Our Future lies within You. [DG & Songo]

[DGFone]

Ahadi playfully frowned as Uru pinned him. "You know, I think the cubs are watching," he told her as she licked his cheek. "If Sarabi and Sarafina start to tackle our boys, I think I know how do blame," he said, smiling the whole time. With Uru still on him, Ahadi turned his head to watch the cubs. Sure enough, they had seen them , and now it looked like Sarabi and Sarafina were plotting against Taka and Mufasa. "This should be interesting," Ahadi told Uru.


When Sarafina told Sarabi the trick on how to pin others, Sarabi's eyes narrowed and a large grin formed on her muzzle. This will be so much fun. "Now who to pin first?" she asked slowly, but not loud enough for either Mufasa and Taka to hear.

Taka knew that something was going to happen, so he tried to look... normal. As long as he looked like an uninteresting target, Sarabi and Sarafina would most likely go after Mufasa. And now his brother was trying his "I'm the future king" move.

Sarabi grinned even more when she settled her eyes on Mufasa. He was bigger than Taka, and more... boastful. It would be much more fun to pin him. "Hey, Muffy!" she called out to catch his attention, "Think fast!" She sprinted at the prince, and Mufasa grinned in turn, confident that he would prevail. Sarabi jumped on her hind legs, forcing Mufasa to do the same. Then Sarabi did what Sarafina told her... and Mufasa came rolling down on his back, Sarabi on top of him. "Pinned you!" She grinned at him. Nearby, Taka was laughing.

[Songo]

Uru smirked mischievously down at Ahadi and her honey colored eyes looked to the cubs. "Well sometimes the female needs to be able to take charge." she giggled sliding off Ahadi. She laid to her belly comfortably and rested her head on his shoulder, a loud laugh slipped from her muzzle. "Look Sarabi pinned Mufasa!" she said smiling. "Looks like the future King met his match.." she whispered playfully.

Mufasa felt his back hit the ground and he looked up at Sarabi astonished, his brown eyes in awe. He pushed Sarabi off him and grumbled slightly, "Pinned by a girl.." he uttered rolling his eyes. "Lets play something else.." he suggested. He heard Taka laughing and his ears went back rather annoyed, "Shut up.." he growled embarrassed.

Sarafina heard Taka laughing and her green eyes narrowed at him playfully. She began to chase after Taka and he ran away once he seen her coming. Taking a leap of her own she tackled him onto the ground and pinned him down. "Pinned ya.." she said smirking victoriously. Sarafina slid off Taka and padded back towards Sarabi, "Good job. We showed those boys!"


Uru nuzzled Ahadi's mane, "They learn fast don't they? Soon they will be young adults attempting their first hunt and picking mates. I do like Sarabi and Mufasa, she complements him. Like I do you." she said with a grin.

[DGFone]

Ahadi looked over at Sarabi and Mufasa before he looked back at Uru. "Yes you do," he agreed with her. "Sarabi and Mufasa. I like the sound of that," he said dreamily, and then frowned. "But what about Taka? Do you think that Sarafina suits him, or will we need to look for someone else?" He asked.

"I think you will find out with time," a voice behind them said. Ahadi and Uru both let out a startled yelp and got to their feet. They faced Mohatu and Kamaria, who also came down to the waterhole. Mohatu looked at Ahadi. "Why did you let a lioness pin you?" He asked, smiling. "Did you honestly think that we won't come down here and watch the cub with you?" he asked, explaining their presence.

Ahadi started blushing, but Mohatu nudged him. "Relax, Ahadi. Just the entire family enjoying the day together. I already made sure that there won't be any problems today." Ahadi let out a sigh, causing Mohatu to laugh.


It took a while for Taka to stop laughing after Sarabi pinned Mufasa. He was about to tease his brother about it when he noticed that Mohatu and Kamaria also came down. He ran up to them. "Hey grandpa! Hey Grandma!" He shouted excitedly. "Mufasa got pinned by a girl!"

Sarabi looked up to where Taka had ran off to, and spotted Mohatu. "Hey, it's the king!" She told Sarafina and got off Mufasa.

[Songo]

Uru smiled at her father's words, "I believe everything will happen with time." she said softly agreeing with her father. She nuzzled Ahadi's mane and chuckled, "A day off is great..plus the cubs get to enjoy time together." she said smiling.

Kamaria relaxed to her belly by Mohatu and smiled as Taka ran in front of them, she scooped him close with her paw and licked his cheek lovingly. "My baby Taka, getting so big!" she cooed softly. Her blue eyes flickered as she watched the cubs play, "Ahh...Uru I remember when you were that size. So quiet and to yourself, but you didn't have many cubs to befriend either." she spoke softly.

Mufasa rolled over and ran between his grandfather's leg a big grin on his muzzle, he then felt the loving lick from his grandma. "Aww...grandma.." he grumbled wiping it off embarrassed. "She didn't pin me, I let her. Shes a girl!" he said defending his honor.

Uru chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Mufasa,"Such a little gentlemen ehh? " she asked looking down at him.

