Lion King (the Cub Days)

Finding Nala

"Nala," Simba howled as he sniffed the air. He had tracked Nala before but he didn't have his mother helping him before. Besides, what would he say to her?

He just wanted her to be safe. However what he had overheard about her father couldn't have been very encouraging. "Nala! Please answer me!"

He heard scuffling and looked up. Nala was in a tangle of brush and roots. He darted forward and his eyes flickered. "Are you alright?"

Nala narrowed her eyes and turned around so that Simba could look at her tail. She thrust a paw against the ground and hissed in anger.

"Nala please," Simba begged. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"My father always wanted to see me and my mom wouldn't let me," she grumbled as she thrust herself around to Simba. He could tell that she had been thinking about this intently. He knew how much she wanted to know her father and how because of the circumstances it had held her back from that. "Why would she do that?"

Simba's ear flicked. "Your mother knows what's best for you," he pointed out. "At least I know mine does. So if she doesn't want you to meet your father perhaps it's for the best."

Nala smiled a bit and crept out of the roots. She rubbed her cheek against Simba's and purred. "Thanks Simba. I feel a lot better now."

Simba's whiskers twitched in pride before he heard the pounding of paws. "Nala," screeched Sarafina as she skidded to a halt beside her daughter. She lowered down and licked her madly. "Don't you ever run off again like that, do you hear me?!"

Nala looked at her solemnly. "Yes mama."

Sarafina flicked her tail. "Well I suppose we should be heading home," she told Sarabi with a slight tilt of her muzzle.

Sarabi stretched and arched her back. "We should be going home too Simba," she told her son. "Your father will be starting to become worried about us."

"Okay," yawned Simba as his eyes began to droop. Sarabi purred and picked up her son by the scruff. He hung limply with his paws tucked toward his stomach.

Sarafina did the same to Nala and she carried her sleepy cub to their den close to the towering grass. Sarabi watched them go before padding forward with Simba hanging in her mouth. She sighed, knowing what lied ahead. Both cubs were still very young and had a lot to learn. She wasn't sure how she could teach them everything that they'd need to be ready for life as grown lions and lionesses. All she knew was is that she had to try.