*Door slams in the background followed by rapid footfalls until I burst into the room.*
I'M HERE! I'm here! Holy muffins I'm so sorryyyyy! Holy it's been way, way, way too long since I last updated and I apologize for that!
Story of my life, it just seems like every time I sit down I have to get right back up and do something. Mostly it's just making sure baby boy has been fed, changed and given lots of loves and cuddles(he has me wrapped around his finger and I think he knows it XD.) or house hold chores that never seem to be done DX. And when I finally do have time, it always has to be cut short because I'm pretty tired and it's a better idea to sleep when babies sleep so I can function the way a mom needs to.
There's a couple other things I can add to the 'hard to focus on writing' list, but excuses, excuses, right? I know you're all just here to read a new chapter. XD
Oh! But before I let you go, let me just give out a great big thank you to everyone who follows 'The Courage Within' and helped this story reach over 100 reviews! *Cue confetti and triumphant kazoo noises* it couldn't have happened without you guys and I can never put into words how much I appreciate you!
Solange Griffin: Thank you so very much for your review hun, I'm glad you're interested in the story :)
ericaphoenix16: Thank you very much, I'm so glad you like it so far :D:D:D and I certainly will keep at it!
Cerberusx: Lol, that's good, I'm sure no one would ever want to be put in Ryan's place if they had the choice XD XD XD
NatNicole: I like Thurston too, he's such a funny character X3 We'll see what happens! :D :D :D
Steelcode: UPDAAAATE! XD XD XD Thank you so very much hun, he's such a sweetheart 3 And I'll try to get more chapters done so all your questions will be answered!
I-Love-Trunks1: Thank so much hun, I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story! I'll try and get more posted soon :D :D
bored411: Oh yes, things are starting to get interesting X3 I'll try and get more chapters done and posted as soon as I can, but thank you so much for your understanding! 3
Jestalnaker94000: Oh yeah, thank goodness lady luck seems to be favoring Ryan the way that she has been XD XD XD Oh yes, I bet she's doing what any mother would be doing, scouring all of Africa to find her baby boy! And thank you so very much, my sweet boy has been a joy X3
Dave Bennett: Thank you so much! I'll try and get more chapters posted so you can find out X3 X3 X3
I'll have to check it out, I've honestly missed the boys. Lol, I bet they would drive Simba and the pride up the walls XD XD XD
Jason Chandler: It's a gift and a curse XD Thank you so very much, he's such a good boy and he makes me love being a mother! :3 :3 :3
Interstate2011: Thank you so much for catching all the grammar and spelling errors, hun, it's been a big help! :D:D:D I was just going by what I've seen from the show, it's been forever since I've seen the older episodes, but I do think remember an episode where the zebra Muhimu got mad at Bunga for sitting on her back. Of course, that may have just been because she was expecting, but I decided to go with the thought that zebras don't give rides to anyone if they can help it.
Though, I'll admit that decision was based mostly on the fact that I really don't remember any zebras offering rides to other animals ^^;
You're all wonderful and amazing for sticking with me and I'm sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter 15: Take Me Out to the Ball Game…in the Jungle.
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Ever since Ryan told Simba and the pride about his encounter with Gamba and Zuberi and that Buziba and his pack of wild dogs were here in the oasis, to say that the king was angry would be an understatement. If Nala hadn't been there to calm him, Ryan was sure he would have sent groups of his lionesses throughout the jungle to hunt them all down.
Despite how relaxed and happy he had been when they first arrived, it was like he regressed to how he was before, though he wasn't too surprised by it with the danger now present in their temporary jungle home. But the rules he placed were a little much...
No one within the pride was to be alone, that went for Kiara and Ryan especially. Every member was to take one or two partners with them anywhere and everywhere they went, as it was safer to be in numbers and before they left, they had to report to Simba or Nala in order to tell them where they were going and when they would be expected to return.
Lastly, everyone had to be back together before the sun set.
