Edwin P.O.V.
It is now early to mid-May, the weather has gotten slightly warmer, COVID restrictions are starting to loosen both nationally and internationally.
The CDC said now it is safe for vaccinated individuals to go outside without a mask, as long as it is not too crowded around you.
Anyway, my mother and Nala had invited me, Jasiri, Kiara and Kovu for a small gathering at their house because they want us to get to know each other and spend quality time together.
So, we all went to my mom and Nala's house, but with all of us wearing masks and appropriately distancing ourselves because even when my mom and Nala are both vaccinated, they are both older, so we didn't want to take any risks.
We were in their living room, with Nala, Jasiri, Kiara and Kovu in their anthropomorphic hyena and lion forms, and we somehow started looking through one of my mother's old photo albums.
We end up at a page with a photo of me and my younger sister Katrina taken around a time when we were around ten and eight years old respectively.
In the photo, Katrina and I were standing near the lake with a fence composed of stone posts that are connected with metal chains on each of them. I had a short haircut with bangs, wearing a black short-sleeve shirt, brown shorts, and teal shoes. While Katrina was wearing a pink top, burgundy pants, and tan sneakers. She also had long dark-blonde hair that also had bangs.
"Oh, my goodness, I remember this photo. It was that time we went to Navy Pier and met up with the Fraziers. We hung out for two hours until they had to go home because Anderson got some bad nausea at that point of the day." I said.
"I remembered that he got really sick after eating four churros. You guys were pretty good friends in elementary school, I wonder what happened to him." My mom asked.
"I think he still lives in Chicago, he's now an accountant at an insurance place. We follow each other on social media." I replied.
"Interesting. It's nice that you stay in touch with him after all those years. I don't really stay in touch with any of my elementary school friends." My mother said.
"Yeah, neither Kovu nor I stayed in touch with our primary school classmates back in Tanzania. In fact, I didn't think we had any friends at that school because we were so busy in survival mode, being new to the human world and all that." Kiara said.
"Yeah, and at least for me, I remembered getting picked on a few times. But to be fair, it was minimal compared to what I experienced in middle school in the U.S." Kovu said after letting out a slight chuckle.
"Well, I went to elementary school in two different countries, second and third grade in Tanzania, fourth and fifth grade in Milwaukee. In both cases, I was known as the 'weird girl' who typically read a book while others were on the playground during recess. I don't think I stayed in touch with any of my peers then. As you guys know, I didn't really start making human friends until middle school." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, transitioning to the human world was tough for us initially, but we eventually adapted." Nala said.
"Also, Edwin, I did not know that you used to have short hair. Because since we have known you for the past two years, you have long hair as you do now." Kiara asked.
"Yeah, I was wondering, when did you first grow your hair out?" Kovu said.
"Well, I started growing my hair long when I was in middle school. I got rid of the bangs in sixth grade, and then I let it grow a little more in seventh grade and decided to keep it long in eighth grade." I replied.
"Cool, I remember that I thought I could pull-off earrings in middle school. Spoiler alert, I did not pull those off. I think I lost one of them only after two or three weeks." Kovu said.
We continued to discuss memories from our pasts and continued to look at photos.
At one point, we encountered two old photos of myself when I was around nine years old in 2000.
I was wearing the same haircut as the previous photo, this time wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and jeans. I was actually at the Field Museum and that was the year Sue, the museum's famed Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, was first unveiled for public display. I was standing in front of one side of the fence surrounding the specimen. The ribs and legs were prominently visible behind me in the first photo, while the whole skeleton is visible in the second photo, which seemed to be taken with the photographer standing further back to get the whole skeleton in the frame.
"Oh, my goodness, this was when Sue was first displayed at the Field Museum. This was like almost two decades before they moved it upstairs." I said.
"Yes, I remember. The museum was so crowded that day. I remembered that it was a big deal when Sue first arrived because at least at the time, it was the most complete and well-kept T-rex fossil that has ever been found." My mother said while looking at the photo.
"Hey, I guess you could say that you were destined to be at the museum. You were destined to come work at the museum." Jasiri said in a casual tone.
"Yeah, perhaps it was written in the stars for you, Edwin." Kiara said jokingly.
"Yeah, it looks as if the universe has spoken." Kovu added to the joke.
