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...

25. End of The Line

Simba's Pain Chapter 25

By Mr_Toast

Discord: Mr_Toast#1679

Story Discord: bit .ly /SimbasPain

Happy new year! Even though I'll probably end up posting this at the beginning of February since I'm lazy and don't write as much as I should. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and PMs, and hope y'all are enjoying the new year so far. With that all said and done, Enjoy!

Simba slowly woke up upon feeling someone lick the underside of his chin, and groaned slightly as he stretched out as far as he could, but felt that he was still pinned down by who he presumed to be Tama. Simba felt another lick on the underside of his chin and opened his eyes to see that Tama was looking at him with a smile on her face, slightly confusing him for a second until he remembered the events of last night.

"Morning" Tama said, getting her revenge for when he woke her up last night with the same method.

"Morning" Simba said, feeling Nala roll off of him to let him up, and slowly stood up and began stretching out. Simba watched as the other girls did the same, before playfully starting to nuzzle into him as soon as they were done.

"Isn't it a little early to be doing this?" Simba asked with a yawn, knowing the girls were usually tired and lazy when they first woke up and felt Nala give him his good morning kiss.

"It's Never early enough" Nala said with a playful tone, and watched as Simba smiled a little and shook his head at her statement.

"Well I got to get some things done now if I want any free time tonight" Simba said, beginning to turn away but felt the girls pull him back, and realized that he had forgotten to state where he was going and what he was going to do.

"What kind of things" Nala asked in a playfully suspicious voice, and watched as Simba chuckled.

"Talking to your mother. Maintaining peace in the kingdom. And making sure I have time to spend with my sisters and mate tonight" Simba said, licking the side of her face.

"Well, In that case, you better get moving" Nala said, giving him a parting kiss and playfully pushing him in the direction of her mother who was awake and tuning into there conversation.

Simba walked over to Sarafina who was greeting him with a smile and saw that Alana was also awake and greeting him with a smile of her own.

"Hey" Simba said, laying down next to him and instantly felt Sarafina wrap him into a hug and give him some motherly affection.

"Good morning" Alana said with a smile, watching how calm Simba was when Sarafina showed him some affection. "What brings you here?" Alana asked, wondering if Simba was just being friendly and wanted to say 'hi', or if he needed something.

"Just wanted to ask you for a favor" Simba said, sitting up to be eye level with her. Simba felt Sarafina reluctantly let go, and found it amusing that she still enjoyed to treat him like a cub.

"And what would that favor be?" Alana asked, wondering how she could be of service to her king.

"I was wondering if you could take Nala and Tama out today and teach them some things they might want to know since they're now a queen and princess if you have the time for it" Simba asked, and watched as Alana smiled a little.

"Of course" Alana said, surprised that he asked it as if she was still his superior and still seemed to be remaining respectful when he addressed her. Alana was speechless when it came to him sometimes. He was the king, yet he was politely asking her as if she was.

"Thanks" Simba said, glad to have a former queen in his pride as it would be beneficial for Nala and Tama. Simba watched as Alana stood up and walked over to him, nuzzling into him for a while, before pulling away and walking over to Nala and Tama who looked to already be asleep.

"Anything else you need?" Sarafina asked, and watched as Simba rolled over and look at her. Sarafina assumed that he still needed something as he hadn't left yet, and Sarafina was guessing she was right.

"Yes, actually" Simba said in a slightly nervous and unsure voice, which Sarafina picked up on. "I wanted to talk to you about my mother" Simba said, and watched as Sarafina smile faded and was replaced with a much more serious look. "I was just wondering if you thought her last words were… odd…" Simba asked, and watched as she wore a confused expression.

"How so?" Sarafina asked, wondering if he was starting to wonder the same thing she had for over a year now or if it was just another false alarm.

"I don't know… but they just didn't seem like something she would say. Nobody really talks like that. All fancy and confusing" Simba said, unsure of how to put his thoughts into words, and watched as she smiled

"I've picked up on that as well" Sarafina said, and watched as Simba seemed to be a little curious as to what she thought about it. "There's a lot about that day I don't understand, but I'm sure she said it like that for a reason" Sarafina said, and watched as Simba wore a slightly disappointed face.

"Yea…" Simba said, starting to stand up and walk away, still thinking about her last words and why they seemed to make no sense.

"Simba" Sarafina said and watched as he turned around and looked over at her. "Don't go crazy by overthinking things. Focus on what's important right now" Sarafina said, not wanting him to stress himself out over this seeing as he was only just crowned king.

"I'll try not to" Simba said with a smile, and turned around. Simba began walking out of the den to go see if anything was happening in that pridelands that he would need to deal with, and felt someone collide into him with a laugh.

"About time you wake up" Ariya said, seeing as Simba appeared to be confused as to what just happened, causing her to smile a bit more.

"It's still morning" Simba said, knowing he had woken up at the same time he always did, the only difference being that he didn't feel like getting up until Tama gave him some motivation.

"I'm just teasing you" Ariya said, giving him a playful nuzzle before continuing on her way to do whatever she did during the day. Simba watched her retreating figure with a confused and surprised look, still unsure as to what exactly just happened, before continuing to walk out towards the pride lands.

Simba placed his first paw onto the ground of the pride lands and stopped. Simba looked up and began to scan the savannah with a slightly deprived feeling in his gut. Simba knew that he was king now, but wasn't even sure what that meant. The one thing he never learned from his father was where to start when he became king. He always expected his father would have been around when that day came.

Simba continued to walk forward, thinking about things he could do that other kings would do so he at least would look proactive in his first few days. Simba walked toward the southern border, having the idea that he would just walk around for a while and something was bound to come up eventually.

After walking for a while, and noticing some other animals giving him curious looks, probably because they had learned about the king's death and were wondering if he was the new king. Simba walked by them without returning eye contact and still felt it was awkward having people stare at him.

Upon reaching the southern border, Simba began to walk along the border towards the westernmost point of his territory, looking out past the border to see if anything was coming towards his territory that he would need to deal with.

Simba continued walking until he reached the western border, continuing his circle towards the North, then the East, and then finally back to southern border having spotted nothing worth investigating. After a little over an hour since he first started, Simba found himself at the spot where he had started and looked around trying to think of what to do. Simba expected that he would have seen something that would have given him something to do for a couple of hours, yet everything was quiet, and he began to head back towards the center of the pride lands.

