It had been a busy few weeks for Amadi ever since he had returned to the Pride Lands. He was determined to live up to what he told his siblings, Taj, and Simba; he was determined to make a good king. His hunting had improved greatly with the help of Dalia; something that the lionesses respected and loved. Many kings didn't aid with the hunt, but if Amadi was willing to help it was more likely that a kill would be made. The more claws and teeth they had the better. Though Amadi was already skilled when it came to talking and capturing the hearts of the locals, Dumaka had been working with him daily, teaching him whatever he had to teach about leading a pride of lions and how to balance out the pride with the creatures in the kingdom. Fighting, on the other hand, was not going as well as Amadi had hoped.

Taj was the one who had decided to help Amadi with fighting. Ayo had offered to help, but Amadi had promptly refused; even though fighting with Ayo would have been easier than fighting with a tank of a lion like Taj. Taj tried to take it easy on Amadi, but defiantly pushed the smaller lion to his fullest. Amadi would come back home with sore muscles frequently and a great hunger. Though he was better at fighting than he use to be, he still wasn't sure he would be able to fight off a rival male if he were challenged.

Sighing, Amadi walked up to his brother during a break from his training session. "This is so hard. I feel like I work so hard every at this and I'm not getting any stronger." Amadi grumbled, flopping onto his side.

"I'm sure you'll get it. I mean, its not like you're against an easy opponent. Taj is huge." Dumaka said with a chuckle.

Dalia and Ayo had come over to watch. Dalia smiled. "Yea, I mean, Taj had to live on his own for so long. He bulked up so he could survive." She said with a smile.

Taj chuckled and walked up. "I've always been a big lion, even as a cub." He said, smiling at Amadi. "You may not be the strongest lion in the world, Amadi, but your fast as hell. Damn, it's hard to tell what side your coming from sometimes. Keeps me on edge."

"Yeah, until you catch on and knock me over." Amadi said with a laugh, licking Taj on the cheek softly. "I'm taking a rest, go pick on someone else."

Taj chuckled. "I don't think I should be picking fights with your pride." He said with a smirk, sitting down.

"Why not?" Dumaka asked with a laugh. "You'd probably keep us all on our toes. Just a little play wrestling to keep us strong."

"What am I, the prides personal trainer?" Taj asked with a laugh, shrugging slightly. "If you guys want to fight, bring it on. But I'm not gonna make it easy for ya. I hardly make it easy for Amadi."

"Yeah right, you don't make it easy at all." Amadi grumbled, laying on his stomach now. "But, go on Du, go for it. I'd like to see how well Taj would fair with a lion more or less his size."

Dumaka looked at the big lion, and then at Ayo. "I will if you will, Ayo." He said with a playful smirk.

Ayo grinned. "Alright, I bet I'll last longer than you."

Taj rolled his eyes slightly and stood up. "Great, I'm being used for gambling." He said with a smirk. He didn't mind though. As a cub, Taj always enjoyed play fighting. But as he grew, less lions were willing to play with him. He still enjoyed a good wrestle every now and then. "Alright, rules first. Let's keep this clean. No claws, and no teeth; sheathed paws and closed jaws. Also, you have to pin your opponent to the ground for three seconds."

"Alright. I guess I'll go first." Dumaka said, standing up and stepping away from the crowd to square off with Taj. He grinned at Taj and began to circle. "Don't kill me."

"I'll try my hardest." Taj said with a smirk, circling Dumaka. Taj was already looking for flaws in Dumaka's physical structure, studying every move Dumaka had with his strides to assess weak points.

Dumaka let out a playful growl, letting his head hang low in an aggressive stance. Dumaka expected that he would have to make the first move, but with one slightly mess up in his step, Taj had jumped towards him. When Dumaka had accidently messed up his step, it set him more off balance then he would have thought. Unable to muster up his complete strength, he leapt at Taj with less strength than he would have liked.

This resulted in Taj over powering him and pinning him quickly. But Dumaka wasn't going to loose so easily. Pressing his back paws against Taj's stomach he used Taj's momentum to flip him right off of him. Taj stumbled and landed on the ground. He quickly turned, and as Dumaka leapt at him he used a strong paw and arm to strike him to the ground.

