Dawn of A New Era

Safari and Simba watched the sun setting over Mt.Kilimanjaro. It was a few weeks after Simba's cub Kopa was born, and now Uzuri was pregnant and so was Nala. Safari had never been happier. But, something was nagging his mind.

"Something wrong?" Simba asked.

"No." Safari replied. "Just wondering how my adoptive parents are doing back in the zoo."

"I'm sure they're fine." Simba said.

Just then, Kopa came running up excited.

"Dad! Dad!" he yelled as he ran up to the two lions.

"Hey there, sport." Simba smiled. "What's all the excitement about?"

"Aunt Uzuri's in pain back there. Mom told me she's giving birth, whatever that means." Kopa replied.

"She's giving birth?" Safari asked.

Then, Safari ran to Pride Rock as fast as his legs could carry him. When he arrived outside the den, Nala met him.

"Its happened." she said. "C'mon in."

Safari slowly went into the den. His mate Uzuri was lying there. In her paws were two tiny bundles of brown fur. She had been licking them both. She heard him and looked at him, an expression of happiness and pride in her eyes.

"C'mon, then." she said playfully. "They don't bite. Atleast not yet."

Safari walked up to the brown lioness and looked at the cubs. They both were wrapped around each other. One was a male and one was a female. The male had his paws around his sister protectively. Safari smiled. He nuzzled Uzuri.

"Have you thought about what to call them?" Uzuri asked.

"I have, for the girl." Safari said. "How about 'Adia'? I heard it means 'gift'."

"Its perfect for our little girl." Uzuri smiled.

"And for the boy," Safari said. "What about 'Hadi'? It means 'guide' or 'leader'."

"Another perfect name for our cubs." Uzuri said lovingly.

Kopa came to see what the fuss was about. He sniffed at both the new cubs. Simba came to stand over his son.

"They're so....so...small." Kopa told his father.

"Of course they are." Simba smiled. "And so will your new brother or sister."

Nala came in at that moment and looked at the cubs. Safari looked at Simba with a look in his eyes. Simba underrstood the message and took kopa out, ignoring the cub's protests. Nala smiled.

"He reminds me so much of Simba as a cub." she said.

"No, technically, Simba was worse." Uzuri said.

The two sisters laughed. Then, Adia and Hadi began to cry. Uzuri put them both near her stomach and they began to suckle. She looked at Safari. He knew she and his cubs needed some time to themselves. He nodded to Nala and they walked out.

Safari took a stroll down the border of the Pridelands. He was half-dreaming, half-patrolling. He really missed his life back at the zoo, where everything was given and they didn't have to live rough. But, in the Pridelands, it was different. Everyday was a test of survival. But, he was doing pretty well. As he renewed the scent markings around the trees, he stopped and gazed down the road that led back to the zoo. He was tempted to run down and go back, but he was now a wild lion, and his loyalty to his pride stopped him. He turned back and headed back to Pride Rock.

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"Why can't I go with Kopa?" Adia asked.

"Because, his training is for the future king only." Uzuri tried to explain to her daughter while cleaning Hadi.

"How come we don't get to go." Adia demanded.

"Adia, you'll recieve different training in time. But now, just focus on not getting in trouble." Uzuri said, licking Hadi's red hair tuft.

"Mom, am I done?" Hadi asked.

"You are, now." Uzuri said. "You both can go and play with Kiara."

"Great!" Both cubs siad excitedly and ran ot of the den with Kiara following them.

Adia and Hadi were now old enough to eat meat. Adia looked a lot like her mother, with the same brown pelt and dark eyeshades, but with her father's eyes, nose and tail colour. Hadi looked a lot like an outsider with his boxy features and nose, but with his mother's fur colour and his father's nose colour, eye colour and mane colour. Both of them were playful and adventurous.