We continued to look through photos and talked to each other. And we then found an older photo that depicted a teenage girl, standing by a gray brick staircase, near a building with a stained-glass window. I presumed the building was a church of some kind.
The colors of the photo look faded, but at the same time warped? I'm not sure how to describe it. It looked like an old photo, probably from the 1970s.
The girl in the photo had long, wavy brunette hair, brown eyes, wearing a plain white dress and matching shoes with small heels on them. She also had a blank expression on her face.
"Wait, who is this girl? I haven't seen her in any of the previous photos." Kovu asked.
"Yeah, is this one of your cousins Edwin? Or something like this?" Kiara asked as everyone looked at the photo.
My mom then raised her eyebrows, widened her eyes in realization and started to laugh a little as she started to say something.
"Oh….my….This was a photo of me after my Confirmation…" My mother said before she started laughing again.
Jasiri, Kovu, Kiara and Nala all had casual looks of surprise on their faces.
"Wait, Julia? This young girl was you?" Nala asked.
"Yep. That was me at 14 years old. Taken probably around 1973. It was when I had confirmation at our local Catholic church. My sisters and I were all raised Catholic, I remembered our parents making us go to church every Sunday, taking part in church functions. We even went to Sunday school and took the Catechism classes. Though I remembered that Sister Mary Flanagan used to constantly chastise me for asking too many questions. Man….that confirmation day was one of the most BORING days of my life. The only good thing I remembered about that day was that my family made a good dinner, but that was pretty much it. Funny thing, a year after this photo was taken…was actually around the same time I first knew that I am attracted to women. I remembered one-time I tried to discuss it with a neighbor in a park, almost as a practice of coming-out. It did not go well, they tried telling me that it was 'just some phase' and just attributed to 'teenage antics' and that it would 'wear off'. I guess you can say that experience just forced me into the closet. Also, the climate towards the LGBTQIA+ in the 1970s was not even close to a good place at the time, especially in the neighborhood where I lived. So I kept on with the 'good Catholic girl' routine for my parents for a long-time after that." My mother said.
"I am sorry that you went through that, Jullia. It's awful to hear that someone you know closely would treat you that way." Jasiri said.
"It's okay. It was the ignorance of the time…..and unfortunately still of certain people today. The important thing is that I am out of the closet now, I am happy with my life now. Also, funny thing, that neighbor got a taste of karma two years later when her house flooded from a busted pipe and almost none of it was covered by her insurance. And she pretty much had to move like a month after that. Before you say anything, I had nothing to do with it, I was actually out of town for something when that occurred. This was just karma kicking her ass. Plus, even when my parents were strict with the religious stuff when I was younger, but when I got older, they became laxer about it. For example, my oldest sister's first marriage lasted only one year and ended in divorce before she met her current husband. And both me and my other older sister got pregnant with our eldest kids before we got married. Then eventually I divorced Edwin's father a decade ago, shortly before I came out. So none of us really lived up to the 'perfect Catholic' titles they initially hoped for. Also, eventually at some point I became atheist as I really got a chance to question myself about what I believe in and what are my core values." My mother replied.
"Yeah, I remember when I was in preschool, you and dad tried to get me and Kat to go to church every Sunday. I always hated it and was mostly bored of it. Then when we were in elementary school, you guys became more relaxed about it and it eventually became every other Sunday. Then when I got to middle school, we only went once a month. Then in high school it became only Christmas and Easter until we stopped going entirely. I remembered that the last time I ever was inside of a church was grandma's funeral when I was sixteen. I eventually realized that I am atheist and never really believed in a deity or god either." I said.
"Yeah Julia, I can relate to your experience when you were younger because as you know, like you I had to stay in the closet because of 'what people expected from me' as both a Pride Lands lioness and Queen of the Pride Lands. I remembered when I tried to come out to my mother, and she thought it was 'just a phase' and blamed 'my hormones going wild'. I was just following 'what was expected of me', and that ended up being a miserable choice for me in regard to long-term happiness, but fortunately I was able to come out and I am definitely happier now compared to back then." Nala said.
We then continued to just talk to each other and continued to look through photos.
A week or two has passed since that get together. At the museum, I am about to take my lunch break.
But unlike most lunch breaks, where I typically sit with my usual group, I decided to mix it up since Jasiri and Makuu are out of town for a paleontology conference in Peoria.
