(Weeks later... )

Rafiki paced his tree from side to side while Rahisi, his new apprentice was used r a bowl of paint to draw on a wall. It had to be said that he was not very good at drawing: his drawings were a bit ... deformed

"And who is this here?" Rafiki pointed with his cane at a black and white drawing.

"Well ..." Rahisi tried to say, somewhat ashamed of his drawing, "It's you"

"Umm. I didn't think I was that fat ... "

Although he understood that it was just a joke, Rahisi was disappointed at such a bad drawing of his, and lowered the bowl thinking that it was time to finish. However, before he had put him on the ground, Rafiki's hand stopped him.

"Don't feel bad about your drawings," he said, "Neither I nor Makini started as well as we thought."

"Really? A ... I don't know Master Rafiki ... I don't know why my uncles sent me to take Makini's place ... she is wise, honest, cheerful ... a real great Mjuzi like you "

Rafiki tapped a tree trunk and instantly a pair of fruit fell into his hands. Then he handed one to his apprentice and motioned for him to sit down.

"You were too young to understand what your cousin was like" he said as they ate, "She was quite impatient, active and eager to learn. But then he learned to be patient, and with it comes wisdom. On the other hand, you are quite calm, but you need something: the confidence of your abilities. When you start drawing, I realized that your hands were shaking, you know why? "

Rahisi thought about it for a minute until he replied:

"I was afraid of being wrong ..."

"Exactly. But there is something I have learned: without failure, there is no growth. You should not be afraid of what to do, the worst thing would be not to try "

But what if a friend's life depends on you? How can I save him? "

"That is something you must discover yourself"

Returning to his fruit, Rafiki said nothing more. As Rahisi watched him, he thought at the same time about what he had said. It was when his teacher finished that the apprentice took a bite of his fruit, gave it back, took the paint bowl again, and returned to his drawing.

Compared to the previous time, this time the drawings were more aligned, as if Rahisi had learned what his fault was. She stopped when she felt Rafiki's hand on her head, ruffling it a bit.

"Very well" he said.

(Years later...)

Rafiki showed his apprentice the drawings of two lion cubs.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I feel ready," Rahisi replied.

Each one with a bowl in hand, they painted a growing mane around each one's drawing.

(Meanwhile…)

Dan was running across Pridelands, looking for his little brother. Over the years, the red wick had also grown:

"Koda! Koda!" he screamed, "For the love of God, where has that naughty been?"

"Did you find it, Dan?" asked Shany who was helping him look for it.

"No, nothing yet. Aunt Vitani won't be happy if we're late for our training. "

"Hey!" yelled another lion. This was a new friend Dan and Shany had made after their previous adventure. His name was Jabari, "Have you found him? Training will start shortly!"

"Nothing from here, Jabari" Dan replied, "How are you doing, Akira?"

Dan directed his gaze towards a tree, where a lioness watched from the top.

"There is no sign of him in the Mbali fields" he declared after taking a good look at Pridelands.

"It's always the same" Jabari complained to Dan, "I can't believe they are both brothers. They are so different: you are responsible and patient, but Koda is more relaxed and overconfident…"

"I'm not complaining about my brother, the bad thing would be not having him" replied Dan, telling the truth.

Akira climbed down from the tree, landing on his feet.

"It's true, we must be patient with him" she said.

"Maybe we should look at it from another perspective ... " Shany suggested to Dan, " If you were Koda, where would you go?"

"Umm… he would be active, mischievous, carefree" at that moment he gasped, guessing where he might be, "… carefree, that's it! Shany, you are a genius!"

"I have my moments… So where could I be?"

"Hakuna Matata Falls"

(At Hakuna Matata Falls...)

Timon and Pumbaa were 'teaching' their new nephew, Koda.

"Alright Pumbaa, will you do us the honors? " He asked Timon.

Pumbaa shook his head, as he lifted a log. Under that piece of wood, there were a large number of insects: worms, larvae, moths, beetles, ladybugs, etc.

"Well, boy" explained Timon, "Always choose the crunchiest, they are the best"

"Crispy again, Timon?" Pumbaa asked, "I thought we agreed that they would be the slimy ones."

"Pumbaa, Pumbaa, in this I have a high degree of taste detection. And if you ask me, the crunchy ones are the best "

"This, can I decide myself?" Koda asked, looking at the amount of insects that were still there.

"Of course. Just take my recommendation into account"

Koda grabbed one of the worms, he was about to eat it when Dan, Shany, Jabari and Akira arrived. The older brother stopped him just in time:

"Do not even think about it!"

Koda closed her mouth just before eating the worm. Seeing his brother, he threw him with the rest. On the other hand, Timon and Pumbaa greeted the newcomers.

" Wow, more visits" said Timon, offering them a leaf full of bugs, "Don't you want to try some appetizer?"

"Agg ..." Akira said. And Jabari fully agreed.

"No thanks, I'll pass" rejected Shany.

"Me too, Timon" Dan said.

"Come on, don't be a coward Dan" laughed Koda, "The only thing you have to watch out for is the dung beetles"

"That explains why I sometimes smell a maggot on you. I really can't believe you like those things…" Akira complained.

