KawaiiCutie12: Oof, Tama's got a mouth. Wonder what she'll do this time...🍵

Chapter 3:

It was nighttime. After giving the cubs their baths, they each went into their respective dens. Malka's family, along with Tama's slept in their own guest den, whereas the other Mountain Pride cubs slept with the others.

His parents had long fallen asleep, and Tama had buried herself in her father's fur. Unfortunately, he didn't feel one bit tired, and he had a pretty good feeling Tama was in no talking mood. Lying back down, he curled up against his mother, and tried to get some rest.

The next morning, everyone had more energy than the day before. After breakfast, the cubs ran off into the fields and the waterhole.

Simba turned to his group of friends."Wanna play gazelles and lions?"

"Yeah!" they cheered.

Strolling as they talked, they split up into teams. Nala noticed that the new cub was missing and turned to see her sauntering around, her head down and long tail low to the ground.

She looks way more miserable today.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go talk to Tama," Nala informed the group. Simba pulled his face into a slight frown, but didn't stop her from going.

Trotting towards her, she stopped in front of the cream cub. Tama just stared at the ground; she didn't look up when Nala stopped in front of her.

"Hey, Tama."

Tama glanced up and was surprised to see Nala standing there. She noticed her light brown eyes were a bit red and puffy. She quickly wiped her eyes and bowed her head.

"Oh...hey, Nala."

"Do you wanna play with my friends and I?" she offered.

Tama shook her head.

Nala racked her brain, then a thought occurred to her. "Look, Simba...I know he seems arrogant, but he's really a sweet guy; he just doesn't know when to stop, sometimes."

Tama nodded her head and rolled her eyes.

Nala sat down next to her. "You mind if I stay here with you?"

Tama shook her head.

It was quiet for a moment as Nala racked her brain. "Malka mentioned you were a few moons older than him."

Tama nodded.

Nala frowned at the lack of response. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

This time, Tama's gaze met Nala's as she shook her head. Normally, she would've been fed up with the questions, but Nala seemed genuine, so she didn't mind too much.

Nala, however, wasn't satisfied. Tama still had barely said a word. Maybe she should ask a question that couldn't be answered with a yes or no.

"How long have you lived in the Mountain Lands?" Nala questioned.

"Since birth," Tama answered.

Nala fought back the urge to sigh. Well, two words were better than none. It was a start.

"Oh, so you're a native!" Nala exclaimed, "Huh, I never see you whenever Simba and I stay a few nights."

"Stuff happened" was Tama's quick explanation, and Nala had a feeling she struck a nerve.

She sensed something else was wrong, but couldn't put her paw on it. "Hey, you seem like a really nice girl, I'd really like to be friends; and if we're gonna be friends, you should know that you can come to me about anything."

"You...wanna be friends?" Tama sat up straighter as her eyes shone.

Nala pretended to look shocked. "Of course. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

She felt a wave of warmth when a small smile formed on Tama's lips. She slowly explained the reason for her pessimism, and Nala allowed her to vent.

"I didn't want to come here in the first place," she confided in Nala, "And everyone keeps trying to talk to me and be my friend. Well, I don't want new friends; I just want to be alone. I-"

"Naaalaaa~!"

Both lioness cubs turned to see Kula racing over. She skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Hey, Nala! We're having a water war at the waterhole. You should join!" Slightly shifting her eyes, she caught sight of the new cub, and smiled. "Oh hey, Tama! How do you like the Pride Lands so far? They're really great, huh?"

Tama pulled her face into a slight frown. "Yeah, sure."

This is bad, Nala thought. Tama's mood is coming back.

She knew Kula meant well, but there was a time and place for everything; now was definitely not the time.

"I knew you would!" Kula cried, not reading the room at all, "there's so much to do here, and man the food is great! And the waterhole's so crystal clear and cool..."

As Kula continued to ramble, Nala looked over and saw Tama growing more and more irritated.

"Hey, uh, Kula can I talk to you for a minute?" Nala interrupted. Not waiting for an answer, she pulled Kula aside.

"Kula, I know you want Tama to loosen up and whatnot, but you can't just start yelling in her face," Nala firmly, but gently explained.

Kula grew quiet, and she realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe if I talk to her calmly-"

"No!" Nala blurted, then regained composure. "No, Kula, just..."

