Scar wanted to take a break, forget all the things that happened the last days, especially the news his brother had told him before. A little nap would be perfect to break away.

"Uncle Scar!"

A little nap would have been perfect…

"Uncle Scar!" little Simba screamed once again, entering the den running. He let himself fall on the dark lion's back. "Uncle Scar!" he called once again, this time louder.

"Simba…" tried to say the lion as calm as possible.

"Uncle Scar, listen, uncle Scar!" kept saying the kid, jumping on his back.

"Simba…" said the older, this time frowning.

"Uncle Scar, but listen, Uncle Scar!" shouted the kid.

"What!?" asked the lion infuriated, hitting the ground with one paw in exasperation.

"Hello" the prince simply said.

"Did you really need to cause such a hellish racket for greeting me?" said Scar angry.

"Yes, just in case you didn't hear me. It's nice to have manners" explained Simba lying next to him.

"For Heaven's…" started to mumble the lion. Looking forwards, he saw his nephew's friends entering the place as well. "Oh, great, more cubs…" he commented sarcastic.

"We didn't want to come, but our mothers made us" said Tama as cocky as always.

"Girl, how many times do I have to tell you to have a bit of respect?" said Scar upset.

"Not enough if I keep doing the opposite" said the young lioness sitting at his right, with Nala beside her.

"Our punishment ended today!" informed the blue-eyed lioness happy.

"And mine starts again…" said Scar sighing tired. "Why can't your mothers watch you? They made you be born for something…"

"We weren't supposed to be far away from Pride Rock, but as the King is going to have a meeting with others leaders…" explained Tojo, sat beside Simba.

"Uncle Scar, do you know something about what is happening?" asked Simba curious.

"No"

"Oh…" all the cubs said, sad.

"Uncle Scar…"

"Mmmh…"

"Mum told me that lioness who died today was a friend of yours and Dad as well" said Simba with ears pinned.

"Yes, she is… Was" he corrected himself rapidly.

"We're sorry, Mr Scar" said Tojo sadly.

"Do not call me Mr Scar…" complained the dark lion rolling his eyes. "And you don't have nothing to be sorry about" he added.

"From what did you know each other?" asked Nala.

"She was one of the closest friends Leo and Mchumba had since cubhood" he began to explain. "And she became a great support for me when I was a child about your age. As I can see, she was that for Mufasa as well"

"How do you know?" asked Tama.

"My brother is going to bury her properly, in other case that wouldn't be done"

"Why?" all the cubs said in unison.

"Because she wasn't part of this pride, and so the King doesn't have any obligation to do it"

"That is not fair…" muttered Tojo.

"Does that mean that when you're from this pride, when you die, you don't have any burial or anything?" asked Nala.

"Of course, but in your pride. The fact that Mufasa is going to take care of it, being not only the leader of Ndona pride, but also the King, is a strange case" said Scar not looking at any of the cubs in the eyes.

"I'm glad Dad is going to do it" commented Simba, his friends nodded in agreement.

"What was her name?" asked Tama.

"Amani"

"Nice" said Nala with a smile.

"And how was she?" aske Tojo, getting closer to the lion.

"Well, she…" Scar fell silent a moment. A bit hesitant, he answered: "As her name indicates, she was very peaceful… In appearance"

"What do you mean?" asked Simba.

"She had a lot of temper when it was needed"

"Like when?" said Nala.

"Especially when she thought someone was being unfair with others" he explained. "She hated injustices, and she wasn't afraid of raising her voice in front of anyone if she thought it was necessary"

"I like her already" commented Tama with a hint of a smile.

"She was a very good listener" kept saying Scar with a indiscernible melancholy in his voice. "She always knew what she had to say to make you feel better"

"She seemed like a very good friend" said Simba.

"She was" reassured Scar.

"Did you see her often?"

"When I was cub, yes; then… Well, I've spent a lot of years since I was little without seeing her" he confessed.

"Why did you stop seeing her?" asked Nala feeling Scar's sudden change of behaviour. "Did she become sick or something like that?"

"No… When I was little I… I had to leave the kingdom" he explained, a bit uncomfortable.

"Leave?" repeated Simba confused. "Why did you leave?"