And after these new rules were enforced, Ryan became very hesitant to tell him about the rope he had found because he didn't want Simba to worry any more then he already was. So here he was today, walking along the path with Simba by his side because all the other lionesses had been preoccupied, and suffering a rather awkward silence between them as Simba seemed to have a lot on his mind judging by the sour expression on his face.
But Ryan tried to lighten the mood by initiating conversation, and even if Simba barely responded with short answers, he tried to keep on talking. Telling Simba anything that came into his head, and lucky for him he had lots of things to tell him about home.
He mainly about his friends and his old school, but when he mentioned his schools mascot, the wolf, Simba really seemed to be interested in hearing more about northern animals. So, Ryan told him about more about wolves; and about deer, bears, otters, bison, moose, every possible animal he could think of that resided in America.
Simba seemed especially fascinated about cougars and the young man couldn't help but feel proud that he was able to get his friend to relax and described how they looked.
"All these northern animals sound so amazing. These bison that look like woolly buffalo and these cougars are lions that live in mountains? I wish I could meet them myself." Simba told him. "What are wolves like again?"
"Well, they're like really big dogs and they live packs." Ryan explained, trying to think of a way for Simba to get a better idea. "Think of like jackals or painted dogs, only their coats are much thicker and not really marbled or spotted."
Though the moment he finished his sentence, he instantly regretted bringing up painted dogs as that grim and angry expression fell over Simba's face once again…him and his big mouth.
"Sooo this is gonna be pretty off topic," Ryan quickly began, as Kiara suddenly came to mind. "But do you and Nala ever, you know, think about having more cubs?"
That seemed to surprise Simba as he suddenly stopped and looked at Ryan, his eyes a bit rounded. But then he regained his composure and cleared his throat before he began walking again.
"Oh, I don't know, we're both already so blessed to have Kiara…" He trailed off, looking a little unsure. "Although, I suppose I do sometimes find myself thinking about what it would be like to have at least one more…"
"Would you want a boy or another girl?" Ryan asked as he genuinely wanted to know more. "You have any names picked out?"
"I don't think we'd have a preference, we'd be happy with either." He said, smiling a bit at how eager Ryan seemed about it. "If we had a second daughter, Kanai would be a good name. If we had another son, well, I've always liked the name Kion."
Ryan smiled at the thought of a new, adorable little prince or princess running around, even though Simba and Nala have been through a lot, they were good parents. Having more cubs to love would suit them wonderfully.
Splat!
Both Ryan and Simba froze as they looked down at a lone mango that was now splattered over the ground at their feet. It just came out of nowhere, and before Ryan even had a chance to say 'what the heck?', Simba suddenly pushed against him.
"Look out!" He stated loudly, urging Ryan to back up several paces with him just as the ground they were just standing on was pelted with fruit.
"Well hello there, your majesty, Oo-ah!" A voice greeted, and looking up, Ryan was met with the view of seven heads popping out from the leafy branches to stare down at them. They were baboons.
"Fancy meeting you here." the largest baboon that a big fluffy mane of fur around his head and neck said.
"You know these guys?" Ryan asked.
"Big Baboon and his troop." Simba said in a pretty exasperated tone which made Ryan look at him in confusion. "They're always quick to throw fruit at passerby's."
"Our apologies, Simba, we certainly weren't trying to hit you, or your hairless little friend. Oo-oo, You were caught in the crossfire." Big Baboon explained before he turned his face away from them to the bushes that were near the edge of the clearing. "The king's here, now you have to move along!"
"Why I never! The same could be said to you baboons!" a familiar, nasally voice shot back.
"Thurston?!" Ryan exclaimed before a black and white stripped face looked out from behind the trunk of a tree.
"Is that you, Ryan? Well isn't this a coincidence!" Thurston the zebra exclaimed, looking rather happy to see the young man as three more younger zebras like him peeked out from their hiding places. They must have been members of his herd. "Everyone, this is the nice man I told you about, the one who got me out of the vine I was tangled up in before I bravely carried him off to safety from two vicious painted dogs."
