Simba and Nala looked at each other, recognising the voice instantly and knowing their hopes for an adventure had been well and truly eliminated. They frowned and slowly turned to face Zazu, who was perched on top of a little rock next to the den entrance. He had a little smile on his beak, which told the two cubs that Zazu was going to get some fun out of this.
Simba sighed. "Zazu, go away."
Zazu shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, young master. Your father has given me strict instructions to keep a watchful eye over you while you are 'grounded', which I believe is the term you cubs use."
"Come on, Zazu!" Simba argued. "We're supposed to be allowed out today anyway, so just let us go."
"You may be allowed out today, but not until your father says so," Zazu explained.
"I bet you're just making it up," Nala accused. "Because we almost killed you the other day."
"Forgive and forget, as my mother used to say," Zazu replied. "I already got my revenge the very day you tried to kill me, if you remember correctly. Today I'm just doing what I do every day – my job."
"But Zazu—" Simba began, before Zazu cut him off.
"Simba, I'm not going to let you off the hook this time," Zazu told him firmly. "I suggest you go back in and wait a little longer for your father to return. If you do wait, then I just might not tell him where you were planning on sneaking off to."
Simba narrowed his eyes at Zazu's little remark. "'Might'? What do you mean, 'might'?"
"Well, I might tell him, I might not. You'll have to wait and see," Zazu said with a sneaky smile.
Simba growled. "You little creep…" Simba got ready to pounce at Zazu, before Nala put a paw on his shoulder.
"Simba, he's not worth it," Nala told him. "You'll just make it worse for yourself – well, actually, you'll make it worse for us," she said with a smile.
Simba steadied himself, deciding not to pluck a few feathers from Zazu's body. "Guess you're right," he admitted, a sad look on his face.
"The females are always smarter," Zazu remarked. "Nana Zubat always used to say that."
Simba and Nala reluctantly retreated into the den, admitting defeat. It looked like they were going to be waiting for a little bit longer before they could smell the air of freedom. Being a cub really sucked sometimes…
"What now?" Nala asked.
"Live out the rest of our lives in this cave?" Simba suggested. "Because that's what it feels like."
"I know," Nala agreed.
Simba fell on to his back, closing his eyes. "You know, I might as well go to sleep. It's better than being stuck here doing nothing."
"Is it really that bad?" Nala asked, laughing as she did so.
"Looks like it," he replied. "Wake me up in a year or two."
"A year or two?" said Nala, echoing his words. "Why?"
"Because by then I'll be King and I can fire Zazu," he answered.
Nala giggled. Simba… He could be so funny sometimes! Another reason to add to her 'Why I Like My Best Friend So Much' list.
Nala wandered over to Simba, and she lay beside him, looking up at the ceiling. "Looks like someone will have to wake us b oth up," she joked to Simba.
Simba laughed, opening his eyes and rolling over to look at Nala. "Yeah, you're right. It's so boring we actually want it to be bedtime. If it stays like this then—"
Simba then realised that he had been saying all this while he and Nala's noses were touching.
Nala smiled nervously, while Simba laughed nervously, rolling back over so he was looking away from Nala, mouthing something along the lines of, "Did she actually like that?"
"Simba, did you plan on that?" Nala asked, smiling, referring to the nose touching.
"Huh?" said Simba, becoming incredibly nervous again. "N–N–No," he stammered a reply, "why would I d–do that?"
Nala frowned. "Oh. Nothing. Just asking, that's all."
Simba breathed an imaginary sigh of relief in his head. That was a close one! he thought happily.
"Simba," a deep voice called from the den entrance. Simba and Nala both looked up to see Simba's father, King Mufasa.
"Dad!" Simba exclaimed, relieved that now his father was here he could finally go out. "Are we allowed out now?"
There was a tense second of silence before Mufasa spoke. "Yes, son," he finally answered.
"All right!" Simba exclaimed, bolting towards the outside world with Nala by his side.
"But don't go getting into anymore trouble," Mufasa warned the two. "Otherwise next time you'll be spending doub le the time you were in here."
"We promise," Simba told his dad.
"Good," said Mufasa. "And make sure you're back before it's get dark."
"Okay, okay," Simba said. "See you later!"
And with that, the two cubs were free to do as they pleased. Today they were going to be much more careful. They just couldn't go through anything like that again! Today they were going to play it safe.
"Finally!" Simba exclaimed to Nala as they made their way down Pride Rock and into the Pride Lands. "I thought we'd never get out of there!"
"Me, too," agreed Nala. "So, what do we do first? We could swim in the water hole, take a look around the Outlands, or we could even go to the jungle!"
"We could get in trouble if we do that," Simba pointed out. "Don't you think we should be a bit less… adventurous today?"
"That's not like you," Nala told him.
"I do not want to spend more time in the den. Sleeping there was hard enough for me. We need to take it easy today. Do something fun that… you know, won't get us grounded?"
"Good point," said Nala, stopping and looking around thoughtfully. "There's gotta be something fun to do around here…"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Simba. "We could… Uh… Um…"
"Go on," Nala urged, smiling. She knew full well that Simba wouldn't be able to think of anything. That was the way he worked.
Simba frowned, seeing the look on her face. "Okay, so maybe I can't think of something to do that won't get us in trouble.
We're not used to that. Doing unexciting things is what boring people do, like… like the other cubs around here. They're so boring they'd put me to sleep after five seconds of listening to them!"
"So you're saying we're pretty much doomed?" concluded Nala.
Simba nodded. "Yep."