Return: 2
Stay: 0
Taj: 13
Well, I guess the decision was almost unanimous. Voting closed.
It would be a long journey back, but the walk and physical strain had no match for the emotional and nervous stress that Amadi was feeling. It took a while, but eventually Dumaka and Dalia got Amadi to agree to come. The deciding factor was when Taj said he would go with Amadi. Amadi wasn't about to leave Taj for the Pride Lands, so Dumaka and Dalia were the ones who actually suggested it.
Amadi was worried, though he was glad he would have Taj there with them there was always the concern that Amadi bringing a male home with him would make things worse. That, and he was now sporting a scar on his right eye. Really, could the fates really be so against him? Did whomever design this world want Simba to hate him? Letting out a sigh, Amadi drug his paws slightly as they walked through the desert.
"Relax, Amadi. Grandpa said you could come back, so this can't be too bad." Dalia said softly, nuzzling her brother lightly on the shoulder as they walked.
"The only reason I'm allowed back is because you guys didn't give him any other choice…" He sighed slightly and looked at Dalia. "He thinks I'm Scar…He hates me."
"No he doesn't…" Dumaka said, shaking his head slightly.
Taj grunted slightly, rolling his eyes. "Sure seems like it." He looked at Dalia and sighed. "What is his problem, anyway? Why does he hate Amadi so much."
Amadi chuckled and nuzzled up against Taj. "That's what I would like to know."
"He doesn't hate Amadi. He's just scared. The Pride Lands have seen some rough years. Every generation has had its problems." Dumak began to explain. "Unfortunately for Grandpa Simba, he's the one who had to deal with it all. He means well, he's just letting his fear get the best of him. Sometimes fear turns to hysteria. It's not so much that Amadi is a bad lion, because he's not, as much as Amadi represents a difference that the pride doesn't understand. Over the past, difference has caused us a lot of problems. He's just being careful."
"Yeah, but at what cost?" Taj asked, shaking his head. "He exiled an innocent lion, his own grandson, even."
"Well, not to be rude, so don't take offense to this Amadi, this type of difference is something the pride has never seen before." Dalia explained. "All of us, even I, didn't know how to deal with this difference."
"And it doesn't help that I apparently look like Scar." Amadi said with a slight chuckle. "I'm sure the scar on my face wont help either."
"I don't know about that." Dumaka said with a slight shrug. "I mean, Dad has a scar. And, you know, from the stories Mum and Dad have told us, it seems like your going through similar things Dad did. Not for the same reasons, but Grandpa didn't like Dad at first start."
"I guess it runs in the family." Taj said with a slight chuckle, managing to get a smile out of Amadi.
"Grandpa is just scared. He's dealt with a lot in his life. Something always went wrong, and he had to learn from it. This is just another thing that he'll have to learn from. I'm sure he'll come around. " Dalia said softly, smiling at Amadi.
"I hope so." Amadi said, feeling a bit brighter about the subject. "I guess in all fairness I haven't really put a lot of potential into this whole king thing. I need to try harder. I can learn how to fight. I'll try to lion up a bit."
"You shouldn't have to change for them." Taj said, shaking his head.
"I use to think the same way. But I'm not changing for them, anymore. I want to change for me. I want to be the lion that I need to be to be king." He said with a determined smile.
"Well, don't change too much." Dumaka said with a chuckle, crouching low and pouncing his brother to the ground. "I still like my pussy-cat of a brother; no mane, only paws and whiskers."
Amadi laughed and swatted up at his brother, pushing him off and stumbling to his feet. "Oh don't worry, I don't expect myself to be able to bulk up as much as you. And I could never get rid of Taj." He said, walking up to Taj and nuzzling him affectionately. "I just want to be stronger, and wiser. I wan't to be the king that no one expects I can be. I'll prove them wrong, but I'll also make them proud."
Dalia smiled and nodded. "We can all help you with that. I'll help you become a better hunter, Dumaka can help you with diplomacy, and Taj, I don't know him very well, but he looks like one hell of a fighter. I'm sure he could help you with that."
Taj grinned and pushed Amadi with his paw. "Yea, if its what ya want, I can toughen you up." He said with a smile.
Grinning, Amadi started to walk again. "Thanks guys. I won't let you down." He said, walking with that goofy stride of his he had when he was happy. "Well, let's get going! I have been away from home for far too long."
…
The walk home didn't seem like so much of a hassle anymore ever since Dalia, Dumaka and Taj managed to cheer up Amadi. Soon Pride Rock could be seen as the foursome entered the Pride Lands. Amadi felt nervous again, but he wasn't as stressed as he was before. They had been traveling for a few hours, the sun was beginning to set, but home was only a mile or two away.