Ryan blinked at what Thurston just said, carried him off to safety? He distinctly remembered the both of them running for their lives. And they most likely would have ended up becoming kibble if they hadn't happened to run into Mbeya and his crash of rhinos.
"What's going on here, Thurston?" Simba asked while Ryan just decided to ignore the zebra's exaggerated retelling of how they met to the others. "Are you the ones the baboons are throwing fruit at?"
"Why yes we are, Your Majesty." Thurston affirmed with a nod. "My friends and I only wanted to enjoy some of these scrumptious leaves here in the shade, but Big Baboon and his whole troop started throwing all that sticky fruit at us!"
The other zebra's began to chime in with flustered and irritated voices before Simba sighed and turned back to the baboons. All of them looking totally unconcerned with the whole thing as they were picking through their fur like they had done nothing wrong.
"Big Baboon, you know we're no longer in the Pridelands." Simba said, trying to keep patience. "The oasis is a haven for all, we can't claim territories, and everyone must share the jungle until it's safe to return home."
"And we do share with others, Oo-oo!" Big Baboon said, crossing his furry arms and turning his snout up in the air. "Just not these trees!"
"You heard the king!" Thurston stated loudly, stomping a hoof on the ground in impatience. "There are no territories, so either share or move along!"
Ryan was sure Big Baboon would decide to move himself and his family to another location if he really had no intention of sharing the space and let the zebra's eat some leaves in peace, especially since the king was here. But to everyone's surprise, the baboon leader began to snicker and laugh, then the whole troop started laughing as well.
"Ah-ah! Oh, we'll share, alright…" Big Baboon said with a smirk before every baboon sitting in the treetops held up their arms to show a fruit nestled in each of their hairy palms.
There was a tense silence between everyone, eyes from each party watching for the slightest movement of the other until it was broken by one young zebra…
"Panic and Run!" Thurston cried, rearing up as his herd scattered and ran all around in different directions before the fruit started flying.
Simba and Ryan barley had time to duck for cover behind a large boulder as the baboons, in their frenzy, were trying to hit anything that moved. It wasn't an ideal spot, especially with Ryan since he had to stoop down low to avoid, but it was better than nothing.
"Can't you stop this?!" Ryan asked, his back pressed against the stone as he looked over his shoulder to watch the scene in disbelief.
"Baboons are incredibly stubborn, more so the members of this particular troop, so there's really no stopping it." Simba said with an exasperated sigh. "At least not until they've run out of melons to throw."
"But you're the king, shouldn't you be able to-" His sentence was cut off by a gasp as something suddenly hit him in the back of the head with a loud and very wet 'SPLAT!'
Ryan just sat there, wide eyed and frozen like a statue before what was left of the mystery melon slipped off his head and fell to the ground. And for those few moments just staring down at it in shock and disbelief, his blood soon began to boil as his hair was soaked through and streams of fruit juice trickled down his face and neck in gross, sticky rivers.
"Alright, that's it!" the raven-haired teen roared as he looked left and right around himself.
He wanted to find something he could throw back, but immediately abandoned that plan when he managed to find something else that he could put to better use. And with a fearful gleam in his eyes, he grabbed it and came out from under cover all the while ignoring Simba as the king told him to get back down.
The zebra's stopped their panicked running when they saw Ryan standing out in the middle of the clearing. Even the baboons, who stopped their onslaught in surprise and confusion to see the young man standing out in the open by himself, just watched as he stood there holding a long, broken tree branch in his hand.
"I have had enough of you!" Ryan shouted in a furious voice as he shook the branch at them. Though instead of being intimidated, Big Baboon and his troop began to laugh.
Even with his little stick, they were much too high in the trees for him to try and hit at them, so he stupidly walked out here just to become a better target for their fruit throwing and got ready for an attack.
But lucky for Ryan, he was counting on them to throw more as he tapped the ground twice with the thicker end of the branch and gripped the thinner part of it with both hand, then he parted his legs, bent his knees and raised up the stick to hold it over his left shoulder. And he just stood there waiting until one of the baboons, a little more trigger happy than the others, flung a yellow fruit through the air.