She buried her face in a paw. She was sure if Tama eased up and got to know them slowly, they'd all be great friends. But Tama needed some time, and Kula wasn't giving her space.

But I don't wanna hurt Kula's feelings either. How can I do this gently?

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but...could you leave Tama and I alone?" she hesitantly asked.

"You want me to leave?" Kula asked, bewildered.

Nala hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to betray her new friend, but she also needed to get Kula to understand.

"Well, you guys were playing games by the waterhole," Nala pointed out, "Don't you think they need you?"

"Yeah, but-"

Nala sighed. "Kula, I wouldn't ask if I didn't think this was important."

"Oh...okay," Kula finally gave in.

"I knew you'd understand," Nala beamed. Making her way back to Tama, she didn't notice Kula's ears pinning to her head.

"Sorry about that, Tama," she apologized.

Tama's nose scrunched. "Is she always that perky?"

Nala sheepishly chuckled. "Yeah, she can be a handful. You'll grow to love her though, don't worry."

I highly doubt it, Tama thought.

Talking a little bit more, Tama began to loosen up again. She even let out a few chuckles at some stories Nala told.

"That's totally cool," Tama finally stated.

Nala smiled, happy to see Tama's good mood return.

Calmer now, she turned to face the Pride Lander. "So, Nala-"

"Hey guys!"

Nala watched as Tama's face did a 180.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Nala tried to reason with her. "She's not like Kula; she's actually more laid back."

"Well, she was getting pretty close to Malka and-and I don't trust her."

Nala suppressed a sigh; she was sure Tama completely misunderstood the situation.

Nala barely even had a chance to open her mouth, Vitani arrived in front of them.

"Hey girls, why are you guys away from us?" Vitani wondered

Tama whispered something in Nala's ear. Nala nodded and gave Vitani an irritated look. "Not now, 'Tani."

Vitani frowned at the response. "Okay...didn't know I couldn't ask a question."

Nala's guilt got the best of her. "I'm sorry but, we were just getting ready to leave."

The two got up from their positions and turned towards the den.

"Where are you guys headed?" Vitani asked.

Rolling her eyes, Tama let out a long silent sigh.

"Uh-Tama doesn't feel good," Nala quickly lied, "I'm gonna walk her back to Pride Rock."

Not waiting for a response, they both left for the den, leaving a confused-and a bit hurt-Vitani.

At lunch, the Pride Lands cubs and Malka sat together as they ate their meal.

"Hey, where's Nala?" Simba asked.

Everyone looked at each other, then back at Simba. "Not sure."

Suddenly, Kula shot up. "Oh, there she is!"

They all turned to see the cream cub grab her share, then watched as she walked over to Tama instead of them. This infuriated Simba, who wanted to hang out with his best friend.

What a slimeball, Simba thought.

"Simba."

He turned to see Malka, tossing him a quizzical stare

"We're gonna hang out by the waterhole," Malka told him, nodding his head.

Simba nodded and followed him, but not before sneaking a final glance at Nala.

Nala and Tama cleaned themselves up, and were walking around.

Nala turned to her. "Hey! You wanna go for a swim?" she asked.

Tama nodded, and Nala walked a bit ahead. Catching sight of her other friends, she turned only to realize Tama was hanging back.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Nala asked in a worried tone.

"No, I just-" Tama stopped, then blurted what was on her mind. "You're just the nicest cub I've met here, Nala."

Nala beamed. "Well, how about instead of swimming, we hang out with my other friends? They can be a handful, but they're really awesome."

Tama followed her gaze. "Well...okay."

Nala was grinning as they padded over to them. Yes, I am definitely making progress with Tama.

"Hey, guys!" she called out.

They stopped their chatter and were surprised to see Tama with her.

"Hi, girls!" Kula shouted.

Tama grimaced, while Nala forced a grin.

The two sat down and joined in their conversation.

"So what are you guys up to?" Nala asked.

Tojo shrugged. "Just talking."

He turned and batted two of his birds to stop them from fighting. The two flew with the others and began chirping amongst each other.

A bewildered look crossed Tama's face. "Why aren't those birds scared of you?"

Tojo turned to her. "Oh, they're my pets."

"Your what?" Tama clarified.

"My pets," Tojo firmly repeated.

Tama blinked, before looking him up and down.