As they approached the giant rock, a figure could be seen staning at the point of Pride Rock. It was Kiara, she had rarely left that spot since Dalia and Dumaka went out to find Amadi. Grinning, her eyes caught the figures.
"Kovu! Kovu they are home!" She announced before running back down Pride Rock to greet her children. Grinning, she ran right up to Amadi and nuzzled him. "Oh my baby…My Amadi! I am so sorry I allowed this to happen." And that was when she noticed the scar. Her eyes widened slightly. "Baby, what happened to your eye?"
Amadi let out a relieved sigh; they had missed him. "Relax Mum, I'm fine and I'm glad to be back." He said, letting out a sigh. "The scar… It was, embarrassingly, a hunting accident."
Kovu followed soon after, climbing down the rock to meet up with his three cubs. His eyes spotted Taj and he instantly tensed. But then he looked at his son. He sighed slightly; he had felt such guilt for the way he treated his son. "Amadi…I…." He stopped when he saw the scar.
Amadi smiled, he could see in his fathers eyes that he was trying to apologize; make amends. "It's ok, Dad." He said with a smile, walking up to Kovu and nuzzling him happily under the mane like he use to as a cub. "And I'll repeat myself; hunting accident."
Kovu let out a relieved sigh and wrapped an arm around his son. "So…. Who's your friend?" He asked, looking to Taj.
"Oh! How rude of me." Amadi said, jumping up and going to Taj's side. He cleared his throat nervously. "This is Taj… He's, uh… He's my mate."
He could see the surprise in Kovu's eyes, but he could also tell that Kovu was trying really hard not to be rude. "That's great, Hun." Kiara said, cutting in quickly to cover up Kovu's loss of composure. "Now all of my babies have someone to love. I'm so happy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Taj."
"The pleasure is mine, ma'am." Taj said, bowing his head for a moment, smiling at Amadi. So far so good.
Amadi smiled, he was happy that they were trying to make them feel accepted, but he was worried what Simba would think. It didn't take long for the commotion to attract the attention of the pride. And with the pride came the King and Queen.
Nala, bless her gentle soul, was happy to see Amadi. She had missed the gentle cub. She also knew to look past the scar on his face. Ever since Kovu came around, the meaning of the scar was wiped away; at least to Nala.
Simba sighed, approaching the group. He had felt guilty over the past few days. After a consult with Rifiki to try to ease his troubling mind, he had realized that he had been a bit unfair. But he was stubborn, everyone knew this. It took a war and the risk of loosing his own daughter for him to accept Kovu and the outlanders, so it would probably take a bit before he could fully accept Amadi and his differences.
His eye brows rose when he saw Amadi and the new scar he was sporting. Was this some sort of joke? Why was Amadi throwing this in his face?
Kiara went up to Simba. "Daddy, Amadi is home…Home with his mate." She said to him on the side before he fully approached Amadi. She thought it was best to prepare him.
"His mate?" Simba asked, quirking an eyebrow as he looked over the group. That was when his eyes caught site of Taj. He instantly felt intimidated. He had not seen a lion that big since his own father, Mufasa. "You mean that lion?!"
"Daddy, please. Give Amadi a chance to be himself. And give Taj a chance. Look, the lionesses already like him." Kiara said with a smile, looking at Amadi and Taj.
Simba looked at Amadi and the new lion. The lionesses had crowded around to greet Taj. Taj was smiling, laughing, and really making a good first impression on the pride. Letting out a sigh he approached the crowd.
Amadi nudged Taj when Simba approached and everyone went silent. Simba looked down at Amadi, his eyes running over the scar on his face. But he managed a smile and looked to Taj.
Taj instantly bowed his head in respect. "Sire." He said with respect before raising his head.
"Please… No need for formalities." He said, managing a smile. "I hear you're a part of the family now. Call me Simba. Your welcome here…." And then he looked down to Amadi and gave him a gentle smile. Despite his anger towards Amadi, he had missed his Grandson. "Welcome back, kiddo."
Amadi smiled and stood up proud. "I know that I haven't done a good job at proving myself to you. But I swear I will!" He said with a grin. "I will be the King you expect me to be."
Simba nodded shortly, and tried his best to keep his smile up. "I'm sure you will." He said before turning and walking back to the den.
"He seemed sort of stand off ish." Taj whispered to Amadi.
Amadi smiled. "I'm happy with it." He said with a laugh. "Trust me, that is the best greeting we could have gotten."
Amadi was satisfied with the greeting Simba had given them. Something had changed in Simba, Amadi could see that, but he could also see how unsure Simba was of him. And he was determined to change that.
