Our Future lies within You. [DG & Songo]

[Songo]

Mufasa nuzzled his grandmother and grandfather and nodded at their words. "I love you both..." he whispered as he nudged Sarabi to step outside the den with him. The young lion walked out with his mate and he hugged Sarabi tightly as she cried, "The Great Kings have made their decision.." he whispered. Tears glazed his own eyes as he glanced up at the sky. Grey clouds rolled in over the Pride lands as the rain began to fall gently on them, he felt the droplets and sighed. He nodded his head as Rafiki passed them and walked into the den a solemn look on his face. Mufasa couldn't help and think about his grandparents speaking about Taka, he shook his head sadly.

Uru cried softly into Ahadi's mane and she lifted her head at Rafiki came to look at the aging pair, her honey colored eyes flickered with sadness. She hugged her dad tightly around his fluffy chocolate mane and cried more, "Please..I love you...don't.." she muttered as Ahadi pulled her away. She sat beside her mate as the tears flowed down her cheeks from the pain.

Kamaria smiled at Rafiki and nestled her face in Mohatu's big paws, she coughed a few more times. The old lioness smiled as she closed her blue eyes for the last time. Her body went limp as she passed away next to Mohatu....she was gone.

Uru noticed her mother leave and she gave another set of tears as she rubbed her head off her mother's for the last time, pain filled her heart she thought she was going to explode.

[DGFone]

Rafiki walked into the den, and gave of a small smile of greeting to Ahadi and Uru. That emotion proved hard to do as Rafiki tried to tame his own emotions at seeing the two lions, some of his best friends, die slowly in front of him. Rafiki sat down besides Kamaria and saw her smile at him. He smiled back, and she closed her eyes. Soon afterwards, he saw her breathing slow down before stopping completely. Rafiki closed his eyes briefly before reaching out and feeling for her pulse. There wasn't any.

Rafiki turned sadly at Ahadi and Uru. "She is now with de Great Kings," he said softly. It was clear that Uru already noticed. "Perhaps," Rafiki tried, "it will be better for you to wait outside." Neither Ahadi nor Uru moved, and eventually Uru brought herself to shake her head. Rafiki nodded. "It will be hard, but I understand." He said.

He went over to Mohatu, and sat down next to the dying lion. Mohatu tried to move his head up to look, but didn't have the strength. Tears were in his eyes, showing that he knew that Kamaria had already died. Rafiki shook his head sadly. "Don't exhaust yourself, my friend," Rafiki said, "Soon you will join her with de Great Kings."

Mohatu smiled, knowing that soon he will join his wife in death. He tried to look at Uru and Ahadi, but couldn't. "My daughter, my son..." he said, his voice barely audible. Not even his coughs had any strength left in them. "Be strong." He closed his eyes, and lay there, breathing his last air in this life. He smiled once more, knowing that he was surrounded by his family. Unable to speak anymore, he thought I am so proud of you, Ahadi and Uru. You make me proud. Soon afterwards, his breathing stopped as Mohatu went to join Kamaria.

Rafiki noticed how the king's breathing stopped. Again, he felt for a pulse, and din't feel one. He once again looked at Uru and Ahadi. "Dey are together now." He said softly, tears in his eyes. "The sun has set on dem together, just as dey lived together."


Ahadi couldn't speak anymore as he watched both Kamaria and Mohatu pass on. All he could do was hug Uru tightly as she cried into his mane. By now, his own tears had stopped, but most likely becasue he ran out of them, for he didn't feel any better. The two lions who gave his life a meaning were now gone. For Ahadi, it felt like a part of him left with them. He looked away, and ended up staring at the now night sky. Clouds covered the lands, raining into the Pridelands and hiding the stars. He didn't know how much time they had spent in the den, but clearly a long time, and yet, too little.

To his surprise, some of the clouds parted to reveal some stars. Ahadi noticed a bright star that he never saw before. Next to it, a slightly smaller star also twinkled, and together, the two stars combined their light to become the brightest in the night sky. Even with the clouds creating a small window to see through, the stars were majestic. Just like the two lions who just went up to the heavens. Ahadi smiled and nudged Uru. She looked at him, confused, and Ahadi pointed with his paw at the two stars, still unable to speak.


Sarabi felt slightly comforted in Mufasa's paws, but still cried into his mane. A gentle but cold wind rolled over, and Sarabi felt some drops hit her fur. She pulled her face out of mane to look up. Together, they watched as clouds rolled in as the heavens cried more tears than they could. And yet, at the same time, some of the clouds parted, creating a small hole through which, a group of stars shone through. And in the middle of the group, two stars shone brightly together. Sarabi gasped in shock and wonder. "Mufasa, look..." She whispered and motioned at the stars. "There they are..."