But instead of hitting their target or watching the young man moving out of the way like they all expected, Ryan gave a determined yell as he swung the branch at just the right moment and hit the fruit. Hitting it so hard, that it flew off at an even faster velocity that, when it smashed into the face of the baboon who threw it, knocked him over and out of the tree in a daze.
A hush fell over the whole area, Simba and the zebra's all stared at Ryan in surprise, even feeling the need to slightly step out from their hiding places in order to get a better view of what they knew was coming. And the baboons, after they got over their initial shock over what happened, began to hoot angrily and began hurling fruit at the young man with a vengeance.
Unfortunately for them, Ryan wasn't backing down as the uncomfortable stiffness of drying juice fueled his determination to get these baboons out of here. And in the midst of hailing fruit, he just kept swinging his makeshift bat and pretended that he was standing in some crazy batting cage.
He did get pelted with a fruit a couple of times, but thanks to every baseball practice and game he ever attended, he managed to hit every target until Big Baboon was the only one left. But the big wigged troop leader didn't last long before he too ended up with a melon to the face that sent him, hollering, from the trees and onto the ground with his family members.
The sound of a feet stomping heavily on the ground made them all look up to see Ryan looming over them, bits of fruit peppering his hair and cloths and a frightfully seething expression.
"Still feel like flinging fruit at us?!" he asked calmly, though they could tell it was taking everything he had to keep from blowing up at them.
"N-no, no, we're done." Big Baboon stammered, offering the young man a meek smile. "Oo-oo, it's about time for us to move along, anyway."
And with that, he urged his troop to get up and run away as fast a they could until they disappeared within the leafy jungle.
"Next time, just share!" Ryan yelled out, and once he could no longer hear their hooting, he suddenly found himself surrounded by black and white stripped figures as zebra's began thanking him for chasing the baboons off.
"Ryan, that was simply amazing!" Thruston exclaimed as he practically pranced over to him. "The way you used that stick to hit the fruit right back at them like that, you really showed those baboons!"
"Yes, it was rather fascinating to watch." Simba started, looking just as impressed as the zebra's. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"Well, back home I did this all the time." Ryan started, his irritation for the baboons giving way to bashfulness at becoming the center of attention, and just gave a shrug of his shoulders. "It's called baseball."
"Baseball, oh we just love baseball!" Thurston stated while the other young zebras quietly looked at each other in confusion. But after a few moments, he finally realized that he had absolutely no idea what it was either. "What's baseball?"
"I've heard you say this word before, while you were healing at Pride Rock." Simba said. "What is it? Is baseball something fairly important where you're from?"
"Well, maybe not important to everyone, each person has different interests." Ryan started. "But there's lots of baseball fans like me."
The young man suddenly paused as he looked down at the stick he was still holding. Then, glancing back up at Simba as he remembered how low he was feeling before the whole fruit filled insanity started, he gave a loud and excited gasp as an awesome idea popped into his mind.
"That's it!" Ryan exclaimed in such a loud tone that it ended up startling Simba and the zebra's. "This is just what we need!"
"And we need…more fruit?" Simba slowly asked, looking pretty confused.
"What? No, just go back and bring Nala and all the lionesses back here, and see if you can find Zazu and Timon and Pumbaa too. I'm gonna set up something cool!" Ryan said, then he began to look around the area as though he were trying to measure something out. "You're all gonna love it!"
"No one's supposed to be alone!" Simba reminded him, his features becoming filled with discomfort at even the thought of leaving his friend here. "Out of everyone, you're in the most danger if those wild dogs-"
"I'll be fine, just round up everyone and come back. Also, I think I can hear the river nearby, so I wanna get all this gunk washed off." Ryan said, picking bits of leftover fruit off his hair and cloths. "If I don't do that here pretty soon, I'm gonna go crazy!"
