KawaiiCutie12: Oof, Tama's got some issues, huh? What'll go down this time? Well, read and find out.
+Yumerio Patissiere Lover: Love uuu❤
+HydroCOre: Dude, why do u keep apologizing? I LIVE for your long reviews 😂😂 thanks for the idea btw! Yeah, I do understand her side, but still...yeah, they've been best friends since cubhood; I'm 50/50 on Sarafina x Scar, but since Scar x Zira seems more canon, it is what it is. I know righttt, Sarafina was not playing these GAMES👏👏. She did honestly, and I'm sure she'll get a chance to. Thank you, you too! 💕
Chapter 10:
"So, Tama did this?"
The medicine Rafiki had given Malka had took affect, and he had fallen asleep on the den floor.
Simba nodded. "She was mad at Malka for telling me something personal, then she started...crying."
Beleco's eyes widened. Tama? Crying? She never would've guessed it.
Memories flashing through her head, her face hardened. "Well, she was being annoying; she deserved to be taken down a notch."
Simba looked at her. "But should we really have stooped to her level?"
Beleco wanted to retort to that, but she stopped. Sure Tama was a thorn in their side, but was picking apart every insecurity really a great idea?
She sighed, then lowered her gaze. "No, I guess not."
Simba stayed quiet for a moment. Not being able to take it anymore, he blurted out, "I also said some things to her that didn't exactly help."
Beleco was now intrigued. "What did you tell her?"
"I said..." Simba sighed. "I said that she got in between Nala and I, hurt Kula's feelings, and chased 'Tani away, and that I'd always be her favorite cousin. Afterwards, she just cracked, and ran out of the den."
Beleco was surprised. She'd never knew of Simba to lash out in anger at anyone, not even Tama. Hearing him admit it though...
"What should we do?" Beleco asked him.
Simba rubbed his head. "Well, I don't think she wants to see me now, so why don't we just hang in here and watch Malka?"
Approving the idea, Beleco nodded and her and Simba changed the subject.
Her vision was a red blur, and her breathing was heavy. Despite that, she still ran until she saw the grassy area, and clear stream that her and Nala once bonded at.
She entered a cool den before punching the ground and lying on her stomach. She had never been so humiliated in her whole life. Malka, who she thought was her best friend, just shared out some sensitive and personal information, with the last cub she would want to know.
All because Nala was being a real friend and staying by my side.
Feeling a nauseating wave of sadness, she buried her head in her forelegs and began to cry. It was bad enough her mom's condition took a nosedive, now someone she thought she could trust went and stabbed her in the back; as dramatic as it sounded, a horrible pain had formed in her chest thinking about everything.
She wanted to go home. Her homesickness was hitting ten-fold; she missed the Mountain Lands more than ever, and she yearned for her mother. As much as she enjoyed spending time with her favorite Pride Lander, it was nowhere near worth what happened not too long ago.
"Tama?"
Speak of the devil. She looked up to see blue eyes staring at her in panic.
"Tama, what's wrong?" she asked.
Tama didn't answer. Instead, she buried her face in her paws, and sobbed even harder.
Nala wrapped a foreleg around her. "What is it?"
"M-Malka t-told S-Simba..." she couldn't blubber the rest out, still too embarrassed.
Nala pulled her closer and held Tama there as she cried. She didn't exactly find it appropriate to speak her mind at the moment, so she kept quiet.
"Shh, it's okay. I got you," Nala whispered.
After a few more moments of Tama's weeps, she cleaned up her face and opened her mouth.
"Nala, can I ask you something?"
Curious, Nala nodded her head. "Ask away."
Tama turned to her. "Be honest: am I a bad cub?"
Nala bit her tongue. Not that she was scared to answer, but she didn't know how to answer.
"Well...the truth is..." Nala sighed. "You do have a bit of an attitude, and you can get a bit aggressive sometimes. Like when you and Malka came to visit last time."
Tama thought back to those days.
Flashback:
Simba, Nala, Tojo, Kula, and Chumvi were playing "Pinned Ya" in the den. Well, all but Tojo, who would rather play with his pet birds. Unbeknownst to the cubs, two friends were coming to spend some nights in the Pride Lands. They were in the middle of rough housing, when they heard Mufasa's voice at the entrance of the den. They all turned their attention to him, wondering what the news was.
"Cubs, we have some very special guests," he announced, with a smile.
The cubs got closer, now intrigued with the mystery guests.
"Who, Mufasa?" Nala wondered.
"Yeah, who Dad, who?" Simba asked hopping up and down.
Mufasa let out a laugh. "I'll let them introduce themselves."
He stepped aside, and the cubs jaws dropped.
"Hey guys," the first cub smirked.
"Malka!"
"Brother!" Simba cried.
They jumped on top of him, earning a chuckle out of Mufasa; he left the cubs to catch up and went back to his mate.
"I missed you!" Simba headbutted him.
"Same here!" Malka responded.
They all chatted with each other, like nothing changed between them.
"Do you guys not see me?"
They all turned to the cream colored lioness cub, with a small hair tuft adorning her head. She looked stressed and...homesick?
"Let me guess...You're Tama," Chumvi stated.
"Yup," she bluntly answered.
Kula, being the social butterfly she was, teleported in her face and began introducing everyone.
