The day after meeting Shany, Dan got up very early to catch a glimpse of the Pride Land's sunrise. The view was always wonderful, because everything looked so free and normal. There was something in the air… something that made one feel carefree. In other words, like a paradise.

"Good morning, Dan" said a voice behind him. Turning around, he saw Kovu, who was approaching him to admire the views with him.

"Good morning, Mr. Kovu" the cub replied.

"Wow, you're quite courteous. And well… nice views, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Dan said looking back at the views of the Pride Lands at dawn, "Everything looks so beautiful…"

Kovu fixed his attention on Dan as if reminding him of himself. The truth was, he'd felt that way the first time he'd woken up on Pride Rock after saving Kiara from the fire.

"Dan," he said, "Kiara told me what you told her about your parents, but…what do you remember about them?"

Dan lowered his head sadly: despite having spent only a few days in the Pride Lands, those memories seemed so distant and close at the same time. But, at the same time, they were very painful.

"They were very affectionate, I do remember that" he finally answered, "They were like you... they protected others because they believed that all animals were the same"

"Then it becomes clear that your parents' affection was truly unique…" Kovu said. However, it seemed that he was saying it to himself because he was touching the eye in which he had the scar.

Dan, noticing what he was doing. He dared to ask:

"How did you get that scar?"

Kovu didn't want to talk about it, but he had to say it:

"Unlike you, I didn't have much love from my family. My mother was close to Scar, and when I was born, he had named me next in line to the throne. But when Simba defeated Scar , my mother and I and the rest of my brothers were banished for supporting him"

Dan was listening intently to Kovu's story.

"In an act of revenge, my mother trained me to kill Simba," Kovu continued, "But…I fell in love with Kiara and that put my desire for revenge behind me. My mother in punishment, scratched my face, making me the scar"

"Wow... he had a complicated family too" Dan thought, "Just like me, he was being raised to fulfill selfish desires"

"And what happened to your mother?" Dan asked, "Is she...?"

"She finished her path in the cycle of life," Kovu declared, "Simba forgave me and all the Outlanders. But, my mother still wanted revenge and that brought her to an end: she disappeared after falling into the river. If she had survived, I would have told her that… I forgive her."

"Sorry" Dan told him, making Kovu's face change, "She might have accepted forgiveness if she'd had more time." Then, he stopped and asked something he wanted to know: "Can I ask you a question? What was it that made you feel safe to be a part of this family?"

Kovu looked at Dan with quite a bit of fascination: for just a cub, he was very understanding and intelligent. Dan, on the other hand, wanted to know the answer to that question, because it was the one he needed.

"Love, that made me feel safe" the lion replied, "It was Kiara that gave me confidence that he could be good, that it wasn't necessary to fight..."

Dan looked at Kovu for a few moments, then smiled at him.

"Thank you, for sharing all that with me," she said cheerfully, "I think I feel better now."

"It was a pleasure" Kovu replied, "Hey, would you like to go somewhere fun?"

Dan accepted. So, the two lions came down from the Pride Rock and walked for a while through the meadow. Kovu led Dan to a small field of dirt and grass full of birds. The birds were pecking trying to get worms out of the ground.

"This is where I had my first fun," Kovu said, "You can do it too, and practice your roar a little by the way."

"Roar?" Dan asked nervously, "But, I don't know how"

"Come on, it's easy: let your voice be heard in the air, pretend to release your repressed feelings. Give it a try and scare a couple of birds away."

"Okay, here I go," Dan said, taking a breath.

Dan roared… but as anyone can guess, it didn't go as one expected. The 'roar' was not enough to scare even the bird closest to them.

"Wow, I'm pathetic" Dan said, disappointed.

"Don't worry, it's fine for your age" Kovu encouraged him, "Listen to this"

This time it was Kovu who roared, the noise was loud enough that it scared away all the birds, it had also left an echo in Dan's head.

" Woah ," Dan said once he had recovered from the echo, "That was awesome!"

"Thanks…" Kovu said, "Let's see if you can try again"

For about 30 minutes, Dan was trying his best to roar. At first it sounded the same as the first time, but the cub didn't give up: his spirit of learning was giving him more strength, although he barely managed to make a single bird fly.

"Well, I think you've improved for today," Kovu said after a while, "Let's try something else…let's see…how about some hunting lesson?"

So Kovu led Dan to another area, one of tall grass, with perfect hiding places. Kovu placed himself in an uncovered area of it.

"Your mission is to surprise me," he said, "You must be quite stealthy. I will close my eyes for a few minutes. Now hide"

Dan did so, hiding behind Kovu's back, hoping to make a good attack.

"Okay, surprise me!" Kovu yelled.

Dan remembered what Simba had taught him: He approached Kovu very slowly, listening to the sound of his own breathing, and when he was close enough…he jumped. Unfortunately, it didn't go well, because Kovu ducked just then. Dan rolled around on the ground a couple of times before coming to a stop.

"Almost" Kovu told him as he helped him up, "You hide and study the environment well, but your breathing gives you away, and a sound like that is enough to scare off your prey"

"But… yesterday I did well with Zazu" said Dan, remembering what happened the day before.

"Yeah…let's just say that Zazu is a pushover when he talks a lot. But, with another animal it is not the same"

"So what should I do to lower the sound of my breathing?"

"Relax a bit, feel the coolness of the ground under your paws and calm down. And most importantly: don't be afraid."

'Not being afraid' was easy for Kovu to say, but for Dan, who had previously disliked hunting, it was very difficult. However, this was not like what his uncle made him do… it was totally different.

Dan tried again. After the third try, he managed to at least surprise Kovu.

"Wow, well done," he said, "You've done very well."

"I have a good teacher"

A few meters from them, a pigeon had landed. Dan did the stealth test with it. It got away, but left behind a couple of feathers that confirmed that Dan had caught up with it.

"Very good!" Kovu yelled, "You're making progress. Well come on, it's almost time to eat"

"I'm following you" Dan told him.

Kovu looked at Dan with pride…it seemed to him that he was giving the cub a life that he couldn't have. Suddenly, Dan ran forward.

"I challenge you to a race!" said the cub, "Or are you too old?"

"Hey!" Kovu demanded with a laugh, "Don't call me old, little cub!"

They both ran in the direction of the Pride Rock. Despite Kovu giving him much of an advantage, Dan's paws were unable to keep up with the speed of a full grown lion. Upon arrival, Dan regretted challenging him to the race.

"Uff , I think I should practice speed" said Dan, already tired.

"Yes, that will be your next lesson" Kovu said, "You must exercise"

"Wow, where have you two been?" Kiara laughed when she saw them arrive tired, "I can see the tiredness in their faces"

"We've been practicing Kiara," he replied to his partner, "And some fun too."

"Okay, but I think you need to replenish your energy... come in, we have a great hunt today"

So, the three of them climbed up and entered the cave.