Dumaka landed on the ground, only to have Taj on top of him, growling. He was pinned there for three seconds. Once three seconds was over, Taj's growl turned to a grin and he let Dumaka up. "Good job, Du." He said with a smile, nudging him playfully. "That flip thing you did really caught me off guard."

"Yeah, but I guess it wasn't enough. Good fight though." Dumaka said with a smile. He was out of breath, but his spirits were not dampened by the defeat. "Your up Ayo."

Ayo had been watching intently, studying Taj's technique. How quickly Dumaka was able to come down worried him and threatened him. This was meant to be a playful fight, but Ayo was out to prove himself. Taj was Amadi's replacement for him, and Taj was the perfect lion over all. Ayo wanted to be perfect, even if it wasn't to impress Amadi; though secretly it was.

Ayo stood up, and walked in a circle around Taj. Ayo watched as Taj's eyes studied him. He knew that he was looking for any possible weakness. Walking with strength and equal stride, Ayo concentrated on showing no weakness as his eyes locked on Taj. There were some things about Taj that he had noticed. He favored his right side, and he kept his tail out to remain balanced. He also acted purely on strength; maybe agility was the key.

Before Taj could make the first move Ayo darted, but not at directly at Taj, circling around his rear. As Taj reared on his hind legs to twist around, Ayo watched as more weight was put on his right leg. As he brushed behind him, he slammed his body into his right leg, sending Taj tumbling to the ground.

Ayo took this opportunity to leap onto Taj in an attempt to pin him down. Taj was thrown off by the fact that Ayo had taken him down so easily, but this is where his strength came into play. He twisted onto his back just as Ayo pounced him, pinning him beneath his back.

"Nice try kid, are you done?" Taj asked as Ayo struggled beneath him.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Ayo managed to wiggle out from under Taj and jump away. As Taj was rolling back and standing up, Ayo struck him hard on the face, making it harder for him to stand. He then quickly found himself on his back with Ayo upon him.

He felt paws striking at his face, and when he opened his eyes he saw Ayo upon him. Before his three seconds were up he pushed Ayo off of him with great force. He couldn't believe this lion, striking wasn't necessary when he had already managed to pin.

"What's wrong with you, I said a clean fight. What's up with the hitting?" Taj demanded, slightly out of breath.

"I'm not using my claws…" Ayo said in a smart-ass kind of way as he crouched low, ready to pounce. It was harder to take down Taj than he thought. Extreme measures were needed. He extended his claws and prepared to pounce.

Taj noticed the black slits coming from the others paws. This had gone far enough. As Ayo leapt at him, Taj struck him hard across the face then jumped on his back when he hit the ground. "One…Two…Three. Your cheep fight is up. I'm done." He grumbled, getting off of Ayo, walking away.

Ayo growled and got to his feet, shaking his head to make himself stop seeing spots. "What was that for? Really? The face?" Ayo demanded.

"Your just mad because I beat you with your own act." Taj mumbled as he walked right past the others to go back to Pride Rock.

Amadi watched Taj walk away, and then he turned to Ayo. "What was that? You didn't need to fight like that." Amadi snapped at Ayo as he approached them.

"What? He's a big lion. I had to give myself a chance!" Ayo said, making an excuse for why he was so rough with Taj.

"It was just play fighting, Ayo…You really didn't need to be so rough. He wasn't rough with Dumaka. Or with you, that is until you started to strike his face." Dalia said, looking at Ayo with slight shame.

"You're ok with him just pushing us around because he's bigger?" Ayo demanded, defending himself.

"It's not like that! He's a kind lion who wouldn't dream of hurting anyone in this pride." Amadi said in his mates defence.

"Yeah, man, this was just for fun… It wasn't to prove anything." Dumaka said, shaking his head. "Are you threatened by him, or something?"

Ayo stared at them all and then scowled at the ground. "No… No I'm not." He grumbled, walking away from them to be by himself.

Amadi sighed and looked at Dalia. "What's his problem? He got really rough with Taj." He asked Dalia in a slightly worried tone. "It's not like Taj was trying, or wanted to hurt him."

"I don't know, he's been acting really weird lately." Dalia said with a shrug.

"Taj is a big lion, I can understand being intimidated; but you'd think Taj has been here long enough to understand he doesn't want to hurt anyone." Dumaka said with a sigh.

Amadi remained quiet, he hadn't mentioned the argument he had with Ayo to anyone. Was this Ayo's way of acting out? Was this some act of jealousy? Amadi hoped not. He was trying his hardest not to be the cause of any negativity or drama in the pride.

