[Discontinued] The Lioness ~~~ A Lion King x reader fanfiction~~~

The Setting Sun - Chapter 10

Starting from this (partly) and the next, the chapters of this story are going to be my original plot about what would have happened while Simba lived with Timon and Pumba. Again, I don't know for sure in cannon what had happened to Nala during this period but I took the opportunity to be creatively liberal and wrote what could've happened. None of this is canon.

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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The passion red, purple, and orange hues painted the skies in a beautiful gradient that followed the setting sun that glowed red. The hunting group had just gotten back from their hunt and were now on Pride Rock, showing the fruits of their successful trip to the other members of the pride. However, what seemed strange was that their king, the prince, and Shujae had not yet returned. Of course, the pride knew that the guard had gone quite far to deal with the hyenas that were spotted there, but Mufasa's and Simba's disappearance troubled them.

"They've never been this late for eating," Sarabi commented solemnly.

"Maybe they ran into trouble and Mufasa allowed Simba to tag along and it just took longer than expected?" Sarafina questioned.

"Mufasa still would've dealt with this swiftly or at least send Simba home so that at he could eat on time," Eadala shot down the idea, "And Scar hasn't come back as well. Something is definitely wrong."

The other lionesses of the pride began to murmur amongst themselves, trying to think about what could have happened, whilst Nala and (Y/n) huddled together near each other.

"What do you think happened?" Nala whispered to her friend.

"I don't know for sure," (Y/n) whispered back, her brows were furrowed in thought, "I know that Simba went with his uncle right before me and the other lionesses went out to hunt, but other than that, no idea."

"What's going on?" a sudden male voice broke the chatter between the many lionesses and the pale yellowish build that belonged to Shujae appeared from the slope which most used to climb up the giant mountain.

"Mufasa and Simba are missing," Sarabi answered grimly, her deep voice sending shivers up (Y/n)'s spine, "None of us have seen them or Scar since we went out to hunt."

The male's brows furrowed and just as he was about to speak, a lioness came up the slope.

"Scar has summoned all of us at the base of the mountain," the lioness said, "He said he has news for us."

The queen nodded at the lioness who had drawn attention to herself, dismissing her, and gestured for the rest of the pride to follow her which all of them did. Shujae stayed behind a bit and was the last to come. His daughter wordlessly slowed her pace and then walked beside her father's.

"How did the job go, dad?" (Y/n) quietly asked, which prompted Shujae to sigh deeply.

"Uneventful," he replied just as softly, "Couldn't get out of them what they wanted so they could leave the Pride Lands peacefully and then just ran off seemingly without an explanation."

"Why did you ask about what they wanted?" the girl questioned with furrowed brows, "You could've just scared them away."

"I know I could've but you see, (Y/n)," Shujae replied sternly, "There is always a reason that someone wants something, whether we or even they understand it or not. Perhaps they wanted food, and, if in that case, I would've blindly scared them off, they would resent me and in turn our own species which would cause more conflict in the future."

"Remember this," the male continued, "It will help you in the future when I won't be there with you."

"Why are you saying this like you're going to die soon?" (Y/n) hissed quietly at him, "Lately all you do is talk about is how I'm gonna 'need this knowledge when you're gone'. Why?"

"Because I feel it," Shujae calmly replied, "I feel that my time will soon come far too short than it needs to be. You know better than anyone else in this pride what it feels like to follow your instincts and intuition."

Her father's last words had successfully made (Y/n) to shut up and cast her head downwards. Of course, she knew what it felt like. Her gut feeling had saved Simba's and Nala's life as well as her own. But the dark truth to Shujae's words unsettled her.

What do you mean 'your time will soon come far too short than it needs to be'? (Y/n) thought as she looked at her stoic father. How will it?