Part of the Pride

Lance gained consciousness and he felt pain. That told him that he wasn't in the afterlife with his family. He's still alive. Lance felt like fate and the universe was punishing him for wanting to die.

He was so distraught that he cried and whimpered audibly.

"Your Highness, he's now conscious." A female voice said to someone. Lance was taken aback. Why was he in the presence of royalty? The last thing he remembered was blacking out after saving a lioness from some hyenas.

"That's good. I was worried he'd never wake up." Another female voice replied. Lance now had to open his eyes to see who was there with him but it was a struggle.

"I'm worried how he'll react to us. Even though he saved me." Yet another female voice added. Wait, he knew that voice. It's from that lioness he saved. He remembered her voice when she threatened the hyenas. He remembered that hyena calling her a princess. She is indeed royalty, meaning that the other voice is her mother, the queen.

With some great effort, he managed to open his eyes and what he saw first was the ceiling of a cave. And judging by how dim it was with some light, it was around dusk since there was an orange haze. And mentally preparing himself, Lance looked to his right and he saw the sight of many lionesses all looking at him, all of which looked concerned. He eventually laid his eyes on the lioness he saved. Now that he got a closer look at her, he couldn't help but think of how gorgeous she was. She had soft features and had a sleek physique. Her fur had a peach tone excluding her muzzle and underbelly which had a cream tone. And her tail tuft was brown. And her eyes were yellow with brownish red pupils.

Lance looked to the lioness next to her and saw how they looked alike, making him realise that they're mother and daughter.

"Hello." He greeted, slightly raspy given that he hasn't used his voice in however long he was unconscious.

"Hello, there. How are you?" The queen asked him, taking a few steps closer to him.

"I'm in pain but otherwise, alright." He groaned, trying to sit up, noticing that he was topless and had leaves on his wounds with some kind of substance under the leaves.

"That's good to hear. Firstly, I just want to say thank you for saving my daughter. It would've been devastating if me and Simba lost her." She told him with a grateful smile. Simba had to be her husband/mate and king if Lance had to take a guess.

"You don't need to. I did what anyone else could." He shrugged off.

"But I insist. It's not everyday someone such as yourself saves the princess of the Pride Lands." The queen insisted.

"The Pride Lands?" Lance repeated.

"The lands which we rule." The queen explained and Lance nodded in understanding.

"So, can you tell me your names at least?" He then asked.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Nala and this is my daughter, Kiara. My mate, Simba, is out on patrol." Nala introduced herself and her daughter.

"Kiara…. Such a beautiful name." Lance complimented and Kiara couldn't help but blush and look away. Nala noticed and smirked teasingly as the other lionesses giggled.

"Can you tell us your name?" One of them asked him.

"My name's Lance." He introduced his name to them.

"Lance? What an interesting name." Kiara noted. This made him raise an eyebrow, which made her blush and look away again, much to his amusement.

"Lance, is it alright if I ask you some questions?" Nala asked, wanting some answers about his circumstances.

"Go ahead." Lance nodded.

"Kiara told me that when we blacked out, you told her to leave to die. And that you lost your family. What happened?" Nala started off with. Lance immediately started to feel his grief and depression come back and consume his whole body as he shed tears.

"Me and my family were in Africa for a trip. We went out to the savannah when… when poachers showed up…." He explained, struggling to bring up their deaths. Kiara knew that he needed someone to lean on so she stepped up and nuzzled him, purring to soothe him.

"They just killed them…. They would've killed me if I didn't escape." Lance continued, wrapping his arms around her, burying his head into her shoulder as he cried, staining Kiara's fur, but she didn't care as she had to comfort the human. Nala and the other lionesses were silent, all consumed with sorrow for him. Even Simba, a lion with a red mane, yellow eyes and red pupils who just arrived, heard Lance's story and was saddened to hear what happened, relating to him better than most.

"I'm so sorry for you, young one. I understand what you've gone through." He introduced himself to Lance, who looked over to him.

"You do?" He asked as Simba walked up to him.

"Yes. I lost my father, the king before me when I was a cub. It was the worst day of my life. For the longest time, I thought I was responsible until I learned my own uncle killed him and so I defeated him and took up the mantle of king. Do you know what I did to help cope with his death?" Simba said.

"What?"

"I had others around me to give me comfort and support. Which is what you need now. So I must ask you. Do you wish to stay with us and be part of our Pride?" The lion king asked. That question shocked Lance. A king of a lion Pride is asking him, a human, to stay with a bunch of lions, something that shouldn't work out, but considering that they wouldn't hurt him and that there would be no way he'd make it back to civilization, there was no other choice.

"Yes. Yes, I'd like that." Lance nodded, making Kiara smile and nuzzle him more, purring louder than normal, which was such a heartwarming sight for all the lions there as they saw Lance stroke Kiara slowly.

With the agreement now in place, all of the lions left Lance to rest some more, but Kiara decided to stay with him, just so that he could have company and he didn't turn down the idea.

A long wait, I know, but I've been busy with my other stories and because of that, there will be long gaps between chapters in this story. And if it seems rushed, I apologize.