Here's a fic for any of you who are interested in such things. And it's going to be about Simba! Yeah, my first fic starring Simba. Kinda strange for me, I know. But you can't not love Simba.

Also, if anybody thinks they have a good idea for a tlk fanfic, be sure to PM the idea, and if I like it, I'll put it on my 'to do' list, and eventually, I'll write it! And if you're just a guest, leave a review on any one of my stories with the idea.

Anyways, be sure to leave a review! And enjoy the fic.

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Taka's POV

"Taka, wake up!"

Taka lurched up with a cry, bursting out of his Nightmare. His chest heaving, he sat up and looked around wildly for whatever had woken him, his heart in his throat.

"Calm down!" Snapped Shenzi, as his scattered gaze landed on her. He exhaled loudly, closing his eyes for a moment as he shook his head.

"Oh… Shenzi, it's just you…." He sighed, gasping loudly. "Just you…" Shenzi stared at him strangely, cocking an eyebrow.

"Were you having a nightmare?" She asked bluntly. Taka gritted his teeth, looking down at his paws.

"Uh…. what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" He asked, looking back at her.

"You woke me up. With all your turning and moaning." She said, still giving him a questioning look.

"T-turning and moaning?" Asked Taka, looking back over himself. Had he been making such a fuss in his sleep? Considering what had been happening it wasn't really surprising….

"Uh, yeah! Were you having a nightmare or something?" She demanded.

"A…. a nightmare?" He asked, his blood cooling as she kept staring at him. Shenzi nodded, as if he were an idiot.

"Exactly! So were you having one or not?"

"Er….. no?"

Shenzi snorted. "Huh. I know that face buster, you had a nightmare all right. Was it really that bad that your horrified moaning had to wake me up?"

"Are you angry?"

"Not especially. Just curious." She added, as she sat down in front of him. "What in the hell was that scary?"

"Do I have to tell you?" Asked Taka, his lip curling.

"I guess not….."

"Good. Cause I'm not telling." He said, turning away from her and setting his head down on his paws. He closed his eyes and stayed silent, although he could feel Shenzi's gaze on him. Nonetheless, he stayed still, and eventually Shenzi moved away reluctantly

He felt bad for pushing her away like that, after all she was one of his best friends, but he didn't really feel like talking about it. Shivering slightly, he imagined he could still feel the claws that had been around his neck, blood seeping down from the punctures they made. He let out a long sigh.

Uraziel had been visiting him more and more often lately, and each visit somehow managed to be more and more unpleasant than the last. He didn't think last night could be any worse than previous nightmares, but….. he was very glad Shenzi had woken him up.

Uraziel had chosen to pin him down by the neck this time, but that wasn't new, no, what was new this time was what Taka heard…. what Uraziel had forced him to listen to! As Taka had squirmed underneath his claws, Uraziel had forced him to listen to what Taka thought was… was a lion going mad!

He…. he could still hear it, the unseen voice ringing in his ears!

I tell myself I'm fine!

No you're not.

Yes I am!

No you're not.

Yes I am!

I tell myself I'm fine!

Yes I am!

No you're not!

Yes I am!

No you're not!

Who am I talking to?!

Taka shivered. He didn't know why this had so thoroughly unsettled him, but the way the lion's voice had sounded as he tried to assure himself he was all right…. the way the voice had changed pitch as he jumped back and forth from fine to not fine… it sounded as a lion that had completely lost its sanity.

The unseen lion had also babbled about seeing ghosts or something…. and complaining about how he was better than some other lion, and yet why wasn't he loved? The entire thing had seemed rather cliche for madness and yet….

Taka couldn't get it out of his head.

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Simba's POV

Simba yawned as he stepped out of the den, the morning sun shining somewhere off to their right. Truly it was hard to tell exactly, what with all the clouds and whatnot, but it wasn't dark anymore so….. it had to be morning.

"Morning Simba." Said Taka, as he lumbered out of the den. Simba turned to see Taka's eyes half closed in exhaustion.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trotting up to the dark lion.

"What's wrong?" Yawned Taka, as she shook his head vigorously. "I…. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why not?"

"Bad dream." He said, as he pawed at ground.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He sighed, as he looked down at his paws. After a short silence, he exhaled slowly. "I miss sleeping with mom."

Simba flicked his ears in surprise. Taka had told him this once before, but not as…brazenly. Now Taka looked exhausted and downcast, and he was confessing to him yet again how deeply he missed his mother, as if he was still a cub. What did Taka want from Simba anyhow? Comfort?

