*couple days later*
"So how are we going to get Rafiki to come here Zira? He doesn't exactly like us." Saphira asked as they watched Vitani play with Nuka.
"We will probably have to kidnap him. I refuse to bring that boy into the pridelands. Especially since he isn't a fast runner. Where is he anyway?" Zira looked over at Saphira.
"He is still in the den. He isn't taking the loss of his mother very well. I'm starting to worry. He hasn't eaten and it is a chore to get him to drink anything." Saphira sighed.
"Hmm gather a few of the others. We are going to catch ourselves a monkey. Vitani, Nuka! Go keep an eye on the boy. Make sure he doesn't wander off." Zira instructed her children while Saphira went to gather a few other lionesses.
"Yes mother!" Both yelled as they trotted over towards the den.
*couple hours later*
"SO how do we capture the monkey?" One of the lionesses asked as they looked at his home from a distance.
"We surround the tree and wait for him to come down. Then we pounce and drag him back with us. Hopefully before Simba catches wind of our scent." Zira instructed never taking her eyes off the tree.
"And what if he was to fight you all off?"
"One monkey couldn't take on all of us." Zira snorted.
"Oh really now? Well I did take out plenty of scars hyenas when he was the king. But oh well hakuna matata." *Whack!*
"OW! Rafiki? How did you get here?" Zira held her head in pain as she moved away from the monkey.
"I am always here. But I am also there. Hahaha. I am everywhere you are not but everywhere you are." Rafiki smiled at all the confused faces around him.
"That makes no sense you old cook!" Saphira growled out.
'It doesn't have to make sense. Life doesn't make sense so why should I?" Rafifki took a meditative pose. "SO what do you want with me outlander?"
"Watch your tone you disrespectful wretch." Zira growled out.
"Zira!" Saphira scolded before turning her attention back to Rafiki. "WE need your help translating the human symbols. And maybe another problem we can discuss in the outlands. Please Rafiki, just help us." Saphira begged.
"Hmm so you took the boy in I see. Good good, he will need a new home. SO where is the young lad anyway? I assume you left him back in the outlands?"
"How do you know about him?" Zira asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Not important, now take me to him but first let me gather supplies."Rafiki walked over to his tree leaving a bunch of confused lionesses behind.
*Back at the den*
"Hey Nuka what's wrong with him?" Vitani asked as she looked over at the boy. He was currently sitting down on a rock holding something close to his chest letting out the occasional sob.
"He lost his mother the day we found him.. He had the unpleasant experience of seeing what th hyenas did to her. I just wonder why we are keeping him around. I know Saphira said she would look after him but he refuses to eat. Not that there is much to eat out here but that just means we should be able to eat him." Nuka grumbled.
"Oh the poor thing. I don't what I would do if I lost momma. Besides he is too adorable to eat." Vitani said as she moved towards the sniffling boy. "Hey there, are you ok?"
"He can't understand you Vitani just leave him be." Nuka grumbled
The boy just looked up as he heard the small cub growl at what he assumed was her older sibling. HE wiped the tears from his eyes as the cub snuggled up to his licking his cheek and nuzzling his head. "You're a cute little thing aren't you?" He chuckled as she let out a small cute cry. "Just an adorable ball of fluff. I wish mom was here to see this." The boy held the cub close to him as tear streamed down his face.
"Hey there, no crying. Vitani is here to make all the pain go away." Vitani nuzzled him again. "Besides, out here, only the strong survive. You have to be strong kid. Don't worry I will help you." Vitani cooed a she scratched behind her ears. "Magic hands Nuka, he has them." Vitani rolled onto her belly so he could scratch there.
"What are you doing Vitani?"
"huh oh mother, uh welcome back. I was just playing with him." Vitani jumped away from him lowering her head as Zira glared at her.
"So this is the boy who survived the hyenas." Rafiki walked in moving towards the boy. The boy tried to move away from the rapidly approaching monkey but was stopped when Saphira grabbed him by the back of his neck. He froze when he felt her teeth on his throat. He started moving towards the monkey as Saphira moved towards Rafiki.
Saphira my dear please release the boy. I can't do my work if he is in your jaws." Rafiki grabbed his face as soon as he was released. "Hmmmm good bone structure, hasn't been eating properly which is a problem. Mhmmm a yes. Mhmm well nothing that can't be fixed." Rafiki released the boy who moved back near Saphira. "So where are these symbols you wish me to read?" Rafiki looked towards Zira who was carrying the object.
"Hmmmm so his name is Tyler. He is wow fairly young for a human, only 13 years old. Yeah he will definitely need a mother for a few more years. Thankfully he won't need any milk." Saphira let out a sigh of relief at that last part. "Poor boy, when did you say you found him?"
"A few days ago why?" Zira answered.
"It appears the hyenas attacked on his birthday. Or the day after, either way he has suffered greatly at their hands." Rafiki shook his head before moving forwards and ruffling Tyler's hair. "Well I shall return soon with the required materials and complete my work. Oh and this is called a journal." Rafiki put the journal in Tyler's lap before moving towards the entrance of the den.
"What more work can be done?" Zira asked.
