Chapter 1: Reunion in the Forest
The air was filled with fresh and sweet aromas. The heady perfume of wildflowers mingled with the earthy aroma of damp earth, while trees, tall and proud, rose towards the sky in a symphony of shapes and shades of green. Its intertwined branches formed a leafy canopy that filtered the golden rays of the sun, creating a play of light and shadow on the moss-covered ground. After all, this was the forest and, along a path that reached the heart of it, there was a most peculiar group:
"Woah," said a lion cub, seeing such an amount of majesty before his eyes, "Is this Bambi and Hana's house?"
"That's right, Simba," his mother told him, "This is the forest"
"We once heard a bear talking about a forest, but I can't believe we're in a place like that, remember, Maya?" said another cub, named Nabil.
"Yes, I remember... old Yumo," she replied.
"And what happend with him?" Simba asked, "Don't tell me that…"
"No... they sold it. To people who seemed better, I suppose the owner didn't see much future in him, but a bird informed us one day that he was fine and had been released. Let's leave that in the past… is it true that you have been here before, Mr. Dan?"
"Yes, Maya…" the adult lion responded, "It seems like everything is still as alive as ever, don't you think, Shany?"
"The sense of the flowers, the singing of the birds, the rustling of the wind and the rustling of the branches under our paws" described the lioness, "Yes, everything was like the first time we came. Although I still regret having gotten ahead of myself."
"Hum? What do you mean, mom?" Amira asked.
"Uh... nothing, honey."
"What are you doing Sam?" Simba asked.
The little dog was closing his eyes and sniffing the freshness of the environment while moving his ears.
"Well, I can't see colors, only smell and hear the sounds of the forest," Sam answered.
"Can't you see the colors?" asked the egret above them, "Do you have a problem with your eyes? You could have told us before…"
"No, Mr. Ono. The thing is that I was already born this way... dogs have limited vision, but we compensate with a better sense of smell and hearing."
"Maybe we can change that," Dan told him, "If we get to the heart of the forest... maybe..."
"We haven't tried it in years, but maybe it works, like you say," Shany supported.
"What thing?" Simba asked, to which the others asked the same thing.
"You'll see…" Dan only said, as they continued their walk.
The group finally reached a clearing covered in old fallen leaves, which had left the tree to make way for new, fresh, more green leaves. On one side, there was a small burrow hole that could fit a rabbit, but it was filled with fresh, freshly cut flowers.
"Woah, so many flowers," Amira commented, trying to put her head in, but Shany stopped her.
"I wouldn't do it if I were you, daughter," she told her. Then, she turned back to the burrow and exclaimed without getting closer: "Hello? are you there?"
Several of the flowers inside began to move as if they were blankets covering someone... and that someone was a skunk waking up from a long sleep. After clearing her vision, she stuck her head out of the burrow and found the group.
"That's... a skunk?" Ono asked.
"Who is it?" She asked sleepily, "Do we know each other?"
"We haven't seen each other in a while, Rosa," Shany told her.
"Yes, you really don't remember us?" Dan asked.
Rosa cleared her vision again and hesitated for a few seconds before exclaiming:
"Dan? Shany? Woah! How much you have both grown!"
"Yes, and you too," Shany told him, "You're a little bigger than the last time we saw each other."
"Yes, not as much as you... oh! And they are... your children?"
"Just Simba and Amira," Dan corrected, "Maya, Nabil and Sam are friends of Simba, and Ono is our royal advisor…"
"We were waiting for you!" exclaimed another voice and a rabbit appeared jumping on Simba's back, "Wow, you've changed nothing for us, Dan... and neither have you, Shany."
"Er... my name is Simba," the cub corrected, as confused as his sister.
"Bell!" said Dan, "No, Bell, this is our son Simba and this is our daughter, Amira."
"Ha ha ha. I'm joking. I heard you from afar," he said while touching his long ears, "Remember? I have three times more hearing than you"
Everyone laughed at that comment about Bell's ears. When things had calmed down, the figure of a large adult deer emerged from the nearby bushes, followed by two fawns.
"It already seemed to me that someone was laughing quite happily," said the newcomer, bowing slightly. "It is an honor that you have accepted our invitation, King and Queen of the Pride Lands."
"We would not have refused a message from a neighbor, Great Prince of the Forest," Shany responded, also imitating the bow and winking. Ono did the same.
"Let alone a message from a friend…" Dan followed, doing the same. When they were done, he added, "I guess, can we drop the formalities, Geno?"
"Of course, my friends, Dan…Shany…" Geno laughed, "Come on, they're waiting for us."
The group advanced through another path, to Meanwhile, Bambi and Hanna had reunited with their old friends.
"How have you been Simba? And you, Amira?" Bambi asked.
"We had a couple of emotions, not much to tell" Simba replied.
"Don't believe him, he actually had problems a long time ago…" Amira told them.
"Hey!"
"Hehehe," Bambi laughed, "I guess I get the picture. By the way, who are they?"
"Oh, sorry…" said Maya, "My name is Maya and this is Nabil."
"Nice to meet you," said Nabil.
"It's nice to meet you too," Bambi greeted, "But what happened to the rest of your family?"
"Haki is practicing his roar with our uncle," Simba replied.
"And Salma wanted to go with our aunt for a relaxing day at the mud pits with Dalia," Amira added, "She's...another friend of ours. Oh, and another friend, Milo, is having a healing herbs class, or something... things to learn about curing animals."
