HOME | DD

Description
The rock beneath Simba's paws was cold, no light dared cross that stone as he crept his way through the narrow cliffs. When he was a cub it had always seemed so fascinating, so hidden and mysterious, but now... "KION?" He shouted instead, his ears tensed as his voice reverbed off the rockfaces that closed off the nook.

There was no time to retraces the cracks and the lies, the deceit, carved into the rock. He needed to find his son and-

Did his son even know of this place? How did he know, Simba questioned as he bit down onto the side of his mouth, releasing the flesh just before it split blood. His son surely would've asked about such a place if he had stumbled upon it before, the curious cub never giving him peace from the moment they woke up till when Simba left him with Nala or his grandmother to do his kingly duties. And his late behaviour...

"Kion!" He called out again, glancing around and over the edge of the cliff as he rounded the corner, only for pause as a pebble slipped off the ledge and down into the darkness below. Simba swallowed the breath lodged in his chest, and then heard it.

A sniffle.

"Son!" He called again, tucking his shoulders in his sides as he rounded the corner before letting his full body rest of the wider ledge. Shadow clung to the sheltered spot, the light of the still-morning sun tucked neatly away from what should've been a pleasant shade from the heat.

There Kion sat, his small form shivering as another sniffle wracked through him.

Any anger slipped away as Simba watched his son for a moment; he was so small... too small, even.

"Son...?" Simba called out to the cub, stopping to watch as his son sprang to attention, the short fur of his back standing up as he furiously wiped his paw along his face, sniffling harder as he turned on his side. Simba shook away the hundreds of thoughts in his mind, grasping one tightly in his claws and promising the others later. He still had to finish his patrol. "Do you want to tell me what happened this morning?"

"I..." The little cub stumbled over his words, the baby pudge and fluff still clinging to his small body failing to distract Simba from his bright eyes—his mother's eyes, he had his mother's eyes, not—still glistening with tears. "-I didn't mean to..."

"To hit Damu? Again?"

"He started it..."

"That-!" Simba caught himself, clenching his jaw as he forced the tension out of his shoulders. "-that doesn't give you the right to continue it. Just because you're angry, doesn't mean you take it out on others."

"But-"

"Son," Simba paused, finally stealing the last few steps between himself and his cub, reaching out with a paw and guiding Kion against him. "You can't keep getting into fights like this, sometimes we don't agree with our friends and that's alright."

"They don't wanna be my friends."

"Give them time... your mother and I have already talked with Haki's mother and we've planned for you two to spend some time together." Simba's smile didn't quite reach his cheeks as he stared down at the cub, feeling his smaller shoulders fall beneath his paw. "You two can go to the watering hole with granduncles Timon and Pumbaa... maybe you'll even make a life-long friend, hmm?"

"O...okay." Kion sighed, balancing on his right hind-leg as he brush the tears from his eyes.

Taking a moment to simply watch his son, Simba stole a glance around the ledge, forcing the tension in his muscles away. "And, I don't want you going anywhere near this place again. You're lucky your grandmother told me about your fight, rather than your mother after last time..."

"'M sorry you had to leave your patrol..."

"Just... just don't do it again."

A moment of silence passed before Kion nodded, only for his form to loosen upon Simba lifting his paw upwards and rubbing it gently down his son's head, luring a quiet purr from the cub. Removing his paw, Simba raised a brow at the look he recieved from the cub, staring back down at his son as he tucked his head back further and further, only to catch Kion a moment later before he slipped on his back and gently pushing his forward with a nudge of his paw.

"Go on," Simba pursed his lip, gesturing forwards. "Your grandmother was worried sick."

Kion nodded, brushing his face with his paw and letting out a final sniffle before beginning to make his way back along the walkway.

"Son." Simba spoke after a moment, his brows furrowed in confusion. "What happened before the fight?"

The cub paused, gazing down at his paws, "Da... Damu and the others were trying to throw fruit at some cheetah cub... her mom wasn't with her so I asked them to leave her alone and... and they wouldn't."