Today, I am going out to lunch with Beshte and Kovu because the three of us rarely hang out with each other in-person. And Kovu kept telling us about this Nepali place he liked. So, the three of us decided to order some food from there and eat outside since it is now safer to eat outside with the new CDC policies.
The three of us were walking out of the museum and were walking down the front stairs.
"It's really nice to get a chance to hang out with you guys more often." Kovu said to us.
"Yeah, it's nice to get the opportunity to hang out more in-person. I think the last time the three of us were in the same place outside of work was that game night you and Jasiri threw last year, Edwin." Beshte replied.
"Yeah, even though I love when the three of us communicate or talk with each other along with our significant others, it's nice to get a chance to see what it's like to hang out with just the three of us." I said.
As we got to the bottom of the steps and started to walk in the courtyard pathway. From about one hundred or ninety feet away, we saw a couple making out near a bench.
As we walked slightly closer, we realized that one of the people in the couple was Simba.
"Wow, I guess Simba is in a new relationship now…." Beshte said.
We then saw the person he was kissing as they finished ... .We were all incredibly surprised to see that it was someone all of us have known or encountered. All of us opened our eyes wide, raising eyebrows, and dropping our jaws.
"What the fu- that's the person from the gift shop?!" I managed to say.
"Wait? You mean Tiifu? " Kovu said and squinted his eyes to look closer .
"Oh…my..it is Tiifu. Tiifu….is seeing…..Simba?...Why?" Beshte said in the same surprised tone and expressions on our faces.
"Yeah why? Isn't he quite a bit older than her?" I said.
"Pretty much. She's Kiara's childhood friend. I just don't understand why she would ever date her best friend's dad? Though yes, they are both way past the age of consent, but it still just feels….off…At least for me, something about it just seems..off." Kovu replied.
"Yeah, I would have never imagined those two being together…" Beshte said.
We then just decided to walk past them casually, but then we saw him turn his head towards us. I guess he saw us walking by. He seemed to have an irritated expression on his face, and so did Tiifu.
"What are you three looking at? Mind your own damn business." Simba said to us.
"Yeah, what were you guys looking at?" Tiifu added.
Kovu, Beshte, and I just continued to walk away. The sight and encounter of this whole thing was just odd.
We just moved on, and continued to walk towards the place where we are getting lunch.
Edwin P.O.V.:
A week or two has passed since Kovu, Beshte, and I found out about Simba and Tiifu dating. It eventually spread all over museum faculty and staff. Though the two seemed to be in a consensual relationship between two adults, it just seemed odd and unexpected to many of us, especially the former Pride Landers.
Now when thinking about it, that could explain why I have not seen Tiifu in Human-Hybrid Alliance meetings, including last week's meeting in which she was completely absent. From what I know, Kiara was definitely surprised and it seems to suggest that her friendship with Tiifu actually became more strained.
So, Jasiri and I have just returned from work, changed our clothes, and we decided to just relax and watch TV together while we ordered take-out.
Then at one point, at around 7 or 8 in the evening Jasiri and I were sitting on our couch when we heard tones coming from both of our phones.
We looked to see something surprising in our inboxes.
"Hmmmm…..That's odd, next week's Human-Hybrid Alliance meeting got canceled next week due to a 'scheduling conflict' with some meeting that's taking place. And Rafiki said that the email will be rescheduled for the week after." I replied.
"Yeah, that's weird. I wonder what this meeting is about and who it's for in order to cause this rescheduling." Jasiri said as she looked at her phone.
Another email tone rang from both of our phones.
"Huh? I got an email from Simba that says that I need to attend this mandatory meeting that's taking place next Friday. Why do I need to attend this specific meeting?" Jasiri was asking.
"Now this is extremely weird, I got an email from Simba that is basically recommending to take a paid day off next Friday, or if I choose to work that day, to either leave early or immediately after working a full shift." I replied looking at my email.
"Wait what?!" Jasiri replied, after which I showed her the email on my phone.
"Wait, why do I have to go to a meeting, and why is he recommending you to have a day off?!" Jasiri asked.
"I have no idea…I am just as surprised as you…..From what I heard he is not the biggest fan of me, so why is he giving me an offer of a day off?!" I said.
"Let's text people we know to see if they got a similar email to either of us." Jasiri said.
"Good idea." I replied.
We texted, emailed and messaged everyone we know at the museum. Though between texting people, Jasiri had to take a break because she had to transform into her anthropomorphic hyena form.
