Chapter Text
The sun began to rise, its rays stretching across the fields of the Pride Lands, bathing them in a golden glow. Animals were slowly stirring awake, eager to start their day but still reluctant to rise from their slumber. In the center of these lush lands stood a giant rock formation that just a couple of years ago, was once a symbol of destruction. It was a slow process, but the lands were still slowly growing to what it once was.
Now, Pride Rock stood proudly once more as a symbol of peace and respect for the Circle of Life, and it was all thanks to the patience and kindness of the current king and queen of the Pride Lands.
At the protruding edge of the rocky form, there sat two figures, watching over said lands. King Simba gazed at the sun rising, feeling the soft breeze blow through his mane, a maroon color that now looked a fiery red due to the rising sun.
“Everything the light touches is part of our kingdom,” he spoke regally. Even though he had only heard this speech once from his own father, Mufasa’s words still echoed clearly in his mind as he said them out loud to his own heir. “The Pride Lands.”
Simba heard a quiet yawn from next to him. Confused, the lion king looked down to see that his daughter, Kiara, had fallen asleep while miraculously sitting upright, except for her head that began to loll to one side.
Rolling his eyes, Simba gave a huff of exasperation before he called out to his cub, even nudging her sleeping form. With a short snort and groan, the young princess opened her amber-red eyes, reflecting her father’s own.
“Huh, what?”
“Kiara, were you even listening?” Simba couldn’t help but smirk at how his cub would stand up and stretch her numb limbs, letting out a big yawn. “This speech is kind of important for you to listen to, you know?”
“I know, I know. I just don’t get why it has to be this early…”
Simba sighed as he allowed for his daughter to walk up closer to him, snuggling herself into his left front leg. “Well, it’s the best time for it. Besides, I also know that this behavior of yours is also due to your excitement to be queen,” he pointed out sarcastically. When he received no answer but a short, annoyed huff from Kiara, Simba knew he had hit the mark.
He brushed off the slight tension in the air and turned his head to look over his kingdom, now brighter, with animals beginning to roam around the grass. “Ruling it is a big responsibility, Kiara,” Simba continued, hoping that his daughter was maybe paying attention to his words, “And someday, when you’re Queen…”
A voice saying, “Heads up! Incoming,” was the only warning Simba got before something collided with his head from above, making him grunt in surprise and slight pain. A tan and gold blur jumped across his vision, and Simba could hear laughter and chattering.
Raising a paw to his head to will the throbbing to go away, he felt a sizable bump within his mane that could rival the consequences of being on Rafiki’s bad side.
“Oh! Sorry, Dad.” Simba lifted his head a bit to see that his youngest child was now in front of him. Prince Kion of the Pride Lands, a lighter colored version of himself from when he was a child, and the only big difference between a younger Simba and the cub being the tuft of red-auburn hair at the top of his head.
If he thought that Kiara acted a lot like him as a cub, Kion was just as bad. If Simba was being honest, he was more than sure that both children were a concerning combination of both of their parents. Simba really felt the need to apologize to his mother, along with Timon and Pumbaa…and probably the rest of the pride.
“Kion…” he sighed.
The cub gave his father a lopsided grin. “It’s just that me and Bunga were playing Baobab Ball- “
“And Kion couldn’t handle the pass!” Bunga, Kion’s best friend interrupted. The little honey badger couldn’t be a worse influence for his son, but Simba couldn’t help but feel fond of the little mammal. It was probably because Bunga was currently being raised by those who raised him in the first place.
“What?” Kion’s indignant shout tore Simba from his thoughts, “A giraffe couldn’t handle it. You kicked it over my head!”
“Kion...” Simba tried to catch his son’s attention, but to no avail.
“And you couldn’t handle it.”
“Bunga…” Yup, the badger definitely had a skill for riling someone up.
“Yeah? Try to handle this!” In an instant, Kion pounced over Bunga, roughhousing with his friend and tugging on the Baobab fruit that they’ve been using as a ball.