Simba obviously didn't like it, but then he looked over to see Thurston and his herd gathered at the bushes and low hanging branches of the trees they were arguing over with the baboons. The zebras' may not have been the first choice of company he trusted to keep a watch over his friend, but it was clear that Ryan wasn't going to change his mind.
If he was quick, then he would be right back with his lionesses in no time.
After sparing one last look at the raven-haired teen, who was still engrossed in his thoughts, he hurried down the path to gather his queen and the other lionesses.
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Later that Afternoon…
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"So, what's Ryan doing again?" Nala finally asked Simba after a while of just sitting there huddled with him and her pride sisters as they watched Ryan run around the clearing. They didn't know what he was doing, but it was….strange, to put it mildly.
"I haven't the slightest idea." Thurston interjected from beside them and seemingly oblivious to the fact that the queen had been talking to her mate. "My herd and I have been here the entire time enjoying lunch, and he's been leaving and coming back with rocks and all kinds of fruit which he would throw against tree trunks. Do you suppose he's gotten heat stroke?"
"There, all done!" Ryan suddenly announced as he stopped and looked around at his work proudly.
He was standing on a large flat rock in the middle of what seemed like a giant star, which he had dug out shallow lines and at the end of each point, sat four more flat rocks like the one he put in the center. He also had a good-sized pile of sticks that were much like the once he used to fight back with the baboons as well as an abundance of fruits such as baobab, marula and kei apples.
"Aaaand what exactly is all done?" Timon asked from his usual spot upon Pumbaa's head.
"The diamond for my all-time favorite game." Ryan told them, a big smile on his face. "I'm gonna teach you all how to play baseball!"
"A game, you say? We zebra's are excellent at games!" Thurston said with a gleeful tone. "May we play, too?"
"We wouldn't mind trying out a new game either." Everyone looked over to see Basi and four other hippo's of his pod come into sight from the bushes and trees. "You took back so many rocks from the river, we wanted to see what the kur-bubble was all about; this 'baseball' sounds fun."
"Sure, the more the merrier!" Ryan said. "Thurston, would you and your friends mind being on the same team with the hippos?"
"Not at all, we'd be happy to play with them." Thurston assured while the other zebras' nodded in agreement and the moved to stand closer with the hippos'.
"Alright, then four and five make 9 members, so you have just enough for a team. And not including Kiara, there's 11 lions, so it looks like everybody's set." Ryan said after he counted heads. "And to keep it simple, we'll call your teams 'The Pride' for the lions and 'The Herd' for the zebras and hippos."
Ryan then explained to everyone about the basic rules of the game, one team would be up to bat, where they would pick a stick that felt comfortable to them and aim to hit the fruit in order to run the first base until another team mate manages to hit a fruit too. And if any batter that managed to make it all the way around to home base, they would score a point for their team.
Of which, Zazu happily volunteered to be score keeper for them.
But, if they ended up missing it three times in a row, then the next batter would come up to plate. And once every player had a chance to bat, the teams would rotate. Timon and Pumbaa actually jumped on being umpires as the idea of yelling out 'strike' with every miss seemed very appealing to them.
Then Ryan talked about the infield and outfield positions and how if anyone was able to catch a fruit before it hit the ground or managed to touch a runner before they made it to one of the bases, then they would be out and have to go back to the batters area. Finally, after Ryan felt like he went over everything they needed to know and answer a couple of questions, they were ready to play.
"Alright guys, I think we're all set. I'll stay pitcher since I'm the only one here with arms to throw fruit." Ryan said as he went to the pitchers mound right in the middle of the diamond. "Now, who wants to start off the game?"
"I'll give it a try." Nala said as she got up and let a fellow lioness, who decided to step out of the game, came over and took over caring for Kiara.
And after picking out a stick from the pile, she walked over to home plate and shared a friendly smile with Basi, who was the catcher, before she nodded at Ryan to let him know that she was ready.
Ryan was feeling so excited as he took his stance, leaning forward and holding the kei apple behind him as he moved the makeshift ball around his palm with his fingers. And when he felt like he had the perfect grip on it, he whirled his arm around and let it fly.
