NALA

Okay...wasn't expecting for it to be this emotional, and in such a sad way. I feel...terrible, even being mad at him in the frist place. I had no idea what he was going through, and alone. Acting like your pain doesn't exist isn't good...but it's not better than letting your pain consume you like I did. Kings, I can see how we are both fucked up.

"Nala, you okay?" his voice brought me back to reality.

"Yea...i just...kings, where do I even begin?"

"Whenever you want, doesn't matter." I took a breath, I still felt like I owed him more of an explanation of what happened back home... I just didn't know what exactly to say and how to say it. " I know it seems impossible to start."

"That's for sure..."

"Can I ask you a question, about my mother?" I felt my heart wanting to speed up. but I ignored it and nodded my head.

"...sure."

"She is..."

"Yes, she is... They got outnumbered in the end... and um, she gave herself up for everyone else." I refused to let my eyes see his face. the last thing I needed to be burned into my memory was him in more pain then he already is. Life already sucks enough, I don't need to add to the pictures that play in the back of my head too. So instead, I looked I made myself focus on the cooling breeze from the approaching night.

"I always knew, deep down I did. But I had nothing to solidify it...you know, make it true or real..." I heard his voice crack. " I could KILL him..." the venom I heard in his voice took me off guard. It rolled so effortlessly off his tongue. but I knew he who he wanted to kill was the wrong lion.

"It wasn't him...it wasn't Scar."

"...What...how, I thought once he found out he'd-"

"Your mother poisoned him, gave him a kill from an animal that had been bitten by a black mamba. She fed it to only him early that morning." I heard him pause again, trying to put the pieces together to a story I know made no sense to him.

"Then...then who?" just say his name Nala...fuck. Why is this still so hard? "Nala who!?" there was urgency in his voice. I'd have the same too, given the information. I'd want to know, through hell or highwater, who killed my mother. it's not his fault for "Nala-"

"...Nuka!" his name rang in my ears. " It was Nuka." suddenly I felt a swift wind brush against my side. It was Simba storming off. Not knowing what to do or what he'd do, I followed him. "...Simba...Simba wait!" I went after him, as fast as my limping legs would allow me. "Simba slow down!" but I knew I was crying on deaf ears, he's enraged...crazed... I don't know what in his mind right now. "Simba stop- where are you going?!...don't do something you'll regret!... Just STOP!" I was one the verge of collapsing and tripping over myself when he finally stopped his mad pacing. Thank the kings. "...finally...just...just breathe-"

"breathe, how can you tell me to breathe right now?"

"I know this is a lot for you to take in right now but-"

"A lot?!...this is." he coudlnt even find the words. I watched his face, reading his red eyes as they show his racing brain. Weighting everything...processing everything. " I...I...fuck!" he was tormenting himself, he's crazy himself crazy if he kept going.

"Simba...calm down."

"How the hell could he do that?! that was my MOTHER his AUNT...we...we grew up together! How the hell can you just kill family like that?!" Clearly me telling me to calm down had no effect. I could sense the tension in him rasing, the look in his eyes...they looked rabid.

"... I don't know."

" AND...and no one could stop him...no one could save her?!"

"...No, she didn't want to lose anyone else-"

"No no no!, she put her life on the line for everyone and NO ONE...and you're telling me no one stood up to defend her?!" No... it wasn't like that, she didn't want them too. The way he accused them of not being there for her is wrong. They were there! "They just let her die!"

"They were outnumbered."

"So you're telling me she got killed by a pack of fucking hyenas...she was MAULED TO DEATH?!"...yes that's what im telling you."Bullshit!" fine then...

"She wanted to die Simba! She lost everything..."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" fuck, between him and the memories. I needed to sit down. So I did, I wasn't going to have a repeat of earlier today. "Nala what the HELL DO YOU MEAN?"

"...Simba." I voiced warning him.

"Right right, I am calm!" No, he wasn't and I'm damn sure he couldn't convince himself of that either. "Just tell me."

"...You left ...Kopa was gone-"

"what do you mean gone?...you mean that's not..."

"No..." I knew he knew that little cub with me was not his brother. the age would not add up, Kopa would have been a year old now. "He's your cousin's son, Vitani."

"...w...wait, what. Then why is he with you?"

" It's a long story..."

" Then make it short."

"It's not that simple Simba."

"Yes it is, just tell me what happened to my brother."...that was the frist time I ever heard Simba refer to Kopa as that. Just compared to a few days ago, he's really had to have a change of heart. And I can see it... "He died too, didn't he..." im actually glad he was able to make the conclusion, I don't think I'd have the strength to tell him. I still refuse to believe I failed him like that. I let him and Sarabi down. She probably would have wanted to live if it weren't for my fuck up!

"...yes..."

"...and no one was there to stop that either..."

"...I was." I found myself slowly saying.

"Huh?"

"I.. I was there." I felt like I was confessing my sins in a crime that I had committed. I could feel his eyes on me, burning their way into my brain to dig out the answers he so desperately wanted.

"...who did it?"... I can't answer that. Not without thinking of how it happened. How it felt like I did so little to save him, to save myself... and I gave my everything! " Nala? who did it! Who was it? Nala tell me!"

"...it was Nuka." I felt my throat start to seize up.