"Because I wanted to see what was beyond the borders of this kingdom" Scar made up quickly. "It's boring to be all your life here" he added, remembering his brother's confession. He shook his head to try to forget it.

"Sounds nice" said Tama interested. "Sometimes I want to do that too"

"So do I" said Simba.

"You can't leave, you're the prince" Nala reminded him.

"Well, uncle Scar is a prince as well" the royal cub said shrugging.

"What?" said the dark lion with a scowl.

"My Dad is your brother, and he's the King; so, that makes you a prince" explained Simba.

"Look, he can think and all…" commented Tama with a smile.

"You are not funny" complained Simba, offended.

"Or maybe you have no humour…" said the lioness.

"It is so sad…" said Tojo suddenly after have been silent all that time. "You couldn't say goodbye to her" he added looking at Scar with pity.

"It doesn't matter that much" said the lion shrugging.

"In a sense, it does" commented Nala aloud. "If I lose somebody so close without saying goodbye…"

"Rafiki once told me that when someone abandon this world, they are not gone completely, a part of them is still with us" interrupted Simba. He put a paw over his uncle's. "Don't worry, uncle Scar, I'm sure Amani knows you still love her" he tried to comfort him.

"Yes, yes… If you say so…" said the dark lion quickly. He cleared his throat. "It's a sunny day today, go play outside" he said pointing the exit with the head.

"But our mother wanted us to be watched" Tojo reminded him.

"I know. Ujinga is out there" he said. "I'll go to the entrance to keeping an eye on you, anyway…"

"Alright" they all said getting up.

"We can play hide and seek" proposed Tama.

"No, Tama, then you will run away and it will be our fault" said Nala with a giggle at the end.

"One tries to run away as a joke and nobody let her forget…" muttered the cub sadly.

Simba thought about all that had been said, and started to think. He was pretty young, and he hadn't lost anybody yet. His parents and uncle were another story. He knew his paternal grand-parents died when Mufasa and Scar were young; he was never told how Uru died, but he knew Ahadi fell ill one day, nobody expected it. He didn't want to think something like could happen to any of his parents or his uncle.

Besides, after talking about the fact that Scar had left the kingdom in search for freedom and adventures and so he couldn't have at least one last and nice conversation with Amani was worrying him: what if he couldn't say all he wanted to say to his beloved ones before it was too late? All the adults he knew weren't that old, but he still couldn't help but think about it. His maternal grand-parents, for example, weren't as young as the rest, and maybe someday he would lose them forever. When he went back to Pride Rock, he would be sure he tell them how much he loved them.

Simba stopped in his tracks, just when he was half way from Ujinga. The rest of the cubs kept walking, not noticing he wasn't following them anymore. He thought about his uncle, how lonely he always was. Maybe Scar wasn't feeling as loved as he was. He admired his uncle, he had such a strange personality that Simba couldn't help but feel attracted to it. So mysterious, Simba wanted to know everything about him. His uncle was an enigma and Simba loved to solve them.

Turning around, he decided he would stay with Scar a bit more, and then go play with his friends, but just if he felt his uncle was feeling better for real. He had made his mind up when he arrived the entrance of the den, he was prepared to be his uncle companion in this difficult moment… But when he looked forwards, he stopped abruptly, not expecting that sight at all. His uncle was crying. In silence and discreetly, but he was. Simba was shocked at first, as he hadn't seen his uncle cry ever in his whole life.

He waited a few minutes, thinking about what was the best option. A part of him wanted that his uncle notice his presence, and other wished for the opposite to happen. Seeing this was a personal and private moment, Simba just turned around slowly, and went where his friends were talking to Ujinga, interested in some story the jackal was telling them. When he arrived, everybody noticed how silent the prince was and how strange he was acting, but nobody dared to ask. Just in case.

Sarabi didn't go to the meeting, being in a very delicate state. She wanted to go, but Mufasa convinced her not to. Jelani hated his existence just because he was a lion; Kali despised him because he only half royal blood running through his veins. Even if their mates were going to be there to calm them down and control their manners, Mufasa knew it would be a horrible time, and he didn't think his mate deserve it, especially because of him.

