Simba heaved a sigh as he opened his eyes. It was darker than dark in the warm, rocky den, but he could still see Kovu as he slept beside Kiara. Tanga had draped herself over the twitching back of her father, while Asuma was curled up under the chin of his mother, who smiled in her sleep as Simba looked on. Pushing himself to his feet, Simba stood and quietly padded past the intimate little family on his way outside.
"No… Zira… p-please…"
Simba pricked his ears, hardly believing what he had just heard. He hesitated next to Kovu just as he rolled over in his sleep, disturbing Tanga out of her slumber. She slipped off and shook her head, disoriented with sleep. As Simba continued on, his granddaughter watched him go before her attention turned to Kovu, who ground his teeth as his eyelids fluttered. He made a sound that alarmed her.
"Hey, wake up," Tanga whispered in his ear, a paw on his muzzle.
Kovu stirred and his eyes shot open. He jumped to his feet as if he were expecting an attack, but none came. Looking around, his eyes fell on Tanga as she brushed up against his foreleg. Luckily, none of this had disturbed Kiara or Asuma.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked her, sitting down and nuzzling her. He was thankful she had woken him.
"I saw Grandpa Simba," she replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Tanga confirmed, her jaws parting in a yawn. "He was watching us, and then he left. He looked kind of… worried. It was odd."
Kovu looked out to the starry, still night. What could Simba be worried about? Did he know somehow about Zira? Had he unwittingly said something in his sleep? So as to not worry his daughter, he smiled down at her. "I'll see if I can help Simba, okay?" he told her. "I'll just be a moment."
"Yes, Daddy…" Tanga lay down again and closed her olive-green eyes. Kovu suspected that she would be sound asleep once more by the time he returned.
The stars looked down upon Kovu and Simba as the former caught the king of the Pride Lands just as his paws touched grass at the base of Pride Rock. Simba heard Kovu call his name, and he glanced over his shoulder, flinching inwardly.
"Tanga said she saw you," Kovu said as he soundlessly walked down the rocks behind Simba. "She told me you looked worried."
Simba sighed and forced a smile. "Just a bad dream," he explained shortly. "I'm going for a walk to clear my head."
"You shouldn't be out here alone," Kovu blurted, leaping to Simba's side. He realized his mistake when Simba looked at him strangely. He opened his mouth to find an excuse, but could find none.
Simba found that he was smiling, unforced this time. He chuckled. "Don't worry, Kovu. I'll be fine. We don't have to worry about being stalked by your mother anymore, now do we?"
Kovu struggled to keep his composure, shocked by the irony of Simba's carefree joking, but managed a small laugh. "It's hard to forget, I guess" he said.
"Hakuna matata," Simba said, "No worries." He gestured with his head for Kovu to follow. They walked to the watering hole in silence together. Simba looked out of the corner of his eye at the younger lion as he glanced about nervously before he lapped slowly at the water, his green eyes still scanning the land. Sitting on the bank of the watering hole, Simba looked over the calm surface of the water, watching as the reflections of the bright moon and the twinkling stars quivered against the liquid sky they were cast upon like silver. Simba barely heard his name when Kovu uttered it despite the calm of the night, as if the savannah was waiting patiently for something to happen. An irking feeling crept up within Simba as he finally responded to the third calling of his name and stared back at Kovu through tired eyes.
"Simba, is something the matter?" Kovu asked. His brow was furrowed deeply.
"There is something I am worried about, Kovu…" Simba whispered.
"What?"
"…You…"
Kovu was silent. "Me?" he finally said, narrowing his eyes in hurt. "Why?"
Simba diverted his gaze. Kovu's intense, accusing eyes were making him uncomfortable. "Lately, I've been having… nightmares. They're not like the ones I used to have from time to time, but they're sort of the same."
"Are they about Scar?" Kovu guessed as he sat down, his flicking tail tip causing ripples in the water, distorting their reflections.
"Yes… and you, Kovu. That's why I'm worried." Simba cleared his throat before continuing. "Today, Nala thought I should go to Rafiki to talk about them. So I did."
"I heard," Kovu said. He looked down at the mud on his paws. "Well, what'd he tell you?"
Simba swallowed. How could he tell Kovu that he was beginning to feel threatened by him again? He had given Kovu his word and had ended any comparisons between his uncle and the young future king that in his dreams he embodied. Rafiki had seemed to know exactly why Simba had sought him out that afternoon, before he had said a word. That alone was unnerving. It wasn't completely clear to him, but Rafiki could tell Simba that Kovu wasn't free yet of "the darkness". He warned Simba to be careful of Kovu and to treat him like he would a son. He had to treat the situation with care. He couldn't allow the darkness he foretold to reclaim the young lion again.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Simba. I understand," Kovu said, his tone sore, once he recognized that he was losing Simba's faith in him again. He hated how this was happening now.
"Kovu…"
Kovu turned his face away so that Simba could not see the pain of the past as it resurfaced in his eyes. "Whatever that crazy baboon told you isn't true. Face it, he's getting old, and who bases their fortune telling on feathers and sticks? They're just dreams, Simba, that's it. You can trust me. Please, just stop this. You can trust me today and you will be able to trust me until you draw your last breath."
Simba realized his mistake too late, but it was as if his tongue had become lame, and it refused help to heal the situation. The dark-furred lion's words chilled him. Kovu finally turned to look at Simba, his eyes desperate, and Simba felt his heart break in two for him.
"But… if you desire so much to worry about something, you'll need to know about what I found this morning while I was out patrolling," Kovu told him after a moment or two.
"What is it, Kovu?"
"Rogues, Simba. I scented them along the border by the gorge this morning. And they left evidence-droppings, bones from a kill we never made, challenging markers."
He couldn't help but be frustrated. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Something like that is urgent." Simba shook his head. "It might just be hyenas passing through," he then suggested. He didn't want to get riled up if it was nothing more than that.
"You were off looking at the patterns of fallen twigs and pebbles, remember? And I couldn't say anything in front of the others. The last thing we need is a panic," reasoned Kovu. "I found their tracks. They weren't hyena, Simba. It's not wrong to assume that there are rogues about."
Simba growled lowly. He had better things to do than chase after some no-good rogues. But if he didn't at least look, who would? And he certainly couldn't send Kovu out by himself. Not only would it be dangerous if there really were rogues, it would make it look like he doubted Kovu's judgment.
"All right," Simba said, decided it best to let it go. He couldn't afford an argument with Kovu. "Show me first thing tomorrow."
A look of relief crossed Kovu's face. "Of course, Simba."