Simba's Pain

by MrToast101

Simba has always been bullied and had a hard life. All he wants in life is to find love and have friends. What happens when he runs into an unlikely lioness one day that is responsible for causing him more pain than anyone else and how a friendship blossoms from the feelings of pain and regret that will change their lives, and the lives of everyone around them forever...

24. First Day On The Job

Simbas Pain Chapter 24

By Mr_Toast

Discord: Mr_Toast#1679

Story Discord: bit .ly /SimbasPain

Merry Christmas Y'all, unless you're reading this after the day it was posted since this was posted on Christmas. The second chapter to be posted on Christmas. Anyway, not much to say here and I'll see y'all in the outro. As always, Enjoy!

Simba slowly woke up after possibly the longest time he had ever slept before with a slow start and groaned. Simba attempted to lift his head to look outside to see what time it was and felt something weighing down his entire body. Not even having to guess what it was, Simba opened his eyes to see Tama laying on top of him preventing him from going anywhere.

"Morning" Simba said, beginning to force his way up and felt two new sets of paw grab onto him and prevent him from getting up. Instead of complying, Simba continued to push his way up and was met by the gazes of Tama, Kula, and Ariya.

"Auntie told us not to let you leave" Kula said as she circled around him and stood behind him in case he tried to run. Simba looked around and saw that the girls had now boxed him in which made him chuckle.

"I wasn't planning on it, though it seems you've taken measures to prevent me anyway" Simba said, knowing that they were probably concerned and didn't want him wandering off all by himself.

"Well she was serious about you not being alone" Ariya said, not wanting to make Sarafina mad after one of her lifetime friends had just died.

"Why?" Simba asked, wondering why everyone was concerned about him being alone when he was completely fine.

"Because she-" Ariya was saying, and then watched as time seemed to slow as Simba suddenly jolted to the side as if he was trying to escape why they were off guard, and all three of them closed the distance and stopped when they saw that Simba was still again and chuckling.

"So you are paying attention" Simba said, and watched as they all gave him unamused looks. Simba knew that he wasn't doing himself any favors by tricking the girls like that but just couldn't resist the urge to test them to see if they were really paying attention or not.

"Can you please just lay back down?" Ariya asked, walking up to him and beginning to pull him back to their usual corner but couldn't make him budge. Ariya realized that for the first time in what seemed like forever, Simba was using his strength to resist her, reminding her that all those other times she messed around with him was because he was letting her. Ariya felt a slight feeling of intimidation wash over her knowing how much stronger he was than her and how she wouldn't last a second in a fight with him, but it was quickly washed away when she remembered he would never hurt her.

"I just want some alone time" Simba said, and watch as Ariya gave him a look that read 'No'. Simba knew that his request would be shot down, but as always, he decided to just try it in case some miracle would happen where the would allow him.

"Simba" Tama said and watched as he turned around and looked over at her. "How about we take a walk?" Tama asked, knowing that since Nala wasn't here she would have the highest chance of successfully talking to him.

"Sure" Simba said, quickly turning around and giving Ariya and quick nuzzle to let her know he wasn't mad at her, and did the same to Kula when he walked by her and followed Tama out of the cave.

"I know that you're ok. Both physically and mentally, but it's our nature to worry" Tama said, and watched as Simba gave her a slightly surprised and confused look.

"I know you hate it when we ask if you're ok and keep you from wandering off… but… if you want to be by yourself, then I guess you can" Tama said as she stopped at the bottom of Pride Rock, and watched as Simba gave her a shocked expression.

"You're letting me leave?" Simba asked, wondering if he was understanding her correctly.

"Just check back in with me at noon" Tama said, and watched as Simba began to take a step forward, and quickly threw her paw out and caught his. "Just… be quick… they're not going to be happy I did this" Tama said, knowing she was going to take some sort of heat from the two of them.

"Thank you" Simba said, leaning in and giving her a nuzzle. With that, Simba quickly ran away into the savanna both surprised and confused as to how any of that happened or why Tama just let him go. Tama was usually the most reluctant when it came to letting him leave and never just let him go without either strict rules or making sure he was going to be accompanied by someone.

Upon entering Pride Rock, Tama watched as Kula and Ariya met her with surprised looks, wondering where Simba was.

"Please tell me you didn't lose him" Kula said, fearing Simba may have bolted on her.

"I let him go" Tama said, and watched as she earned looks of disbelief. "It isn't fair to him to keep him locked up and preventing him from being himself" Tama said as she walked by the two of them, hoping that her words would have some sort of effect on them. Tama watched as they both looked at her with annoyed looks as she laid down to get some rest, before finally letting them fall and following her lead, although still appearing to be annoyed.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba was walking back to Pride Rock after a long morning workout, being the first time that he could remember about not having to worry about one of the girls looking for him and interrupting his routine. Simba wasn't sure why Tama even let him leave since she was the more protective one out of the girls, and started to wonder why things turned out to be so much different this time compared to others.

Upon nearing the waterhole, Simba cut through the grass to take a shortcut to avoid other animals as the news of his father had most likely spread throughout the pride lands and beyond. Upon exiting, Simba heard a faint noise around him and stopped to tune in on it. After listening for a brief second, he could make out the sounds of gentle sobbing.

Simba carefully approached the source of the noise, having entered the tall grass again and being unable to see what it was. Simba exited the tall grass and found himself in a small clearing that was only a few feet wide at most and saw Mapenzi curled up in the center and was attempting to silence her sobs but wasn't doing a good job at it. Upon noticing it was her, Simba quickly made his way over to her trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Mapenzi?" Simba said in a gentle voice and watched as she suddenly looked around to see him, and could see the terrified look in her eyes. The second she made eye contact with him, Mapenzi sprung up and ran into Simba's chest and hung on for dear life, making Simba wonder what had traumatized her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Simba asked softly, trying to calm her down.

"I'm lost" Mapenzi said with a hiccup, unaware of where she was and what could be out there that wanted to hurt her.

"It's ok. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you" Simba said once again with a soft tone but added a little enthusiasm this time, and watched as Mapenzi finally looked back up at him again.

"You promise?" Mapenzi asked, still having fear present in her voice. Simba knew that she was just scared right now and did what all cubs did when they were scared, make someone promise them things would be ok.

"I promise. Now let's head home" Simba said, and watched as the look in her eyes slowly started to return to her normal self.

"I want mommy" Mapenzi said, and watched as Simba gave her a look of defeat, before quickly replacing it with a smile so she wouldn't be able to catch on.

"Um… ok, sure. We can find your mother" Simba said, having no idea where Alana was. Simba had an idea that Alana went out and Mapenzi wanted to follow her but must have gotten lost on the way and tried to find her again, but only ended up getting more lost in the process.

Simba suddenly felt Mapenzi try and climb up on top of him so he could carry her, and Simba leaned down so she could climb up easier. Once she was on top, Simba began to exit the tall grass and started to wonder where he would even begin to look for her since he had no idea what she was doing or if she had some sort of favorite spot.

"Any idea where your mother may be?" Simba asked, knowing that Mapenzi knew almost none of the geography of the pride lands but was at least hoping for a direction. Simba watched as she pointed her paw out left, towards the eastern border, and began to make his way there.

Simba had an idea of where she may have been, although it was unlikely. After walking for a short while, Simba looked across the flat plains of grass trying to make out a lioness, and was able to spot someone after a short while. Simba had an idea she would be in the plains since they were calm, had a good view, and at night they were perfect for stargazing.

"Alana" Simba said as he began to make his way over to her, and watched as she turned around and gave him a confused look, before starting to approach him after seeing Mapenzi.

"Is everything alright?" Alana asked, wondering why the two were approaching her and why Simba was having to carry Mapenzi.

"She wandered off and got lost. She was pretty shaken up when I found her" Simba said as he leaned down for Mapenzi to get off, and watched as she ran to her mother and was embraced with a hug.

"Mapenzi you know better than to wander away. You could have gotten hurt or worse" Alana said, knowing she had made it known multiple times that she ever wanted Mapenzi to be alone.

"I didn't mean to" Mapenzi said as she started to break down and made up an answer despite deliberately having left pride rock.

"Where's your sister?" Alana asked, wondering how Mapenzi was able to slip away from Ariya when she had told her to watch Malenzi while she was gone.

"Pride Rock" Mapenzi said, knowing she was already in big trouble for sneaking away and was now probably going to get Ariya in trouble as well.

"As I thought. Now come on. We're going back" Alana said as she gently nudged Mapenzi so she would start walking. Alana began to lead Mapenzi back to Pride Rock so she could have a chat with both of her daughters and then realized that Simba was following him and she hadn't even thanked him for finding Mapenzi. As much as Alana hated to think of it, it could have been hours before someone realized Mapenzi was missing and this whole thing would have been so much worse. Alana wanted to do it now but knew that it would be better once they were in private so she could have a conversation with him without her daughters being present.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Upon entering Pride Rock, Alana sported Ariya and the other girls, including Nala, sitting in their normal corner laying around lazily most likely waiting for others to return. Almost instantly Ariya spotted Simba and her mother and got up to greet them.