"Well, I'm going to head back and make sure Taj is ok." Amadi said with a sigh, standing up. "Dalia, maybe you should talk to Ayo… If he is harboring any hard feelings towards Taj it needs to stop."

Dalia nodded. "I'll see you back at Pride Rock later on. I'll try to get to the bottom of this." Dalia said before running off after Ayo. Dumaka left to go home with Amadi.

Dalia found Ayo by the water-hole, laying at the edge of the water, staring into the water. Sighing, Dalia approached him, smiling slightly. "Hey there, handsome." She said softly as she came up behind him, lying next to him.

Ayo snapped out of his in thought trance and glanced at her. "Oh…Hey." He said with a slight sigh. "Did you come here to yell at me?"

Dalia shook her head but gave him a serious look. "No, I came to talk to you about it." She said in a serious tone as she focused her eyes on his. "Why did you fight like that? You were really quite brutal with Taj."

Ayo snorted slightly and looked away. "I doubt he felt it, he's a rock." He said with a fake laugh.

"That's not the point. I doubt you actually hurt him, but still, violence like that really isn't necessary." She made sure to speak in a very gentle tone as she spoke to Ayo. "I'm just curious as to why you acted that way. Do you have something against Taj?"

"No." He said very quickly, looking back at her. "I was just playing…"

"Are you sure? Because I don't think that you were playing. Dumaka was playing, Taj was playing, but you were fighting…" Sighing, she looked at the water. "I know that Taj is new to the pride, but so were you at one point, so I really don't think you should be judging him."

"That's not it." He said, letting it slip that there was indeed something that he held against Taj.

Dalia jumped right on this bit of information. "Then what is it?" She asked curiously, inching a little closer to him.

"It's nothing, ok? Just drop it. I'm sorry, I lost my temper… I'll apologize when we get back to Pride rock."

Dalia sighed and looked away from him. She was beginning to think about what it could possibly be. Hanging her head, she thought about it… Was it Amadi? That would make sense… Amadi use to be into Ayo, but now he had Taj. "Are you jealous of Taj?"

Ayo stared at her and then looked away. "Don't be ridiculous, why would I be jealous of Taj?"

"Well… I know you and Amadi had a thing… And if it weren't for my father you two would still be together… But now Amadi has Taj and I was just thinking that maybe…. I don't know…. You might still like Amadi." Dalia said in a very sad tone, hoping to the Gods that she was wrong.

"What?!" He demanded, standing up. "No! That's stupid. That was so long ago, Dalia. I'm with you know. I got over that, I grew out of it!"

She turned her head to look at him. "I'm not so sure… Amadi never grew out of it, Taj seems very secure in it too… Is it possible to grow out of?"

"Well, it must be, because I did!" He shouted. He let out a long sigh to try to calm himself down. "Look… I love you, Dalia. I couldn't possibly have eyes for anyone else… Especially Amadi."

Looking up at him with sad, and slightly rejected eyes she sighed. "Really?"

"Of course." He said with a smile, leaning down to lick her forehead softly. "I love you to death… I would do anything for you. I, I don't know… I just don't like Taj. Sometimes people can't help whom they don't like. I'll try my hardest to get along with him though. If it is important to you, I can try."

Dalia smiled and stood up, nuzzling Ayo. Her mind had been put to ease and she felt better. "I love you too, Ayo. I'm sorry I doubted you." She said softly, happy that she heard what she wanted to hear. "Alright, let's head back to Pride Rock. It's getting late and you owe someone an apology."

Ayo smiled to the best of his ability and nodded. "Alright. Let's head back."

Back at Pride Rock, Amadi had found Taj resting on the highest point of the rock, way above the den and the peek. "How did you find your way up here?" Amadi asked with a smile as he came up behind Taj.

Taj jumped slightly; he had been trapped in his own mind and was startled to see Amadi. "Oh… Well, King Simba brought me up here the other day." He said with a smile. "He said that every future king in the history of Pride Rock had a talk with the present king at the top of Pride Rock; and that I deserved the same privilege."

Amadi looked pleasantly surprised. "Really?" He asked with a huge grin as he lay next to Taj, letting his paws lay off the edge. "What did he say?"

