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The king wandered around anxiously. It was a lovely day in the Pridelands, the weather was warm, the breeze was cool, and the atmosphere carried the sweet scents of the land and the tranquility of the savanna. Contrasting the otherwise perfect day, a storm of anxiety and worry swirled in the king's heart. For nearly three days now his mother had been absent from the pride. What had started earlier this week as increasing periods of her leaving without any escorts or knowledge of where she was, now she simply had not come back. He felt his throat grow dry with worry, as the lump of fear in his gut sank. She had seemed perfectly fine over the last few days, if not adamant on going out by herself. He wished that he had been more insistent on giving her an escort or planting a scout to know where she was. Three days with no sight of her, he began to believe the worse had happened.

"Daddy!"

His worried expression grew soft as he saw the scampering, joyous form of his daughter bounding up to him, excitement written across her entire face. She all but barreled into his leg, hugging it tightly and immediately went into long stream of excited chatter of what her day was like. He smiled knowingly, sparing a glance to gaze at his approaching wife, her gorgeous form listening in the sunlight as she walked casually up to him. He scanned her face for any hints or clues, though she only could offer a concerned look in return.

"Daddy, are you listening?" She growled, the vibrations rumbling up from her throat as she sat up to try and pull at the long, scarlet locks closest to her. He patted her head, firmly enough to dissuade her from causing him any discomfort.

"Of course I am. I'm just really happy you had such a wonderful trip with your mother to the watering hole."

"It was the savanna, dad!" He withheld a awkward chuckle at her irritated expression at exposing his lie.

"Right savanna. I'm sorry," he apologized. She turned her nose up in a pout, though she quickly busied herself with looking out to the horizon. With that, he turned his attention back to his wife.

"Any sign of her?" She shook her head.

"No, though it is hard to both look for someone whose missing and keeping an eye on this one." She gestured towards their daughter, who didn't seem to notice.

He sighed, the worry slipping through his facade and onto his face. "Hey." He let his downcast eyes peer up at her. "Sarabi is the strongest and wisest lion I have ever known. I'm sure she had good reason to leave and that wherever she is that she is safe. She is more than capable of taking care of herself," she said firmly. But even a slip of her own worry and worst fears made itself known. "But even if she isn't-"

"Mom! Dad! Look, it's grandma!"

Instantly their heads swiveled and eyes focused at where Kiara's gaze was. Nala stepped up to get closer to where they were and turned to see with much relief the familiar form of her beloved mother-in-law making her way towards them. A sigh of relief released all the tension and worry in her heart.

"And- whose that?"

That worry managed to snag a tiny bit of her nerves as she looked again and spotted another figure trudging alongside her. A lion to be sure, but one rather thin and scraggly looking. One oddly familiar looking...

"Nala, get Kiara inside with the others and call the pride," Simba said, just as realization hit. Their daughter began protesting at the action being taken, though she would soon be able to spend all the time she wanted with the newcomer and new addition to her pride.

Don't get to write for Simba and Nala that often, that's a pleasant surprise. I had in mind the scene from Tarzan where Kala's troop is worried for her disappearance and relieved when she returns and shocked when she shows them Tarzan when putting together this scene. Additionally, I have officially decided I'm using TLK1's colors for Simba and Nala for this AU, as I do not particularly like their TLK2 designs. TLK2 Simba's build and mane style I can keep, since I do believe he did beef up and fixed his mane style to emulate his father's, but otherwise they just look pretty ugly to me. TLK2 Nala's design upset me the most, since it feels like she and Simba swapped color palettes and then had them darkened/lightened, and Nala just looks almost unrecognizable. As such, Kiara had to have her colors changed, but I like how they turned out. She definitely looks more like a mixture of her parent's colors when they was her age.

Also, I discovered I really like drawing trees... and they actually look pretty alright!