Simba nodded, standing once more and taking a few steps forwards until he was right behind his son, before ducking his head down and nudging the cub's rear with his head. "Alright... come on, let's go."

Neither spoke for a moment.

"Am... am i in trouble?"

Simba could only smile, "We'll see..."

Before he made friends with Bunga and eventually Fuli and Beshte through accident, Kion didn't have any friends despite his parents' efforts to get him to play with the other cubs. While in canon we never met or even saw any of the supposed cubs Simba had assumed Kion would make his Lion Guard up with, I decided to change that for my AU and rather explain why we never see them. Simply, a lot of them were young when they learnt about Scar and his tyranny from their mothers, and while they admired Simba and Kiara for being the savior and future hope for the Pridelands, there was lingering fear in many animals about Kion and his resemblance to Scar. While Nala has green/teal eyes, a lot of the older animals see Scar in Kion due to his young tendency for aggression and short temper, nevermind once his mane starts to grow in and begins to grow strikingly like Scar and Mufasa. So many of the lionesses unintentionally bred distrust for Kion into their cubs, who of course wouldn't see anything wrong with telling Kion as much. (I'll probably design and show those other cubs later to help give a character to the names!)

Kion, as a young cub, got into many, many fights. Not to say that he liked violence, but rather he didn't know how to express himself. All he knew is that his parents would talk to him if he got in trouble, but never caught on to his growing frustrations over the other cubs being the source of his anger. But once fighting only got in given out to and even more isolated from his peers? Kion instead decided to just not say a thing, especially if it upset his grandmother, mother or father who never had to deal with such behavior from Kiara aside from wandering a bit. Kion began to hold in his anger and pretend that he didn't care about the other cubs, only to find himself alone until the aforementioned playdate would quickly change and actually become fun once his granduncles introduced him to a certain honey badger they had taken under their wing. Suddenly, Kion had someone to play with who didn't care if any of the lionesses muttered as they passed by, and who just wanted a friend as well.

And let's just say that that cheetah cub would later return the favor.

(I also just wanted to add somewhere that I totally hc that Kion was a pudgy cub at this point compared to Kiara, probably only a little bit younger than Simba was in the first film, especially before he met Bunga since he was always being watched by Sarabi or Nala and so ended up not really playing a lot when he was very young, causing him to have more pudge than usual until he met Bunga and was able to play and lost that baby fat. I despised Kion's canon baby design since he looked so freaky and had an outlander nose and his mane tuff for some reason? It rubbed me the wrong way so I was very happy to change it.)

Simba truly believed that Kion would get on with the other cubs in time, and didn't even think that his son was lonely. As mentioned, he spent a lot of Kion's pre-Roar days doing kingly duties and beginning Kiara's training for her to be future Queen. He didn't see Kion as much as her, and so would only realize much later that he didn't really know his son that well compared to Nala who always made time for him in-between being Queen and the leader of the lionesses' hunting party. She grew up to be far more blunt than Simba, since she was forced to mature quicker and learn to care for herself during Scar's reign. She saw it as Kion standing up for herself, but also knew when he took it too far. Neither thought that Kion had decided to just not voice his emotions, and honestly believed he had simply matured out of picking fights like they hoped. However, Nala was worried for her son when his usage of the dark roar nearly put her in serious danger, and pushed Simba to spend more time with Kion as a result. Simba, however, failed to realize that Kion wanted his father to comfort him and help him, not the King to take charge and treat him like an immature, weak 'cub' that couldn't handle his responsibilities after all the work he had done. This, together with the brewing and eventual war against Scar, forced Kion to mature and repress far more than a young teenager should've.

And if anyone can actually say where this piece is located I'll be so happy

I'm trying to improve my anatomy and work on doing more backgrounds, albeit sucky ones, so expect more in the New Year and I hope everyone has a great New Year since this once has sucked!

