" Urrghhh Where am I ?" a feminine voice asked softy with a groan. The voice had woken up Simba who had closed his eyes for a moment to rest for a bit as he was waiting for the human girl he saved to wake up. Now that she did however, he was wondering how to approach her : it was the first time he had the opportunity to talk with another sentient being since his arrival on Remnant and he was a bit nervous.

A part of him wanted to just stay in the shadows of his cave and wait for the girl to leave but another one wanted him to stay. Simba was conflicted : he had been a long time since he had any social interactions with anybody apart of the spirit of his father, Mufasa and didn't know how to properly introduce himself. But then his thoughts were broken by another groan from the girl who was slowly getting up.

"Where I am ?" The girl asked softy to herself as she looked around (and thanks to the darkness hiding him she didn't saw him ) before glancing at her weapon "Uh ? How did my spear get here ?" and then she seemed to remember something as she looked away from her weapon to look at her left arm before gasping " What the-" she began to say as she slowly pulled the strange plant away from her wound… only to see it was healed ! Only a scar remained behind and Simba smiled to himself, glad that he had some of those plants in reserve.

"My arm ! Its healed !" The girl shouted in disbelief as she stared at the scar with wide eyes of surprise "What a good sense of observation..." Simba replied sarcastically to himself as he rolled his eyes at the girl's obvious remark. Then he watched as the still unnamed girl went back on her legs, picking up her weapon in the process before asking out-loud to herself " But how ? The last thing I remember is fighting Beowolves…"

Simba couldn't retain himself much longer and said in a calm tone while still hiding in the shadows "That's might be me..." The girl yelped in surprise at the unexpected voice and turned around to look at the darkness with wide eyes before going into a defensive position (or what he assumed It was) "Who are you ?! Show yourself !" she asked sternly as she armed her spear, ready to strike.

"Calm down I won't hurt you ! And I healed your arms you know… " Simba replied still in a calm tone even if he was grinning as she was pointing her 'spear' at the wrong direction "You… You healed me ?" the girl asked him with suspicion but in a much softer tone than earlier "Did I stutter ? Yes I healed you… You're welcome by the way..." Simba replied with a soft smile as he slowly got up.

The girl lowered her spear down but still kept it close as she said those words " I'm sorry for my behavior sir… Thank you for your help but...can you show yourself please ? I want to thank you accordingly..." the girl's tone gratitude was genuine but the request caused him to flinch in nervousness as he replied back "I… I don't think its a good idea… I don't want to scare you..."

The girl frowned at his words but then planted the sharp part of her weapon in the ground before crossing her arms in a defiant manner "Make me !~" Simba, from the darkness, stared at her with uneasiness but seeing the expression on her face caused him to sigh as he replied back softy "Alright then… but don't say I didn't warned you..." As he finished talking, Simba stepped closer and soon he was out of the shadows and in front of the girl… whose reaction was predictable.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH !" she screamed loudly in fright as she fell on her butt before slowly backing away from him. Simba, despise his annoyance, didn't moved and only stood there watching her with a calm expression on his face. Seeing that he wasn't going to attack her, the girl went back on her feet before picking up her spear and pointing it at him "Its you ! You are the Creature from earlier !" The Golden Lion rolled his eyes before looking back at the girl who was still pointing her weapon at him "Yes it was me… I was the one to save you… You're welcome again…" the last sentence was said with a cheeky grin.

The girl rolled her eyes at this but didn't lowered her weapon down as she asked in a stern tone "Why did you save me ? What are you ?" Simba sighed in exasperation before responding, still calm "I saved you because you needed help… obviously..." The dark brown haired girl looked a bit embarrassed at the last word but staid firm "And for your second question… Well… I'm someone you can trust..."

"Oh ? And why that ?" The unnamed girl asked him back with a frown "Because I could have killed you when you were ins-conscious but instead, I bring you here and treated your injury… Does this sound like a what a bad guy would do ?" he asked her with a raise-brow and he saw her going deep in thought before answering softy "No… but maybe you are tricking me into trusting you !"

Sighing in annoyance but understanding the distrust she had for him, he replied still in a calm tone "Look… I want nothing from you as I only did what I was taught was right so now if you want to leave then go ahead I won't stop you !" The last part was said with a gesture of his head toward the exit. The girl looked back and forth between him and the exit with a unsure look on her face. After a moment, she slowly lowered her spear down just as slowly crouched down on the ground still facing her.

