A New Tale of the Pride Lands (Julie and Adofo)

[Carl]

Simba shrunk under Mufasa's stern expression. Then he spoke, in a low and guilty voice, "We went out to play. At first, I wasn't going to let 'Dofo come since he refused to go anywhere with me this morning, but he begged so I agreed to let him. But then mom saw us leaving and said we had to take Zazu along. We didn't want him to come though, we didn't want him to ruin our fun or, or something, so we tried to lose him by running to a jungle. We didn't know that rhino was going to be there, we didn't know he'd attack us, or we wouldn't have gone there! Honest!"

"Mufasa... if I hadn't made them take Zazu, this wouldn't have happened," Sarabi whispered to her mate, concerned.

(I don't know if this was your plan, but I was thinking that while Adofo is injured, maybe we could gloss over some of the stuff from the movie, like the whole Mufasa showing Simba the kingdom and Simba and Nala going to the Elephant Graveyard.)

[Adofo]

Mufasa: .....Dear...don't blame yourself.....and Simba....I believe you. You wouldn't have gone in there if you knew he was in the jungle. And Adofo....I'm really proud for what you did for your brother. But....you both disobied our rules. Zazu....you need to keep a closer eye on them when they go out.

(I was thinking Adofo was near the end of his recovery, and he rigged up like a flexable brace with bendy small braches and be could still tag along with them. But of course he's not as useful as he could be)

[Carl]

Zazu sighed, "Sire, I did as I was instructed and kept an eye on them from afar. If I'm to be of more assistance, I'll have to stay closer to them."

"But dad! We didn't! We stayed in the kingdom, we didn't upset the balance, we even still could see Zazu, he attacked us for no reason! We didn't disobey!" Simba protested. He turned to his mother, "Please, mom! You know I'd own up to it if I had disobeyed! You gotta believe me! Please!"

Sarabi looked at Mufasa skeptically. "You were there, my king; has something missed my ears?"

[Adofo]

Mufasa: Boys, you on purposely tied evading Zazu. And even though you were still in the territory, not everything in our territory is perfectly nice. You three almost got killed! We actually lost Adofo for a moment! I can't have that happen again! If anything happened to you kids, I'd never forgive myself! I'm not punishing you, but what you tried to do was reckless. Zazu, I know you tried your best. It's not your fault. Boys....I'm doing this because I can't bare the thought of losing you. So Zazu, when they go out, stay as close as you can.

[Carl]

Zazu bowed before the king, "Yes, sire of course."

"Simba," Sarabi said softly, "Why don't you go find Sarafina and stay with her and her kids for a while, let your brother rest?"

"Oh... yeah. I will mom," Simba agreed, padding towards the exit of the den. He glanced back from the mouth of the cave, "Adofo, feel better soon, okay? And don't be too sad or anything! And please don't blame yourself! It wasn't your fault." With that, the cub turned and scampered away, running around the back of Pride Rock to the sunning stones in search of Sarafina. It wasn't hard to find her, as Simba had gotten used to searching for her form so that he could play with Nala. He noticed his friend was at her mother's side and rushed over.

"Oh Simba, I'm so sorry about your brother," Sarafina whispered softly.

"Don't be. He's going to be okay," Simba said with a small grin that faded quickly. "Mom said to let him rest."

[Adofo]

Adofo: Ugh.....it hurts!
Mufasa: I know son. Just try to relax.
Adofo: ....It was worth it to protect Simba.
Mufasa: What exactly did you do?
Adofo: I looked back, saw that buy was about to hit Simba with his horn, so I threw him out of the way. I could never let anything happen to him!

[Carl]

"It was very noble of you to protect your brother, little one," Sarabi purred, nuzzling her son, "But I don't want to hear of any more attempts to avoid Zazu; we sent him along to prevent things like this. You know it pains us to see you like this."

---

"Nala... how are you holding up?" Simba asked his friend, finding the silence unnerving and hoping that she was okay. He shook himself, trying to rid himself of the feeling that this was all his fault. He hadn't meant to cause his brother harm. Maybe they squabbled sometimes, and he wasn't always the nicest brother he could be to Adofo, but he wanted the best for him all the same. He wanted his brother to be okay. Not just a brother; a friend. A friend who needed to be okay no matter what, even if there was nothing Simba could do for him. He didn't like being unable to help, but it simply wasn't possible; he wasn't one of the ones whom his brother needed most at the moment, and all he could do was to give him room and wish him the best.

---

In Scar's cave, things had quieted down. Mheetu had fallen asleep, whereas Koma and Tama had become curious as to what was going on at Pride Rock. Most of the pridesisters had returned uneasily to their preferred sunning stones behind the rock, but others still crowded near the front, awaiting word from Mufasa or Sarabi. Scar's face was etched with a scowl of annoyance, the young Mheetu resting against his side, as the two girls stood at the mouth of his den staring at the goings on.