"Hey" Ariya said, walking up to Simba to give him a nuzzle but was stopped when her mother abruptly put an arm out to stop her. Ariya looked over at her mother to see that she was glaring at her and realized that she was probably in trouble for something.

"Forgetting something?" Alana said, scooting Mapenzi up into view. Alana watched as Ariya immediately realized that she was supposed to have been watching her sister, but was probably distracted messing around with her friends.

"Um… yes… but I thought she wouldn't wander off" Ariya said, having expected Mapenzi to have been more responsible at ten months old.

"Come with me" Alana said as she turned around and nudged Mapenzi to follow as well. "You too" Alana said as she passed Simba, making him wonder if she was somehow mad at him since she hadn't said anything to him the entire walk back.

Alana led the three out of Pride Rock and our behind it to be out of war shot of the curious and confused lionesses inside, and once far enough away, turned around and faced the three of them.

"What was the one thing I told you before I left?" Alana said to Ariya, and watched as she fidgeted with her paws a bit.

"To watch Mapenzi" Ariya said, knowing she was in trouble for real this time. Ariya heard her mother release an annoyed sigh and felt even more hopeless.

"Precisely" Alana said. "All you had to do was watch Mapenzi. How come that was so hard for you? Could you not have talked with her or played with her to keep her occupied? Or were you too busy socializing with your friends?" Alana asked, wondering how Ariya let this happen.

"I wasn't messing around with my friends l was watching Simba" Ariya said in her defense. Ariya watched as her mother's posture and expression went for annoyed to rather angry, and wondered what she had said to cause such a reaction.

"Why were you watching Simba?! He's fully able to take care of himself and obviously far more responsible than you. Why on earth would you possibly need to watch Simba?" Alana asked, never having heard a worse excuse in her life.

"To make sure he would be ok" Ariya said truthfully, unsure how he would be after his father's death and wanted to be there for him if he needed her.

"So are you saying he is more important than your sister?" Alana asked, wondering why she was so obsessed with watching him but not her sister.

"No… I just… thought he could use a friend" Ariya said, realizing that her actions did make it look that way.

"And what about your sister? She's new around here and doesn't know anyone but two other people. Don't you think that she could use some support?" Alana asked, wondering how Ariya was failing to see the bigger picture.

"I thought she would do that on her own. I did it so she should be able to" Ariya said in defense, wondering why she was always having to break her back for her sister.

"Your sister isn't you Ariya! You know she's always had a hard time fitting in! When you came to visit us it was the first time that Mapenzi felt complete since you left. She finally had her big sister to look up to but you practically ignored her and hardly played with her!" Alana yelled, wondering what had changed inside Ariya.

"It's not my fault she was born different than the rest of us!" Ariya said in defense, wondering why her mother was expecting so much from her.

"What did you just say?" Alana said in a tone that held so much anger and aggression.

"It's true! What kind of a ten-month-old still suckles or can't go to bed unless mommy coos her to sleep!" Ariya asked, wondering why her mother was unable to see that there wasn't much she could do since she wasn't her mother.

"You apologize right this instance!" Alana said as she got up and stormed towards Ariya.

"I didn't mean it like that" Ariya said, realizing she had messed up big time with that last statement.

"Oh, I know what you meant. Trust me" Alana said, stopping right in front of Ariya. "Yes, your sister still suckles and can't fall asleep on her own. But how dare you accuse her of that as if she does it on purpose. Do you think she asked to be this way? Do you really think she wanted to be the only person in the pride to need milk long after she was weaned? No! She never asked for any of this. Yet you stand here and accuse her of doing it as if she's purposely trying to make your life hard!" Alana said and watched as Ariya wore an ashamed expression.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of it that way. I just… I'm just not used to having to look after her anymore, and I half expected her to outgrow all of that stuff while I was gone" Ariya said, being unable to make eye contact.

"Well she hasn't, and she needs you now more than ever" Alana said, looking over to see that Mapenzi was wearing an embarrassed expression. "So will you please go back inside and play with or, or even talk to her?" Alana said and watched as Ariya shook her head.

"Thank you. Now could you please take your sister back and excuse the two of us?" Alana asked, and watched as Ariya stood up and gave Mapenzi a short apologetic nuzzle as she walked by and led her sister back to Pride Rock.

Alana looked over to see that Simba was sitting quietly aside with a surprised look on his face, most likely wondering what he had just witnessed.

"Had I known that was going to happen I wouldn't have invited you" Alana said, hoping that it would have been a very short and cooperative conversation and wouldn't have gotten personal.

"It's alright. I can keep a secret" Simba said, knowing that Mapenzi probably didn't want other people to know that she still suckled.

"Thank you, for finding her and bringing her to me" Alana said, finally getting to thank Simba for what he did back there.

"Welcome. Not trying to pressure you but maybe you should take her out sometime and let her learn the layout of the place so she doesn't get lost like this again" Simba said, knowing that if she was going to be living here it would be good for her to know where everything was.

"I will... I just can't believe Ariya right now" Alana said, letting an angry expression come to her face.

"She's just a little confused right now between all of this" Simba said, knowing that her emotions, and especially the other girl's emotions right now were all a little sensitive and susceptible to having a breakdown.

"I know, but she's just being very selfish, and I never raised her to be that way" Alana said, wondering what had gotten into her eldest daughter.

"She, as well as the other girls, are just worried for me. Give it a few days and she'll go back to normal" Simba said, and watched as Alana gave him a small smile.

"For someone as young as you, you sure do seem to have your share of wisdom" Alana said, walking up to him and gently nuzzling into him.

"It's the only way to persuade the girls to let me up in the morning" Simba chuckled, having tried and failed many times by trying to use basic logic as they were far too stubborn.

"How are they?" Alana asked, wondering how Nala, Tama, and Kula were doing after the king's death. Alana knew that Simba had his paws full between the three of them as he was their source of comfort and they all seemed to be in need of a little comfort in a time like this.

"Good. A little surprised, but we all are" Simba said, realizing that he was supposed to have checked in the girls at noon and it was at least an hour past that, but knew they saw him when he entered the cave when Alana went to retrieve Ariya.

"I'm sure they want to make sure you're ok" Alana said, knowing that the girls would always be in the mood to see Simba and Alana wanted to continue to relive her childhood memories.

"Yup. See you tonight" Simba said as he leaned over and nuzzled her, and felt her return it and shortly after pulling away. Simba watched as she walked back to where he had previously found her, and turned around himself to make his way back to Pride Rock.

Upon entering the cave, Simba saw that Ariya was playing with Mapenzi as instructed to do with her mother, but looked to be bored as Mapenzi was unable to play at her skill level causing Ariya to always win. Past them, Simba saw Nala, Tama, and Kula all looking over at him with a look that told him they had been waiting for him.

"Hey" Simba said as he walked up to the three of them, and watched as Kula stood up and playfully pinned him, and felt as Nala and Tama also got up and joined in on the fun. Simba attempted to stand back up but felt them continue to hold him down and nuzzle into him.

"I wasn't gone that long" Simba said in a joking manner as they were acting as if this was the first time they had seen him all week.

"Being gone at all is too long" Nala said with a purr as she licked the side of his face and nuzzled into his mane. Doing what Simba always found to be funny, he pushed himself off the ground and stood up despite their best efforts of trying to keep him pinned on the ground, and felt as they all continued to press against him and nuzzle him all over.

"You all seem to be in a good mood" Simba said as he looked down at them, and noticed something he hadn't noticed before. They were all competitively nuzzling him, playfully pushing each other out of the way and nuzzling where the other had been as if they were having some sort of nuzzling war.

Simba watched as Nala abandoned her spot on his chest and leaned up to be eye level with him, and felt as one of the other girls immediately took over the spot she had been holding, increasing the amount of territory she had to nuzzle into. Simba felt Nala draw him into a passionate kiss and began to wonder why they were all acting so playful.

"Guys?" Simba asked once his kiss with Nala broke and watched as they all seemed to ignore him as Nala leaned back down and pushed Tama out of the way to reclaimed her lost territory on his mane. "Hey" Simba said, suddenly taking a step back and breaking all their nuzzles, and watched as they all gave him dirty looks.

"Why are you acting so playful all of a sudden" Simba asked, wondering if something had happened since this morning when they all seemed to be fine. Simba had no idea as to how a girl's emotions worked, but one thing he had figured out was it wasn't uncommon for them to do things like this when they were feeling upset.

"Because we can" Kula said. Kula watched as Simba gave her a confused face which instantly caused her to remember just how cute he got when he was confused, reminding her just how much she found him to be adorable.

"Right…" Simba said, not sure what he was supposed to say back.

"Let a girl have her fun" Tama said as she walked up to him and went to nuzzle him, but felt him suddenly stop her in a gentle manner.

"And let a guy have a chance to breathe" Simba said with a chuckle, knowing that as soon as he let her continue, Nala and Kula would join in and swarm him once again.

"Come on" Tama pouted, forgetting that she wasn't alone and quickly catching herself and resuming to her normal self.

"Tama can pout?" Kula said in a mocking voice.

"Legend has it that she also purrs" Nala said, joining in on the teasing.

