Simba couldn't help but stretch out his chest.

Nala on the other side just laughed and rubbed her paw through his mane. "Relax Simmy, it was a joke!" She replied as she sat back down beside him.

For a short moment, the golden furred male let the statement run through his head before he raised his head, stared straight forward and started. "S-Simmy?!"

Amused by how her husband had reacted to that word, the queen got to her feet and faced him. "What!? Nearly all our friends call themselves by their nicknames. I thought it might be appropriate to invent one myself." Nala smirked shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't like it!" Simba replied dry before shaking his head and getting back to business. "I'm serious Nala, this is something important and serious to discuss." He continued almost pleading. "Now do I have your attention or not?" Seeing as how the male adult was acting, the queen could tell that he was indeed serious. She gave him a quick nod and the king continued. "So back that day… before we got rid of Zazu, he told us that we were going to…"

Already, Nala could tell what he was implying to. But she didn't interfere; she wanted to see what was coming from him. "It's just that… I thought it might me a good idea to consider a possible mate for Kiara." He turned away from the queen and glanced back down to the group of cubs moving in the distance. "You know… for the future."

"So you're talking about betrothing our daughter! Do you really think that is a wise idea?" Simba knew that she was going to say that. And he was relieved to see that she wasn't getting over emotional about it. "I took her for a trip a few days ago. I wanted to show her a hunt, but she wasn't interested. Jeez! Just a few days, she didn't even think becoming queen was such a hot idea." She was now only a yard away from him. "And now you want to force her into marriage!?"

Simba closed his eyes urging to not make his mate understand things wrong. "I don't want to force her into marriage. Betrothing someone doesn't mean they necessarily have to become mates when they get old. It's not a law, it's an old tradition. But from the looks of it, it might be the best to get working on the future of our kingdom as soon as possible.

Nala pulled her head back and glanced mischievous at her mate. "If I remember correctly, it was you who said that that was the first thing to GO once you become king." She continued to talk and walked back to Simba.

The king put on the same baffled expression he did often when Nala was right. "Yeah but… it was one of my father's traditions. And I don't want to disappoint him." The golden colored lion answered as the two royals glanced at each other. Simba had put on an honest smile while Nala kept her playful mood. "Besides… It worked out well with us!" Simba wrapped his arm around Nala who flipped him over quickly.

Simba stared at her with wide eyes before she gave him a lick on the cheek. "But only because you are the sweetest person that has ever wandered on this planet!" She answered releasing her mate who glanced at her with a strange feeling of déjà vu. "Relax Simba, Kiara has her whole life lying in front of her. Trust her with her decisions." She turned away from him and now glanced too into the direction of their daughter. "Besides, the only ones that are in the competition are Kivuli and Mto. Who would you give your kingdom rather to?"

The king puzzled for a moment before forming a smirk. "You're right!" He said and got back to his paws before padding over to her. It was in that moment that Simba felt a rock falling onto his heart as he realized something. "How would we have handled things with Kopa back then?" he asked and right away noticed his wife forming tears in her eyes.

"Sadly… we'll never find out!"

When it came to living in the outlands, creativity and being resourceful were the keys to survival, something which Zira had learned from Scar since day one. It was that resourcefulness that made Zira not perish with the rest of Scar's followers back at the battle for pride rock. And it was that creativity that made her sustain during the time of Simba's reign. And it was the resourcefulness that made the tarnish lioness and their hunters come back with decent meals once in a while.

She envied the pridelanders everyday for their grassy fields and the rich herds. She herself had to spare and rationale every killed animal for her cubs and pride members to not starve in here. And so, she, spotty and dotty dragged a killed gazelle over the muddy and dry fields of the outlands. They could see the giant termite building where they lived for the last weeks.

Vitani and Kopa were wrestling with each other while Nuka glanced at them with bored expressions. Right as he saw his mother approaching them, he got off from his position and pushed his chest forward. "Mother!" He called but only got ignored by the three lionesses. "You will see that everything is well in order here." Like all the time, the grey furred male was unable to keep his back leg from scratching his fur.

The tarnish lioness gave away a short roar which indicated everyone of the outlanders to come over and eat. The rest of Hiyana's friends were about to feast on the fresh kill when Zira and her two longtime friends jumped in front of them. With a growl, she made clear that they had to wait and back off from the animal. "Come here my little one!" She called with a gentle voice towards Kovu who came walking over to her with a hesitating face. "You're first!" Zira added and with a last shrug towards Vitani, he began to sink his teeth into the dead gazelle.