But it was going so fast that Nala didn't even move as it sailed past her and into Basi's open maw. It came as such a surprise, that the hippo snapped his mouth closed and everyone heard a very audible gulp as the first fruit of the game disappeared into his stomach.
"Uh…strike one?" Timon said hesitantly.
"Basi, you're supposed to catch the fruit and then throw it back…not eat it." Ryan said, a little amazed that they lost the first throw so quickly.
"Sorry about that, Ryan." Basi apologized. "You just threw it so fast and it went too far back stop from swallowing."
"I didn't even see it." Nala said, though her words were a little muffled from holding the stick in her mouth.
"Oh, then that's my fault. I've done it this way so much, it's hard to break from it." Ryan said sheepishly as he reached down and picked up a baobab fruit this time. "Here, I'll do underhand tosses to make it easier on you guys. One more time Nala, keep your eye on the ba-er, the fruit."
Nala got ready, keeping a close watch on the baobab that Ryan held. And when he finally released it, she waited until it was just in the right spot and swung the stick around and hit the baobab full on, sending it a far distance away that the zebra waiting in the outfield had to chase it after he missed catching it.
"Wow Nala, that was a great shot!" Ryan complemented, genuinely impressed that she made such a good hit considering that it couldn't have been easy holding the batting stick in her mouth.
"Thanks Ryan." the teal eyed lioness said as she trotted over to first base.
Up next was Simba.
The king couldn't help but feel a little out of place because he had never done anything like this before, but he also felt a excited to try something new. Picking out his stick, he walked up to home base and waited for Ryan as he got the baobab fruit back.
"Here it comes Simba!" Ryan announced, making sure that the lion was ready before he tossed it over and watched as he made a pretty good attempt, but missed the mark.
"Strike one!" Timon yelled out.
"That's alright, you still got two more chances." Ryan said as Basi bumped the fruit back over to him with his nose. Once more he tossed the fruit to Simba, though he accidentally over shot it and was much too high for him to land a good hit. But instead of letting it go and getting a 'ball', Simba reared up on his hind legs, swung at it, and missed.
"Strike two!" Timon exclaimed.
"Remember, if it goes too low or too high, that's the pitchers fault." Ryan explained, catching the fruit as it was thrown back to him. "You can just let those go."
Simba gave a nod to let him know that he understood, and even though Ryan gave him a more suitable throw this time, he still missed the fruit when he swung his stick.
"Strike three, yeeer out!" Pumbaa cried out enthusiastically before Timon even opened his mouth.
"Pumbaa! I wanted to say it!" Timon whined.
"Oops, sorry." the warthog sheepishly apologized.
"Don't worry Simba, it's a new game, not everyone's gonna be able to get it at first." Ryan assured as the baobab was returned to him. "It'll just take a few tries to get the hang of it."
Simba offered him a smile, but he still felt disappointed as he walked back over to sit with his team and watched as the game resumed.
This had to be the most fun Ryan had since he had left America to live with his mother. It had been so long since he last played a game of baseball, and while the pride and zebras and hippos certainly weren't his friends back home, they looked like they were having just as much fun as he was.
As the sun moved across the sky, the more the animals started to get into the groove of baseball as they rotated from batting to the field at Ryan's patient and encouraging guidance, who, remained at the 'pitcher's mound' so everyone had a fair turn at bat since he was the most experienced at the game. There were many strike outs, fouls, some players even tried to see if they could steal bases while Zazu kept track of every point each team managed to score.
The zebras were very fast runners, whether they were running to bases or chasing down a lion to get them out and the hippos almost always managed to catch the fruit. Unfortunately, that also meant they accidently ate them sometimes if it was thrown to them, But the two herds still worked very well together. The pride was also a pretty balanced team too, while Nala was rising to be the star player, every other lioness was a powerful runner and a great jumper for all those 'high ball' fruits.
It really turned out to be a great game with each team giving one another a fair challenge.
