The day of Simba's death had ended, the sun had set on his time as king, and now, in the light of the new morning, the sun was rising to greet a new king. Today was the day that Kovu, with Kiara at his side as queen, took his place as King of the Pride Lands. It had been a beautiful day; the rain from the night before left with the tears of the pride and everyone was looking towards their new king. The animals of the Pride Lands gathered below the rock, and the lionesses watched in awe as Kovu walked up to the peek of Pride Rock.
Watching in amazement and slight nervousness, Amadi listened to the sound of his fathers roar as the lion raised his head to roar. It was a loud, proud, yet respectful roar; and as he finished all the animals of the pride lands reacted with their own noises to greet in the new king. Amadi, along with the other lions of the pride, rose their heads to roar in acceptance of their new king. Amadi's roar was quiet, but that didn't mean he didn't accept his father as king. No, he had things on his mind. Watching his father take the thrown reminded him that one day it would be him walking up that rock and roaring to the kingdom.
Letting out a slight sigh when he finished his roar he looked towards all the animals who were there, putting their faith and trust into Kovu. Trusting, without even knowing, that he would never lead them astray. He hoped that he would, one day, deserve that same trust.
Taj was sitting next to him and had picked up on Amadi's discomfort. Nudging Amadi Taj smiled. "Hey, don't look so mopey all the time; it's your fathers big day. At least try to look enthused." Taj said with a slight chuckle.
But the joke fell on humorless ears. "It's not like I'm upset with Daddy or anything, I'm very happy for him and I'm not trying to be upset." He said with a sigh, watching as his father walked down the rock. "It just makes me nervous. One generation closer to me being king. Just worries me."
"Well, don't let that bother you right now. As you said, you still have a generation to go through." Taj said with a slight smirk, licking Amadi tenderly on the cheek.
"Yes….I know you're right. I'm just being silly." He said, looking at him with a smile. "I shouldn't be letting my personal concerns ruin my fathers big day."
Taj shrugged. "I wouldn't say your being silly. I mean, being king, I imagine, is very hard. There are a lot of responsibilities. But hey, you still have a while and you have a lot of friends who will be here to help you." He said with a smile. "I'll be here to help you to."
Amadi nodded and smiled at him. Some of what Taj said was true, others were not. Dalia would most likely be leaving with Ayo, and Dumaka would be leaving to rule over his own pride… Yes, he had Taj there to help. But in all honesty, though he loved Taj dearly, Taj had no experience as a leader. But then again, who was Amadi to judge; he was anything but king material.
Letting out a sigh he stood up and began to walk away from Pride Rock ."I'm going for a walk, just to clear my head. I'll be back soon, ok?" He said to Taj with a smile before hopping off into the tall grass. He really needed some time to clear his mind of all this King stuff.
Once out in the Pride Lands, he walked to the river and decided to the rest. Laying in the grass a good two feet away from the water to stay safe from crocodiles, he began to calm down a bit. He always managed to calm down when he was alone. Perhaps it was because he was alone so often as a cub, it became a comforting thing. Sadly, the comfort was destroyed by someone else walking up behind him.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" The voice of Ayo asked as he approached Amadi with a quirked eye brow.
Amadi still wasn't comfortable around Ayo, so he stood up, turned around and faced him with a suspicious look. "I could ask the same of you… I didn't see you at Daddy's presentation…"
"Yea…Well… I'm not really apart of the pride, so I felt kinda weird being there. It just didn't feel right." He said, sitting down a foot or so away from Amadi. "Made me a little stressed."
Amadi let out a sigh and went back to laying down. "Yeah… tell me about it." He mumbled, resting his head on his paws. "just makes me really stressed out about being king… I'm sure you understand that stress, you're going to be king of your own pride."
"Tell me about it. Makes my stomach sick sometimes. But I suppose I'll have Dalia to help me out. She's really strong and has really good leadership qualities." He said with a slight smile.
"Yeah, and I have Taj… He makes me so happy and keeps me strong when I feel like I might get struck down." He said with a smile.
