Mufasa smiled benevolently. Kovu was amazed at how much Simba resembled him. "Kovu," Mufasa said. His voice seemed to come from everywhere, deep and rich as the night sky. Kovu wasn't sure whether he was supposed to kneel or bow or just speak or what. He had never met Mufasa in person, much less in ethereal spiritual being form. "Uh..." he stammered. Mufasa laughed a bit at Kovu's speechlessness. They talked for a while, about that new cub that has arrived that Nika has seemingly taken an interest in, about the kingdom, and whether or not the hornbills would settle their dispute with the toucans before the annual bird convention. "Kovu," Mufasa said again, his eyes filled with amusement. "I understand you have a lot on your mind right now…. My son has two enemies to worry about… two whom he thought dead." "Yeah, and to make matters worse, he's injured." Kovu muttered, looking down. "I've only been a part of this pride for only a little while. I'm not ready to be the new King yet," he lamented. Mufasa sighed. "Let me tell you something I told Simba. A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day the sun will set on his time here, and will rise with you as the new king. As the heir, you must be ready to accept kingship when the time comes to demand it of you. It might come sooner than you think." With this, the stars dimmed back to their regular light, the clouds dispersed, and Mufasa disappeared. The velvety blue was beginning to change to a steely gray as dawn began to overtake the night. Kovu rose, feeling peculiarly refreshed, and bounded back to Pride Rock. Kiara stood at the edge of the stone, her eyes closed, reveling in the fresh crisp morning breeze. He licked her cheek and told her about his audience with Mufasa. Her bright eyes filled with wonder as he described him, as she had also never met Mufasa. She bounded back into the cave, where Simba lay, pawing the ground. "Daddy, you'll never believe what I just heard!" she exclaimed, her rich alto voice quivering with excitement. "Kovu…he spoke to Mufasa!" Simba's head jerked upward. "He…he spoke to Kovu?" he croaked, his voice full of grief. Simba looked away. "I knew this would happen. I am becoming too old to lead the Pride Lands. The time for me to pass the mantle to Kovu is almost upon us." Kiara stared in horror. "No, Mufasa didn't… Kovu just said…daddy, Kovu and I…we're too young. We can't lead yet, not like you and Mom…" "Kiara," Simba cut her off gently but firmly. Kiara pursed her lips and bowed her head. Simba put his paw on her shoulder, with some strain. "Kiara, don't be afraid. You'll be ready to accept the throne when the time comes. My father once told me that the Great Kings of the Past…" Kiara now cut him off. "Live in the stars, I know, Daddy. They will always be there to guide me, blah, blah, blah…" Simba smiled warmly, and so did Kiara. "You'll be ready, Kiara." He said. Kiara rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Okay, okay, can I go now?" Simba chuckled at Kiara's words…the exact same words he had muttered when Sarabi had attempted to bathe him so many years ago. He gave her the toothy grin that she inherited from him, and she laughed and padded back out into the sunlight.

Kiara almost ran into Vitani on the terrace. "Kiara, I'd like you to meet someone." She smiled as a young lion about Koto's age with bronzish fur and a tuft of russet fur between his ears stepped shyly from behind her legs.