After messaging and reading the replies of people we know from the museum, we started to notice a pattern of who received which email.
"I found out that of the people in my lab, only Pete and I received the day-off email, while the others received the mandatory meeting email. And from what I have seen, ALL the humans received the day-off email, while the hybrids received the mandatory meeting email." I said.
"Yeah, I literally see the same pattern with my messages. Why do me and the other hybrids have to go to this mandatory meeting? Why are humans encouraged to either take a day off or leave immediately after their shift ends? Something just doesn't feel right." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, something just feels odd about this." I replied.
Jasiri P.O.V.:
A week has passed by since those emails were sent. When that Friday arrived, I noticed that some human employees decided to take the day off. Edwin decided to stay for half a day because most of what he had to do in his lab that day was not particularly time consuming. After he leaves for the day, Edwin told me that he was planning to do some chores around the apartment and even do some of our groceries ahead of time before picking me up after the meeting. I still don't know what it is about.
I got up the stairs as I usually did to head to the fossil lab. I saw that Makuu was already at his usual station.
"Hey Makuu, how's it going?" I asked him.
"Ehhh…It's going. How about you?" He replied.
"It's fine,but still today feels just a little…off…with you know…" I said.
"Oh those emails Simba sent giving some humans either a day off or requiring the rest to leave early? Yeah I found that strange too, and why do only the hybrids have to go to the meeting. I emailed multiple people about it and I either got know response or people like me who didn't know anything." Makuu said.
"Yeah, Edwin is only working for the morning today and will leave to do errands. It just feels odd with the lack of explanation regarding this meeting. Why are only the hybrids invited to this meeting? Why are humans excluded? There's just a lot of unanswered questions here." I said as I prepped my station for today's work.
"Yeah, I wonder what he wants." Makuu replied as he worked on his station.
The both of us continued through our work. I am currently analyzing a specimen aged around the Devonian period. It is the fossilized remains of a Tornoceras if previous literature and observations prove me right.
It is almost noon now, soon Makuu and I are preparing to go down to the cafe to meet up with our usual lunch group for the first time in a while. Well, with the exception of Edwin and Pete who are now out for the day.
Makuu and I headed downstairs to the cafe where we eventually arrived at the cafe, which was at only one third of its capacity. After grabbing our food and heading to our usual table, we found Makini, Bupu, Vuruga, and shockingly Ma Tembo, who has rarely joined us for lunch in the past.
Makuu and I sat down with the group from the genetics lab and we began to talk about work, our personal lives, and speculations of what this meeting is going to be about.
"Do you think it's about some kinda budget issue?" Makini asked.
"No, I don't think so because then he would not have excluded the humans because there are human department heads in other areas of the museum." Vuruga said.
"Do you think it has something to do with his campaign for mayor?" Ma Tembo asked in a slightly irritated tone.
"Uggghhh…..if it's some dumb attempt at a political campaign, I swear….." Makuu irritatedly said.
"I'm not completely sure what it is about, I guess we just have to wait and find out. On another topic, it feels weird with it just being Makuu and I in the fossil lab. All our human coworkers decided to take the day-off today." I said.
"Yeah, staff wise it kinda feels empty without some of the human coworkers." Bupu said.
We continued to talk to each other until we went back to our work areas.
Makuu and I continued to work at our stations, I worked on analyzing my specimen and writing down all my observations.
Little did I know, the time slipped right through my fingers, and it was already 5 PM. I cleaned and organized my station as Makuu and I headed to the hallway to walk around and chill out before this meeting.
It was weird to see pretty much all the humans gone from the building. It was pretty much only the hybrids left and all of us were still wondering what this meeting was about. What did Simba want to discuss? And why is it mandatory for us hybrids and not humans.
We waited for a few hours before the meeting started, it got dark outside and soon enough, all of us turned into our anthropomorphic animal forms. We were all waiting in the lower floor hallway when the doors to the meeting location, which happened to be a meeting room down the hall from where the Human-Hybrid Alliance typically meets.
Oddly, Kion and Bunga came out of the room with serious expressions on their faces with their security uniforms on.
"All right, you may all come in and take a seat." Kion said sternly, before quickly going back into the room.
One by one we all walked into the room and saw a bunch of chairs organized into rows. We all sat in individual chairs.