"Yeah… About that…" Ayo said, looking away from Amadi to dodge the defensive look Amadi was giving him. "How are you guys going to continue the circle of life?"
Amadi gave him a suspicious look. "What do you mean?"
"Well, your going to be king. Not only is it your job to rule, but to make sure there is someone next in line to pick up when your gone." Ayo said, shifting slightly, trying to talk in the nicest voice possible. He didn't know what it was, but he was getting some sort of gratification out of it; he really didn't like Taj. And he would find any excuse to get Amadi away from him.
Amadi just stared at him, his ears slightly back. "I'm… I'm not following you?" He said, though he really did understand.
"Cubs, Amadi." Ayo said, in a bit more of a firm fashion. "How will you have cubs? A king needs to be able to have cubs so they can take over after him. You and Taj can't have cubs… The circle of life will end."
Amadi stared at him, went to open his mouth in protest to Ayo's words, then closed it; looking away. Ayo was right. "Well… I don't know… Maybe we could let one of the other lionesses cubs…"
"But it will be the end to your family chain. There has been a specific blood line in charge of the thrown for soooo long. Are you willing to just throw that all away?" Ayo asked him with a serious look.
This was when Amadi got defensive. "I don't need to listen to this!" He yelled, getting to his feet. "You are always telling me reasons to ditch Taj… Well, he's not going anywhere, so get over it."
Ayo was startled that Amadi picked up on it, but Amadi was clever, so he pretended that he didn't know what Amadi was talking about. "I'm just trying to help. I have nothing against Taj. I did at first, but I'm over it."
Amadi growled slightly and turned away from him. "Yeah right… I can't believe I considered you a friend…"
Ayo gave him a hurt expression and walked up along the side of him, nudging him slightly with his nose. "Oh, C'mon. I didn't mean to upset you. Really, I'm just trying to help. Everyone else is able to help you in some way; hunting, diplomacy, fighting… I don't have a way to help you. So I just want to give advice."
Amadi grunted and refused to look at him. Ayo's nudge turned more into a nuzzle to the face as he walked in front of Amadi. "I am your friend, I want to be close to you." He said with a sigh. "I'm going to be leaving soon and I want to make sure thay were ok."
Amadi softened slightly and looked at him. "Alright… I guess. I'm sorry I got angry with you. I'm just a little stressed, I guess." He said with a sigh, completely unaware how jealous Ayo really was. "I mean, we were really close friends before… There's no reason we should destroy that."
Ayo grinned and gave a nod. "Exactly!" He said with a chuckle, playfully swatting at him. "Now, c'mon. I'll race you back to Pride Rock! Just like old times!"
Amadi sat there with playfully unhappy eyes. "I don't know…..I guess---I GET A HEAD START!" He yelled before bolting in the direction of Pride Rock.
Ayo smirked and let Amadi run off. He paused for a moment, thinking. It really wasn't that he wanted Amadi to ditch Taj and be unhappy, but he really hated Taj. Letting out a sigh and took off running after Amadi.
…
Taj was waiting for Amadi, laying on Pride Rock. It had been a while and he was a little concerned. But he smiled, and his heart was calmed when he saw Amadi running towards Pride Rock; and smiling of all things. Taj frowned slightly when he saw Ayo following, but decided not to make a big deal out of it… It looked like they were just racing, and that's what Taj decided to perceive it as.
Amadi panted and came to a stop. "I win!" He yelled, hopping happily, sticking his tongue out at Ayo.
Ayo smirked and came to a stop. "That's only because I let you win!" He said, laughing before pouncing Amadi; pinning him. "I'll beat you next time!"
Taj growled slightly when he saw Ayo pounce Amadi, and became very tense when he heard Amadi laugh about it. Was Amadi really that stupid? Taj could tell what Ayo was doing, and it was upsetting him. Taj stood and decided to walk to meet them. "Well you two look like your having fun." He announded to them.
