Kenai was surprised, but he chuckled at her reply. “Heh-heh… well, go ahead, then! I’ll be here. Probably gonna talk to Tug if he’s around.”

He took to looking about as Sarabi waded into the water.

Koda laughed gleefully as Bucky splashed him, and then glided the side of his paw quickly across the surface to spray his friend with a ‘wave’.

The cub’s ears lifted when he saw Sarabi, and he beamed. “Woah! Cool!! I didn’t think sabers liked water! You must be pretty brave if you’re all th’ way over here!”

His drippy cheek fur sent little drops Sarabi’s way as his head whirled around to look at Bucky. “That would make us look kinda weird… but it would be super good for catchin’ salmon!” Koda laughed. “Kenai could use teeth like that! He’s not that good at fishin’ yet.”

Kenai, having heard those faint words from his little brother, startled and called, “Koda! Maybe y-you could, uh, teach her how to fish?!”

His voice had a nervous edge to it that Koda didn’t recognize, so it disregarded it as an innocent suggestion. He hadn’t realized what he’d said. “Oh, yeah!! C’mon, Sarabi!”

He started to swim over to the shore near Kenai, nodding for the other cubs to follow him.

He sure was a lot to keep up with.

He thinks I’m brave! Sarabi rejoiced internally, puffing out her chest as she stood a little taller upon catching up to the group. I guess I am sort of brave, she reflected hesitantly, looking to a sopping wet paw. Mother would have never done such things…

“A-actually,” Sarabi started at the commentary on her fangs brightly, “Us sabertooths usually use our big teeth so we can catch big food, like… Like pigs, or deer! I never caught anything that big, but that’s what they’re for. Maybe it could work on big fish, though …” She trailed off thoughtfully, trying to recall how large salmon could get. She giggled at the good-natured teasing on Kenai’s skills, forgetting the thought quickly as she scampered after the two.

“You don’t think I look weird, do you?” She asked the cubs with a head tilt.

“Nahh,” Bucky answered dismissively, but gave slight hiccupping pause after, “Well — Okay, maybe a little. But everybody’s weird. I’m weird. Koda’s weird. We all gotta be a little weird. Maybe you’re weirdly good at catchin’ fish, too!”

The other kit’s green eyes lit up; barely-disguised enthusiasm and curiosity had his tail trembling just a little.

“My name’s Nick!” he replied after a quick nod to Sylvia, a big and bright grin crossing his muzzle. “It’s so cool to meet you, Gideon!”

He wasn’t the least bit nervous that Gideon was considerably larger than he was; he had no reason to fear him, after all. They were gonna be brothers and best friends- he was sure of it!

The smaller fox took one rapid step forward, all-too-eager to come closer, but stopped himself, remembering his mother’s cautioning. So he smiled a little more calmly, albeit with a bit of difficulty, and then seemed to simply observe his new brother with as much politeness and consideration that an elated child could muster.

“I hope you like living with us!” Nick said, looking back up into Gideon’s blue eyes. “We’re gonna have lotsa fun, I promise!”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

“Y-Yeah!” Gideon agreed, a slight, almost indiscernible smirk alighting his features. “Lotsa fun.” He concluded.

On the car ride home once things were official just days later, Gideon considered the strangeness of it all. How uncomfortable it made him. It felt like his guts were squirming. Why was he expected to just accept a new family? What good was that going to do? He frowned as he glanced out of the corner of his eye to Nick, sitting next to him. He hated the thought of just being the new kid. New kids were picked on. New kids were weak, pathetic little crybabies.

“Allllright,” Sylvia announced from the driver’s seat. “I think this calls for a celebration, you know. Who wants McFarmer’s for dinner?” She asked, giving a delighted glance into the rear view mirror at her two sons.

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

He froze just as the toy would have. One blink, then two. Then, of all things, he smiled. Smiled as he walked over to look at the so-called lump. Only up close could he tell what it was, and seeing it talk really was the icing on the cake.

He only laughed, a warm sound.