[Songo]

Uru removed her face from Ahadi's mane to give a look at the stars in the sky and she smiled slightly. Her heart ached thats for sure but she knew they were in a better place. She stepped out of the den with Ahadi and looked to Mufasa and Sarabi giving them a nod as they passed. She wanted to spend alone time with Ahadi, and she hopped to the tip of Pride rock in the rain. The Queen walked up the slippery rock ledge and gazed out on the wet land, she could fill the tears swelling in her eyes once more. She gaze a look back as Ahadi joined her side and she let out a roar into the night sky, it seemed only right to break the silence.


Mufasa hugged Sarabi and tried to wipe away her tears, his brown eyes stared at the stars. "They made it home.." he whispered to her softly. He watched his parents walk to the end of Pride rock and he looked to Sarabi confused a moment. He then lifted his own muzzle and let out a roar of his own, it rang behind his mother and fathers.

Sarafina woke up from the sudden sound of roaring and she ran outside into the rain, her eyes squinted as she noticed the King and Queen. The roar sounded of pain and it explained the passing of Mohatu and Kamaria, she bowed her head in respect. The Great Kings have two newcomers in their sky.." she whispered softly into the darkness. She wondered if Scar new of the news and she padded around Pride rock to tell him, she stepped to the entrance of his den, "Scar..." she yelled into the dark hole.

[DGFone]

Ahadi followed Uru outside the den and into the rainy night. Together, they sat down at the tip of Priderock, and Uru roared loudly. Ahadi understood, and also roared. Together, the noise of their roars filled the night sky, soon joined by those of Mufasa and Sarabi.

As if to answer, the high heavens replied with a flash of lightning, followed by the tremendous roar of thunder. The circle of life was not broke. It was complete.

Together, Ahadi and Uru sat side by side and watched as the rain poured over their lands.This rain was unusually powerful and cold, but they ignored it. All Ahadi cared about was that he was with Uru. And while Mohatu and Kamaria were no longer with them, he knew that they were watching. The stars and thunder proved it. The Great Kings may have received two new members, but those lions did not leave for good.


Sarabi looked up when Ahadi and Uru roared. Next to her, Mufasa did the same, so she added her own voice. Soon afterwards, thunder rolled in loudly. Sarabi smiled slightly. "They can here us," she whispered. "They are not gone. They simply moved on." This realization made her feel better, and she nudged closer to Mufasa as the cold rain finally got to her and she sought his warmth.


Scar was fast asleep in his den when Sarafina walked in. He got up slowly, very irritated. "What do you want?" He asked her. Lately, he spent lots of time with the hyenas at the elephant graveyard. He hoped that she didn't notice, but he was careful to make sure that he can't be followed to the forbidden area. This also meant that he was out of sync with what went on in the actual Pridelands. Scar preferred to be in his own little world he created with the hyenas.

But now Sarafina intruded into that world. "Why did you wake me up..." He looked outside, "Why did you wake me up in the middle of the night?" He demanded angrily.

[Songo]

Uru felt the cold rain water hit her pelt and she looked up at Ahadi, "Come on lets get inside.." she said softly taking one last look at the sky filling with clouds. She padded down Pride rock and went into the den snuggling her wet body next to Ahadi's she licked his cheek. "I love you so much.." she whispered before resting her head on his paws.

Mufasa nodded, "They will always be around when we need them." he whispered. He could feel Sarabi shaking so he pulled her closer to his large body. He gave her warmth and nuzzled his face into her soft wet neck fur. At the sight of his parents leaving their spot he nodded for Sarabi to join them in a separate den close by. He curled his large paws around Sarabi's body pulling her close so she didn't catch a cold in the middle of the night, "Tomorrow we get back to our training, someday we will be King and Queen." he muttered sleepily gazing at Sarabi's face.

Sarafina let a scowl pass her face as she growled at Scar, "Your pathetic....Mohatu and Kamaria have passed on. I thought you should know!" she said in a cold tone before turning to walk away from Scar. She shook her muzzle disapprovingly as she slowly made her way back to her den in the cold rain, she wondered where Taka lost himself.

[DGFone]

Scar watched Sarafina leave, feeling indifferent. "I don't care," he muttered, knowing that Sarafina can't hear him. "They had it coming. Besides, dad and Mufasa always said that it's part of the 'great circle of life'. I don't see any point in getting upset over it." He lay back down and promptly fell asleep again. "And Sarafina is the one who told me..." he whispered to himself. "Go figure." he added.


