Chapter 3

A/N: Hi, everyone! Hope that you're all well. There are some characters that I have yet to introduce – don't worry, they will be here soon. I've been hesitant to start incorporating some Lion King 2 aspects right now because I need to figure out a way to mingle these two stories without changing so much. But it shouldn't be long.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lion King and/or characters. I only own this plot based on the Lion King Six New Adventures and the character Lela.

Enjoy, all!

Chapter 3

Kopa

The Pridelands have been quite busy lately. With the coming of the rains, a whole lot of activity has sprung up. The gorge is almost flooded, birds have been going bonkers to collect all the earthworms that resurfaced, and a lot of animals have gotten sick from eating the fungi that pop up everywhere.

Sometimes, I wonder if a king can ever handle all of the Prideland's problems. I mean, I get it, problems are a natural part of life. But I often wonder if Dad isn't as pooped as he makes out. Things have gotten so busy that Mom's had to step in and take care of things for Dad while he's dealing with this chaos. Not that I've personally seen any of this stuff. I've been stuck on Pride Rock because everyone's too busy to supervise me roaming around.

But todays different! Mom promised to take me around to have a look around and see how the Pridelands have changed lately. Even though today will be more of a lesson than a fun trip, I can hardly contain myself with excitement.

"Kopa!" Mom calls from the base of Pride Rock. Finally! I sprint down to meet her. When I get there, I find her waiting with a look even more eager than mine on her face. "Before we go, have a look at the ground." I scan the muddy ground beneath my paws and see a sea of earthworms all over the place.

"What're they doing up here?" I ask.

"They're breathing."

I gasp, and look up at my mom with shock. "You mean they hold their breaths for that long?"

She laughs, "No, son. They can breathe underground," she looms down near the earth to observe a close by worm and mimic her. "They breathe in air through their skin. But when it rains like it did, the little gaps of air in the dirt disappear, so they have to come up."

"Oh," I say in register. I stare at the breakdancing pink earthworm for a minute before a question surfaces. "But how do they know when it's raining? Isn't all the air in the ground gone by the time the rain reaches them?"

Mom nods. "They can sense it before it rains. When the rain first hits the ground, they can feel that it's raining heavily, so they rush to the surface. Some birds know this, and they flap their wings against the ground, tricking the worms into thinking that there's rain. When the worms come up, the birds eat them."

"That's sneaky," I kind of feel bad for the little guys.

Mom nods again. "There are all sorts of tricks being played, Kopa," she rises up away from the ground. "That's why we need to protect each and every creature. And to do that, we need to understand them."

"I can do that," I say.

"I know you can," Mom smiles. "Come on, let's go have a look at everything else." Mom and I head off, bound for the gorge. Once we get there, I see just how much rain came down the past few days. "It doesn't really feel like it rained that much until you see this, does it?"

"Yeah," I muse, hanging my head over the edge of the gorge to get a good look. Half of the depths are overflown. "Do you think it'll ever go down?"

"Of course," assures Mom, sitting at the edge of the water. "It isn't the raining season after all. The sun's bound to dry up a good amount."

"That makes sense," I say. A thought comes to mind. "Can we go have a closer look?" I beam. "Please, Mom! Please," I say, bouncing around.

"Hmm," she considers with a toying look on her face. Then she gives in. "How could I refuse that face?" she stands up and turns to guide me down to the gorge.

"Yeah!" I hurry to her side, not wanting to fall behind. We descend down only half of the ramp that leads to the floor of the gorge and reach the water. I dip a toe inside the water, as if to make sure that it's real. "So cool!" I say, totally awestricken.

"You know what else is so cool?" comes a third voice.

Mom and I sweep our sights behind us to the additional voice. "Dad!" I cheer at his appearance. He comes dashing down towards us, and deliberately barrels into Mom, knocking them both into the water.

"Simba!" gasps Mom, quickly pulling herself out of the water. Dad breaks the water surface, his mane hanging over his face. He spits some water at both of us. Mom smiles, her features no longer annoyed. She rolls her eyes. "You're never going to grow out of that, are you?"

"I doubt it," grins Dad.

"I can't believe you're here!" I leap over the water and onto Dad's chest.

"You didn't think I'd let you two have all the fun, did you?"

I bounce off of my dad and into the water. I come up, with a little mane of my own flattened on my face. "Mom, don't I look just like Dad?"

Mom looks between me and my dad, who's now floating on his back leisurely. "It's like looking at twins," she smirks.

I beam with delight, and swim over to my dad. I put my paws on his chest, "Dad, will you teach me to float on my back?"

Dad wipes a bunch of hair away from his face and looks down at me. "I don't know. It's not an easy skill to master. You think you can handle it?"

I nod speedily, not thinking even once.

My parents both chuckle at my zeal and Dad rolls around so that he's touching the floor with his hind legs in a stand. I look down at the clear water in amazement. "That's the spirit," he smiles. "Okay, so first thing's first: get on your back." I nod quickly again and roll onto my back. Dad puts his paw underneath me for support. "Alright, now push up your chest. But don't force the movement." Dad encourages me to push my chest to the sky by pressing against my back. I allow the motion, and my head sinks a little into the water. "Comfortable?"

"Yeah, I think," I say uncertain. The water trickling into my ears definitely isn't any comfort.

