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The world is dangerous. The world is never safe. The predator could become the prey at any moment. You could never turn your back on a foe, less you wanted their teeth and claws in your throat.

These were the lessons Ekua had instilled into Simba ever since the young lion had come under her guidance so many years ago. He had been a young cub when he met her, freshly orphaned and living off of insects with Timon and Pumba when she confronted him, offering him a chance to learn how to live and fight like a true lion should. He accepted her offer, and now when he wasn't spending time goofing off with his best friends, he was learning how to survive off the land from Ekua, as well as helping her care for her own cubs, Fomali and Ashanti.

That was why he was now prowling the grasslands just outside their jungle paradise. He, along with Fomali and Ashanti, have grown in size, and now required more food than before. Ekua was hunting in the jungle for smaller prey for the two cubs, but she had sent her adopted son out into the grasslands to take down something bigger for herself and Simba.

At least now those two can watch over themselves, at least for a little while. I really would have hated to have brought them along. Simba thought with a sigh, scanning the area for prey. As much as I love the little hairballs, they sure are a pain in the tail!

Trotting farther into the grassy area, Simba's ears pricked he picked up the sound of snorting and stomping in the distance. The adolescent male moved towards the noises, pleased to find a herd of zebra near by. He scanned the herd from a distance, watching to see if he could pick out an old or weak member of the herd just as Ekua had taught him. It took him a while, but eventually an old, limping mare caught his attention.

That should make a good meal for us.

The young lion smirked, narrowing his orange orbs as he slid into a hunter's crouch. Where he was now wouldn't give him much cover, plus it was down wind from the herd, so Simba carefully and silently made his away around towards some longer grass that was farther up wind.

His eyes never left the old mare as he moved. He knew that, since he wasn't a full grown lion, taking on an adult zebra would be tough on his own, and could possibly be dangerous as well. But what was life without a little danger? If he timed his pounce just right, he could land right on the mare's back and go for a killing blow. He'd just have to be careful not to slip off and under her hooves or slip down behind her hind legs. Otherwise it'd be game over for him.

Ever so slowly, Simba inched his way towards the mare, making sure to stay low to the ground, just as Ekua (and his father, long ago) had taught him. Just when he was in pouncing range, the herd suddenly all perked up at the same time, letting out snorts of alarm.

No!

Simba took his chance and leaped out towards the old mare. But the mare was gone just a mere second before his claws got to her. The herd, spooked, immediately took off, and Simba ran after them for a few seconds before skidding to a stop and cursing the Great Kings for his luck.

"Elephant dung! How did they know I was there?" the adolescent snarled, swiping at the ground where the mare he'd been hunting had been only moments before. "They couldn't have possibly known! They couldn't have! I did everything Ekua told me to do perfectly. I was completely silent. Something else must have spooked them. But what?"

His answer soon came in the all too familiar screams of two terrified cubs, coming from the direction the herd had ran. Simba's eyes widened in horror, and leaping upon a jutting stone, he looked out and confirmed what he feared.

"ASHANTI! FOMALI!"

The two cubs were running for their lives, the stampeding herd quickly gaining on them. Simba's worse nightmare was coming to life all over again, but this time it wasn't he who was in the middle of the stampede, but his two adopted siblings.

Without thinking, Simba immediately took off after them. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, dodging around rocks and jumping over bushes as he ran to catch up with the herd and his adopted siblings.

No...I'll never make it at this rate! But I have too! If they get caught under the herds' hooves, they'll be trampled to death!

New panic and fear gave speed to Simba, and digging his claws into the dirt, it wasn't long before the young lion was soon running along side the herd, searching frantically for any sign of Ashanti and Fomali.

"SIMBA! HELP US!" came a cry from the middle of the herd.

"HELP! HELP!" came another cry.

Following the sound of their voices, Simba soon pin-pointed them and leaped into the herd, grabbing first Fomali and then Ashanti by their scruffs as he continued to run for his life.

