We Are One

By: Xhibit B

Chapter One

.i do not own the lion king.

"Dad, Dad, c'mon Dad, we gotta go. You gotta get up," an overzealous voice chirped.

Nala could hear two sets of paws pattering across the floor as each of the twins took turns trying to wake their father who slept beside her. A small smile crossed the Queen's muzzle as she slowly stirred to consciousness. Her eyes remained closed as she turned her head so that her mouth was closer to her mate's ear. "Your children are awake."

"Before sunrise they are your children," the King, who was slowly waking at his children's insistent batting, replied quietly.

His own smile crossed his muzzle. He remembered a time when he was their age that he'd done the exact same thing to his own father. The day before, the King had promised to take the twins to the top of Pride Rock so that they could view the Kingdom. At six moons old, they were old enough to go up and see the Kingdom they would one day watch over as Queen and Prince.

One last hard ram was felt before Simba finally cracked an eye opened. He had to keep himself from laughing when he saw both Kiara and Kion scowling at him, their small paws resting over his arm. They both reminded the King so much of himself it was scary at times, but hilarious at others if his mate and parents had anything to say about it.

"You promised," Kion voiced.

"Yeah," Kiara cosigned.

"Alright, alright, I'm up, I'm up," Simba coincided as scarlet eyes finally opened fully.

"Yeah," both children cheered as they bounced away from their parents who slowly rose to their paws.

"When you said you wanted cubs, I didn't expect them to be this much of a handful," Simba admitted as he glanced over at his Queen.

Nala laughed, nuzzling her mate softly before nodding to where their children waited at the mouth of the den. "If you stall any longer, those two will begin to get restless and wake the rest of the Pride. You did promise them, after all, that you would take them to the peak of Pride Rock and show them the Kingdom. You can't go back on your promise, Simba."

Simba sighed, nodding as both he and Nala carefully made their way to where their children were waiting. He knew she was right, especially when it came to Kion. Kiara was a bit more reserved than her brother; something he assumed she got from her Mother. Nala was the epitome of calm in most cases, unless pushed to be the fierce lioness he knew her to be.

When they finally caught up with the two eager twins, Simba took the lead, walking up the slope that led to the top of Pride Rock. Affectionate nuzzles were given to their mother who watched happily as her children followed her mate up the side of the rock formation. When they were no longer in sight, she went to wake the members of her hunting party. They would need to get a start on the hunt soon. Rafiki had warned her that there might be a storm before mid-day that would make it nearly impossible to hunt. He wasn't sure when the storm would strike or how long it would last, and the Queen planned to waste no time finding out. When she'd gathered everyone, they set out; quiet murmurs ensuing about how they predicted the hunt would go.

…

Meanwhile, Simba and the twins made it to the top of Pride Rock; the King roaring out over the valley. Kiara and Kion sat on either side of their father; faces full of wonder at the beauty of their home. Sure, they'd explored the perimeter around Pride Rock, where they were allowed to go; but they'd never seen the full scale of their home, not like this.

"Wow," Kiara voiced softly. "It's so beautiful."

"Look you two," Simba started, remembering the speech his father had given him when he was their age. "Everything the light touches, is our Kingdom."

"Whoa really," Kion asked.

Simba simply nodded as he continued to speak. "A King's time as ruler, rises and falls like the sun. One day, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with Kiara as the new Queen. Kion, you will be the head of the new generation of Lion Guard when your time comes; it will be up to the two of you to watch over the Circle of Life."

"All of this will be mine," Kiara asked.

"Everything," Simba confirmed.

"What about that shadowy place over there though, Dad," Kion asked, irking a brow at his father.

"That's beyond our borders," Simba said, becoming stern. "You two must never go there. Hyena call that land home, and will not hesitate to kill you, even if you are my children. They didn't care that your mother was to be future Queen when they attacked her, they won't care that the two of you are of royal blood."

"The hyenas attacked Mom," Kiara asked, curiously.

"Yes, but that is a story for another time," Simba said as he turned to leave; gesturing for the twins to follow after him as he led them down to the flat lands below. They walked in silence for a time; Simba leading them to where the herds were grazing. "Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As part of the royal family, you both need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures. From the crawling ant, to the leaping antelope."

"But Dad, don't we eat the antelope," Kiara asked.

"Yes, but, when we die our bodies become part of the grass," Simba explained patiently. "And the antelope eat the grass. Thus, we are all connected in the great Circle of Life."

Kiara was about to say something else when Zazu suddenly appeared, interrupting her.

"Good morning, sire," Zazu chirped happily.

"Good morning Zazu," Simba returned. "What do you have for the morning report?"

"Well, there has been quite a bit of unrest within the herds recently," Zazu explained. "The antelope have complained about their cousins going missing in the dead of night without warning. Have any of the lionesses been night hunting recently?"

"Not that I am aware of," Simba answered. "Nala is very strict about hunting times…"

"I would suggest you speak to your father about this then," Zazu suggested.

"I will," Simba assured him before turning to look at his children. He glanced back at Zazu, "Take Kiara and Kion home. I have to go find my father."

"Oh dad, can't we come," Kion asked, hopeful.

"I'm sorry, but this is nothing cubs should be concerned with," Simba assured them. He then turned to his majordomo, nodding, "Zazu, please."

"Of course, sire," Zazu answered, taking to the air. "Come along, Kiara, Kion. Let's get you home."

"Fine," the twins sighed in unison, following the majordomo as their father left in the opposite direction.

The news that Zazu had brought him concerned him greatly. And he needed to speak with his father as soon as possible. Being that he and his mate had only been the reigning monarchs for several moon cycles now, there was still much for him to learn. But having both his mother and his father there helped tremendously. And he had a feeling, he would need their help more than ever with this.

…

It didn't take long for Simba to find his father. He'd been resting under the shade of the acacia trees with his mother. He half felt bad for interrupting their time together. But he couldn't' worry about that right now. He needed his father's advice and so; he'd called the former King away, apologizing to his mother for stealing her mate away. It was only when they were out of earshot that Mufasa questioned his son.

"What is it, Simba," Mufasa asked.

"I needed some advice," Simba answered. "Zazu informed me that there has been unrest within the herds. He even asked if the lionesses have been going on night hunts without permission. Nala oversees the hunting party and I doubt she would approve anyone going out in the dead of night to hunt unnecessarily. Especially without warning."

"I've also heard this," Mufasa said glancing out at the vast plain that made up their homeland. "And it is very concerning that this is happening."

"I agree," Simba hummed. "I'm going to need help from the old Guard. Have them keep an eye on things to help Malka and the others. I'm going to talk to those guys too, put them and Nala on alert. In the meantime, Nala and I may need yourself and Mom's help to settle the herds. The last thing we need is a revolt. And I don't think Nala and I can handle it alone."

"Of course, son," Mufasa promised. "I'll talk to your mother and we'll get started. You alert both guards and Nala of what's going on. We'll work together to put things back in order and figure out who the cause of this is. I get the feeling it will take all of us working together to get things under control again, Simba."

"Thank you, Father," Simba said with a small smile. "That's all I needed, you and Mom can finish relaxing. The guards, Nala and I will start making rounds to settle the herds."

Mufasa nodded once, leaving his son to return to his mate again. Simba, in turn, went to find his own as well as call for the Lion Guards of old and new. He was certain Nala and the hunting party should be back from their hunt by now, and Guard should have returned from patrolling at this point. They needed to get this situation under control as soon as possible. And the King feared what would happen if they didn't.

chapter one, complete. chapters do get much longer as the story progresses. let me know what y'all think. until next time, ciao!