A/N: Hey, guys! After it hit me that I haven't included Sarabi and a lovely guest review brought up Sarafina, I've been compelled to write this next chapter. I haven't seen Afua before, so if I describe him incorrectly, please send me a link (if there's a page that describes his looks). So, let's get to the disclaimer and to the fiction!

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.

Some vocab: bibi means grandmother.

Here we are, guys. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Kopa

Chatter flutters all around Pride Rock at the news of my mother's pregnancy. All members of the pride swell around my parents, congratulating them and chucking questions their way. I sit, almost paralyzed at the news. A sibling? It must be a joke. A joke that's very, very well thought out. A joke that they got the whole pride to take part in, and Zazu. Yeah, that's right. Just a joke. A joke that… might actually be the truth.

Afua good-naturedly bumps into me. "Heey," grins he. An energetic look resides on his face. A caramel mane, far more grown than mine, lays on his shoulders. "So, you're gonna be a brother?"

I feel a bit sick at the mention of my new status. "I guess."

"This is big news!" Afua pipes. "You've gotta be a little excited, just a little?"

"Maybe when the kid's actually here," I breathe. "I'm just… shaken, that's all."

Afua and I watch as the activity around my parents grows and grows, and as it does, my heart feels heavier and heavier. I frown, at the reality of this all, and depart quickly from the commotion. It's a while before my friend realises that I'm gone, he searches the crowd and begins calling for me.

I disregard his calls and gloomily stroll over to the flat-rock terrace where the lionesses usually retire under a high sun. I sit at the base of the elevating flat rocks, comforted by the silence. It provides an opportunity for me to think, and evaluate my situation.

I drop to my stomach and rest my head on my hands, "A big brother?" I ask myself in a low voice. Sort of questioning whether or not I could be a big brother. 'Everyone around me is so thrilled about the news, and I want to be too. I really do. But this new dynamic isn't sitting right with me. But why?' I question. 'The first thing I should be feeling is ecstasy, isn't it?'

In my brood, I don't notice a set of paws walking delicately up behind me.

"So this is where you are," comes my bibi's voice.

I spring up my head in surprise. "Bibi Sarabi?" I look back to see my new company. My grandmother Sarafina's with Sarabi as well. My gaze follows them as they take a seat on a pedestal higher than mine. Sarabi lays down on her stomach. "I didn't think anyone was looking for me," I lie, flicking my tail.

"You're part of all the buzz, Kopa," she says in her deep and very calming voice. "But you're so far from it. Why?" I'm reluctant to respond. I look down, unable to talk. "I see," says Sarabi.

"I… I wanna be happy about this, like everyone else," I start. "But I'm just scared, I guess." I shake my head, totally disbelieving the words coming out of my mouth.

"What could possibly scare you?" Sarafina asks with a raised brow and a smile. "You're so very lively, and courageous," she adds some extra adulation to the last statement. Bibi Sarafina's always been one to fawn over me. She's actively proud, and never shies from an opportunity to show it.

"It's not important," I dismiss with a faint smile at my grandmother's flattery, but also desperately wanting to escape the situation.

"Hmm," considers Sarabi with a tilt of her head. "You don't act it, but you're awfully private."

I snap up. "But I'm not," I defend. "I'm an open book. Really, Bibi."

Sarabi laughs. "You certainly give off that impression," begins she. "But dig a little deeper and pry past the exterior, and you'll find a contemplative, mysterious, hidden soul in there. And you don't let him out all that often." I don't reply, she's not wrong. "May I have a go at guessing what troubles you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," I return quietly and looking elsewhere. I flick my tail again. "I'm just… thinking."

"Oh? I'd say you're scared that you and your little sibling will be Mufasa and Taka all over again."

I gasp, looking with surprise at my bibi Sarabi. She returns with a smile that assures that she's not out to condemn me, only to help; Bibi Sarafina is just as receptive. I sigh through my nostrils with a frown, then I look away again and nod. "Yeah," I breathe under my breath. "When it was just me, I had nothing but age standing in my way of ruling. Now that I have a sibling on the way, I'm afraid they might see me as great uncle Scar saw babu Mufasa. And I don't want to take the throne with dirty blood between me and my kid sibling."

"In monarchy, it's normal to fret that power will corrupt your family. But no amount of fear will decide whether or not your sibling's heart is good or not," Sarafina says. She leans down and nestles against the side of my head comfortingly. "So you're technically stressing over nothing, for nothing."