"Ey!" Someone said abruptly, and Simba looked around to see who said that and was left confused when he didn't see anyone. It sounded like it came from all around him, almost like it came from…

Simba felt something hit him in the top of the head from above and looked up to see Rafiki standing in a tree above him. Simba looked up at him wondering what he was doing, and went to ask before watching Rafiki through another nut as him, and quickly ducked.

"What are you doing?" Simba asked, wondering why Rafiki through the second one.

"Wat are you doin'?" Rafiki said as he jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground.

"Patrolling…" Simba asked, wondering what Rafiki was up to.

"Patrolling you say?" Rafiki said, reaching out and pulling a hair from his mane, and watched as he ran his paw over the area with a confused look on his face.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Simba asked, unable to piece anything of this together.

"Wierd? Wat is weird?" Rafiki asked, and watched as Simba just stared at him for a second.

"This" Simba asked, wondering where he was going with all of this and why he stopped him.

"How do you know if dis is weird huh? Wat if everybody else is weird and I am normal?" Rafiki asked, and watched as Simba stared at him in confusion. "Exactly!" Rafiki said chuckling. "Bye" Rafiki said, holding on to Simba's hair as he turned around and started to run towards his tree, and Simba followed him out of curiosity.

Simba watched as Rafiki quickly jumped up into his tree, and Simba followed him to see that he was sitting in front of a turtles shell, twisting his red hair from his mane with a light brown hair, making him wonder who the other hair belonged to and what he was going to do next. Upon finishing, Simba watched as he tossed it into the shell, along with was looked like to be sand, grass, the weird fruit thing he always seemed to have an endless supply of, and picked up the shell and began to mix up everything inside, making Simba wonder the point to what he was doing.

Simba watched as Rafiki placed it back on the ground, and slowly peered over the edge of the shell into the center as if he was cautious about what was inside. Simba saw Rafiki wear an intrigued face, peering closer into the shell, before looking over at him from the corner of his eyes. Simba wondered why Rafiki was now looking at him after looking inside the shell and started to think that he probably did one of those ritual things he did that nobody understood or could explain.

"Uh... What's going on?" Simba asked, wondering what Rafiki had made in his shell and why he was looking at him now.

"Shh!" Rafiki said, surprising Simba, continuing to study what was inside his shell. Simba started to wonder why Rafiki was being so secretive about what was inside and began to make his way over to take a look himself, and watched as Rafiki swiped his hand across the shell quickly, distorting and ruining whatever was in his shell.

"What was inside?" Simba asked, wondering why Rafiki didn't want him to see.

"Nothing" Rafiki said with a smile, and Simba looked at him in confusion.

"Why did you bring me up here then?" Simba asked, wondering why Rafiki brought him up here only to ruin whatever was inside the shell before he even got the chance to see.

"I didn't make you come here. You did dat yourself" Rafiki said, and watched as Simba thought about it for a second, before realizing that he was right and only ended up wasting his own time in doing so.

"Well bye" Simba said, wanting to get out of the tree before things got any more confusing than they already were. Rafiki watched as Simba exited the tree with a thoughtful look on his face, wondering if what his bowl told him was true, but only time would tell that.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Alana, Nala, and Tama were all walking down a path that led to a small stream not too far away from Pride Rock, with Nala and Tama wondering why Alana was taking them to this small stream as all they were told from her was that Simba wanted her to teach them some things.

Upon reaching the stream, Alana stepped over it but stopped the two younger lionesses from crossing. "I'm sure you're wondering why I dragged you out here and interrupted your beauty sleep" Alana said and watched as Nala and Tama agreed with her.

"King Simba has requested I train you in queenship" Alana said and watched as they both had looks of boredom written all over their faces. "It isn't that bad" Alana said with a chuckle, amused by the girl's reaction.

"I'm only a princess, and not by birth, so can I be excused?" Tama asked, wondering why she had to learn this when Nala was going to be the queen.

"A successor, if one was ever needed, must be educated in the works of a kingdom Tama. So No" Alana said and watched as she sighed. "Imagine this river was a kingdom" Alana said, motioning the girl's attention to the small river before them. "The river flows peacefully when itself and the environment around it work in harmony. But if something unexpected happens," Alana said, placing her paw in the water, causing the water to pour over the sides of the wall and flood the surrounding environment, "Everything is effected" Alana pointing out how the river stopping also affected what's around it, and if what's around it changed, the river would aswell. "This river is much like this Kingdom. Quiet and peaceful. But that doesn't mean hardship won't find it's way here since we aren't the only pride in the world. What's around us can also affect us" Alana said, pushing a small pile of dirt in the river and creating a small dam, halting the river. "While a king maintains this peace and defends the pride from such threats, a queen must also play her part in this too" Alana said, watching as the girls seemed to be confused. "While the king is out making sure our borders are safe and keep any trouble makers away, a queen should focus on the life inside the territory. As the leader of the hunting party, it is her job to make sure that we aren't over hunting and driving herds away, and that populations aren't overgrowing and taking up to much space, allowing for peace within the kingdom" Alana said, and watched as they seemed to be a little surprised by what she had said, probably not realizing the complexity of being a queen.

"So... we're supposed to keep peace on the inside, and Simba... is supposed to keep peace on the outside?" Nala asked, wondering if she was understanding Alana correctly.

"Well... yes, but it's everyone's job to maintain peace. You don't have to be a king or queen to do that, but it's the queen's responsibility to observe and act when the peace is threatened by something. The king will also do this, but he must also constantly check the area beyond our borders, and may not always pick up whats going on inside them" Alana said, hoping they would understand it better.

"Oh..." Nala said, not realizing what she meant the first time.

"So what do I do then?" Tama asked, wondering what a princess did.

"You assist in times that the queen is unable to perform her duties" Alana said, and watched as Tama nodded her head.

"Well, it's up to you to decide how you want to go about this, as no two rulers are ever the same, so I'll leave it to you to decide how you will take on being queen, but if you ever need help, I'm glad to assist" Alana said, stepping over the river and walking towards where she expected Simba to be, leaving Tama and Nala behind.

"Being queen sure does sound interesting" Nala said, and watched as Tama nodded a bit.

"I'm sure you can handle it" Tama said, and watched as Nala smiled. With that, the two girls made their way back to Pride Rock wondering when they would actually have to perform their first queenly duties.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba was currently walking down a trail that he had been on for a short while wondering what Rafiki had made inside the shell and why he didn't want him to see it. Upon exiting the trail through the tall grass, Simba entered his hideout and walked over to the small pond and looked down at his reflection.