"But no one will ever know since no one ever lives to tell the tale" Tama said with an evil smile, and watched as Nala and Kula wore looks of surprise, not having been expecting a comeback like that.

"Except one lion who was able to tame her heart" Simba said as he pulled her into a hug. Simba felt Tama try to push away from him, but held on to her for a few moments longer, before finally releasing her and watching as she had a slightly irritated expression.

"How cute" Kula said while Simba was hugging Tama, and watched as Tama gave her a warning glare, and Kula knew better than to test her.

"Come on girls. Place nice" Simba said as he licked the top of Tamas head, and felt as she ducked her head the second his tongue made contact with her.

"Stop, you're messing up my fur" Tama said as she combed the hair on her back to the way she liked it.

"You mean your tuff" Simba said as he blew over the top of her head, causing the tuff to puff up for a second and heard the other girls giggle.

"Stop" Tama said as she put her paw of Simba's muzzle while she combed her hair out again with her other paw.

"Come on. Let a guy have his fun" Simba said, and watched as she smiled and rolled her eyes, before walking away from them.

Simba watched her retreating figure with a slightly curious look, and was broken from his trance when he felt Nala kiss his cheek.

"What's on your mind this time?" Nala asked, knowing by the look on his face he was thinking about something.

"I've been meaning to talk to her, just haven't had to chance" Simba said as he looked over at her and kissed her nose.

"Well then talk to her. You'll know where to find us" Nala said as she playfully licked his nose in response.

"I love you" Simba said as he nuzzled into her.

"I love you too" Nala said with a smile as she licked the side of his face. "Better get going before you lose her" Nala said, and watched as he turned around and ran after her, and Nala smiled at how much she loved moments like these.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba was tailing Tama from a distance and observing how she seemed to be walking in a slight upset manner, proving he was right to think something was wrong with her. Simba could also tell something was wrong since she was going to his hideout alone which was always the place she liked to go when the was alone and upset.

Upon entering his hideout, Simba saw Tama looking down at her reflection in the small pond. Simba was wondering what she was doing when she suddenly swatted at the water with anger and turned around to meet his gaze.

Simba watched as she looked at him for a few seconds with a slightly surprised face, before sighing and sitting down, knowing that it was obvious that she wasn't ok and he was going to help her.

"Well… You already knew I was going to ask… but what's wrong?" Simba asked, have a good idea of what was wrong and how to solve it.

"I'm ugly" Tama said, surprising Simba completely. Simba thought that she was hurting on the inside and needed to express her emotions to someone, but this was just nothing related to what she had said.

"What?" Simba asked as he walked up to her, thinking that she was just as beautiful as Nala and Kula.

"I look like a fucking boy Simba. And I act like one too" Tama said, and watched as Simba wore a confused face. "My tuff Simba. I'm the only girl who has one and it makes me look so different" Tama said, wondering why the kings decided to curse her with it.

"There's nothing wrong with being different. Take me for example" Simba said, knowing he was different from Chumvi, Malka, and Tojo, but that was a good thing.

"Look at me" Tama said as she turned around and looked at the pond which was no longer distorted by the impact. Simba walked up beside her and looked down at her reflection to see a confused yet beautiful lioness reflecting back up at him.

"Just because you have a tuff doesn't mean you're ugly. It's special. I like it. It's just one more thing that makes you unique. Your tuff it part of you and no matter how hard you try and get rid of it, you can't be someone your not" Simba said, and watched as she looked over at him.

"Thanks" Tama said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Come on. Cheer up" Simba said with a chuckle, and felt as she remained still. "Alright then. Suit yourself" Simba said as he pinned Tama to the ground and began to tickle the side of her face with his muzzle.

Tama was caught off guard and attempted to push Simba off, but found it hard to breath from all the laughing she was doing and it wasn't long before she was powerless to stop him as he continued to tickle her.

"Stop Simba!" Tama said through laughter, trying to fight back but kept buckling under her own laughter.

"Now that's more like it" Simba said upon stopping, glad to see that she was still able to laugh and smile.

"Jerk" Tama said as she punched his shoulder.

"Jokes on you since you still love me" Simba said, and heard Tama sigh.

"How could I not?" Tama said, wondering how someone wasn't supposed to fall in love with someone like him.

"Best way to get a girl to listen is to get to her heart first" Simba said with a chuckle. Simba watched as Tama cracked a slight smile, before rested her head on his shoulder in silence once again.

Simba continued to sit there in silence, waiting for her to say or do something but continued to feel her rest her head on his shoulder in silence, causing the silence to get more awkward with each passing moment.

"Mind if I cuddle?" Tama said just as Simba opened his mouth to say something. Simba was a little startled but her talking as he hadn't expected her to talk after being so quiet for so long.

"Uhh… like nuzzling?" Simba asked, wondering if those two were the same thing or differed slightly.

"Just hold me" Tama said as she leaned deeper into Simba, and felt him wrap his arms around her and gently hold her in a hug. Upon doing this, Tama let out a long satisfied purr and fell into Simba letting him support her weight.

"I kinda just feel like being a girl for awhile" Tama said as she pulled back after a short while, earning a slightly confused look from Simba in which she found to be adorable.

"I just kinda wanna be girly for the next few minutes. Also that look is cute" Tama said as she gently nuzzled into him.

"Ok" Simba said, returning her nuzzle and not sure what else to say.

"So soft…" Tama muttered and felt Simba tense up a bit. "Relax" Tama said, and felt his muscles ease up a bit making it more comfortable.

"Sorry. I've just never seen you act very... feminine before" Simba said, and felt her purr and she nuzzled into him, before pulling away and looking back up at him.

"Well it can be hard to find privacy like this" Tama said, and watched as Simba gave her a slightly confused look which she found to be cute as well and smiled a little upon seeing it. "I just like to show my affection for people in private" Tama said, and watched as Simba understood.

"There's nothing wrong with doing it in public. Kula does it. Nala most certainly does it. I mean you're upset that you're different from them and you're sorta doing it on purpose" Simba said with a little chuckle, wondering why she was complaining about being different when she was trying to be different.

"I just don't like showing weakness" Tama said as she avoided eye contact, and felt Simba pull his paw up to her chin and try and guide her head up to establish eye contact and responded by pushing it away.

"I wouldn't call that weakness. I just think that if you maybe talked more openly with Nala, Kula, and maybe Ariya you wouldn't feel so different" Simba said, and watched as she looked up at him.

"That's not the problem Simba. I can't not be different. I can't not be myself. And who I am is different. And sometimes it just sucks" Tama said, and watched as Simba wore a defeated look.

"What caused your mood change at Pride Rock" Simba asked, wondering how she went from nuzzles and having fun to be all sad so quickly when nothing happened.

"The teasing" Tama said with an annoyed look on her face.

"They didn't mean any of that. Besides you do it to them all the time" Simba said, wondering how she thought they were serious or how she took it personally.

"I know… I just didn't mean to pout like that…" Tama said, regretting the fact she forgot she wasn't alone.

"You make no sense" Simba said placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, and felt her lick the side of his face. "The reason they teased you is they know you can purr. You're a lion. All lions purr. But the fact that you hide it from them makes it a target of teasing. Same with your feelings. They know you're capable of love, sadness, anger, and every other emotion" Simba said, and watched as she gently shook her head.

"I know. I don't know why it bothered me so much" Tama said, wondering how she let it affect her. She was supposed to be the leader. The Alpha. So it didn't make sense to her that she was capable of being hurt by mere teasing when she was supposed to be the strongest one around.

"Doesn't matter" Simba said, not wanting her to dwell on her current state.

"Thanks" Tama said, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Upon doing this, Tama watched as he turned his head to look at her, and as soon as she saw the opportunity to kiss him she took it. Tama quickly jolted up and caught him in a kiss, and felt him start to return it. Tama felt the familiar feeling of guilt return to her heart upon doing this, telling her to pull away as she wasn't his mate, but she ignored it as she always felt so free when she kissed Simba, as if someone his lips alike were all it took to melt all her problems away and not haft to worry about anything. Tama broke the kiss when she felt the need for air, and watched as Simba looked down at her with a slightly nervous smile, and Tama returned it, knowing the two of them were still new to kissing each other and the ending was still awkward.

"Thanks for hearing me out" Simba said, knowing Tama could be stubborn and unwilling to listen to anyone when she got moody. Upon saying this, Simba could hear the faint sounds of two people attempting to sneak up on them, and had a good idea as to who it was.

Simba and Tama heard a slight crack behind them, and turned around to see Kula in the middle of sneaking up on them.

"Kula!" Nala said, wondering how she had been so careless.

"Sorry" Kula said, swatting the stick she had stepped on to the side.

"How long have you been here?" Tama asked, wondering if they had heard any of the conversation she had with Simba, of the kiss she had given him.

"We got bored and Ariya was playing with Mapenzi so we decided to see what you guys were up to" Nala said, walking over them and nuzzlings into Simba.

"Just talking about girl stuff" Simba said, giving Tama a wink and watched as she gave him an irritated look.

"Well, don't stop. Go on" Kula said, wondering what kind of girl stuff Tama would be talking about with a boy.