Just yesterday, the two cubs with their friend Kiara had bumped into a male outsider cub called Kovu. Safari, Simba and the rest of the pride had gone to save them and had an encounter with Zira. She had been banished from the Pridelands because she supported Scar a lot. Safari had explained to the twins that Zira was not someone to play with. Her cubs were dangerous. But Uzuri had a feeling that Kovu wasn't really Zira's son.

Uzuri had warned both cubs to stay out of trouble. She looked at Nala and smiled. Uzuri thought about how much Kiara and Adia were alike. She put her head on her paws and tried to sleep. The hunting patrol had had a successful hunt that day.

In the meantime, Safari walked along the border of the Pridelands. As he thought of all the days he and Simba hung out here, he caught a scent. Insctintively, he crouched down into an attacking position in case it was a rogue lion who might want to take over the kingdom. As he sniffed longer, he caught familiar scents. He stepped out of the undergrowth to see two cubs around Hadi and Adia's age.

The male cub had a black Outlander nose but colours just like Simon but with Janet's eyes. The female had Janet's colours but Simon's eyes.

These must be Simon and Janet's cubs, Safari thought. But what were they doing here?

He sniffed and caught Savannah and Janet's scents along the border. Obviously, they had been carrying these cubs here, but why would they leave them? At that point, Zazu flew over and told him that the zoo was infected with a killing disease that was killing young ones everywhere. Safari then knew why these cubs were abandoned. He picked them both up in his jaws and headed back to Pride Rock.

Once he returned, Uzuri helped him carry the cubs to Simba.

"So you say these cubs are your adoptive parents' cubs." Simba asked.

"Yes, they are." Safari replied. He explained the situation in the zoo and the reason they were abandoned.

"Well, they'll die if we don't do something," Simba said half to himself. "they can stay. They can be put in Elanna's care."

Safari bowed his head to show his gratitude. He and Uzuri led the cubs away towards the lioness named Elanna.

"What are your names?" Safari asked.

"I'm Kaliona." the female cub said.

"I'm Kefir." the male replied.

"Nice to meet you two. I'm Uzuri and this is Safari." Uzuri told the cubs.

"Is he your brother?" Kaliona asked.

"No, not my brother, my mate." Uzuri explained.

"Do you have cubs?" Kefir asked.

"Two." Safari said.

"When can we meet them?" Kaliona asked.

"Tomorrow." Safari said. "But tonight, just rest with Elanna."

The next morning, Safari had taken Adia and Hadi out on patrol when they bumped into Kaliona and Kefir. Adia and Hadi began to fight with the two zoo twins. It took Safari a really long time to pull the four apart. Quick introductions were made and Kaliona and Kefir ended up going on patrol with Safari, Adia and Hadi.

"So, how was life back at the zoo?" Hadi asked.

"i'll bet it was horrible." Adia said.

"No, actually, it was amazing." Kefir said.

"The enclosure's were so huge, it felt just like the wilderness."Kaliona backed up her brother.

"Dad, was it the same when you grew up there?" Adia asked.

"Yes, it was." Safari replied.

Safari renewed the scent markings around the Pridelands and taught the cubs how to stalk. In the end, Adia caught a bird, Hadi caught a small Bushbaby, Kaliona caught a hare and Kefir managed to round on a squirell before it raced up a tree. Safari was proud of the cubs. They were learning fast.

Years went by and the cubs grew. Adia grew more pretty as each day went by. Hadi grew a full red mane and it really showed his fierce side when he was angry. Kaliona grew to be like her aunt Uzuri. She was as pretty as her mother Janet. Kefir grew up to grow a full mane too, but in dark brown. He was also a handsome lion.

Safari and Uzuri were proud. They had spent the last few years training their cubs to face the world.

"You think they're ready?" Uzuri asked.

"Definetley." Safari replied.

"You did a pretty good job on them." Uzuri told her mate.

"I wasn't the only one." Safari said.

"Well, we stood by them the whole time. They're ready for a new stage in life now."

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