Simba had stared in this pool countless times during his life, but not that often recently. The younger version he was used to seeing was replaced by an older version that was much more mature and had a mostly grown in mane surrounding its neck. Simba chuckled a little at how much he had changed in the last few months and how he would have been unrecognizable had he been compared to himself a year ago.

Simba heard someone approaching him from behind, and look over to see the grass line shifting as someone walked through it. Simba watched as Alana emerged from the tall grass and smiled at him upon eye contact, and Simba returned her smile.

"Hey" Simba said, before looking back down at his reflection in the pond. Simba felt Alana nuzzle into the side of his mane, before sitting down next to his and resting her head into the side of his mane, looking down at his reflection aswell.

"You seem troubled" Alana said, and watched as Simba had a slightly distant look in his eyes. "This whole thing isn't too much for you is it?" Alana asked, and watched as Simba focussed again.

"No, not at all, I'm just a little tired" Simba said, and watched as Alana gave him an unsure look, and realized that she wasn't going to be as easy to play off as his sisters were.

"You seemed to have slept fine. It seems as if there's something else that's bothering you. Something on your mind that's distracting you" Alana said, knowing that feeling and knowing when someone else was feeling it.

"I uhh..." Simba said, trying to think of something quick, and then found something perfect. "I'm just not used to not having my father around. I guess I still kind of expect to see him when I walk in Pride Rock, but he's not for obvious reason... and it might take a few days before I get that out of my head" Simba said and felt Alana nuzzle into him a little.

"I'm sorry" Alana said, knowing that feeling of execting someone to be there since they had been there your whole life, and then one day they'd never be there again.

"It's fine. I'm just not sure what I should be doing right now" Simba said, and watched as Alana looked up at him with a playfully doubtful look on her face.

"You went on patrol?" Alana asked with a smile, and watched as he nodded. "No issues to attend to" Alana asked, and watched as he nodded again. "Not even the boring ones you don't want to deal with?" Alana asked, and watched as he chuckled a little this time, and nodded his head again. "Well then, the day is yours my king" Alana said and watched as his smile dropped, and wondered what was wrong.

"Simba?" Alana asked, wondering if something she had said caused his sudden change in mood.

"I'm ok... I'm just not used to being called king" Simba said, and watched as Alana smiled a bit.

"Well, whether you realize it or not, you're the king. You have all the power, no longer need permission, and can do whatever you want. That's just part of being king" Alana said, and heard Simba sigh.

"Yea... I know..." Simba said, and felt Alana grab hold on his arm, and watched as she brought it over to herself. Simba watched as Alana ran her paw over to muscle and veins in his arms as others had done in the past, before gently setting it back on the ground.

"You're afraid of change, aren't you?" Alana asked, and watched as Simba laughed a bit.

"Not afraid, but sometimes I wish it didn't happen" Simba said and watched as Alana gave a soft chuckle.

"If that's so, then would you still obey an order from Sarafina or I?" Alana asked, and watched as Simba smiled.

"Of course" Simba said and watched as she smiled.

"I know we only met a short while ago, but in that time you've always had a way of amazing me" Alana said.

"I guess the funny thing is that I never try" Simba said, finding it a little funny that he was always able to amaze people without even trying to or sometimes even wanting to.

"That's because it's who you are" Alana said, earning a curious look from Simba. "Being amazing is who you are, and you never try and be something you're not" Alana said, and noticed he still had a slightly confused face, but he was starting to understand her.

"Uh..." Simba started, unsure of how to ask the question he wanted to, and in doing so saw Alana become curious as to what he wanted to say, giving him a little confidence to ask. "When you first saw me inside your den, what was your first impression of me?" Simba asked, and watched as Alana seemed to get a little more serious.

"Well... many things. Some good and some bad" Alana said, looking back over at him to see he was curious to know more. "Relieved in a sense, but also worried" Ariya said, watching as he continued with the same look as before. "You seemed strong, trustworthy, and brave, but also a possibility of being like other males" Alana said, watching as he had a glint of guilt on his face, making her wonder why he always felt guilty when she mentioned other males.

"Didn't you see me once when I was very young?" Simba asked, remembering how she had told him she attended Sarabi's death ceremony.

"Yes, but you were so small then, and when I saw you again I half expected to be looking at the cub I saw a year ago" Alana said as she gave him a gentle and brief nuzzle. "But" Alana said and watched as Simba looked over at her. "My worries were short-lived. As we were going to the first trial you confronted those males. After having only known me for several minutes, you were willing to risk your life to defend me, and that meant a lot to me. And then with my daughter. You risked your life, and it made me trust you" Alana said, and watched as Simba had a small smile on his face.

"Yea" Simba said, not sure what to say back to her, and saw she was waiting for him to say something back and remained silent.

"What makes you protect others like that?" Alana asked, wondering what his thought process was when someone else was in danger.

"I don't know..." Simba said, and watched as she had a doubtful look on her face, making Simba think a little harder. "I... I guess I just have too. It's just... well I can't do nothing. Seeing as everyone else is scared, someone hast to do something, and every time that someone has been me" Simba said, watching as Alana smiled a bit.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You amaze me" Alana said with a chuckle, and watched as he smiled.

"Thanks" Simba said, and felt Alana nuzzle into him.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day now that you're kingly duties are done" Alana said, changing the subject to give Simba a break and to not stress him out.

"Being lazy I guess. Not much to do" Simba replied, and watched as she chuckled a bit.

"Be lazy?" Alana said with a smile, finding it funny that he still acted like a small child at times despite being rather mature for his age.

"Sleep and walk around I guess" Simba said, having no idea as to what he was going to do for the rest of the day. "What were you going to do?" Simba asked, wondering what she, and the other adults did during the day since he never really saw them that often until night time.

"Scout with the other lionesses" Alana said and watched as Simba wore a face that told her he wasn't going to be exactly interested in doing that and smiled upon seeing his reaction.

"Ah" Simba said, a little unsure what to say back. "So, what exactly do you scout for" Simba asked, and watched as Alana began to start talking when he heard someone approaching them and looked over at the source of the sound, alerting her something was up.

Alana looked over and saw that someone was coming towards them, and watched as Mapenzi trotted out of the tall grass with a grin on her face and began to make her way over to her. Alana let a smile come to her face upon seeing her daughter, relieved that it wasn't anything serious and probably just want to say hello.

"Mommy" Mapenzi said as she ran up and nuzzled her mother, and felt her return the gesture.

