BIGTLKSWFAN, I'm glad you're loving the story. Stay tuned we still have a lot to unfold.

KawaiiCutie12, yes our girl Vitani going A-OKAY, for the most part…

Faithcorry634, glad you enjoyed the chapter and yup, keep me posted!

Chapter 45

By the time the cream-colored lioness had returned back home the sun was alright high up in the skies. The heat beamed down her back. Reflecting a small shine of sweat. She didn't make it far up the stone steps when she heard her mother voice calling her name from above.

She looked up, tired, knowing full well she didn't feel like being bothered by her mother's pestering questions. The when, where, and why she was, where she was… was no mystery to anyone.

"Mom." She voiced, meeting her halfway.

"You look terrible Nala." The lioness sighed. This was the normal starter for any of their conversations now.

"Well, I feel it so…not much we can do about that." As if joking about it would somehow make her feel better. She continued to walk slowly passed.

"I hope you don't think you can join the hunt with us, later on, looking the way you do."

"Well, what do you want me to do mom? Change my face?" the remark rolled off her tongue with ease. As she careless looked back to her mother.

"You know that's not meant, I mean-"

"I don't care want you mean mom, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. I'm just saying it because I am worried about you. You aren't taking care of yourself, I haven't seen you sleep or eat."

"I'm about to sleep now if you'll let me. and I'm not hungry."

"You're never hungry."

"I guess I'm not in the mood to eat bones, okay."

"... I wish you would get help."

"I'm fine."

"I wish you would stop telling yourself that lie."

"well, I wish you'd stop talking to me, I'm not some stupid little girl anymore." if her voice wasn't so low with desperation, she might have sounded threatening.

"Nala?" Sarafina's voice tried to sound surprised. She tried to sound like her daughter's words hurt her, she wanted them too.

"Mom, please just leave me alone, I've had a long night and I'm tired okay!" She continued to walk up the stone stairs.

"I don't understand- why don't you just talk to me? I can help you-" Nala turned to her before she could even finish her sentence. killing any hope that Sarafina did have.

"You could NEVER help me." there was more meaning behind her words, than in her dull eyes. her mother knew what she meant.

"Just explain it to me. We've haven't talked for months!" but her words went on deaf ears as Nala vanished from her few.

Frustrated but knowing full well she felt there was nothing she could do anymore. She walked away. Sarafina was growing tired of the fighting and miscommunication with her daughter.

Once they had been so close, now they can hardly be in the same space together, without either one of them feeling uneasy.

The truth, was Nala wished she could be able to talk to her mother. But something in her, felt like her trust with her mother had been severed. She couldn't rely on her to be there anymore.

Especially when no one was there when she needed her the most. And if anything, she felt like her mother constantly looked at her as a victim. Which was something she was-is and still feels but…she doesn't need the pity look of her mother to confirm it anymore.

Her mother will never be able to relate to her, and the pain she is constantly going through. Willingly putting herself in because she has no other way.

The only lioness how could ever help her in this time of need was dead. Her guidance is gone. Which is leaving Nala forever stuck as that little cub from a year ago.

Simba watched closely as Kye tried to explain to him what they would be doing. From his time with this small pride, Simba had learned the leader, Kye was a rather….unconvential- yet self-made lion.

Kye's background was like any other. He was born into pride, like any other. Had both his father and mother in his life. Leading him on the best path they could provide him.

Then he was on his own, a wander for the majority of his youth until he came across a lioness, Maji, who would later be his mate.

Unfortunately when hard times did strike, and the father of three girls found himself, a widower. Kye knew he had to be resourceful for his family.

As cheerful as he might be, Kye is the hard lion to impress and even more, harder to get his trust. After all, he had three little girls, who would be grown lionesses before his very eyes. Kye had a lot to prepare for.

It was best believed when he first saw Simba, he felt the young lion was rather pathic. In his own words ' a runt with nothing to offer'. But his middle daughter Kenya saw that this stranger needed help. And having her mother's heart didn't make it any easier.

Simba had been living alone for weeks after he had run away from pride rock. And the truth was, he was miserable. He couldn't do anything right. Hunt, eat, sleep. Everything he did was wrong, and it was like he had to be taught all over again. Hunting was out of the question because he had never learned.

So he scavenged, and scavenge he did, eating the wrong things most of the time. which made him feel like- or rather his stomach feel like he was knocking at death door more than once.

Then came sleep, well when he could sleep. the nightmares would force him to lay awake for endless hours at a time. The days he did sleep, he slumped, a whole day worth.

He only woke up when he heard the growls of a very angry cheetah mother, whose territory he had stumbled into.

He quickly got himself out of that situation.

It was by the grace of the kings that this pride just so happen to come across him, or rather he came across them. For Simba again, dazed and not knowing which direction was which, stumbled into their built land. Yes built, as strang as it sounds.

Simba came across the river that some who seemed to appear out of nowhere. You could say, he felt he had finally been given a helping paw. The water that was in the river was cool- well as cool as water can be in the savannah. It was clean and free from his bugs and dirt. It was the most refreshed and alive he had felt in weeks.

then came the low. After every high, there is a crash. No matter how alive and refreshed Simba may have felt, he had been without food for three days. Too week to go out and find anything, the only thing he could do was rest and gather some strength. Hopefully, he would be able to gather something to be able to try to hunt the next day.

And when he opened his eyes, they were meet back with wide grey eyes. The rest was history.

Today Kye was showing Simba how to control the water in the damn he had made. It was the dry season so they had to keep as much of their water supply as they could. Kye self-made damn flowed freely for miles. Branching off in different areas.

This was a great way to continuously get prey throughout any season. After all, where there is water, there is prey.

"We're going to cut off the water flowing down this river channel." Kye was now stomach height deep in water. "If we move those trees down there we will stop the flow supply and keep more water here, near us. Got it."

As focused as Simba wanted to be, he couldn't help but think how against nature this was. Lions in the water? No matter how many time Simba had watched kye in the water, and how effortless he made it seem. Water and Simba were still too different.

"uh…yes…got it." But he was more focused on where he should be placing his paws than Kye's directions.

"you're not going to drown son I promise. Besides it is only stomach deep for now."

"Now?..." he wasn't trying to hide how disturbed he was. Kye could think he was a coward all he wanted. They legit could drown in this situation. he had every right to be a little tense.

"Well when we stop the water supply, it'll back up here. Then it'll be head height or more. That's when we'll have to swim."

"Swim…"

"Don't sound so scared boy, I got you. C'mon, those trees aren't going to moves themselves."

"...right...right behind you."

Hi guys, sorry for the long wait. I was in a writing slump- still in it lol. Also, I'm trying to work on Nala split personality here. Tell me how it's working out. I'm going to flesh it out more.