Lion King One Shots

A Rundown

It was afternoon in the Pridelands. The worst heat of the day had finally passed and animals were once again out and about as well as cooling off. The lionesses of Pride Rock had spent noon indoors after spending most of the morning hunting and eating. Midday was no time to be outside in the scorching sun, even under a shady tree. Now, however, was a perfect time of day and the lionesses all made their way down to an area dedicated to lounging, a place with lots of trees to lie under and just high enough up for a light breeze to flow around them. Everyone had just about settled in when they were interrupted and woken up by the two youngest of the Pride who came barging in on them. They were met with many warning glances from the rest of the lionesses. They slowed down and quietly walked towards their mothers. "What do you have to say for yourself young man?" Sarabi asked sternly. "I'm sorry. But we've been inside all day and it's boring," Simba complained. "Yeah, we wanna go outside and play!" Nala chimed in. Sarafina and Sarabi looked at each other, sighed and finally nodded. "Fine, fine, you two can go play. But be careful!" Sarabi warned. The two cubs looked at each other happily and bolted down the steps of Pride Rock. "AND NO RUNNING!" Sarafina shouted after them. But it fell on death ears as the cubs were too excited and too far away to hear anything.

***

After playing all afternoon both Simba and Nala were exhausted. The pair climbed up the stairs of Pride Rock and parted ways as Nala turned to go inside the den with her mother. Simba stayed outside for a little while longer. "DAD!" Simba shouted as he sprinted towards his father who looked up at the sound of his son's voice. Mufasa chuckled. "Woah, slow down there," he said. "There's no stopping him," Sarabi said, smiling at her mate. "Well he might just have to join me on a run tomorrow, won't he?" Mufasa asked her. "Huh, there's an idea. I think that sounds like a great plan," she replied. "What? What? WHAT!" Simba exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I was thinking you could join me tomorrow on sort of a patrol," Mufasa started explaining to his son but he didn't get to finish before he was interrupted by Simba. "WOOHOO! Yes, yes, yes, yes," Simba shouted as he jumped up and down once again. "Hey hey, quiet down now," Mufasa said with a tone in his voice that indicated for Simba to stop. "Sorry," Simba whispered. "What your father is trying to say, Simba, is that you will go with him tomorrow morning and be back around noon," Sarabi said. Their son nodded enthusiastically and ran inside to tell his best friend, Nala, the good news. The King and Queen shook their heads and chuckled lightly at their son. "I have to head back out for night patrol, but I'll be back soon," Mufasa said quietly as he nuzzled his mate. "Don't be too long," Sarabi replied, returning the nuzzle and giving her mate a quick lick on the cheek.

"Mom...what...will...I be...doing tomorrow?" Simba asked in between chewing his food. Sarabi gave him a look. "Simba, don't speak with your mouth full," she said. Simba swallowed his food and asked again. "I don't know but you can ask your dad when he gets back," she replied. "Now come on, it's time for your bath and then it's bedtime," she stated as she quickly grabbed Simba by the tail and pulled him towards her. Trying to get away but failing, the Prince started to squirm as his mother carried him to their sleeping area. "Mom, stop, I can do it myself!" he protested. She disagreed and that resulted in him being even more annoyed. The bath came to a halt as Mufasa entered the den which distracted Sarabi from what she was doing. The mischievous young cub took this opportunity to get away and greet his father, which he managed to do successfully. "Simba! Get back here," Sarabi ordered. "Son, do as your mother tells you," the King said as he went to eat dinner. Simba huffed as he walked back to Sarabi and let her finish cleaning him. Once she was done she nuzzled him affectionately and started to purr. Although still slightly annoyed, Simba couldn't stay mad for long and returned the nuzzle. The young cub then curled up in his mothers paws. "As much as he tries to resist, he will always be my baby," Sarabi said as Mufasa joined and lay down beside them. She then lowered her head and closed her eyes. "Goodnight," she said. "Goodnight my love," Mufasa replied as he gently licked the top of her head and closed his eyes too.

***

The next morning, the Prince awoke bright and early. He couldn't contain his excitement any longer and wanted so bad for the day to start. However the sun wasn't even up yet. Sarabi sensed her son was awake and softly said, "Simba go back to sleep. The sun won't be up for a while so neither will your father." The young cub sighed and reluctantly lay back down to try and sleep some more. A few hours later he awoke to the sun shining through the den and into his eyes. He opened them and squinted slightly, looking around the den. He noticed his dad was already up and decided to go check where he went. "Hey Simba! What are you up to?" a curious cub asked. Simba turned to his best friend. "I'm looking for my dad. He said I could go on patrol with him today," he replied. Nala nodded. "Okay, well have fun. Do you wanna play tonight though?" she asked. "Yeh sure, I'll see you!" Simba called after her as she retreated back into the den to find her mother. As soon as she did, Sarabi emerged from the den, stretched and headed towards her son. "Mom, where's dad?" he complained. "Well good morning to you too," Sarabi responded, laughing slightly as she licked him gently. Simba frowned up at her but didn't resist. Soon enough a figure emerged from the steps of Pride Rock. It was the King, who had decided to do a brief patrol without his son just in case there were any dangers. "Dad!" Simba shouted as he ran up to him. "I thought you forgot," he continued. "How could I forget! Now run along down the steps," he said. "And be careful!" Mufasa added shouting down at his already speedy son. Sarabi shook her head in dismay with a small smile on her face. "What is it?" Mufasa asked with a smirk. "Oh nothing, just reminds me of someone I know," she winked. The King was about to lunge at his Queen when he heard a shout from down below. Simba was telling his dad to hurry up. "I'm coming!" Mufasa shouted back. "See you later," Sarabi said with a smile as she quickly licked him on the cheek and went back in to rally the lionesses for the morning hunt.

***

Simba felt like he was flying. Running alongside his dad, feeling the breeze flow around him, watching the grasslands zoom by them and all the animals grazing in them. Mufasa slowed down a bit so his son could catch up. He looked down at him and smiled. Simba returned it with a huge grin on his face laughing as he ran ahead of his father. "So what do you do on patrol dad," Simba asked. "Well after I talk to Zazu and get the morning report I set out to do today's tasks. If I come across bumps along the way, I handle those accordingly. But everyday is different and new," he explained. The young cub looked up at his father in awe. "Wow! You're amazing, dad," he said. "Haha, I don't know about that but I'm glad you see it that way," Mufasa said. "Now tell me about your day yesterday," he started. "My..my day?" Simba questioned. "Yes. On the late afternoon patrols I often go over what things I did during the day. It's your turn to tell me a bit about your day," he replied. Simba nodded. "Well my day started off with playing with Nala. She's my best friend and so much fun. We always have a great time when we play. I love to play tag, but she prefers pinned ya. I think it's just because she's good at it and always wins but whatever," Simba said as he started explaining his day. "But it was too hot and so mom and Sarafina forced us to come inside which was annoying. We had to stay inside the den ALL noon. It was forever!!" Simba said dramatically. "Finally, we were allowed to go back outside and play. It was much cooler and...we made the lionesses mad.." he said as he looked up at his dad who smirked. "Yeah we were maybeee being a bit too loud around the lounging area," Simba laughed. Mufasa was happy. There wasn't much time for hearing about every detail of Simba's day and now was as perfect a time as any to get a full rundown.