Soon she followed his example as she sat on her butt and crossed her legs before looking back at him. The two of them stared at each other, without moving nor saying anything. Simba didn't know how to start a conversation anymore. With his father it was easy but with a stranger ? Not so much…But his thoughts were interrupted by his 'guest' who asked him in a soft tone "So… hum… What's your name ?" The Golden Lion blinked in surprise at the unexpected change of behavior but brushed it aside to answer her in a soft but hesitant tone "Simba… My name's Simba…"

"Simba… Hmmmm its not a bad name… Strange but nice..." the girl muttered softy to herself but Simba could hear it thanks to his sharp hearing sense but then asked her with a bit of curiosity in his voice "Thank you….Huh… How should I call you ?" The girl looked back at him for a moment before answering gently but not without shyness " Amethyst… My name's Amethyst Aster…." "Amethyst… Its a beautiful name..." Simba inquired in a gentle tone as he looked at her with a soft smile.

Amethyst blushed at the compliment as looked away with embarrassment as she muttered a soft "Thank you..." to which Simba accepted with a nod. "So what are you doing so deep in the forest ? Humans don't usually come this far..." he asked her with a curious raise-brow. Amethyst glanced at him, unsure if she should answer or not but then she sighed "Well… I wanted to train a bit more with my spear… as far away of my Uncle as possible…but then I got lost and I was ambushed by those Beowolves…" the last part was said with embarrassment.

"Don't you like your Uncle ? And what about your parents ?" Simba asked her when he saw how uncomfortable she was about thinking of the Dark Creatures that attacked her. She sent him a grateful smile before answering " Not really… He didn't give a damn about me… All he do is drinking beers all day ! I must do everything but not ONCE did he thank me or notice me for what I'm doing… The only thing he care about is having his fresh beer...As for my parents… they died in a Grimm attack and the authority sent me to my Uncle afterwards..." The Golden Lion looked at the girl, Amethyst, with some pity as he and her were suffering both from lack of parental figures or terrible Uncles.

"I'm sorry but… why are you staying with him then ?" Simba asked her with a frown : in her place, he would have left the guy already. "He is the only family I have left… and beside its also the only home I have..." Amethyst responded with some sadness in her as she glanced at the cave's entrance. Simba glanced at her with a bit of sadness before whispering softy "At least you're not alone..."

Amethyst looked back at him with a frown as she had heard what he said before asking "What do you mean ? Don't you have a family ?" The Golden Lion looked back at her with a look of pure sadness and sorrow as he responded back in a soft tone "I don't have a family… not anymore..." Amethyst looked at him with sadness on her face as she stepped closer. He flinched when he felt something touching his mane and looked over to see that it was none other than the girl who gave him a kind smile.

"I'm sorry… I understand if you don't want to talk about it..." Simba nodded at her gratefully as he whispered "Thank you… Its hard to be the only one of your kind..." Amethyst felt even more saddened by those words and , couldn't retaining herself, she pressed herself against the Lion's large russet mane and was shocked at how soft it felt under her touch.

But then she froze when he heard a sound coming from him… It sounded like… purrs ? Smirking, Amethyst pulled her face away from Simba's mane to look at him in the eyes " My My… Are you purring ?~" she asked him sweetly and her grin widened when Simba looked away in embarrassment "No ! I'm not !" he mumbled in denial without looking at her. Amethyst then caressed the large mane and the purrs became louder "I knew it ! You ARE purring !"

"Yes I am ! There happy ?!" Simba replied back with a huff which caused his guest to giggle in amusement as she cooed back teasingly "Awwww you're just a big softie~" The Golden Lion groaned in annoyance as he glared at her but she only grinned back at him with mischief. Simba wouldn't say it but he was feeling good on the inside : it reminded him of the time where he was a young cub playing with his best friend Nala.

Feeling playful himself, he replaced his glare by a devious grin as he looked back at her before saying with a grin of his own "If I am a big softie, what does this make you little one ?~" Amethyst growled at the last words as her purple eyes narrowed up at him "I am NOT little ! Its you who are too big !" "Whatever you say… pipsqueak..." Simba whispered the last part to himself but the brown haired girl heard him and letted out an indignant squawk that caused the Golden Lion to laugh with humor.

It was during his laugh that it realized that it had been a long time since such a sound escape his throat as the last time was the night before his father died. Sure he had laugh during his lesson with his father but it was different : Mufasa trained him when he was sleeping and each night.

