Chapter 22

Disclaimer: See Prologue and Chapter 1.

Air

A Lazy Lesson

*Simba*

"God I love it that I can run again!" The amount of energy I had was phenomenal. After several weeks of laying down, being carried around and letting others do things for me, which I hate, I am now all healed up and ready to rumble. Today, me and Grandma have come to the Air Kopjes again and we are already practicing with my buddy and teacher, the first air bender descendant, Appa.

"Come on Simba. Keep an eye on what's going on." I heard my grandmother shout as she playfully shot a gale at me.

The gale looked and felt like a cold breeze that would hurt me, but I could sense my grandma's playfulness in it as I also felt that it was also blowing dirt at me. Oh ho ho. Payback for the time I made mud land on her when I was a cub, huh?

"You're going down Grandma." Master Appa, he said that to be truly in touch with the air that I first had to learn how to be calm and listen to the wind. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Most see air as just something you need to breathe or something that moves the clouds. But they are wrong.

I quickly retaliated at my Grandma. "I hope you don't mind a mud bath Grandma!" I blew a full force gale at her, which forced her into one of the Air Pride's many pools and then Earth bent a lot of dirt into it. Talk about being dirty!

Next thing I knew, a large form appeared out of the muddy hole and realized it was my Grandmother. At least I think it was. Her fur is just as dark as mud. Hmm, maybe I should risk a nickname Dad said she hated as a cub.

"Simba." Appa warned me noticing my lips getting ready to move with a smart comment and trying to stop me. "Don't do anything stupid." Too bad buddy, 'Stupid' as some of my friends tell me is my middle name.

"Hey Nana Mudfur are you ok?" I heard a growl come from the mass of dirt. Now I did it!

*Uru*

I am so going to kill Mufasa for telling Simba about my little nickname from my cubhood. That was supposed to stay buried. But first, to teach my grandson just who wears the pelt between males and females.

"Now you are going to get it, Simba!" I saw my grandson start to run and I pulled my paw back to make my own wind blow him into the mud with me. He went under and I chuckled when he came back up with a dirty look in his eyes. "Don't look at me with that tone of voice! You asked for it!"

"Time for some payback." Next thing I knew the water started getting very hot around where I was and then realized that Simba was boiling the water that we were in. Unfortunately for him, Ahadi did this a lot when he was alive so I am used to such a method. I even know how to counter it.

"Thanks for the warm bath, how about you feel it as well." Instead of summoning some air like one would expect me to, I simply put my paw in the water and splashed Simba with the same water he was heating around my body. I heard him yelp as the hot water touched him and I could not help but chuckle. "That's what happens when you play with fire and with your grandma."

"Well then why don't you cool off then?" Next I felt the water rapidly freeze and I started shivering. So now he is using his control of water to make me cold huh? Too bad! Taka and Sarafina would do this sometimes when they were cubs. My underbelly almost turned red from when Taka heated my personal swimming hole. Then, I got wise to them and used their skills against them.

"Me? Cool off? You've got the burn, this will help it." I splashed some of the cold water at him. I laughed as he felt yelped again and then started whining. Just like his uncle. His uncle learned that mixing cold water with someone who was in hot water makes you burn hotter.

"AHHH! Grandma! Uncle Uncle!" I decided to give him a break and blew a gentle breeze to cool down the burns in a more healing manner. Simba went to climb out of the water hole and I followed him. He shook off his fur of the mud and got a cheeky smile as some of the mud hit me in the face. He really does not learn does it. I smacked him upside the head and then got a crooked smile.

"Well then, since you are acting like a cub, I will treat you like one, time for a bath Simba!" I saw him raise an eyebrow. What ? Does he think I am kidding? I never kid!

` "Come on Grandma! I'm not a cub anymore!" He said with a pout.

"No matter how old or big you get you will always be my little grandson." I said as I pulled him close, him trying to stay rooted with his earthbending but I pulled him loose by cutting just the dirt under his paws with the air controlled by a flick of my claw.

"No!" He whined struggling while I kept a tight grip on his neck and mane. Knowing Simba would resist a bath I had learned to keep a strong grip on him and the principle still applies even if he is bigger now.

"Dirty boys need baths Simba. You know that if you stay dirty your fur will get caked with dry mud which will cause you to itch." He groaned as he sulked in my grip.

"And if I itch I'll scratch my fur and it will fall off." He finished huffing like he didn't buy it. Well I admit it is a story we adults made up to get Cubs to stay still but that didn't mean they liked it.