"Hmm, not very convincing. Nice try though." He leaned in closer, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. He, of course, assumed that the object was battery powered. Something fixed with an advanced AI chip, or something similar. "I've never seen a toy like you before. You look pretty old for something so advanced, but I've definitely seen weirder things."

Maybe it was an aesthetic thing. After all older toys did have a certain flare to them that never could seem to be replicated. He loved the ones his dad had collected over the years in the antique shop.

"I can't believe someone would just leave you here, though."

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Relief flooded through her, from front of the spring to her tailtip. She didn’t have to keep up the ruse, at least not with this kid. It was against the rules, sure, but… She was never very good at following rules anyway. She gives a cursory glance around one more time before giving in to the temptation to speak,

“I guess I am a little worn out,” She acknowledged, shaking her head slightly so that her worn leather ears would flop. At the edges, the leather had been eaten away to a lighter color. She bore scratches in the plastic on her muzzle. A “bald spot” on her nose, where the black paint had been worn through to the cream of her muzzle.

“I’m just glad my springs ain’t all tangled. That happens to a lot of slinks, I hear.”

Her shiny smile faltered, just faintly, at the notion of being left behind. Sheepishly, she scuffed a paw at the surface of the shelf below her.

“Yeah, well… Kids just ain’t into toys like me anymore, I guess. I don’t have no sort of screen, or… Or fancy phone call stuff in me. I’m just an old dog with no new tricks. Ain’t that just the way…?”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Simba returns his mother's headbutt. Quietly, then, he listens. Though he was just a cub when his uncle murdered his father, Simba knew then and now that the loss of King Mufasa and Prince Simba would have affected everyone in his pride, his mother chief among them. To have believed her mate and cub killed in one fell swoop ...

"Mom ... No, no. I don't blame you. I never did. How could I?" Simba presses close to Sarabi. "There isn't an animal in the Pridelands, or any lands, who would want to see their cub mangled. And Scar ... He was smart. Manipulative. I'm positive he knew what to say to make my condition seem horrific. I mean, he knew what to say to keep me away all these years, to make me think I was a murderer when I'd done nothing wrong."

Only after Sarabi eats some of the springbok does Simba set to taking a bite, though he's lost in further thought for a moment.

"You're - You're braver than I was. I should have gone home and faced what happened far sooner; I should have trusted you, and Nala, and Zazu and Rafiki and everyone in our kingdom to listen to my story. Staying gone for long enough to really seem dead ... It helped nothing. I want to make amends for my regrets, same as you. I vow to protect the Pridelands. We'll fight alongside each other to keep our home and its creatures safe."

{ @fledercanons }

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

As he spoke, Sarabi’s mind swirled with the horrific memories of Scar’s tyranny. From slimy, snarky remarks before coming to power, to his grandiose “grief” for fallen brother and nephew — To outward harassment and cruelty in ruling. How did it become so warped, all so quickly? Could they have fought? Could they have escaped amidst the hyena clan? How many lives would have been lost for the cost of their freedom?

She chewed carefully at the muscle and sinew of the springbok haunch over this thought.

Then, she spoke with care, having considered her words heavily,

“To me, you are forgiven. And you always will be. I do not blame a scared cub for fleeing. You were a child… I, too, lived in fear as a cub. I understand that feeling. Your grandfather ruled my family with fury, insecurity, and anger. I am only glad you did not have the displeasure of meeting him alongside Scar,”

She flexed her claws into the earth, admiring the soft soil and the way it bent beneath her, parting gently. “But I cannot speak for the whole of our pride, and I realize this… Nala, especially. You owe a great deal to her, son. The way she was treated by Scar… It was repulsive. He treated her as a prized prey to win over. She risked everything to escape the Pridelands and look for help. I beg you to care for her. Listen to her. She is a strong lioness, but… What she has gone through is a story that brings pain, and she needs her pride to care. To not forget our cruel history. That, I think, is the best way to make amends.”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

The nine-year-old fox nodded eagerly and smiled up at his mother. “I will, Mom! I’m just super excited! I can’t wait to meet him! Do you think he’ll wanna go to the park with me? Or maybe I can show him-…”

Nick fell silent when they reached the meeting room. He looked up at the door, his heart racing with excitement, but he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

Gotta be calm, he reminded himself.