"It feel good to talk with someone again… or even laugh… " Simba muttered to himself but sadly it was loud enough for Amethyst to hear as she asked back in a gentle tone "How long it had been ?" Blinking, the Golden Lion looked back at her and he saw her staring up at him with concern "What ?" "How long it had been since you chatted or laugh with someone ?" Amethyst asked him still harboring a concerned look in her eyes.

It was shocked him that she cared for him already as they had just met but seeing the concern in her purple eyes… He turned his head away from her with a sigh before answering in a pained tone "The night before my father's death… 8 years ago..." A gasp escaped the girl's mouth as she pressed herself against Simba's mane, hugging it as best as she could in an attempt to comfort him while whispering in a saddened tone "I'm sorry..." "Its okay… You don't have to be sorry for this… You didn't know…" Simba whispered back with a gentle tone to which Amethyst copied after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Simba… You're saying that your father died 8 years ago but… I never heard about people finding a Lion's body..." Amethyst remarked with a frown as she gazed up at him with her back pressed against his mane. Flinching, Simba was pondering in his mind if he should tell her or not but then he heard a familiar voice, his father's, whispering in his mind "Go on...She is trustworthy..."

After a few seconds of silence, the Golden Lion looked down at the human who was still waiting for an answer before sighing deeply.

"Amethyst… Can I trust you ?" he asked her softy as his red eyes stared down at her purple eyes. He wanted to be sure he could tell her his story even if his father just told him he could. "I swear on my life Simba that everything you will tell me will stay between us !" The brown haired girl replied back strongly as she looked up at him with confidence.

Hearing this, Simba let out another deep sight before speaking in a calm but pained tone "Amethyst… I'm not from Remnant… I came from another world named Earth and I was born in an area known to my kind as the 'Pridelands'..." Just by telling those details, he could see that the girl was definitely shocked as her eyes were wide in surprise and her mouth was gaping at him. "Then how did you get here ?!" Amethyst asked him, still in shock.

"I will get there but first I must tell you who I truly am..." At those words, the shocked expression on the girl's face turned into a frown of confusion but nodded "My mother was the best hunter in the pride and my father, Mufasa, was respected by every Creatures in our Kingdom… Both of them were loved and respected as they were the King and the Queen of the Pridelands..."

At those words, Amethyst's eyes widened in shock as she looked up at him with wide eyes "But that mean… You're a Prince ?!" Simba nodded at her before resuming "Yes I am… I was destined to take my father's place one day but what I didn't know someone in the Pridelands wanted to be King and wasn't happy about my birth…" he paused as he looked at her with a pained look on his face "It was my Uncle, Mufasa's younger brother, Scar..."

Too shocked to talk, Amethyst was staring at him with a gaping mouth and still staid silent when the Golden Lion resumed his story "For the next 10 years, I grew up happily with my family and my best friend, Nala who was the only other cub in the pride, unaware that my own Uncle wanted to see me dead…" he interrupted himself to let out a humorous chuckle " I was a carefree and adventurous cub at the time… Always getting into trouble..."

Amethyst smirked playfully as she remarked teasingly "Really ? I never thought you were like this~" Simba chuckled before replying in a gentle tone "I changed a lot..." but then his smile faded as he started to explain about the Elephant Graveyard and how his father saved both him and Nala from Hyenas. "He leaded us back home before ordering Zazu to take Nala while he dealt with me… He was angry at me for disobeying him but then we played together as the stars brightened the night..."

Simba paused again as he looked at the ground with sadness "It was the last best moment I had with my father…" Amethyst placed a comforting hand on his mane before giving him a gentle smile which he returned with a thankful look on his face as he resumed his story "The next day, my Uncle Scar took me to the gorge where my father had planned a surprise for me… He left me there while he went to get his older brother… I didn't know it was a trap..." "What happened ?" the brown haired girl asked him gently even if internally she didn't wanted to know.

"I was practicing my roar when the ground started to shake… I looked at the other side of the gorge… where a herd of Wildebeests appeared in a hurry… I ran away to avoid being crushed under their hooves until I spotted a dead tree in the distance… I climbed on it and used my claws to not fall… Then I saw Zazu who informed me that help was on the way… Suddenly, a few moments after Zazu disappeared, a Wildebeest crashed against the tree which sent me flying in the air..."