"This feels like something," I gripe, unable to shake the feeling despite my bibi's wise words.

"It's unfortunate that Mufasa trusted Scar more than he should've, but your little brother or sister has done nothing to make you trust him or her any less," bibi Sarabi says. "And you having these seeds of doubt could be a catalyst for a similar story."

"Yeah, you're right," I nod with register. "I didn't think of it like that. I suppose I just wanted to fix it so badly, that I was breaking it."

"You haven't broken anything yet," Sarafina says. "Your parents still haven't seen that much of you since they told you the news."

I smile bashfully. "You're right about that," I chuckle nervously. I climb to my feet and nuzzle my head against each of my grandmothers. "Thanks for hunting me down and talking to me."

"Just doing our job," smiles grandma Sarabi.

I give them one last smile before heading off to find my parents. I find my mom at the top of Pride Rock. The attention has simmered to none. I climb up to where she is and she greets me with a smile when she sees me. "I was wondering where you'd gone."

"I'm sorry for disappearing," I tell. "I just needed to process the whole big brother thing."

"It's not as scary as you think," says Mom, still smiling. "Your uncle Mheetu and I were, are, the best of friends. I know you and the kid will be too."

I smile, looking out at the falling sun. "You really think I can handle it?"

Mom quirks a brow. "Kopa, are you afraid of a challenge?"

"Absolutely not," I say, feeling a part of my normal being returning. I never, ever refuse a challenge. Ever. "I was just, viewing this new phase as something other than a chance to prove myself. But when you put it like that…" I laugh. "Then I can't wait to be a brother."

Mom nudges me playfully. "I promise you'll be phenomenal. The type of brother any infant would dream about."

I smile a boastful smile, feeling a thousand times more confident than I was moments ago. "I am pretty amazing."

"More than amazing," Mom laughs. "Just don't get a big head about it."

I chuckle internally. "Where's Dad?" I finally question.

"A problem with the hippos popped up, so he's off trying to fix it," is Mom's answer.

"Hippos? Nah, that's not a problem," starts an angry Timon as he bustles up the incline of Pride Rock, Uncle Pumbaa following closely. "But you know what is a problem? I'll tell ya!" he puts his hands on his hips that are still muddy from the mud bath earlier today. Come to think of it, I'm still muddy. "Prince Charming abandoning us for a girl!"

"Oh," I say, remembering only now that I totally ditched my uncles. "I'm sorry, guys. I'll make it up to you."

Mom smiles at me slyly. "Kopa, you didn't!"

"Oh, he did!" says Timon. "And he'd better deliver on that guarantee to make things right." Uncle Timon folds his arms on his chest and closes his eyes. "It's not every day that you find a mud pool that isn't almost dried out."

"Aw, but Timon," begins Pumbaa, appealing with pathos to my meerkat uncle. "He hadn't seen her in a while."

"She should take a number and get in line," declares Uncle Timon with a curt nod. My mother and I share a look at Timon's dramatic statements.

I lean down to Timon's level. "Well, there's a beehive down on the rear side of Pride Rock that Afua and I saw a day ago," I say. "Will some honey make things right?"

Pumbaa beams energetically, "Ooh!-"

"Ah! Pumbaa," Timon smacks a hand to Pumbaa's snout to silence him. He snaps his eyes open. "How much honey?"

A confused look swims on my face. "As much as I can get?"

"That's right, as much as you can get!" Uncle Timon pokes my nose. "Let's get getting."

I stand up straight again and give my mother a questioning look, asking if it's okay that I leave.

"Go on," she smiles. "Just be careful around those bees."

"I will, Mom," I say as I take off down to the rear side of Pride Rock, Timon and Pumbaa following me down.

Once I get to the beehive, I find Afua and Lela already there, sitting and speculating ways to get it down from its high, out of reach position. "Hey guys."

"Hey, Kopa," they both say.

"Did you hear that, Pumbaa?" asks Timon. "'Hey, Kopa,'" mimics my uncle, hands clasped and eyelashes aflutter.

My friends both give me a questioning look. I walk over to them and whisper. "Once we get him some honey, he'll calm down."

"Oh, okay," says Lela. "Afua thinks we should balance on each other's backs to get it."

"The two of us together wasn't gonna work," starts Afua, "but now that you're here, we might be able to reach it."

"Couldn't hurt to try, right?"