"HI! My name's Kula!" she chirped, "That's Chumvi, Tojo, Nala, and Simba!"
She merely looked at them all while wondering how to get rid of her now forming headache, before looking at another hair tufted lioness cub.
"Vitani," she greeted neutrally.
"Tama."
The Pride Lands cubs looked back and forth between the cubs; Malka and Beleco did so as well, but out of fear rather than confusion.
"How do you two know each other?" Nala asked.
"We're cousins," Vitani answered in a neutral tone.
The cubs still looked back and forth between them.
Tama rolled her eyes while heavily sighing. "My dad and her mom are cousins, making us second cousins."
Vitani narrowed her eyes at her snide correction.
"Ohh, I get it! That's so cool!" Kula explained.
That's what YOU think, Vitani wanted to say.
The other cubs agreed, with the hair tufted duo rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, sure" was all Tama said.
They made their way back to the cooler part of the den, where they continued their rough housing, with Malka now joining in.
Tama sat at a far corner and with her head down. She truthfully didn't want to talk to any of them. These cubs seemed bothersome and weird; it was no wonder Vitani-
"Hey you!"
Oh great. She looked up to see Kula, the same one that introduced everyone.
"Can I help you?" she sarcastically asked, not really wanting to have a conversation with the perky lioness cub.
"Come play with us!" Kula cried.
"No," Tama told her, praying she'd go away.
But that wasn't the case. "Come on, please!" she tried again.
"I said no, are you deaf?" she repeated.
Kula frowned at the comment, but before she could say another thing, Malka came trotting over.
"Hey Kula, can I talk to Tama real quick?" he asked with the signature smile on his face.
Kula turned to Tama, who was visibly upset. "Okay."
She padded away, and Tama already thanked the Kings.
Malka chuckled, then turned to Tama. "Why do you keep pushing everyone away?"
Tama huffed, puffing out her tuft. "Why must you keep pestering me? I don't have to play with them if I don't want to."
Malka sighed. He knew she'd say that, but still...
"You don't have to play," he persuaded, "just come and join."
Tama sighed. What did she have to lose? "Whatever."
They walked back to the group, and at that moment Tama caught sight of something peculiar.
Over at the opposite corner where she was, was a dirty golden cub, playing with birds.
"You have pet birds?"
Tojo looked up to see Tama standing right above him.
"Yeah, I love these little guys," Tojo answered as he nuzzled them.
Tama scrunched her face. "That's so weird."
Tojo's smile fell, and he felt his face grow hot.
"What's wrong with being weird?"
The two turned to see Kula march over. She threw a foreleg around Tojo and turned to stare at Tama.
"We all have things that we like, and Tojo's just so happens to be birds. What's the problem?" Kula demanded.
"Whatever" was all Tama said. She sauntered away, her tail dragging on the ground.
Tojo turned to Kula. "Hey, thanks for that."
Kula beamed. "Anytime, Toj'!"
While the other cubs rough housed again, Vitani was pinned by Nala. She walked away elsewhere, leaving a pouting Vitani by herself. Nala chuckled as they all stared in amusement before walking over to the creamy brown lioness cub.
"You're Nala, correct?"
She turned to see Tama. "Yeah, I'm Nala."
Tama, the new lioness cub, eyed her up and down. "So, you're known as the 'pinning queen' huh?"
There was a brief moment of silence as they watched the boys scuffle, while Kula and Tojo play referee. "Well yeah, who else would it be? Simba?" Nala jokingly asked.
Tama shrugged, before changing the subject. "How do you always win at that game?" She noticed that even the guys never seemed to beat her.
"A good wrestler never reveals their secrets," Nala teased.
To her surprise, Tama let out a small chuckle. "Touche."
Nala stood up and walked in front of Tama, turning back at her. "You wanna play a round?" she offered.
Hmm...maybe she was a girl that she could be friends with. "Sure."
They walked over, still unnoticed by the lion cubs and Kula. Nala turned to Tama. "You know how to play?" she asked.
Tama nodded, and they began to wrestle. The scuffle got the guys' attention, and they turned to watch the battle unfold; Tama put up quite a fight, but as predicted, Nala won.
"Damn, you're tough!" Tama commented, staring up in awe at Nala.
Nala flashed her signature smile. "Thanks! You put up a pretty good fight though!" She extended her paw to help Tama up. The lioness cub looked at her paw for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Nala before grabbing on to hers.
"So, are you excited to train for hunting?" Tama asked, deciding to change the subject.
Nala nodded. "My mom said she's going to take me soon."
"You want me to give you some mini lessons?" Tama offered.
Nala brightened and opened her mouth to respond.
"Hey, Nala, wanna play a round?"
The two turned to see Simba happily bounding over.
Tama looked at Simba. "Uh, Nala and I were gonna hang out. Right, Nala?"
Nala looked back and forth between them, before setting her eyes on Simba. "Tama wanted to show me something. Sorry, Simba."
"Oh, sorry." Simba turned to go, but then quickly turned back. "You guys mind if I join?"
"Well, Nala and I would rather be alone" was Tama's blunt response.
The lioness cubs walked out the den, leaving a slightly bothered Simba.
Her rude response threw Simba off guard, but he didn't say anything. What really bothered him though, was the fact that Nala didn't seem to care; she simply walked away and continued on the conversation.
