What happened in between?

[Adimu]

What happened in between Lion King I and Lion King II?

Simba saw the sun dawn into the cave and momentarily, it blinded him. He looked around at the jumbled up mess of lionesses and saw his own son, snoozing beside him. His name was Kopa. He was honey brown with a brown tuft. He reminded Simba very much of Mufasa. A living memory. He still remembered the day, that devastating day, in the Gorge. His dad was being tossed about under the hooves of the wilder beast, on the horns from their heads, none of them even noticing that they were ruining a young life, killing an old one. It was not that Simba held a grudge against them, it's what happened after. Scar, his own uncle, kin, manipulated him into thinking he had killed his father. Simba felt no regret at having pushed him off the ledge.

He yawned and slowly retreated out of the cave into the sunlight. The sun bathed everything in a golden glow which made the Pridelands Simba''s one and only heaven. He went to the water hole for an early morning drink. The wind whistled through his red mane. All was well.

Not for long, though Simba did not know that. Soon, other lions came and joined him. His kind mother, Sarabi, his beloved mate, Nala and his playful cub Kopa. He scampered out and jumped around Simba.
"Dad, Dad! Please can I go and play? Can I go anywhere? Mum said I have to ask you!" he squealed.
Simba looked at Nala and she shrugged.
"Yes okay then. Just be back before twilight. And, Kopa,-" but Kopa had gone.
"Timon. Pumbaa. You will track him, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."
"Yes, Simba," grunted Pumbaa and set off with Timon being look-out in his shoulders.
"I see him! I see him! No it's a giraffe. They have a lot in common though. Oh, now that's definitely our Kopa, Pumbaa! No it's a rock. Ohh! There it is!" said Timon, thoughtfully.
"Please say you got it right this time."
"I'm certain. It's a dung beetle! Yummy!" he said. They chased after the dung beetle, completely forgetting about Kopa.

Kopa had got his dad's permission to go anywhere. Anywhere. Including the Outlands. It was meant to be a refuge for other lions and Kopa was bored of his own pride and was longing to see some new faces.
He reached the river separating the Outlands from the Pridelands. There was a big contrast. On this side of the bank, it was green, lush, flowery. The trees were growing rapidly, some bearing fruits. On the other hand, it was all red rock, mud, twigs, dead trees and carcasses in the Outlands. Kopa shivered at the thought of a new place to explore. He spotted an elephant nearby.
"Hey you! On King Simba's and I, Prince Kopa's, orders, you must uproot one of those small trees and place it across the river," Kopa said flamboyantly. The elephant did as he was bid.
"Pleasure doing business with ya, pal," he said cockily; he had done nothing in return. Kopa pranced along the log. He looked around. It was barren and bare. But he did hear the faint but distinct sound of laughter coming from the left of him. He sneaked up on that particular lion. It was a girl, playing with what looked like, her older brother. She had pale golden fur that stood out in the dark land. She had a large tuft, like a fringe, unlike boys. She had striking purple eyes. Her brother, on the other paw, was a mess. He had a faint look about him that suggested that he had just been electrocuted. He looked like he wasn't aware of things and was a bit slow on the uptake.

He heard a sound behind him. He carefully turned around, scanning his view for danger. Then he saw Pumbaa's long tail waggling in the air. He padded over to them and softly said, "Boo!"
They looked at him with the utmost horror and then calmed down.
"What are you doing here?"
"Simba asked us to-" Timon gave Pumbaa a big dig in his ribs. "Simba asked us whether we wanted to play with you."
"Yeah, yeah! That's right. To play. With you."
"Sure. I just spotted two lions playing over there. One's a girl. He had only ever grown up with boys. He had never met or talked to a girl before. It was a new experience.
"A girl, eh? What do you think of them, then, m'boy?" said Timon. "Annoying, meddling, silly, naive, sickly, confusing... That's how your mother was. She took our Simba from us. And then he fell in love. You don't want to fall in love. It's a dangerous thing."
"She actually seemed quite nice. She was really pretty too."
"That's it. You're done for. He's doomed," Timon said to Pumbaa, who shook his head.

He turned around and saw the girl looking at him. She obviously crept up on them when they were talking. He blushed slightly.
"What are you doing here?" she said menacingly. "Get out of the Outlands." Her gaze rested on Kopa, who started inspecting a stone at his paw.
"Why should we?" he said defiantly.
"Because," she said and walked away, head and tail in the air.
"Wait!" Kopa called. "The reason I came was to meet some new friends." He looked at her imploringly.
"Really? Bored of the same lions?"
"Yes."
"Same here. Name's Vitani," she said.
"Kopa."
"Who was the other guy? Your brother?"
"Unfortunately yes. He's a bit, you know, strange."
While they were talking and getting to know one another, a pair of red eyes were watching them intently from behind a clump of dying grass. She growled.