"Exactly. No one wants to see a hairless lion king now do they?" I smirked seeing him grumble at my statement. Always bring up being king to get the message through to these stubborn boys but maybe just to prove my point.

"Plus I don't think Nala would like it if her best friend was hairless, do you?" I grinned deviously as his face blanched at the mention of that. Does he really think cause I'm old that I don't notice how he looks at Nala. Puh-lease.

"W-what are you talking bout grandma?" He stumbled on his words eyes looking back and forth like a trapped zebra looking for a way out.

*Appa*

"Oh come now Simba, you can't seriously think we are so old that we'd miss you flirting with Nala?" I chuckled with my large bison lungs. I chuckled so hard that some of the flowers near us were uprooted. Guess my air bending is stronger than old timer like me can handle.

Simba's face turned a shade of so dark I would've thought his mane grew over his muzzle if I wasn't a sane animal. "Master Appa come on me and Nala are just friends." He quickly retorted. A little too quickly for that fact. Something I wasn't alone in noticing.

"Uh huh. Sure. Friends." His grandmother Uru said slyly and wearing that impish smile of hers that I knew very well from teaching her as a cub. It was like a crescent upside and her eyes were like bright stars that shined right on you. Talk about intimidating.

"We are!" The poor Prince vehemently stated back at her. " Me and Nala are not a couple. I mean sure we'll be married one day and that's ok but seriously we are just friends right now." I shook my head with a smile. Oh Simba. What a naive young lion. Doesn't he realize he should stop talking around his grandmother? Right now she's hunting and her prey is your secrets.

" Oh not right now huh? So does that mean you'll be more than friends next week or say a month?" I spoke up quickly beating Uru to the punch and restrained my hurricane like laugh from blowing away my companions at Simba's eyes. They were as big as the gourds on Rafiki's staff.

"Or perhaps he wants Nala to love someone else? Like maybe Chumvi?" Uru snickered. Oh how cruel she can be. I turned seeing the prince fumbled with his paws on the ground as he tried to think up a comeback.

*Uru*

"Well Simba?" Appa poked him with his paw while he lay restrained in my paws.

"Um... uh..."

I went to answer when I heard several rocks fall and my ears perked. Huh? I thought as I looked left but raised my eyebrow in confusion as I saw there was only grass and a few trees that way. But when I turned back I noticed a few stones at the base of a statue of me to the right of our group. I shrugged. Must've been Simbas yelling that made me miss it.

Simba noticing my distraction tried to run for it but I grabbed him again and resumed his bath. "My prey never escapes my little Simba." I chuckled grooming his mane and snickering at his whining.

Simba started pushing at my face when I heard a twig snap in front of me but when I looked I noticed that the trees were all fine. Ok. The stones were one thing but I don't miss sounds like this twice. Someone is here. I thought as I released Simba and got into a defensive stance.

"Grandma? What's wrong?" He asked a little nervous but shook it off like a twig was stuck in his mane.

"We aren't alone" I whispered which made him get into his own defensive stance claws laced with earth and fire.

I looked around and heard a whoosh appear to come from behind but this time I looked up and my eyes widened at the sight of a large silhouette with wings. Oh kings above, not him.

The bird, a large black eagle landed away from us and flapped his wings one more time to slow himself enough yet at the same time almost blow away several patches of grass of the land around us. I shielded my eyes and covered myself over Simba to shield him from the coming debris. Once I felt the gale die down I turned to glare at the creature. "You dare come here?! And nearly harm my Grandson?!" I snarled and snapped at him.

He chuckled in that annoying suave way where he dusted himself off and looked at me. "Good to see you again as well Uru dear." He said in his sickening sweet tongue that made me feel like a snake was in front of me. I wouldn't be surprised if he hatched in a snakes nest.

"Uh Grandmother?" I looked at my grandson temporarily forgetting my rage as I focused on my relief he was ok. "Whose the buzzard?" I chuckled inwardly at the nice comparison Simba had made before hearing that bird's wings rustle like claws scraping against rock.

"That my young grandson is former partner from the old wars. Tufani." I snarled out his name before looking back at the vile bird.

So now we see Uru is not as old as her fellow lionesses of her generation. But also now there is a new player on the chess board called the Pride Lands. What is the mysterious Air bender named Tufani? What is his secret? And why did no one hear him coming?

I apologize for my tardiness in updating this story and my other story. I have had a lot of different things going on from Alzheimer's with my grandfather to dealing with my sisters graduation. I sincerely hope you can all forgive me.