Description
The rock beneath Simba's paws was cold, no light dared cross that stone as he crept his way through the narrow cliffs. When he was a cub it had always seemed so fascinating, so hidden and mysterious, but now... "KION?" He shouted instead, his ears tensed as his voice reverbed off the rockfaces that closed off the nook.

There was no time to retraces the cracks and the lies, the deceit, carved into the rock. He needed to find his son and-

Did his son even know of this place? How did he know, Simba questioned as he bit down onto the side of his mouth, releasing the flesh just before it split blood. His son surely would've asked about such a place if he had stumbled upon it before, the curious cub never giving him peace from the moment they woke up till when Simba left him with Nala or his grandmother to do his kingly duties. And his late behaviour...

"Kion!" He called out again, glancing around and over the edge of the cliff as he rounded the corner, only for pause as a pebble slipped off the ledge and down into the darkness below. Simba swallowed the breath lodged in his chest, and then heard it.

A sniffle.

"Son!" He called again, tucking his shoulders in his sides as he rounded the corner before letting his full body rest of the wider ledge. Shadow clung to the sheltered spot, the light of the still-morning sun tucked neatly away from what should've been a pleasant shade from the heat.

There Kion sat, his small form shivering as another sniffle wracked through him.

Any anger slipped away as Simba watched his son for a moment; he was so small... too small, even.

"Son...?" Simba called out to the cub, stopping to watch as his son sprang to attention, the short fur of his back standing up as he furiously wiped his paw along his face, sniffling harder as he turned on his side. Simba shook away the hundreds of thoughts in his mind, grasping one tightly in his claws and promising the others later. He still had to finish his patrol. "Do you want to tell me what happened this morning?"

"I..." The little cub stumbled over his words, the baby pudge and fluff still clinging to his small body failing to distract Simba from his bright eyes—his mother's eyes, he had his mother's eyes, not—still glistening with tears. "-I didn't mean to..."

"To hit Damu? Again?"

"He started it..."

"That-!" Simba caught himself, clenching his jaw as he forced the tension out of his shoulders. "-that doesn't give you the right to continue it. Just because you're angry, doesn't mean you take it out on others."

"But-"

"Son," Simba paused, finally stealing the last few steps between himself and his cub, reaching out with a paw and guiding Kion against him. "You can't keep getting into fights like this, sometimes we don't agree with our friends and that's alright."

"They don't wanna be my friends."

"Give them time... your mother and I have already talked with Haki's mother and we've planned for you two to spend some time together." Simba's smile didn't quite reach his cheeks as he stared down at the cub, feeling his smaller shoulders fall beneath his paw. "You two can go to the watering hole with granduncles Timon and Pumbaa... maybe you'll even make a life-long friend, hmm?"

"O...okay." Kion sighed, balancing on his right hind-leg as he brush the tears from his eyes.

Taking a moment to simply watch his son, Simba stole a glance around the ledge, forcing the tension in his muscles away. "And, I don't want you going anywhere near this place again. You're lucky your grandmother told me about your fight, rather than your mother after last time..."

"'M sorry you had to leave your patrol..."

"Just... just don't do it again."

A moment of silence passed before Kion nodded, only for his form to loosen upon Simba lifting his paw upwards and rubbing it gently down his son's head, luring a quiet purr from the cub. Removing his paw, Simba raised a brow at the look he recieved from the cub, staring back down at his son as he tucked his head back further and further, only to catch Kion a moment later before he slipped on his back and gently pushing his forward with a nudge of his paw.

"Go on," Simba pursed his lip, gesturing forwards. "Your grandmother was worried sick."

Kion nodded, brushing his face with his paw and letting out a final sniffle before beginning to make his way back along the walkway.

"Son." Simba spoke after a moment, his brows furrowed in confusion. "What happened before the fight?"

The cub paused, gazing down at his paws, "Da... Damu and the others were trying to throw fruit at some cheetah cub... her mom wasn't with her so I asked them to leave her alone and... and they wouldn't."