"Sweetheart, what brings you here?" Alana said, smiling down at her daughter and watched as she playfully grabbed onto her leg and began to push and pull it around, and Alana realized that she wanted to play.

"I want to play" Mapenzi said with a smile, and watched as Alana chuckled a bit.

"Where's Ariya?" Alana asked, wondering if she had tried to play with Ariya and she didn't want to like last time.

"I've played with her all morning and I want to play with someone else" Mapenzi said, trying to trip Alana by knocking her leg out, but wasn't nearly strong enough.

"Maybe Tama or Kula would be willing to play with you" Alana said, knowing that it would also be good for her to become friends with them as it would be useful when they all got older, and watched as Mapenzi's smile faded slowly.

"Tama scares me" Mapenzi said with a slight frown and felt her mother nuzzle into her a little to cheer her up.

"Why's that?" Alana asked. Alana knew that Tama could be aggressive and angry at times, but she also knew that Tama wouldn't be mean to a cub, and if she was, she was going to put a stop to it herself.

"She looks scary. All muscular and serious" Mapenzi said, wondering why Tama appeared to be different compared to her sisters.

"That doesn't make her scary or a bad person. She's nice. Why don't you go and talk to her" Alana said with a cheerful smile to further motivate Mapenzi, knowing that Tama shouldn't have any reason to dislike Mapenzi.

"Ok" Mapenzi said with a slightly unsure look on her face, but wanted to at least try to satisfy her mother.

"I'm so proud of you" Alana said, cuddling into her daughter and feeling her snuggle into her in return.

"Thanks, mommy" Mapenzi said, breaking the cuddle and trotting off to Pride Rock to try and befriend Tama and hopefully get her to play.

Alana smiled as she watched Mapenzi disappear into the tall grass, and looked over to see that Simba was standing in the same spot as before with a blank look on her face, probably wondering what all that was about.

"She's shy" Alana said and watched as Simba looked over at her with an understanding look on his face. "I'm trying to get her to be more confident, especially since this is her new home, it's just a little hard that's all" Alana said, and watched as Simba nodded his head.

"It's alright. It will just take her some time" Simba said, and felt Alana gently nuzzle into him.

"Thank you" Alana said, grateful that he was understanding and patient when it came to Mapenzi.

"Uh-" Simba started to say, but quickly cut it off and hoped she wouldn't be curious, and looked over to see a curious look on her face, telling him that trying to act like he didn't do that wasn't an option.

"Yes?" Alana asked, wondering what he wanted to ask, and probably knew that it was something very personal and wasn't trying to be rude. At this point, Alana didn't care what he asked from or about her. He had done so much for her in the past week that she'd never be able to repay him in an entire lifetime.

"Nothing" Simba said, trying to drop the subject, and felt her gently place her paw on top of his, and knew she wasn't going to back down.

"Simba, please, it's the least I can do" Alana said, wanting him to know that she wasn't going to be mad or offended by anything he asked of her. Alana watched Simba sighed, before looking over at her and nodding his head.

"So uh... Mapenzi still suckles..." Simba started, and watched as Alana nodded her head. "But... well... how often? I've never seen her do it before" Simba said, wondering why she still needed milk at her age at all.

"Depends. I'm sure tonight she will want more than normal since she's probably going to be playing a lot, but some days when she relaxes a lot, only a little. Mainly she does it at night after you have all gone to bed, partly why she wakes up a little later than the rest of you, or sometimes if she's fatigued she'll find me during the day, but she's embarrassed about it and doesn't want people to find out" Alana said and watched as Simba slowly nodded his head.

"I just wish I knew why" Simba said, trying to think of why someone her age still needed milk but there was no logical explanation.

"Simba, I'm grateful for your concern, but don't stress yourself out over this. She's healthy, and that's all that matters" Alana said, and watched as he still had a hopeless look on his face.

"I know" Simba said, wishing he could know more about this whole topic but it didn't concern him and he just didn't want to be rude.

"Simba, Please, If you have questions, ask them" Alana said, being able to tell that he was curious and still wanted to know more.

"I know..." Simba said, trying to build the confidence to be able to just ask personal questions. "What happens if she doesn't get to suckle?" Simba asked, wondering if Alana suddenly stopped producing milk if it would be severe or not.

"She tired, weak, sick, that sorta stuff" Alana said, and watched as Simba sighed a little, with that same hopeless look at before. "Simba" Alana said, walking over to him and nuzzling into him. "I'm serious. Please don't worry about it. I'm beyond grateful for your concern but this isn't the end of the world. Don't stress yourself out" Alana said, licking the side of his face and felt him lean into her a little, and continued to give him some comforting gestures.

"Alright" Simba said, and watched as Alana smiled. "But can you do me a favor?" Simba asked, and watched as she nodded her head. "Mind letting me know if she gets better or worse?" Simba asked, and felt her lick the side of his face

"Of course" Alana said with a smile. Alana had no idea how someone could be as selfless as Simba, and was grateful to whatever king that guided him into her life.

"Thanks" Simba said, feeling as she nuzzled into him and licked the top of his head as Sarafina always did. "I'm going to make sure Tama is playing nice" Simba said, not wanting Mapenzi to upset Tama and then be further scared by her.

"I'm going to find your aunts and go scouting with them. We'll be in the northern territory today. You're welcome to join us if you finish early" Alana said, and watched as he smiled at her.

"I'll keep that in mind" Simba said and watched as she smiled in returned. Simba turned around and began to make his way back to Pride Rock, wondering how in only a few short days he had come to know a person like Alana and develope the relationship he had with her.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba walked up the hill that led to Pride Rock, and upon entering the den, Simba saw Nala, Tama, Kula, Ariya, and Mapenzi inside. Nala and Ariya were sleeping in their own private corner of the den away from the others, and Tama, Kula, and Mapenzi were in their normal spot looking to be playing some game.

Simba walked over to see that Kula seemed to be engaged in whatever Mapenzi was doing, which involved trying to keep a rock away from Kula by moving it with her paws, and Tama was simply watching them with a stoic look.

"Hey" Simba said as he walked over to the three of them, wondering what game they were playing and if Mapenzi was having any luck with making new friends.

"Hey" Tama said, glad that Simba was back, and even more so when he laid down next to her and gave her a small nuzzle.

"What game are you playing" Simba said, watching as Mapenzi put her paws over the rock as Kula attempted to do the same.