Kiara probably saw how dejected her father looked because Simba heard her snickering from beside him. He turned to look at her with a deadpanned expression and she fell over to the side, laughing. Simba then remembered how early it was, which raised a few questions.
“Wait, Kion, you were sleeping when I woke up. I didn’t even hear you come out of the den, is there another opening to the cave I don’t know about? Have you been sneaking out without me knowing?”
“Jeez, Simba, lighten up,” Bunga laughed out before grunting as he dodged another one of Kion’s pounces, “Quit being such a worrywart!” Simba swore he could feel his eye twitch at the comment, so instead of lashing out, he took a deep breath before shouting lightly.
“Boys!”
Kion’s eyes widened at the sound of his dad’s voice and let go of the fruit that was between his teeth and was being tugged on by Bunga, who in turn flew into the air as the tugging ceased from the lion cub’s side.
The cub moved closer to Simba, his small shoulders hunched over, enhancing just how young Kion was, including the cub spots that he sported on his legs.
Simba’s heart warmed a bit as he eased his son’s tension with a soft ruffle to Kion’s head with his paw. “Alright Kion, as much as I would like for you to stay here until I finish talking with Kiara, I suppose that as long as you don’t trail away from the paths I set for you and your sister, you can go out to play with Bunga.”
Kion perked up happily, and Simba grinned before looking next to him to see that his eldest was missing. He turned around quickly and chuckled seeing how his daughter was sneaking away from him. “As for you…”
Kiara had no time to escape before she felt Simba’s mouth pick her up by the scruff. “No, Dad!”
Simba walked over back to the peak of Pride Rock, setting Kiara back on the ground next to her brother. “You still need a few more instructions, considering that you will be tracking gazelles with your friends today.”
Kion smirked, and in typical little brother fashion, he teased. “Yeah, because you’re training to be- “
“Queen of the Pride Lands. Yeah, yeah. I know all about it, Kion,” Kiara groaned out. “Dear, little brother, why don’t you go away and let me suffer in peace.”
“Maybe I will but let me just enjoy that face you’re making right now for a bit, it’s funny,” the young prince teased again, getting really close to his sister’s face, who in turn growled lowly.
Before his children could cause any chaos, Simba nudged Kion away from Kiara. “Alright you two, that’s enough. Kion, you and Bunga can go play around. As long as you don’t stray too far from the paths I’ve marked.”
“Yes,” Bunga exclaimed, pumping up his fist in the air, “I know the perfect place!” The badger made a grab for the Baobab fruit, lifting it high in the air at the edge of Pride Rock, singing, “Hey, Kion! You’ll never get the Baobab fruit, no.”
Kion got into a pouncing stance. “Ha! You got nowhere to go, Bunga!”
“Says you!” With that, Kion’s best friend jumped from the edge of Pride Rock, down onto some trees that were beneath the royal home. Bunga began running through the Pride Lands, shouting challenges at Kion, who was now taking the safer route down Pride Rock.
“Game on Bunga! Later, Dad. Have fun tracking those gazelles, Kiara. I got to get Bunga!”
Simba smirked as he watched his son run to catch up with his best friend, aware of the small inkling of worrying fear that flashed in his mind. The whole situation that had happened with Kiara just months ago was enough for him to unconsciously increase his worrying habits now that he had two adventurous children.
But he supposed that he could trust Kion to make the right decisions for a while. He wasn’t nearly as reckless as Kiara.
“I can’t believe we’re related,” Kiara sighed, irritated that she still had to stay for more queenly lessons. Simba couldn’t help but grin, he was actually glad that his youngest could have fun, as long as it was safe, Kion still had a ways to go before he grew up, but for Kiara’s sake…
“Kion will grow up someday,” Simba smiled down reassuringly at his daughter, then muttering quietly to himself, “I hope.”