me."

"And to have them as a part of our pride now makes us stronger than ever." Simba added. "Any other enemy who would attempt to challenge us would have very little chance due to the strength in experience and numbers."

"Most likely, but still we have to maintain that unit as much we can. The experience of the New Breed will ensure that will happen once they and the Originals start training."

"True." Simba replied, who then decided to get back on point about Kovu. "Anyway, in summary, Kovu's upbringing undoubtedly blackened his heart, but also did a lot of good for his mind and body. And now that his heart has been cured, he has been able to learn well about compassion, respect, and responsibility. I believe that he is physically and mentally strong enough to lead a pride."

"I also have faith in him." Nala positively replied. "His strong ability to learn from his errors to bring the best out of himself is admirable, and he and Kiara will do us proud."

"They certainly will." Simba agreed with an approved smile, which his mate returned.
"By the way," Nala said, changing the subject. "I wonder how Kiara went yesterday through her training with Vitani."

*

"You could say that it was fairly intense." Kiara was saying to Kovu, also on her hunting and fighting training. "Learning each individual move was fairly simple once you got your head around it, but then having to combine the moves in one spar session was a little more complex, because when you are so focused on executing one move with little time to think, it is hard to think about the technique of the next move if you have to react again fast. Along with that, there are other things you need to think about; including if the right move was chosen; whether it has to be a grapple or strike; whether to dodge, block or counter an attacking move made on you when defending; how much stamina you have left; and when you or your opponent has the advantage depending on your level of fatigue. Fighting seems very involved."

"I know what you mean." Her dark-furred mate replied, remembering how it usually took him a few sessions to comfortably understand every trick to becoming a worthy opponent in battle. "The important thing is that you understood every move and you were able to execute them. I found that it is better to just stick to the simplest but effective moves to begin with. Focus on perfecting the fundamentals and then you will feel more comfortable with the more complex maneuvers. But if you can work the basics well enough to outsmart your opponent, that is really all you need. So don't get too carried away with becoming an expert. Just focus on doing every simple little trick right."

"Sounds very logical to me." Kiara responded.

"Yes. And most importantly, always remember: Strategy, not strength."

"'Strategy, not strength'. Got it."

"Good. And by the way,..." He wanted to know a little more about their time together. "...I remember you two did not come back to Pride Rock until just before it was time to turn in for the night. What were you up to?"
"After we finished our training, she insisted that I take her out and show her everything about having fun. Being brought up how you were; all work and no play; she never understood the definition of fun. Like you, remember?"

Kovu thought back to that time when he was taking Kiara on her first hunting lesson when they came across Timon and Pumbaa attempting to scare birds away from their 'smorgasbord' in the grasslands. They asked Kovu to help out by 'lending a voice', or roaring at the birds to get them away, and then the two lions, the meerkat and warthog ran at the birds to further scare them off just for the enjoyment of it.

 

"You wanna lend a voice, huh?" Timon asked Kovu. He then attempted a growl to emphasise what he meant, but it came out pretty weak, so he decided to be more specific: "Roar! Work with me."

 

"Huh?" Kovu asked in confusion.

 

"Like this:" Kiara responded, who then gave a big roar; loud enough that the birds got scared and flew away from their place on the ground and into the sky.

 

"Whoo-hoo!" Timon whooped in joy and satisfaction as he hopped onto Pumbaa's back just before the warthog began to run. "Come on! Do it again! Do it again!"
 

Kovu got the idea and, just because he was asked to, he then let out a roar of his own, and this scared more birds away. Timon and Pumbaa enjoyed it a lot as they ran through the grassland through the many flocks of birds and blew raspberries at them. Kiara, knowing the enjoyable side of this, followed suit along with Kovu, not that he really knew what was going on.
 

"Why are we doing this?" He asked while running beside Kiara. "What's the point of this training?"
 

Kiara laughed in enjoyment as she was running. "'Training'? This is just for fun!" 
 

"Fun?" Kovu asked, seemingly not knowing what it was all about.
 

"Sheesh." Timon responded while holding onto a bird’s legs as it was taking him up into the sky. "Kid, you gotta get out more often. Fun! Yee-ha!" And he laughed loudly as the bird carried him higher until Timon finally let go and landed on Pumbaa's back, who was still running and somehow timed the break of the fall perfectly.

Kovu slowly got the idea of what fun was all about through this experience and he went along with it, smiling with joy.

"Yee-ha!" He followed Timon's fun-time phrase as he was picking up on it. "Yee-ha!"

And now, not just the initial three, but all four of them were having a good time as they were running and further forcing the birds away into the air. Kovu especially had never felt this before and he was having the time of his life. It was only just the beginning of the emergence of his brighter side.

"How could I forget?" Kovu replied after thinking about that day. "It was something that I never knew about in all my years being brought up in darkness. But that day was where it all started. That was the day my heart was about to change in the right direction. So I can't thank you, Timon and Pumbaa enough."

"It was nothing." She replied in delight and slight flattery. "Always a pleasure, my love. So anyway, that is pretty much the same as what I did with your sister. We went around chasing the birds all over the grasslands. We probably should not have done too much of it because we were already tired enough from our training session, but we still enjoyed it a lot. We then went for a stroll to a couple of waterholes and to the river Kube. She said that she really enjoyed the natural beauty of the land and it was something that she had waited for most of her life to see. She added that to have the feeling of walking on fresh green grass, eating fresh wholesome meat and tasting the freshest water after growing up in a barren habitat was everything that she had ever wished for, and she could not have been happier. She was very grateful for what I did for her."

"Safe to say that I could feel the same, because, generally speaking, you showed us the quality of life."
Kiara just smiled at these words. She felt quietly proud on how she went about helping others.

"I think that she understood that very well. So then, come the evening, just like you and I did, Kovu, we lay down on our backs and gazed at the stars. I thought that it would help not just to rest off a hard day's work, but to ease the mind and feel more relaxed about life, and that is what I knew Vitani also needed. I have always thought that the combination of physical fitness, recreation and relaxation every day increases the health value of not just the mind and body, but also the heart and spirit."

"Very true and wise, Kiara." Kovu replied with impression at his mate's assumed spiritual learning's. Did she learn that from her father or Rafiki? Either way, she does learn well.

"Yes. So again she appreciated it, and after a while of stargazing and comfortable chatting, we made back to Pride Rock to get to sleep. A little late, yes, but I guess we were having too much of a good time."

"No harm in that." Kovu replied understandably. "I am glad that you two got to know each other a bit."

"So am I. Your sister is alright."

"She sure is."

Suddenly, Kovu got tackled from behind by another lioness and the two of them rolled on the ground a couple of times before the attacking lioness eventually stood over Kovu, having pinned him. As Kovu looked up at the lioness, he stared in delightful surprise. It was his own sister, Vitani. She chuckled cheekily from her playful 'sneak attack'.

"Too right I am!" She responded to the previous statement about her from her brother, which she heard before pouncing him. 

"Vitani!" Kovu said to her with a smile, happy to see his sister in such high spirits. "You sneaky cat! Nice move. Where did you spring from?"

"The high grass." She replied, proud of her hunting experience. "It was long enough for me to hide in."

"And you did very well to keep quiet." Kiara added, also impressed by her teacher. "We didn't hear you at all. That's showing all the expertise that you interpreted yesterday."

"Well, thank you." Vitani responded as she got off of her brother. "You did alright yourself.

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