Koto's eyebrow was turned up skeptically as Maku approached him and Nika. "Who's this kid?" he whispered to Nika. "I don't know, but isn't he cute?" she murmured with a dreamy expression. Koto shook his head in disgust. Nika thought she heard him mutter something that sounded strangely like "girls". Kiara came up behind the golden cub. "Koto, Nika, this is Maku." Maku raised his head timidly. "Hi," he said in a small voice. Koto opened his mouth to respond, and suddenly, Nika swept in front of him. "I'm Nika," she said a simpering smile. Kiara couldn't help but notice that her daughter's expression was reminiscent to the one SHE had worn when she had met Kovu. Oh yes, she would be keeping a close eye on her and Maku. "Maku is going to help you with your hunting, Nika." "Really!?" Nika exclaimed, turning her gleaming eyes back on Maku. He met her expression with a shy albeit sly grin that caused her to burst into a fit of giggles. An annoyed huff announced the arrival of Vitani. "I've seen this kid in action, and he's got some skill; maybe he can do what I couldn't, and create a predator from this klutz." She said, gesturing affectionately to Nika. Koto snickered. Nika glared at him. Determined to show that she was fully capable of hunting without fault, she scanned the precipice for worthy prey. Soon her eyes settled on a chameleon. She crouched down and slunk up to it, but before she could pounce, the chameleon scuttled away to a different area. She flushed with embarrassment. "You're not doing it right," said a quiet voice. Nika whirled around to see who had spoken. It had been Maku. He padded forth. "Your belly is scraping the rock too much, creating too much sound. You need to be as close to the ground as you can without touching it." He slunk down, as Nika had done, and the watched in amazement as he advanced toward the chameleon. Had they not been watching him, they wouldn't have known he was there at all. With lightning-quick reflexes, he had the chameleon pinned to the stone with one paw. Both Vitani's and Nika's eyes shone with admiration. Koto scoffed and muttered "show off,". Maku smiled a toothy smile and stepped back to give Nika a go. She crouched low, moved like a whisper. The chameleon was under her paw before it had time to register that Maku had let it go. Maku grinned. Nika blushed again. Koto rolled his eyes and watched as Maku and Nika "hunted" some more. He would never understand girls, even if one happened to be his sister.

~Later that day…~

Koto scrunched up his face in concentration. His eyes narrowed. His claws dug into the earth. The only sound was the croaking of birds in the distance. He took a deep breath and…mewed. Koto slouched and turned to stare venomously at Nika, who was howling with laughter. "Oh shut it, you…" he muttered. "What…kind of roar…was that?" she panted, her breath still short from laughter. Koto came toward her. "At least I've been practicing," he retorted scathingly. While you out on another "hunting trip" with whats-his-face, that one lion with the bronze fur…Maku, isn't it?" Nika stopped laughing and glared. "He was teaching me how to be more stealthy!" She muttered defensively. Koto raised his eyebrows, and his big-brother-knows-a-secret-with-which-he-can-torment-his-sister grin appeared on his face. "Have you noticed how shrilled your voice gets when you lie?" he asked calmly. "1," he said. "That's what aunt Vitani has been trying to teach you, and you sucked. Then suddenly some other guy shows up and you're suddenly Mrs. Huntress Extraordinaire? 2, the way you were giving him those dewy eyes and compliments sure didn't look like you were thinking about hunting to ME…" Nika charged and he easily sidestepped, imitating her soprano voice. "Oh, Maku, you're so brave! I always feel safe with you…" "That's not true!" Nika yelled, her ears flattening back on her head. She growled and charged again. Koto dodged, his grin widening, mock realization dawning on his face. "Ya know what? I think you like him, Nika! You met him not 5 hours ago and already you have the hots for him!" "SHUT UP!" Nika wailed, her eyes welling with tears of indignation and anger. Koto's mischievous look turned to one of concern. "Nika… I was just kidding… I…I didn't mean to make you really upset…" he said softly. She glared at him. He recoiled under her gaze. "Well, maybe I do like him!" she shouted, her voice wavering, threatening to be overcome with sobs. "But he never notices me, how I've been able to capture five groundhogs without them noticing, how I helped clean his fur after the stork knocked him into the watering hole … he'll never think of me more than a student or a friend…" Koto simply sat and listened. Nika completely broke down, putting her head on Koto's shoulder. Koto patted her head with his paw in a big brotherly sort of way. "Well," he said thoughtfully. "You're kinda smart and pretty fun to argue with…" Nika looked up at Koto's face. His expression clearly stated that he believed that this was a good compliment. Nika wiped her eyes and shook her head. "Idiot," she said, and she pushed him playfully. Koto smiled, and they both set to romping in the grass till dusk.