A/N: Hey, guys! Hope you're all well. I think each of you knew what you were signing up for when you clicked to read this fanfiction – you all knew what pairings there would be, it was right there Kopa x OC – so I won't take any nonsense in that regard. That's just ridiculous that you don't want that which you accepted. Koga 4 Life, this is not at all aimed at you! You're a star and a half and I value you as a reader!

I've had majority vote in favour of how I presented the original characters and how I've captured them (it makes absolute sense that one would mature as they age, thus resulting in a less cocky attitude here and there), so I'm afraid one negative review won't do it for me. You know where the door is – leave if you don't like it.

On a lighter note! The new chapter is in! Please check out Chapter 11 again, I feel the ending was weak, so I added a little more.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King plot/characters. I only own Lela (it's not Lena).

Chapter 12

Kopa

"Why is it taking so long?" I pace around the rear side of the base of Pride Rock, anxious for the long awaited arrival of my kid sibling. "It's been too long." My mom's finally in labour, but I don't feel any relief, rather worry. It shouldn't take this long for a cub to be born, should it? She started going into labour in a dark hour of the night, now it's almost dawn.

"Hey, Kid, calm down," says Timon, coming round to meet me. "You're gonna fall right through the earth from that pit your digging with all that pacing."

Pumbaa speaks up next to Timon. "Gee, you must be really nervous."

"Shouldn't I be?" I ask, looking up and stopping from my pacing.

"Hakuna Matata, Kid," Timon sits down on a nearby log. "Never worry about anything."

I couldn't agree more with my uncle, but for some reason, anxiety is harder to fight off this time. "But what if it's stuck or something?"

"That kind of thinkin' is gonna kill ya, Kid," says Timon apathetically. He hops off of the log and marches up to me with emphasis. "Never ask yourself tough questions, and never let people make you feel obligated to answer tough questions." He pokes me in the nose. "If you remember one thing from me it's this: the less you care, the longer you live."

I mule over Timon's words for a moment. "Uncle Timon-"

"Nah-ah," Timon raises his hands as if to request silence. "You want proof? Is that what you want? Look at me, and then look at my uncle Max." Timon crosses his arms. "You see him smile? Ever?" my jaw works as I think on Timon's surprising profoundness – he knows that I secretly agree with him. "I rest my case." Timon heads over to the log he sat on and sniffs out some grubs with Pumbaa.

"Hey, Kopa, do you mind giving me a hand here?" asks my hog uncle. I head over and roll the log away. "Thanks!" smiles Pumbaa as he and Timon enjoy themselves to the grubs.

I sigh through my nostrils. "A king can't think like that… as true and tempting as it is," I mumble.

"The way I see it, Kid, you can either be King of the Land or King of Yourself," Timon says with a full mouth. He swallows. "You can't be both."

Timon may have a point there. Dad doesn't have nearly as much fun as Afua and me. And once Afua leaves, and I take the throne we'll be just like him. "But you've got to grow up some time," I reason.

"Oh sure, normal animals grow up and leave themselves behind," says Timon. "Me? I like to be Timon at any age."

I shake my head, ridding myself of the parasitic thoughts of an independent life free of expectations. "Look, that's not the problem anyways," I say. "The problem is my little sibling, remember?"

"Oh right, that," says Timon. "Hakuna Matata."

"Just relax, Kopa," smiles Pumbaa. "Try to take your mind off of it. Worrying isn't going to fix anything, right?"

I sigh, "Right," I nod. I plaster a smile on my face, it slowly becoming real, I join my uncles in their chowing. "You know, the green ones are my favourite."

"Nah, you've got it all wrong, Kid," says Timon. "The blue ones are the best of the bunch."

"I kinda like the red ones with wings," says Pumbaa.

"All I'm hearing is: more green grubs for me," I smirk.

"And I'm hearing: more blue grubs for Timon," responds my uncle, making sure we all know that the sky coloured grubs are off limits.

The three of us continue to munch on critters for a moment before Pumbaa sits back with a quizzical look. He sniffs the air around him for a moment.

"What is it, Pumbaa?" I ask, coming up at my uncle's alert. "Smell something?"

Pumbaa nods and continues sniffing the air. I sniff around myself and find a totally unfamiliar scent in the air. It smells like it's, "A lion." I say softly. I look back to my uncles, Pumbaa has returned to the bugs before him. "I'll be back you two." I say. I hop over the log and continue down the grass towards the smell. The blades of yellowish-brown grass grow on either side of me, working to my advantage in the field of camouflage. 'Where are you?' I wonder, following my nose to the unknown lion. The smell is very evasive. Whenever I get close, it seems to dive to another direction. It's trying to toy with me. As I get a good hold of the scent, I can tell that it's not a very big lion. It must be a cub. Something comes to mind. "So we're playing games, are we?" I say aloud to the cub with a genuine smile. "I really like games, but know this: I hate to lose. So expect a challenge, my friend."

"Oh, you're on," comes a small voice. It is a cub! A little boy cub. A really little boy cub. I still can't see him, but I know that he's out here.

"Competitive, ey? I like it," I smirk. "If I find you before sunrise, I win. If I don't, you do."

"Fair enough," says he.

I spend a good while scent tracking, trying to find the cub. But just as before, he lets me get just close enough before he moves away. Very smart fella. Soon, the cub makes a bold move that I pretend not to notice. He climbs one of the trees in the field; I turn a blind eye.

"Hmm," I start. "It's like my little friend has completely disappeared."

I hear him snicker in the low branches of the tree behind me.

"Kopa!" Lela shouts. In the warm morning light, I turn back and see Lela running towards me with the biggest smile. She stops beside me, brightly beaming. "You need to come say 'hello' to your beautiful baby sister."

I sit in a moment of shock. 'A sister?' I look back at my beaming friend with an excited smile. "She's here? Right now?"

"Yeah!" she says with a little laugh. Lela nudges me, "Come on. You might be able to get a glimpse of her before the Presentation if you're lucky."

"Let's go then," I say with a grin. Lela dashes back towards Pride Rock, the sun climbing up over the plains. I stop at the sight of the golden sun, remembering that I was previously playing a game based on the arrival of the sun. I look back at the tree where the little cub was and see a dark furred figure with bright green eyes. He smiles at me, and I give him a wink. He hops off of the tree and runs towards a lioness that I hadn't even noticed. She's laying down leisurely in the distance, on the edge of the tall grass – the area that boarders off into the Outlands.

As I run towards Pride Rock, a morsel of me feels for the little cub. It's a harsh life in the Savannah, even worse in the Outlands. But at least he has a mother to take care of him out there.

Alright, guys. There it is. I'm sure you all know that the dark furred cub is Kovu. He'll make another appearance where he and Kiara mingle for a while, but I'll see when that is. It's coming to the point where I actually should've started writing from (as that was the actual plot for my fanfiction, all this is just for background). Take care, all!