Surprise!
Well I did say it might "take a few years" to write this story. I certainly didn't think that would mean almost 7...
Before I start to ramble, if you want to know why it took so long to write this story, please read my bio. New information is right at the top.
I also posted a synopsis of what happened in my previous story, A Heart in the Dark for those who read it 7 years ago and need a refresher.
This story takes place one year after A Heart in the Dark, so if you havn't read that one, please do not skip it. I went ahead and named this story "TLK 5" eventhough I kind think it isn't a typical "full" Lion King story (example: main character starts as a cub, grows up, falls in love, fights some type of bad guy, happy ending). There is no main "bad guy" in this story, just normal hardships. There's also not a huge love story (which I actually miss because I love love stories). Also the main characters, the next generation of cubs, do not grow up to full age by the end of the story. This is just how I want to write it, and that is how it will be. I hope you will still enjoy it!
Since this is a fanfiction... well more like a fanfiction of a fanfiction of a fanfiction, as we are now in the 3rd generation of cubs since Simba and Nala took the throne at the end of TLK 1, you will notice the old lions we all know from the original movies aren't mentioned a lot in this story. Simba and Nala are still there, they are just old and do not have a large role in the story. Kiara and Kovu are on the old side too. This story is about the young characters in the Pride. The old characters are great, and I love them, but they have had their story, and it's time for the new ones to have theirs. So if you do not like this ( I have had some complaints about this in the past), you do not have to read this story. Here is your warning now, this story is not about them.

If you want to see drawings of Torrent and other characters, please check the info in my bio.

My rambling is over, please enjoy! (I started writing this story Oct 2014)

The Lion King 5: The Way Home

Chapter 1: Poppy

A large tan colored cub rushed from tall green grass and thumped his paws on the ground, just missing a grasshopper. The grasshopper fled, its strong legs propelling it away while it let out a "zzzt!" in protest.

"Rrrr..." the cub growled quietly and leaped again, this time landing in a gathering of red poppy flowers. The large cub rose his paws to look under them, but again, there was no bug. Disappointment crept over his face, his blue eyes narrowing. He tossed his head so his dark brown hair tuft would move from his eyes.

"Torrent!" A male voice called from not too far away.

The cub flinched. Instead of going toward the voice, Torrent went forward. He was busy anyway. Through the poppies, he searched. Where are you?

"Torrent!" The voice yelled, louder this time. Irritated.

The loud sound made the hidden grasshopper leap from its cover.

"Yes!" Torrent cheered and followed the bug. It leaped away, bound after bound. Torrent didn't stop. He couldn't. This was so much fun! He was laughing and cheering as he chased the grasshopper.

I'm hunting! he thought. He almost caught up to the bug when he was suddenly grabbed around the middle by a strong brown arm.

"Oof!" The wind was knocked from Torrent.

"Torrent!" the male lion said as he placed the large cub back on the ground. "I have been calling you, you should know not to go off this far on your own."

"I was just about to catch that!" Torrent snapped angrily. The brown lion looked at Torrent with very stern yellow eyes.

"You are a year old now, Torrent, you should know better than to leap off after crickets. You could get lost."

"It wasn't a cricket, Dad, it was a grasshopper! And I know where I'm going! I have been there before!"

Mani sighed and rolled his eyes. You weren't even born yet! He wanted to shout. Instead, he forced himself to use a calm voice, "Watch your tone with me, young man. We've been over this."

Torrent only turned his head away, nose in the air, whole body laden with sass.

"Don't make me tell your mother how you just talked back to me."

The large cub's demeanor changed. His sassiness dissipated instantly and he visibly shrunk.

"I won't mention anything to her if you can just behave and cool it until we get there. We should be arriving in about a day."

"Okay, Dad..."

"Now come on, the Pridelands are this way." Mani said, motioning the correct direction. Torrent had been going in just slightly the wrong direction.

"I knew that!" The sass was back as the tall tan cub shouldered his way past Mani. Mani could only look after his son and shake his head.