Ahadi followed Uru back into the den. He gave one last look at the bodies of Uru's parents and shuddered. He didn't want to think about it. So Ahadi lay down next to Uru, allowing his warmth to keep Uru comfortable. He also needed her warmth to keep himself from getting cold with their wet fur. He placed a paw around her body and slowly drifted off into a painful sleep.


Sarabi gratefully lay down next to Mufasa in the small den. "I hope things go back to the way they were before soon." she whispered to him. Letting out a yawn, Sarabi closed her eyes and lay her head down on Mufasa's wet mane. "Stay with me, will you?" She asked.

[Songo]

The sun dawned on the Pride lands late this particular morning, the dew still covered the grass and trees. Uru's head lifted groggily as her eyes narrowed at the sunlight, she felt like she barely slept. She nuzzled her face into Ahadi's mane the pain shooting back into her heart that her parents were gone. She knew she had to pull through and be strong, she couldn't stop her life and knew her parents wouldn't want that either. She left Ahadi's side and stepped into the humid wet air, her pelt ruffled by a small breeze. Her honey colored eyes glanced at the Pridelands, all seemed peaceful.


Mufasa licked Sarabi's cheek gently, "Come on...back to training." he said softly to his mate. His brown eyes gazing at her beautiful frame as she slept soundly, he nudged her with his muzzle. "Lets go check on the family..." he added standing to his paws and stretching his massive body forward. He gave his thick red mane a shake and he looked back to see if Sarabi was up and moving.

[DGFone]

Ahadi woke up when he felt Uru move around next to him. But instead of getting up, he still lay on the ground as the previous night's memories engulfed him. Only then, he felt Uru leave him, and he raised his head to look. Uru had wandered to the tip of Priderock and was surveying the landscape.

Ahadi sighed and stood up, walking over to Uru. He also knew that it would be worse than useless to dwell on the deaths. He sat down next to Uru, and saw that even though she tried to look fine, she wasn't. "How are you feeling?" He asked her, worried.


Sarabi moaned sleepily when Mufasa nudged her awake. "Lemme sleep!" She whined, only to remember what happened during the night. Suddenly, she wasn't so sleepy anymore. "Alright, let's go." She muttered as she got up. Anything that can keep her from thinking about the deaths will help her, so she might as well go with Mufasa and continue the training. Almost as if nothing happened... Sarabi quickly shook her head and wiped off tears that started to form over her eyes before Mufasa could see them.

[Songo]

Uru wiped a few tears from her eyes and looked up at Ahadi, "I will be okay my love. We need to keep the training going, every moment counts. I heard Mufasa and Sarabi rustling down there a bit." she said with a smile. She gave Ahadi a hug and nuzzled her chocolate muzzle into his thick black mane and she just took a few moments to herself. Nothing was more comfortable then the feeling of safety she felt when Ahadi was around.

Mufasa rubbed his head off Sarabi's softly before looking at his mother and father talking, "We need to be strong now." he said giving her a quick lick on her cheek. He hopped up the ledge to join his father, "Well dad...today we train in the western part of the Pride lands? Are we still working on our tactical defense and attacks?" he said softly his warm eyes watching Sarabi hop up beside him.

Uru gave a nod, "We need to make sure if a fight would be necessary that you two can handle it." she said softly. "You never know when you have to defend your land or your loved ones." she said standing to her paws and motioning for them to get moving to the open area.

[DGFone]

Ahadi nodded towards Mufasa and Uru. "Yes, Mufasa. Today we will continue your training." He sighed. "After all, Mohatu always said that life will must go on..." Ahadi shook his head with sadness. "He wouldn't have wanted us to stop our lives just because of their passing." He got up and took a deep breath of air. "Yes, tonight we will pay our respects for Mohatu and Kamaria. But for now, we will go on."

Ahadi lead the others down to the western border. As they walked, true to his word, Ahadi quizzed Mufasa and Sarabi over various aspects of ruling the kingdom. At one moment, when Mufasa was stuck on a hard question, Ahadi took the opportunity to talk with Uru briefly. "So what are we going to do with Scar?" He asked her. "He made it clear that he doesn't want to participate in the training, so what can we do?" He looked up quickly at Mufasa. "I'm still waiting for that answer!" He added.


As they walked, Sarabi found that she liked the sudden onset of lessons. For even though they were hard, and at times she hated them, these lessons made the day almost feel normal, and kept her mind occupied. Finally, after what felt like ages, Sarabi felt some happiness as she walked with Mufasa b he side, Ahadi and Uru behind them, as she tried to remember what to do when crocodiles get into a small stream with impalas and a few other animals nearby...