Before they knew it, hours had gone by, and somewhere along the way they even managed to attract a bit of an audience as the rhinos, crocodiles and even the baboons who surprisingly came back after they heard all the commotion. It was a pretty good hype for everyone who was playing when their onlookers started to cheer for them to win in this new game.
Once the game finally reached its end, both teams ended up becoming tied, the bases were loaded and the next up to bat was Simba himself. The only thing was, he didn't seem very excited about it as he slowly made his way to home base.
Though, no one could really blame him as throughout the course of the game, he had struck out every time he came up to bat. Ryan hoped that he would have better luck this time as the only reason he wanted everyone to play this game was to cheer Simba up, not bring him down lower than he was…
"Alright Simba, you ready?" Ryan asked.
Simba only gave a nod and Ryan picked up a marula fruit from the dwindled pile. But to his surprise, the red maned lion only gave a weak turn of his head and completely missed it.
"Strike one!" Pumbaa shouted.
Basi gently picked up the fruit and tossed it back over to Ryan before the young man looked Simba in the eyes, silently questioning him on what he was doing and threw the fruit once more. And once again Simba missed hitting it on purpose.
"Strike two!" Timon yelled. "C'mon Simba, you can do better than that!"
And despite Nala and the lionesses trying to cheer on for their king, Simba still didn't seem at all motivated as he looked at Ryan, just waiting for him to throw his last turn. But Ryan didn't move, because if Simba was just waiting to strike out like he thought he was, then he had something to say about it.
"Time!" Ryan called out, making the universal 'time out' symbol with his hands before he walked off the pitchers mound and across the way until he was standing beside the king and knelt down after he put his batting stick down.
"What's up, Simba?" he asked in a low voice to keep their conversation between them.
"I'm not very good at this Ryan, and I have too much on my mind to really enjoy the game, anyway..." Simba told him. "Nala's up after me, and she has hit a fruit on her every turn, the team might have a better chance of winning if she plays."
"You have just as much chance at bringing the team a win, too, you're just putting too much focus in the wrong things and psyching yourself out. I want you to try and forget about winning for a moment, forget about the wild dogs, everything." Ryan told him. "Focus on the here and now, we're playing a game with all our friends and games are meant to be fun. Win or lose, just have fun with us."
"Alright, I'll try." Simba said after thinking it over for a moment.
Satisfied with that answer, Ryan took the marula from Basi and returned to the pitchers' mound. Simba took in a deep breath and shook himself to loosen up before he picked the stick back up and let Ryan know he was ready. And as Ryan let it fly, it was almost like time began to slow as Simba began to think about what had happened since the young man first stepped into his life.
It really hadn't been that long ago, and yet, it felt like Ryan had truly become an honorary member of his pride, and yet he couldn't imagine where he or his family would be right now if it wasn't for this young man.
Ryan was the one who had exposed Zira and her treacherous lionesses even after Simba had banished him for a crime he didn't commit, he had been there for his mother in her time of need and, in turn, consoled him in his own feelings of loss. And now, here he was once more trying to bring fun and merriment back to the pride when all he could think about was his anger, resentment and fear of the danger that lurked somewhere out there.
But he didn't want to dwell in that anymore, Zira's betrayal, his mothers passing, his anger and worry upon finding out the Buziba and his pack were taking refuge somewhere within the oasis, he didn't want those terrible feelings to get in the way of enjoying an afternoon with those he cared about!
So after watching the marula come closer and closer, he squeezed his eyes shut and swing his stick as close as he could. He felt it jerk a little from swatting something and snapped his eyes to see the fruit rolling across the ground at a rapid pace.
"That's a hit!" Ryan shouted excitedly, snapping Simba out of his daze. "What're you doing? Run! Run! Run!"
Simba blinked; he had been so surprised at actually hitting something that hadn't even realized that he was still standing at home base. In an instant, he dropped the stick and was flying down the path towards first base.
But instead of stopping there, he made the turn and started going for second.
