"Just how do we end up in these situations?" Nala complained.

She and Simba had found themselves once again in trouble. Of course Nala blamed Simba entirely for all of this. It was his idea, his plan, his scheme. It was one hundred per cent his fault. She had nothing to do with it. She only suggested it to him.

Simba muttered something that Nala couldn't quite understand. She figured this was because of the fact he had a vine in his mouth at that moment.

The were both hanging in mid-air, dangling high above the huge gorge in the middle of the Pride Lands. Since the had such a thirst for adventure, the two cubs had decided to try and swing from a vine from one edge of the gorge to the other.

Needless to say, this didn't quite work out how they had planned it. The vine wasn't nearly long enough for the two of them to cross the entirety of the gorge, and they ended up stuck high in the air. Simba was biting on the vine to keep himself on, while Nala had her claws gripped tightly around Simba's tail.

This was putting enormous pressure on Simba. Not only did he have to keep himself from falling to his death, but he also had to keep Nala from falling to her death. And his tail felt like it was about to be ripped off completely. Great.

"Any plans?" Nala asked hopefully, looking up at him.

Simba managed to shake his head, and muttered something along the lines of "We're pretty much dead."

"Thought so," agreed Nala, looking down at the drop below. The fall would kill them. They'd become part of the great Circle of Life way sooner than they wanted to...

Simba – realising they were most likely going to die – decided to tell Nala something. "Nala, before we die, I just wanted to say I—"

Suddenly, the vine snapped, and Simba and Nala screamed as they fell to the ground – and to their deaths. The two cubs closed their eyes, not wanting to witness any part of their ugly, gruesome fate. They thought of everything that they would miss – their parents, their favourite places to go... each other.

The last thing the two of them heard before they died was a loud splash! Only, they weren't dead, they realised, once they came to their senses.

"Hey!" Simba exclaimed happily, once he realised what had saved them. "We're alive!"

Nala looked around, relived that they weren't dead. "Yeah! We're alive!"

On instinct, the two friends hugged each other tightly. They weren't dead! What a relief! They didn't think they'd ever had a more terrifying ordeal before!

What had saved them? A teeny, tiny little pool in the ground, just deep enough for the water to cushion their fall and save their lives. It was a miracle...

After a few seconds had passed, Simba noticed Nala was still hugging her, her eyes shut tight. "Uh, Nala... you can stop hugging me now."

"Oh," Nala said, realising she had been hanging on to her best friend for a little too long. "Sorry," she said, laughing embarrassedly.

Simba clambered out of the pool and shook himself dry. He reached out a paw to Nala, and helped her out.

"Thanks," she told him, flashing him a warm smile.

"No problem," Simba told her.

"By the way, Simba, what did you want to say to me when we were about to fall?" Nala asked, curious.

Simba suddenly looked very nervous. "Oh... Nothing."

"You sure?" Nala asked.

Simba nodded, looking shyly away from Nala. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Hmm... Nala thought, putting a paw to her chin thoughtfully. What's got him so nervous? She shrugged. Oh well, that's Simba all over. You can never figure him out.

"Uh..." Nala cleared her throat. "I just wanted to say... err, thanks."

Simba looked a little confused. "Thanks for what?"

"For hanging on," Nala explained. "It must have taken a lot of... uh, strength. You know. You must have really cared about me to hang on for that long."

Simba blushed beneath his fur. "I... I guess I do. You are my best friend, after all. I'll always take care of you."

Things like that made Nala's heart warm up. There was a certain sense of... care between the two cubs. Their friendship was stronger than that of any other cubs in the pride. They were inseparable, it would seem. Both of them knew that.

Simba walked closer to Nala, and they stared into each other's eyes. "No matter what, we'll always be friends, right?"

Nala smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. No matter what."

Simba glanced up at the sky. It was getting late, and the sky had turned a beautiful red, not a could in sight. It was really something. The weather was always like this in the Pride Lands. You got exactly the right amount of sun and exactly the right amount of rain. The weather was perfect.

Unfortunately, for cubs like Simba and Nala, they hardly had time to enjoy the night, as dictated by their parents. "Always in by sundown," they said. "It's not healthy for cubs your age to stay out this late," they said.

Well, that latter statement was completely wrong. Both Simba and Nala had heard the rest of the cubs in the pride up far later than the time they had to go to sleep. Was that fair? They certainly didn't think so. What did they do to deserve this?

Simba groaned when he realised they had to go in. "Great. Time to go to sleep. Again."

Nala rolled her eyes. "I knew you were gonna say that. We never should have wasted our time trying to swing over the stupid gorge."

Simba nodded. "Yeah. Oh well, there's always tomorrow."

"I guess so," Nala agreed, kind of seeing his point. Every day for the two friends was different. They were always off doing different things every day. Unlike the other cubs, who would just make the same jokes, talk about the same things and practically bore themselves to death every day. It was a relief Simba and Nala were completely different from them.

"Come on," said Simba, walking away. He looked back at her, and waggled his back. "I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Nala giggled, and clambered onto his back. "Thanks. Uh... Why are you giving me a piggyback ride, though?"

"You're probably tired from that fall," he told her. "I said I'd always take care of you, didn't I?"

Nala smiled warmly at him. "Yeah. Just don't expect me to give you one tomorrow."

Simba laughed, and started making his way home. He'd try to make the journey back as slow as possible, desperate to stay up for as long as he could.