Love Unites Us All

Bonding Time, and a Sudden Realization

Chapter 4: Bonding Time, and a Sudden Realization

It didn't take long for the news about Fuli's pregnancy to spread across the Pridelands; just a few hours after Rafiki inspected the Cheetah and broke the news, animals all over the Pridelands flooded inside and around Pride Rock, all of them lined up and eager to pay their respects and well-wishes to the Royal Family for Fuli's expectancy. The scenery inside the den was very much hectic than anyone expected, as the Pridelands' animals crowded inside in hopes of being able to meet with the expecting couple and wish them their congratulations.

The Lioness hunters were especially busy during the impromptu occasion, as they were all burdened with the task of keeping the crowd of visiting animals under control as well as ensuring the safety of members of the Royal Family. As morning turned to mid-day, the number of visiting animals to Pride Rock grew in the hundreds. While the other inhabitants of Pride Rock were busy entertaining these animals, King Simba couldn't help but notice that his two grandchildren, namely Mwamba and Hasina, were very uncomfortable and anxious by all the unexpected visitors, so he offered their parents to bring them away from Pride Rock for an hour or two until all the excitement had died down.

"Grandpa Simba, why exactly did Mum fainted on the way to Pride Rock this morning?" Mwamba asked, as the trio made their way through the surrounding meadows and away from Pride Rock.

"Yeah, and why were all those animals entering our den? Don't they know that we actually eat some of them? Aren't they supposed to be afraid of us?" Hasina joined in as she skipped along beside Mwamba.

The old King chuckled to himself, very much amused by the questions that were thrown at him by the two young cubs, particularly by the ones that were asked by Hasina. "Alright, alright, one at a time now," he laughed, smiling at his scampering grandchildren. "Well, let's start by answering Mwamba's question first."

He turned to focus his attention on his grandson. "Mwamba, the reason why your mum fainted just now was because she's currently pregnant with your sibling," he explained in a soft tone of voice.

"Ohhh, I see. Wait, what does being pregnant mean, Grandpa?"

"Well, being pregnant means that she's carrying another cub inside her stomach, Mwamba, and that cub will eventually come out and will become your brother or your sister."

"Whoah... she's carrying another cub inside her stomach? How did that happen? Did Daddy have something to do with it?"

By now, Simba couldn't hold back his laughter at the young one's innocent curiosity. "Well, uh... in a way, yes, he did have something to do it... but it's not really appropriate to discuss how exactly he did it," Simba replied with a subtle grin, causing Mwamba and Hasina to exchange a confused glance at each other.

"Err... okay. But how will my brother or sister look like when he or she comes out? Will he be a Lion or a Cheetah?"

"Oh... well, that's quite a tough question, Mwamba," Simba said, who was honestly stumped by the cub's question. "Usually, Lions will marry with Lions, and Cheetahs will marry with other Cheetahs. But in this case-"

"So why did Uncle Kion and Aunt Fuli marry each other, then?" Hasina interrupted him.

Simba smiled at her. "Simple, Hasina, it's because they're in love with each other. And when two animals are in love, almost nothing will stop them from wanting to marry each other, even if they are animals of different species. That's one of the many beauties of 'Love'; it brings and unites animals together, regardless of size and species."

The two cubs nodded, slowly understanding their grandfather's explanations.

Simba continued, "And so, when Kion and Fuli got married... well, only the Great Kings of the Past will know exactly how their cub will look like. He could look more like a Lion, or he could look more like a Cheetah. We will only know how he'll look like when he's born."