…
It was the morning after Amadi had returned home and he was revisiting his favorite place at his favorite place in time. Laying at the peek of Pride Rock, he looked over the savanna as the sun rose. Sighing, he imagined himself as a cub, snuggled right up next to Sarabi. She would often walk up behind him and join him.
This morning, he heard footsteps, but it wasn't Sarabi. No, how could it be… She was dead. Still, he couldn't help but harbor some disappointment when he turned his head to see Ayo walking towards him rather than Sarabi. "Oh….Hi Ayo." He said softly before turning to look at the sunrise.
"Please, conceal your excitement. It's too much." Ayo said sarcastically, but chuckled at the end of the sentence to hint towards it being a joke. He walked up next to him and sat down, looking down at Amadi. "Hey… I just wanted to say that… That I'm sorry about what happened."
Amadi shrugged slightly. "It hurt at the time… But I got over it. I found someone better, someone who knows its not just a phase. Someone who loves me. Someone like me. SO don't worry about it." He said, smiling slightly as he thought about Taj.
The words hit Ayo the wrong way which brought forth and awkward silence. Ayo sighed slightly and lay next to Amadi. "It's not like I didn't care… I cared a lot." He said softly, in hushed tones.
"Please don't tell me that." Amadi said, looking at Ayo with a slight shake of his head. "I know that's not true…. You said so yourself. You grew out of it. Grew out of me. But, anyway, it doesn't matter now. You have Dalia…And I have Taj."
"Taj?... Where did you meet that guy anyway?" Ayo asked, looking over his shoulder as if he were worried Taj was standing right behind him. "I mean, he was a rogue right? Do you think a rogue, with no pride experience, can rule by your side?"
"Yeah, he's a rogue, so what?" Amadi asked, looking at Ayo suspiciously. He couldn't believe this. Was Ayo insulting Taj. "You have no right to pick on him. At least he's strong, and stands up for what be believes in. And at least he stands up for me. The same can't be said for you."
"Amadi, you really need to drop this thing. Even if it doesn't feel right, you need to find a lioness. How can you hope to keep your family line going? I had to make that difficult decision, and I did what was right for my family."
Amadi stood up, unable to believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean?" He asked, standing over Ayo. "Is that why you're with my sister?"
Silence came upon Ayo. Sighing, he stood up and looked down at Amadi. "Of course I care for Dalia. She's one of my best friends." He said with a smile. "But its not the same as what I felt, and still feel for you." Ayo scooted a bit closer to Amadi.
Amadi grew angry. It was not a relief to hear at all. "No! No no no no! Don't tell me that! Don't you dare tell me that! It's not fair! I only just got back and I'm trying to make things right. Trying to be the best I can be. Trying not to devide the pride." He shouted, snarling at Ayo. "It's not fair to me and it's defiantly not fair to Dalia!"
"What? You were mortified when you caught me with Dalia. Enraged, even!" Ayo said, shaking his head. "I felt guilty, you've had such a hard life and I made it worse. I had to speak my mind! I was afraid you hated me… I needed to explain myself."
"Well you didn't explain yourself! You are using my sister!" He yelled, advancing on Ayo. "She's my baby sister, I want to protect her! I want her to be happy! And it is not fair for her to be a pawn to your emotional stupidity!"
Ayo was stunned by how intimidating Amadi could be when he was angry. "Don't talk to me like that! I do love Dalia!"
"Well, you better love her! I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened." He said, his head low and threatening as he inched towards Ayo. "Because the next time you talk to me like this, the next time you attempt to flirt with me, I will tell Dalia. And then I will destroy you… Destroy you for toying with me, but most of all for screwing with Dalia's heart."
Ayo took a step back, backing down slightly. "But…But what about what we had? Does that mean nothing to you?"
Amadi chuckled. "Lets see, how did you put it? "We were young, Ayo. Young and going through a stupid phase. It wasn't natural, and you knew that. It was just a small thing; we knew no one else… But now I know someone else. I know Taj, and I really like him. I've allowed myself to outgrow you…" Just like you said you outgrew me." He said, remembering the conversation he had with Ayo after he attacked Dalia. And with that, Amadi skulked past Ayo. "This conversation never happened, remember?"
Ayo nodded, sighing as he watched Amadi walk off. All that had been accomplished was Ayo coming off as a jerk and getting schooled by Amadi. He let out a frustrated growl, turning away from Amadi. How could he let this happen? He was happy with Dalia, very happy. He loved her, and still did somewhere. But the moment that Amadi brought Taj home he had felt nothing but jealousy. He needed to put this behind him… But he couldn't.
not the most exciting chapter, but hey, this is more of a grounding for future drama/excitment/other content.