Mufasa looked away and blushed, "Well i'm future King. So yeah, I am." he laughed out flashing a big cheesy grin. He narrowed his brown eyes at Taka and proceeded to tackle his little brother into the grass playfully. "Tag your it..!" he called before running towards Sarabi.

Sarafina ran from Mufasa and she ended up in front of the King and Queen, she bowed her head. "Thank you for letting me stay here.." she threw in once more. Her green eyes squinted as Mufasa ran towards her and she took safety behind Taka.

[DGFone]

Ahadi smiled when Mufasa refused to admit that Sarabi had pinned him. Leaning closer to Uru, he whispered to her, "you know, I was thinking something along those same lines when you pinned me," he told her. Now louder, he told Mufasa, "Of course you let her pin you," he said, failing miserably to sound, or look, serious.

Next to them, Mohatu laughed. As Mufasa ran off to play tag, Sarafina came to them, and again expressed her thanks to Mohatu. He smiled at her. "Don't mention it," he told her gently, "It's great having you and your mother here," he said. Sarafina smiled and also ran off when she spotted Mufasa running towards her.

Taka watched as Sarafina ran towards him. "You do know that I'm it, right?" he asked her when she tried to get him in between her and Mufasa. She let out a surprised squeak and bolted away from him. So Taka chose a new target. Mufasa was too alert, and Sarafina was already running away. Taka grinned and charged at her.

Sarabi noticed Taka sprinting towards her, so she turned and ran. Taka chased her for a long time, Sarabi always able to avoid him whenever he would come close. But then she slipped slightly in her step, and Taka was on her. "Tag, you it!" he said triumphantly.

Sarabi let out a huff of annoyance, and set her sites on Mufasa. "Well, future king, here I come!" she told herself, and charged.

[Songo]

Mufasa smiled at his dad and nodded before running off to play with the others. His brown eyes narrowed as Sarabi began to chase him, he quickly ran to the top of a small grassy hill. "Hmmph...Your not fast enough!" he yelled out proudly from the top of it.

Sarafina smiled as she watched Sarabi chase Mufasa and she padded beside Taka. She nudged him with her paw, "I bet you Sarabi gets Mufasa." she said slyly with a grin. She bounded up the other side of the hill to surprise Mufasa, she gave a little roar to spook him.

Mufasa snapped around to face Sarafina and he growled, "Hey! Whats that for?" he muttered looking at the young female, forgetting a moment that Sarabi was it.

Uru grinned as the cubs played, "So Ahadi, you let me pin you eh?" she said cooly and she nipped at his furry brown ear. A soft purr slipped from her muzzle lips as she licked his cheek, "I go easy on you because your going to be King." she said chuckling.

Kamaria laughed and leaned into Mohatu, "You know I do the same thing for you dear." she said playfully. She watched the cubs play, "Aren't they just beautiful Mohatu, our future right there." she whispered in awe at the cubs.


Uru side glanced to Mohatu, "Dad when will you be handing the throne to Ahadi, I want to know ahead of time. I'm trying to squeeze all the family time I can from him." she said softly, her honey colored eyes looking back to her mate.

Kamaria smirked, "We will always be here as extra guidance and help Uru, don't think your getting rid of us anytime soon." she teased.

[DGFone]

Taka grinned. "I want to see her get Mufasa too," he told her. "He's only the future king, after all..." he said. Mufasa head him, and turned quite mad. Taka laughed at this. Not only was his "big" brother losing his temper over a simple game of tag, and now Sarabi was sneaking up on him...

Sarabi was about to burst with laughter as she climbed the small hill to tag Mufasa. He was distracted by Taka and Sarafina, completely ignoring her. When Sarabi was close enough, she quickly bounded towards him and jumped. The force of her crashing into him send the two of them rolling back down the hill, and when they landed near Sarafina and Taka, Sarabi once again had Mufasa under her. "Pinned ya again!" she said smugly. "That, and you're it." Mufasa did not look pleased, looking up at her with fury in his eyes.

Taka saw his brother's fury, and knew that things might get serious soon, and tried to change it. "Hey, do you know any other games?" he asked Sarafina. He hoped that Mufasa will not take it as an insult.


Mohatu nodded at Uru's request. "My daughter, when Ahadi becomes king, life will get more interesting." he told her. "Some days you will barely see him. While on others, the two of you will be able to sped as much time together as you want. It will depend on how the kingdom is run." he explained. Mohatu turned to Ahadi. "As king, your lessons that take up all our time will effectively over. But instead of the standardized schedule we had, you will have to learn how to cope with the randomness and stress of the events that will need your attention. It will be hard, but worth it." he said.

Ahadi nodded in understanding. "I got it... But will there be a way for me to know if I will be free or not? How will I be able to plan days ahead?" he asked.

Mohatu smiled in amusement. He figured that Ahadi would have already known the answer for that, but with the intense training he was going through, it was a miracle Ahadi was learning at all. "That's what Zuzu is for. Unless she tells you of an immediate problem, you can send her to arrange a meeting time. The evening reports also tell you what to expect in the morning, but sometimes things change during the night." he said.