"Keep away" Kula said, smiling a little at how competitive Mapenzi was being. "I try to get the rock, while Mapenzi tries and keeps it away from me" Kula said, attempting to grab the rock, but Mapenzi swiped it to the side and Kula's paw hit the ground.

Simba could tell that Kula wasn't trying her best and could easily win if she tried, but didn't want to spoil Mapenzi's fun. Simba continued to watch Kula and Mapenzi play keep away when he felt Tama rest her head into his neck and looked over to see that she was looking up at him, and gave her a slight smile.

"Hey" Simba said in a quiet voice and felt her gently nuzzle into him. "You ok?" Simba asked, wondering if she was asking for some comfort, or just wanted to snuggle. Simba felt her nod and smiled a little at her gesture.

Simba watched out of the corner of his eye as Mapenzi looked over, and was probably surprised to see Tama snuggling since it was enough to distract her to where Kula finally landed her paw on the rock, drawing Mapenzi back to the game to see that she had lost.

Simba watched as Kula chuckled a little, and Mapenzi playfull swatted her paw at her head in return, before making her way over to him. Simba watched as she curiously approached him in a slightly lowered position, before suddenly jumping on top of him, and accidentally knocking into Tama as well, breaking the two of them apart.

Simba felt Mapenzi follow up by jumping back on him, laying on top of him, and playfully started chewing on his ear while releasing a slight growl. Simba let her have her fun, and looked over to see that Tama had a not so thrilled look on her face from where she interrupted the snuggle.

Simba slowly stood back up and felt her continue to try and wrestle with him, but wanted to have a small talk with Tama first, and gently pushed Mapenzi off of him, and saw her smiling upon doing this.

"You're getting strong" Simba said, and watched as she laughed a bit, before turning around and doing the same to Kula, and Simba watched them for a moment. "Hey" Simba said, gently tapping Tama, and motioned for her to follow him, and watched as she stood up.

Simba led Tama out of Pride Rock and up to the very top, which seemed to be the newest, and closest place to go to when they needed a private moment. Simba turned around and watched as Tama continued to walk towards him, and knew exactly what she was going to do.

Simba felt Tama collide into him, and upon doing this, Simba gently hugged her. Simba looked down at her to see she had a playful smile on her face unlike before and watched as she leaned up and kissed him.

"I wanted to talk to you about Mapenzi" Simba said and felt Tama pushed him over and pin him under her, before laying down on top of him and placing another kiss on his muzzle.

"Go ahead" Tama said as she relaxed, and snuggled into his fur. Simba was a little surprised that she was rather stoic a few moments ago, but as soon as they were alone, she got all playful and romantic.

"She's rather shy, and I was wondering if you could be extra nice for her so she can trust you easier" Simba said, and watched as Tama's romantic mood seemed to be killed upon this.

"What do you mean?" Tama asked, wondering why Mapenzi didn't trust her.

"You know... She's new around here and hasn't gotten to know you yet, and I don't want her to get the wrong idea about you" Simba said, knowing that Tama could be a bit short-tempered at times and Mapenzi's first impressions weren't the best so far, and he wanted to try and fix it before it got any worse.

"So you're basically saying don't act like a bitch" Tama said, knowing she acted like one at times, and Simba was afraid she was going to cause Mapenzi to be afraid of her.

"No, be yourself, Just know that Mapenzi is a bit shy around new people and you might have to soften up a bit for her for the next couple of days. I'm not trying to say that you act like a... well you know" Simba said and watched Tama release a heavy sigh.

"Alright" Tama said, watching as Simba smiled, which made her smile a little as well.

"Thanks" Simba said, glad that Tama would be willing to soften up since that was something she hated to have to do around just about anyone but him. Simba began to turn around to go and find his aunts as they were going to be scouting any time now and was curious to see what they would be scouting, when he felt Tama grab hold on his paw and pull it towards her.

"What time are you going to be back?" Tama asked, wanting to know if he was going to be gone for only a short while or for most of the day.

"No idea" Simba said, and watched as Tama had a slight look of disappointment on her face, and knew he had to cheer her up. "But I'll be back before you go to bed, and when I am, we'll have the rest of the night to do whatever we want" Simba said, licking her ear with a smile, and felt her release a slight purr as she pulled away.

"I'll be looking forward to it" Tama said as she gave him a quick playful kiss, before playfull pushing him back so he could go out and do whatever he had planned to do.

Simba smiled a bit when she did this, before turning around and making his way down to go find his aunts.

(TLKTLKTLKTLKTLK)

Simba began walking in the general direction that he had seen Alana walking in as he left his hideout, hoping that she was taking a direct route, or else he was going to have trouble finding them. Simba was able to make out her paw prints in the dirt and began to follow them.

Simba continued to follow them, until he found himself in a large clearing, and could make out four lionesses in the distance. As Simba began to approach them, he noticed that they saw him, and began to make their way towards him with some haste, making him wonder what the hurry was.

"Everything ok?" Sarafina asked, surprised that Simba had sought her out since it was the middle of the day, and he always waited until either morning or night if it wasn't too important.

"Yea, I just wanted to see what scouting was all about" Simba said, and watched as they seemed to wear slightly happy looks.

"You're welcome to tag along if you wish" Sarafina said with a smile, glad to see that Simba was taking interest in the kingdom, even the boring parts.

Simba began to follow his aunts as they all made their way back towards where they had been before, and kept going. Simba wondered where and what they would be scouting, as Alana wasn't able to tell him due to Mapenzi stopping by.

Simba observed that they were taking note of herd positions, the number of animals in each multitude, and the direction they were heading in. Simba then realized that they were scouting over the hunting grounds and were probably making plans for upcoming hunts.

The group continued on the planned path, keeping a distance from the herds so they didn't disturb or scare them away, continuing to take notes of what was going on with each of them. Simba was continuing to watch his aunts continuing to take in information when he noticed the grass to his left was being separated by something moving inside of it and wondered what it was.

Out of nowhere, a large buffalo, obviously in a panic of some sort, emerged from the grass and began charging at the group. Simba noticed that Matimba was directly in its path and the buffalo was obviously making no attempt to slow down or change its path, and Simba knew that something that big and going that fast would kill her upon impact.

Acting on instinct, Simba charged at Matimba with only one purpose. Upon reaching her, Simba collided with her, slamming her out of the way, but not being so lucky himself. Simba felt the Buffalo slam into the side of him, sending him flying across the ground and into the side of a small tree, breaking several ribs in the process, and kept on running away, making him wondering who, or what it was running from.