As he ran by, Thurston who was in middle field, was trying to chase down the marula fruit and finally caught in in his teeth and looked over at the hippo that was waiting at second base. The large animal tried to use his body to block Simba from the base as he kept a big foot on it, but the lion gave a smile and picked up speed before he dived forward and slipped under him.
His fluffy mane brushed against the hippos' round belly and it caused him to let out a laugh as it tickled, which effectively made him miss the fruit and let Simba get away with ease.
"He's going for a home run!" Ryan shouted, half in disbelief and half in pride while Simba continued to run with seemingly no intention on stopping.
The hippo at second tried to throw it over to the zebra at third base, but he put too much power into it that it cased the stripped equine to rear up to her hind legs as it sailed over her head. Leaving Simba free to pass the base and charge straight for home.
"Come on Simba!" Nala cheered as the rhinos joined her by stomping their feet. The crocodiles also began thumping their tails on the ground and the baboons were barking in excitement, and it all prompted Simba to run even faster just as the zebra at third got hold of the marula fruit and threw it as far as she could to Basi while he waited at home.
And it looked like he was gonna be able to catch it before Simba arrived.
"Slide!" Ryan shouted. "Slide for it!"
Doing what he said, Simba surged forward with his front paws outstretched as his stomach skidded over the dirt, kicking up a dust cloud that was so big, Basi almost missed catching the fruit before it enveloped around him. Everyone held their breath as they waited, and once the dust finally cleared, they saw the large hippo touching his chin to the dirt with the marula fruit between his lips...but Simba was laying upon the ground on his side underneath Basi's neck with his left paw resting right over home.
Basi had missed him!
"GOOOOOAL!" Timon cried out in joy while Ryan and the whole pride erupted with joy before they rushed over and crowded around their king to offer him their praises.
"Timon, you were supposed to yell 'safe'!" Ryan said with a laugh.
"My word felt better!" Timon argued as he jumped over onto Simba and started tussling his red mane an affectionately. "That's my boy, I knew you could do it!"
"You sure looked like you were havin' fun out there Simba!" Pumbaa said with a happy grin.
"I did have fun," Simba started as he looked over to Ryan with a grateful expression. "And it was thanks to this game of yours."
Ryan returned Simba's smile as he felt his chest swell with pride, happy that he managed to succeed in making the king feel in better spirits. And for the time, he decided to forget his own worries about the rope, it had been old anyway so it was likely that any poacher who might put it there must have been long gone. And if Buziba was smart, then he would keep his pack and himself as far away from him as possible in whatever corner of the oasis they were hiding in.
Because seeing all of his friends, the lions, the hippos and zebras, Timon and Pumbaa, Zazu, even the crocs and baboons having fun together and enjoying this new game they learned like this, he felt completely at ease.
And he hoped that there would be many more days just like this one.
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I bet Simba would have a blast meeting all of our north American animal friends and I also had an opportunity to add 'baby talk' X3 hubby and I would always go back a forth between picking names for boys and girls, because why not? and we got to have little mention for Kion from it. Just a little one, though. I apologize to all my 'Lion Guard' fans, but Ryan most likely won't get the chance to meet Kion in this story.
The baseball scene was fun to do despite my only knowledge for it comes from movies and my own little league softball days...which is pretty rusty at best ^^; But still, pretty fun. While writing, I always had the thought that Nala would be the 'Ace' of the team instead of Simba because, let's face it, she's awesome and I see lionesses being way more athletic than lions.
And even though I actually considered giving Simba a break and letting him score one of those classic home runs, I still thought that just barely managing to hit it and doing everything thing he could to make it all the way back to home base would be a better way to go… and I'm still bitter about my own inability to hit anything but pop flies(which the first basemen always seemed to flipping catch!) and ground balls back in softball so no freaking awesome home runs allowed! *pouts*
It's gotten pretty late for me over here, so I'm sure that there are things that need some fixing up. If you happen to spot mistakes, be sure to let me know:D:D:D
Have a good night guys!