"To my grandfather I will gust to n" replied as he got this one in the mouth.

"Well, it was so as not to eat the rest of the animals that lived in the oasis" Dan told her, "In any case, you haven't forgotten the practice we have with Aunt Vitani, have you? Remember that she doesn't like us to be late ... "

Koda instantly spat out the worm.

"Oh man, was it today?" he exclaimed. Then, he started to leave, "I'm sorry Uncle Timon, I'm sorry Uncle Pumbaa, but I must be on time with my brother"

"Go ahead, at least there will be more left for us ..."

As he watched them go, Timon couldn't help saying:

"There is, always the same ..."

To which Pumbaa consoled him: "Don't feel bad Timon, they always grow so fast ..."

(Then...)

Vitani waited circling a small flat field near the Pride Rock. On a rock just beyond, Kiara watched her calmly.

"They will arrive" she said, "You don't have to be so hard on them on time"

"Sorry Kiara" Vitani replied, "I guess sometimes I get carried away. My mother was very strict with that ... I guess I still have something of her ... "

Kiara felt a little bad about it:

"I feel sorry for your mother. I should have done more than I could ... "

"Don't be sorry, let's just say … she wasn't in her right mind at the time. Although I am really amazed at how Dan managed to convince her… "

"It surprised me too. Dan didn't know Zira and was still able to make her see reason. He is a very special lion ... "

Vitani laughed: "Proud of your son?"

Kiara smiled, but didn't answer: Dan was adopted, but the whole family was proud of him. Then, there was a minute of silence, in which both lionesses looked in the direction of Pridelands. Vitani broke the silence.

"Koda still doesn't know that his brother is adopted?"

"No ..." she replied, "I don't know if I should tell him ..."

"One day he will have to know..."

Just then, screams were heard and the five young lions came running.

"A little late, all of you" Vitani told them with authority, "I hope you make an effort next time"

"We're sorry for the delay," Akira apologized.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Vitani" Dan and Koda said.

" Vitani ..." Kiara reminded her. Vitani calmed down and said:

"Okay, you are forgiven. Well, let's start with your training. I hope that this time some of you give me a greater effort, do you understand? Dan, you go first ... "

Dan advanced nervously knowing what he was going to have to do: face Vitani. Not that she was afraid of his roar (she wasn't allowed to use it in simple practice), but maybe her aunt had wiped it out in less than a minute in previous practices. Would he be ready this time?

"Ready Dan?" asked the lioness ready to attack, "I hope you do better than last time. Remember, fix your eyes on the target and prepare to attack"

Dan didn't answer, but moved slowly as he followed Vitani with his eyes. She was smiling while also pacing back and forth, as if toying with him. It wasn't until Dan barely blinked that Vitani pounced on him.

The young lion reacted in time as he rolled to avoid the attack. However, as soon as he got up, he was about to receive a claw if he had not thrown his head back to avoid it.

"Well done, Dan!" Shany encouraged.

"He has improved" Jabari commented, "What do you think, Akira?

"I see him quite well. But he has yet to summon the courage to attack back" she replied.

This attack was followed by another and another, but this time, Dan counterattacked: As soon as Vitani had put a paw in his face, the young lion took it away with another blow. However, he was only able to do it a couple more times before jumping up again and backing off.

"Not bad" Vitani told him, "I see that you have improved, but you are too insecure to attack back. I have left many opportunities to attack me back, and I think you have seen them "

"Yes, I saw them ..." Dan confessed.

"Then…?"

Dan sighed heavily before telling the truth: "I don't feel safe fighting, I don't want to hurt someone..."

Kiara noticed Dan's sincere face. Then, she replied:

"That is understandable, it is the law not to hurt the innocent."

"But one cannot always meet innocents, Dan" interrupted Vitani, "There are strangers who will not care about anything or anyone to achieve their goal. Just defending yourself won't be enough, do you understand?"

Dan nodded. Koda stared at his brother until Vitani said, "Koda, it's your turn."

As Koda advanced to the field, Dan passed by his side, saying: "Good luck."

"Luck is not necessary, brother" he scoffed, "I know well how to do it"

When Dan returned with Shany, she consoled him: "Don't worry, you did excellent for me."

"Thank you very much Shany" he replied, "I wonder if Koda will do better"

Koda braced herself as Vitani took her place as well. After a couple of laps of stalking, Koda was the first to attack. However, Vitani was already prepared for it and jumped to the side. Koda couldn't stop himself, he fell to the ground rolling. Before he could get up, Vitani pinned him a paw over.

"He beat him in less than Zazu sings..." Jabari laughed. Dan couldn't contradict him.

"I admire your fighting spirit, but being impulsive is not always the solution" Vitani told the defeated Koda, "Think before you act. That's what a lion guard leader does - think before using the roar, understand? "

"I understand, could you let me go?" he said.

Vitani released Koda, who was still laughing.

"Well, Jabari is you ..." Vitani began. However, the moment was stopped when Kasi came running towards them.

"What's wrong Kasi?" Vitani asked, seeing her friend's concerned face.

Kasi gulped before answering:

"We must return to the Pride Rock: It's King Simba ..."