End Flashback:
Nala watched as Tama hung her head in shame. "Wow; I really was being totally mean."
Nala, as much as she hated to admit it, nodded her head. "You also hurt Kula too. Twice."
Now this, Tama remembered. Not only did she remember, but she truly regretted being mean to her.
Flashback:
Simba and Nala were sitting by the waterhole rocks. The others were off playing in the grassy fields, and Tojo was playing with his birds.
"So what do you think of the new cubs?" Nala asked the prince.
Simba sighed. "Well-"
"Hey, Nala!"
The duo turned to come face to face with Tama making her way over.
"Hey Tama, ya needed something?" Nala wondered.
Tama shook her head. "Whatcha up to?"
Nala looked to the other two, then back at Tama. "Nothing really, we're just sitting here talking."
"Mind if I join?" Tama asked.
Nala patted the area next to her, and Tama plopped down next to her. Simba's good mood evaporated, and his resentment towards the insolent lioness cub was resurfacing.
"How do you like the Pride Lands so far, Tama?" Nala asked, completely ignoring Simba.
"It's totally different from the Mountain Lands," Tama began, "I mean, Pride Rock is so massive; it's like, so majestic compared to where our royal family stays..."
Blah blah blah, she's so annoying, Simba thought to himself.
"Hiya, guys!"
"Sup, guys!"
The trio turned to see Kula and Beleco running towards them, and Simba watched Tama slightly huff while rolling her eyes.
His mood lifting a little, he slightly smiled. "Hey, Kula. Hey, Beleco."
They slowed down and Kula trotted over to Simba, but in doing so, she accidentally stomped on Tama's tail.
"Hey, watch it!" Tama snapped.
Kula flinched. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Tama rolled her eyes, and Simba narrowed his gaze. Kula didn't purposely step on her tail; even if she had, with her bad attitude, she definitely deserved it.
"Hey, Tama," Beleco greeted.
"Hey" was her quick reply.
"So what are you guys talking about?" Kula returned to her bubbly nature.
"Nothing much, it was pretty boring," Simba answered.
Nala and Tama frowned in confusion.
Beleco caught onto what Simba meant, and the two began to snicker.
"What's so funny?" Nala genuinely wondered.
"Yeah, we wanna know too," Tama added in.
Their laughter ceased, and they just shrugged.
"It's an inside joke" was Simba's quick answer.
Kula chuckled as Beleco turned and grinned at Simba, who winked at her in return; unbeknownst to either one of them, Nala's stomach twisted and flipped. Simba never kept secrets from her, so what was so different now?
"Hey, you two remember the zebra incident?" Simba asked Kula and Beleco.
Kula burst into laughter again. "Yeah, you guys were right!"
The two laughed at the memory. A starving Kula had eaten so much zebra, to the point where she was incredibly stuffed. Not too long after, am unnatural belch came out from her smallish body, startling the adults. The cubs on the other hand, Simba and Nala mostly, found it hilarious and spent a good while laughing at their friend.
"Yeah, that was so funny; I've never seen Dad so scared!" Simba cackled.
Nala and Tama stared at the three, who didn't to stop anytime soon.
Nala let out a sigh. "Okay, we get it, Kula should lay off the zebra."
"Yeah, it's seriously not that funny," Tama added, annoyed with the unnecessary laughter.
Their laughter ceased, and the mood was heavy once again.
Tama got up from her position and looked down at Nala. "Hey, why don't we hang out by the waterhole?" Tama asked.
Nala smiled and stood up to join Tama.
Kula shot straight up after hearing that. "That's a great idea!"
Tama looked at Kula, face scrunched. "I'm sorry, was I talking to you?"
Kula flinched, surprised by her harsh words.
"That's rude, Tama," Beleco frowned.
"And it's rude of Miss Perky to invite herself when neither Nala and I did," Tama smartly retorted. She then turned back to Nala, leaving the three alone.
Simba turned to Kula, who was now seated again; her big brown-red eyes brimmed with tears. "What did I do wrong?" she asked, staring at Simba.
Simba went over and pulled Kula into a hug. "Nothing at all; Tama just has a bad attitude and needs a reality check."
"Yeah, 'Tani was right," Beleco commented. "She is a brat."
The three got up and returned to the den, where the others calmed them down and played games to cheer them up.
End Flashback:
Tama looked down at her paws, tail wrapped around her leg. "Damn."
Nala looked at her. She loved Tama like a sister. She liked her blunt personality, how feisty she was, and how she'd do just about anything for her, but she was going to admit it now: Tama had some serious anger issues.
Nala sighed deeply, putting a paw on Tama's shoulder. "And...I found out something a few days ago, and I want you to tell me the truth: Did you really tell Vitani she should just disappear because no one, not even her parents, like her?"
She felt a heaviness form in her stomach. She took a deep breath, to get rid of the queasiness that was creeping up.
"Look, that day...I was so angry..."
Flashback:
Tama had stormed out and was not having a good day, thanks to an incident near the waterhole. There just happened to be a male and female hyena bathing in it, and they didn't waste anytime in teasing the lioness cub, even going as far as to talk about her family. After one of them struck her in the face, she had it and stormed off in a complete rage, unaware she wasn't alone. Stopping towards a field a little far from Pride Rock, she let out a frustrated howl, getting the attention of the other cub.