The lion let out a roar of pain as a hoof clipped him in the side, and Simba tumbled to the ground. The cubs fell out of his grasp, letting out screams of terror as they landed on the dirt ground below. Simba quickly got back to his feet, and not knowing what else to do, he grabbed the cubs and curled over them, using his own body as a shield. As the ground trembled beneith them and the cubs screams filled his ears, Simba screwed his eyes shut and prayed to the Great Kings and Queens above that both he and the cubs would make it out of this alive. He wasn't ready to join his father up in the stars just yet.

Miraculously, the herd almost seemed to split around him and the cubs as if he were some sort of rock or tree stump that was in the way. As the stampede came to an end, for the briefest moment, Simba could have sworn he scented his father around him and on the wind. But just as soon as he picked up the scent it was gone along with the herd, leaving Simba and the cubs unscathed.

Simba slowly uncurled his body, unable to believe that he had actually survived another stampede uninjured. Had his father saved him once more? But...that was impossible. Mufasa was dead. And it was all his fault. Why would his father come down from the stars to save his murderous son? No...No he had to have been imagining things when he scented his father. It was just a trick of the mind, that's all.

"Simba? Are...Are you okay?" came Fomali's voice.

Simba snapped out of his thoughts as the two trembling cubs stared up at him with wide eyes.

"I'm fine. Just dusty." he answered, jumping to his feet and shaking his fur and growing mane out. "What about you two? Are you okay? Did the stampede hurt you at all?"

"No, I'm okay." Fomali said, standing.

"S-So am I." Ashanti murmured, standing as well. "That was really scary!"

"Yeah. It was." the adolescent said, sighing with relief that the cubs were unharmed. But soon that relief was replaced with anger as he realized that the cubs were well away from the safety of home. Not only that, but they had ruined his hunt and almost gotten themselves killed to boot!

Simba rounded on the cubs with a snarl, fury in his eyes as he yelled, "What are you two doing out here!? Don't you know how dangerous it is away from home!?"

Ashanti let out a squeal of shock, stumbling backwards onto his back, while Fomali gaped at her older adopted brother. Then she snapped her mouth shut with a resolute huff of air, scrunching up her face in anger.

"We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much." Fomali sniffed. Ashanti nodded shyly in agreement, although out of the two he seemed to be the only one to really realize how much trouble they had gotten themselves into this time.

"Oh really? Then I guess that stampede was just my imagination then!" Simba growled out. "Thanks to you two, I lost my prey. Not only that, but you two also almost managed to get yourselves killed!"

"Well sooorrrryy." the little lioness cub said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like we came out here to help you or anything. Geez! How ungrateful could you be?"

"You came out here to help me!?"

"Uh, duh." Fomali sighed, rolling her eyes again. "You and Mom are always complaining about how tough it is just hunting by yourselves, so Ashanti and I thought we'd help! Right, Ashanti?"

"Yeah, that's right." Ashanti murmured. "We only wanted to help, Simba. Really."

"Well you two sure have a funny way of helping." the older lion sneered. "I bet this was your idea, wasn't it, Fomali? Why do you always have to come up with these stupid, harebrained ideas!? Not only that, but you drag Ashanti along and put him in danger as well! One of these days Mom and I won't be there to save you, you know that?"

"Hey! It's not like I force Ashanti to come with me! Besides, why to you think stuff like this is always my idea!?" the lioness cub snapped.

"Because it always is your idea! Whose else idea would it be!?" Simba yelled, getting into Fomali's face. The two glared at eachother, growling, when finally a small voice interupted them.

"It wasn't her idea..."

Simba whipped around to face Ashanti, who cringed back slightly under the older lion's harsh gaze.

"What?"

"I...I said...It wasn't her idea...It was mine." Ashanti whispered.

"Your idea?" Simba's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before narrowing into slits. "Why, Ashanti? I'd expect something like this from Fomali, but you? What were you thinking!?"

"I just...I wanted to help you, Simba..." the younger cub whimpered. "Whenever you're with us...You end up looking so tired...Mom too...I just...thought you needed the help."