Amadi twisted and smiled at him. "Hi Taj!" He said with a smirk before pushing Ayo off of him and hopping over to Taj. "I feel better now!"
Taj rose his eye brows and looked at Ayo. "I can see that…" He mumbled slightly before looking back at Amadi before smiling to the best of his ability. "Ayo cheer you up?"
"Yeah, we talked a little then raced back." He said with a nod, picking up on Taj's tense state. "Are you ok?"
Taj looked at Ayo with irritated eyes. Ayo shrunk back a few steps before lowering his head and walking around them to go into Pride Rock. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said with a grin before licking Amadi affectionately in front of Ayo; an act of dominance.
Ayo cringed slightly and looked away; the hackles on his shoulders rising as he climbed up Pride Rock and into the den. How dare Taj just flaunt Amadi in his face?
Once Ayo was in the den Taj turned to Amadi. "I'm not comfortable with you being around that lion…" he said very seriously. "I don't feel right about him, he's all over you all the time, staring at you whenever your with me… Not to mention the death glares he gives me."
Amadi's ears drooped slightly. "No, Taj… It's fine. I talked to him about that. He's says were ok." He said, shaking his head slightly. "Seriously, Taj. He's just a friend. He's with my sister. He chose her."
"From what you told me way back, the only reason he ended up with her was because he couldn't be with you. And now that your father seems ok with your attraction to other males Ayo has been all over you." He said gruffly, shaking his head slightly. "Why can't you see that?"
"Taj, your just being paranoid. He's with Dalia. He loves her… He wouldn't use her for anything." He said, his eye brows furrowing in irritation. "I trust him."
"Well… You shouldn't… He's using your sister and trying to chase me off." He muttered, turning away from Amadi out of frustration. "I'll keep it cool for now, but if he ever does anything to you I don't like I'm chucking him off Pride Rock. And with that, Taj walked off to go into the den.
Amadi, who had been feeling pretty happy after his race with Ayo, now feel bad again. He really didn't know how to react to this. The wise part of him told him that Taj was right. The other part, the cub in him, was telling him to see the good in everyone. Everyone had to have some good; that was what he believed at least. With a sigh he started up Pride Rock and went into the den to get some sleep.
…
Ayo was a tricky lion, driven by his want for Amadi and darkened by his jealous hate of Taj. He knew how to manipulate… He know how to seem inviting to Amadi so that Amadi discredited any negativity Taj showed towards him. He had spent a lot more time with Ayo after their talk. It wasn't like he was spending less time with Taj or his siblings, but he was finally willing to forgive Ayo for hurting him so long ago and he wanted to be his friend.
It drove Taj insane… The friendlier Amadi got with Ayo, the more negativity Ayo showed towards him. He had tried to explain this to Amadi, but Amadi refused to believe it. He started to question Amadi's wisdom. One night, he had finally had enough…
It started in the evening, the pride had gathered in the den to settle down and get ready for sleep. The cubs, more night owls then not, had stayed out a bit longer; exploring the nightlife of the Savanna. Eventually, Dalia and Dumaka got tired and decided to walk back. Taj insisted that Ayo and Amadi go home with him. They did, but when they got back to Pride Rock Amadi decided to stay out a bit longer with Amadi and look at the stars. They both offered for Taj to join them, but Taj really couldn't spend more than a half hour with Ayo before getting really annoyed with him. So Taj left and walked inside the den… Well, sort of. He placed himself right behind the opening of the den, lying in the slight light of the moon. He felt bad for spying, but he just had a funny feeling about the night.
"Great night, eh?" Ayo asked Amadi, laying down next to him, rolling onto his back as well, as they stared up at the stars.
"Beautiful. The rains are coming soon: you can sense it in the wind. It's a nice cool evening." Amadi said with a smile, looking up at the stars. "Best get a good look at the stars before they are covered in storm clouds."
Ayo chuckled slightly and looked at him. "Your really fond of the stars, aren't you?" He asked with a slight smirk. "You even liked to look at them when we were cubs."