As he expected, the meeting was all but peaceful; Jelani, from time to time, didn't doubt about show how he hated to be there, surrounded by lions. Mkali, on her behalf, dedicated him death glares, and the cheetah seemed to understand one as "you're going to get it when we're back home". Mufasa had to supress a laugh, thanking in his mind finally shut up. Kali was a different story. Fedha was more submissive than Mkali, and she just let her mate do the talking, in which Kali commented how this could had gone so out of paw in the first place. Mufasa tried to explain, but the older lion didn't seem convince with anything the King say, and kept interrupting him, irritating the monarch.

"I get your points, I really do" said Mufasa, trying to control his temper and tone of voice. "I tried to solve this as fast as possible, but it seems everything is going worse. That is why I want to ask for your help" he admitted.

"As expected, you can't handle a simple rebellion of a few scavengers" commented Kali, looking at the golden lion with disdain. "When your grandfather was King, this kind of things were more controlled, and when Ahadi had crown in his power, not a mere outcast dare to trespass these lands"

Mufasa made a face, burying his claws in the dirt: "I know the story of my family pretty well, Kali; I don't need anybody to remind it to me" he said calmly.

Kali just made hissed: "That is not what I'm seeing"

Before Mufasa could answer him in a less well-mannered way, Fedha intervened: "Come on, Kali, it's nobody's fault. This could've happened to anyone" she said serene.

"And the only thing that seems clear to me…" said Mkali with a severe glare. "…is that throwing cutting remarks is not helping"

"What you call cutting remarks, I call it truth" said Kali, looking the cheetah up and down with superiority. "This lion was a disaster till he ascend to the throne. Being that soft only brought us all problems, that is why this is happening"

"Soft? The only thing his majesty is, is humble" said Mkali, really upset. "He's asking for help just in time. I bet if this were you, you'd prefer to fight alone just because that damn pride why lions are famous for…"

"I can agree on that" commented Jelani shrugging.

"Kali, just listen to the people" said Fedha calming. "I know you're acting this way because you're worried over our family, but so is Mufasa. Otherwise, he wouldn't being asking for our help"

"Union means strength, uh?" said Kali under his breath. "I'm not denying him any help" he said all of a sudden, turning his head. "But you know I like to express my thought aloud"

"That means yes in his strange language" explained Fedha with a happy smile.

"We'll make sure our family protect the borders as well" said Jelani, looking directly to the King.

"Finally you say something intelligent" said his mate with a smile.

"… I told you to not do those comments in front of people…" muttered Jelani, blushing and coughing.

"You can count on us, your majesty" said Mkali, looking happily to her mate.

"Thank you all" said Mufasa sincerely. "I'll repay this favour, I promise" he added with a nod of reassurance.

"Hum, sometimes their pride is not that bad" said Jelani with a cocked eyebrow.

"Let's go, Jelani, before you open that big mouth of yours again…" said Mkali after a tired sigh.

The cheetahs bowed their heads and left commenting a few things between them. Mufasa saw them leaving, a bit calmer seeing they all had come to an agreement and there were no hard feelings on anybody's part. He was about to go back to the royal den, when he noticed the lion couple was still there.

"Something's wrong?" he asked politely.

"Actually, yes…" said Fedha a bit shy.

"As we see jackals are living under their own rules, doing as they wish, we feel very worried about the safety of our family" explained Kali serious.

"I understand. But your lionesses are strong and young, I doubt something bad would happen if they stick together" he tried to give them support by words.

"We know" said Kali rapidly. "But we have a son and we're worried about his security" he explained.

"Oh… And why do you…?" tried to ask Mufasa confused.

"We… just wanted to ask you if… it would matter too much if he stays here till all this gets better?" said Fedha with a nervous smile.

"Well, I don't see the problem. He can play with my son and his friends…" said Mufasa. "But are you sure he will be fine here? It's a different place and maybe we don't know how to handle…" tried to say the monarch.

Kali interrupted him once again: "Don't worry over that. My mother will be here as well, as his guardian"

"Your mother?" repeated Mufasa a bit uneasy.

"She's lovely" said Fedha giggling nervously. "She's such a sweetheart. You are all going to love her!" she assured nodding.

