Chapter 3
The sky started becoming a deep dark blue color as night fell. With the moon and their stars as the only light, the lions went into the main den of Pride Rock and started settling down to sleep.
Simba sighed. He was upset because the next day, Rafiki was going to tell the pride lands about the new child, and that meant a presentation. When the presentation occurred, he would have to stand up in front of all the Pride Lands and act like he was proud of his new son. He would be proud if his son was a lion cub and not a man-cub.
He looked over at his mate, who was sleeping peacefully with the man cub. The man cub was sleeping in the warm parts of her fur and Nala was curled up around him. It bothered Simba that this man-cub would probably replace the cub that Nala was pregnant with… But there was one way that he could get rid of the man-cub. It mattered on what the ghost of his father, Mufasa, would think. Would he accept a human into the Pride?
Simba gave it more thought and then when he was too tired to think anymore, he went to sleep.
….
The next day came and Rafiki climbed out onto the top of his tree. He whispered in the wind about how Leo was found and how he was to be presented. The wind carried his message and it went all over the Pride Lands that the Presentation was going to be the next day. All the animals prepared themselves to come and celebrate the adoption of the new prince.
…..
The next morning after that, as the sun rose over the crimson red sky, all the animals began gathering at the base of Pride Rock. At the entrance near Pride Rock, Rafiki took Leo from the paws of his adopted mother and began walking to the Pride Rock point. He saw the face of Mufasa sitting in the clouds and raised Leo into the air to for all the animals of the Pride Lands to see.
The animals began cheering and bellowing in celebration of seeing the new prince; they didn't care if he was a human or a lion, they were glad that he was now a part of the Pride Lands. Mufasa blew a gentle, comforting wind on the small child, Simba, and Nala.
After a few seconds of holding the child up, Rafiki brought the child back to Nala. He picked up a mango, busted it open, and put some mango juice on his fingers. "Mei wafalme wakuu wa zamu uliopita zaidi na kukupa nguvu na ujuzi unahitaji kuishi wakati wewe kukua." Rafiki prayed in Swahili before he swiped the mango juice over the man-cub's forehead. He then took some of the sand and sprinkled it on the baby, causing him to sneeze a small bit.
Nala nuzzled her new child proudly while Simba watched, his smile somewhat fading from his face. His father accepted the Man-Cub, which meant that he was staying. There was nothing he could do about it.
"What am I going to do?" he wondered in his mind and in his heart.
…
A few months later, Nala would give birth to a female cub named Kiara. She was born with a golden pelt like her father, and friendly yellow eyes with brown pupils. When she first encountered her adopted older brother, they instantly became the best of friends with each other. And when she was presented, Simba couldn't have been any prouder. Though, deep in Simba's heart, he wished that the Man-Cub would leave and then it would just be his daughter that he could take care of.
….
7 Years Later…
Leo and Kiara both grew fast in the 7 years that passed. As Leo grew, he began gaining knowledge on how to survive, and he learned it all at a very young age. He learned how to make traps to catch animals, how to climb trees for fruit, how to look for grubs (you can probably guess who taught him that), how to make fire and use it for cooking, and (surprisingly) how to sow and make clothing out of the hide of the different animals that the lions had killed and brought in.
Little did Leo or Kiara know that they were being constantly watched by the spying eyes of Braun, who watched from different areas where he could not be seen, such as the tall grass on the savannah. He had been planning on hunting and eating Leo when he had the chance, but it seemed to fail every time he went after him.
Braun was either chased off by a group of Pride Rock lionesses who spotted him, attacked by a swarm of angry bees that he accidently fell into, and he was even foiled by the duo of the meerkat and warthog, who didn't even know he was there when they accidently sent a large log rolling down a hill while looking for grubs. It ran into Braun and ended up rolling over him. Luckily, it didn't kill him, but he was definitely sore for a while.
So, deciding that the circle of life was working against him, he spent most of his time watching on the Man-Cub and his lion sister. Personally, he rather succeed in hunting and eating the Man-Cub.
….