"I don't know. Girl stuff… like how to keep fur well-groomed and all that. Fashion and stuff" Simba said, making some stuff up to get Tama roped into hopefully a girly activity in which he would leave her to suffer alone.

"Oh. My. God" Nala said with a smile on her face, and Tama knew this wasn't going to be good. "Tama needs help with a makeover!" Nala said, never thinking the day would come where Tama wanted to look nice for no other reason than to be a normal girl.

"Not really" Tama said, knowing that it would involve her having to be still for a while, while her sisters messed with her fur for awhile.

"Oh come on. We could all totally have a girls night! Except maybe for you Simba" Kula said, watching as he was slowly backing away, and stopped quickly when she looked over at him.

Tama looked over at Simba and watched as he nodded his head, telling her that she should do this and see how it goes. If she hates it he would just make it up to her some other time.

"That sounds… fun" Tama said with some fake enthusiasm.

"You girls wait here. I'll get the flowers" Nala said as she ran off to fetch some roses, kissing Simba on the way by.

Simba watched as Tama looked at him with a lion telling him that payback would be served in time, and Simba nodded his head with a smile before quickly farting out of his hideout to find his aunt.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Knowing that Nala and Kula could spend hours grooming their fur and doing all their little tricks to make it look nice, Simba knew he would have plenty of time to find Sarafina and talk to her. Having a good idea of where she would be, Simba neared Rafiki's tree and saw her sitting outside it looking out to the savanna.

"Auntie" Simba said as he sat down next to her, and watched as she gave him a warm smile.

"My king" Sarafina said with a slight bow, and watched as Simba gave her a look telling her he didn't want to be treated any different than before.

"Umm…. so… I guess I'll just say it. What's the funeral going to be like?" Simba asked, and watched as Sarafina wore a slightly sad look.

"Well… it wasn't a public funeral. He was buried next to your mother this morning" Sarafina said, and watched as Simba simply nodded. Sarafina wasn't sure if Simba was truly ok if he was just faking it as he seemed to be taking his father's death lightly, but then again what he had said to her last night did make sense and it seemed to have had an impact on him.

"I'm so proud of you. Your mother would be too" Sarafina said, feeling tears build up behind her eyes.

"I know" Simba said, feeling as she closed the distance between them and pressed herself up against him.

"They're together" Sarafina said with a smile as few tears escaped her eyes. "I just know it" Sarafina said, licking the top of Simba's head.

"How old are you" Simba asked, knowing that it was very rude to ask someone, especially a girl around Sarafinas aged that question, but had to know. "I know I shouldn't ask… but I need to know" Simba said, and watched as she nodded her head.

"Five years four months" Sarafina said, wondering why he wanted to know.

"How old were you when your mother passed away?" Simba asked, and watched as she had a very curious look on her face.

"Three" Sarafina said, trying to connect the dots in her head.

"How old does a lioness haft to be to get pregnant?" Simba asked, and watched as Sarafina wore a very surprised look.

"Umm… well… depends on the lioness but I guess after two? Thought usually around and after four" Sarafina said, wondering if Simba and Nala were planning on having a cub.

"Well… the reason I asked all those questions was because when I have a cub one day, and it would be with Nala, I wanted you to be able to see it" Simba said, and watched as she smiled.

"Don't feel like you have to rush for me. I was able to watch both my cubs grow up and one turn out to be the queen I always knew she would be" Sarafina said, feeling lucky enough she was able to witness that and was no longer afraid of dying in the same way as before.

"I'm not saying I want to rush… but I was just thinking that you would probably want to be alive to see your grandchild" Simba said, and watched as she smiled.

"I do, but if I don't, Don't regret not having one sooner" Sarafina said, nuzzling into him.

"Yea…" Simba said, not really sure what to say.

"You'll make a great king Simba" Sarafina said, nuzzling into the side of him.

"I know, I just haft to gain a little confidence first" Simba said, knowing that everything was going to be fine but it would be a few days before he was fully able to lay back on that idea.

"How are the girls?" Sarafina asked, hoping that after spending most of the day with him as she instructed them to do he would be able to tell how they were doing. Sarafina didn't need to be tricky when it came to Simba since he was always honest and open with her, but when she told the girls to watch Simba she was really hoping that Simba would be able to tell if they were ok.

"Fine. I don't think they ever got nearly as close as I did to him or anyone else your age" Simba said, and watched as Sarafina nodded her head.

"I'm surprised they let you leave for this long" Sarafina said with a chuckle, having expected that they would be super clingy and strict about him wandering off.

"Well I kinda tricked them into forgetting about me" Simba said, and watched as Sarafina gave him a curious look telling him that she wanted to know how he did it so she could maybe use that trick in the future.

"Well after having a talk with Tama, in which she didn't cry for the first time in a while, which was nice, Nala and Kula came by and I told them we were talking about girl stuff, and then told them how she was talking about how she wanted to make her fur look nice, they dragged her into a makeover session thing and I left when they were distracted" Simba said, watching as Sarafina gave him a smile.

"I almost keep forgetting that you guys are still in the stage of looking like adults but acting like cubs" Sarafina said with a smile, remembering those days herself.

"I should probably go back and make sure Tama is playing nice" Simba said with a chuckle, and felt Sarafina nuzzle into him.

"Good idea" Sarafina said with a smile, and watched as he turned around and began walking back to his hideout.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba slowly began to enter his hideout, wondering at which stage of grooming the girls were currently in, and saw them all looking down at their reflections in the water. Simba could tell that even though he was looking at their backs, they had smiles on their faces and they all seemed to be in a good mood.

Simba was staring at them when they all turned around and halted when they spotted him, and sat in a flashy pose with a smile on their face to see what he would think.

"Wow…" Simba said with a chuckle, having been underestimating just how beautiful they would be when they turned around. Nala had her signature red rose tucked behind her ear and well-groomed fur and appeared to sparkle in the sunlight. Kula had a purple flower that he had seen before but didn't know the name of which matched her well-groomed darker fur perfectly. Lastly Tama, and Simba was left astonished at the way she looked. She had an orange flower behind her ear that not only matched the color of her fur, but also the colors of her eye, and he was looking at a smile she wore only on the rarest of occasions.

"Well… how do we look" Kula asked, and watched as Simba continued to stare at each of them in disbelief. Kula blushed a little when she saw him continue to stare at them and was glad to see that their hard work had paid off.

"Beautiful" Simba said with a small chuckle, and watched as they all chuckled themselves a bit.

"Well we were going to go show our mothers since you left us" Nala said with a playfully annoyed tone, and watched as Simba smiled nervously knowing he purposely snuck away after purposely distracting them.

"But I'm back now" Simba said, hoping that he wouldn't be in as much trouble with her if she knew he intended to come back all along.

"Well, we'll be showing off to our mothers in the meantime. See you back at Pride Rock" Nala said with a smile as she and the other girls passed by him, kissing him on the way out and made it sound more like a command telling him to be at Pride Rock when they were done.

Simba smiled as she left, finding her humor and playfully commanding attitude to be funny. Simba signed a little, before walking out of his hideout to do what he spent most of his life doing. Walking and thinking.

Upon exiting his hideout, Simba got on a trail and saw that Ariya and Mapenzi were walking away from Pride Rock in the distance, with Mapenzi more running and trying to get Ariya to love faster who was only walking. Simba could tell that Ariya wasn't having a good day and her younger sister was seeming to be pushing her over the limit, and with her having to watch her made it look like Ariya was ready to break.

"Come on! Faster!" Mapenzi said, turning around and running back to Ariya, only to turn right back around and run ahead once she got to her. Mapenzi did this over and over again while Ariya continued to walk at her normal pace with a stoic look on her face.

"Ariyaaa!" Mapenzi wined, wondering why she was going to slow.

"Mapenzi, quiet down. We don't know who else is out here" Ariya said, not wanting to start something with another animal over all the noise Mapenzi was making.

"But you're going too slow" Mapenzi wined.

"No, you're going to fast" Ariya said, continuing to walk at a normal pace.

"No! Come on, the sun is going to set before we even get a chance to play and then we haft to go back. Mommy said we had to" Mapenzi wined, wishing Ariya would hurry up since there were only a few hours of daylight left.

"No, you haft to go back. I'm allowed to stay out after dark" Ariya said with a smirk.

"You're mean" Mapenzi said, walking up and pushing Ariya which had little effect on her since she was prepared for it and older than her.

"I'm trying to be nice and take you to play" Ariya said, wondering why Mapenzi couldn't be thankful.

"No you're not! You're going extra slow so you will only have to play less" Mapenzi said with a glare.

"Mapenzi just st-" "Hey" Simba said, cutting off Ariya before their argument got any more serious. Simba watched as both girls turned around and met him with a smile, before looking back over at each other and glaring slightly.

"Hey" Ariya said, walking up to nuzzle him and watched as Mapenzi cut in front of her and bear her to it. Ariya growled a little when Mapenzi did, and watched as Mapenzi had a smug grin on her face.