"Yeah, well.. They are beautiful. And it gives me comfort knowing that Grandpa and Nana are watching over me…" He said with a slightly saddened smile. "I miss my Nana…"
"I know you do. You were a mess the day she passed. Had to lick the tears off your face to prevent you from drowning in them." Ayo said with a playful smile, trying to keep the mood positive.
Amadi chuckled, much to Ayo's relief, and looked at him. "Yeah you did…" He smirked and looked back up at the stars. "I was such an awkward cub…"
"Yeah, you were. But I still liked you." Ayo said with a smirk, rolling onto his stomach to look down at Amadi. "You were something special, Amadi…. And you still are…"
Amadi looked at him with a quirk of his brow. "look at you getting all mushy on me." He said with a laugh, playfully swatting at him.
Ayo gave him a serious look then sat up, putting on paw over Amadi. "I'm not joking around here, Amadi…" He said softly, looking down on him with serious eyes. "You are a very special lion… And I miss you."
Amadi froze slightly, growing very tense as he felt Ayo's eyes on his own. "I… I don't know what to say,…" he murmured, shaking his head and rolling over so he could stand up.
Ayo remained where he was, not really allowing Amadi to stand up. "Your not listening to me. I was an idiot to let your father push us around. We should have seen each other anyway. I shouldn't have let that happen, I should be with you, not Taj. And you should be with me, not Dalia." He said desperately, nuzzling the back of Amadi's head.
Amadi shook his head, his ears pinning back angrily. "Ayo, stop it… Those days are over! I told you this earlier in the months when I came back. You weren't suppose to bring this up ever again, remember?!" He demanded, slipping away from him. "Our friendship nearly ended because of that fight!"
"I can't let you just say that. I know you still like me. You wouldn't spend so much time with me if you didn't." He said, not allowing Amadi to walk past him. He stepped forward and nuzzled up against him again, not giving him much space to pass him.
"Shut up, Ayo! Just shut up and leave me alone! Your acting crazy, crazy and stupid!" He yelled, swatting at Ayo angrily to keep him away. "Stop, your suppose to be my friend! But now your just scaring me…"
And with that, Taj came barreling out of the den, teeth bared angrily as he let out a roar. He quickly gripped Ayo by his mane and twisted him away from Amadi. Swiftly, Taj put himself between Ayo and Amadi. "Don't you touch him!" He growled angrily.
Ayo recovered and glared at Taj, putting on an aggressive stance. "Don't tell me what to do! Your so damn controlling, you stupid rogue…" He growled in return, ready to defend himself and prove himself. "You should learn some pride foundations and get some manners!"
"Manners!? You're the one rubbing all up on Amadi when, clearly, he doesn't want it!" Taj snarled. "And don't just shoot off random insults at me in an attempt to defend yourself!"
"Taj… please… Lets just go inside." Amadi said, hiding behind his mate.
"No! No I'm sick of this… I warned you, Amadi!" He growled angrily. "I told you he would pull some stupid stunt like this. If I hadn't been here, who knows what he might have done…"
"I was just being friendly, you don't even deserve him. You rogues are all alike, brutish and selfish. He deserves so much better than you!" Ayo growled angrily.
The two would shout back and forward at one another, tempers rose and blood pressure was reaching a breaking point. The pride had come out to find out what the commotion was and try to stop it. The two males were not interested in listening to anyone else. The Pride stopped and stared as the two lions began to circle one another… no one knew what to expect…
Alright, another voting chapter. I'm really stuck here, guys, which is why I have not updated in a while. Sorry! I've really hit a hard point, writers block. I usually, by now, know what im going to do, know how im going to end it. But I need to work things out. So this was another over dramatic filler chapter. But to make up for the fail of this chapter, I'm going to let you have some say in the next one.
Think wisely and type…
"Fight 1" if you want Ayo and Taj to fight. Taj wins
"fight 2" if you want Ayo and Taj to fight. Ayo wins
"break" Amadi gets involved