Mom lays on her stomach, smiling at the lesson being given before her.

"Try to be as comfortable as possible," says Dad. "You've gotta be relaxed."

I give an understanding nod. I close my eyes in an attempt to chillax. At first, my face is tight with concentration, but soon, the tensions simmer away. I open my eyes, and to my surprise, my dad isn't looming over me like he was before. He's next to me, but his hand isn't under my back. I'm floating all by myself!

"Mom, Dad, are you seeing this?" I cry with joy.

My parents share a pleased look. "You're doing it, Kid," cheers Mom.

I beam at the accomplishment. "Mom, why don't you wanna swim with us?"

"You're mom's a stick in the mud, Kopa," says Dad, reclining to his back again.

"I didn't realise it was natural for lions to spend their time swimming," teases Mom.

Mom and Dad continue to playfully bicker as daytime falls away.

"Alright, alright, Nala, you win," smiles Dad, climbing out of the pool.

"Good," Mom says with a satisfied grin. "Things have returned to their natural state then." She looks up at the sun. "We'd better get home. Come on, Kopa. Out you get."

"Aw, Mom," I moan. "Five more minutes?"

"If I agree, we may not have time to stargaze tonight," she persuades.

A delighted look races to my features and I hurriedly swim over to my parents.

We head home as the sun bids us goodnight, giving way to a few early stars in the orange sky. When we get home, I find Afua and Lela sitting on the protruding extension of Pride Rock.

"Go say 'hi' to your friends," tells Mom. "We'll be down here waiting for the stars to come out."

I quickly rub against both of my parents' legs, then I hurry to my friends.

"Hey, guys," I greet.

"Hi, Kopa," my friends say.

"Where have you been?" Afua questions.

I smile, "Hanging out with my parents," I sit with them. "What did you guys do all day?"

Afua shrugs. "Play tag, wrestle, pounce on lizards. Same old, same old."

"Wait, Lela wrestled?" I ask with surprise.

"Yeah, she's actually pretty good," commends Afua. "For a girl."

Lela pushes Afua, nearly knocking him over.

"So who won?" I ask.

"I did," Lela smiles.

Afua mouths, "I let her win." Something gives my friend away though, he wriggles his nose – a clear sign of deceit. I smirk at Afua's tale.

"You seem like you're in a better mood than you were when we last bumped into those monkeys," I say to Lela.

She looks a bit shocked that I mentioned the event, but regains herself. "Yeah, I suppose."

Afua looks between the two of us with curiosity. "What happened? Don't leave me out?"

"Kwaheri and Jambo were making fun of me, that's all," Lela tells.

"Well what did you do about it?"

"Nothing," says she.

"Why not?" Afua almost shouts the question.

"They wouldn't have heard me anyway," Lela expresses. "Besides, Kopa stuck up for me." she looks to me. "Thank you," she nods.

I respond with a smile, and a nod of my own.

"If it were me, I'd have pounced 'em, and tossed 'em around a little until they apologized," brags Afua. "No one disrespects me."

"Ha!" I laugh. "I don't buy it."

"Me neither," says Lela, sitting down.

"You'd better believe it," Afua declares. "Why're you all wet anyways?" he asks me.

I beam with pleasure to share my tale, but as I look out to the gorge, I notice that the sun has speedily set already. My parents must be waiting for me already! "Sorry, guys. I'll have to tell you another time. I've gotta go."

My friends offer me their goodbyes and I sprint down to where I last saw my parents – at the base of Pride Rock. I look around and see them huddled up beside the large extension of Pride Rock, lying on their backs and pointing at the stars.

"Hey, Kopa," smiles Mom. "You just missed a shooting star."

I hop over to my parents and press in between them. I look up at the cluster of stars, sprinkled about as if someone had dropped them on the black sky. "Do you think great-babu Ahadi and babu Mufasa are watching us right now?"

"I guarantee it," Dad says, sort of whimsically. "If anything happens to me, just know that I'll be there for you. Always."

A bit of worry strikes me. I crane my neck up at my dad. "But…nothing's going to happen to you, right?"

It seems like Dad only realises how serious his words are now. He looks down at me. "No," he shakes his head. "Never. Ever. Nothing will ever keep me far from you. Just as my father lives within me, Kopa, I live within you."

"How?" I grow concerned. "Where?"

"Here," Dad pokes at my chest. "Not in your heart, but your spirit. When my dad died, his heart turned into the grass, but his spirit stayed with me."

"Can you talk to a spirit?" I ask, confused.

My parents both laugh. Mom's chuckle seems a little deep, she must be dozing off steadily.

"I talk to him all the time," says Dad. "So does Rafiki. You should too."

"How do I do that?"

"Anyway you feel is right," says Dad.

I glance back at the ocean of stars in admiration. After a moment, I close my eyes in thought. 'You sound like the best babu anyone could've asked for,' I think, trying to communicate with my grandad. 'I'll make you proud, babu-Mufasa. Just you wait and see.'

Thanks for reading, you guys. This should be the last chapter with kiddie Kopa – they grow up so fast. I wanted to end his childhood with a nice mom and dad and grandpa scene. Until next time! We'll see how next week goes for chapter four. Lots of love, guys, take care!