"...So he killed my mother and my brother."

"...yes-" Damn, Simba had a sick twisted family.

"where were you...you said you were there?!" his sudden turn of aggression towards me threw me off guard... the hell did I do? "Why didn't you stop him, what happened?!" he was taking his anger out on me... I feel it. He's hurting...and bad. But I'm in no better of shape to help him heal, especially with him by taking things out on me...

"... Hakuna Matata..." I wasn't ready. I could tell him what he needed to know, Kopa was killed and that was that.

" No no Nala you can't-"

"I said Hakuna Matata!"

"But I NEED to know-"

"You promised me!" threw my watery eyes I saw him wrestle with himself. Bully me into telling him, or just let it be for now! kings, why did he need to know...now I can't get him mangled body out of my mind. The blood of little Kopa that dripped from Nuka lips, after he had taken mine...my body still feels the hurt, the pain. Like he had never stopped.

Why did this feeling never seem to go away... no matter how long, no matter how hard I try not to think about it. And when I don't...and i"m simply just reminded of it, but the slightest thing. It all comes flooding back to me...

Now it was my turn to cry. An actual cry, because I don't think I was even given the chance... I don't think I gave myself the chance. I just closed everything up. And even with the help of my mother and Vitani, it still wasn't enough for me to be somewhat...okay with myself on the inside.

"Nal..." The frist thing I felt was how soft his mane was against the side of my face. He felt so...warm. I listened closely in on his heartbeat, it was oddly calm, despite his outside demeanor. the beat of his heart was so steadily. It reminded me to calm mine. I buried myself into his embrace, his body. "... I'm sorry." no...i felt sorry, I wanted so badly to be mad at him right now. Why wasn't he there when I needed him... he did even have to save me from Nuka, I just wanted him to be there! "Nala?"

"...c-can i...just hold you...for a few seconds...please?" he didn't say anything, so I guess he didn't object the idea. I just needed a few seconds to let everything I had building inside me out. I held onto him tight as I buried my head screamed murder into his mane. His soft fur drowning out the sounds and simultaneously insolated me inside of him. his touch on my back was just what I needed.

We stopped talking after that. We both have said enough for one day if given anything more I know... We'd both lose it for sure. besides, It was late. The sky was pitch black and we were sitting next to each other. As crazy as today was, it felt great at the end of the day to let that frustration out.

"Today was crazy huh." I voiced, but I didn't get the response I was expecting or looking for. Simba was oddly quiet, he was thinking. "Simba?"

"Crazy...is one way of saying it."

"...how do you feel about...everything I told you?"

"Honesty, I don't know what I feel. I mean...is there a right way to feel about this situation?"

"No, I don't think so." I got form my sitting position and leaned into him. " I'm sorry, about everything. I know what I told you is...heavy."

" You know, this whole time, I had a picture in my head that my undoing would be my Uncle...not Nuka." I cocked my head to listen keenly to him, I had to remind myself. He and I grew up with two different experiences. The Nuka he knew as his erratic cousin. Not the crazed dictator. For him, his Uncle was the enemy. but the reality is, at least for me...Scar didn't even scratch the surface. " I don't know what to think Nala, we grew up together, we trained together, we endured his father together."

"That Nuka is long gone, he's not the same lion you and I knew growing up. He's a monster."... but he was also Simba's family... it would be so easy for me to cut him off to want him dead. but... I don't have that connection that Simba had with him, and in a weird way, I know they had to have a connection growing up. they had to. How else could they have survived? they needed eachother...like I needed Vitani. " I don't know what to tell you what to do..." Why is life so ...messed up?

"I know exactly what I have to do, I have to kill him. There's no other way around it."

"...Simba?" the look I saw from him, was...not him. the cold expression, it rested so easily on his face. The... I want to say subtle change- that's not so subtle - feeling that I read from him, made my skin crawl. He didn't seem like himself. when he turned to look at me I froze. I felt like I hadn't recognized him. He wasn't he Simba that was there comforting me a few minutes ago.

"Nala, I need to you tell me everything that's happened." because he has to know there's so much more... I know he does, I haven't even scratched the surface with him yet.

"I-"

"Simba? " we both turned to see Kenya and her one of her sisters coming from behind the trees. " Where have you two been we've been looking for you."...shit, I knew we had been out here long, but I didn't think it was this long. " Nala, Roho's looking for you, he won't go to sleep until you're back." is it bad to say I think Kenya and her sister just saved me from an uncomfortable conversation...

"...Right. I'm sorry. I lost track of time and Simba just came to find me..." I voiced, I let Simba help me up, but Simba separated from me as soon as I got my footing. I guess so Kenya wouldn't think anything. kings know what could be going on in her head with everything. Before he walked away I could see a ' we need to talk' look in his eye. I don't know what to think of that. But what I do know is, I need to get to Roho and make sure he's alright. I owe him an apology anyway. I can worry about what's to come for us, tomorrow, I can't handle any more drama right now.

*Ya'll Simba now knows, at least about his mother and brother. What will he do next... I don't know, will the answer be that easy?

+RyanSquad, right I felt so bad! he needed this for sure. More closure to come.

+KawaiiCutie12 , yea I don't know how it happened, but I promise any future one will be paced better lol. And yes Simba cry it out!