Nala awoke the following morning with a wide smile on her face.
Why? Because she had a friend! At long last! She had someone to have fun with! She hadn't felt this happy in such a long time!
Yesterday, Nala had moved into the Pride Lands with her mother, and her mother suggested that she should try and make some friends. After some failed attempts, she ended up accidentally bumping into Simba. Quite literally, actually.
Now Simba was someone you could have fun with! She couldn't remember a time when she'd had as much fun as yesterday. Simba and her just seemed so alike. They liked the same games, liked to talk about the same things, and they got on really well. They both had quickly become the best of friends.
Out of all the people she could have picked to be her friend, Simba was by far the best. Nala wouldn't have it any other way. He was just… the right person for her.
She got to her feet, and padded across the den and over to Simba, who was sleeping peacefully.
He was snoring lightly, and was muttering in his sleep.
"I just can't wait to be King… I just can't wait to be King…"
Nala giggled at this funny sight. He managed to be entertaining, even when he was asleep. She nudged him lightly, waking him up.
His eyes flicked open. "Nala?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "You woke me up?"
"Yeah," she replied, smiling.
"I was having a good dream, too," he told her.
"Let me guess… Were you thinking about how you just can't wait to be King?" she guessed playfully.
"How did you know?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"You were talking in your sleep."
Simba then looked embarrassed. "Oh…"
Nala giggled. "It was actually kinda funny."
Simba rubbed his eyes. "So, what do you want to do today?"
"Let's go find a really cool place!" he suggested excitedly.
"Cool place?" said Nala. "Like where?"
Simba shrugged. "I don't know, but let's go look!"
He hopped to his feet, ready to go look for an adventure. He bounded off toward the den exit, surprising Nala for a
second. He seemed very eager to do something. But then again, when didn't he?
The two were nearly out of the den when a figure stood in their way, stopping Simba dead in his tracks.
"Simba, where are you going?"
Simba smiled innocently at the sight of his father, Mufasa. "Oh… Me and Nala were just going to… explore."
Mufasa frowned. "I hope you're not thinking of sneaking off anywhere you shouldn't be."
Simba grinned. "Dad, how many times have I done that before?"
"Seventeen," came the reply.
Simba's face dropped. Nala giggled. "Oh… Well, I promise I won't this time. Can I go now?"
After a curious look at Simba, Mufasa smiled. "Very well. But you'll big in big trouble if I catch you in the Outlands. Understand?"
Simba smiled and nodded. "I understand." He turned to Nala. "Come on, Nala. Let's go."
The two ran around Mufasa and made their way down Pride Rock. Mufasa sighed as he watched the two leave.
His mate, Sarabi, wandered over to Mufasa, and followed his gaze. "They're not causing trouble again, are they?"
"I hope not," he replied. "I did warn him, but you know what Simba's like."
"Well, maybe now that he has a friend she'll be able to restrain him a little more," she told him.
"Maybe." Mufasa looked into his mate's eyes. "But, don't you find it a little odd who he chose to be his friend?"
"It's not surprising." She smiled, and begun to echo Mufasa when he was just a cub. "'You're my best friend, Sarabi.'"
Mufasa rolled his eyes. "I suppose I had that coming. Still, you never know… They might find they have an attraction to each other… One of these days."
"So, what's this place?" Nala asked as Simba led her into a spooky-looking area. The place looked deserted, dark and creepy. Dead trees and old rocks littered the place. It was probably the only part of the Pride Lands that didn't look beautiful.
"My Uncle Scar lives around here," Simba replied. "He likes to be on his own a lot. I don't know why, though…"
"It's kinda creepy around here," she commented, looking around. "I don't see why anyone would ever want to live here."
Simba nodded. "My Uncle Scar's kinda weird. He's still cool, though, and knows a lot of really neat stuff."
Nala shivered when she lifted up a rock and found the skull of a lion underneath. "Are you sure he's the only one who lives here?" she asked, holding the skull up for Simba to see.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, running over to Nala and looking the skull over. "I never noticed that here before!"
"Maybe that's because it wasn't here before," she suggested, holding the skull up to her face and peeking inside. She recoiled in horror, dropping the skull.
"What is it?" Simba asked.
"There's still… bits of brain in there," Nala replied, disgusted.
"Let me see," he said, picking up the skull and looking inside. "Gross!" he exclaimed, before putting the skull on top of his head. "Nice fit, though, huh?"
Nala batted the skull off the top of his head, smiling. "That's just sick."
"But cool," he said. "I wonder who put that skull there?"
"I bet it was your Uncle Scar," Nala replied.
"Uncle Scar?" Simba shook his head. "Nah. He wouldn't do anything like that."
"Then who did do it?" Nala challenged.
"Um… Somebody," Simba replied.
Nala smiled. "Good answer."
"Hey, it's kind of right," he argued.
"It doesn't narrow it down much," she said, walking over to a pile of rocks and searching through them. She screamed.
"What is it?" Simba asked, running over to her.
She pointed nervously at the pile of rocks. "M-M-More skulls," she stammered, scared.
"Someone really likes these things," Simba joked.