Hello once again everyone! First I wanna give a HUGE thank you to all of you guys who reviewed my story. It really put a smile on my face when I saw how many reviews I got! So as a reward for being so patient, I present to you chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King nor do I own the song used in this chapter.

Chapter 3 – "Bonding Time/ 'The Morning Report'"

3 DAYS LATER:

Where does the time go? I feel like I've been in the pride my whole life even though I just recently joined the pride, but that really didn't faze me or anyone else anymore. Now that I had become close to the lionesses, they all felt like and treated me as if I was one of their own cubs. All of the lionesses liked me and cared for me unlike the ones in my old pride who used to ridicule me just because I wasn't like their cubs and because of who my mother was. My mother was like me or maybe I was like her. I wasn't the fastest, the strongest or the bravest and neither was she. And because we lacked those abilities, we were shunned in our pride. As an infant, I never understood why the other lionesses refused to let their cubs play with me or why we always got the scraps of the prey we caught or why whenever we slept, every slept on the farther side of me and my mother. All of it didn't make any sense to me until one day, when I was about a couple days old; I went up to my mother and asked her.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Anaya?" she answered with a smile on her beautiful face.

"Why don't the others like us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't they play with me, or talk to you or help you hunt? Why, Mama?" My mother turned her face away from me and looked out onto the horizon, where the sun was setting beautifully on the savannah. She then looked down at the grass we laid on and closed her eyes, taking a huge breath before answering me.

"We are different, Anaya. You and I are different from them." I quirked an eyebrow at her answer.

"How are we different, Mama? We look just like them." She smiled at me.

"Yes we do, but sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes others will look at your weaknesses and they soon believe that you are not one of them, just because you might not be capable of doing the things that they can do."

"Is that why we are different from them, Mama? Is it because we can't do some of the things they can do?" She smiled sadly at me.

"I'm afraid so, my darling." I frowned and looked down at the grass as it swayed from the wind. I looked ahead and saw that some of the grass was a yellowish color while the rest was a bright green. Both shades of grass were intertwined with each other and it made me think of me and my mother being the yellow grass while the green grass was like the other lionesses. Both shades of the grass were different, but in the end, they're just grass. Part of the same creation, the same nature. It made me think that even though that my mother and I were different from the others, we were all the same. Part of the same pride, the same family. So why couldn't the others see that?

"Why haven't they exiled us from the pride, Mama?"

"Our leader and I are good friends, so he has promised to make sure that we stay in the pride protected and cared for."

"No matter how terrible this life is" she muttered the last sentence. I looked at my mother and saw the sad and pained look on her face. I got up and went to her, nuzzling her cheek in affection. She purred and returned the gesture. We both knew that this would be hard for the both of us, but in the end, we knew that our lives weren't going to be easy and that we would continue to face challenges, but that's the consequence for being different. Something that both me and my mother could handle. I blinked my eyes and though about how different my life was now then how it was before and about how it changed for the better. I turned my attention towards the entrance of the cave within Pride Rock, seeing the little stars out in the sky and how dark the sky still was. I got up and stretched my legs out, while shaking my fur out before heading towards the rock platform. A small cool breeze went past me and made me shiver a little as I stepped out of the cave and into the still present nightfall. I always loved the way the sky looked at night, how the sky looked as it is covered by the dark coat of night. I could see the little bits of pink and purple in the sky which means that sunrise was about to appear. This feeling right now, the feeling of being with the beauty of nature, of how serene and calming the sensation was and how amazing it all is was all I needed to see and feel right now. I looked up at the sky again, trying to imagine my mother smiling down at me and telling me to be happy and to have an adventure or telling me that I would be okay and that she would be watching over me.

"I miss you" I whispered quietly. I felt a tear slid down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away with my paw. A star shined quickly in the sky and I tried to believe that it was my mother saying that she missed me too and the thought made me smile. The sky began to show more traces of pink and purple and I sat on my hind-legs to watch the colors of the sky transform. No sooner did I feel a body knock into me, pushing me down.

"Oww" I moaned.

"Oh man, I'm sorry Anaya. I really need to watch where I'm going" said my best friend Simba.