"Why do you have pet birds?" she pried a bit more, "Wouldn't they make a better snack?"

Tojo's eyes widened. "I could never do that; they're too soft and innocent."

Tama puffed up her tuft and gazed at the golden cub. "That's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever heard."

The others turned to see Tojo's head bowed, hurt by her blunt statement.

"That's not cool, Tama," Malka frowned.

Tama looked at the reddish lion cub. "Come on, Malk', I'm just messing with him."

"Well, your way of 'messing' with people is really mean," Kula commented.

Tama rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Hey, guys!"

The two turned to see Kovu and Kiara grinning at them.

"Hey, bro, hey Ki', come join us!" Vitani invited them.

"Oh we just wanted to say hi," Kovu explained.

Yeah, 'Vu and I are gonna play hide-and-seek!" Kiara explained.

Running off laughing, the group on the ground looked back to each other.

"I say we play in the water," Chumvi voiced.

"We should," Malka agreed.

"Well, I say that sounds boring."

All the cubs turned to the Pride Lands prince.

"Well, what should we play, Simba?" Nala wondered.

Simba scoffed. "Play? I say we explore beyond the northern border."

All the cubs looked to each other and thought about it.

Except one.

"That sounds so lame; there's literally nothing out there. "

All eyes turned to Tama, who's forelegs were crossed and was staring intently at the golden lion cub.

"Sheesh, who peed on her zebra?" Tojo muttered.

Simba grinned cheekily. "You're only saying that 'cause you're scared."

Tama scowled. "Actually, I'm not, so get your facts straight princey."

Simba snickered even more, and Kula began to chuckle.

"Come on, Tama, don't be such a baby," she stated.

Tama turned to give her a look of slight disgust. "You of all cubs wanna call me a baby? Gee, that's actually hilarious."

Kula stopped laughing and frowned. What was she getting so upset about? She was just joking.

Vitani saw Kula's hurt expression, and turned to Tama. "Hey Tama, either chill out or go suck your mommy's teats."

As if on cue, the cubs burst into laughter.

Simba and Kula high-fived the hysterical Vitani, as Chumvi nudged Tojo through his laughter, who soon let out a few chuckles. Malka and Nala, however, were in disbelief at what just came out of her mouth.

Tama seethed at the tufted lioness cub. "What did you say?"

They all turned to a now standing and enraged Tama, whose brown eyes were practically glowing red in her death stare. "That wasn't funny. You think you're hot stuff because you're the prince's cousin, but you better watch yourself; talk to me like that again, and I'll make your already worthless life a living hell."

She turned and stormed back to Pride Rock, her tail dragging limply behind her. Nala turned to Vitani, before shaking her head and going after Tama.

"Geez, what's her problem?" Chumvi asked.

"Yeah, she started it!" Kula cried.

Vitani scowled at her retreating figure. So she can be a brat, but when someone puts her in her place she throws a tantrum? Such a hypocrite.

Shaking her head, she turned to Tojo. "You okay, Toj'?"

Tojo snapped out and nodded his head at the hair tufted Pride Lander.

"Oh, forget about that! Let's play gazelles and lions like we were supposed to!" Kula cried.

The other cubs agreed and went on to play.

The sun has begun to set, and Vitani frowned as she thought about what happened earlier. Sure what she said was wrong, but who calls someone worthless?

There was something else bothering her, she realized. Something about the way Nala ran off after Tama without asking if Vitani was okay. It was almost as if she cared more about how Tama was feeling than how Vitani was feeling...

No. Vitani shook the thought out of her head. Tama was crying. Nala was just being nice by going after her.

"Hey, 'Tani."

She turned to see Kula, eyes shining with worry. "Are you okay?"

Vitani nodded, and Kula sat next to her. "Ya know, you shouldn't take her words to heart. You're an amazing friend! Besides..." Kula shrugged, "she started it."

Vitani's heart swelled as she smiled. Kula really was the master of cheering people up.

"Thanks, Kula," she softly said.

The two shared a quick hug, before heading into their respective dens.

I'll just apologize to her tomorrow. Yeah, yeah that'll work.

KawaiiCutie12: Will it though?😂'Tani is savageee. Trust me things will get way worse as the story progresses.

As always be sure to leave your opinions down below and follow and fave to keep up with the story. I'll see you guys next time!

KawaiiCutie12 signing off! ✌