"I don't need the help of two idiotic cubs who know next to nothing about hunting. Next time you think about helping, don't." Simba growled, straighting up. "C'mon, you two. Let's go home. You'd better hope Your mom was successful in bringing home something, 'cause otherwise we're eating bugs tonight. And don't think I won't tell her about this, because I most certainly will."

"Aw man." the two cubs chorused.

Simba lead the way back to their jungle home, glancing back occationally to make sure the cubs were still trailing behind him. He let out a sigh, glancing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and if Simba looked close enough, he could just see the first stars starting to appear.

I think I understand now what it must of been like for you back then, Dad. All the stupid stuff I did back then...Not to mention the fact that I always dragged Nala along with me. How many times did I almost get us both killed? I'm sorry I was such a brat as a kid, Dad. I hope you can forgive me.

Simba turned his head back forwards, just missing the brief tinkling of one of the early evening stars above.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES: Simba, baby. You're growing up.

This is a year or so after . He's still a teen, but his mane's more grown in than the last picture and is slowly starting to wrap around his neck. Fomali and Ashanti are older cubs here, and though they can hunt small stuff like lizards and mice, they certainly can't take down a zebra. At this point their more of a nuisance on a hunt than an asset, as we clearly saw.

As Simba get's older, he's spending more and more time with Ekua and her cubs. He still spends some days with Timon and Pumbaa, enough that they don't feel left out, but he's growing up into a predator and a predator can't live on just insects alone. Eventually as a young adult, though, he'll once again return to spending more time with Timon and Pumbaa like we see in the movie, since by that time Ekua will have taught him everything she can to survive and will be busy focusing on teaching her own cubs more.

(Btw, if you have no idea what's going on, Ekua is the lioness from One Meerkat Too Many, and Fomali and Ashanti are the cubs I made for her. I've decided that she's the one who taught Simba how to properly lion, since there's no way he could have been that buff from an all insect diet in the movie.)

Base:
Base (c)
TLK (c)

Description
The world is dangerous. The world is never safe. The predator could become the prey at any moment. You could never turn your back on a foe, less you wanted their teeth and claws in your throat.

These were the lessons Ekua had instilled into Simba ever since the young lion had come under her guidance so many years ago. He had been a young cub when he met her, freshly orphaned and living off of insects with Timon and Pumba when she confronted him, offering him a chance to learn how to live and fight like a true lion should. He accepted her offer, and now when he wasn't spending time goofing off with his best friends, he was learning how to survive off the land from Ekua, as well as helping her care for her own cubs, Fomali and Ashanti.

That was why he was now prowling the grasslands just outside their jungle paradise. He, along with Fomali and Ashanti, have grown in size, and now required more food than before. Ekua was hunting in the jungle for smaller prey for the two cubs, but she had sent her adopted son out into the grasslands to take down something bigger for herself and Simba.

At least now those two can watch over themselves, at least for a little while. I really would have hated to have brought them along. Simba thought with a sigh, scanning the area for prey. As much as I love the little hairballs, they sure are a pain in the tail!

Trotting farther into the grassy area, Simba's ears pricked he picked up the sound of snorting and stomping in the distance. The adolescent male moved towards the noises, pleased to find a herd of zebra near by. He scanned the herd from a distance, watching to see if he could pick out an old or weak member of the herd just as Ekua had taught him. It took him a while, but eventually an old, limping mare caught his attention.

That should make a good meal for us.

The young lion smirked, narrowing his orange orbs as he slid into a hunter's crouch. Where he was now wouldn't give him much cover, plus it was down wind from the herd, so Simba carefully and silently made his away around towards some longer grass that was farther up wind.

His eyes never left the old mare as he moved. He knew that, since he wasn't a full grown lion, taking on an adult zebra would be tough on his own, and could possibly be dangerous as well. But what was life without a little danger? If he timed his pounce just right, he could land right on the mare's back and go for a killing blow. He'd just have to be careful not to slip off and under her hooves or slip down behind her hind legs. Otherwise it'd be game over for him.