"Why does HE get to eat first all the time?" Nuka called out in jealousy and despise towards his brother while growling out to him.

As fast as she could, Zira was directly at his face and made the adult male tumble backwards. "Show more respect to your king. Kovu is our ticket out here and back into the pride lands. He has to be strong to oppose Simba one day. He needs all the flesh he can find." Her voice was as cold as always, the only times she turned it down was when she was talking to her dark brown colored son.

Like always, Nuka was completely frightened by his mother and backed off. The rest of Hiyana's followers stood down as they too realized how much they had given their lives into Zira's and her family's hands. Vitani for her sight kept glancing at her brother and how much she envied him. He was getting all the love from their mother which she had missed for the past months. Ever since they got to the outlands, she could feel her mother acting different around her.

But yet she would never consider to actually think bad about her brother. He was indeed the only chance for them to get out of this hell hole.

After dinner went by, Zira called both Vitani and Kovu to come with her as they stepped through the sandy and dry fields. "I want you two to listen carefully." She said back to the two cubs that kept following close by. "The most important thing about our quest back to the pride lands is unity." She said and turned back to the two little lions in front of her.

"Once Kovu will have Simba at the edge, his pride will do nothing but to stop him from doing what is his destiny. The most important thing for our group is that every part of it does succeed in its task as best as possible. And that's where you come in Vitani." She addressed her daughter who glanced at her with her electric blue eyes paying full attention. "You have to be his back-up all the time. Be close to him and report at every chance you get."

The tan cub nodded in a disciplined agreement and understanding. "It is very important for your brother that you can make it through the fields and veldts without being spotted. You… are our little pride lands spy." Zira's face drew a wide grin which would have freaked out any little cub nearby. Yet Vitani felt completely safe with that expression her mother was doing. "And what better place is there to test your ability than here."

All three of them glanced around as they were in the middle of an open dried down field. The tarnish adult lioness pointed her paw over to a group of vultures in the distance which were trying to eat the rests of a dead buffalo. "GO!" Zira called and directed the tan cub to sneak up on them.

As silent and slowly as she could, Vitani stayed as close to the ground and moved over it. All around her, she couldn't make out any chances to hide or to even take cover. All she could work with were her slowly and steady movements as well her sharp senses when knowing it would be clear to crawl forward. With each step she took, she was coming closer and the vultures kept picking at the dead meat without noticing her.

The cub was about to launch for them when as a slight breeze came through the field and dragged her scent all over to the group of black feathered birds. They all turned around and shrieked before spreading their wings and disappearing. Vitani tried to run after them to catch one, but they were too fast for her and disappeared. She never was able to work well with defeats, but this was way more serious. At once, she could feel her mother standing right behind her.

Zira wasted no time and slapped her daughter across the cheek. Kovu tried to run up to her and comfort Vitani but his mother held him back. "Don't show weakness! Simba and the others will not allow you to show weakness." She then turned her attention to her daughter and ordered to get up. "You have to do better!" Zira then pointed to another group to their left. "Again!"

Even though, Kula and Chumvi didn't expect for one of king Isitha's consultants to keep their word, the beige male lion returned to their place and agreed on spending and evening in the den of the pridelander family. The sky was cloud hung and the last weak streaks of the sun stood low on the horizon. The three had settled down just at the edge of the forest they could call their home to glance over the hilly landscape of the north lands.

"I talked to the king, and he was rather pleased with his daughter and my son meeting other cubs different from their pride." Itshe said as he licked some dirt from his left paw. He then made a short movement with his head to the back where Ithunzi was sitting together with Kichwa, Akili and Moyo as they laughed out loud and gazed upwards at the clouds. "An interesting game that they are playing over there!"

Chumvi and Kula had snuggled up to each other as they realized that their cubs were playing cloud guessing, a game they played nearly every day during their days as cubs. Another memory to the pride lands they didn't want to miss. "It was… and invention from an old friend of ours." Kula answered with a little tear rolling down her cheek which none of the males spotted.

For a moment, the three adults just watched their cubs until Itshe opened his muzzle again. "So! How do you like it in the north lands? Compared to the pride lands, this must feel like second class life!" The beige male commented and both ex-pride lands snapped their heads back.

