I own only Jahina (Swahili for 'bold'), Kibwana (Swahili for 'prince'), Keshea (Swahili for 'watch') and Abu (Swahili for 'father').

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Nala wondered about Simba's relationship with Timon and Pumbaa, as she made her way back to the pride. Sure, they were his friends, family even, given what he or they'd told her, but she still did wonder.

Just back there, for instance, she was sure Simba had forced Timon, and likewise, Pumbaa, into meeting his parent because they'd have to walk through the pride, many of who would likely see the warthog as a not very big meal, and might even bother noticing the meerkat as same.

She was still pondering this when she returned to the pride. Looking around, she suddenly noticed several lionesses and a lion that she couldn't identify, although the lioness beside him could only be Jahina. 'Guess I'm not the only one to get lucky,' she thought, as she watched them. The lion was about the same size as Simba, but whereas he bordered on being thin, this lion had obviously had a privileged life, and rarely went hungry.

Slightly intrigued, Nala went forward, and said, "Hello Jahina."

"Hello Nala," Jahina replied, and there was a just barely detectable defensive tone.

"I see you didn't come back alone," Nala said, glancing at the lion, but there was nothing in it, her heart was still fixed on Simba, almost.

"No I didn't," jahina replied, then tried to shift the topic slightly, "and you?"

"Oh, I found what I was after," Nala replied, "perhaps a little more in fact." There was a moment's silence, then she went on, "well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here?"

Jahina gave Nala a warning glare for a moment, then said, a little more haughtly than usual, "this is prince Kibwana of the Pinnacle Lands." Turning to the lion, she said, "Kibwana, this is my good friend, Nala."

"Please to meet you," Kibwana said.

"And you," Nala said, then turned to Jahina, and raised an eyebrow, "so you got a prince too?"

"Yes, I got a prince," Jahina said, "why, who did you get?"

"Oh, just an old friend I thought I'd lost a long time ago," Nala replied. She was about to go on, when she noticed the silence. Looking around for the cause, she smiled very faintly when she saw Simba, looking straight ahead, followed by Timon, who was sitting on Pumbaa's head, and both were glancing around fearfully.

Even Simba was beginning to wonder if he'd rushed into his decision to bring Timon and Pumbaa into view so early, but now they were here, they could hardly go back.

Suddenly, Simba found himself worrying about how his parents would react to Timon and Pumbaa, would they accept them, or would they reject them, and him? 'Only one way to find out,' he thought, as he finally reached his parents, then whispered loudly, "Mum, Dad, could I talk to you two a moment?"

Mufasa looked at Simba, then at the warthog, noticing for the first time, the meerkat, then back at his son, and smiled faintly. Moving close to Sarabi he asked, "do you know anywhere close by, and private?" When she didn't respond, he nudged her, and said, "Sarabi?"

Sarabi found herself staring at the warthog hungrily, as almost every other lioness must have been doing. A touch on her side brought her out of her seeming trance, and she turnedto where she had been touched, "yes?"

"Do you know anywhere close and Private," Mufasa asked, frowning slightly at Sarabi.

"I, yes I do," Sarabi replied, flushing slightly at her bad manners, "follow me."

Jahina watched, along with everybody else, as the three lions and the warthog moved off. When they moved off, she turned to Nala, snoticed the faint smile, and asked, "who were they?"

"Oh, just Simba," Nala replied, slightly dreamily, "and a few of his friends."

"Simba," Jahina asked, "but didn't he..." She paused to think, and her mood changed, and she said coldly, "of course, Scar would say that, wouldn't he?"

"How'd he get in with them," Kibwana asked.

"That, I'm not sure about," Nala replied, "he never actually explained it to me."

"And you didn't ask," Jahina asked.

"We had kind of a big argument before I got around to it," Nala said, "after that, I didn't really think about it."

"Well, it's going to be interesting," Kibwana said, "whatever the reason is."

"Mm," said Jahina thoughtfully, then turned to Nala, "who's that older lion with your mother."

Nala glanced at Sarafina and Abu for a moment, then replied, "that's my father, would you believe?"

"Your father," Jahina asked, stunned, "but, but I thought you didn't know your father."

"I didn't," Nala replied, "until today."

At this point, Kibwana, first making sure Nala and Jahina were occupied, began to sneak off. It wasn't that he found what they talking about boring, it was just that, to him, meeting his uncle once removed, and other blood family a little more interesting than discussing the parentage of a lioness he'd met only minutes before. And at least with Mufasa he wouldn't be 'totally' ignorant.

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As soon as Sarabi had led the small group to Solace, she turned to Pumbaa, and said, "sorry about before, it's just that none of us have had a good meal for some time now, and the hyenas didn't help either."

"Why were there hyenas in here anyway," Mufasa asked, "Surely Scar couldn't have become that bad a king so early."

"Scar invited them in," Sarabi replied.

"He what," Mufasa asked, as though he hadn't understood what Sarabi hadtold him, "he invited them in?"

"Yes," Sarabi replied.

Mufasa growled angrily, at the knowledge of one more of Scar's bad decisions. Looking around for something to calm him down, he spotted Pumbaa, and after a few moments composing himself, said to Simba, "well, son, I believe you want to introduce us to a few of your friends."

"Yes," Simba said, "er, mum, dad, these are my friends, Timon and Pumbaa."

Pleased to meet you," Mufasa said, while Sarabi gave a slightly embarrassed, non-threatening nod.

"Timon, Pumbaa," Simba went on, "these are my parents."

"Pleased to meet ya," Timon said, a little uneasily, then added as an afterthought, "your royal highnesses."

"You're not mad or anything, are you," Simba asked, "I mean, I know they're a bit...they're not..."

"They're, unusual friends for a lion to have," Mufasa said, taking a guess. When Simba nodded relievedly, he smiled, and said, "don't worry, you're far from the only one in such a position."

Sarabi looked slightly perplexed at Mufasa's remark. What odd friends had he had, and if they were friends, why weren't they here?

At that voice, another voice said sharply, "Maximilian, you are making things very difficult."

"Yeah," said another voice, "look Nina, if the kid was out in the open, he's probably by dead now, if he found a hole, he's probably alive, now can we lay low for a while, because this place is covered in lions, and if it's all the same to you, 'I'd' like to stay alive."

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