Amethyst was looking at him with shock as he retailing what had happened in the gorge so many years ago. "Thankfully, my father caught me in the air and was making his way to safety when he was pushed by another Wildebeest… For a moment, I was on my own, avoiding the hooves that were around me when my father appeared out of nowhere and picked me up… He then putted me on a rock in a higher ground and just as I turned around to look at him… He was pushed back in the stampede..."

Simba closed his eyes as memories of that day flashed in his mind but he shook his head to regain his composure before continuing "For a few seconds, I scanned the Wildebeests, trying to find my father among them when suddenly, I saw him leaping in the air before latching on the edge of the gorge… I watched him as he started climbing before going on my way , hoping to find him up there… I was wrong..."

"Simba ?" Amethyst called out for him in a concerned tone when she saw tears falling from his eyes " I climbed for a moment but when I turned around to see how my father was doing… I saw him falling back in the gorge… toward the stampede…" A shocked gasp escaped Amethyst's throat as she looked at the Golden Lion with pity before mumbling softy "Simba I'm… I'm so sorry you had to see this..."

Simba however ignored her, too absorbed by his story to hear her " I climbed back in the gorge to find my father… I found him near the tree I was on moments ago… He wasn't breathing nor moving… He was dead… As I cried for him, my Uncle Scar appeared and told me that if it wasn't for me, Mufasa would still be alive…" A look of anger appeared on Amethyst's face as she heard this but before she could say what she had in mind, he resumed "He told me to run away and never return which I did… I was chased by Hyenas but I managed to escape through a field of brambles… As I ran away, I heard them saying that if I came back they would kill me..."

A pained sigh escaped his throat as he looked at the ground as Amethyst herself was shedding a few tears because of the tale "For two days I wandered in a desert without food or water… I was exhausted, hungry and thirsty and the third day, I collapsed of exhaustion and the last thing I saw before my eyes were the Vultures descending on me… When I re-opened my eyes, I was surrounded by Darkness… until I heard a familiar voice behind me and I turned around to see my father !"

Amethyst staid silent as she looked at the Golden Lion with an unreadable expression on her face even if tears could be seen falling from her eyes. She listened with horror and fascination when he told her what Mufasa had said to him : that because he wasn't supposed to died like this, he had been sent here by the Two Gods of Remnants to be a Protector of Balance and about the fact that it was Scar himself who killed his own brother from the throne.

"For the next 8 years, I trained myself to survive in this new world… Both physically and mentally… I avoided both Humans and Faunus because I was wary of the former and suspicious of the latter… I grew to be the Lion I am today… thanks to my father's lessons and my trainings… The rest you know..." Simba finished with a soft tone barely loud enough to be heard by the Human whose expression was still unreadable.

Suddenly, the Golden Lion felt something touching his cheek and slightly turned his head to see that it was Amethyst who was now standing on her feet, looking at him with tearful eyes. Then she did something that shocked him greater : she hugged his muzzle, tightly. "I can believe your own Uncle would do something so vile ! Simba, I might know you for I don't know how long but from what I see and heard, you didn't deserved to suffer like this !" then she looked at him with a warm smile as she added softy "From now on, you can count me as a friend~"

Simba looked back at her with bewilderment but then a smile grew on his face as he nuzzled her which caused her to hugged him even tighter. The two staid like this for a moment until Amethyst remarked sheepishly "Well seems like I'm staying with you tonight..." Simba turned his head toward the entrance and saw that the sky was becoming darker announcing that the night was coming "You're welcome to stay as long as you want… my friend~" the Golden Lion inquired gently and he received a warm smile in response.

Then the Great Lion made his way toward the bed of mosses before curling around himself like a cat just as Amethyst came closer "Do you mind if I sleep with you ?" "No of course not…" Simba replied back with a welcoming smile which caused the brown haired girl to made herself comfortable against her new friend who wrapped his left foreleg around her, pulling her closer. She had her back and head pressed against his mane and she sighed in content at how soft it was.

"Good night Simba… Sweet dreams~" the brown haired girl whispered to the Golden Lion who gave her a gentle smile as he watched her closing his eyes, falling asleep. "Goodnight Amethyst and thank you~" he whispered back softy before putted his large head down and joining his new friend in a peaceful slumber but this time with a happy smile on his muzzle as for the first time in a while, he got what he missed : a friend.

(To be continue…)