"A lot of things. About how this was a big responsibility, about how everything the light touches is ours, and that we must respect everything… He was surprisingly kind and insightful." Taj said with a smile, looking out over the Pride Lands. "He also said that he was quite proud of you, that you have shown a great amount of growth in the past few weeks."

Amadi smiled but couldn't help but sigh. He followed Taj's gaze out over the land. "I wish he would tell that to me." He said with a sad smile.

"I think he will… I just think he's too ashamed to talk to you. He said he made a lot of bad mistakes with you…" Taj said, looking at Amadi with a smile. "I don't think you should worry too much."

Amadi smiled and shook his head. "Alright, but anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Amadi said with a chuckle. "Are you ok?"

Taj looked at him with a puzzled look. "Oh, you mean with the whole Ayo thing?" He asked with a smirk. "Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me or anything, just pissed me off a little."

"Yeah… I'm sorry about that… He's been very weird lately…" He said with a slight sigh.

"Yeah, I can tell. You talked about him a lot when you first started to visit me." He said with slight sigh. "It seems like the jealousy has turned around. First it was with you directed to Dalia, but now its hit Ayo."

"I Really don't think he's jealous… I mean, I don't want him to be. That's not fair." Amadi said with a sigh. He knew that Ayo was jealous, he was still furious with Ayo for confronting him earlier on.

"Amadi, its not hard to see. He is defiantly annoyed." Taj said with a sigh. "What happened between you? And I mean recently? You've been avoiding him like the plague."

Amadi sighed and looked away from him. "I just wanted to forget about the conversation…Ayo confronted me shortly after I returned…" He said, slowly getting more into the story. Finishing up, he turned to look at Taj. "So I told him to leave me alone, and that if this came up again that I would tell Dalia and… And hurt him."

Taj sighed slightly. "Let's not hurt anyone, ok?" He said in a soft, but obviously annoyed tone. "I just find it really strange. He left you for your sister, and now that your happy he's jealous. Doesn't he want you to be happy?"

Amadi let Taj's words sink in. Sighing, he looked away from Taj, down at the peek of Pride Rock. "Good question…" Amadi mumbled, letting his head rest on the ledge of Pride Rock. "I'm just trying to avoid drama at all cost. I really want to turn things around and prove to people that I can be king and lead people accordingly. But its ok, Ayo is going to have to leave soon. I would like things to be ok with us before he leaves, but I guess I can only hope."

Taj smiled, wanting to bring some positive energy back into Amadi's gentle heart. "I'm sure things will work themselves out." He said with a grin.

Amadi looked into his mates eyes and smiled, rolling onto his stomach to be closer to Taj. "Of you say they will, then they must." He said with a smile. "I love you…"

Smiling, Taj leaned down to give his lover a loving lick on the nose. "I love you too, Amadi."

As time passed things seemed to work themselves out between the younger lions. Ayo never actually apologized to Taj, but whenever someone asked Taj if he did he always said that he did. Taj never expected an apology, but he didn't want to create any more drama for Amadi; so he lied.

Ayo appreciated this slightly, but never made eye contact with Taj after the day of the fight. He also avoided Amadi; both Amadi and Taj were happy about this.

Life for the elders of the Pride was becoming more stressed, however, as Simba's age began to show. Kovu, Kiara, and Nala were preparing themselves for the death of their king; it was horrible to think about but they knew it was coming. Simba had started talking to Kovu more about the kingdom, making sure that he didn't forget any information or tips that could be useful to Kovu.

Rifiki was coming more often, checking up on the king. Kiara had requested it; she found it odd that her father was growing more and more weak while her mother, though old, remained healthy. Rifiki's diagnosis was grim; he didn't think Simba had much longer to live.

The pride members had been told not to speak about the illness to the children, but Kiara and Kovu had addressed their children about Simba's age; hoping to prepare them for what may come. Unfortunatly, what may have come later came much earlier than thought.

It was a chilly night; Rifiki had been called after Nala reported that Simba was unable to stand. Setting up a small fire in the den so that he could have appropriate life, Rifiki looked over Simba. Sighing, he turned to Nala. "I think tonight may be the night." He said softly.

Nala looked heart broken, but nodded silently. Simba had lead a long and stressful life, and now it was his time to rise to his place in the stars next to his father and mother.