Simba slowly got up, groaning as his ribs pulsated in pain from the impact, looking up to see that Matimba was fine and his aunts were sprinting over to him, making him realize how far he had been thrown from the impact.

Simba watched as his aunts all frantically ran up to him with horrified looks on their face, and immediately began to coddle and inspect him upon reaching him. Knowing that nothing would stop them from doing this, Simba didn't even try and protest against them and knew it was best to just let them make sure he was ok.

"Simba what were you thinking?!" Matimba asked, wondering what had caused him to perform such a suicidal rescue mission. Matimba wasn't even sure what was going through his head when he decided to take the impact for her. He was the last of his bloodline, and if something were to happen to him, the whole pride could come apart since he didn't have an heir.

"I don't know" Simba said, standing up and grunting a little when he sighed, forgetting how broken ribs sucked.

"Hold still" Sarafina said, not wanting him to make anything worse by moving since his ribs were located near his lungs and his father had died under those circumstances.

"I'm fine... or I'll be fine. I broke a few ribs. I'll go see Rafiki but... calm down. It'll be ok" Simba asked, wondering how he was the one who nearly died and was now having to tell everybody else to calm down and stop worrying.

"We don't know that yet" Khanya said, wanting to make sure that Simba had only broken a few ribs and hadn't sustained a much more serious wound.

"Come on, we should get you to Rafiki" Alana said, knowing that Rafiki would be able to help him in some way.

Without arguing, Simba began to make his way to Rafiki's with the 'help' of his aunts. Simba noticed as he walked that they were all creating a protective circle around him. Sarafina was on his right, Alana on his left, Matimba in front, and Khanya behind him. Simba wondered why they were all so worried about him when all he had was a couple of broken ribs. If he had sustained a much more serious would such as a punctured lung, severed vessel, or something else that would cause him trouble, he would have known by now since he would most likely be dead or very close.

Upon entering Rafiki's tree, Simba saw him meditating in the same spot as always and opened his eyes once he entered.

"Yes?" Rafiki asked, wondering what Simba and his aunts needed.

"Simba's hurt. He's broken several ribs" Sarafina said as she approached the old mandril, and watched as he had a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Again!?" Rafiki said as he jumped down and walked up to Simba. Upon saying this, Simba got four uncomfortable looks from his aunts and knew he was in for it now.

"What does he mean, Again?" Sarafina asked, wondering if it meant what she thought it meant because if it did, she was going to have to have a serious talk with him.

"Dis is da second time dis month!" Rafiki said, taking one look and being able to tell that his ribs were indeed broken. Upon saying this, Rafiki was able to tell that Sarafina was livid, and Simba hadn't told her about the accident that happened three weeks ago.

"What... What do you mean the... What does he mean the second time this month?!" Sarafina asked in an angered tone, unable to turn her thoughts into words, wondering if Simba had hurt himself and decided to hide it from her. Whether he thought it was important or not, he was the last of his bloodline and nothing could happen to him for the security of the pride.

"I cracked a rib a couple of weeks ago, but it was nothing" Simba said, and watched as she sighed in anger.

"So you thought it would be a good idea to lie?" Sarafina asked, wondering what was going through Simba's head at that time and if he had been hiding other injuries from her that she ought to know about.

"I didn't think it was worth telling anyone since it was just one cracked rib" Simba said, still believing that the decision he had made was the right one as he didn't want to cause her, and especially his sister's unnecessary stress.

"And look where that has gotten us! Would it have been worth it if you knew this would happen?" Sarafina asked, wondering why he didn't think of simply telling her.

"No" Simba said and heard her huff in annoyance.

"I'll be waiting for you outside" Sarafina said, wanting him to know that she wasn't done with him just yet and that she wanted to have a serious talk. Sarafina watched as he nodded his head, before turning around and walking out of the tree, with the other adults in tow, and waited at the base of the tree for Simba while the other's went back to Pride Rock, knowing that she would want to speak to him alone since she was the closest thing he had to a mother.

After waiting for a while in frustration, and only being able to focus on the anger she was currently feeling, Sarafina heard Simba make his way down the turn, and turned around to meet his gaze. Sarafina observed that Rafiki hadn't done anything to Simba while he was up there, reassuring her that it wasn't bad and only a few minor breaks.

"Well?" Sarafina said as he walked up to her.

"Seven cracked ribs, and a sprained wrist. No breaks" Simba said, glad that he hadn't broken anything since ribs were the worst and always felt like they took forever to heal.

"I was more talking about the reason for you lying" Sarafina said, wanting to get that out of the way first and then she would ask him about his injuries, but he had missed her meaning.

"Oh... Uh... I don't know" Simba said, knowing that his excuse was going to make him look terrible and cause her to get even more frustrated.

"Have you lied about anything else? Huh?" Sarafina asked, and watched as he slouched over a little and shook his head. "No fights, other minor breaks, torn muscles, anything?" Sarafina said, knowing that someone like Simba got in enough trouble that any of that could have easily happened to him in the past month.

"No" Simba said, feeling guilty that he had lied to her.

"I... I've never been more disappointed in my life Simba. I trusted you to be able to do the right things Simba" Sarafina said and could tell her words had a greater impact on him by the way he had the gut-wrenching guilt-ridden look on his face.

"You're dismissed, Sarafina" Simba said in a quiet tone, shocking her.

Sarafina had never heard Simba call her by her real name. He always called her auntie. And what shocked her more was that he had ordered her home. Sarafina never thought about it, but Simba had total authority over her now, but she never thought that he would actually use it. He had been so submissive to her his entire life that the idea of him ordering her home seemed ridiculous.

"What?" Sarafina asked in a shocked voice, making sure that she held no anger or aggression in her voice so he didn't think that she was questioning his authority or refusing his order.

"I don't want to talk about this..." Simba said with a sigh, letting her know that he wasn't mad at her, but couldn't stomach the pain in his gut when she told him how disappointed he was in her.

"Simba" Sarafina said, walking up to him and gently resting a paw on his cheek, and watched as he looked up at her with a guilty look in his eyes, causing her to hate herself for saying what she had said. "If you wish for me to leave, then I will, but I can't leave letting you think I hate you. Punish me if you want, but until you know my true feelings, I refuse" Sarafina said, knowing that what she had said was worth exile at best, and death at worst, but he was a son to her, and she would be willing to die for him just as she would for Nala or Mheetu.

"I'm sorry" Simba said, regretting the fact that he had tried to order Sarafina to leave.

