[quote]Story 1:
A Different Kind of Beginning: show
A Different Kind of Beginning
“-shocking situation is currently developing in the city of Pride Rock as the hyena-led coup sweeps across the country-”
*Click*
“-orized that only a few of the royal family have survived. While latest reports had indeed confirmed that the Queen Sarabi and Prince Taka are still alive, but the state of King Mufasa and Prince Simba have yet to be determined. Let’s go deeper by -”
*Click*
“Leaders across the glove have condemned the coup as an act of hostility no lesser than a declaration of war. The issue being, with the hyena forced not having their own separate country to call home, questions remain as to what actions are actually going to be taken. In the meantime-”
*Click*
Then even later…
*Click*
“-eports are coming in that the body of King Mufasa has been recovered. As the fighting across the capital quiets down, interim king Taka seeks to regain a sense of control while cooperating with the occupying hyena forces. His calls for non-intervention by international forces and cooperation among his populance were initially met by disbelief and cries of betrayal, but as a resemblance of peace slowly takes hold of the city, perhaps he knows something that no one else did.”
*Click*
And even later still...
“As the country settles for a week of mourning late King Mufasa, police forces across the countryside and in every city are hard at work in their search for Prince Simba, the last member of the royal household still unaccounted for. With his phone found broken near Mufasa’s body, all leads to his whereabouts have run dry. Some are beginning to theorize-”
*Click*
“-hard question remains: Where did Prince Simba disappear off to? While it’s true that his body could have been lost during the initial fighting of the coup, conspiracy theories are flying about as to what happened to him. Is he a hostage? Buried in an unmarked grave? Still, authorities are stressing that while they are still searching for the lion with all the units they can spare, the more time passes since the coup, the less likely that he will ever be found. Quote: ‘While we pray for the safe return of Prince Simba every day, we must prepare our hearts to accept the worst’.”
*Turn television off*
-----The Lion King-----
A loud clatter of an overloaded trash bin hitting the hard pavement below abruptly ended the calm in the nighttime alley.
“Hey, Pumbaa, I think I just saw someone duck behind that bin just now!” A flashlight clicked on and swept the area, illuminating a small circle of the alley as the owner of the voice tried to find the cause of the metallic interruption. “Pum-bun?”
“Yeah, I hear ya, Timon. I’m gonna take a look!”
A second figure, quite larger than the owner of the flashlight, casually walked over to the trash bin and took a peak behind where the flashlight couldn’t reach. “Hey, Timon! It’s a young one! A lion!”
The illumination of the flashlight wobbled back and forth as the owner walked over as well, shining the light into the dark corner. The light revealed a small lion cub, dressed in torn clothing and shivering despite trying to hide from the two figures, a rather plump though well built warthog, and a lean but not scrawny meerkat. “Jeez, Pumbun, he really doesn’t look good,” Timon finally said, grimacing at the sight before him, “looks like he hasn’t eaten in… I want to say days, but I think it’s even longer than that.”
Pumbaa didn’t seem to listen, instead looking at the young lion with a mix of concern and empathy for the cub’s plight. “It’s okay, little guy,” he said quietly, reaching out slowly to show that he meant no harm. “No one’s gonna hurt you while we’re here. You can come out of there. We can get you something warm to eat, and a bed to say for the night. How does that sound?”
The lion just stared back, eyes wide and body still shivering. He shook his had at the proposal. “No-” he muttered, barely loud enough for Timon and Pumbaa to hear. “No-” he repeated, still trying to hide from the light.
Timon let out a sigh. “Kid, you are clearly not from around these parts, and let me tell ya, you do not want to be out here at night. Especially on your own. If you don’t want anything to eat, that’s fine. Let us at least take you to the local police station, they will know who to contact to help-”
before he could finish, in fact, as soon as he said the word ‘police’, the cub reacted as though shot, desperately scrambling in order to try and run away. Only Pumbaa’s quick reaction time and strong arms prevented the lion from escaping into the night and no doubt into the hands of someone with less than noble intentions. “Where do you think you’re going, kiddo?” the warthog asked, “settle down now! Don’t want to hurt yourself, do you? What’s up with you anyways? Trouble with the police? All right, we won’t take you to them! We promise!”