Ahadi got extremely embarrassed at forgetting something as obvious as that. "Right, Zuzu! I completely forgot about her..." he said. "Sorry..." he mumbled afterwards. To forget something as important as that in front of Uru... was embarrassing to say the least.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ahadi saw that the cub's play was turning serious. "Kids!" he called out. "Get over here!" Mohatu nodded in approval.


Upon hearing Ahadi call out to them, Sarabi immediately jumped off Mufasa in shock. Ahadi didn't sound very pleased at them.

The cubs walked over to the adults. Taka looked down at the ground, but still asked, "Yes dad?"

Ahadi sighed. "What happened back there?" he asked, softly but with a commanding tone.

[Songo]

Mufasa grumbled as Sarabi pinned him again and he rolled over onto his belly when he heard his father's deep voice. Quickly running over to join Taka by his side, Mufasa's brown eyes gazed at his light tan furry paws. " We were just playing, thats all dad." he muttered softly not wanting the day to end yet.

Sarafina sat quietly behind Taka and her green eyes looked to Sarabi, she smiled at her triumphantly.

Uru smiled at her boys, "Take it easy, its just a game. Why dont you guys go play in the water a little bit. Cool off." she said softly with a smile. She nuzzled Taka's cheek and gave Mufasa a quick lick, "Its okay to loose to a girl. It happens." she whispered to Mufasa.

Mufasa sighed softly, "Yes mama." he answered. His brown eyes looked to his brother, "Lets go play in the water." he said loudly and bounded off towards the shallow end of the watering hole. He felt the cool liquid make it to his paws, he saw Taka get closer and he splashed his little brother soaking him.

Sarafina followed close behind and felt the cold drops from Mufasa's splash, "Hey!" she yelled. She splashed Mufasa back and soaked him, she giggled.

Uru looked to her father, "Cubs." she said with a smile. She rested her head on Ahadi, "Itll be good to have Ahadi around, more family time." she added nuzzling his mane softly. She purred and her honey colored eyes gazed up at him lovingly.

[DGFone]

Taka was about to defend themselves when Mufasa spoke up instead. Uru then told them to go and play in the water, and Mufasa and the girls ran off. He though, looked up at Ahadi shamefully. "I'm sorry, father. I gloated Sarabi into pinning Mufasa." he said softly.

Ahadi looked down at his son. "Don't worry about it, Taka. I doubt if Mufasa will remember it in the evening. Like your mother said: it's only a game" he said, and then motioned for Taka to go and also play. "Go on."

Taka nodded and ran off, overtaking Sarabi and Sarafina. He was rewarded for his efforts with a mighty splash from Mufasa, getting soaked instantly. So he ran to the water and jumped, splashing everything around them, including the three other cubs. Mufasa, already wet, laughed and splashed back. Sarabi and Sarafina also got wet, and also joined in.

Sarabi got wet from one of the splashes that Taka and Mufasa had sent at each other, so she, with a playful shout of joy, also dived into the water and started splashing. Soon, the four of them were splashing and running all over the shallow banks of the water hole.


Ahadi sighed dreamily. "More family time. I can't wait for it." he said softly. "Do you know how much I miss you guys?" he asked Uru. "More than I would like to." Together, he and Uru watched the cubs frolic in the banks, as Mohatu and Kamaria also watched.

Mohatu smiled and nuzzled Kamaria. "Our grandkids," he told her happily. "So big already!"

[ooc: should we fast-forward soon?]

[Songo]

Kamaria lifted her chin and gazed up at Mohatu, "They grow too fast.." she whispered.

-Fast Forward-

Her green eyes opened as the sunlight flickered through the den, she nuzzled her mother's neck softly. "I'm going out.." she whispered letting her aging mother rest. Her bright green eyes dazzled as she stepped into the sunlight. Her body fur had lightened and her green eyes only seemed to get brighter with age, she smiled at the chirping birds. Sarafina made her way down the rocky path and ran through the Pride lands, feeling the wind graze over her lean body. The young lioness almost an adult now smiled at the grazing animals, she couldn't wait for her first hunt.


Uru was already up and sitting outside the family's den, her honey colored eyes watching the sun rise. She noticed Sarafina going on her morning run and she smiled at how beautiful the young cub grew up to be. She was truly one of the beauties besides Sarabi, that stayed in the Pride lands. Her chocolate furry ears twitched as she heard her growing sons stir in the den. A smile crossed her lips, "Morning boys." she said looking back at Mufasa and Taka.

Mufasa lazily pulled himself from the den, he had grown large and had a thick body like his grandfather Mohatu. His little tuft of fur had gotten bigger and he had furry orange sideburns to match. His brown eyes laid upon his mother, "Morning mom." he muttered reclining beside her, "Dad is already out?" he asked curiously.

Uru nuzzle Mufasa's cheek, "Yes he is, you and Taka can go grab the girls and head out to the watering hole if you'd like. Just stay out of trouble." she said eyeing them.