Ever so slowly, Simba inched his way towards the mare, making sure to stay low to the ground, just as Ekua (and his father, long ago) had taught him. Just when he was in pouncing range, the herd suddenly all perked up at the same time, letting out snorts of alarm.

No!

Simba took his chance and leaped out towards the old mare. But the mare was gone just a mere second before his claws got to her. The herd, spooked, immediately took off, and Simba ran after them for a few seconds before skidding to a stop and cursing the Great Kings for his luck.

"Elephant dung! How did they know I was there?" the adolescent snarled, swiping at the ground where the mare he'd been hunting had been only moments before. "They couldn't have possibly known! They couldn't have! I did everything Ekua told me to do perfectly. I was completely silent. Something else must have spooked them. But what?"

His answer soon came in the all too familiar screams of two terrified cubs, coming from the direction the herd had ran. Simba's eyes widened in horror, and leaping upon a jutting stone, he looked out and confirmed what he feared.

"ASHANTI! FOMALI!"

The two cubs were running for their lives, the stampeding herd quickly gaining on them. Simba's worse nightmare was coming to life all over again, but this time it wasn't he who was in the middle of the stampede, but his two adopted siblings.

Without thinking, Simba immediately took off after them. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, dodging around rocks and jumping over bushes as he ran to catch up with the herd and his adopted siblings.

No...I'll never make it at this rate! But I have too! If they get caught under the herds' hooves, they'll be trampled to death!

New panic and fear gave speed to Simba, and digging his claws into the dirt, it wasn't long before the young lion was soon running along side the herd, searching frantically for any sign of Ashanti and Fomali.

"SIMBA! HELP US!" came a cry from the middle of the herd.

"HELP! HELP!" came another cry.

Following the sound of their voices, Simba soon pin-pointed them and leaped into the herd, grabbing first Fomali and then Ashanti by their scruffs as he continued to run for his life.

The lion let out a roar of pain as a hoof clipped him in the side, and Simba tumbled to the ground. The cubs fell out of his grasp, letting out screams of terror as they landed on the dirt ground below. Simba quickly got back to his feet, and not knowing what else to do, he grabbed the cubs and curled over them, using his own body as a shield. As the ground trembled beneith them and the cubs screams filled his ears, Simba screwed his eyes shut and prayed to the Great Kings and Queens above that both he and the cubs would make it out of this alive. He wasn't ready to join his father up in the stars just yet.

Miraculously, the herd almost seemed to split around him and the cubs as if he were some sort of rock or tree stump that was in the way. As the stampede came to an end, for the briefest moment, Simba could have sworn he scented his father around him and on the wind. But just as soon as he picked up the scent it was gone along with the herd, leaving Simba and the cubs unscathed.

Simba slowly uncurled his body, unable to believe that he had actually survived another stampede uninjured. Had his father saved him once more? But...that was impossible. Mufasa was dead. And it was all his fault. Why would his father come down from the stars to save his murderous son? No...No he had to have been imagining things when he scented his father. It was just a trick of the mind, that's all.

"Simba? Are...Are you okay?" came Fomali's voice.

Simba snapped out of his thoughts as the two trembling cubs stared up at him with wide eyes.

"I'm fine. Just dusty." he answered, jumping to his feet and shaking his fur and growing mane out. "What about you two? Are you okay? Did the stampede hurt you at all?"

"No, I'm okay." Fomali said, standing.

"S-So am I." Ashanti murmured, standing as well. "That was really scary!"

"Yeah. It was." the adolescent said, sighing with relief that the cubs were unharmed. But soon that relief was replaced with anger as he realized that the cubs were well away from the safety of home. Not only that, but they had ruined his hunt and almost gotten themselves killed to boot!

Simba rounded on the cubs with a snarl, fury in his eyes as he yelled, "What are you two doing out here!? Don't you know how dangerous it is away from home!?"