"Tama, what's wrong?"
She turned to see a cub, with a similar hair tuft to hers, and purple-blue eyes.
Still angry at their last confrontation, she snarled. "Nothing, Vitani, absolutely nothing."
Vitani just looked at her. As much as she wanted to hate Tama, that was still her baby cousin. She sat down next to the cub, though a good amount of space.
"Tama, listen-"
"Whatever you have to say, I don't wanna hear it. I'm just an annoying, selfish, manipulative, pretentious brat right? Just the biggest thorn in your side, right? I should just be fed to the vultures and get out of your life."
Vitani swallowed. That WAS pretty cruel of me...
She heard Tama's voice crack, and for a moment she felt terrible. Something else caught her eye, however...
"What happened to your face? It's all purple," Vitani worriedly asked.
"What happened to yours?" was Tama's snarky retort.
You know what? Forget being the bigger person, Vitani thought.
"What's your problem?" Vitani demanded, causing Tama to flinch at her sudden change in demeanor. "You act rude for no reason, when I've been nothing but nice to you."
Tama looked at her incredulously. "Nothing but nice to me? Are you sure you have any place to say that?"
Vitani sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, she, in a weird sense, was right. No only did she talk about her behind her back, she completely lashed out on her.
She ran a paw through her significantly larger tuft. "Tama I'm really sorry; I shouldn't have said that. I don't think you're the biggest thorn in my side, and I'd care if something happened to you. I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
Tama narrowed her eyes. "You're just saying that so you can seem like the better person," she sneered, her voice slightly raising. "And you didn't hurt my feelings. I just didn't expect you to say that."
Vitani growled. "I was trying to be nice, which is something you should consider."
"Well, take your pity, 'cause I don't want it," she sharply said.
"You mean you don't want pity that isn't from Nala," she mocked.
"That's not true!" she shouted.
"Yes it is!" Vitani shot back, not caring about the volume of her voice, "you were so rude to Kula when she was so sweet to you, you always got in between Simba and Nala, and you always make sure Beleco and I left out whenever you and Nala spend time together!"
Tama opened her mouth, but Vitani wasn't finished. "How about you get off your high horse and fix your nasty attitude? I mean, just because your home life's a mess doesn't mean you can be a brat to everyone."
Vitani, once again, unintentionally crossed the line. Tama's reaction confirmed the thought; she wouldn't admit it out loud, but she felt as if she'd just been punched in the stomach.
"Excuse me? Just who are you to say that to me? That's my mom, A.K.A your aunt, you're talking about!" she yelled.
"I wasn't talking about her. I'm talking about you," Vitani irritably stated.
"That's total crap and you know it! You're just like, trying to throw her illness in my face. So not cool, Vitani! Really not cool! You can talk about me all you want, but you leave my mom out of it!"
"Tama, that's not what I meant-" Vitani guiiltily began, only to be cut off again.
"No, that's like, exactly what you meant. You know what? You should so disappear, because no one, not even your parents, likes you or wants you around." Her glare intensified as her face scrunched in disgust. "I totally wish Nadia was my cousin instead."
Before Vitani could even crack her mouth open, Tama turned and stalked off elsewhere. Vitani stared at her retreating figure, before thinking about what she said. Was that true? It wasn't like her parents even gave her or Nuka the time of day. Nala started to spend a majority of her time with Tama instead of her, Simba, or Kula. Hell, even Kovu stopped wanting to wrestle with her and instead ran off with Kiara.
Wow...she really cares about Nadia more than me...
She ran off to her secret tree, and climbed up before collapsing and having a good cry.
End Flashback:
"The worst part is, she actually tried to apologize, but I was too angry to accept it. I so can't believe I said that to her."
Nala stood wide-eyed; as appalled as she was at Vitani, she would never say something like that to her, or any of her other friends.
Especially since she realized Vitani was right.
She had tossed all her lifelong friendships away for Tama's fairly new friendship.
She stared at Tama's now lowered head for a bit longer before deciding what she had to do. She wrapped a foreleg around Tama, making her looked up with shocked red eyes.
"Tam', you know I love you, right? I mean, you're practically a sister to me. But...Simba, Kula, and 'Tani are also family, for way longer. And I need to make things right with them. So, unless you really feel bad and want them as your family as well, you need to find a new friend."
Tama looked at Nala's serious eyes. Now that she slowly realized how the others felt, she needed to make things right with them. Not just to keep Nala's friendship, but to get them to realize she truly wasn't bad; she was just projecting her anger out on them.
And to get Vitani back...
"Okay," Tama gingerly agreed. "But like, what if Vitani totally hates my guts? I mean, I totally can't blame her, but still..."
Nala smiled, happy that Tama finally understood. "It's okay, we can do this. And trust me, I bet Vitani misses you too. Now come on; let's go get our friends back."
"You really think they're out here?"
Mufasa, Scar, and their mates were standing right in front of the Outlands. Staring in front of them, they could see the dried up land, the murky crocodile-infested water, the termites that were crawling here and there, and other things that made their stomachs churn. Had this not been a rescue mission, they would've already turned back around.
"They have to be," Zira firmly stated, though you could hear her voice waver.
Sarabi gestured to Mufasa with her paw. "We'll go left," she declared.
Scar and Zira nodded, before the pairs headed in opposite directions.
