Chapter Six: The Reunion
Nala had been walking through the jungle for the past few hours, and there was still no sign of Simba. She finally decided that she would call out to him.
"SIIIIIMBAAAA!" she cried. "SIIIIIMBAAAA! Where are you?"
Off in the distance, Simba perked up upon hearing Nala's voice. He began to run towards the source of the sound.
"SIMBA!" she called again. Nala hung her head low, her voice worn out and her heart heavy.
"I'm right here Nala!" a voice shouted from behind her.
Nala turned around. There, standing in front of her, was the very golden cub she was searching for.
"Simba!" she cried before tackling him to the ground. "Ha! Pinned Ya!"
Simba suddenly realized he was once again pinned under his best friend. He smiled at her.
"I've never been so happy to see you!" she exclaimed.
"Nor have I," Simba responded.
The two cubs decided to get up, and they sat next to each other before talking.
"Nala, we have to get out of here. I've been adopted by a pride of psychos!"
"Good, because we've got a pride of our own waiting for us!"
The two then sprinted off, but before they could get very far, a lioness sped out of the grass and stopped them in their tracks. More lionesses soon formed a circle around the two cubs, blocking their escape.
"Hello again, Simba," Khara drawled as he stepped out of the shadows. "Forgive me if I interrupted anything. It seemed like you two were having a conversation."
"Bring them back," he instructed the lionesses. "We can adopt them both now."
When the pride reached the clearing, Khara shoved Simba and Nala into the den.
"Simba, I was very disappointed to find that that monkey was not dead. You not only lied to me, but you failed in your task. Let this be a little warning."
Khara smiled before placing his paw on Simba's side and unsheathing his claws. Simba grimaced in pain as blood flowed out of the wound.
"Hmm hmm hmmm hmmm hmm. That, I believe, does it," Khara smiled before pulling his blood-soaked claws out of Simba's side.
"You can't win!" Nala shouted. "Everyone in the Pride Lands will come looking for us! You'll be sorry then!"
"The Pride Lands!" Khara smiled ecstatically, his eyes and smile the brightest they had ever been. "These two will be even more useful than I thought…"
As he walked away, he explained, "You two have one hour to talk. Then, I will take Simba back to give him another chance at killing those monkeys. Have fun!"
With Khara out of sight, Simba lied down on the ground as Nala placed her paws on his wounds.
"That Khara's a psycho! How'd you end up with these guys?"
"They live here," Simba explained.
"And why does he keep talking about you killing monkeys?" she asked.
"He wants to start training me to be like one of them. He was going to have me kill a clan of monkeys. I did attack one, but I only knocked it unconscious. I ran off while he was inspecting it. Not long after that, I heard you calling for me."
"Simba," Nala asked. "Why did you run away so suddenly? And why didn't you take me?"
"Why didn't you try to persuade me otherwise?" Simba asked in response. "That surprised me most."
"I'll tell you if you tell me."
"Okay," Simba sighed as he took a deep breath. "I didn't want to take you because I was deliberately running off to places that might not be safe. You didn't do anything wrong. I've probably left permanent scars on that cub's cheek."
"Trust me, Simba. From what you told me yesterday, it sounds like they all deserve that."
"I'm still worried about how Mom and Dad will react. I'm just so worried that they'll misunderstand everything and—"
"Simba, your mom and dad are the kindest, most understanding lions I know, besides my mom," Nala reassured him. "Trust me, if you just tell them what happened, nothing will happen to you."
"Okay, we talked about me. Now, on to you. Why didn't you just come with me anyway?"
"Well, for one thing, I was too surprised by the whole thing to really react properly. It's not every day your best friend suddenly runs away. That, and I still felt some responsibility for Mheetu. For everything he is, he's still my brother. But then I decided you were more important. My mom can take care of him. But you, I knew you had nobody out here."
"Thanks, Nala. You're the best friend anyone could ask for."
Someday, she'll be more than my friend. I just know it…
"Well Simba, do you wanna relax a little bit before King Crazy comes back? We can't exactly play-fight with you having those wounds."
"I know. Just when we left Rafiki, now we're gonna have to go back to him. But yeah, we'll just relax."
The two cubs then snuggled up and fell asleep.
At the very edge of the Pride Lands, a massive congregation was ready to head out into the desert. Mufasa and Sarabi were in the lead, along with Sarafina, about five other lionesses, and the cubs.
"Well, everyone," Mufasa began, "it seems like this was where Simba and Nala were before they took off. Who knows what might have motivated them to leave, but we'll have a long talk with them about it."
The golden king was trying to appear firm, but deep inside, Mufasa knew this probably had something to do with Simba's recent depressed attitude.
"At any rate," he continued, "we'll find them. Let's go."
The lionesses and cubs followed their king through the desert, and while most of the cubs were conversing in the back, the smallest was walking alongside his mother.
"Do you think Nala's all right?" Mheetu asked his mother.
"I sure hope so, Mheetu," Sarafina responded.
"If she's been harmed in any way," he snarled, "then Simba will be the one who pays!"
Mufasa and Sarabi widened their eyes simultaneously, but decided to press on. There were more important things to take care of…like bringing the two cubs home.
Well, what did you all think of these two chapters? Khara is such a posh killer, isn't he? Remember to review and voice your speculation as to his inspiration! Did you like the intimate moment with Simba and Nala there? I sure hope you did. And what of Mheetu finally demonstrated a (slightly) softer side? Well, tune in later, because in a day or two, we'll finally get to the climactic chapter you've all been waiting for!