"Yes, my mother is the best lioness you could ever met" said Kali proud. "Besides, she's too old, so I think she will be safer here as well"

"Hum… Alright… I think…" said Mufasa with a frown. "When will…?"

"Here she is!" said the couple pointing forwards.

Mufasa looked in the same direction. As her son, the new arrival had the same yellow fur as Kali's, just a bit darker, and two green eyes shone with total indifference about the world around her. In one look, the King could clearly see she was old, as she walked slowly, yet she seemed very confident about herself, so he supposed this lioness was stronger than she seemed. A bit of respect was born in his chest when he saw all the strength the old lioness possessed with only her presence. At her side, a cub who shared her same fur colour and a growing black mane was walking shyly, as if he was afraid of being in a different place.

Mufasa felt bad for the little cub. He probably didn't know what was going on, but of course he didn't want to live his home. He knew he wouldn't have any problems as Simba was a very extroverted kid and he would make sure the new cub was having a great time in the Pridelands, but what made him sad was the fact that that kind of shyness reminded him of his brother. Taka took a lot more than the rest of the cubs to be talkative with strangers, and the rest of the children didn't want to be near him. From time to time, Mufasa could even understand them, knowing his brother was weird. Now, being an adult, after his brother made him see things differently, he started to rethink things; he didn't want another child to suffer that kind of rejection.

When both lions arrived, they looked at the monarch up and down. The lioness stared at him with some kind of superiority, Mufasa thought he had discovered from who Kali inherited that personality of his in that moment… Meanwhile, the cub seemed to be afraid of his presence, and Mufasa softened his glare to make him see he needn't to be afraid.

"Malka, son, say hello to the King" said Fedha with a motherly tone.

"Hello…" whispered Malka, pinning his ears and bowing his head.

"Son, make sure people can hear you when you talk…" said Kali. Mufasa looked at him surprised, not having heard such a calm tone in the lion's voice ever.

Mufasa smiled a bit and shook his head: "It's alright. I understand he's afraid" he then smiled at the child. "Welcome to the Pridelands, Malka. From now on, this will be your home as well" he said with the same parental tone he used with Simba in their lessons. "The same goes for you, miss…" he added, looking at the old lioness.

"Usiku" said the lioness. She looked at her family. "Under which tree do I sleep?" she asked with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

"No, no, Mum…" said Kali immediately. "You can sleep in some of the dens…"

"Nonsense, she can sleep in Pride Rock if she wants" said Mufasa quickly. "They're my guests"

"Thank you, Mufasa" said Fedha with a smile.

"And where is Pride Rock?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, this way" said Mufasa pointing in the direction. "It's not too far away"

"Maybe for you who are young" complained Usiku.

"Oh, we can go slowly if you want" said Mufasa with an apologetic look.

"What? Do you think that just because I'm older than you I need your pity?" she said baring her teeth.

"No, no… You just said…" tried to explain the King.

"She's starting…" the monarch heard Fedha commenting in a low voice.

"Young boy, while you were still a spermatozoon I've already given birth to five healthy cubs"

"No, no, I'm not saying…"

"They cried as loud as hell, so I've spent enough nights without sleeping properly. I hope none of you snore" she said starting to walk away.

"No, no… I think no…" said Mufasa, surprised by her attitude. "Em… It's the other way, Usiku…" he said.

"It's that big rock, Mum" said Kali, pointing Pride Rock.

"The one with the form of a J" said Fedha.

Usiku stopped and, very slowly, turned around: "J of jail" she said angry, and started to go to the right direction.

"Em… How many days did you…?" started to ask Mufasa, but when he turned around, he saw the couple running away. A moment of silence where the King looked at nowhere in particular. "I think messed up…" he felt the small paw of Malka touching him. "Hum?"

"I want to pee" said the cub with ears pinned.

"Yes, I messed up…"

"I want to pee as well!" Usiku screamed from the distance.

"Absolutely messed up this time…" said Mufasa supressing a sigh of exhaustion.

Usiku = night
Malka = I think that means "queen"

Handy-dandy: Aaaw, thank you very much! Glad you like it that much! :)

Thanks to all who read, review, follow and favorite, it really means a lot!

Sursum corda!