Coughing, Simba looked up at Nala with weak eyes. "Please I need to speak to Kovu and Kiara." He said softly, smiling up at her. "Oh…And send Amadi in as well, please… I need to say something to him."

Nala would walk out to the peek of Pride Rock where the rest of the pride sat; waiting to hear news of their king. "Kovu, Kiara, and Amadi; Simba would like to talk to you." She said softly, grief obvious in her eyes.

It wasn't hard for Kiara to read her mother's expressions. "Daddy…" She murmured before running off into the den. Kovu and Amadi followed at a rushed walk, walking in to find Kiara nuzzling her father, crying.

"Kovu, Kiara… I'm afraid that my time has come." Simba said with a smile, using as much energy as he had to speak. "Kiara, I love you so much, I hope you now that… You have picked an excellent king, and I know you will always be happy with him… And thank you for teaching me lessons that even my father was unable to teach me."

Kiara smiled sadly and nuzzled her father. "I love you too, Daddy." She said, her voice trembling with grief.

Simba then looked to Kovu. "Kovu, it is time for you to take your place as king. And I am proud to say that there is no one I would rather hand the Pride Lands over to than you. I'm sorry it took me so long, in the past, to realize what a great lion you were. You taught me to leave the pass to the grass and move on. Thank you. You will make a great king and I am proud to call you my son."

Kovu smiled, controlling his grief with a smile. "Thank you Simba, I wont dissapoint you." He said briefly; he knew that words were not needed as Simba offered him a trust-worthy wink.

Last, but not least, Simba turned to Amadi. Struggling, Simba rose his head to speak to the young lion. "Amadi, come closer please." He said softly, offering a smile to make the young lion more comfortable.

Amadi went right up to Simba, a little tense, and a little sad, but happy that he was asked to come closer to the lion who had rejected him for so long. "I'm here, Grandpa."

"I have mad a lot of mistakes with you Amadi… You were a strange cub, and I was unable to see that sometimes strange things can be good things." He said, looking into Amadi's eyes. "I didn't understand you, and many lions fear what they do not understand. As king I should have been able to look past that, but I let my personal fears get the best of me; and for that I am very sorry. I was too caught up in my worries to give you the attention you deserved as my grandson… I really messed up…"

Amadi began to tear up, sniffling as he tried to talk. "Its ok grandpa…"

"Please, let me finish." Simba said with a comforting smile. "You are different Amadi; you like lions, your not very strong, and your not like most lions. But you have always been able to see the best in everything and everyone, you have a very gentle heart and a wise soul. Though I never understood your attraction to other lions, you have picked a wonderful mate, and I have full faith that you and Taj will rule this kingdom, someday, with wisdom and fair hearts… I am very proud of you, Amadi… And I love you very much."

That did it for Amadi, tears started to stream down his orange fur. "I love you to, Grandpa…" He sobbed, nuzzling Simba's forhead lovingly and respectfully.

"Now now, chin up, no more tears. Go join your siblings…" He said with a smile, before looking to Kovu and Kiara. "Kovu, would you go get Nala for me. I would like to spend time with my queen and daughter, if you don't mind."

Kovu nodded and stepped forward; he understood that Simba would want to spend his last hours with his family. "Good bye, Simba." Kovu said, placing a paw on Simba's paw. He then turned, left with Amadi, and sent Nala in to be with Kiara and Simba.

Simba died very early the next morning. The pride, the kingdom, and the sky, with its rain, came to morn the loss of their king. Simba's body was moved from the den, and placed in the grass of the Pride Lands, so that it may become one with the earth while his soul became one with the stars.

The pride stayed close to Kiara and Nala, comforting them in their time of need. The younger lions were outside, sitting in the rain as they looked over the land. Ayo lay with Dalia, licking her and comforting her in the rain. Of all the cubs, Dalia was the closest to her Grandfather. Dumaka was sitting with Taj; Taj never really knew Simba and Dumaka had left the Pride Lands too long to feel the same sadness the others felt.

Despite his obvious sadness for the loss of Simba, Amadi couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness. He had heard what he had been longing to hear; that Simba was proud of him. As he sat at the peek of Pride Rock he felt more determined than ever to be the best that all he could be. Looking up at the sky he looked forward to the night; he would search the sky he had softened studied in his thoughts for the new star, the new star that represented the lion that made him feel this drive to succeed, the star that finally loved him… Simba's star.