"Maybe if we had named him Amani he would have turned out more like me instead of-"

"What, Mani?" A voice came from behind him. Tempest padded gracefully to his side. "What were you saying?"

"Uh..." Mani avoided looking in her ice blue eyes. His gaze stopped on the red flowers at their feet. "I was just remarking on how nice these poppy plants are." He lowered his head and smelled them. "They smell nice too." He grinned up at her. She wore a skeptical look. But with a hint of amusement.

"Hmm..." Tempest knew he was lying but didn't care. She was thinking of something else. "Poppy."

"Yeah, they're flowers."

"Poppy." She said again. "That would be a nice name." The light cream colored lioness strode on, following the direction Torrent went. He was strolling ahead confidently.

Mani rose his head, his thick dark brown mane swaying. "A nice name for what?" he asked, but got no response. He dashed off after his mate to catch up with the rest of the group.

It had only been a couple days since Mani, Tempest, Torrent, Dayya and Drayden began their trek back to the Pridelands. It had been almost exactly one year since they were last there. Mani could remember his heart leaping with excitement when he saw the familiar shape of the Prideland's new majordomo, Kudzu, fly down among him and his Pride at home about a week ago.

"I think that bird is about to poop on you, Dad." Torrent had said when Kudzu came into view.

"Huh?" Mani had said, about to bolt up from his resting position. Once he looked up, though, he knew who the circling white bird was right away. "No way!" Mani had claimed loudly. "It's Kudzu."

The peach lion, Drayden, had approached them then. "Is it really?"

Mani leaped up, head still pointed skyward. "Yes! Kudzu, come down!"

The white and black bird flew lower.

"I'll get your parents." Drayden announced, then dashed off.

"Who is he, Dad?" Torrent had asked.

"You know the stories, Torr, don't act like you've forgotten. Get your mother."

Torrent grumbled in protest, but did as he was told. Kudzu landed before Mani with a huff. He looked exhausted. He had come a long way. "Greetings."

"Hi, Kudzu, it's great to see you!" Mani had said.

"Likewise..." the bird shook out his feathers and began preening them.

Vitani and Tome had raced on the scene, followed quickly by Tempest, Dayya, Drayden and Old Larne pulled up the rear.

"It's really him!" Dayya had yelled and stopped just short of the bird, almost trampling him. Kudzu pulled back his wings and gave her a stern look.

"Watch out, Dayya." Vitani snapped at her daughter. "Kudzu has come a long way and doesn't need you stepping on him."

"Sorry..." The pale red lioness said sheepishly. She stepped backwards.

"Welcome." Tome said regally.

"Thank you, Queen Vitani and King Tome. Has all been well in your pride this last year?" the bird asked.

At Vitani and Tome's side, Drayden prodded Dayya's arm and whispered, "Sounds like Kudzu has been practicing his royal conversation while we've been away." Dayya giggled quietly in response.

"Quite well, thanks for asking." Vitani answered. "We are excited to be visiting the Pridelands soon. Does your arrival mean it is time for our return?"

"Indeed it does. The coronation of Kivu and Ciara is in two weeks exactly. That should give you plenty of time to make it to the Pridelands, correct?

"I'm sure it does. Torrent is more than a year old now and can travel as well as any of us." Torrent answered.

Larne spoke up, "My old bones are tired and aren't what they used to be," she rasped. "I will still go, as long as we aren't rushing."

"Of course, Larne." Vitani said to the light peach lioness. "We'll go as slow as we need."

"Then I'll return and tell the royals you will be departing soon?" Kudzu asked, opening his wings as if to depart.

"Don't go yet, Kudzu, you only just got here." Dayya said.

"Wouldn't you like to rest?" Vitani asked.

"And eat!" Drayden spoke up, "We could gather...well, what do birds eat...seeds?"

Dayya punched him in the arm.

"No, thank you, lions. I have adequately rested through out my flight and keep my energy up with enough food. I won't be needing your seeds..."

