The Lion Swap: Return of the Roar

Part 4: We Are One

"Kiara what do you think you were doing?" Simba demanded, after he had sent Tumaini off. "You and Tumaini could've been killed today."

"But, Daddy, I... I didn't mean-" Kiara stuttered, crouching low to the ground, as if that would save her from her father's wrath.

"I'm telling you this because I love you," Simba said gently. "I don't want to lose you."

"I know," Kiara mumbled, risking a glance at her father's face. Sure, there was anger clear on his face, but there was also fear mixed in there.

Simba bent down to nuzzle his daughter, and Kiara could feel his wild heart still pounding fast in his chest. She frowned, concerned. "If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. You're my daughter and I love you."

"I know," repeated Kiara, her voice barely a whisper. The morning's conversation flashed to the front of her mind, but she shoved it back. She didn't want to deal with that now.

Simba frowned. "If this is about this morning-"

Looked like she was going to deal with it anyway. "I don't want to be royal," she burst out, not looking at her father, and tucking her tail between her legs. "It makes my life so much more complicated. I don't know what to do."

Shock was clear on Simba's face. For a while he was unable to talk before he said, "That's like saying you don't want to be a lion. It's part of your blood. As am I. We are part of each other."

In turn, Kiara closed her eyes and lifted her chin stubbornly, then snorted. Simba, however, used his paw to nudge her off the rock she was sitting on. She looked up in shock at her father, who grinned widely at her. She offered a hesitant grin, before getting back up. Simba and Kiara embraced each other, purring loudly, before Simba began to sing.

"As you go through life, you'll see 
There is so much that we
Don't understand."

Kiara and Simba watched a family of bluebirds - not Tumaini's - getting fed by their mother. One of the baby birds attempted to fly out of the nest, and Kiara smiled brightly at the bird. However, the mother noticed the missing chick and herded it back to the nest, and Kiara's smile slowly faded.

"And the only thing we know
Is things don't always go
The way we planned."

Simba bounded up a ridge that overlooked the Pride Lands, and Kiara followed him, her tail drooping a bit. Below them, a mother wildebeast was trying to help her calf stand up. Kiara grinned down at the calf as it fell a few times, always getting back up, before standing back up and beginning to run - and fastly too.

"But you'll see every day
That we'll never turn away
When it seems all your dreams come undone."

The mother wildebeast joined its calf, and began running alongside it before steering it back to the herd. Kiara looked up at her father confused, uncertain at where this was going, and Simba jumped off the ledge. Knowing that her father would get mad if she didn't, she followed behind him.

"We will stand by your side
Filled with hope and filled with pride
We are more than we are;
We are one."

Simba and Kiara journeyed into a small forest, and watched a family of baboons in line, eating ticks off one another. Kiara winced in disgust and followed her father to a swamp where a small family of hippos were. The baby hippo jumped from its mother's back to its father's, avoiding the water, before jumping into the water where no more bodies were and being lifted back to the surface by both its parents.

"Family, family,
We are one!
Family, family,
We are one!"

Kiara and Simba reached a river and strode over a log. Kiara paused to gaze at her reflection before joining the song, her melodic voice rippling through the land. Her father joined her in her reflection, before moving away at a fast pace. A fish jumped into Kiara's reflection, causing ripples on the lake. Kiara glanced up at the orange sky, the sun now slowly setting, her gaze following a group of birds flying overhead, near to where her father was.

"If there's something I must be,
Can I still just be me,
The way I am?

"Can I trust in my own heart?
Or am I just one part
Of some big plan?"

King Simba stood on a fallen tree, no doubt one of the last remnants of Scar's rule, and Kiara joined him on a lower branch. He stared up at a distant star that had come out early that evening before bending down to Kiara's level to lick her ear then straightening his body and looking up to the sky boldly. 

"Even those who are gone
Are with us as we go on.
Your journey has only begun.

"Tears of pain, tears of joy.
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride deep inside.
We are one!"

Simba suddenly jumped off the fallen tree, with Kiara at his heels. The king raced through a crowd of animals, his daughter chasing him. He paused for a bit to let Kiara catch up before continuing to run. She raced after him happily, a bright smile on her face.

"Family, family,
We are one!
Family, family,
We are one!"

Simba splashed through a small puddle, Kiara following him and making a much smaller splash. The two lions bounded up a small series ledges before Simba paused again and looked down at Kiara. The young lioness met his eyes, distress clear in her eyes.

"We are one, you and I,
We are like the earth and sky.
One family under the sun.

"All the wisdom we feed
All the courage that you need
You will find when you see,
We are one!"

The song ended, and Simba gestured to Pride Rock behind him. Kiara squinted unhappily at the sight of the natural stone architecture, frowning to herself. Simba followed her gaze, and a look of understanding passed him, and strided down to Kiara with a smile on his face. He nuzzled the young princess before licking her head. 

"As long as you live here, it's part of who you are" Simba told her, trying to comfort her in the best way possible. 

Glumly, Kiara nodded, lost in her thoughts. Simba purred then bounded up the trail to Pride Rock, leaving the lioness there. Kiara stood there for a while, thinking to herself, before joining her family.