"Guys come on. Be nice to each other!" Simba said, gently pushing Mapenzi back to let her know he was serious. "All you guys have done all day is argue with each other. Your mother just risked her life to bring you here to have a better life and all you do to repay her is to give her more trouble. If you can't be nice for your own sake, then be nice for her. This is the first time in a while that she gets to see both of you again and not even one day after you get here you guys are fighting" Simba said, wondering why they couldn't be nice to each other.

"It's her not me!" Mapenzi said, pointing her paw at Ariya and giving her all the blame.

"That's a lie and you know it" Ariya said, slapping her paw out of the hair and heard Mapenzi yelp.

"This is what I mean! All you do is argue. And I agree with her Ariya, it is your fault" Simba said, and watched as Ariya wore a shocked and hurt expression.

"What? How can you say that after all we've been through…" Ariya said in a hurt tone, wondering how Simba was siding against her.

"Because it's true. You're not sticking up for your little sister and trying to encourage her to make new friends. Get her to talk to Nala, Tama, and Kula. Kula loves to do this stuff with people, and maybe if Mapenzi knew that she would be asking Kula and not you" Simba said, wondering what happened to the gentle and caring Ariya he knew when he left the Riverside Pride.

"Why does she always get the special treatment? Do I just not matter anymore?" Ariya asked, wondering how everyone so far was standing up for Mapenzi and not her.

"Because she's your little sister, and as her big sister it's your job to take care of her, especially now" Simba said, and watched as tears started to stream out of Ariyas eyes, confusing him as to what made her breakdown.

"I get that but don't I ever matter! Ever since she was born mom always looked after her! Not me! Every time something bad happens to her it's somehow always my fault! Every time she does something mom always says how proud she is of her, and never does for me. Mom has always favored you over me!" Ariya said sobbing.

Simba stood there with a shocked look on his face, and watched as Mapenzi seemed to be cowering behind his arm, apparently frightened at the idea of her older sister crying.

"You're mother loves you Ariya. Just as much as she loves your sister. She sent you here to protect you Ariya" Simba said, waking up to her and gently nuzzling into her.

"I never said she didn't! She justs loves her more than me! She's always given her more attention and now she wants me to help her in making Mapenzi feel special because my feelings don't matter but hers do!" Ariya said, feeling his nuzzle and burying herself into his mane.

"Ariya you're just upset and over exaggerating things. Your mother would die for you" Simba said, wondering why she thought that her mother didn't love her as much.

"It's true Simba, it's true! I always try and show her all the amazing things I can do but she never has time for me since she's already doing things with her! I try so hard to please her but she never notices!" Ariya said, collapsing into Simbas' arms.

"Ariya stop. I know you think that, but Mapenzi is… different than you. She needs more care compared to you when you were her age and your mother can't do everything at once. I know it may seem like she favors her over you but she's not ignoring you or making Mapenzi your replacement" Simba said, picking Ariya up and letting her support herself again.

Simba felt Ariya continue to cry, and looked over to see that Mapenzi had a scared look on her face, confused as to what was going on.

"Find your mother, now" Simba said, knowing that Alana would be back at Pride Rock by now, and knew that Mapenzi could get back on her own since all she had to do was follow this trail back. Simba watched as Mapenzi quickly nodded, and took off running after their mother, wondering what was wrong with Ariya.

Simba continued to try and calm her down, but nothing seemed to be working. Simba continued to hold on to her and give her comforting affectionate nuzzles to calm her down, hoping that Mapenzi would be back soon.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

After holding onto her for several minutes, and having no success in calming her down, Simba was looking down that trial and finally saw Alana sprinting over to them with a concerned look on her face, and went to looking sick up seeing Ariya.

"What happened?!" Alana asked frantically running up to them and inspecting her daughter to see if she was attacked or something. Alana had been peacefully sleeping when Mapenzi frantically woke her up saying that something had happened to Ariya and she was in serious trouble.

"She got into an argument with Mapenzi and when I went to calm them down, she broke down sobbing saying how you favored Mapenzi over her and always cared more about Mapenzi than her" Simba said, breaking her hug with Ariya and quickly handing her off to her mother where she wrapped her back into a hug with a horrified look on her face.

"Ariya, how could you ever say that?! Sending you away was the hardest thing I've ever done and I've always loved you!" Alana said, wondering how Ariya could possibly believe that.

"It's true! You always stand up for her and punish me! No matter what I did there was always a way I could have been better! I always wanted to make you proud but you were always focusing on her!" Ariya said, burying her face into her mother's neck and continuing to sob.

"Ariya none if that's true. I don't favor her over you she just requires more attention and care than you. You know this. She's jealous of you Ariya. Every time you showed me something to make me proud she always tried to do the same. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't compete with you. She would always cry and tell me how she was a failure and I thought she was weak. I told her I never thought she was weak. I told her you were her older sister and that all those amazing things you could do was to protect her in life and that it didn't matter whether she was weak or not since you would always be there for her because you love her. I don't love her anymore or any less than I love you. I'm forced to show her so much attention because she refuses to believe that I'm proud of her. I never ignored you when you showed me all of those things. I was proud but at the same time I had to comfort your sister and tell her that it was ok that you could do all those things and she couldn't. You're confused Ariya, I understand. But please don't start jumping to conclusions" Alana said. Alana heard as Ariya continued to cry into her neck but it seemed as she was starting to calm down, and Alana was glad for that.

"Ariya, I know it's hard being the older sibling because your parents are going to expect you to set a good example for the younger one who usually looks up to you. I love you Ariya. More than you'll ever know. I never meant to put you in this situation and I never wanted to haft to show Mapenzi the extra attention she needs. But know that you do matter and I would never do any of those things" Alana said, and felt Ariya start to calm down a fast pace, and was happy to see she was able to calm her down.

"I always thought there was something about her that I didn't have and because of that you liked her more" Ariya said, cuddling into her mother for the first time in months.

"Of course not sweetheart" Alana said, licking the top of Ariyas head and felt as she squirmed a little at how it felt uncomfortable which made her laugh. "And even if there was you're my daughter Ariya. I have, and will always love you no matter what" Alana said, nuzzling into her daughter.

"I know" Ariya said, enjoying the warmth she got from her mother's coat.

"I'm sorry that life's been hard for you Ariya, but it's made you strong. If you ever need to talk about it, I'm always here for you and I know Simba is" Alana said, looking up and expecting to see him, but was confused when she didn't. Alana looked around and saw that he was laying down at a tree in the distance, clearly visible but out of hearing range to give them their privacy. Alana was touched by the fact that he thought to give them a special moment to feather even though she didn't care if he heard their conversation or not.

"I've just missed you so much and now we're finally together again but I was hoping for more affection is all" Ariya said with a sigh.

"I know" Alana said with a sigh of her own. "I've missed you too but ya moving has stressed Mapenzi out and she needs me… so do you… and unfortunately I can only do so much at once" Alana said with a frown.

"It's why I need to step up and be the sister I haven't been to Mapenzi" Ariya said, looking up at her mother and watched as she had a proud look on her face.

"Now that's my girl" Alana said, and watched as Ariya chuckled a little.

"I should probably go and make sure Mapenzi knows I'm ok" Ariya said, pulling back but felt her mother pull her in again.

"Don't rush yourself Ariya. I can tell her if you don't want to" Alana said, and watched as Ariya smiled a bit.

"It's ok. I should probably also apologized to her as well and take her out to play as I promised" Ariya said, licking the tops of her paws and rubbing the tear stains off her face. Ariya was attempting to wash the tear stains out of her eyes when she felt her mother start to groom the areas around her face causing her to squinch her face a little and release a small chuckle as it tickled.

"Thank you" Alana said, glad to see that Ariya was willing to help her. Alana felt Ariya nuzzle into her and she returned her nuzzle, before feeling her pull back and watched as she made her way back to Pride Rock.

Alana smiled as she watched her daughter walk away, surprised that she calmed down so quickly and was able to adjust her attitude in a manner of minutes, before looking over at Simba to see that he had fallen asleep by the looks of things, and knew that now was the perfect time to tell him something she should have told him long ago.

"Simba" Alana said upon walking over to him, and watched as he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"How's Ariya" Simba said, standing up but felt Alana push him back down, and wondered what she wanted.

"Good. She's going to talk when Mapenzi and hopefully things will be much better between them. I need to talk to you though" Alana said, and watched as Simba nodded his head. "I just need you to listen until the end… and please forgive me if I start to cry" Alana said, knowing what she had to say might cause her to breakdown. Alana watched as he nodded his head, and laid down next to him and rested his head in her lap and began to brush the fur on his cheek while he looked up at her.

"I can't thank you enough for everything Simba. You've saved my life, the life of my cub, gave me and my family a safer home, emotionally supported my daughters and just so much more. You're just so kind and gentle. You respect and listen to people whether they're and girl or boy, cub or adult, king or commoner. I just can't express my thanks and gratitude to you Simba. I… if there's anything, and I mean anything I can do to repay you, please let me know" Alana said, watching as he looked up at her from between her paws and she softly brushed his fur.

"You're welcome. My past has sorta helped me with all that… but I'm glad I could help and you don't haft to repay me. Your daughters are amazing and I would be willing to pay you just to spend time with them" Simba said, and watched as Alana smile at him.