(Meanwhile, the adults had their own conversation ...)
"How is Gurri?" Shany asked Geno, "I don't see her around."
"She's fine, but she can't come out of her burrow anymore," he replied.
"What happens? Is she sick?" Dan asked.
"No, but she is waiting for her baby. Her partner is with her and takes care of her at all times."
"Oh, congratulations on your nephew or niece, Great Prince of the Forest," Ono told him.
"Thanks Ono, but just tell me Geno," he replied, "We can meet with her after the meeting, if you want. Look, we've arrived."
Finally, all together they arrived at a charming clearing, as if nature itself had created a sanctuary to welcome them. The sun filtered generously through the branches, bathing the clearing in a warm, golden light. There, in the middle of the clearing, a congregation of forest animals was waiting for them. Majestic deer with their antlers raised, stealthy foxes with their shiny coats, rabbits jumping with agility and birds of dazzling colors that fluttered happily overhead. Among all of them, one of the best known was a wise old owl that watched them from the highest branches.
"Greetings Great Prince of the Forest!" Owl greeted them, "And you, Kings of the Pride lands! It is a great honor to be in your presence!"
Several of the animals bowed to them, which was still a little uncomfortable for Dan, and apparently for Geno as well. Among the group of animals, an adult deer approached them.
"Mom!" exclaimed Bambi and Hanna, "Look, they are our friends!"
"Yes, I think you all are adorable," she replied. Then, she turned to Dan and Shany, "It is an honor to finally see you, your majesties. My name is Selene."
"Nice to meet you, Selene," Dan and Shany greeted, and then they introduced those who were accompanying them.
Despite all the damage that the dogs had done in the past, the animals soon noticed the difference between those red hunting dogs and the white puppy that accompanied the group of lions. Even if there is mistrust, no one would dare to discriminate against Sam, since he was a close friend of the King of the Pride lands and, consequently, of the Great Prince of the forest. Even so, many did not take their eyes off him, in case they saw him barking.
"Hey, the meeting is going to be pretty long," Bambi said to his friends, "Do you want to go see a great place?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Simba, Nabil, Maya and Milo.
"But it's sure?" asked Amira, who was the more cautious one. Besides, he knew his brother well enough to avoid getting into trouble.
"Very sure," Hanna replied, "His parents know it too."
Simba and Amira looked at them quite confused.
"Let's go to the heart of the forest," said Bambi.
"Where are you guys planning to go?" asked Shany, who had heard them.
The cubs felt trapped at that moment. However, she turned and called Ono.
"Ono, please accompany them," she said.
"At your command, your majesty," the counselor agreed.
As Shany watched them leave, she quickly changed her view when she heard old Owl speak:
"Well, since we are all gathered here, shall we begin?" He asked and several nodded positively, "Well, our first topic to discuss comes from the kings of the Pride Lands... Your Majesty, may you start?"
"Yes, Mr. Owl," Dan replied, standing up, "Well, in a group effort with the Faraway Kings, we have managed to drive a group of rebellious hyenas to a remote area where they will barely have enough to supply themselves and sustain themselves."
Several voices began to spread like gossip between people. An old porcupine growled:
"Why give them something they don't deserve?"
Several squirrels spread the word as before, questioning that question with support from the porcupine. Dan was about to respond, but Geno spoke up first:
"The greatest virtue we share is our collaboration with our animal brothers," he said, "It is true that many deviate from the correct cycle of life, but they remain part of it like us. We cannot deny them the treasure of life, but we cannot completely separate them from it either.
"The Great Prince has a very good point of view," Owl inquired.
"But they don't have the right to separate us from the cycle either," the Porcupine growled again, "Do you remember the dogs? Those fleas worked with humans to hunt us! And they even killed your grandfather, prince... Now, is the King of the Pride lands coming with one to befriend us? How do we know not to watch our backs?"
Several squirrels began to tremble and say, "True! True!"
"We met Sam," Bell interrupted, "And he's really good."
"Yes," Rosa supported, "He didn't attack us."
"Sam is still a pup," Shany continued, "We've been taking care of him for a few weeks and he gets along well with our cubs."
"And when does he grow up?" A voice was heard, presumably that of one of the squirrels because of its sharpness.
A new wave of murmurs began to run among various animals. Dan, seeing that they were hesitating too much, put one paw forward, which immediately silenced several of them. Although he had no aggressive motives, one must not forget that he was a lion and his figure was imposing while causing a slight shudder.
"Sam has suffered just like we," he told them, "When I found him, he only had his grandfather as his only family, but he was already dying: both had been rejected by humans and even had to hide from them, or they would be separated forever. That was the case with his parents. Like almost everyone here, that generated in him a hatred of humans that I didn't want to grow, that's why I brought him to the Pride Lands as his grandfather's last request... dogs are not bad, they are guided by humans so that they attack others and, those that humans reject and marginalize, end up as our friend."
There was a dead silence, no one had anything to say about such a sad story when they understood the pup's suffering. Finally, Geno spoke again:
"Everyone here has suffered, yes. But if we do not leave regrets behind, we will not be able to walk towards a new dawn; We must see from the heart, not be carried away by appearances. After all, isn't our union our most powerful gift?"
And, at these words, everyone, including the porcupine, nodded, repentant for having hesitated, giving that new member a chance.