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

[Carl]

The cubs grew together over the passage of time, their differences irrelevant to their childlike minds. The youths learned to speak with the language of the land, they learned to walk and run and play, they learned respect the Circle of Life and the Great Kings of the past.

And so it came to pass that one day, Simba was out with the other cubs of the pride, Nala, Mheetu, Tama, Tojo, and of course, his adoptive brother Adofo. Simba was boldly going farther than the cubs had ever been, and the others had mixed feelings about it.

"I'm not scared," Mheetu started, "but won't the king be mad at us for going so far from home?"

"Oh, stop being such a baby," Tama barked with a smirk.

"Yeah, what could go wrong? No animal's gonna mess with the future king and his friends," Simba agreed with a slightly mischievous smile.

[Adofo]

Adofo: And if anything goes wrong...again, then I'll get us out. Again.
He teased. As they were wondering further and further the group was becoming more and more hesitant about going so far from home.
Tojo: How far are we planning to go anyway? What if we can't find our way back home?!
Adofo: Don't worry! Me and Simba know these lands by heart! Just no one wander off!

[Carl]

"If you're scared, go home," Tama teased, "we're not doing anything dangerous, we're still within the borders of the Pride Lands."

Mheetu opened his mouth to respond, but as soon as he did, a sound filled the air. It was a high pitched sobbing and whining sound that penetrated the ears of the youngsters and put them on edge.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble!" Simba exclaimed, rushing away in the direction of the sounds. The nearer he got, the more obvious it was that it was indeed a cry for help. Someone was lost and alone, and they were very upset about it. As Simba distanced himself from the other cubs, Tama kicked up her heals and raced after him, eager for the adventure of it. In contrast, Mheetu shrank to the ground a bit and looked to Nala to see what her reaction would be before taking any action himself.

[Adofo]

Adofo sped off with his brother. Tojo and Malka followed close behind Tama.
Nala: Come on let's go, Mheetu! I won't let anything happen to you!
Adofo: What do you think it is?!

[Carl]

Soon the cubs came to a rise. As Simba peered over the rise, a young lioness cub around the same age as himself became visible near the bottom. Her fur was a very pale grey, and her fur was scruffy. She was slim and obviously hadn't eaten in a while. Her right cheek was slashed open and bleeding and there were various other scrapes and bruises all over her body. The claws on her forepaws were extended and tears were streaming down her face.

"Please, someone help me," she wailed pitifully. Always trying to be brave and powerful like his father, Simba bounded over the ledge and slid down to the cub's position.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, not seeing a problem. The cub sniffled and gestured to her rump, where Simba could see her tail was caught beneath a rock. Cringing, he inquired, "How did that happen?"

"I don't know, there was a rock slide, I don't know why!" she cried.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Adofo, you're the only one with hands, can you move the rock? Or is it too big?" the young prince suggested.

[Adofo]

Adofo: I can do it!
He grabbed the bottom of the big rock but his fingers kept slipping from very little space to grab onto. But eventually got a good grip and even managed to get it to flip over.
Adofo: You poor thing! We can take you back home! We can fix you up and get you some food! I'll even carry you!
Without even giving her time to answer the little boy picked her up in his arms and they started walking back home.
Malka: Don't worry! Our pride is super nice! They'll get you all better!
Tojo: So...do you have a name?

[Carl]

The grey cub remained as still as possible, feeling extremely uncomfortable in this strange ape-cub's arms. However, she was very grateful to him for having rescued her from certain death, and she really could use some food. The idea of meeting more strangers than just these cubs (and knowing that most of them at least would be adults, at least one of which would be the male leader of the pride) made her extremely anxious and scared. It was hard for the youngster to find her voice when one of the male cubs asked for her name.

"It's K-Koma," she replied softly. She was curious as to who these cubs were, but she was scared to ask for their names.

"Koma, huh? That's a nice name. I'm Simba, and I'm the future king. You'll be safe with us," the golden male who had discovered her announced, puffing up his chest in an attempt to be macho, but tripping on a root as he did so. The other cubs laughed, and even Koma giggled a little bit. The tawny female with a tuft on her head spoke up next.

"My name's Tama. We're not all quite so full of ourselves as Mr. Crown Prince," she said tauntingly. Simba pounced on her playfully from behind, but was quickly deflected, and returned to trotting forward through the grasslands with the rest of them.

[Adofo]

Tojo: I'm Tojo! It's nice to meet you!
Malka: My name's Malka! I'm not scared of anything!!
Adofo: And I'm Adofo! And the future king of clumsiness over there is my baby brother!
Adofo always loved referring to Simba as his baby brother since it always annoyed him so much.

[Carl]

"Oh shut up, you hairless monkey," Simba shot back at him before indicating Nala and Mheetu with a paw, "And those two are Nala and Mheetu. Nala's my best friend, and Mheetu's her little brother."

Koma nodded softly at them all, still shivering and upset. "H-hello... th-thank you all for helping me..." she murmured.

"You don't have to be scared," little Mheetu piped up, trotting to catch up. The grey cub looked down at him, and Mheetu continued, "I know it must be unsettling to be traveling to a new pride with a bunch of strangers... but you'll be okay. I promise."

Koma smiled weakly at the smallest cub, though he wasn't much smaller than the others. She didn't know if she could trust any of them, but for some reason this one made her feel a little more like giving them a chance.

[Adofo]

Adofo was actually a little hurt by his little brothers words. Even though he was just kidding, being reminded of how different he was to everyone else always upset him. The rest of the way Adofo just stayed quiet. They finally reached their home. They all climbed the rocks up to the den and went inside. Adofo laid her down off to the side, still not saying a word.
Malka: Simba go get your parents! They need to meet her and and get her some food!
Adofo crept to the very back of the den. The same place he always goes when he's sad.