"I… I don't even know what to say" Alana said, feeling so grateful for what Simba had done that she wasn't even sure what to call the feeling in her chest.

"I just wanted to help. I was never expecting you to pay me back" Simba said, wondering why Alana wanted to pay him back so badly when her joining his pride benefited him so much.

Simba watched as Alana chuckled a little and just shook her head with a smile on her face, probably confused with the logic he used. Simba watched as she looked down at him with a black face, before slowly standing back up and helping him up.

"I should probably go make sure my daughters ok" Alana said, nuzzling into him and felt him return her nuzzle. Simba felt Alana slowly pull away, before turning around and walking back to Pride Rock to make sure nothing else was wrong.

Simba turned his attention back to the Pride Lands and saw something that caught his eye. A single hyena was running across the savanna with haste, and Simba couldn't make out if it was Jason or some other rouge hyena. Simba saw something else move in his vision and focused on an entire clan of hyenas, having to be at least a dozen and a half of not more chasing the hyena, and had a good idea as to who the hyena was and why they were chasing him...

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Jason was currently running through the Pride Lands on a very exposed route in the hopes that either Simba or a member of his pride would see the clan of hyenas behind him and would be able to help him in some way. Luckily Jason had been expecting something like this to happen and had spent most of his free time planning complex routes he could run with ease with slowing the other hyenas down with the terrain.

Upon turning a sharp corner and hearing the sounds of the hyenas struggle to keep up as they all collided into each other, Jason saw Simba running down the trail in front of him and smiled that his plan worked. Jason watched as Simba slowed down upon getting towards him with a curious look of why an entire clan was behind him.

"Long story short they're not happy I killed their leader" Jason said, and watched as Simba rolled his eyes.

"So what's your plan?" Simba asked, wondering how he was going to get rid of all of them.

"You" Jason said, knowing well enough they knew who Red Mane was and what he was capable of doing to hyenas and would back down.

"Great" Simba said, wondering if that many hyenas would still be frightened of him or if they would still attack because of their superior numbers.

"Jason!" A hyena in the front said as they all rounded the corner, and stopped suddenly when they saw who he was. "So, you've been plotting with the enemy this whole time! I should have expected a coward like you would hide behind a brute like him" the hyena said with hatred in his voice.

"Hey, just because I picked the winning team doesn't make me a coward" Jason said in a taunting manner, and watched as the hyena snarled.

"I'll make sure you choke on those words when I kill you!" The hyena said, and getting into a fighting stance. "Attack!" He said, and looked from side to side as everyone stood still with slightly frightened looks on their faces. "Don't just stand there you idiots! I said attack!" He yelled a little louder this time, and Simba watched as they all began to throw themselves at Jason and him in an uncontrolled manner.

Simba braces himself for the small army coming his way, wondering how he wanted to go about him. Upon reaching him, Simba took a step forward and watched as they all started to slow down and leaned back, obviously afraid of him. Knowing he had the upper hand, Simba began to charge at them and watched as they all turned tail and began to retreat.

Simba continued to chase them, before noticing a few hyenas in the corner of his eyes moving towards him to flank him, and quickly immobilized them before continuing to chase the others. Simba watched as their leader stood in front of them blocking them from going forward, barking at them to turn around and fight, and watched as they all started to turn back around and run towards him.

Simba slammed into the wall of hyenas, taking out several of them just with the force of hitting them alone, and started grabbing at incoming paws and snapping them, before swinging them around and throwing them into other hyenas. Simba was distracted catching a hyena that attempted to flank him, when he felt a paw slammed into his forehead and felt it claw across the head.

Simba quickly dropped the hyena who tried to flank him, and glared over at the hyena who clawed him to see that he had a smirk on his face, before dropping it with a look of fear after realizing what he had done. Simba quickly grabbed the hyena and threw him face-first into a rock not far away, and watched as he slowly dragged his face across the rock as he fell to the ground.

Simba turned back around and watched as six hyenas stood in front of him all contemplating whether or not they should strike. "Who's first" Simba said, getting into stance, and watched as one quickly turned around and ran away, leaving only five left. Simba watched as one charged at him full speed, and Simba slammed his paw into the hyenas face, knocking him out instantly and let his body slide past him, all while remaining eye contact with the other four hyenas to intimidate them.

Simba watched as they all turned tail and ran as he expected, and saw the leader of the clan out of the corner of his eye trying to flank him, and felt him bite his paw as Simba tried to block him. Simba felt the hyena latch on with his jaws, and Simba simply twisted his arm just short of breaking, and held it there.

"I can do this all day. How about you?" Simba asked, wondering when the leader would give up from the pain. Simba watched as he looked to be in extreme pain, and finally felt him let go after a short few seconds of pain.

Simba quickly followed up by throwing him at another hyena, knocking them both out as they collided heads. Simba looked around and saw that the remaining few had all fled and one was attempting to crawl away after having had his leg broken by Simba.

Simba walked up to the crawling hyenas and watched as it attempted to go faster in order to escape him, but it was no use. Simba picked the hyena up and held him up against a rock and watch as he looked down at him with a fearful look.

"Can you do me a favor?" Simba asked, and watched as he shook his head. "Could you tell your buddies back at base that today was only a warning, and that if this happens again they better learn to hold their breath for a while since they'll be finishing for your bodies at the bottom of a lake. Can you tell them that?" Simba said with an amused smile. Simba watched as the hyena shook his head again, and let him down. Simba quickly hit the hyena in his broken leg, realigning the bone so it would heal faster and make the journey home easier. Simba watched as he quickly ran away, never once looking back.

"Well that went well" Jason said, dropping the body of a hyena that he had knocked out with a blood joke.

"It was only well if killing their leader was for a good reason" Simba said, hoping Jason had either gotten good information or killed someone would be a pain in the future, otherwise this was all for nothing.

"Course. Get the leader to give me information, then kill him, then beat up his clan, and then the word about the leader giving information doesn't reach scar and he doesn't know what intel we have" Jason said, and watched as Simba had a slightly surprised face as to how thought out Jason's plan was.

"What kind of information?" Simba asked.

"Where I can find the next guy I need to interrogate and kill" Jason said, and watched as Simba wore a not so surprised face this time.

"Well then have fun" Simba said, wanting to wash his cuts out and figure out how he was going to explain all of this to the girls back at Pride Rock.

"Hey, so you're not mad about any of this?" Jason asked, wondering if Simba would be mad that he brought all these Hyenas into his home.

"Nope. Just do me a favor and pick up their bodies" Simba said, not wanting them to wake up in the pride lands. Simba watched as Jason grumbled a bit, before starting to drag a body in the direction from where they came.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba was sitting at the waterhole next to a smaller puddle washing away the blood on his fur, some being his own and some being the blood of the hyenas. Simba continued to wash out the cuts on his arm, some of them he didn't even know he had gotten, and the cut of his forehead that stung a little, turning the little puddle of water a blood red color. Upon finishing, Simba turned around and began to walk back to Pride Rock to explain how he obtained his new wounds and wondered how he was going to explain this in a way that wouldn't make the girls freak out.

Upon entering Pride Rock, Simba saw that there was no one inside which was nice, but still meant he would haft to explain sooner or later since it was nearing sunset and the girls would be back soon.

Simba laid down in his usually spot of Pride Rock to sleep while he waited for the girls to return, wondering what they would think. Normally it wouldn't be too big of a deal and they would all be normal after a few days, but his father had recently died and not a day later he was in a conflict with hyenas which would definitely rattle their nerves a little.

Simba was peacefully resting inside Pride Rock when he heard someone trot up to him and tap him with their muzzle. Simba opened his eyes to see that Nala was standing in front of him either a confused and nervous expression on her face, probably both, and knew that she wanted answers.

"Some hyenas entered the pride lands after hearing the news of my father to try and claim it for themselves, and I stopped them" Simba said, twisting the story so she wouldn't find out about Jason and their plan. Simba felt as Nala licked his forehead a few times before laying down in front of him.

"I… you look terrible" Nala said, observing how he tried to wash the blood off on him but missed multiple spots and his fur was slightly messed up again.

"I know" Simba said, starting to put his head down again but felt Nala quickly place her paw under it and lift it back.

"Oh no you don't" Nala said, and watched as Simba groaned. "Now sit still and this won't take as long" Nala said as she began to groom him and felt as he kept resisting her.

"No" Simba said as he rolled over, and felt Nala stand up and walk over him, before continuing to groom him.

"Yes. You need to set a good example for yourself as king" Nala said, and watched as he rolled his eyes.

"Come on" Simba said as he tried to stand up, and felt Nala climb on top of him in an attempt to stop him.

"Nope" Nala said, continuing to groom him and watched as Tama and Kula walked in the cave to see her grooming him and the new cuts he had, and walked over to assist her.

"As king I hereby order you to stop" Simba said, and felt as Tama and Kula begin to groom him as well.

"Sorry but no" Kula said and she groomed the side of his face, and felt him relax and lay down in submission.