"Nuka! Vitani!"
"Where are you guys!"
They called and called, but to no avail. Neither was willing to admit it, but their hearts were racing. There was no other place that they could be, so if they weren't here...
"Scar?"
He turned to Zira, who was staring straight at him.
"What is it, love?" he asked, praying his voice didn't expose how worried he was.
"What if we never find them?" Zira asked, lowering her head.
Scar lifted up her head with his paw. "With that attitude we won't find them," he teased.
Zira chuckled for a moment, before regaining her composure. "I'm serious, Scar. There's no way they could be at the Mountain Lands, because the king would've let us now. The only place they could be is here, and if not..."
Scar sighed. He too, was beginning to fear. There was no way they could've traveled to other lands, unless Nuka had carried Vitani the whole way. But he also knew that after here, it was mainly a dead zone. It would be a long way before they get to actual land.
He took a deep breath. "Zira, I swear on my mother's life, we will find Nuka and Vitani," he said, making full eye contact with her, "and when we do, we're going to show them just how important they are."
Hearing him swear on his mother's life made his statement all more real; he only ever said that when he was being genuine. Seeing the confidence swim in his green eyes made her feel good. She couldn't help but smile, and that caused Scar to mirror her reaction.
"Come on." he waved his paw. "Our kids need us."
They continued on with a more optimistic attitude.
They called their names, sniffed the grounds, but there was still no sign of their niece or nephew.
"Mufasa, I'm going to be honest here...I think Nuka and Vitani went to other lands."
This made the king stop in his tracks. Other lands? He wasn't dumb. He knew Nuka tended to hang out with Dotty his girlfriend outside the Pridelands, despite her living there. Out of the three, he knew Nuka would know the most about outside lands. Despite that, he also knew Nuka wasn't exactly the most...brilliant adolescent.
Mufasa dropped his head to the floor and sighed. Slowly raising it, he looked at Sarabi. "If that's the case, then all we can do is pray to the kings."
Sarabi didn't want to admit it, but he was right. They were long gone now, and any minimal luck in finding them was long gone now.
"Let's at least see if we can track their scents somewhere," Sarabi compromised.
Mufasa nodded and they continued searching for them. As they neared the edge, Mufasa caught sight of something.
"Sara', look," he nudged her.
She followed his finger, and was baffled for a moment, until the smell of blood filled her nostrils. The mates looked at each other, both thinking the same thing: Was that Nuka's or Vitani's blood?
They had given up. They searched every nook and cranny, but still no sign of their kids. At this point, they thought it was best to meet up with Mufasa and Sarabi, and just return home.
As if on cue, he heard his call. "Scar!"
They jumped up, the tone of his voice startling them.
"Zira, we have to go," he demanded, though it lacked energy.
She nodded, and the two sprinted towards his voice.
"Zira!"
"We're coming!" Zira called back.
They made it there in almost a matter of seconds. They saw the solemn look on the other pair's faces, and their hearts sunk.
"Mufasa?" Scar asked.
He looked up, and something in Mufasa's and Sarabi's eyes made him quiver with fear.
"What is it?" Zira asked, not liking the heavy atmosphere.
The royal couple looked at each other and sighed. They turned to look at Scar and Zira, as the latter prepared for the worst. They moved out of the way, and their hearts plummeted.
There, in the center of the blood, were chunks of fur.
Fur that they recognized all too well.
"No...NO!" Zira lost it.
Sarabi went to console her, as Mufasa tried to do the same for Scar.
"Scar-" he began, but was cut off.
"Just...give me a moment," he was told in a monotone voice.
Mufasa tried to say something, but his brother already walked away. Mufasa watched him with a worried expression, scared about what his brother was going to do. He turned his gaze to Sarabi, who was whispering something in Zira's ear. Figuring he'd have a better chance at comforting Zira, he approached the females.
"Anything could've happened, Zira," he comforted her, "maybe they got hurt on their voyage."
Zira didn't say anything, too broken to form words. Sarabi looked up at Mufasa with a pained expression. Despite the lack of words, he clearly understood what she was saying. Before anyone could open their mouths, however, they were interrupted by a noise.
A noise that send chills down their spine.
At that very moment, there was a loud, agonizing, mournful howl.
They turned to the direction of the noise, shocked by the noise. Turning back to each other, Zira found her words.
"I think we should leave him be for a bit," she whispered, voice hoarse from crying.
Mufasa nodded, unable to say anything else for a bit.
Sarabi turned to Zira for a moment. "If you want to stay back, feel free to," she told Zira, to which she nodded to.
Mufasa and Sarabi turned to leave, when Zira placed a paw on Mufasa's shoulder. "Don't say anything to Simba or Kula."
He nodded, and the two made their way back to Pride Rock.
Nala and Tama were making their way to wherever the others were. During their search, they were stopped by Sarafina.
"Hey, girls!" she greeted.
"Hey, mom."
"Hi, Sarafina."
She looked at the lioness cub with the hair tuft. "Mufasa wants to speak with you," she stated.
Tama was baffled. Why would he want to speak to her unless...
"Is it news about my mom?" she asked, debating if that was a positive or negative sign.
Sarafina rubbed a paw on her head. "I don't know, sweetie, I'm just the messenger."
Tama tried to calm herself down. "Kay...well, see ya later, Nal'!"