The lion still struggled, but clearly with less effort than before. It didn’t help much that he wore a muzzle of pure defeat, as though no longer caring about what was going to happen to him.
“Let’s take you home, all right?” Pumbaa repeated the offer, “tomorrow morning, we know just the person who can help you out! Don’t worry: they are not police. Far from it, in fact. But first, some dinner, a shower, and perhaps a change of clothing. How does that sound, little guy? Sound like a plan?”
There was a long stretch of silence as the cub didn’t say anything. But as he stopped struggling all together, his actions said far more than words could. Eventually, a small nod of his head was all it took for him to convey the message that yes, he was going to follow with their plan.
Since he had the flashlight, Timon took the lead. “Don’t worry, kid! Let Timon and ol’ Pumbaa take good care of you! Help maintain the peace and order around here is what we do. Not the first lost child we ran into out here, let me tell you that.”
With Pumbaa escorting from the rear, the lion cub couldn’t escape even if he wanted to, not that he tried. Leaving the alley where he was found behind, the trio walked through a maze of small streets, only occasionally illuminated by an odd street light or two.
As they walked, Pumbaa realized something. “Say, kid, you never told us: What’s yer name? What can we call you?” The cub’s ears fell flat on his head. Pumbaa immediately regretted asking the rather simple question. “Listen, if you don’t want to tell us, that’s okay. I just don’t want to have to call you ‘kid’ all the time, even if we will part ways soon.”
“No, no, that’s not-” the cub’s voice was soft but raspy, as though he hadn’t spoken in days or more. For all Timon and Pumbaa knew, that might have even been the case. “Si- Tanabi,” the cub finally answered. “I’m Tanabi.”
Timon stopped at a door to a small run-down house. “Well, Tanabi. I’m Timon, the pig there’s Pumbaa, and this is our home. Not much of a looker, I know, but trust me: it’s a lot better on the inside.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door, opening it. “No one’s going to force you to go inside, kid. It’s up to you if you want to go or not. But I must warn you: if you choose to leave, it’s not safe out there.” Turning, the meerkat walked inside, disappearing into the dark hallway as he flicked the flashlight off.
“I strongly urge you not to leave,” Pumbaa whispered from behind the lion cub, “but it’s your call.”
Tanabi turned to look at where he came from, a rather dirty and very uninviting small street. Hugging his arms around his torso, he ducked inside the hallway and followed Timon inside.
Story 2:
Lion Guard Short Stories: show
Lion Guard Short Stories
That day, once again the peace in the Pridelands was disturbed by the loud noises of the younger members of Simba's kingly group of cubs. Kiara just told a secret to her conjoinous friends Tiifu and Zuri about her plan to sneak Kovu into the Pridelands.
"Never ever tell Kion or my parents, okay?" Kiara insists to her two friends. At that moment, Zazu flies by.
"Never telling parents sounds like bad news in the making!" the old bird snorts. Before Kiara can reply, they hear a loud scream from behind.
"Zooka Zahma!" Bunga screams and lands on his hind legs after jumping out of a tree. "Zuka Zama, it was?" Zazu looks imperialized. "Zooka zahma sounds the same, go with the flow old bird!" Bunga starts to cringe before he runs off. Due to all the fuzzing about, Kiara and her friends forget about their plan of sneaking Kovu into the Pridelands, as they decide to move on with their childhood and focus on their respective futures. As for Bunga, he arrives just in time for the daily meeting in the den of the Guard. "I am here!" he pants, limping from the jump out of the tree earlier that day. "Bunga! stop limping and help us with our new quest!" Kion screams in anger. Beshte smiles. "Bumblebee!" Fuli shakes her head and starts:" Tactics, we need tactics to remove Janja and his clan from the Pridelands!" "Chase them out, like every day!" Ono yells above them. "good plan Ono!" Seconds later, all five Guard members run towards the borders of the kingdom. Except for Ono. He flies. Arrives there, they chase off Janja and the other hyena's.