So he and Sylvia entered the room, and he climbed up onto the couch, doing his very best to keep his cool.

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Sylvia chuckled, putting a hand upon her son’s back. She could only hope the transition went smoothly — After all of the book reading she’d done on the subject, she knew that this could be incredibly tough for a child, especially at their ages.

Gideon’s ears pricked at the sound of a door creaking open. With a soft click, it shut behind them. The young fox turned his attention to the vixen and her kit, and nervously, he wiped his paws on his overalls.

“…Hi.” He greeted.

“Well, go on,” Sylvia coaxed Nick, gingerly nudging him forward. “Introduce yourself, honey.”

“… I-I-I’m Gideon. How ‘bout you?” The other kit stammered, paw lingering on his chest pocket.

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Simba lounges beneath the baobab trees. With the Pridelands recovered, the herds returned, and his friends and family reunited with, he's been able to take some time to relax.

"Hey, Mom," he says, looking up as Sarabi approaches. "Springbok sounds nice, actually - but, then again, I'd eat anything if it meant we could share it together." He wears a sad smile. "I really missed you. I don't want to make things - about mourning, but as great as Timon and Pumbaa were, there were many nights where all I wanted was to curl by your side again."

Simba rises, then, going to nuzzle his mother. "I'm sorry. I wish I had just gone home, no matter what Scar told me."

{ @fledercanons }

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

“Oh, my son,” Sarabi murmured, her heart warm yet aching. She bumped her head against his affectionately before running a forepaw over the springbok haunch, thinking. She shook her head and looked back up to him,

“Simba… There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of what could have been if I had just acted differently. If I had asked to see your body… If I had doubted Scar at the start. If I had kept him away right at your birth. I should have gone to look for you myself,”

The tired lioness shut her eyes, regretful.

“You are my son. My cub. It is my duty and honor to worry about you… Many nights I blamed myself for what I could not change. But Rafiki told me something in your absence that I found appealing; My paws may have guided me to despair, but my claws can still be used to protect my pride and dignity. I vowed to give my last breath for my family. That is all of the Pridelands.”

She ducked, beginning to rip into a bite of the carcass. “I am so grateful to have you home. I hold many regrets… But I intend to make up for my shortcomings. And I will.”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Koda laughed. “You don’t hafta be a bear ‘ta have fun! C’mon! I’ll show you around!”

The cub ran off towards the water, and Kenai looked down at Sarabi. “I’ll come with,” he assured her, smiling.

He knew the other bears might not take too kindly to a saber-toothed tiger cub being in their midst, since the two species weren’t exactly friendly with each other… as evidenced by her mother’s death… but he’d make sure nobody said anything to her.

If someone had something to say, they could say it to him.

Koda bounced into the water, splashing around with his forepaws at first; then he waded in deeper and started to swim around, waving Bucky over, too. “C’mon, Sarabi!!” he hollered.

Kenai skeptically glanced down at the saber cub. He didn’t think she’d want to swim, so he whispered to her, “you can just get on my back, and I’ll swim with them, if you want. Or we can stay on the shore.”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

With a small giggle, the cat cub took Kenai’s approval as permission to let her fur lie flat. Nervous, surely, but now comforted at the thought of being guarded, she frolicked on after Koda with perked ears.

Bucky was bouncing back and forth in the shallows of the water some stretch away, ready to greet Koda and swim over. He leapt, splashing into the depths near the grizzly cub with a giddy laugh.

The splash sprayed at Sarabi’s paws as she paused at the edge, contemplating. She wasn’t the biggest fan of water.

No… I’m one of them now. It’s just water. Nothing to be afraid of.

“No, I’m okay.” She responded to the older bear, shaking her head with a proffered smile. With only slight hesitation, Sarabi dipped a toe into the water, shook her paw, then waded in.