"Sarafina hasn't come back," Tama pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Koma asked softly.

"It means whatever's going on really is important; maybe something happened to Nala, Simba, and Adofo," the tufted cub murmured. Scar's eyes widened, unseen by the both of them. Had the ape cub finally caused some ill fortune to befall the young prince? Did Scar once again have a chance at the throne? This bore investigation. Careful not to wake Mheetu, the dark lion rose on his paws.

"In any case we should see for ourselves, no? Sarafina needs to take this little runt back anyway," he suggested. The two cubs nodded, and so Scar hefted Mheetu up by the scruff and the group began padding towards Pride Rock.

[Adofo]

Adofo: .....Yes ma'am.....I'm sorry.
Mufasa: It's okay...as long as it never happens again. Adofo....we know we're not your birth parents...but you are ours just as much as Simba! We don't want anything bad to happen to you or him! So please....be more careful!
Adofo: Yes sir. ....Dad.....can you hand me those sticks and bones over there?
Mufasa: Sure son.
From the corner of the den, Mufasa brought his son the things he asked.
Adofo: And....can you go get me some vines?
Mufasa: Sure thing kiddo!
Mufasa stepped right outside to a nearby tree and ran back up. As he was returning to the den, he saw his younger brother coming with his little posse. But he kept going until he gave Adofo his vines. Adofo put two bones on each side of the broken section of his lower leg then put the bendable sticks alongside those. They reached from the bottom of his foot to his hip. He then tied it together really tight with the vines in four different places and his brace was finished.

[Carl]

Not waking even at the disturbances, the pale cub plopped to the earth before his mother. Sarafina smiled weakly at Scar as he spoke, "Thought I'd bring him back where he belonged, and see what all the commotion was about." The lioness opened her mouth to thank him, but her words were drowned out as the youthful crown prince bounded over.

"Uncle Scar, it was terrible! Adofo nearly died saving me! There was this huge rhino, and Rafiki said he'd died, but he hadn't, he's still alive, he's in bad shape, but he's gonna recover, but it's all my fault, if I hadn't led them out there this wouldn't have happened, he wouldn't have been in danger, andㅡ" as the golden cub took a breath, Scar placed a paw against his muzzle to silence him. So nothing truly horrible had happened. Scar could not deny, not inwardly, that he was disappointed, but at the same time, some small part of him was glad to know that his nephew had survived and lived on. Despite his best efforts to avoid any such nonsense, Scar had grown some modicum of attachment for the boy. After pretending to care for so long, he had somewhat begun to, and it unnerved him, but he would not let it dampen his resolve.

"And we are all ever so grateful that you are safe, young prince, and that your brother yet lives," he replied tartly, swishing his tail, "But I should like to deliver my utmost sympathies to your parents and brother, so run along and play with your friends."

"Okay, Uncle Scar," Simba agreed, returning to Nala at Sarafina's side, though she had not answered him when he had spoken to her. Tama said a practically giddy goodbye to Koma before striking off alone to find her mother. As Scar raised his paws to take his leave, the grey lioness cub followed along behind him and he set his jaw in a hard line for a moment before turning his best charming smile on the child.

"Koma... why don't you stay with Sarafina for now, hmm?"

"Yes, Scar..." she said hesitantly, agreeing simply because it was a lioness she knew about as well as she knew him. She trusted them, but they still made her nervous. She wasn't sure if she'd ever adjust to her new life, but she'd do her best to try. This would have been easier, though, had Tama stayed by her side.

No longer encumbered by any cubs, and relieved to be so freed, the dark lion prince strode elegantly around to the den's entrance, entreating his brother as he neared, hoping Mufasa wasn't in one of his "go to the plains and be stomped by elephants, Scar" moods. His voice was low, and as soft as he could make it, concern laced into it as convincingly as had ever been done.

"Mufasa? Your son was quite the brave one today. You have no idea how relieving it was to discover that everyone will be alright, after we noticed the panic around here. It's so good to know that all of the kingdom's princes are safe at home," he tried, "And why Sarabi, you must have been dreadfully worried. I do hope Adofo's recovery is quick and certain."

"Thank you Scar. We appreciate your concern," Sarabi murmured, still nuzzling her son.

(Do you want me to take over Nala? I noticed she's gone silent again, is all.)

[Adofo]

(UGH!!! I KEEP FORGETTING NALA!!!!!!!!! ......if you want)

Mufasa: Thank you for your concern Scar. And....for what it's worth.....I'm sorry for how I acted towards you the other day. ...You are my brother and....I still love you!
Adofo: Mom.....can you go get me some zebra? I'm hungry!
Nala: So....is Adofo going to be okay? How is he?
(I just wanted to make it just slightly longer cuz right now I'm recording some stuff so I don't have much time to write. Also, it's kinda a last words of being her.)