Sarafina was surprised that he apologized for doing something that all kings did. Sarafina knew that he respected her, but didn't think that his respect for her would cause conflict for him whenever he had to give her an order.

"I know... I lied and that hurt you... and I'm sorry... but I didn't mean to hurt you... I wanted to prevent that from happening by hiding my injury... but I hurt you nonetheless" Simba said, hating how his plans to prevent pain always seemed to cause it no matter how hard he tried.

"It's ok" Sarafina said, nuzzling into him and wondering how this conversation went nothing like how she planned it to. Sarafina felt Simba break the nuzzle and began walking away, and quickly caught back up to him, wondering where he was going.

"Where are you going?" Sarafina asked, knowing that he was capable of taking care of himself, but he also had a huge weakness now due to his ribs and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to be alone. Sarafina watched as he continued walking for a few seconds, before suddenly throwing up and losing his foot, causing him to drop to his knees, making her wonder what was wrong.

"Simba!" Sarafina said, running up beside him in time to watch his vomit a second time, and wondered if it was at all related to the injury he had sustained.

"I'm fine" Simba said, wiping off his mouth and slowly getting back up, but felt Sarafina still hold on to him out of fear of him collapsing again.

"What happened?" Sarafina asked, wondering what had caused him to throw up all of a sudden.

"Just felt the urge to vomit" Simba said, looking over to see that she had a concerned look on her face, most likely afraid that the impact had caused internal damage to either his stomach or gut and gave her a small smile to let her know he felt better.

"Are you... feeling sick or... something maybe worse?" Sarafina said, knowing that if Simba had internal damage of that sort it would cause him a long and painful death and that she truly feared.

"Well... That buffalo did look a lot bigger upfront" Simba said with a chuckle, letting her know that his body was starting to come down off of an adrenaline rush, and that combined with the guilt probably just caused that reaction.

Sarafina looked him over once more for a couple of seconds, surprised that a few cracked ribs and a sprained wrist were all he had. There had been times where buffalo hunts could go terribly wrong, and someone could end up getting trampled or gored, but luckily that hadn't happened to anyone in their pride, and luckily that it didn't happen to Simba.

"What?" Simba asked, wondering what Sarafina was looking for since she already knew the extent of his injuries.

"I'm just... I don't even know..." Sarafina said, wondering how he was even able to survive that. "I'm just amazed you're alive" Sarafina said, and saw the look on Simba's face on him preparing for her to tell him how he could have died and he had to be more careful and all that, but she was already past all of that.

"It's a miracle you were flung out to the side of the buffalo and not crushed under it, and when you were flung out its also a miracle you weren't gored" Sarafina said, knowing many things could have gone wrong that didn't, and that to her was almost unbelievable.

"Yea..." Simba said, remembering back for the few huntings lessons he received that you had to be very careful when hunting horned animals as one wrong move could be fatal.

"So... uh..." Simba started, already knowing the answer to the question he was going to ask but wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't going to even think about it anyway. "I guess I'm going to be forced to stay within Pride Rock whether I want to or not and if I order anyone to let me leave they'll relieve me of command for the time being?" Simba asked, knowing the answer would be yes and knew everyone, especially the girls would be very clingy upon his arrival.

Sarafina smiled upon him saying this, knowing that by his sense of humor that he wasn't just saying he was ok for her sake, and found it a little funny that he was already accepting his soon to be true fate.

"If by relieved you mean having three lionesses piled on top of you, then yes" Sarafina said, knowing that as soon as the girls find out about what happened, they would practically imprison him for the next two days.

"Yay..." Simba said, knowing that he was going to be in for a long day since it was only the middle of the day. Upon hearing Sarafina chuckle a little at his comment, Simba heard something approaching them at a very fast speed and wondered what it could be this time, and watched as Sarafina noticed it as well, and got into a defensive stance herself, readying herself for anything that would attempt to attack the already injured king.

Simba watched as a frantic Tama broke through the grass line and started sprinting towards him, blowing past Sarafina with great speed, and braced for impact. Simba felt Tama collide into his chest and began to hug him for all she was worth and felt immense pain shoot through his entire ribcage upon this, but only let out a small silent wheeze. Simba watched as Sarafina was walking up to them to pry her off so she wouldn't hurt him, and Simba looked at her with a look that told her not to, wanting Tama to be able to enjoy her moment. Simba felt Tama begin to break the hug, and looked down at her to see that she had a distressed look in her eyes.

"Hey-" Simba just managed to finish saying, when he was abruptly punched in the face by Tama. Simba took a few steps back in surprise, not pain, and was able to see Sarafina grab Tama and pin her on the ground despite her best efforts to resist. Tama may have been a good fighter for her age, but she had a lot to learn and was still no match in a real fight against Sarafina.

"Auntie it's ok" Simba said, not wanting the two of them to get into a real right were claws and teeth started to be used and watched as Sarafina gave him an unsure look, before roughly letting Tama go. Sarafina heard Tama snarl as she stood up, challenging her to a fight again, wanting to show her how much harder it would be to beat her when she was prepared, but remained still and calm, knowing Tama was worked up right now and wasn't thinking straight.

"Tama calm down" Simba said, walking up to her knowing that he was going to get hit again, but he didn't want the two of them fighting as he didn't need anyone acting up right now.

Tama turned around to see Simba walking up to her, and went to push him back this time, and when she tried, she felt him grab both of her paws and gently twist them outwards, locking both of her arms simultaneously and immobilizing her.

"Let go" Tama said, trying to pull away but found it to be painful. Tama tried an assortment of different things to break free, but the more she moved the more it hurt, and after a few seconds of struggle, Tama gave up and looked down with a humiliated look on her face. Not only did he embarrass her by making her realize how weak she was, but he also had to do it in front of someone else.

"Tama" Simba said, and watched as she looked up at him. "I know you're mad that this happened, and that I just throw myself in front of someone like that as if me dying didn't matter, but I'm ok. Please, calm down" Simba said, and observed her breathing to get much calmer and body to get looser.

"I'm going to let go now, ok? I'm trusting you" Simba said, knowing that he was using a dirty trick to get her to remain calm by wording it so that if she did freak out again, she would be breaking his trust in her.

Simba began to slowly let go, and watched as she slowly began to relax as well, before finally letting go completely and watching as she rubbed her wrists a little, before sitting there looking down at her paws.

"You alright?" Simba asked, wanting to make sure he didn't hurt her in the process to detain her, and watched as she nodded her head, making him realize that she was just embarrassed that Sarafina had to witness her episode.