One day, Nala was the last to awake in the morning. She got up, yawned, and then looked to where she thought Leo was sleeping; but there was no sign of him. Usually he would be sleeping alongside her, but he had disappeared. She then began to get worried. "Leo?" she said worriedly, wondering if something came and kidnapped him. "Leo?!"
Suddenly, there was the playful yell of a child and Nala was tackled and knocked to the ground by someone. Nala was at first shocked by this. However, when she realized who tackled her, she began laughing.
"Boy did I scare you Mom!" said 7-year-old Leo, who was lying on the back of his lioness mother. Leo had grown into a thin young boy with long, shaggy black hair that grew like a lion's mane. The only article of clothing he wore were a pair of shorts that were made of wildebeest hide.
"Leo…" Nala chuckled warmly, getting up and causing him to fall off her. "You're getting too big for that. And besides, you really shouldn't do that with me. It's more of something that you should do with your father."
"I would…" Leo replied, getting up. "But you know Pa. He's not exactly one to have with fun with me."
"Give him some time. He'll get around to it…" said Nala. She then licked her son on the cheek affectionately, almost like a good morning kiss.
"Yeah… Probably." Leo muttered. "Hey, have you seen Kiara? We're gonna go explore the Pride Lands together!"
"I'm coming, Leo!" a cheerful voice yelled. Leo turned to see his adopted sister rushing towards him with a playful look on her face. "You ready to go?" she said excitedly as she stopped at his feet.
"You bet!" Leo replied. He turned to Nala and gave her a quick hug around her neck. "See you later Mom. Love you!"
"Love you too." Nala replied, watching as Leo and his sister bounded out of the main chamber of Pride Rock.
….
"Wow!" Kiara said in amazement as she looked over the landscape of the Pride Lands.
"I know, right?!" Leo said excitedly. "All of this wide open space to run and play! By the way… Race ya! Last one off Pride Rock is a hyena!"
"First one there has to be eaten!" Kiara replied as she and Leo started scampering down Pride Rock, only to be stopped by Simba.
"Whoa! Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" Simba asked, grabbing his daughter with his large paw. Leo stopped and began giggling as Kiara tried to get pass her father.
"Daddy!" Kiara giggled, trying to get free from her father's grasp as he placed her down at his feet. "Let go!"
"Well, I want you be careful." said Simba. He noticed Kiara was fooling around with a butterfly instead of listening and stepped on her tail gently to stop her. "Kiara, you need to be careful. You get hurt-"
"Hurt or stepped on or even get lost." Kiara finished for her father. It was a habit she had; she had heard the speeches Simba made so many times that she couldn't help but copy him. "How come I get a lecture and Leo doesn't?"
"Leo's different." Simba replied. He looked over at Leo, who was scratching his head out of boredom.
"Even though I'm different, I'm still part of the Pride, right?" Leo asked.
"Yes, my son, you are still one of us." said Nala, coming out of the den. She looked over at her daughter. "And you, young lady, need to mind your father."
Kiara smiled shyly and replied, "Yes Mom."
"And stay away from the outlands." Simba continued. "There's always trouble there."
"Correct sire…" said Simba's majordomo: a hornbill by the name of Zazu. He glided over and landed next to Kiara to speak to her. "Nothing but a bunch of backstabbing murderous animals out there. They simply cannot be trusted."
"Zazu's right." Simba continued as Zazu took off in flight. "You can't trust them or turn your back on them."
"Really?" Leo asked, now interested in the conversation. "How come?"
Simba sighed. "You two will understand it later." He replied, dismissing the topic. "Run along now."
"Dad…" said Kiara as she playfully rolled her eyes. She rubbed up against her father's front legs in an affectionate way and then bounded off down Pride Rock. Leo walked toward Simba with his arms extended, but Simba didn't do anything.
"Kiara gets to rub up against you and I can't hug you, Pa?" Leo asked in good-nature.
Simba's eyes narrowed a small bit. "Right…" Leo spoke as he dropped his arms and became serious. "Well, I'm going after Kiara." After he said that, Leo began running down Pride Rock after his sister.
"Stay on the path that I marked for both of you!" Simba called after him.
"We will!" Leo yelled as he ran off to catch up with his lioness sister.