"Well….. I guess I would too…. in your position." Simba stuttered, sidling up next to the orange lion. He'd lost Sarabi at a much younger age than Taka, and hadn't seen her for years, unlike Taka. So he certainly could sympathize…. but he'd never had the relationship Taka had with Uru.

"I'm Simba." Sighed Taka. "I'm getting too old for this." He muttered, as he stood up and walked away from the golden lion a few steps.

"Too old for what?" Asked Simba, walking after him.

"Too old to miss my mom." He whimpered. "But…. I can't help it." He whispered. "I just can't help but miss her….. every night…." Simba grimaced, and looked around, trying to figure out how to respond.

"It's not a bad thing." He replied. "I mean…. maybe it is something generally reserved for little cubs, but nonetheless I… I get what you're saying."

"Huh. Yeah right." Sniffed Taka. "Just forget it. I see mom every week anyways… I shouldn't be grumbling about this."

"I guess so…"

"Well, thanks for listening to my irrational whining." Smirked Taka, as he playfully punched Simba in the shoulder.

"You're welcome." Grinned Simba, rubbing his shoulder in mock pain. "And besides, you've got Sarafina, don't you?" He asked. Taka nodded.

"I do. She's nice to have around." He replied, smiling.

"How exactly?" He pressed, eager to hear. Taka had been his friend for far too many years for Simba to consider him as anything other than a very close friend. So when Taka and Sarafina began to spend more time together, it felt like the natural progression of things. And they made a pretty good pair on top of that.

Of course, the only wrinkle here was that Simba had never any evidence that Sarafina and Scar had ever been together, and no one had told him if they had ever had a relationship in Simba's lifetime. And what evidence was there? Sarafina had spent her time with the other lionesses during Simba's lifetime, not with Scar.

And plus, Nala was Sarafina's child, and so the father was probably a rouge. Because since he knew it wasn't Mufasa, the only other male lion he'd ever seen was-

Hold it. He had to stop thinking about that. Before something disturbing occurred to him

"Well, she's stopped making snarky remarks, for the most part." Replied Taka. "She and I can spend hours talking to each other, it turns out. A few weeks ago, I could only stand her personality in small doses." Then he lowered his voice. "Also, according to her, she liked me ever since we were cubs…. did you know that?"

"Pff. It was obvious." Grinned Simba, cocking an eyebrow.

"Was it really obvious?" Asked Taka, crinkling his nose. "Huh…. well I never caught on…"

"That's always the cliche." Chuckled Simba.

"I guess it is." Shrugged Taka, as he looked out over the Graveyard. Then his gaze caught on something, and Simba heard him utter a small gasp. "Hey…... look, there's mom!" He exclaimed, pointing out a paw towards the border. Simba followed the point and narrowed his eyes, searching the landscape until he spotted the small forms of two lions entering the Graveyard a few hundred yards away from them.

"Sarafina too." He remarked, glancing over at Taka to see a wide smile.

"I'm going to go say hi." He said, as he jumped down the cliff and slid down the rocks. Smba followed a moment later, his rough paw pads allowing him to slide down the harsh stones. When he reached the bottom he trotted after Taka, the two of them making their way through the maze of bones they had all gotten very used to, so they could greet Sarafina and Uru.

They jumped out of a ravine to come out right next to the lionesses. Uru and Sarafina both gave a start, turning their heads to view the lions that had just arrived. A moment later, their confused expressions melted into smiles at the sight of Taka and Simba.

"Hey mom!" Taka said, picking up his paw to wave at his mother. Uru smiled back at him.

"Hello little one." She replied. "Good mor- *cough* mor-"

Suddenly, as Simba looked on, Uru gave a start, and began coughing. It only lasted for a few moments, but it was loud and violent. She raised her paw and and coughed into it, her eyes closed as she hacked her lungs out. A few moments later she gave a sniff and set her paw down, finishing her coughing.

Simba and Taka glanced at each other.

"Mom? Uh… are you all right?" Asked Taka, taking a concerned step forward. Uru turned to look at him, exhaustion written across her face. But she managed a reassuring smile.

"Of course I'm alright little one." She said, smiling at Taka.

"Are….. are you sure?" Pressed Taka, the memory of her violent coughing still fresh in his mind.

"I'm not a liar." She replied. "It's just a cold. Mufasa and Ahadi had the same thing a week ago. It'll be gone in a few days."

"How long have you had it, Queen Uru?" Asked Simba, stepping up next to Taka as Sarafina silently slid up next to Taka's other side, pressing up against him.

"Three days. Like I said, it'll be gone in a few short days."

"Do you know what it is?" Asked Taka, still looking concerned.

