"You're Out of Your Mind"

A MufasaxNala Fanfiction

Written by Rina Bly Pauwau Malenga

Mufasa, Nala, Simba, Rafiki, Sarabi, Sarafina, Scar/Taka, Chumvi, Malka, Kula, Tama (c) Disney

Nia, Buziba (c) Rina Bly Pauwau Malenga
Story (c) Rina Bly Pauwau Malenga

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Chapter 13

When Nala and Sarafina returned back to Pride Rock, able to pass off their mother-daughter chat as official business, it was night time. The dark had already seeped into the setting of the Pridelands and Pride Rock was painted with quietness. When the two entered into the den area, Nala was passed by by Mufasa. The solemn lion merely looked at her and nodded his head in greeting before passing her by and going to the plains. Having been looking over her shoulder to watch him, Nala looked back to Sarafina and excused herself. Sarafina nodded her head and Nala jolted after the king.

"Your highness," Nala called attention from the king, figuring it would be best to use his title instead of his name. That was a permission she was probably not allowed any longer. She couldn't imagine Mufasa being alright with being yelled at though when she approached him, he seemed quite calm.

Nala trotted over to Mufasa, where he stood a little ways away from Pride Rock. Enough of a distance from their home to make it look smaller than it really was. She had to wonder why he was out here, though that was not the reason for her pursuit.

As Nala got closer, the male declined his head to get a better look at her. As she looked up at him, Nala lost the words she was going to use. No, that was a lie; she hadn't planned any words at all. All she had really decided was that she needed to apologize.

"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry," she looked up at him, but her eyes were shortly darting away. She didn't know why she was so submissive of the eye contact between him and herself, but when his rubies hit her orbs, Nala couldn't help but get a jittery feeling in her chest. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. Or told you off like that," she apologized. 'Am I forgetting anything? I feel like I should say more...,' thought the lioness. The silence that Mufasa answered her with wasn't helping her either. 'Why isn't he saying anything?' Nala shifted her weight uncomfortably before she cleared her throat. "I'll... I'll leave you alone now. Good night," she figured he didn't want to speak with her and so she would give him the space he wanted.

As she was about to walk away, Nala heard Mufasa take a breath from the world around him. "Nala," his deep voice beckoned the lioness in front of him. Not caring if her neck would snap off her head, Nala's attention turned immediately to Mufasa once she was called for. As she looked at him, the male looked her in the eye quite intent on letting her know something. But he slight smirk suggested he was not feeling as angered with her as she had thought he was. "I appreciate the apology," he told her.

Nala paused for a moment before she thought of something to say. "Does that mean you accept the apology as well?"

Mufasa chuckled, letting his head drop and then looked back up at her. "Yes, I accept it. Thank you," replied the male.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Nala felt like she was finally able to breathe. However, she was curious as to why she was holding her breath like that. She hadn't even noticed she was until she finally let it all go from herself.

'My thinking Mufasa was angry at me must have meant more to me than I thought it would,' thought the lioness. Now content with Mufasa's answer, Nala smiled up at him as he did to her.

"I must say though," Mufasa caught Nala's attention quickly, "I didn't expect you to act like that," he chuckled. Though he chuckled lightly, like the subject matter wasn't as important as it would be to some other king who was more uptight than Mufasa was. Nevertheless, Nala's ears pinned back immediately and respectfully.

"I know, and I'm sorry. You were just trying to help," replied the queen.

He nodded his head in agreement. "I was."

"I just have a lot going on right now," Nala assured Mufasa. She knew he must have been wondering by now if she had just grown up to be that way.

"Anything I can help with?" asked the king.

Regretfully, Nala shook her head. With her ears pinned, she felt like a little kid once more, listening to her mother talk to her about how if she needed help she could ask for it. But this was a situation where she knew there was no helping her unless she got it under control on her own. And when she could finally get things sorted out, she doubt she would ask Mufasa for the help she needed; she wasn't going to tell him how his son was the one she was having issues with. And now that Simba was being mentored by his father again, she was hopeful that things would change.