Simba continued to lie down as he felt Nala lay I top of him grooming the top of head and neck, while Kula and Tama laid on both sides of him grooming the sides of his face. Simba continued to feel them do this before feeling a new person start grooming the front of his face and opened his eyes slightly to see that Ariya has now joined in if his torture and saw Mapenzi sitting behind her with a slightly confused look in her face.

"Alrighty" Simba heard Nala say as she climbed off of him and felt Tama and Kula stand up as well.

"Finally" Simba shad, glad that they had finished their pointless grooming session.

"Wait" Ariya said as he began to walk away, and watched as he turned around and looked at her with a confused look. "Look up" Ariya said, and watched as he did.

Simba looked up wondering if there was something new about the ceiling of the cave, and felt her begin to groom the underside of his chin and neck, and sighed loudly as he had fallen for her trick. Simba stood still as she continued to groom away, and watched as Sarafina, Alana, Matimba, and Khanya walked into Pride Rock to see all the girls huddled around him and having a grooming sessions. Simba watched as they all smiled and chuckled as they spotted him, and Simba stood there with a defeated look on his face.

"All done" Ariya said, proud of her work. Ariya watched as Simba began to turn around, before once again stopping him from leaving. Simba looked at her, wondering what could possibly be in need of grinning after there was no way they missed a spot.

Simba watched as she began to lean up to groom his ears as they had apparently missed that part, and Simba quickly shuffled to the side and ran over to where the mothers were talking and huddled in between Sarafina and Matimba, and felt as they both cuddled into him in a motherly manner, and Ariya gave him an annoyed look as he was using mommy base to escape her.

Simba felt Sarafina and Matimba nuzzle into him and also slightly groom him as well, but it was definitely better than having to be stuck with the girls and their seemingly endless amount of grooming.

"Hiding?" Sarafina asked, watching as the girls looked at him with annoyed looks.

"Yea" Simba said, not wanting to deal with their cuddlish ways and finding their attitudes to be funny.

"You know you'll have to face them at some point" Khanya said, knowing that the girls wouldn't let up until they had their way and they could be very patient and persistent when it came to Simba.

"Oh yea, I know" Simba said, wanting to be able to enjoy the fact that he could escape them for the time being.

"So how did you obtain your newest set of cuts" Matimba asked, observing the young king and the various cuts and scrapes on his legs and head.

"Ran into some hyenas causing some trouble" Simba said, technically not lying when he said that. Simba watched as they all gave him some uneasy looks, probably wondering if the same people who kill Mufasa tried to take a stab at Simba today.

"Why kind of trouble?" Sarafina asked, wondering what the hyenas were up to since they never entered the pride lands unless they had a clear motive.

"Invading to take over I guess" Simba said, watching from the corner of his eye as Tama and Nala we're slowly sneaking around the group of mothers while they were distracted to get to him.

"Did you recognize any of them?" Alana asked, wondering if he was at all familiar with these hyenas since there had been several instances in his life where he fought hyenas.

"No, just a random clan that shouldn't be coming back any time soon" Simba said, watching as Tama and Nala continued to sneak around behind him unaware that he knew what they were up to.

"Maybe sending the other males on periodic patrols would benefit the safety of our borders" Matimba suggested, knowing that Simba was a new king and giving him the advice to help him out.

"Good idea" Simba said in a suspicious voice as he was watching Nala and Tama, alerting the mothers that something was up. The mothers quickly followed his line of sight to see that Nala and Tama were attempting to sneak around them and reclaim Simba, and watched as they froze when they made eye contact with them.

"Hey…" Tama said awkwardly after realizing they had been caught.

"Would the Queen and Princess like an audience with their King?" Sarafina said with a hint of humor in her voice, making it known to Nala and Tama that all they had to do was simply ask.

"Oh… uh why yes" Nala said, standing up along with Tama and smirking at Simba who was wearing a defeated expression.

"Good luck" Matimba whispered as her and the other mothers got up leaving Simba defenseless against the two lionesses.

Simba watched as they stared at him with smirks on their faces as he remained lying down, wondering when they were going to move in and continue their various methods of masculine torture. Simba began to slowly stand up, and watched as both moved in immediately to intercept him, and within a second they both had him pinned on the ground and were nuzzling into him.

"Ok fine, you win" Simba said, relaxing and letting them enjoy their moment.

"Follow me" Nala said with a playful smile on her face, and watched as Simba got up and began to follow her. "Sorry but my turn" Nala said, knowing that Tama had already had her alone time with him today. Nala watched as Tama sat there with a bummed out look on her face causing Nala to chuckle a little, glad that she still had full control over him. With that, Simba followed Nala out of the cave as she was practically trotting out in excitement.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba was currently chasing Nala through the pride lands wondering where she was going or what she was planning. Simba continued to chase her at a slow speed for a while as they increased their distance to pride rock, before Nala suddenly turned around and started running towards Simba.

Simba attempted to slow down, but felt Nala gently run into him and pin him in the ground. Simba looked up to see that Nala had a mischievous look on her face and realized exactly what her plan was.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" Simba asked as Nala leaned down and kissed him, before falling down onto him and rolling off to the side, before snuggling into his warm and soft fur.

"I've been waiting all day for this" Nala said with a purr, and felt Simba nuzzle into her causing her heart to nearly melt.

"I can tell" Simba said, rolling over and pinning her under him and beginning to kiss her. Simba felt Nala use an advanced move to flip the Lin on him that she definitely learned from her hunting lessons, and Simba chuckled a little at how determined she was to have her fun.

"Don't forget who's in charge" Nala said with a purr, and felt as Simba wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down.

"Who's that?" Simba said with a smile, licking her cheek before placing a kiss on her muzzle.

"Me" Nala purred, relaxing and laying on top of his soft and warm chest.

"Thought so" Simba said, and felt Nala stand back up and watched as she playfully swatted at the side of his face, and Simba stood up to watch as she threw herself at him, and Simba caught her in a hug.

"I love you" Nala said, falling into Simba and felt him fall over and still protectively hold onto her as they layer on their sides cuddling into each other.

"I love you too" Simba said, and felt Nala purr and she nuzzled into him.

"Do you know why I love doing that?" Nala asked, knowing she had told Simba before but wanted to know if he remembered.

"Because I always catch you and we end up snuggling at the end" Simba said, knowing she had said something along those lines. Simba felt Nala scoot up and place a gentle kiss on his muzzle giving him a smile.

"So you do remember" Nala said, glad to see that he still remembered what she had told him all that time ago. Nala watched as Simba smiled a little and licked the side of her face, and she returned his affectionate gesture.

"Of course" Simba said, wondering how Nala thought he would someone manage to forget one of the things she told him that she loved to do.

"Why do you love me?" Nala asked with a smile so he didn't think she was questioning his heart, but only wanted to know what he saw inside her that drove him to love her so much. Nala watched as he seemed to have a somewhat surprised look on his face clearly having been unprepared for the question she asked.

"Everything, but knowing how you, that's not good enough. You need specifics" Simba started, and watched as Nala chuckled a little as she continued to nuzzle and cuddle into him to remove the other girls' scent. "I love your smile, fur, voice, personality, eyes, and… just everything there is to love about a person" Simba said, and watched as Nala smiled.

"You've changed so much since I first met you" Nala said, changing the subject unexpectedly as always, and watched as Simba wore a slightly confused face which she found to be cute. "The Simba I remember when I first met was so shy and timid that me nearly brushing up against him would cause him to shut down for a whole hour" Nala said, and watched as Simba smiled a little. "He was so confused all the time which basically meant all you could get cuteness, and I had so much fun teaching him everything he wasn't taught" Nala added, and watched as Simba chuckled a little this time.

"Like raising a cub" Simba said with a small chuckle, and watched as Nala smiled a little, before dropping her smile and replacing it with a much more serious look, and Simba knew exactly what was going through her mind.

"Would you ever want to raise a cub? Teach them everything there was to know?" Nala asked, and watched as Simba also wore a more serious look.

"Yea… one day" Simba said with a smile, and watched as Nala had a slightly doubtful look on her face making him wonder why she was acting so strange all of a sudden.

"Simba…" Nala said, sitting up to let him know that she was being serious, and watched as he followed her lead. "I don't feel like you're being honest to me" Nala said with an upset look on her face.

"I would never lie to you" Simba said with a reassuring smile, telling her the truth as he would never do something to hurt her.

"Hiding part of the truth also isn't lying, but it still feels the same" Nala said, and watched as Simba dropped his smile and wore a slightly defeated look, letting Nala know that she was right about him hiding part of the truth. "Please just tell me what's wrong. Every time I bring the discussion up you always just say yes with a fake smile and try to move past it" Nala said, and watched as Simba wore a slightly guilty face. "It doesn't haft to be… with me... but you're the only id ever one with" Nala said, letting him know it didn't haft to be with her but it meant a lot to her and she wanted to know the whole truth.

"I…" Simba sighed, and watched as Nala was wearing a very curious and pleading face. "I want to have a cub with you and I'm not scared of… well making it or being a father… I just… what if what happened to my mother happens to you. It can't be stopped, predicted, or prevented in anyway. I just don't want to haft to raise a cub and live the rest of my life knowing that they would never… truly… meet their mother" Simba said, and watched as Nala released a slightly relieved sigh and had an understanding look on her face.