"Rafiki told me it was a common cold. He told me it'll leave in a few days, just like it did with Mufasa and Ahadi." She reassured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure. Now enough about me. I brought you two food." Said Uru, as she produced a slab of meat. Feeling that things had normalized, Taka took a step forward and hooked it in his claws, taking it in his teeth.

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome." Smiled Uru, as Sarafina snagged a piece.

"Come on Taka! let's eat it together." She grinned, taking a few steps back. Taka glanced at his mother and Simba for a moment, then turned back to Sarafina.

"Coming." He nodded, as well as he could with meat in his jaws. He and Sarafina trotted away, leaving just Uru and Simba yet again. Uru watched them go, as they disappeared from view over the hill.

Then she lifted her paw back to her mouth, and began to hack into it, her chest heaving as she coughed. Simba flicked his ears in alarm, taking a step back as continued to hack, her eyes shut in concentration. Finally, she gave one last cough and swallowed, putting her paw back down.

"Queen Uru…. are you all right?" He asked. That fit of coughing had seemed to violent for a simple cold. Uru looked up at him, her eyes sagging from exhaustion.

"Ugh. Don't tell Taka but…. I don't feel so good." She admitted.

"Well of course you don't! Uru, you don't look good at all!" He exclaimed, surprised she acted so nonplussed with such a convulsing fit of coughing!

"I've had to deal with that for three days, I'm all right." She replied, frowning.

"Three days? Uru, that can't be good for you."

"I spoke to Rafiki." She snapped, as she shook her head to try to clear it. "Whatever it is, it's the same thing Mufasa and Ahadi had. And they came out just fine."

"Oh…. Oh yes, I forgot about that."

"Of course they're both strong male lions and I'm just a lioness who's starting to get too old for this. She grumbled.

"What do you mean…. Queen Uru?" Asked Simba, leaning in.

"What do I mean? I mean I'm getting old! That's what I mean." She muttered. At this, Simba flicked his ears, a thought occurring to him. How old….. how old was Uru? No one had actually told him, but Ahadi was still relatively young so what was Uru complaining about?

"Queen Uru?" He asked. "How old…. how old are you? If you don't mind me asking, of course." He added. Uru gave him a strange look, to which Simba tried to look away innocently.

"Forty eight seasons." She replied.

Simba raised his eyebrows.

"Forty eight?" He asked, feeling surprised. Forty eight seasons? He'd never heard of any lion growing that old! Sure, some prey animals did it, but for lions? The most he'd heard of was thirty six seasons.

"Yeah. Don't rub it in." She replied. "Anyhow, when you get that old, your joints start to ache. And your legs start to break down. And more annoying crap like that."

"Really?"

"Ohhh yeah." She grumbled. "You just get weaker in general. Anyways-"

Uru was rather suddenly interrupted yet again by a sudden bought of coughing, and she raised her paw to hack into it. Her body shook as she tried to contain it, and Simba raised his eyebrows in alarm when her paw suddenly splattered red.

"Uru!" He exclaimed, as Uru examined her bloody paw with disgust.

"Yech." She said, crinkling her nose as she wiped it onto the stone.

"Uru…. are you sure you're okay?" Asked Simba, aghast. She had coughed up blood! That… that wasn't normal at all!

"According to Rafiki, it'll pass." She replied, completely nonplussed. "It's nothing harmful anyways, and it doesn't hurt. Nothing to worry about, I guess it's a normal symptom of whatever it is I've got." She shrugged,

"Oh….. uh… if, if you say so." Managed Simba, unable to shake his worried expression.

"Yeah…. if I say so." Sighed Uru. She sat down with a heavy sigh and rolled over, closing her eyes with a tired expression. Simba sidled over to her, looking her over.

"Okay Simba…. tell me how my Taka is doing." She said, a small smile on her muzzle.

"Taka is doing just fine, as always every time you ask, my Queen."

"That's good." She smiled, flicking her ears. "It's good…"

"It is indeed."

"Do you think he does all right by himself?" Asked Uru, opening her eyes to look up into his. Simba nodded.

"He does perfectly fine by himself. And now since he's got Sarafina to keep him company… he's doing more than fine."

"Very good. Grinned Uru, chuckling. "He'll need a companion if he wants to get through life when his mom eventually leaves."

"I know I did." Grinned Simba, thinking back to Nala. Nala completed him… as all mates should. Hopefully that was what was happening here with Taka…"

"My little Taka." She whispered. "And again, Simba, don't worry about me."

"I'll be fine."

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Well…. leave a review. Also…..

I guess Scar's probably going to be in the second season of the Lion Guard. Man. I didn't see that one coming. Please tell me what you think of that… cause I'm not sure if it's good or bad, for a Scar fan such as me.