"That's sweet of – it's nice of you to offer, your maj –"

"Mufasa," the king corrected her. As Nala stood silent, Mufasa moved into her space and sat down comfortably like he was in his previous spot. "You know how I feel about you calling me things like 'your highness' and 'your majesty'," Mufasa reminded Nala comfortably.

Nala looked up at Mufasa, now ever closer to the view of his red orbs. She nodded her head before looking back up at him. "It's nice of you...," stopping for a moment, she remembered what she was going to say before. "It's sweet of you to offer your help to me, Mufasa," Nala told the lion, bringing a warmer smile out of him. "However, it's something I have to work out for myself this time."

Mufasa's smile softened, dimming a little but remained present on his face. "I understand," he replied. "Don't hesitate to ask me for anything if you need it, Nala."

Nala nodded in understanding. However much she didn't feel like she had a place to ask someone like a king for help, she was forgetting that she was a royal as well, which meant she had more inclination that she gave herself credit for. In Nala's mind she was still a normal pride lioness. Apparently, she had to reminded of her title a little more.

"Thank you," Nala replied.

As the two sat close to one another, they simply just took in each others' faces; Nala appreciating Mufasa's husky features coming across to her as so caring and gentle in this time of need. And for all she knew, maybe that was just what he was trying to make her feel for him. Nala's lids became heavy with thought suddenly, as she thought to herself just what he might be thinking as he watched her.

'He's not thinking anything about me,' thought Nala. Shaking her head slightly, the lioness laughed awkwardly a little before looked down at her paws. She could still feel Mufasa's eyes on her but she played it off as she if she thought he had looked away from her. "Well," Nala rose to her fours before she looked back at Mufasa, casually as she could. "I should get back to the pride."

"Should you?" Mufasa rose his brow with a smile, a joking tone underlying in his voice.

"Why yes, I should," retorted Nala in an equally jesting mix of vocals.

Mufasa nodded at her remark, but simply sighed and looked to his side. The moon was shining exactly overhead of Pride Rock, illuminating the structure. His eyes then darted back to Nala, looking down at her. "Travelling back this late at night all on your own?"

"I'm not a cub anymore, Mufasa," Nala reminded him as if he couldn't tell the difference in size of a cub and a fully grown lioness. "I can get back safely."

"I meant you don't have to go back tonight," Mufasa replied.

Pausing, Nala thought about what had just been suggested by the king. But then she had a flash of her mother giving her a small lecture about how she needs to stop being out all the time and not with the pride. Thusly, she shook her head.

"I should get back. I was out last night, and I don't think –"

"Stay with me tonight, Nala," Mufasa firmly requested the lioness. The request took Nala back a little. Never had she thought she would have been asked by the one and only king Mufasa to spend the night with him. Never did a sly thought cross her mind, as it was Mufasa. The silence that Nala kept between them obviously irked Mufasa to impose a few more words. "You don't have to, I just...," he mumbled off. Nala's ears perked, now interested in what he was going to say.

"You just...?"

Mufasa was quiet before he inhaled to himself. "I'd like for you to stay," admitted the king.

As Nala ingested the words spoken to her, a smile couldn't help but cross her face. She couldn't hide how nice it felt for someone to want to be with her, as she seemed to find that a little bit of a rarity – aside from her mother, of course.

"I think I'd like to stay, too," answered the queen.

Mufasa smiled at her reply, as he settled himself down in the grass. It was cooler in the night, so it was a relief for his pelt to not have to be exposed to the sun for a while. Nala felt the same way, though she did a little better because of her lighter colour. Placing herself on the ground, a little ways away from Mufasa, she exhaled and looked out to the plains like Mufasa did.

A few times, Nala caught Mufasa's eyes and he caught hers. It wasn't like when they got caught they would look away from one another. If the one looked at the other, and the other caught them doing it they would spend a little time just looking at each other before having a mutual agreement in silence that they were happy with what they saw and then would focus on something else. Nothing was really said or talked about, but more just enjoyed as the silence complimented the night time. They would hear the sounds of the herds cooing and the grass singing in the wind's dance. It was a peaceful melody to lull to the two lions into a slumber that was more peaceful than they had had in a long time.