Simba stared at Dan trying to find the sincerity of his words and his face. Then, the lion got up.

"Come with me, we must go see an old friend" said Simba, "He will be able to understand this better"

Dan did not know what his fate would bring him now: he had just told the truth to Simba and he did not know how to answer. Also, he had no idea how that 'friend' could be of help at the time. However, he couldn't stay all day thinking about it, so he got up too.

Simba helped Dan down from the king's rock. The cub seemed surprised that rocks could form such steps, and he thought how Kiara carried him up when he was unconscious. Once down, Simba picked him up and they ran over to a large baobab tree. When they arrived, Simba used his claws and climbed to the top of the tree, Dan had to hold on tight enough to avoid falling.

Once they reached the top, they saw that a baboon greeted them happily.

"Simba!" Rafiki said, "I am pleased that the king is coming to visit me"

"Hello Rafiki" said Simba, "Actually, I came to ask for advice"

Rafiki turned his attention to the cub that Simba had brought.

"I see you come with the same cub that your daughter brought home" he said, "Do you still feel bad ...? Uh... what is your name little one?"

"Dan" he replied.

"Dan has already recovered, at least most of him. But he must tell us something " explained Simba.

Dan looked at Simba blankly. He didn't know how Rafiki could help to his story. Yet he had to regain the courage to say it again.

"I am ... or at least I was ... human before"

There was a minute's silence from all three, in which Dan waited fearfully about what they were going to tell him.

"That ... makes sense" Rafiki finally said.

Dan looked at him puzzled:

"Does it make sense?" he thought.

"Look at this, little one" Rafiki said, pointing to one of the branches of the tree, "That's you"

Rafiki pointed a drawing of a lion cub quite similar to the amulet that that strange man in town gave him before reaching Pridelands. However, he still did not understand why that drawing was his.

"And you've seen that drawing before, haven't you?" Rafiki asked him.

"A strange man gave me an amulet with this same drawing" said Dan nodding, "It was before ... well ... transformed ..."

"I understand. Dan, please, if you still remember something, I would like you to tell us your story "

Dan looked at Simba as if asking if he was in trouble. But the lion simply told him:

"Go ahead, I already told you my story. Now is the time for you to tell us yours "

Dan had to. He told them how he grew up without parents, with a cruel and ambitious uncle, about his trip to Africa, the encounter with the strange old man, the dispute with his uncle that ended in his uncle's death, and the strange vision he had before waking up as a cub.

"I see" said Simba after listening carefully, "But can you try to describe that lion in your vision?"

Dan tried to strain his memory, trying to remember...

"It was your father Mufasa" Rafiki interrupted. Simba looked at him strangely.

"Rafiki..." he said "What do you mean?"

"Last night, your father told me that he found someone with great fear, but with great potential, who brought him to Pridelands and..." he said looking at Dan, "... he would be part of your family, Simba"

Simba focused his gaze on Dan, trying to understand his father's plan. In the past, he did not understand that Kovu was not following Scar's will, and later, he regretted about exiling him. But this time, his father had sent Dan, could he trust his father's judgment?

"Are you talking about me?" Dan asked, very surprised, "No ... I don't think I have that great potential, I just ... I was very afraid of what had happened. You see... my uncle was bad, but ..."

"It was your family" Simba interrupted, "And even though you didn't like him… you care that a part of your family had been killed by you. I understand you Dan"

Dan looked at Simba's face and saw the kind and understanding face of the lion king.

"But" continued Simba, "If you had the courage to stand up for others, it shows you have great potential."

"Stand up for others?"

"Zazu was informed that a rhino contemplated the scene of conflict with your uncle: you exposed your life to defend others from a selfish mentality. You are not a murderer, and you are not in trouble"

"Thank you, but ... I'm also sorry for hiding all that from you" he said sadly, "Thanks for everything Simba ... but I'd better go, I wouldn't want something like that to happen again"

"You cannot go, you must stay" said Rafiki, approaching to the drawing. Then, he ran his hand over it and, amazingly, it wasn't erased or damaged.

"This drawing was not made by me. It just appeared last night, Mufasa must have drawn it. In this tree I draw all the beings that have or have had their history in Pridelands. And the fact that you have appeared here ... means that you have a story to live in Pridelands"

Dan still didn't understand why fate brought him there. On the other hand, Simba calmly approached him and said:

"You can stay with us until we find out your true reason in Pridelands. If my father was the one who did all this, we must listen to him. And I promise you that I will help you in everything you need"

Dan felt happy inside: although he did not know his fate, he was happy to have a family again.

"I'm not sure yet what this all means" said Dan, "But I'll try... I'll try"

"Well said, Dan" Rafiki told him.

"Thank you Rafiki, for everything" Simba said goodbye.

"Thank you, Mr. Rafiki" Dan said.

"No problem," he replied, "Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow, be very lucky."

Simba scooped up the cub with his mouth and then, he jumped off the tree. Fortunately, the lion also knows how to land on his paws. Then, he put Dan back on the ground to walk around for a while as they headed back to the Pride Rock.

"Simba ..." Dan said nervously while they walked, "Should I tell someone else what I am ...?"

"You better save it for now" Simba told him, "This is not the time yet. You see ... humans are unknown creatures in Pridelands and even far away, even I only know about them from old stories. I think you better get along with the other animals first, do you understand?"

"Yes…"

Simba looked at the cub and then put a paw on his head.

"Don't worry about your past story" he said smiling, "I'm sure you will like being a lion and having a new story"

Dan smiled back, glad to be part of the family.

"But if you're going to be part of our family…" Simba continued, "There is a tradition that must be respected… You may be a little older by now, but it still has to be done. And it must be done before you grow any more..."

"Which?" Dan asked.

Simba smiled, but didn't say anything.

Author's Notes: How's the story going? Is it entertaining? What do you think is the tradition that Simba refers to? I would like at least one comment to continue the fanfic.