I saw that the chairs were all facing a stage-like area with a wooden podium at the center of it. Bunga and Kion were standing on each side of the podium with the same serious looks on their faces.
All of us in the audience were just looking and whispering to each other, wondering what this is all about.
Kion and Bunga then turned around towards the back of the stage, from which Simba came out, in his anthropomorphic lion form, wearing a gray suit and a red tie. For some reason Kion and Bunga started bowing to him. I am surprised. Now I really don't know what is going on? Should I try to leave?
He then tapped the microphone to test it.
"Hello and good evening my subjects…." Simba began.
Wait, did he just call us 'subjects'.
"I am glad that you are all able to attend this meeting. I have gathered you all here to discuss some matters that have been of importance to me, and I am pretty sure that it will be of importance to you as well. As you all know, I am running for mayor of Chicago ahead of the election in 2023. I want to tell you why I have decided to run for this position. As you have noticed in our twenty three years of the human world, it can get quite chaotic. We were once leaders, respected members of a community who had played interconnected parts of assisting me in maintaining the circle of life of our beloved Pride Lands. I was a leader maintaining a stable environment and consciousness among Pride Lands residents, defending right against the wrong. And look at the shit that we have experienced and witnessed ever since we entered human society. Conflicting ideas, wealth and materials going left, right, and sideways, and all these technology and humans that just complicate everything. It seems like everything you do in this world, you have to either use technology, consult different points of view, write a paper, this that and the fucking other thing. And the so-called idea of democracy, that just over complicates things by 'everyone having a voice', well not everyone deserves a voice if you ask me. It's just crazy to think of the idea that any rational, carefully thought out decision can be thought out by having people outside a single set of leaders. Common people decide the fate of an entire land through voting, that is not how things were done in the Pride Lands. But this is why I am running for mayor. Though we can never go back to our old lives in the Pride Lands, I am going to create a new Pride Lands in the human world, in one way or another. Starting with Chicago, I plan to create a new place, where we can go back to simpler times, where there was one leader, one central consciousness and ideology, working together to maintain the circle of life. Though it may not be exactly like the Pride Lands with all the lush fields and rock formations, it will be a new society that in a way will make the presence of humans more tolerable and in a way that works for us that I feel would be beneficial. Soon after Chicago, I am planning to go for the whole state of Illinois as governor, and then the US as president…or should I say future king, and maybe other parts of the world if I get that far, but that last part is really more just thoughts rather than plans at this point. But anyway, the point is we will go back to a simpler time where I was the leader helping maintain and intertwine all aspects of the circle of life, we all had a common philosophy and consciousness, and less ways for humans to make our lives even more complicated…." Simba said before he got up and started to walk down from the stage to walk down the aisles and rows to continue his nonsensical speech.
"So yeah, we might have all distracted ourselves with the pleasures of human society. Whether it is…." Simba said as he began turning his head towards random members of the audience.
"Enabling the dispersal of conflicting ideas through increasing interaction between hybrids and humans of the different departments…" He said as he gazed towards Rafiki in a judgmental gaze.
"Engaging in frivolous hobbies that in no way maintain the dignity of the Pride Lands legacy or the royal family, nor your proper roles….."He said, turning his head towards several of us in the audience.
"Or even romancing with humans, as in a few noted cases…" Simba said as he gestured his hands and head towards Anga, then Timon, and eventually me. Each with a noticeably judgmental expression and tone.
"And in two known current cases, down right living with humans….." He said while simultaneously gesturing to me and Timon.
"All these distractions. All these diversions. All these missteps and just plain deviations from our natural paths and roles in life." Simba said as he walked back to the stage and podium.
"But that is why I am here today discussing this with you. That is why I am running for mayor of Chicago and other future leadership positions. To bring us back to the direction and mentality of the Pride Lands. The direction back towards our roles in the Circle of Life. Back to the days of where one leader, united under one philosophy and ideology. And I will be more than honored to volunteer to take that position again for the best of all of us." Simba said finishing his speech.
Kion, Bunga and Tiifu were literally the only ones applauding him after that speech.
Almost everyone else, including myself, were just shocked, disappointed, and straight out pissed that he has said what you said.
"What….the fuck…was that?!" Timon said as he stood up with an angered expression on his face.