"No kidding" I answered as I stood up and shook my fur out

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Just looking at the stars, what about you?"

"I was just checking for sunrise"

"Why?"

"My dad promised that he'd show me the Pridelands today and I'm so excited about it that I couldn't sleep".

"Wow, that's sounds pretty cool"

Yea, I can't wait. Hey, do you wanna come?"

"What? No way, Simba"

"Why not?"

"Because this is time for you and your dad to bond and I don't want to come in between that. Besides that's family time and I'm not your family. I'm adopted." Simba didn't say anything to me and I got nervous about what he was going to say about that. Simba came up to me and pushed his forehead against mine, a friendly gesture amongst lion cubs.

"Anaya, you are my family. We may not be related by blood, but in my heart, you'll always be like a sister to me." I gasped at his statement. He really thought of me as….a sister.

"You mean that?" I asked.

"Of course I do! You're closer to me than Nala is and me and Nala have been friends since birth." I smiled at Simba and at his confession. That alone made my heart swell at the fact that he thought of me like I was his blood sister. I closed my eyes and gently nuzzled my cheek against his, showing him how happy I was. Simba did the same and nuzzled me back before we both pulled away and smiled at each other.

"Thank you, Simba. That…really means a lot that you would…think of me as if I was your sister."

"No problem, so does this mean you're gonna come with us?"

"Yes, I'll go with you guys"

"Good, now come on, let's go wake my dad up". I nodded my head and together we went back into the cave to wake up Mufasa so the 3 of us could spend some time together.

After about 5-10 minutes of trying to wake up Mufasa, we finally achieved our goal and not too long after, the 3 of us were walking through the Pridelands. Mufasa started explaining to Simba about what his role and responsibilities would be as the future king. It was intriguing to listen to how professional and wise Mufasa sounded, how he talked about the qualities of being a good and effective leader. Mufasa sometimes talked to me about the certain responsibilities that a future queen would have to assist the king, though I had no idea why. It's not like I was going to be the future queen of Pride Rock. Someone of the royal family or born into the royal family should take up that place, not an adopted, orphaned cub. I pushed that thought aside and looked at the huge smile on Simba's face. I could tell that he was literally enjoying every bit of this and I was happy for him and that surprised me. I was happy now. I was happy when I was accepted into the pride, I was happy when Zahra became my adopted mother and I was happy for Simba right now as well as the time being spent right now between me, Simba and Mufasa. Nothing was better than this moment right now between the 3 of us and no amount of hurt and pain could make me feel miserable or ruin this moment. Nothing.

"Now listen closely, you two" Mufasa said to Simba and I.

"Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. Simba, as king you need to understand this and respect all creatures. From the crawling ant to the leaping antelope"

"But dad, don't we eat the antelope?" Simba asked. I shook my head, but smiled at him. Sometimes Simba could be such a birdbrain.

"Yes, Simba but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass and the antelope eat the grass".

"Huh?" Simba said confused by what Mufasa just said. Mufasa chuckled at him and shook his head, I thought about changing the topic.

"Mufasa, I have a question."

"Of course, what is it, Anaya?"

"What is 'The Circle of Life'?" I had been meaning to ask him that question for a while now. He smiled softly at me before answering.

"The Circle of Life is the balance between all creatures. It is the natural flow of how our lives are to be everyday".

"What do you mean, Dad?" Simba asked. Mufasa contemplated what he was going to say before he answered Simba's question.

"What do the antelopes eat, Simba?" Mufasa asked.

"Umm…grass?" Mufasa nodded in approval.

"Correct" he said before he turned his attention to me as we continued to walk on.

"What do we eat, Anaya?"

"Meat" I answered simply. Mufasa smiled at me.

"Exactly. While the antelopes eat the grass we walk on, we eat them for nourishment and when we die and become ash for the Pridelands, other animals eat that grass like the antelope do and the cycle continues on and on and on. That you two…" he said while looking at us and then turning his head towards the horizon, "is the great 'Circle of Life'."

"Wow" Simba and I said in unison as we admired the beauty and importance of the Circle of Life. Zazu flew up towards us and perched himself on the rock in front of us.

"Good Morning, sire!" he said

"Good Morning, Zazu" Mufasa replied.