She padded off towards the direction of Pride Rock. When she ran past by the den, she caught sight of Malka, who was fast asleep on the den floor. A pang of guilt hit, and she made a mental note to make it up to him as well.
She climbed up to the Royal Den, and saw Mufasa, waiting patiently.
"Um...you wanted to speak to me?" she shyly asked.
Mufasa tossed her a warm smile that calmed her down a bit.
"Yes, I did," he responded, still calm and gentle, "have a seat."
She sat down, feeling better than she did before. It was silent for a moment, until Tama found it to be a bit awkward.
"So...what did you want to speak to me about?" Tama asked.
Mufasa closed his eyes for a moment, and Tama was scared that her mom hadn't made it.
Before she could think too much into it, he took a deep breath, reopening his eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuine curiosity in her eyes.
Tama didn't know how to respond. She wasn't fully okay, but with Nala's and Sarafina's support she was getting by.
"I guess," she tentatively answered.
Mufasa nodded. "That's good. Are the cubs treating you well?"
I only talk to Nala, she wanted to say. She shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."
Mufasa nodded again. "What I really needed to speak with you about was what happened to Malka earlier."
Tama's heart stopped. Here was the moment of truth.
"Look, King Mufasa-"
"Just Mufasa is fine, dear," he said with a warm smile.
A small smile began to form on Tama's lips. "Well...Nala left with her mother to go hunting training, and I stayed around the waterhole until I got bored. I went back to the den, and I overheard Malka telling Simba everything. I got so angry, and I lost it...when he tried to comfort me, I shoved him, and he scrapped his foreleg."
Mufasa's eyes widened a bit, but Tama wasn't done yet. "Afterwards, I turned to Simba, and..." She sighed, before locking eyes with the old king. "Him and I got into it. It ended with me saying I hoped he was happy before I ran out."
He took a moment to take all of that in. As he analyzed the situation, he could see each's point of view. He understood that Simba just wanted to know why she had a bit of an attitude problem, but at the same time...he completely reasoned with why Tama felt betrayed...
"Tama, look at me."
She lifted her head a bit, not wanting Mufasa to see the now forming tears in her eyes. He sighed, before taking a paw and lifting her head up so they were seeing eye to eye.
"I'm not upset, if that's what you're wondering," he began, "I understand everyone's perspectives. I understand why you felt betrayed, and I also understand why Simba wanted to know why you pushed them to the side. However, I'll admit, you should've been more respectful to the two."
Tama, unable to control it, let a few tears fall from her eyes. "I was so mean," she whispered, "I let my bad attitude chase everyone, even 'Tani, away. No wonder they hate me."
Instinctively, Mufasa wrapped a foreleg around the lioness cub. "Oh, believe me, they don't hate you at all," Mufasa reassured her, "Simba wanted me to talk to you."
Tama stared in shock. Even after she was so rude to him, he still wanted to make sure she was okay.
"He did?" she asked in disbelief.
"Mhm," Mufasa confirmed, "He felt bad for unintentionally knowing something so personal."
Tama wiped her tears away, and sighed. Mufasa knew how she felt now; she finally understood.
"Tama."
She looked up at him. "Yeah?"
Mufasa looked her in the eye. "I know you're hurting. You constantly have to be away from your mother, your father's out of the picture, and you feel out of place here," he reasoned, "but you can't take your anger out on people that have been nothing but nice to you. It may be hard, but I bet Simba and everyone else would love to have you as one of their friends, and I bet Vitani misses her cousin."
Tama was slowly starting to get convinced. I mean, who else would make sure that the person that was mean to them was okay?
"You really think so?" She seemed more confident that they'd hear her out.
Mufasa smiled and nodded, happy that Tama was starting to cheer up. He bumped her head, nudging her forwards before he got up and walked ahead. "Go on and have fun now, dear. And remember: They'll all forgive you."
Tama nodded and was about to run off when Mufasa stopped her again.
"I almost forgot to tell you...your mother is here. She wanted to stay in the Pride Lands for a bit."
It had been about thirty minutes when Zira finally recollected herself. She stared out into the open area, still not wanting to accept what she just witnessed.
They weren't dead. They couldn't be dead. She wanted to think that this was all a bad dream and that when she woke up, her mate and kids would have a good laugh. But it was true.
Her oldest and middle child were gone.
She got up, and tried to track her mate's smell. As expected, it led her to the edge of the Outlands. She saw him seated, with his head hanging low. As much as she didn't want to talk about it, she needed to know.
"Scar?"
No response. She tried again.
"Scar."
Still no response. Zira's grief was slowly morphing into anger.
"Scar!"
This time, he slowly turned to her. "What is it, Zira?" he answered, with a hint of anger.
Zira knew his anger wasn't directed towards her, so she didn't take it to heart. "What...what do we do now?"
Scar sighed, before making his way over to Zira. "I don't know, Zira," he answered in a clearly broken voice, "I don't know."
What happened next caught her off guard. Scar buried his face in her shoulder, and began to sob. Zira, not having any tears left, settled for pulling him towards her. No words were said. Just the sound of Scar's horrible cries.
Nearly an eternity later, Scar picked his head up, and turned his bloodshot eyes to his mate. "We can't tell Kovu."
