In the vast grasslands of Africa, the sun slowly rose over the horizon, casting a soft golden glow over the land. Animals of all sizes answered to it's gentle wake-up call, from mice climbing out of their burrows, to the king of the Pridelands stepping out of his cave on Pride rock.

Simba took a deep breath of morning air and smiled, feeling the rays of sunlight warming his fur. It has been several moons since he became king and the Pridelands had managed to recover from his uncle's reign. He gazed over the once-again lush grass, the herds of grazing animals that had gradually returned, and the flowing rivers and waterholes full of fresh water. He had restored the kingdom to it's original beauty and he hoped that Mufasa would be proud.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a surprised yelp. Simba turned, only to see that it had come from Nori, one of his two cubs. Nori was now lying on his back, pinned down by his twin brother, Noru.

"Gotcha again !" Noru laughed, very pleased with his achievement. "No fair !" Nori complained, pawing at his brother's face.

Simba smiled, watching the scuffle. From afar the twins looked almost completely identical, with Noru's fur being only a little bit darker shade of honey brown than Nori's. They even had the same piercing green eyes which sometimes reminded the other lions in the pride of their great-uncle. But anyone who spent any time with them at all, knew that that was where the similarities ended. When it came to their personality, the two were as different as night and day.

"Did you see that dad ? I won once again." Noru said proudly, puffing out his chest as he sat down beside Simba. "Only because you cheated. What's the point of having any rules if you don't follow them anyway ?" Nori replied, sitting down of Simba's other side.

Their father chuckled softly. "You are both going to be fine hunters one day." He cuffed Noru over the ears affectionately with one of his large paws. "But your brother isn't a gazelle." Then an idea suddenly formed in his mind and he smiled mischievously. Bending down to his sons he whispered something while they listened eagerly.

Once he stopped speaking, Noru and Nori nodded in unison and turned, moving side by side in a crouch, their bodies close to the ground. Their target was Timon, who had his back to them and was stretching after a good night's sleep. Just as the meerkat was about to turn and go find Pumbaa, two sets of paws made contact with his back and knocked him onto the ground. "Hey ! Get off of me ! Simba !" Timon shouted, pinned under the weight of the twins who broke out laughing.

Simba laughed too, padding over to all three of them. "Good job." He told the cubs as they let Timon go.

"You were in on this ? Shame on you !" Timon exclaimed, dusting himself off, but it was obvious that he found it funny as well. "The boys have to practice their hunting techniques on someone." Simba shrugged, his eyes shining with humor.

"That's precisely why you have two of them. So they don't have to terrorize me."

While the king and his friend talked, Noru nudged his brother, "Come on, let's get out of here while they're not looking." And without waiting for an answer, he trotted off, heading for the stone slope that led off of Pride rock and into the grassy territory.

Nori groaned inwardly. He wasn't a fan of breaking the rules like his brother, he simply didn't see the appeal. Yet he knew that he couldn't let Noru go off alone, because without someone to watch him, his brother could get into a whole load of trouble. With a small shake of his head, Nori got up and followed his twin.

Once he caught up to him, Nori asked, "Where are we going ? Please tell me we are just exploring Pride rock." But he already knew what the answer would be. Why do I even bother. He thought.

"Of course not. Pride rock is boring, there are no spots that we haven't been to yet. I want to go out, see the Pridelands up close." Noru replied, his face practically shining with excitement.

"But dad said he would take us to the watering hole and show us the hunting grounds tomorrow. Can't we just wait ?" Nori said, giving it one more shot at convincing Noru to do the sensible thing.

"Stop being such a spoilsport." was the answer he got, so he decided to just go with it. This would be their first time away from the safety of Pride rock. They should have gone a couple of days ago, but Simba seemed determined to keep them at home as long as possible. Nori didn't quite understand this, but he respected it. And that was something Noru simply didn't seem capable of.

Just as they were about to head down the slope, a familiar figure barred their path. "And where are you two off to ?" asked their mother in a questioning tone, yet her look was amused.

The excitement sizzled out of Noru as he sighed and replied, "Nowhere. We were just looking around."

Nala looked at him with understanding and smiled softly. "You know you can't leave alone just yet. But I have an idea. What if I convinced your father to show you the watering hole today ? I don't see why you should wait until tomorrow. And I think Simba doesn't have anything urgent planned for today."

"Really ?" Noru perked up, his emerald eyes bright with excitement.

"Yes, really." Nala chuckled and lowered her head to nuzzle the two of them.

"Thank you !" Both the brothers said in unison as they smiled giddily. "Let me just go get him." Their mother told them before walking off in the direction where they had left Simba and Timon.

"We are finally going to get to see everything up close !" Noru exclaimed, practically jumping with joy. Nori laughed, casting an expectant look at the horizon and all the land that was bathed in sunlight.

Something told him that this was just the very beggining.