Drayden got another punch in the arm. "Ow! Stop it, Dayya!"

"Can't you stay a while anyway?" Tempest pleaded. "We haven't heard from you and the Pridelanders in a year. How is everyone? How is our sister, Jayden? I wanna hear about Ciara and Tali."

"Yeah, and what're my doe-headed friends Kivu and Jai up to these days?" Mani asked. "And Koru, have you heard from him?"

Kudzu had only smiled and said, "Everyone has been very well and the Pride has grown. That is all I will say, because surprises are one of the best things in life. So long, lions." Kuzdu said, then took off. The group said "goodbye" as he flew away.

After he left, Vitani's pride looked at each other with huge grins.

"We're going to the Pridelands!" Dayya cheered.

"When will we leave?" Tome asked Vitani.

"Let's not hesitate. We'll leave tomorrow."

Cheers rang out among them.

Unfortunately, that night during a late hunt, Vitani was kicked in the shoulder by a fleeing antelope. When she fell, her paw twisted under her. Larne, as their active duty medicine lioness, gave the Queen strict orders to stay off her paw for a while. Larne wasn't certain if it was broken, and didn't want to risk damaging it further by letting Vitani go on the trip. So with regret, she ordered Vitani to stay home. Larne and Tome decided to stay with her.

So now, Mani, Tempest, Torrent, Dayya and Drayden headed to the Pridelands on their own. They didn't leave as soon as they had planned originally because they knew they could now go as fast as they wanted since Larne was staying behind. Vitani gave instructions to the young group to give Ciara and Kivu their warmest congratulations, and tell everyone else hello.

The group had only been travelling two full days when they started noticing familiar landmarks they remembered from their previous trip to the Pridelands.

"It seems like we're getting there so much faster!" Dayya commented.

"Last time we were held up by Tempest's injury." Mani said.

"She held us up a lot more than I realized." Dayya said, earning her a swat on the arm from Tempest.

"It's not my fault I got hurt!" she hissed.

"Yeah! Rude-tail!" Dayya added, then thumped Dayya on her other arm.

"Yikes! Sor-RY!" she replied with sarcasm.

Running also helped narrow the group's travel time. All of them were young and healthy enough to run, including Torrent. Torrent was about one year and one month old; somewhere between a cub and an adolescent. Hair had not yet sprouted from the cub's chest, but the dark brown tuft on his head had gotten larger lately. It curled in places, reminding everyone of Tempest's wavy tresses. Torren'ts hair got especially messy in the morning after he woke up. His mother fondly called him "den hair" or "spiky head" until he fixed it.

Torrent was about as tall as Tempest's elbow, so he still had a lot of growing to do. Torrent talked back to his parents sometimes and often didn't want to do his share of work in the Pride. Tempest and Mani tried to get him interested in hunting, but he never wanted to learn. They had to shrug it off and just trust he would do better as he got older.

Tempest wondered if Torrent was excited to go to the Pridelands again. He was only a baby when he was there last, so she didn't expect him to remember much.

When the group stopped for the night and got settled, Tempest asked her son, "Are you excited to see your cousin Afia?"

"I don't know." was his response.

"What do you mean, you don't know? You two were very close."

"Yeah, when I was a baby." he tossed his curls from his eyes.

Tempest made a frustrated noise. "Lose the tone. You better be good when we get there. There might be other cubs, I want you to be nice to them."

"Yeah, yeah." he said.

Tempest looked to Mani for help.

"You'll be the oldest, except for Afia, so you'll need to be a role model for them." Mani said. "They'll look up to you for being the biggest and strongest. Plus, you're the most travelled. Not many cubs can say they've travelled as far as you have in your life."

Torrent seemed to perk up at this. "Sounds cool. Maybe I can teach 'em a thing or two."

"That's the spirit." Mani smiled. Tempest looked at Mani with endless love in her eyes and nuzzled him. Torrent had a better attitude the rest of the evening.