Though they missed the pride lands, Kula and Chumvi felt really comfortable in their new kingdom. Ever since king Isitha let them stay in their land. They adjusted to the life around here. Every animal was behaving different in this kingdom than back in their old home. Lions were treated more like royalty here whereas in the pride lands, every one lived in the circle of life. The lions they had met from the royal family so far had been more strict and formal then in the pride lands. But to say that living here was second class was wrong. Or else they wouldn't have left in the first place.

"We really like it here. I don't know what living in the pride lands means this day." The dark brown male said lightened up before his modd turned down at once. "A… crisis that occurred over there was the reason we left in the first place anyway." Chumvi now added unable to hide a certain degree of anger.

But Itshe kept smiling. "That is strange! From what I've heard, the pride lands prospered quite well under the rule of king Simba!"

At that Kula chuckled slightly unable to hide a certain degree of sarcasm. "Yeah! I bet that…" She then realized what name Itshe used and her eyes snapped wide open. Right beside her, it was like all color had vanished Chumvi's face. "What. Did. You. Just. Say?" She asked completely shocked and out of breath while her mate had the same curious and shocked expression.

"King Simba!" The northlander realized what the two in front of him were doing and he smiled slyly. "You men you don't know!?" He continued to ask and both shook their heads. He laughed for a short moment before putting on a gentle smile. "You must have left a long time ago. Well, about one and a half years ago. Scar and his hyenas got defeated and the long lost son of Mufasa, the great Ingonyama blesses his soul, Simba took the throne."

All that Kula wanted to do by now was hugging Chumvi as tightly as possible as she was just as speechless as her mate. Simba!? He said Simba! I-I don't believe it! She thought. "Are you sure? Was his name really Simba, the son of Mufasa?" The caramel lioness asked again still not sure if she could believe this.

Beside her, Chumvi raised his head to the sky and closed his eyes. If that is true, thank you great kings!

The beige male continued to smile as he was having his fun with the two catching up with old times. "That's what I said. I don't know all the details but… everybody thought that he was dead when one day… he came back and fought with Scar for the throne. And when my reports are correct, he brought the pride lands to a new height together with queen Nala.

If they could, the two ex-pridelanders mouths would have dropped through the bottom of the earth. All these big events about their families and they had no clue for all these time. Chumvi was the first who got his speech back as he imagined how his two childhood friends were now ruling over their kingdom with pride. "It… kinda fits!" He said before locking his eyes on the beige colored male. "Thanks for this information!"

Itshe simply nodded and then turned around to his son. "Come along Ithunzi!" He said out loud and the beige cub shook up his head immediately. Together, the four young lions walked over to the adults and Itshe got to his feet again. "I think it's time for us to go home. My own mate might be worried." He gave a last greeting to the two and then turned around to leave. Ithunzi hugged each one of his new friends before he followed his father.

As the two northlanders had disappeared, Chumvi and Kula once again glanced at each other still shocked beyond believe about the news of Simba being alive. Although they were no longer members of the pride lands, their hearts filled with joy. At the same time, both yelled out in happiness and jumped directly at each other before rolling on the floor while continuing to laugh. Their three cubs just continued to stare at them with wondering eyes.

"What happened to them?" Moyo asked at once never letting her eyes drift away from the two adults.

Beside her Akili shook her head. "I don't know… but adults are weird." She added.

"Yeah! Let's get back before they start to cuddle us!" Kichwa added and the three moved away from their parents.

Chumvi lied on his back with Kula resting on his enormous chest. "Imagine! Simba being alive all these years; and now her rules together with Nala." She half asked and half made clear while Chumvi returned a gentle nuzzle. "Our mothers must be so happy right now!" She continued while burying her head into his mane.

The dark brown lion thought for a moment and then asked out loud. "Do you think Jo-jo and Malka know about this?" After all these years, Chumvi quite regretted to have separated from the other two males that night at the mangrove tree. They may had divided in friendly ways, but there was still some regret because of the little fight they had that night. He felt a warm cheek moving up to the side of his head and saw his mate smiling up at him again.

"I'm sure, and I bet they are just as relieved as we are right now!" She added. Together, the two lay for a while until they drifted off to sleep knowing that their worst nightmares had not become true.