"Well, maybe not you two," Lela reasons. "If we follow through with this plan, I'll be on the top of the stack, and I'll gather bee stings."

"But the honey will be worth it!" beams Afua, with a few jumps. "Come on, Lela. You're not that soft."

"I'm not soft," she defends. She looks up at the prize above our heads, golden with promise but buzzing with warning. "I-I'll do it." She gulps.

"Alright!" cheers Afua. "You'll thank me when we get the hive down."

"Are you sure about this?" I question.

"I'll be fine," Lela responds. "A few stings won't do much damage."

"Well hop to it," Timon flaps his hands as if he's shooing us to our task. "I want to be reconciled with." Pumbaa snorts, reminding Timon of his presence. "Oh, yeah, Pumbaa too."

Afua positions himself under the hive and he gives me a nod. I climb up on his back, wobbling a little, but my paws find themselves stably situated. "Alright, Lela, your turn."

"I hope this works," mumbles Lela. She steps up on Afua and pushes off of him onto my back. "Woah," she trembles slightly, just as I did, but finds her footing. Facing Pride Rock, she rises to her hind legs and reaches for the hive. "Ow!" she yelps, presumably stung.

"Come on, Lela, you've got this," chants Afua.

"I think it's coming loose," she informs, shaking on my back with effort from tugging at the hive. After a while, the hive crashes down on the ground, and a swarm of bees erupt from its insides. "Maybe we should run."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" yelps Timon, as the bees hone in on him and Pumbaa. They take off, the horde following after them, and totally unaware of us.

"I didn't expect that," I think aloud.

Lela leaps off of the stack, and I follow.

"Poor Timon and Pumbaa," Lela says sitting.

"They'll get their share," Afua says, hopping over to the hive. He pulls off a section and happily licks it, lapping up all the honey he can. "It'll make them forget that this even happened."

"You might be right about that," I laugh. I bound over to the shattered hive and enjoy some honey for myself.

"Why're you all muddy anyhoo?" questions Afua.

"Oh, you won't believe it!" I say with some energy. "There's this great mud pool out in the grassy areas of the Pridelands-"

"Wait, you got in there voluntarily?" interrupts Afua in surprise.

I nod vibrantly. "It's amazing," I enthuse. "I should take you two sometime." My face falls when I realize how distant my friends and I have been. "If you're not off doing something more important, that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lela asks.

"You two are never around," I tell. "You're always at Rafiki's heels and Afua and Beba might as well be conjoined twins."

"I'm sorry that we don't cater to your every whim Your Highness" returns Afua. "We have lives to live I'm afraid."

"I thought I was supposed to be part of your lives," I bark. "That's how friendship works."

"You clearly don't know how priorities work," Afua says.

"Come on, guys," reasons Lela. "We don't have to get heated. We can sort this out calmly."

"Sort what out?" asks Afua. "I'll have to leave the Pridelands in a matter of weeks, so yeah, I'm occupied. I don't have the privilege of a sheltered future in the Pridelands, or a guaranteed future in the desert at that. I'm sorry if the protected Prince and lucky lioness don't get how serious this is." Afua gives us one last look before taking off in the direction of the watering hole.

"That's right, leave," I call after him. "It's what you're best at!"

"Kopa, he's right, though," Lela says from behind me.

"Yeah, but he's not making things any better by running off," I tell.

"But you're not making things any better by enforcing his behaviour."

I look back at her. "I'm not gonna call after him like a child," I say defiantly.

"You're not treating him like a child, Kopa," Lela appeals. "You're treating him like a friend who cares to know what's on his mind, if he's okay."

"Look, I don't need to tail someone and cast questions their way to know if they're alright," I declare. "I can see very well from where I'm standing that he's mad."

"But you're not doing anything about it," fights Lela.

"Right, but you're not either," I say, turning to face her.

"There's a difference in reasons why," Lela begins. "I can and will go after him. You can, but your pride will make sure you don't."

Lela holds my glare before heading past me and taking off after Afua. I don't stare after them too long before Timon and Pumbaa come back, puffing full force.

Pumbaa observes that my friends have headed off and curiously questions. "Where are they going?"

I turn my back on my uncles, grumbling, "Who cares?" as I stomp off back to Pride Rock.

That's Chapter 5, everyone! The first dispute between Kopa and his friends. Hope you enjoyed it, there will be more Sarabi and more Sarafina (this is not a case of their first and final appearance). Thanks so much for reading! I'd appreciate any feedback. Take care!