Sarabi, Simba, Nala © The Lion King © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kiara, Nuka © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Art © Vtoony

Description
Previous || Next

The king wandered around anxiously. It was a lovely day in the Pridelands, the weather was warm, the breeze was cool, and the atmosphere carried the sweet scents of the land and the tranquility of the savanna. Contrasting the otherwise perfect day, a storm of anxiety and worry swirled in the king's heart. For nearly three days now his mother had been absent from the pride. What had started earlier this week as increasing periods of her leaving without any escorts or knowledge of where she was, now she simply had not come back. He felt his throat grow dry with worry, as the lump of fear in his gut sank. She had seemed perfectly fine over the last few days, if not adamant on going out by herself. He wished that he had been more insistent on giving her an escort or planting a scout to know where she was. Three days with no sight of her, he began to believe the worse had happened.

"Daddy!"

His worried expression grew soft as he saw the scampering, joyous form of his daughter bounding up to him, excitement written across her entire face. She all but barreled into his leg, hugging it tightly and immediately went into long stream of excited chatter of what her day was like. He smiled knowingly, sparing a glance to gaze at his approaching wife, her gorgeous form listening in the sunlight as she walked casually up to him. He scanned her face for any hints or clues, though she only could offer a concerned look in return.

"Daddy, are you listening?" She growled, the vibrations rumbling up from her throat as she sat up to try and pull at the long, scarlet locks closest to her. He patted her head, firmly enough to dissuade her from causing him any discomfort.

"Of course I am. I'm just really happy you had such a wonderful trip with your mother to the watering hole."

"It was the savanna, dad!" He withheld a awkward chuckle at her irritated expression at exposing his lie.

"Right savanna. I'm sorry," he apologized. She turned her nose up in a pout, though she quickly busied herself with looking out to the horizon. With that, he turned his attention back to his wife.

"Any sign of her?" She shook her head.

"No, though it is hard to both look for someone whose missing and keeping an eye on this one." She gestured towards their daughter, who didn't seem to notice.

He sighed, the worry slipping through his facade and onto his face. "Hey." He let his downcast eyes peer up at her. "Sarabi is the strongest and wisest lion I have ever known. I'm sure she had good reason to leave and that wherever she is that she is safe. She is more than capable of taking care of herself," she said firmly. But even a slip of her own worry and worst fears made itself known. "But even if she isn't-"

"Mom! Dad! Look, it's grandma!"

Instantly their heads swiveled and eyes focused at where Kiara's gaze was. Nala stepped up to get closer to where they were and turned to see with much relief the familiar form of her beloved mother-in-law making her way towards them. A sigh of relief released all the tension and worry in her heart.

"And- whose that?"

That worry managed to snag a tiny bit of her nerves as she looked again and spotted another figure trudging alongside her. A lion to be sure, but one rather thin and scraggly looking. One oddly familiar looking...

"Nala, get Kiara inside with the others and call the pride," Simba said, just as realization hit. Their daughter began protesting at the action being taken, though she would soon be able to spend all the time she wanted with the newcomer and new addition to her pride.

Don't get to write for Simba and Nala that often, that's a pleasant surprise. I had in mind the scene from Tarzan where Kala's troop is worried for her disappearance and relieved when she returns and shocked when she shows them Tarzan when putting together this scene. Additionally, I have officially decided I'm using TLK1's colors for Simba and Nala for this AU, as I do not particularly like their TLK2 designs. TLK2 Simba's build and mane style I can keep, since I do believe he did beef up and fixed his mane style to emulate his father's, but otherwise they just look pretty ugly to me. TLK2 Nala's design upset me the most, since it feels like she and Simba swapped color palettes and then had them darkened/lightened, and Nala just looks almost unrecognizable. As such, Kiara had to have her colors changed, but I like how they turned out. She definitely looks more like a mixture of her parent's colors when they was her age.

Also, I discovered I really like drawing trees... and they actually look pretty alright!

Sarabi, Simba, Nala © The Lion King © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kiara, Nuka © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Art © Vtoony