The following morning, Simba Junior was up before everyone else. Truth be told, he increasingly didn't want to leave. It was not that he didn't love his family. His sisters were no doubt searching for him. But he did not want to face his father who would no doubt think of him as a weakling for relying on others to save him.
"Your grandfather abandoned his sons and raised only the ones who returned of their own will. Your father was the only one who did." Simba Senior had told him.
What if his father refused to take him back? Would he have to watch Orion and his father possibly fight?
"So, you're going home?" A female voice asked.
Simba Junior turned to face Sahara. "Hey. Yeah. Looks like it."
"You know, if this dad of yours is really as big of a jerk as you say he is, maybe you are better off staying with us."
"No. It's just him who is a big jerk and a bully. My sisters love me. He wasn't like this before. He became like that when humans killed our mother. Besides, you already have four brothers. If I stay, your oldest brother won't like it."
"Zuba doesn't love anyone but himself." Sahara said angrily. "Dad is the only one he treats with any kind of respect."
"Look, if I keep staying, I won't want to go back home. My sisters might come looking for me. What would I say to them? That I found a new family? I can't do that. I still have a family. It's just…. Well…. you know."
"Yeah. I do. I'm sorry."
"My dad isn't always a mean jerk. I think deep down, he does care in some way. He just doesn't know how to show it. My sisters know what he was like when mom was alive and they all say he used to be a truly good lion. If humans hadn't killed her, he'd still be a good person."
Simba Junior's voice shook and he coughed roughly to clear his throat before he looked away. "I'm just waiting for your parents to wake up."
"What are you guys doing?" A familiar loud, obnoxious voice interrupted. Sahara rolled her eyes and sighed as their big brother strolled up to them. "Oh, it's you again. I hope you would have left by now."
"I'm just waiting for your parents to wake up so they'll take me back. I would go back alone, but they insist on taking me back home."
Zuba and Simba Junior were similar in age. But Zuba was already bigger and stronger than Junior was. Zuba was a bully. If one was smaller and weaker than he was, he looked down on that individual by default.
"Why is dad coming with him?" Zuba asked rudely.
"It's none of your business, Zuba." Sahara snapped.
"I wonder if the actual Simba looked anything like you." Zuba scoffed.
"He probably did." Simba Junior muttered dismissively, disinterested in any sort of confrontation with the bigger and stronger Zuba.
"I hope I never see you again." Zuba taunted.
"You won't." Simba Junior muttered in a bored voice.
"We better not. I'm going to be the future king one day." Zuba said before he trotted away as Sahara stuck out her tongue at him.
"Is your big brother always like that?"
"This is one of his better mornings. He can be so much worse. I'd hate to think what he'd become when he's finally an adult." Sahara shuddered at the thought of her brothers fighting one another over succession.
"What is it like to be the only girl with four other brothers?"
"Aside from Zuba, I don't mind."
"Which one is the oldest after Zuba? You or Rabat?"
"Rabat is second. I'm the middle. Then Ghana and Taran. We all came from the same litter, but Zuba was born first.
"It's good that you are all similar in age. I'm the only cub in my family. My third and fourth sisters are already teenagers. My elder and second sisters are adults and will probably have kids soon eventually. It's like having four moms. But in a way, it's better than having four much older brothers. It'd be horrible if they were all like my dad and putting me down all the time, telling me I'm weak and won't be anything."
They just sat and watched the morning sun come up over the sky, each lost in thought. They didn't admit it, but they didn't want to part ways.
"It's beautiful here. It's a lot like where I came from. Your dad seems like a very strong king to have this much territory." Simba Junior said as the sun's rays hit him.
"Our dad has been ruling for a long time. Our grandfather wasn't a king, though. So, dad had to earn his way more or less to where he was." Sahara admitted.
Then someone roared. But it didn't sound like Orion or any of the lionesses in Orion's pride.
"It's dad!" Simba Junior gasped.
The roar came again.
