Endless Night

Nala's recent presence in the jungle had been an eye opening experience for Simba, and he was weary. The memories were both sweet and torturous. He had tried so hard not to think of the circumstances back home, but now he was forced to see it, because of how skinny Nala had seemed at first as she searched for food. The Pridelands were suffering, and now he knew it. But what could he do? He was caught between two worlds but Simba felt he belonged in neither. How could he go home and face all of those he had left behind? What would they say once they knew he had been hiding while they suffered? He wanted only to run away, further from his problems. Nala was too good for that; too good for him. The old friends had quarreled and now Simba was alone, walking briskly to an old familiar spot under a starry sky he failed to notice in his upset state.

But how could he tell his friends who he really was... A liar, a coward, a prince? He had spent the greater majority of his life now in the depths of the jungle, safe and carefree. There was no telling what Timon and Pumbaa would think of him once they knew the truth. And despite all of his happiness seeing Nala again, he felt even more guilty for trying to hide her away while she had been in the jungle, still unwilling to explain himself to the duo that had helped raised him. He was still at a loss for what to do next, but he had returned to the oasis home he had shared with the meerkat and warthog for years now. His auburn mane fell in tresses before his crimson eyes as he stared at the worn path towards the little spring that had been the start of his whole new life free of responsibilities and worries. If only it had been so easy.

The worry had always been a few steps behind, but he had managed to keep this to himself over the years, suppressing the sorrow that lingered within him. Today though, he went to the small watering hole surrounded by ferns and palms, knowing that one or both of his old friends would be there. One sniff of the air blowing from that direction suggested that Pumbaa was indeed lurking nearby, and his nostrils wrinkled. He had lived with the warthog for so long, and still sometimes the smell that greeted him was a shock to the senses. It had been a few days since he had last seen his friends, and he knew he had some explaining to do. If he was lucky, they were fast asleep, snoring away, but he didn't hear anything as he approached their favored place.

For Pumbaa, on the other hand, the day has been business as usual - foraging, goofing around and sleeping in the shade of the jungle trees. Neither him or Timon had any idea that Simba had an encounter with an old childhood friend, neither did Simba ever tell him anything about his past life, family and friends, except for the fact that he has supposably done something very bad for them, as Scar convinced him. Pumbaa, not caring much about it, didn't even bother asking Simba about it, since he already put his past behind him, or he would refuse to say anything regarding Simba's life, in a fear that it would make Simba angrily deny any mentioning of his life and end in an argument that would shake the foundations of their Hakuna Matata.

Pumbaa was on the prowl for his sweetest delicacy - grubs! Those small animals usually hide in fallen logs or in the undergrowth, so they are an easy meal. When targeting something like an insect, for instance, he needed some agility and stealth. Then, having eaten a good meal of larvae and beetles, he saw a really good opportunity, something that usually doesn't come around every day - a rhino beetle. The warthog hid behind a tree, then quietly started to track the insect, licking his chops quietly enough not to cause noise and scare the bug away. But the beetle, just moving around, oblivious of Pumbaa's presence slipped away in front of his nose. But Pumbaa had another trick up his sleeve - the beetle slipped under a log, and then, he walked off on to the other side and clamp!: he got it!

Licking his chops and belching, he headed off into the jungle, humming "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" triumphantly. But then, he saw someone through the fern leaves out in the open - it was Simba. Because he was alone and Timon was probably asleep, he decided to head over to him and greet him, perhaps talk to him. He said: "Hey Simba! Everything alright?"

Simba had just allowed himself to collapse at the water's edge with a sign of resignation when a familiar noise caught his ears. Despite his hopes that he would find the oasis empty, there was something very comforting to Simba about hearing the closeby sound of Pumbaa's belch puncuating the otherwise silent evening. The warthog had filled the important role of 'parent' for the young lion, and he and Timon had continued to care for Simba long after their young foundling towered over both. To any other carnivore, his foster parents would make a delicious and filling meal, but Simba was not like other carnivore. It was a wonder that he had grown up to be the full size of a large lion (though still not as massive in height and bulk as Mufasa had been), living mainly on a diet of insects and grubs.

He attributed his health and well-being to the pair of lazy best friends, and so he couldn't help but smile as Pumbaa approached, in spite of the distance Simba had put between them all since Nala's arrival in the jungle. It was possible that Pumbaa and Timon had already spied the beautiful lioness lurking near their home, and Simba wondered if the other would bring her up. "Pumbaa," he replied in greeting. There was no sign of Timon, so Simba assumed he had already called it a night and he was likely snoring away peaceful, ever oblivious. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" It was clear by the shy look on his golden features that Simba was indeed hiding something, by the way he looked away from his friend and into the rippling pool that was the savior of the jungle trio. He seemed to wrestle with himself as he struggled to urge to tell Pumbaa every little thing that had happened recently: finding Nala, and finding that his feelings for his oldest friend had mutated into something much more.

But he realized he would have a lot of explaining to do, and as much as he loved his foster parents, Simba was still something of a coward. The notion of coming clean and telling the truth after so many years of hiding was simply horrifying. A sigh escaped his lips instead of an explanation though, and he forced yet another innocent smile as his guilt gnawed away. The feigned smile disappeared almost instantly though, and Simba said something that surprised himself: "I'm sorry I've been so scarce lately," he began with some hesitance. He paused, now almost wishing that Nala would make an unexpected appearance and save him the trouble of describing her. "I found someone nearby... Someone who I used to know."