"Finished for today, that was easy!" Beshte laughs. "let's go!" But then it happens. The unexpecting guard didn't foresee what nearens them. With no idea, they leave the border and walk back towards Pride Rock. Unknowing about the brown lion cub following them, hiding in the bushes every now and then, to stay out of sight. Crawling on his feet to be unheard of. Kovu is in the Pridelands and he is ready to meet Kiara again.
Kiara and Zuri are screeching of fun at that moment. They hid from Tiifu, and watch their friend wondering and calling them names. "Kiara? Zuri?" Tiifu cries insecure. "Where are you? Just a minute ago you where here!" Kiara and Zuri giggle and try to hold still. "This is hilarious! Tiifu starts to break if we stay out of her sight!" Zuri giggles. "Zuri, I don't think this is ethical, this is violating, stop." Zuri thinks. Kiara smirks. "Just having fun isn't a bad thing, right?" Kiara roars. Now Zuri hears them. "There you are!" She runs happily towards them and smiles. Zuri gets bored and runs off. Kiara and Tiifu decide to take a nap. And then he enters the den. Kovu is in the Royal den of Pride Rock. "Kiara! finally!" he yells when he runs towards her. "hey Kovu! how you got here?" Kiara screams in happiness. "sneaked behind that Guard of your brother!" Kovu srarts to laugh. Tiifu doesn't like Kovu, she starts to cry and runs off. Kiara holds her breath. "Kovu, my father did not give you permission to be here. I continue my nap and must ask you to leave please." Kovu is in shock. "listen you spoiled princess, I did a lot of effort to see you! is this your thanks?" Kiara growls. "Go. Stay safe. It isn't worth the trouble with our respective parents. I appreciate your effort and I find it a nice gesture. Go!" Kovu runs off. Just in time before Simba and Nala returned. "Kiara, wake up and get Kion! We caught some vermin to feast on!" The day ends and the little lion family falls asleep in a friendly way.
The next day, Kovu decided not to tell his mom and siblings about meeting Kiara. Zira was busy hunting and Vitani came running towards Kovu when her eyeball popped on him. Brother!! she screamed. "I have found this something that I want you to see!" Kovu runs along with Vitani. She runs into her secret den and shows Kovu a frightened golden cub. "I am beeing captured against my will, please release me back into the wild!" the cub cries.
Kovu scans the situation. This cub looks like Simba and Kion, only poor fed and malnourished. "are you a far relative of any Pridelander?" Kovu asks. "My father is King Simba, but I cannot go back to the Pridelands! Let me go!" the golden cub replies. "Son of Simba?" Vitani grins. "Then you are a brother of Kiara and Kion!
" "True. But they think I died. They scare if I come back."
Kovu grins. "Vitani, this cub is our freepass into the Pridelands!" Vitani jumps in joy. "great idea!" With the cub in custody, the duo decide not to inform Zira, Nuka or the other Outlanders. This is Their Chance. Walking towards the Pridelands, Kovu and the cub talk. "what is your name? what happened?" "Kopa is my name. I am Simbas oldest son. Kiara might remember me but Kion was an infant when I got lost. I wandered from the cave of the Royal Den as a little cub and couldn't find the way back." Kovu chills. "wow..didn't your mom and dad look out to find you?" he asks. " they tried. but not hard enough." Kopa groans. "I got stuck between rocks. I called their names and they called mine. I heard them but them not me" Vitani chills too. "what horror. oh look, there is Pride Rock! consider yourself home now." Kopa walked towards the rock. "dad! it is me, Kopa!" Immedeatelely Simba jumps off the rock, followed by Nala and cubs. "Kopa? you are living!" "I sure am. These are Kovu and Vitani! they brought me here! Can they stay?"
Simba roars. "No! they are banished along with the other Outlanders. They brought you home just to stay here. Not happening!" Vitani and Kovu run off.
From behind a bush, they see Kopa conjoining with Kiara and Kion. "Our plan failed, we get back to the Outlands" Kopa membranes. Vitani shushes the situation. "Simba never continued looking for Kopa. Mother would never give up on us. We better get back to the Outlands. We belong there" Vitani explains. "It is our home. Like this is Kopas home" The siblings refrain in hilariosity after beeing confronted with this warm thoughtful truth.
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