"Yeah, you seriously think that we are just going to follow you blindly solely through trying to convince us that taking part in human society somehow 'distracts' us from our roles in the circle of do realize that it is literally impossible to return what we did in either the Pride Lands or Tree of Life. You know that right?" Anga said, after which I decided to stand up and share some of my own words to him.
"Yeah, and I think it is very unfair for you to assume that me both having a romantic relationship and living with a human is somehow a distraction, yet I have heard many cases of you seeing other human women and indulging in the pleasures and so-called distractions of the human world. You are not trying to do anything to our potential benefit with this. No. Your plan, and mayoral campaign, and what I would frankly call a propaganda rally, is all to try to regain some kind of control over our lives outside that of a paycheck. You just have some incessant need to be in control or in charge of everyone around you. And I see that you also approached the concept of trying to revise history." I said angrily.
"Yeah, why are you trying to say that we were helping you maintain the circle of life, like you were the only one maintaining the circle of life. EVERY ONE OF US all had a role in maintaining the circle of life." Rafiki said.
"Yeah, did you think we all helped out battling the Army of Scar just for shits and giggles?!" Makuu yelled.
"And all that work the Lion Guard did in helping day-to-day operations around the Pride Lands. Did that not mean anything to you Simba?! And Kion, Bunga, why are you entertaining this guy's thoughts?! You both know more than anyone how hard each of us did to protect the Pride Lands!" Beshte said in a rare moment of anger.
"But the idea for the guard to assemble again was none other than my father's, so there would have been no guard if it weren't for him." Kion replied smugly.
"Not entirely! Did you forget that he was against us initially because the rest of us weren't lions? Did you forget about that?" Beshte replied.
"Okay, enough! Let's just settle down and come together to have a rational discussion and-" Simba said in an irritated tone.
"You know what dad; I think you are the one that needs to be taught what a rational conversation is. I personally cannot believe that you called all the hybrids here not only to promote yourself and your mayoral campaign, but also to fulfill your cynical and desperate need for control by propagating some revisionist perspective that places you at the center of everything, with some parts being straight up hypocritical. Frankly I just had enough of this….." Kiara said before she and Kovu left the room.
And a bunch of others, including me, began to follow suit, with each of us giving Simba disapproving and angry stares on our way out.
"Oh, and by the way, I looked at your early poll results, and you only have 0.8 or 0.9%, so you don't even have one-percent of the popular vote. So I don't think your plan is really going well to begin with. But frankly, I'm glad it's not working out." Ma Tembo said before walking out.
Along with most of the crowd, I went back upstairs to my office to grab my bag and remaining stuff from my office and headed out, going down the stairs and then going out the main floor exit. I walked down the front steps of the museum, where I texted Edwin to pick me up at the front entrance of the museum. In five or six minutes, I saw Edwin's car pull up to the area where I am.
I'm frankly just relieved that I'm going home now. I couldn't get in the passenger seat fast enough.
"Hey Jas, I hope you don't mind but this afternoon I bought some groceries ahead of time during my afternoon off. Oh and I got some Thai takeout food in the backseat from that restaurant you like bec- Jasiri? Are you okay? Did something happen at that meeting?" Edwin asked me.
"Oh…you don't know half of it. Where do I start…." I replied, beginning to explain what happened at the meeting as we drove back to our apartment.
Third Person P.O.V.:
Eventually the auditorium cleared until Simba, Kion, Bunga, and Tiifu were the only ones left.
Simba, having trouble coming to terms with the fact that his meeting, or rather rally, was a massive failure. He became slowly incensed until he reached a boiling point.
"AAARGH! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Simba yelled as he repeatedly slammed his fists on the speaker podium until he caused a crack to form on the surface.
"Don't worry honey. They just don't get it." Tiifu said in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah, I'm sure you will get them next time, with a little more convincing." Bunga said in a tone trying to be optimistic.
"Bunga's right dad. They were all just acting like idiots. Idiots that need to be guided to the right path" Kion said.
"Yeah, they're just idiots. Actually, they are more than just idiots! THEY ARE TRAITORS! ALL OF THEM! AND AFTER ALL THAT I HAVE DONE FOR THEM! ALL I HAVE DONE TO MAINTAIN PEACE IN THE PRIDE LANDS FOR THEIR SORRY ASSES! But don't worry. They will be dealt with. Trust me, they have not seen the last of me." Simba said in an angry, yet maniacal tone.