"Thank you" Nala said, finally glad she knew that Simba wanted to have a cub with her but was just scared that she might suffer the same fate as his mother.

"I just… can't risk losing you…" Simba said with a helpless look on his face and felt Nala lift his head up with her paw.

"I'll… talk to my mother about it tomorrow… but it's the first time something like that had ever happened for as long as anyone can remember. I'm sure it was a very rare occurrence and is very unlikely to happen again" Nala said, knowing that many people had given birth just fine before and something like that never happened.

"I know… I just can't imagine life without you" Simba said, wondering how it would be if Nala was removed from the picture.

"I can't imagine life without you either, but I also can't imagine never having a cub either" Nala said, wishing his life wasn't so bad so he wouldn't be afraid to have a cub, but then again if it wasn't, things would have played out much differently.

"I know" Simba said with a defeated look on his face, and watched as Nala chuckled a little.

"You're so cute" Nala said as she nuzzled into him, changing the topic once again.

"Where have I heard that before" Simba said with a smile, glad she had changed the topic and still wondered what the girls found so cute about him.

"Just thought I'd save you from that topic, but you also do look cute" Nala said as she licked the underside of his chin.

"Yea…" Simba said, staring into Nalas eye and almost being able to see into her soul and could tell that she was doing the same to him. Simba watched as she slowly began to lean up, and followed her lead to be drawn into a deep and passionate kiss and felt her push him over and pin him against the ground.

Simba felt Nala break for air, and watched as she smiled down at him, before falling onto him and rolling off him once again as she had done countless times before.

"Want to head back? It's getting kind of late" Nala said, before licking Simbas seeing that they had missed a spot when they were grooming him.

"Whatever you want" Simba said, not caring what they did so long as Nala was happy.

"We should probably get back. Not only will our aunts wonder where we are I also sorta stole you away when Tama and Kula wanted to have their fun" Nala said with a chuckle, remembering the playfully annoyed look she earned from Tama when she led Simba out of Pride Rock.

"Aren't I yours though?" Simba asked with a playful tone, knowing that Nala was willing to share him but at the end of the day he was her lion and she had power over what he was allowed to do in terms of having fun with other females.

"Of course, but I don't mind sharing" Nala said, kissing Simba as she stood up. Nala watched as Simba followed her lead, and once up she kissed him again and watched as he smiled.

"Why not? Am I too much for just one lioness?" Simba asked teasing her a little, and watched as she walked around him a few times, before gently grabbing his ear with her mouth and began to gently nibble on it with a playful growl.

"Trust me" Nala said, dropping his ear and walking under his head as she forced it up with a nuzzle. "I can handle you" Nala said, "but what I can't handle is a moody Tama and a bored Kula" Nala said with a smile, knowing that Simba was always the cure for those two things.

"Not even if I were to say… kiss them?" Simba asked in a taunting but playful voice, releasing a small purr at the end, and watched as Nala released a playful growl in response.

"That wouldn't make you jealous would it?" Simba asked in a confused but playful manner. "Would walking in on the love of your life sharing a kiss with another girl not upset you?" Simba asked, and watched as she wore a mischievous smile.

"Of course not. Gotta let the other girls have some fun, but if I did walk in, I would only politely steal the kiss from them and let them watch as I showed them who's boss" Nala said, kissing his jaw.

"That's a dangerous game" Simba said, chuckling a little as he nuzzled into Nala, and heard her release a long purr in response as she leaned into him.

"A game I'm good at" Nala said, licking the side of his face and pulling away. "We should get back. It's getting late and it's been a long day" Nala said, feeling a little tired and was ready to make herself comfortable for the night snuggled into his fur.

"Lead the way" Simba said, and watched as Nala pushed him back slightly and took off trotting it the direction of Pride Rock, and Simba quickly caught back up to her and felt her nuzzle into him. Simba returned her playful nuzzle and continued to nuzzle her the whole way back to Pride Rock.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Upon entering the den, Simba saw Tama and Kula in the back of the cave with tired and impatient looks on their faces, and watched as their faces lit up upon seeing him return. Simba looked over to see that Sarafina was also up and upon eye contact, she smiled at him before closing her eyes and letting her head fall, also having been waiting for him to return.

Upon walking up to his sisters, Simba felt Kula place her paws on his mane and gently pulled him down, and Simba collapsed into her lap. Simba felt Kula nuzzle into him and also felt Tama show him some affection as well, and laughed a little at how there were acting.

Simba watched as Tama collapsed into his chest, stealing Nalas spot before she could claim it, and snuggled into his chest. Simba saw Tama giving Nala a smug grin as she did this, probably payback for stealing him earlier in the night when she wanted to spend time with him, and watched as Nala purposely stepped on Tamas tail as she walked over her to lay on top of Simba. Simba felt Tama squirm a bit and release a small growl, and gently hugged her to settle her down.

Simba felt all the girls shift around until finding a position that was comfortable for them, and looked down at Tama who was snuggled into his chest and wearing a smile, causing him to smile as well.

"Mom?" Simba called out, wondering if she would call back or be busy since his father had just joined her in the clouds above.

"Yes?" Sarabi asked, sensing conflict within him, knowing he was seeking some wisdom.

"Can we talk?" Simba asked, glad to hear her familiar voice and know she was still with him.

"We already are" Sarabi asked, wondering what Simba meant by that.

"Face to face?" Simba asked, wanting to be able to see her when he was talking to her since only being able to hear her voice was weird for him at times.

Upon saying this, Simba felt himself start to feel weightless and felt a tired feeling wash over him, and let it carry him away…

(Dreamscape, Simba… Third Person)

Simba opened his eyes and was a little confused to see that he was in the clouds but it appeared as if it were day. Simba looked around for his mother, before realizing she had to do the classic appear behind him as always which apparently had to be some rule for spirit beings.

"You're behind me aren't you" Simba said with a smile, turning around to see his mother sitting before him with a smile.

"As always" Sarabi said, wondering why Simba wanted to talk to her, but didn't want to invade his privacy. "Why did you want to see me?" Sarabi asked, knowing it had been some time since SImba was up hear and she knew that he preferred to talk to her in his head rather than face to face.

"I don't know… I was just confused and was looking for some answers" Simba said, wondering if his mother would be able to help him at all. Simba watched as his mother gave him a doubtful smile, and knew what was coming.

"You know I can't give you the answers to your life" Sarabi said, knowing she had said it before, and watched as Simba nodded his head.

"I know… I've just been thinking a lot in my free time I've had with the girls trapping me inside Pride Rock and I've realized that your last words were so… not you" Simba said, and watched as his mother gave him a confused look. "Uhh… Philosophical? Not like you… uh… I don't know" Simba added, and watched as his mother chuckled a little.

"You're going to stress yourself out if you think to much Simba. In fact, it seems like you already have. I'll admit my last words weren't what you would have expected from a person like me, and I'm sure your aunt will talk with you about it in the morning since she has been wondering the same thing for over a year now, but you need to rest" Sarabi said, and watched as Simba wore a slightly disappointed look.

"But I'm asleep" Simba said, wondering what she meant when she said he should rest since he was already asleep.

"Rest your mind Simba. It's not healthy to live with stress in your life, and right now you need to focus on eliminating that stress from your life" Sarabi said as she walked up to Simba. "I know you're confused, but you're still young and have much to learn. When you're older, this will all make sense. Until then, keep making me proud by being the king I always knew you would become" Sarabi said with a smile, nuzzling into her son and felt him nuzzle her back.

"Goodnight" Simba said.

"Goodnight, my son" Sarabi said, fading away and Simba watched as he began to fall back to his body inside Pride Rock, doing everything in his power not to jolt up when he woke to prevent himself from accidentally waking the girls.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba woke up without a start as he hoped for, and looked down to see that Tama, the lightest sleep among the girls, was still sound asleep in his embrace and let out a relieved sigh. Simba licked Tamas ear and watched as she squirmed a little in her sleep, causing him to smile, before resting his head back down and closing his eyes. Simba felt a bunch of thoughts rush through his mind as always, such as where and who was scar, what would tomorrow's troubles be, how would he talk to Sarafina about his mother in the morning, and what would the girls moods be like tomorrow, but pushed all those thoughts away, doing what his mother meant when she said to live a less stressful life since he wasn't always going to be young forever. With that, Simba felt himself drift off to sleep for the first time in a while with only peaceful thoughts in his head…

Ok, good enough for me. If I start another scene it's only going to be longer until I can binge-watch Disney+ without the Idea of having to have this done by Christmas. So hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and as stated before and probably many of you have noticed, this story was a bit longer than a normal chapter, my present to you. Anyway, time for me to beg. Review, Favorite, and follow or else I'll kill everyone in the story in a horrible way such as scar coming back and starving everyone to death or something like that. (Yes, I'm just writing random shit here so we can hit 17k words, So Don't worry about it). Welp, that's all for this time. Happy holidays and Happy New Year!. Mr_Toast Out!