"You ok?" Tama asked, leaning forward and nuzzling into his mane.

"Fine" Simba said, glad to see she was calming down and starting to open up a little.

"I'm sorry I punch you in the face" Tama said, running her paw gently over the area of his jaw that she hit, and watched as he smiled a bit, making her wonder how he wasn't mad at her even after that.

"It's alright. I'm sorry I got hurt" Simba said with a chuckle, and watched as she chuckled in return.

"I just came out here to see for myself if you were ok... and well... to get revenge for making me worry" Tama said with a slight look of guilt and felt Simba lick the top of her head which made her recoil a bit as Sarafina was still present and she didn't want to display too much affection in front of her.

"I guessed it was that" Simba said, finding her reaction to his lick to be a little amusing.

"Nala and Kula will want to see you as well" Tama said, turning around and walking away, knowing that Sarafina was probably going to talk to her about what had happened here and wanted to have to prepare for that uncomfortable conversation, leaving the two of them behind.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank god you're father isn't around" Sarafina said once Tama was far enough away and watched as Simba gave her a confused look. "What she just did would have certainly gotten her banished" Sarafina said, and watched as Simba frowned a bit.

"She was just worried. Can't blame her for that" Simba said, and heard Sarafina huff a little, before watching as she walked over to him and licked the top of his head similar to how he had down, and noticed that she had to lift her front two paws off the ground this time, making him realize that he was starting to get noticeably taller than her.

"She just needs to learn self-control and respect, as well as her place in this pride" Sarafina said, knowing that her entire life she had been playing a dangerous game and it was a miracle that she hadn't been severally punished yet.

"I'll deal with her later" Simba said, knowing she was just emotional right now and things would be better once she calmed down.

"Well I was going to talk to her tonight, but if you want to it's probably better if someone closer to her tries to help" Sarafina said, and watched as Simba nodded. Simba then remembered about Nala saying she was going to talk to Sarafina about his mother's death in the morning, but wasn't sure if she had, and if she hadn't, now wasn't a bad time.

"Did uh... Nala talk to you this morning?" Simba asked, and watched as she had a curious look on her face.

"No, why?" Sarafina asked, wondering if something was bothering Nala and he wanted her to talk to her about it.

"Well uh... So as king I have to have an heir..." Simba started and saw Sarafina straighten up a bit and start to really focus now, making him realize that she was probably thinking he was leaning towards doing it soon. "And Nala is both my queen and mate so it would be undoubtedly with her, and I was wondering well... uh... How likely would it be for what happened to my mother to happen to her?" Simba asked, and watched as Sarafina had an almost relieved look on her face.

"Very unlikely" Sarafina said, and watched as he had a relieved expression aswell. "I've never heard of anyone else who suffered the fate your mother did. It's extremely rare, and unfortunately, your mother succumbed to it, but Nala is healthy, and strong, she'll be ok" Sarafina said, not wanting the idea of Nala dying in childbirth to be stuck in Simba's head.

"Oh... good" Simba said, having a distant look in his eyes as he was in deep thought, which Sarafina picked up on.

"Were you thinking of doing it anytime soon?" Sarafina asked, knowing that the sooner the better.

"No" Simba said quickly and noticed the odd and surprising look he got from Sarafina who was wondering why his response was so sudden and sharp.

"So have you two even mated yet?" Sarafina asked, knowing that's what newly crowned couples often did first.

"No" Simba said again, wishing he had been able to avoid this part of the conversation.

"The Princess?" Sarafina asked, knowing that she was usually the next one he would traditionally mate with.

"No" Simba asked, now wishing he was anywhere but here.

"Anyone?" Sarafina asked, almost expecting that he would have wanted to mate with someone now as all kings did.

"No" Simba said, wondering why she was so interested in whether he was sexually active or not.

"Do you want to mate with anyone?" Sarafina asked, wondering if he had started to experience some new feelings or if he wasn't that mature yet.

"No" Simba said, knowing that he had more important things to worry about now such as the threats to his pride.

"Simba..." Sarafina said, wanting him to get the idea of him being the last of his bloodline, but so far she had been unable to since he wouldn't listen to her. "You're the last of you're bloodline. There's no one else. If something were to happen to you... the Pride wouldn't be able to recover without an heir" Sarafina said, and saw him look up at her. "I need you to be careful Simba" Sarafina said, wishing that things like this just didn't happen, and if there wasn't a way to prevent them, then she wished he could at least have an heir already.

"Well, I wasn't going to just let her die" Simba said, wondering how Sarafina was asking him to let other people die when he had the chance to save them.

"I'm not saying that. I think what you did today was heroic and brave, but I just need you to know that you can't always take risk that could end in your death because then we would all suffer the consiquences" Sarafina said, knowing that it would be hard for him due to his personality to accept this, but he would have to come to terms to this if the pride was to remain secure.

"So my choices are narrowed down to one person dies, or potentially everyone" Simba said, remembering how his trial was based on the same situation, only then sacrificing himself was the right answer.

"That's one way to look at it" Sarafina said, knowing there weren't many other ways to look at it in this particular situation.

"Great" Simba said, wondering when if ever, he would be able to get a break in life where he would be able to what he wanted when he wanted, exactly how he wanted because up to now, that hadn't happened yet. "Well, I'm going home. I gotta figure out how I'm going to explain 'this' to Nala" Simba said, gesturing to his ribs, before standing up and beginning to walk away.

Sarafina sat still for a moment, watching his retreating figure with a pitiful look on her face, wishing his life could just be simpler and easier for him, but as of now, unfortunately, there wasn't a way. Sarafina got up and began to follow him back, not wanting him to suffer any more injuries on the walk back, wondering how the girls were going to take this.

Done. It only took me a month. Well, at least it isn't February lol. Also, I know, I didn't get to the part where the girls get all cuddly with him at Pride Rock. I'm saving that for later. Anyway, time to beg. If you liked this chapter or got any suggestions, feel free to let me know so long as it's reasonable. Also, the story is up to about 30k views which is nice and the story is still growing even though the first 6k are in the first chapter lol. Also, I know there are a bunch of little errors in my writing that have been there for a while. I'm going to fix them in the next 1 to 10 years, so just let me know if you see any and I'll take some time one day to fix them. Anyway, not too much left to say this, and if you're wondering, the next Chapter will be posted sometime in February, so I hope y'all stick around for that. Thought I'd change it up a bit, so, Mr_Toast signing off!