"Well you want him to understand you and you him right? Well I know just the trick to get the desired effect." Rafiki waved as he left. "See you all in a few hours."
"So he means tomorrow right? I mean the sun is setting." Saphira wondered.
"He better not wake me up from my beauty sleep. A lovely lioness such as my self needs her sleep." Vitani stated as she moved closer to Tyler. "So Tyler is your name. Hmmmm I'm going to call you Ty." Vitani smiled up at him as he just looked at her confusedly. "So mamma can I show him around before we turn in for the night?"
"Whatever dear, just know that if you're not back by bedtime then you lose your spot." Zira grunted as she moved to speak to the other lionesses.
"Come on Ty let's go we have to hurry!" Vitani moved and grabbed him by his sleeve tugging him towards the entrance. The boy just chuckled a little but didn't move to follow. Saphira seeing this nudged him towards Vitani who had started to growl in annoyance.
"Go my dear, have fun. I shall wait for you to return." Saphira stated even though she knew he couldn't understand her. Eventually he started following Vitani who ran slightly ahead. "Vitani seems to have taken a liking to him." Saphira stated as she watched them leave the cave that was being used as their den.
"Yes, and I don't know whether to end it or ignore it." Zira sighed a she too watched them go.
"Let them have their fun Zira. We don't have any males besides Young Nuka so she might as well get close with him." Saphira chuckled at Zira's disgusted face.
"You aren't implying that they should mate, are you?"
"Oh heavens no. They are two different species, it wouldn't work. But being close friends won't hurt. Besides Vitani is a smart girl. She knows that nothing more can come of this." Saphira nestled down in her chosen spot.
"hmph, you better teach him to fight once Rafiki works his magic. Because once they become of age, we strike back against Simba for what he did to Scar." Zira growled as she too stretched out on the floor.
"We will need a king if we are to take the pridelands Zira. Nuka may be male but he isn't a King. Who would be our king?"
"Oh don't worry about that. I have a new arrival coming soon that will hopefully take care of the problem. If not we can just find a stray cub from some of the smaller prides out here." Zira commented.
"You are pregnant again?" Saphira asked surprised.
"Yes, the signs are going to show more clearly soon. Hopefully he takes after his father in more than just the look department." Zira sighed a she closed her eyes. Saphira gazed at Zira few moments longer before looking at the entrance waiting for Tyler to return. He may not have been hers by birth but she would be dammed if she left him alone.
*With Vitani and Tyler*
"This is our new home TY. You see this mean guy kicked us out because we didn't want him to be king. So we are banished to the outlands. SO come on I shall show you our border with the pridelands." Vitani was enjoying her time with the Human boy. She knew he couldn't understand her but he always looked at her when she was speaking. Never once did her ignore her and of she got close enough he would pet her. She hadn't seen any signs of tears and even saw a small smile in his face when she slipped on a rock. She liked his smile, it was calming and reassuring. "I hope you smile more often when you can understand us." Vitani said quietly as she slowed down as they got closer to the border. She yelped in surprise when she was suddenly lifted off the ground.
"Hey don't be sad. You're a good girl." Tyler saw the cub get a little depressed and immediately wanted to comfort her. SO he decided to pick her up and pamper her with affection. "So perk up little lady. You helped me so I will help you." Tyler kissed the top of her head while using one hand to pet her as well. He started to hear her purr and immediately brightened up. "There we go, see everything is ok." He continued to pamper her until he noticed that it was getting very dark outside. "Come on we should probably get back before it gets too dark." He put her down and motioned for them to go back. Vitani saw that he pointed towards the den and immediately knew he wanted to go back.
"Ok fine we can explore more tomorrow." Vitani sighed before skipping ahead of him as he jogged to catch up to her. Once they got back inside he noticed Vitani walking around her mother before sighing and moving away to lay on her own. He moved to go with her before he felt something nudge his side. When he turned he saw the lioness who kept him close. She nudged him to the side a bit and moved to her original spot on the floor. He looked at her before scooping up Vitani who had a surprised look on her face as he carried her towards Saphira.
"You can sleep with me little one." Tyler said as he laid down next to Saphira. "You never have to be alone."
"Saphira, is this ok with you?" Vitani looked worriedly at Saphira who just chuckled and nodded her head. "Thank you Saphira." Vitani snuggled into Tyler who snuggled into Saphira. Saphira licked Tyler on top of his head as well as Vitani.
"Goodnight little ones." Saphira closed her eyes as she laid her head on top of Tyler's body.
Chapter two is up. SO Tyler will be able to understand the lions and they will be able to understand him. Thank you for your support and tell your friends about this. Also review with ideas you want to see in the story. I love incorporating them into my stories. For reference I am not a lion expert and haven't seen the movies in quite a few years. I plan on fixing this soon but much of the background stories for characters like Zira or Kavu are unknown to me so I am taking my own ideas and using them in the story. If it isn't lore friendly then sorry but I probably won't change it unless it is a really easy fix. Meaning let me know now so I can edit the chapter. And keep it in mind for future chapters. This will eventually jump to where the second movie starts and go through the movie. If anyone has any info on how long a lion lives as a cub let me know. Please. Love you all.