Zira looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious? Scar we can't-"
"Yes, we can Zira. If Kovu asks why we were crying, we'll just say we're scared. It's not like we'd be lying anyway."
Zira thought it over. She knew Kovu was smarter than the average cub. Hell, all her kids were. Kovu would eventually begin to question why they still haven't returned. Not only would he question it, he'd hate them for leading him on this whole time. But on the flip side, he was so hopeful his big brother and sister would come home and everything would be fine again. He'd be crushed if he found out his only siblings had been taken away from him.
"Zira?"
Scar's nervous tone brought her back to reality. She turned to him and nodded, before they gloomily made their way back to the Pride Lands.
Tisha, a lioness from the Mountain Lands, decided that she wanted to vacation at the Pride Lands for a bit. Realizing that the medicine was starting to not have an affect on her condition, they went with the final, and riskiest option: surgery. Right now, she was talking to Sarafina, who was glad to see she had survived.
"So they removed the damaged part of your brain?" Sarafina asked incredulously.
Tisha chuckled. "They sure did. But at least It's all over, and I can go back to my old life."
Sarafina smiled, happy for her friend. Just then, another voice joined in.
"Mom?"
Tisha knew that voice anywhere.
She turned to see her daughter, staring at her in complete astonishment.
Her face broke into a wide smile.
"Tama!"
"Mom!"
She sprinted over and embraced her mother. The emotions got to her, and she buried her face in her mom's foreleg. "I missed you so so much," she whispered, her smallish body shaking.
"I missed you more, princess," Tisha teased, nuzzling her daughter's head, "where's Nala?"
Hearing her name reminded her of what she had to do. She wiped her face, before glancing up with an apologetic look. "Sorry mom, I promised Nala I'd help her with something. Can we play at home?"
Tisha smiled before ruffling her daughter's hair tuft. "Actually sweetie, we're staying in the Pride Lands for a bit more. I can finally visit now, after all."
Tama exploded with excitement, and she took a minute to calm down before running off to do what she had to.
Kula was slumped on a rock, completely bummed out. She didn't have anyone to play with, and her mother was with the other lionesses.
"Hey."
She looked up, and her eyes widened at the culprit.
"What do you want?" Kula bitterly demanded. "Come to be mean to me some more? Or is Nala too busy?"
Tama lowered her gaze, pinning her ears back. "Kula...I'm sorry."
This took Kula aback. She had been expecting a snarky remark, not an apology.
"W...What?" Kula finally stated.
"I'm sorry," Tama repeated, a bit firmer this time. "I was totally being so mean, and I so shouldn't have."
"But...why?" Kula wondered.
Tama sat down next to the brown lioness cub. "Things in the Mountain Lands were like, so bad. My mom fell ill, and my dad spent like, all his time with her. I just..." She sighed. "I didn't really want any friends at the time."
Kula slowly understood. "So...you don't hate me?"
Tama chuckled. "No. Your perky nature can be annoying, but..." She looked up at her. "You're like, really nice, and I'm glad you tried to make me feel welcome."
Kula's cheeks turned pink with happiness. "You...you really think that?"
Tama shyly smiled and nodded.
Kula smiled at her bashfulness. "I forgive you. I'm sorry I talked about you behind your back. That was pretty mean; and I'm sorry about your mom. I hope she gets better soon."
Tama waved a paw. "I totally deserved that, no worries. And my mom's fine now; she's actually here in the Pride Lands."
Kula's eyes twinkled. "Oh, that's nice!"
Tama nodded, before looking at Kula. "So...now that everything's okay between us, it'd be great if we can be friends."
Kula's big, brown-red eyes widened, and she pulled Tama into a hug. "Of course we can!"
Tama returned the hug. "Thanks, Kula. Just promise me one thing."
Kula pulled away a bit to look at Tama. "What's that?"
"Keep being as upbeat as possible," Tama said with a smile.
Kula grinned at the comment. "It's what I'm best at!" She pulled her face into a slight frown. "Besides eating."
The girls burst into laughter at that, and Tama wiped her eyes.
"Hey, why don't you and I go play by the waterhole?" Tama suggested.
Eyes widening, Kula got up and followed after Tama.
Simba moped around the den, not having anyone to play with. Malka wanted to be alone due to being too distraught over Tama, Chumvi was grounded for who knows what, One of Tojo's birds fell ill and Beleco offered to help, Kula ran off somewhere, and...
He swatted the ground before staring out of the den entrance. Catching sight of his uncle's den reminded him of Nuka and Vitani. There was still no word of them, and it seemed like everyone was giving up on finding them. This worried Simba. His parents, aunt, and uncle were the most determined people he knew; the fact that they were giving up so easily on them meant that something terrible had to have happened...
"Simba."
He snapped out of his trance and looked to who the voice was coming from. After seeing the culprit, his face contorted in anger. "What do you want?"
The cub wasn't giving up this time. "Can we talk?"
As much as he didn't want to, he knew it'd be best if he just listened, so he reluctantly agreed. "You have five minutes, Nala."
She sighed, but there was nothing she could do to change his mind.
"Simba." her ocean eyes locked with his fiery eyes. "I'm so sorry I've been pushing you to the side lately. That was completely wrong, and you guys didn't deserve that especially not you. I thought that...I shouldn't let how you guys felt affect my other friendships. I should've been a better best friend, and you all have a right to be mad. But you know I'd never purposely hurt you, and she really needed me, especially since she was at her lowest."
