Chapter 11: Nala's realization

A month past in the pride and Heira's lands; and life was trying to be
normal again. It was on a hot savanna morning that Nala found herself,
lying at the back of the cavern, not talking to anyone and thinking.
"Minu," she whispered softly as tears fell down her face, "I hope you are
up in the sky with all of the kings of the past."
She knew that in his young life, that his desire to become king never left
him, no matter what he said; she could tell that he would have been a wise
and good leader. Sighing, she knew that time had gone bye, and that her
and Simba needed a future, they needed another cub. Standing up, the queen
felt guilty about telling Simba that a new cub had to be born, but it was
needed in order for the circle of life to continue.

The queen waited until the afternoon, and when Simba was alone at the
watering hole, she quietly walked up to him.
"Looking at your magnificent mane Simba?"
Nala inquired, meaning to joke around, but it didn't succeed as the king
sighed and sat down.
"No, I was thinking about our son," he replied as he hung his head.
A moment of silence past between the royal couple before Nala spoke again;
"Simba, we need another cub, in order..."
"I do not want one."
His sharp cutoff made Nala gasp as the king lowered his head;
"Simba, I know how you feel, he was my son as much as yours, but we need to
continue the circle of life, for our pride, for each other."
The queen added softly to herself;
Simba raised his head towards the sky as a light wind brushed past him, and
he lifted his ears as he swore he could hear his father's voice on the
wind.
"You are more than what you have become, you must take your place in the
circle of life, as king you need to respect that balance."
For a moment, Simba's mouth gaped open at the voice, or had it been a
memory, the king wasn't sure. He turned to his mate, "you're right, the
circle must be continued."
He leaned over and gently nuzzled his wife, as the birds flew ahead and the
wind imbrased them.

:::

In Heira's lands, Minu was seen lying upon a rock, sunning himself in the
afternoon rays. Sighing, the young cub put down his head and pretended to
be asleep.
His act didn't fool Kanami as she crouched behind him and pounced, sending
him tumbling from the rock.
"Scared you didn't I!"
Kanami laughed as Minu growled and stood up, dusting himself off from the
dirt.
"What's with you?"
He demanded, for he was not in the mood to play, especially with a cub that
seemed so much younger than he was;
"What's wrong?"
The young lioness sat down and licked a paw, running it over her head, "you
don't want to play as much."
Minu sighed, knowing that she was right, "I miss my parents."
"Really, what happened?"
Sitting up suddenly, she gasped at her forwardness, "sorry, you don't have
to talk about it."
At Minu's nod, she smiled and tapped his shoulder, "tag, you're it!"
The cub ran off as Minu smiled and got to his paws, running after her. He
found that with the month of recovery past that he could run and play
again.
'Not all is lost.'
Minu thought to himself as he sprung on Kanami, and the two rolled down a
hill, crashing into Heira.
The lioness laughed and picked her daughter up by the scruff of the neck,
"come on, I caught a wilderbeast and I'll take you to it, want a ride
Minu?"
She knelt down so that he could climb onto her back;
For a moment, he hesitated and shook his head, going to try and put his
past behind him as he climbed on his foster mother's back and she trotted
to the kill ahead.

:::End Of Chapter 11:::
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to update!! I just had my wisdom teeth
out exactly one week ago, and I've been moving so I didn't have access to a
computer for a while.
Sorry for all the excuses, please read and review, can't wait for the next
chapter!!