*comes out of hiding and wipes dust off my clothes* Oh, hey there! So, let's see… almost a year, is it? Oops. Please don't hate me.

I'm sorry this took so long. I had some really bad mental health issues as well as college and my writing came to a halt. I thought of canceling my fanfics but better late than never, right? The new Lion King trailer got me hyped, so I thought I'd give this another shot.

I hope everything is alright with everyone returning to this. Hopefully I haven't lost all of my touch for writing, if I ever had any that is :P Welcome back! And for those who are here for the first time, welcome as well!

The fanart in the story preview was made by the insanely talented Areli-san! She made two incredible fanarts based on my story and let me use one as the preview, and I was so honored! Thank you so so much, your work meant a lot to me and I think it looks wonderful!

"Two new lions?" Zira asked Vitani, walking back and forth in front of her daughter as she told her the new information she'd gathered while out in her mission.

"Yes, mother," Vitani nodded, "Me and Kov- I mean, I heard it loud and clear," She said, glancing at Kovu and giving him a knowing wink. Kovu bit his lip, but said nothing.

"And what did you hear about them?"

"Not much, but… I got their names! I heard it from Kiara's annoying friends," Vitani straightened herself up, not wanting to disappoint her mother, "One of them is called… Asante, yes, and the other one is called Kipawa."

Zira looked up and groaned, "I don't think I know them… But it's unlikely Simba would let strangers stay at his precious Pride Lands. That's weird indeed… Did you get to see them?"

"I did, mother!" A happy voice called from behind, and they all turned their heads to see Nuka approaching them in happy jumps, "I did, I saw-"

"Where have you been?" Zira snapped at him with a low grow, cutting his happiness short. "You left Kovu all alone again! You should have been watching him!"

Nuka stopped jumping and swallowed dry, "I'm sorry mo- I, I-"

Zira rolled her eyes, "What is it," She interrupted him, "What did you hear? It better be important!"

Nuka perked up again, "Oh yes, yes it is! You see, I was brave, and I went into the Pride Lands without anyone noticing, and I-"

"What did you see?!" Zira interrupted him again, patience running short.

"Oh, right!" Nuka nodded, "I saw one of them! He was hunting and talking to a leopard, I think. He… He looked a lot like Simba, actually," Nuka looked up, as though he hadn't noticed that before, "Yellow fur, red mane… Like, a Simba copy."

Zira seemed slightly less mad with the new information, "Are you sure it wasn't just Simba himself you saw?" She raised her eyebrow.

Vitani and Kovu giggled, knowing for sure that that's something their brother would mess up.

"Oh, I am!" Nuka smiled, "This lion wasn't much younger than me, a teenager. Definitely someone new! I even overheard his name when the leopard called him!"

"And what was it?" Zira tilted her head, "Kipawa, or Asante?"

"Uh, none of those," Nuka shook his head, "I'm pretty sure his name was Kopa."

Zira's angered faltered again, eyes going wide and mouth opening in a gasp.

Taka wasn't sure if he was allowed to leave his den, but he couldn't bring himself to care that much. He knew Simba wouldn't do anything too bad to him as long as Simba still needed him to convince Kopa to stay anyway, so he might as well leave and take a walk. Waiting for Kipawa had started to become boring, and heaven knows when he would be back.

But still, Taka knew it was best to avoid going too close to the Pride Rock. Simba might not do anything to him, but he didn't know if the rest of the Pride would follow that. As far as he was concerned, Simba hadn't told them not to, so they were free to do what they pleased with him. So Taka just walked around the Pride Rock, in circles, trying to get a view of it.

Taka could have gone for a walk somewhere far from there and avoid trouble altogether, but instead, he got as close as he could to the Pride without drawing attention to himself.

There were lionesses all around, most still sleeping. Some had cubs, sleeping beside them or between their paws; and some cubs were waking up to play or complain about being hungry. Some of the lionesses were young, too young for Taka to know them; but some he recognized from before he ran away. And some… Some were missing. And he couldn't find them.