A few grown bears in the distance regarded her with wary eyes, ears twitching, but said nothing. Bucky didn’t seem too bothered — just curious.

“Look at the size of those teeth!” He commented to Koda. “Imagine if we had fangs like that!”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

Jack stayed prone on her belly for a moment, ears flicking at the pup’s scoff. Embarrassment surging through her like a jolt from her papa's thunderbolt. Heat blooms beneath her fur at her blunder and his words, so she quickly scrambles upright and shakes her head, plopping back onto her rear and shooting him a sharp glare.

“I know that—!” She snaps defensively, tail twitching mildly in irritation behind her. Jack on the other hand didn't often see other non-Pokémon-like creatures. Not ones like him, anyway. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him through her mild glare, briefly trying to match his features to something she recognized before ultimately giving up; what he looked similar to wasn't all that important anyway.

Fur bristling, the kitten puffs out her chest. “I’m plenty good at catchin’ prey!” She turns her head sharply with a huff, trying to pretend that his words didn't bother her too much, even as her ears pull back slightly against her head from lingering embarrassment. “That bug was just different from my normal prey is all.” After a moment, she turns her head back towards the pup, a sudden challenge sparking in her eyes. "I bet you couldn't catch one either!"

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

“I could too!” Kovu exclaimed indignantly, scrunching his muzzle. “I catch them all the time!” He stated. And to sell the deal, he threw in a more fantastical lie;

“And I know how to catch a whole zebra… By myself!” He boasted. Was this true? No. Not at all. But the little meowth didn’t know that!

“Just you watch. I’ll catch you a bug and you’ll see how much better I am.” He offered.

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

The boy had been drawn to the store, but that was nothing new for him. He loved exploring, seeing new things even if they were old things, and he had more than a little time to kill before he had to be home. There was no better way to spend it than looking at a few things that others might have just passed by.

And, oh man, was this awesome.

His parents owned many antiques, and ran their own store, but seeing things way older than himself always delighted Phineas. It was a shame the store seemed so empty, but that was all the more reason the sudden shout had not only caught his attention, but made him jump a little as well.

Looking around, he didn't see anyone that looked to be trying to get his attention. Only the knickknacks, tea kettles...and a brown lump. "Uh...hello?"

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

He didn’t see me.

Disappointment fluttered in Cordy’s chest as she glanced around, hoping that no one would be able to spot her movement. If she wanted to be noticed and taken home, she’d have to try again.

“Yeah! Over here!” She piped up again, attempting to call out just enough to get him looking over so that she’d freeze again.

Yet… He made eye contact before she could freeze, and it was clear that he knew she was a living thing in that moment. Whoops.

“Uhhh … Toy dog noises???”

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

   As the limb lands in front of him with a light thud, the wolfdog steps back a few paces as he looks from the big cats to look at the meat. He's had meat before, but that was primarily fish or cooked leftovers. The scent alone was so different, just like everything else here. There must've been an instinct of his from his wolf half that enticed his mouth to water and his stomach grumbling again in response.

   ❝Thanks... I haven't eaten since I was taken.❞ Balto would've said more, but he could hardly help himself as he lowered his snout to the limb. Fanged teeth would tear into it, quick to chew and swallow the chunks he ripped off. With how fast he was eating at first, he hardly tasted it.

   After halfway through, he returns his gaze back to Sarabi — the one who had shared. ❝Is there anything I can do to help repay you both?❞

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────

“I think not,” Sarabi answered with a short shake of her head. “A wild dog helping lions is a sort of scarcity around here, I’m afraid. I would be careful — Not everyone on the savannah is as generous.” She explained. The brown lioness flopped onto her side in attempt to lounge more comfortably.

“I would especially stay your distance from northeast of here. Ten stretches or so. Our mother will flay you six different ways if she catches you.”

She thought a moment, swiping her tongue over a forepaw. “But … You have my interest. Perhaps we could meet another time and you tell me about where you come from? To the west for thirty stretches is a place called Buffalo Search; much safer of a meeting place.” She offered.

───── ⋆⋅☽⋅⋆ ─────