[Open] The King's Return

[Applejack]

Nala smirked and turned tail, running up to the tip of Pride Rock's platform. She stood, chest out, and put on a plainitive look. "I'm the King, so I can do whatever I want. I get to sit around and make announcements, answer questions, and order the Lionesses around." She smirked, turned around, and sat down, starting at Simba with a 'kingly' look.

Kopa smiled, looking up at Kovu, and simply nodded. "I know that I was gone for her whole life. There's no changing the past, unfortunately. I wish I could have been here all those years. I missed her cubhood and teen years, while I was fending for myself in the wilderness."

Kiara flattened her ears and swiped again at Kovu, cuffing him on the side of the head. "What about you? Big, bad Kovu, saving the princess from a Fire." She smirked and pounced on his back, forcing him to the ground, and sat on top of him.

[DGFone]

Simba sighed and hoped that he could shrink when Nala basically made a big fool of him. "Oh, come on now, I did not behave like that!" He shouted up at her. "Yes, I did say a few things that I shouldn't have, but this is taking it too far!" Still, Nala didn't budge. "Nala, get back here right now! Don't make me have to order you to!" Simba shouted up at her.


Kovu looked at Kiara. "I don't think that really counts," he quickly said. He didn't want to have to explain that the fire was started by Vitani and Kovu exactly so that he can save Kiara, get close to Simba, and then kill him. "It was a fire, and I stumbled upon you when you needed help."

His ears twitched when he heard Nala boast on the tip of Priderock, and Simba shout after her. "Uh, Kiara, what are your parents doing?" He asked, trying not to burst out laughing at the two lions. "Can royalty even behave like that? That doesn't look very..." he looked for the right words, "Professional." But he couldn't help himself and let out a few chuckles. "But it certainly is funny," he admitted.

[Applejack]

Nala flattened her ears and padded back down to Simba with a sigh. "Someone can't take a joke," she chided, nuzzling him. "Then again, that was a little off. I forgot to say a few things." She ducked her head when she saw the look he gave her and bowed down slowly. "I'm sorry, Simba," she said. "It was just a joke.."

Kiara nuzzled Kovu, trying to show him that she had made a large joke, and giggled. "Daddy, dont be so stern! It was just a joke!" She smiled and looked up at Kovu. "You know Mom. Always one to make a joke. I wonder where I got it from?"

[DGFone]

Simba smiled slightly as Nala returned to him. "I know it's a joke, Nala, but something like that from you?" He looked at her. "Normally I would let it slip, but they are looking at you as a role model. And if they will behave like you just did..." Simba gulped as he saw the look Nala gave him. "I think they would turn out fine." He corrected himself. He smiled. "But at least I got you to come back to my side." He had yet to tell her, but sometimes he still felt like he owed everyone seriousness to make up for the time lost when he was with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle.


Kovu smiled at Kiara. "Not from your dad, that's for certain." He gently pushed Kiara off him and got up, quickly shaking himself clear of the dust. "That pinning habit also from your mother?" He asked.

[Applejack]

Kiara smiled and quickly nodded, motioning over to Nala and Simba. "Any minute now, I garuntee it. He usually starts it, but he always loses." She kept her voice in a whisper so Simba couldn't hear her and chuckled.

Nala pulled her look back and sat up straight, trying to look regal, and smirked at Simba. "How's this, my king?" She smirked and let herself slouch slightly, looking at Simba with a normal look, attempting to resume seriousness. With the comment Kiara had just made, she wouldn't be surprised if Simba tried to pin her in a joking manner.

Kopa smirked and looked on with great interest. None of them were paying attention; now was the perfect opportunity. He crept up behind Kiara with an expert's stalking pose and quickly jumped on her back, trying to pull her to the ground and wrestle her around a bit. Some things he had missed as a cub with her had to come out now before they turned into pent up stress. He smirked and let her up, Padding up to Simba. He stood next to his mother and dad, smiling angelically down at Kiara. "Hey, Sis, why're you on the ground down there? Its not very Royal of you!"

[DGFone]

Just as Kiara predicted, Simba was about to try and pin Nala when he heard Kopa taunt Kiara. Turning around to look, he found Kopa right next to them, and Kiara on the ground nearby, being helped up by Kovu, and looking extremely annoyed. He narrowed his eyes at his son. "Kopa, what did you just do?" He asked, all traces of the playfulness from just moments ago gone. "Did you just tackled your sister like that?" He demanded.


Kovu rushed to Kiara. "Kiara, are you alright?" He asked, and helped her up. He heard Simba confront Kopa. "Relax Simba, it's just a game," Kovu defended, looking at Kiara to make sure that she was alright. "Kopa didn't mean anything by it."

[Applejack]

Kopa flattened his ears and looked down, settling onto the ground. "I was just trying to join in on the fun," he said, sighing. "I'm sorry, Kiara." He looked up at Simba and flinched lower as he saw the look on his face. He looked over to Kiara and saw her slowly getting up, then noticed a thin gash on her forearm and a look of complete sorrow came over his face. His first day back and he'd hurt his sister! He started to make his way over to her, but was held in place by Simba.

Kiara picked herself up gently and leaned on Kovu for support, her one forearm throbbing softly, a dull nuisansce of pain rising slowly. "You jerk!" She hissed at Kopa, "Why did you do that!" Kopa flinched down to the ground again as Kiara turned off and padded off to the safety of a nearby shadow to nurse the cut. "I..I'm sorry," he called after her.

[DGFone]

Simba glared at Kovu. "You stay out of this, Kovu." He turned back to his son and sighed. "Look, Kopa, I know that you want to part of the family, and I understand that," he said, "but you are no longer a cub. You are bigger than Kiara now. And stronger. And I am certain that when you lived alone, you never actually practiced to ease up and relax." He motioned at Kiara, still nursing her cut. "She's your sister, not prey."

Simba shook his head. "I know that you didn't want her to get hurt, but that's where the problem is. Before now, you never attacked something without the intention of killing it. Which is why I want you to avoid doing things like these until I can trust you not to accidentally use too much strength and hurt someone."


Kovu gave Kopa one last worried look and went over to Kiara under the tree. "Kopa didn't mean anything by pouncing on you," he told her. "You shouldn't be that mad at him. By the looks of it, I think he got hurt more." He smiled a little, and gently nudged Kiara's cut, but lightly enough not to cause pain. "See? It's not that bad!"

[Applejack]

Kiara hissed softly as Kovu pressed on her wound and flinched down, more from shock that this had actually happened than anything else. She shook her head and slowly pushed herself standing. "I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth.

Kopa flinched down with each reprimand. He wasn't used to being told wrong, but he nodded and stood up as well, looking at Kiara's wound with a small, inward sigh. "I'm sorry, Kiara. I guess I really don't know how to play." He sat down and looked at Vitani, wishing she'd speak, but Vitani continued to look on at them with a small, blank expression on her face. "I was just trying to fit in, Dad," Kopa said. "I missed my whole cubhood, and Kiara's. I just... I won't try to make any of it up, I guess."

[DGFone]

Simba gave Nala a short glance before walking over to Kiara, Kovu, and Kopa. "I know that you want to make it up. We all want you to. But do so carefully, alright?" He inspected Kiara's cut, much to her annoyance. "Yeah, it's alright," Simba said, grinning. "Kiara only complains if it's nothing."


Kovu gave off a sigh of relief when he thought that the scary episode was over. He looked at Kopa, trying to change the subject. "So where exactly did you spend all of this time? I never spotted you from here nor the Outlands. And I even ventured past them sometimes, but never spotted even traces of you."