Ok, this is actually a little one-shot written before "Out of the Pridelands" was written. You see, I don't hate SP, but I'm not particularly fond of Kiara either (though I don't hate her). However, after seeing the artwork and reading descriptions of TLK: 6NA, I decided to use Kopa, though I made my own design for him as I didn't like him looking like a Simba clone. I am particularly proud of this piece. I plan on using it at the end of "Out of the Pridelands" when I get to that point. I was listening to the TLKOB song "Endless Night" when writing this, hence the reference to it. No bashing or flaming, please.
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Heir to Pride Rock
It was now time for Nala to have her cub. Simba waited nervously outside the den as the lionesses attended Nala inside. His heart went out to the beautiful lioness.
"Be strong, my love. Soon it will be over," he said in his mind.
Finally, Sarabi exited the den. She looked at her son.
"You have a healthy son," the former queen announced proudly.
Simba got to his feet in a rush and followed his mother into the den. In the center was Nala, a little furry bundle between her paws. Nala looked at her beloved.
“Simba, meet your new son,” she said.
Simba stepped forward slightly, taking a good look at the newborn lion. It had cream-colored fur similar to Nala’s, as well as blue-green eyes. Simba couldn’t have felt more proud than he was in that moment.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” he told Nala.
Nala smiled.
“What shall we name him?” she asked.
Simba thought hard until finally settling on a name.
“Kopa. He will be called Kopa,” he replied.
Nala liked the name. She looked down at her new cub.
“Prince Kopa, heir to Pride Rock,” she said proudly.
It was then that Zazu finally entered.
“Well, sire, shall I go and fetch Rafiki for the presentation ceremony?” the hornbill asked.
Simba nodded. Zazu spread his wings and took flight, flying out into the warm sunlight. When the bird was gone, Simba went out to the promontory of Pride Rock and unleashed a mighty roar. The various denizens of the Serengeti heard this call and obeyed, coming to Pride Rock. As they were coming, Zazu returned with Rafiki. Once all the animals, from the largest elephant down to the smallest rodent, had assembled, the ceremony began. As he had done with Simba, Rafiki cracked open a fruit and used the juice to paint a stripe on Kopa’s forehead. He then further anointed the cub with dust. The mandrill gently took Kopa from between Nala’s paws and, with parental pride beaming in Simba and Nala’s eyes, held him up for the assembled crowd of animals to view. As with Simba, they all bowed. As this happened, the voice of Mufasa spoke words of praise for his son from above.
“Well done, my son. We are one!” he said.
Simba heard this and smiled. He knew that the deep darkness, the endless night that had enveloped him for so long, was truly over. The clouds had cleared and the sun shone down. The ceremony then ended and Rafiki gave Kopa back to his parents. It truly was the proudest day in Simba’s life.