Simba's demeanor changed once he was reminded of Tama's broken expression. He remembered the feeling of guilt and pity instead of triumph and relief. There was something that Nala said, that caught him off guard, though...
"Best friend?"
Nala snapped her head up, confused. "Yeah...what, did you think Tama was gonna replace you or something?"
Simba couldn't help the blush that spread across his face. Nala giggled at the sight.
"Oh, be quiet!" he said defensively, "you can't blame me for being jealous! You would've thought the same if I did that with Beleco or Kula!"
Nala's laughter ceased, and a serious look returned to her face. "I did...and I was. I thought that you were having more fun with them than me. I mean, you took Kula up to watch the sunrise."
Simba's heart stopped. "You saw us?" he meekly asked, to which she gave him a look of surprise.
"Uh, yeah. It's kinda hard to miss a brown lioness cub and a prince with a big head-"
"Hey, take that back!" Simba cried, trying not to crack a smile.
"And what if I don't?" Nala teased, freely showing a small smile.
Simba playfully growled before lunging at her. The two laughed as they wrestled, acting like nothing happened between them. But of course, the result would always be the same.
"Pinned Ya."
Nala let Simba get up, and the moment he did, she crushed him into a hug. "I missed you," she quietly confessed.
Simba stared down at her cream head. How could he possibly stay mad at his other half?
He sighed. "I missed you too."
They stayed in their embrace, not noticing the other eyes that were watching them.
He knew something was wrong.
When his parents came home, they looked worn out and sad, instead of happy and chuckling with each other.
Hours passed, and he couldn't sleep. On normal occasions, he would've cuddled up with his parents or siblings, but his siblings were gone, and he didn't want to bother his father.
So instead, he walked out towards the waterhole and stared up at the stars.
He remembered Scar telling him about the Great Kings of the Past, and how when they died, they along with the other kind souls, were turned into stars. He tried and tried, but he couldn't find Nuka's or Vitani's stars.
"Kovu?"
He turned to see a lion with a red mane. Smiling he bumped the lion's head. "It's too late for a young cub like you to be alone."
Kovu looked down. "Mom and Dad were crying, and I didn't want to upset them anymore," he confided in his uncle.
This didn't surprise Mufasa at all. Two-thirds of their kids were gone, and they didn't exactly know how to deal with the situation. The two had cracked, unintentionally scaring their youngest.
He watched as Kovu pinned his ears. "I miss 'Tani and Nuka," he whispered.
Mufasa's heart felt heavy. He saw how close the trio was, and knowing Kovu, he probably felt so alone now.
"Mom and Dad think they're dead," he told Mufasa, "but I don't see them."
This bewildered Mufasa. "What do you mean, Kovu?" he asked.
Kovu looked up and pointed with a claw. "Their stars aren't up there," he explained, looking at the bright sky.
Mufasa looked up, and admired the stars. He told Simba the same thing Kovu was referring to, and assumed it was Scar that told Kovu. Neither said anything for a moment, just simply stared up at the sky.
"Ah, I see you found him."
They turned to see Scar, eyes slightly red, and his voice filled with sleep deprivation. He turned to Mufasa, who was giving him a worried face.
"Scar, if either of you two need anything," he said, gesturing to Kovu, "Sarabi and I are here."
Scar nodded and headbutted him, before looking down at his son. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Kovu looked back up, and pointed to the sky. "I know you and Mom think Nuka and 'Tani are dead," he began, "but if they are, where are their stars?"
Scar looked down at his son wide-eyed. "Kovu..."
They all stared at the stars, thinking the same thing: Where were they?
After a few moments passed, Scar sighed, getting the attention of the other two. "Even if Nuka and Vitani are alive, they're a long way from the Pridelands." He looked to Mufasa at this next statement. "another pride most likely took them in."
Mufasa and Kovu took that in, and realized he was possibly right. They might've been alive, but they were nowhere near the Pridelands.
"I'll never get a chance to say sorry," Kovu whispered, lowering his gaze.
Scar lifted Kovu's head up. "Yes, you will, Kovu," he firmly reassured him, "Even if it takes years, we will find them."
Mufasa decided to chip in. "Not only are they smart, they're so brave. Whatever challenges they face, they'll definitely overcome them."
Kovu, and even Scar, cracked a small smile at hearing this.
Mufasa stretched, having been seated for too long. "Go get some rest." he playfully glared at Scar. "Both of you."
Scar rolled his eyes. "You old ones love to boss people around huh?" The ghost of a smile was on his lips, however.
Mufasa laughed, causing Scar to give a playful glare in returned. "Goodnight, Kovu. Goodnight, baby brother."
Scar grumbled under his breath, getting a laugh out of the cub and older lion.
As they all headed back to their places, they all shared one thought:
Stay strong, Nuka. Stay strong, Vitani.
KawaiiCutie12: Soooo...any guesses for the next chapter? This was a bit of a..."filler" chapter, just to update you guys on what's going on in the Pride Lands. Also I just wanted to say: Thank you for all the likes and follows! It means a lot to know you guys enjoy my work!
As always, leave your opinions down below and follow and fave to keep up with the story. I'll see you guys next time!
KawaiiCutie12 signing off! ✌