"Can I help you somehow?"

Taka jumped with a scream when the voice startled him, turning around to see Nala standing behind him with a serious face.

"I- your majesty," Taka took a deep breath and laid a paw on his chest, "I…"

"I've been watching you," Nala told him, slightly more menacing this time around, "What were you doing?"

"Please, queen," He gulped and looked to the side, forcing a smile, "Surely you don't think I was doing anything bad?"

Nala raised an eyebrow.

Taka tilted his head to the side, "What do you think I could do that would be concerning? In my current state, even a cub would defeat me in a fight. I'm no more of a threat that a butterfly," He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes, "I was just stretching my legs, that's all."

"I saw you circling the Pride Rock, and watching the Pride," Nala looked over to see the lionesses behind him that he was watching, "You didn't do a lot of walking."

Taka took a deep breath and looked up, "Well, I…" He sighed in defeat, "You see, I wanted to see if some old friends of mine were still around. I thought… I never planned on coming back, but if I ended up here, I thought I could maybe see them again, but I didn't find them, I was just about to leave. That's all!"

Nala shook her head, "I don't think you have any friends left here, Scar. You're not exactly the best-liked lion around."

"It's Taka", he corrected her abruptly, but then cleaned her throat when she looked down at him, "Your majesty," he added, "And, well, I, I know that. I just wondered…" he shook his head, "I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have come here. I'll go back to my den."

"Wait," Nala called when he started walking away and Taka turned back to her, "You came here. Might as well tell me who you were looking for. Would you mind telling me their names?"

"I…" Taka looked away, "I'd rather not to."

"I see," Nala nodded, "Taka," She demanded, "Tell me what you were really doing. I know you're lying."

"Am not!" He stomped his paw, once again lowering himself once he realized how he'd spoken to her, "I mean, it is true, queen. I would just rather not say their names… You see, I'm scared the king would harm them in any way, if he found they were once my friends."

Nala analyzed the lion in front of her. Although she knew not to trust him, something in his eyes told her he was being truthful that time around.

"Alright," She sat down and took a deep breath, "I won't tell Simba you were here, if you don't come back here without authorization ever again. If Simba caught you here… You know he wouldn't like it, at all. And I don't like it, either," She told him to make it clear where she stood.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, your majesty! I won't come here again, I promise," He nodded and tried to walk away again, only to have Nala call him once more.

"Wait," She told him, "I still don't trust you, Taka. And don't you dare think I do, not for a second. But if you were being truthful, you'll have no trouble telling me who you were looking for."

Taka took a deep breath, "Queen, I told you-"

"I understand your concern," Nala interrupted him, "So I'll make you a deal. You tell me their names so I can know you weren't lying; and not only won't I tell Simba about you and them, but I'll also help you find them, if I can. But I'll ask Rafiki if the names are real if I don't know them, so don't even think of making them up! Otherwise… I'll assume you're lying, and tell Simba you were here, acting suspicious."

"I…" Taka started, but couldn't think of anything to say and trailed off. She really had cornered him. "Alright, queen. I suppose I have nothing to fear, because I'm telling the truth. And I do believe your help could be useful. However," He said, but never finished.

"However…?" Nala urged him to continue.

"You have to promise me you won't harm them either, if it turns out you know them and we find them. Even if they and I talk again, even if I come to leave the Pride Lands, you will never tell Simba and you won't banish them based on that." Taka told her and waited for her reaction.

"Seems fair," Nala nodded, "You have my word."

"Alright, then," Taka sighed, wondering how that would turn out and hoping the queen was trustworthy, "Have you ever heard about someone called Zira?"

Short chapter, but we already have two cliffhangers? Oof, I'm sorry. What a way to come back!

I hope you enjoyed it still. It's late and I haven't been in a writing mood lately, so hopefully it's not too bad. I promise the next chapter won't take as long, if inspiration returns! Please let me know what you think. And thanks Areli-san again!

See you next chapter!