A/N: Well, here we go…
Sunlight pierced the sky as Simba continued his long-legged dash across the grasslands; it seemed to him that in some parts there was some suspicious dying-off of vegetation. In his mind, that was odd because it only got that way around winter time in the jungle. But determined to scope out the lay of the unexplored lands, Simba continued his mission out.
"When you do think we'll reach the Forests of Rain, Simba?" Ruendi asked unsurely.
"We're not trying to find your homeland, Ruendi. We're trying to find your sister…"
From the way Ruendi talked, this Forests of Rain was something quite far-fetched and even though he believed his friend, the lion thought that the primate had been too young at the time to remember where he originally was from. This made the more realistic idea of finding Dakarai seem possible and – Simba sighed in remembrance of Timon – a sane move. But as the heat of the rising sun hit them, Simba remembered something else now.
…
High noon…
A half-snapped tree branch proved the perfect shade as they entered desert land.
"I forgot it could get so hot so fast…" the lion grinned, sweating trickling off his mane.
"I remember the hotness," Ruendi mentioned as he rocked back and forth on his bottom in a calm rhythm, sipping the water from the fern grove leaf Simba had told him to wrap up in the previous night, "But it's from so long ago," his shoulders dropped. "It's fuzzy."
"Hey, Hakuna Matata." Simba reminded him. "Remember Kurou's advice?"
"Just remember when I can remember?"
"Exactly." He nodded, but then frowned and took the slit-opened canteen from Ruendi.
"Simba…?" Ruendi questioned, little drips falling from his pink mouth.
"Better leave some for the big, thirsty lion."
…
A rocky expanse with sprouts of growth formed along an outcropping in the distance ahead. Simba breathed in deeply and dragged his feet forward to rest beside the thick stony plant wall. The monkey lion knuckled his way up to him, tilting his head sideways.
"Sleepy?"
"Tired."
"Same thing."
"Not completely…"
"…I am kind of tired."
"Well, I guess we can rest here for tonight."
"I'm so sleepy…" Ruendi yawned.
"Hmm." Simba walked over to look up at the sun-setting sky.
"What're those things Simba?"
"What?" the lion asked; caught off guard.
"Those shiny things up in the sky?"
"Well, they're... monkey lions." He smiled a little. "King monkey lions from the past..."
"The past?" Ruendi looked up at Simba curiously.
"Yeah," the lion sat down and looked up as the blue of night sapped the blue of day.
"So... where are they now?"
Simba got caught on that question and looked down at his paws in silence.
Ruendi pressed his lips together and moved over to stand in between his legs.
"They're watching over us."
"Simba?"
"Yes, Ruendi?"
"Are you afraid?"
The lion sighed deeply. "No," he pawed the primate gently inward.
"It's okay if you are..." Ruendi assured.
"Why should I be?" Simba smiled down at him. "When I finally have a reason to be brave."
...