"Checking in with the morning report"

"Fire away"

"Chimps are going ape, giraffes remain above it all. Elephants remember, though just what I can't recall. Crocodiles are snapping up fresh offers from the banks. "

Simba spotted a mole pop up out of its hole in the ground and tried to pounce on it, but it got away.

"Showed interest in my nest egg, but I quickly said 'no thanks'. We haven't paid the hornbills and the vultures have a hunch, not everyone invited will be coming back from lunch"

Zazu gave a nervous laugh while Simba continued to chase the small mole.

"This is the Morning Report! It gives the long and the short"

"Every grunt, roar and snort"

I turned towards Simba and giggled when I saw him struggling to catch the mole. I ended up deciding to help him in his obvious losing battle against the little creature.

"Not a tale I distort!"

"On the Morning…Report!"

Simba and I jumped at the same time to catch the mole, but I ended up crashing into the dirt while Simba got head-butted by a rock.

"Owww" he groaned. I giggled at him and his failed attempt. Mufasa looked atus and tried hard not to laugh at the sight of me and Simba.

"What are you two doing?" he asked.

"Pouncing" Simba replied while rubbing his forehead with his paw.

"But we're failing miserably" I added. Mufasa smirked at us.

"Let an old pro show you how it's done" Mufasa said as the 3 of us glanced over at Zazu seeing as he was distracted. We all looked deviously at Zazu.

"Stay low…to the ground" Mufasa instructed to Simba and pushed Simba's lower half down towards the ground. I watched in silence and smiled at Mufasa and Simba, father and son.

"Yeah, okay. Stay low to the ground, right?" Mufasa hushed him.

"Not a sound" he said as Simba stared intently on his target. I looked at Zazu and snickered because of how oblivious he was to Simba's surprise attack.

"Take it slow" Mufasa cautioned Simba as he moved closer and closer to Zazu.

"One more…step…and…" he said before Simba pounced on Zazu. Mufasa and I couldn't contain ourselves, so we bursted into a fit of laughter before Simba began to sing.

"This is the Morning Report!"

"It gives the long and the short!"

I giggled at Zazu's shocked expression and laughed when I saw him scowl at me. Simba heard my laughter and turned towards me and smiled.

"Come on, Anaya!" he called. I knew what he was asking. He wanted me to sing along with him and I did just that.

"Ever grunt, roar and snort!"

"Not a tale I distort!"

Zazu tried to escape us, but Simba caught his tail with his teeth and together, Simba and I sang.

"On the Morning Report!"

"AAAHHHH!" Zazu yelled as he was thrown onto the ground by Simba. Mufasa laughed at the whole scene.

"That's very good! But this time…" he started but he was interrupted by Zazu

"SIRE! HYENAS! IN THE PRIDELANDS!" he shouted. Mufasa's face turned into an expression I had never seen before. It looked…dangerous and scary a little. He leaped over a Simba and I and started to head towards the farther-out pridelands.

"Zazu, take Anaya and Simba home" he ordered.

"Aww Dad, can't we come?" Simba pleaded.

"No son." Mufasa answered before he took off. Simba sighed and turned around and walked past me towards Pride Rock.

"I never get to go anywhere" he mumbled. I started to walk alongside Simba but said nothing.

"Oh young master, one day you'll be king. Then you can chase those slobbery, mangy, stupid pooches from dawn till dusk" Zazu said. I chuckled at Zazu and nudged Simba in the shoulder and he looked at me.

"Your dad just doesn't want you to get hurt, that's all" I said softly.

"Yeah you're right" he said and then smirked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Race you back home!" he said before he took running.

"No fair!" I shouted at him and took off running myself.

"My prince and miss Anaya, please! Slow down!" Zazu shouted at us, but we were too far out and laughing too hard to have a care in the world.

Alright! Another chapter completed! Just for those of you who don't know, I added the song 'Morning Report' because that was from the DVD version of the Lion King. Everything else in the story and my own is and will be the same, it's just that I didn't like how boring they made that scene in the original version, so like I said everything else is the same, it was just this part. Also in the next chapter, the Nala and Anaya drama begins! XD. So as you all know, review, review, review, if you want something new!