Ashanti let out a squeal of shock, stumbling backwards onto his back, while Fomali gaped at her older adopted brother. Then she snapped her mouth shut with a resolute huff of air, scrunching up her face in anger.

"We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much." Fomali sniffed. Ashanti nodded shyly in agreement, although out of the two he seemed to be the only one to really realize how much trouble they had gotten themselves into this time.

"Oh really? Then I guess that stampede was just my imagination then!" Simba growled out. "Thanks to you two, I lost my prey. Not only that, but you two also almost managed to get yourselves killed!"

"Well sooorrrryy." the little lioness cub said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like we came out here to help you or anything. Geez! How ungrateful could you be?"

"You came out here to help me!?"

"Uh, duh." Fomali sighed, rolling her eyes again. "You and Mom are always complaining about how tough it is just hunting by yourselves, so Ashanti and I thought we'd help! Right, Ashanti?"

"Yeah, that's right." Ashanti murmured. "We only wanted to help, Simba. Really."

"Well you two sure have a funny way of helping." the older lion sneered. "I bet this was your idea, wasn't it, Fomali? Why do you always have to come up with these stupid, harebrained ideas!? Not only that, but you drag Ashanti along and put him in danger as well! One of these days Mom and I won't be there to save you, you know that?"

"Hey! It's not like I force Ashanti to come with me! Besides, why to you think stuff like this is always my idea!?" the lioness cub snapped.

"Because it always is your idea! Whose else idea would it be!?" Simba yelled, getting into Fomali's face. The two glared at eachother, growling, when finally a small voice interupted them.

"It wasn't her idea..."

Simba whipped around to face Ashanti, who cringed back slightly under the older lion's harsh gaze.

"What?"

"I...I said...It wasn't her idea...It was mine." Ashanti whispered.

"Your idea?" Simba's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before narrowing into slits. "Why, Ashanti? I'd expect something like this from Fomali, but you? What were you thinking!?"

"I just...I wanted to help you, Simba..." the younger cub whimpered. "Whenever you're with us...You end up looking so tired...Mom too...I just...thought you needed the help."

"I don't need the help of two idiotic cubs who know next to nothing about hunting. Next time you think about helping, don't." Simba growled, straighting up. "C'mon, you two. Let's go home. You'd better hope Your mom was successful in bringing home something, 'cause otherwise we're eating bugs tonight. And don't think I won't tell her about this, because I most certainly will."

"Aw man." the two cubs chorused.

Simba lead the way back to their jungle home, glancing back occationally to make sure the cubs were still trailing behind him. He let out a sigh, glancing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and if Simba looked close enough, he could just see the first stars starting to appear.

I think I understand now what it must of been like for you back then, Dad. All the stupid stuff I did back then...Not to mention the fact that I always dragged Nala along with me. How many times did I almost get us both killed? I'm sorry I was such a brat as a kid, Dad. I hope you can forgive me.

Simba turned his head back forwards, just missing the brief tinkling of one of the early evening stars above.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES: Simba, baby. You're growing up.

This is a year or so after . He's still a teen, but his mane's more grown in than the last picture and is slowly starting to wrap around his neck. Fomali and Ashanti are older cubs here, and though they can hunt small stuff like lizards and mice, they certainly can't take down a zebra. At this point their more of a nuisance on a hunt than an asset, as we clearly saw.

As Simba get's older, he's spending more and more time with Ekua and her cubs. He still spends some days with Timon and Pumbaa, enough that they don't feel left out, but he's growing up into a predator and a predator can't live on just insects alone. Eventually as a young adult, though, he'll once again return to spending more time with Timon and Pumbaa like we see in the movie, since by that time Ekua will have taught him everything she can to survive and will be busy focusing on teaching her own cubs more.

(Btw, if you have no idea what's going on, Ekua is the lioness from One Meerkat Too Many, and Fomali and Ashanti are the cubs I made for her. I've decided that she's the one who taught Simba how to properly lion, since there's no way he could have been that buff from an all insect diet in the movie.)

Base:
Base (c)
TLK (c)