"Sahara. I have to go." Simba Junior said.
"What's going on?" Orion and Sanura, having heard the roars, ran up to them.
"It's dad!"
The roar came again. Orion roared back. Silence. Then the lion roared back.
"I don't hear any of the other lionesses. He couldn't have come alone."
"Let's go meet your father." Sanura said as the pair and Simba Junior headed towards where the roars were coming from, periodically responding back.
"JUNIOR!" A familiar voice bellowed.
"DAD!" Simba Junior called back.
They raced past the edge of the trees and into a clearing, nearly running into each other.
"DAD!" Simba Junior exclaimed.
Simba Senior was a large lion, easily as powerful as Orion but with a dark brown mane instead of black. He was also decently older than Orion, as shown by streaks of grey and white in his mane.
"Son? What happened? Where you were? I've been searching for you for days." Simba Senior asked. He seemed a little too shocked to reply to seeing his son for the first time in three days, at first. Then he saw Orion and Sanura and started to snarl.
"Dad, it's okay! They found me." Simba Junior stood between them.
"I found your son all alone in the canyon." Orion said angrily. "He claims that he was caught in the river current and washed downstream. Yet somehow survived for three days on his own.
"He claims that you did not come for him because you expected him to find his way back home on his own without any help otherwise, you would've rejected and thrown him back out. We actually had to convince your son to let us take you to him because otherwise, he was afraid you would throw him back out." Sanura added.
Simba Senior's anger gave way to a look of sorrow and apology.
"Dad, where are my sisters?" Simba Junior asked.
"They're home. I came for you alone. They wanted to come with me. I told them no. I decided to come find you myself." Simba Senior said. "I was wrong, son. So very, very wrong."
Simba Junior didn't seem entirely convinced. Neither did Orion and Sanura
Simba Senior bit his lip. "I make no excuses for what I did. I should have come to look for you immediately. I only ended up doing so after the lionesses of the pride, especially your sisters, threatened me to do so. I am sorry." He was struggling to hold back tears. "Son, please. I lost you once. I can't lose you again. I already lost your mother. I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did. I am sorry. I was wrong. I have no excuse for what I did. I am to blame."
Simba Junior looked back at Orion and Sanura, then at his father. Then he ran into his father who knelt down and hugged him tight. Orion and Sanura watched the father and son weep together.
Simba Senior finally stood up with tearing eyes to face Orion and Sanura. "Thank you, kind strangers. Thank you for saving my son's life. I will not forget your debt that I owe you. Should the need arise, you are always welcome in my lands."
"You suffered the loss of this boy's mother and you nearly lost your only son. Do not make that mistake again, sir." Orion said, still angry despite Simba Senior's genuine and heartfelt remorse.
Simba Junior waved a tearful goodbye to Orion and Sanura. Sanura embraced him as if he was her own son.
It would be the last time that they would see the pair. Orion did plan to visit them later that year, and sent Raya the Golden Eagle to deliver a message. But the great eagle returned with terrible news. Simba Senior was dead.
"I'm afraid he has passed away, sire. As his queen is also deceased, the king's elder sister is assuming leadership until her brother comes of age and is old enough to assume the position for himself."
"I understand Simba was older than most lions were when he had his son. Even so, he did seem healthy when I saw him last time." Orion speculated.
"She was tight-lipped about the specifics of how he passed away. She did, however, reveal that her father was recently attacked and quite badly injured."
"Attacked, you say?" Orion asked, alarmed.
"Yes. She said a rogue who happened to look almost exactly like you attacked their king and seriously injured him, but was fortunately driven off by the lionesses before he could deal a fatal blow. I was also told that the rogue initially came after the prince and that the king fought him to save his son."
A chill ran down Orion's spine at that statement. But it was about to get worse.
"And another thing. The king's daughter claimed the rogue had a missing eye."
Just like that, Orion's fear was confirmed.
"Kaw. So, he survived." Orion echoed.