Simba nodded, standing once more and taking a few steps forwards until he was right behind his son, before ducking his head down and nudging the cub's rear with his head. "Alright... come on, let's go."

Neither spoke for a moment.

"Am... am i in trouble?"

Simba could only smile, "We'll see..."

Before he made friends with Bunga and eventually Fuli and Beshte through accident, Kion didn't have any friends despite his parents' efforts to get him to play with the other cubs. While in canon we never met or even saw any of the supposed cubs Simba had assumed Kion would make his Lion Guard up with, I decided to change that for my AU and rather explain why we never see them. Simply, a lot of them were young when they learnt about Scar and his tyranny from their mothers, and while they admired Simba and Kiara for being the savior and future hope for the Pridelands, there was lingering fear in many animals about Kion and his resemblance to Scar. While Nala has green/teal eyes, a lot of the older animals see Scar in Kion due to his young tendency for aggression and short temper, nevermind once his mane starts to grow in and begins to grow strikingly like Scar and Mufasa. So many of the lionesses unintentionally bred distrust for Kion into their cubs, who of course wouldn't see anything wrong with telling Kion as much. (I'll probably design and show those other cubs later to help give a character to the names!)

Kion, as a young cub, got into many, many fights. Not to say that he liked violence, but rather he didn't know how to express himself. All he knew is that his parents would talk to him if he got in trouble, but never caught on to his growing frustrations over the other cubs being the source of his anger. But once fighting only got in given out to and even more isolated from his peers? Kion instead decided to just not say a thing, especially if it upset his grandmother, mother or father who never had to deal with such behavior from Kiara aside from wandering a bit. Kion began to hold in his anger and pretend that he didn't care about the other cubs, only to find himself alone until the aforementioned playdate would quickly change and actually become fun once his granduncles introduced him to a certain honey badger they had taken under their wing. Suddenly, Kion had someone to play with who didn't care if any of the lionesses muttered as they passed by, and who just wanted a friend as well.

And let's just say that that cheetah cub would later return the favor.

(I also just wanted to add somewhere that I totally hc that Kion was a pudgy cub at this point compared to Kiara, probably only a little bit younger than Simba was in the first film, especially before he met Bunga since he was always being watched by Sarabi or Nala and so ended up not really playing a lot when he was very young, causing him to have more pudge than usual until he met Bunga and was able to play and lost that baby fat. I despised Kion's canon baby design since he looked so freaky and had an outlander nose and his mane tuff for some reason? It rubbed me the wrong way so I was very happy to change it.)

Simba truly believed that Kion would get on with the other cubs in time, and didn't even think that his son was lonely. As mentioned, he spent a lot of Kion's pre-Roar days doing kingly duties and beginning Kiara's training for her to be future Queen. He didn't see Kion as much as her, and so would only realize much later that he didn't really know his son that well compared to Nala who always made time for him in-between being Queen and the leader of the lionesses' hunting party. She grew up to be far more blunt than Simba, since she was forced to mature quicker and learn to care for herself during Scar's reign. She saw it as Kion standing up for herself, but also knew when he took it too far. Neither thought that Kion had decided to just not voice his emotions, and honestly believed he had simply matured out of picking fights like they hoped. However, Nala was worried for her son when his usage of the dark roar nearly put her in serious danger, and pushed Simba to spend more time with Kion as a result. Simba, however, failed to realize that Kion wanted his father to comfort him and help him, not the King to take charge and treat him like an immature, weak 'cub' that couldn't handle his responsibilities after all the work he had done. This, together with the brewing and eventual war against Scar, forced Kion to mature and repress far more than a young teenager should've.

And if anyone can actually say where this piece is located I'll be so happy

I'm trying to improve my anatomy and work on doing more backgrounds, albeit sucky ones, so expect more in the New Year and I hope everyone has a great New Year since this once has sucked!