I'm gonna be king!

"Alright Zazu, show me the way," Simba, the king of the Pridelands, motioned for his major-domo to show him the direction of the problem he had just reported.

Kopa, the king's six month old son, came running up to his father, "Daaaad, can I come?" Simba chuckled as his son got distracted by a red beetle that was scurrying along the ground. He cleared his throat causing the cub to look up at him, hope shining in his eyes, "Yeah, Dad?"

Simba smiled, "It's rude to get distracted after asking a question, son." His expression and tone of voice became stern, "Now, I'd like you to go back to Pride rock. I don't want you to follow me, and I don't want you to argue."

Kopa looked at the ground in disappointment, "Oh… But why? What's wrong?"

Simba sighed and shook his head, "Go home, Kopa. I'll explain later." Kopa nodded and began to skulk towards the pride's den before running back and attempting to hide in the grass. Simba knew what his son was doing without even turning around, "Kopa! Go back to Pride rock! No arguing!"

The little cub coward at his father's change in volume, before stammering, "B-but-"

Simba sighed and scooped his son up in his fore paws and spoke more gently, "You'll get to come with me when you're older and training to be king."

Kopa growled and pushed the paws away, "If I'm gonna be king, I need to know what I'm doing!" He hung his head low and whined, "I'm bored, and Dad I'm not a baby any more. If you let me come with you I won't be any trouble, Dad. I promise."

Simba looked towards the ground for a brief moment to conceal the sadness that entered his eyes as he remembered how he was himself when he was Kopa's age; wanting to go on dangerous adventures and just generally be brave. He had wanted to prove himself to Mufasa, prove he could look after himself. Some proof of bravery that had proven to be. Simba forced his painful memories to the back of his head, and smiled apologetically at his son. He met Kopa's eyes and quietly instructed, "Not this time. Now please go home, Kopa."

The young prince glared at the king, "You never let me go anywhere with you, Dad. It's like you don't like me enough to take me places with you." He scuffed the ground with his paws as he started back towards Pride rock, his tail hanging between his legs and his ears flat with sadness.

Simba exhaled slowly, I'm sorry, son, but this time it really is far too dangerous. He then sprinted off in the direction Zazu had flown. He was worried; he'd never dealt with hunters before.

~TLK~

Kopa arrived back at the den and ran up to his mother, in hope that she was awake. Seeing she was, he snuggled up to her, being careful of her stomach, inside which was his unborn sibling- or siblings- they didn't know yet. Nala smiled at her son, but then frowned when she realized he was crying, "Kopa! What's wrong, baby?"

Kopa sniffed, "Mommy, Dad won't let me go with him and Zazu!"

Worry etched itself onto the queen's face and she enquired, "Go where, Kopa?" She began wracking her memory for recent issues Simba may have been attending to. Well, she thought, there's the issue of the rains being late, but that won't be it…There's the conflict between the elephants and the rhinos, but he sorted that out yesterday… She suddenly gasped, and Kopa jumped up, startled, "Mom? Is the cub coming?"

Nala chuckled and gently pulled her son back down by her side, "No, sweet heart, the cub isn't coming, I just remembered something." Please don't ask anything else, she silently pleaded.

Her hopes were short-lived as Kopa continued to ask questions, "What did you remember?"

"It doesn't matter, dear."

"Do you know where Dad went?"

"No, darling."

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Kopa."

"Then why did you gasp?"

Nala was growing frustrated at this point, and she quickly made an answer up in her head, "Because I just realized that I haven't sent out a hunting party yet."

Kopa wasn't convinced, "It's mid-afternoon. You never send out a hunting party in mid-afternoon."

Nala shook her head, "That's not right, Kopa. Of course I do."

Kopa mimicked her head-shaking motion, "Nu-uh! I know you don't because I'm always hungry at this time of day, and you always tell me to go see if there is any meat left over from the morning."

Nala knew she'd been caught, but continued with her attempt to keep Kopa off the trail, "It's not worth arguing over, Kopa. Why don't you go and play?"

Kopa groaned and buried his head in his paws, "Nooooo. That's boring! I wanna go find Dad!"

Nala knew that her usual calm, gentle approach to her stubborn son wasn't going to make the cut this time round, "Kopa! Listen to me! You are NOT to go after your father! He is tending to ADULT BUSINESS that you don't need to know about!"

Suddenly a gunshot sounded out and Nala gasped, "Simba!"

Kopa's eyes widened and he started to cry again, "So there is trouble! Why didn't you tell me?"

Nala hugged her son close and whispered comforting words to him. She noticed that she wasn't just attempting to comfort her son, but also herself.

~TLK~

Simba dodged the shot just in time. The last time the hunters invaded the Pridelands, they did not use the loud black machines he didn't know of, but rather arrows to hunt down the various types of animals that inhabited the African savannah. He had known from what Zazu had told him that morning that the hunters were even more dangerous with the new machines, but he hadn't bet on being chased by small, black stone-like items that cut through the air like the teeth of a lion. He had no clue as to how he was going to defend his pride from those creatures, at least not whilst they were awake and using the stone-sticks.

The king of the Pridelands ducked behind a nearby bush and started thinking of a plan. Another black stone whizzed past him, just catching his shoulder and causing him to grit his teeth in order to prevent himself from crying out. So now he knew how dangerous the stones were, and he figured that he couldn't lead the hunters back to Pride rock; some of the pride- primarily the elderly and the pregnant- wouldn't stand a chance. Simba braced himself to leave the sanctuary of the bush, when he suddenly heard a startled yelp, the mumbling of voices he could not understand, and the panicked whispers of, "Dad? Daddy? They've caught me, Dad, how do I get away? Are you there, Dad? Help!"

Simba gasped, Kopa.