Salama P.O.V.

"Hello Tanabi." My brother scowled looking at our father. He had slummed in his stance, not hearing the name we gave him but he recovered quickly and he stood tall. As if that were a choice.

"My son. Welcome home." He says stiffly and doesn't make an effort to go and greet him. I, however, don't hesitate to run over to him and tackle him to the ground.

"Maalum!" I cheer and rub my face against his a few times. He laughs quietly and purrs gently before pushing me off.

"When did you grow a mane?" He asks looking at my dark hair tuft. It wasn't really a mane. The tips of my hair tuft was a golden color, much like my father and Imara, but it was no mane.

"When did you get a piercing?" I ask looking at an ear that had some kind of stone in it.

"It's a tooth." He cocks a brow and I roll my eyes at him. He was so much more scarred now. Bite marks included on his back, flanks and paws. Slashes on his brows and scattered along his body. He looked more like a warrior than a prince. It was unsettling to say the least.

"You seem rather proud about that, brother." Adya says and lightly taps her paw against his. He nods in her direction, the two never really got along growing up. There was love between them of course it just wasn't expressed as it was between he and I.

"It means I won." He affirms and swishes his mane. His green eyes lacking some kind of shine, something happened while he was gone and I would get to the bottom of it.

"Maal?" I hear mother say and I pad away from my twin to allow her to cradle him in her paws. Her sobs are felt in my soul. Mother didn't have favorites, I knew that, but Maalum was her boy. He was the most similar in personality to her after all. Another Tanabi with a dark red mane.

And a tooth in his ear, apparently.

I'm really not over it.

"My sweet boy." She coos and pulls away with a soft giggle before bringing her paw up and smacking my brother across the face. Everyone around us gasps, me included, she had reopened the scar on his lip from...from the day of the stampede. "We needed you here." She says in a chilling tone.

"Tani." My father reprimands and pads over to his wife. "There will be punishment for his desertion but not this." He says and looks at my brother, he is the only lion to ever meet eye to eye with my father. It was just about the scariest thing I had ever witnessed.

"You will earn your place in the Pride much like everyone else. I will no longer be letting things slide with you. Am I making myself clear?" My father says, his ears pulled back.

"Who said I wanted back in?" My brother scoffs but doesn't break contact with our father.

"He just got back, daddy. Let's...let's talk about this later tonight." I attempt and reach a paw to touch his. "Please? Today's a day for celebration. Everyone's back home." I attempt and his figure softens and he gives me a soft smile.

"Later then." He nods curtly but gives my brother one final glare. "We are not finished, Maalum."

"Yeah, whatever." He rolls his eyes and sits on the dirt and begins to clean himself when Kellan from the bushes tackles him to the ground.

"Big brother!" He cheers and cuddles endlessly into my brothers dark red mane.

"Kellan!" Maalum complains and shoves him off. "You haven't changed." My brother mumbles and fixes his mane.

"But you have! Gnarly scars!" He compliments and looks my brother over. "Nice." He hisses and nods slowly.

"Yours healed up fine." Maalum attempts and looks at the scar on Kellan's chin from all those years ago. Kellan rolls his pale eyes and swishes his brown mane.

"Took you long enough to get here, son." My father says and Kellan cowers.

"It...it took some time to get here father."

"We came as soon as we could." My uncle Mheetu and Siwatu pad over to us and I am so delighted to see them. They hadn't changed very much since the last time I saw them. A little older but still handsome as ever. 

"We need more members, dad." Kellan pouted and began to pant, his trek over here finally getting to him.

"You're right. I'll assemble the old guards and see if their sons would want to take part. You on your own isn't enough anymore." My father explains and looks at my uncles.

"Would your sons want to join?" Mheetu stands tall, right under my fathers chin, and nods once softly.

"They will join whenever you deem them ready. Tau is young but, he'll grow." He looks over at the rest of his children who finally came out of their hiding spaces. Mwezi was the most handsome of his brothers. He looked the most like his grandfather Ni, from the very very little I remember of that lion. He was paler than Mheetu, gaining his pelt from his uncle Siwatu, eyes a crystal blue, his ears were similar to mine. I had the mark of the ancestors but his were solid brown all around. His nose was black and rounded which counteracted his white mane and tail tuft. His paws were colorless and just like Mheetu, Siwatu, Bindi, and Kion he had the spots on his ankles.

I wonder if he speaks yet. He stood tall beside his mother and moved his ears whenever someone spoke, his face serious and missing of any emotion. He was an odd lion, but I'm sure he means well. He'll speak soon.

Tau was the youngest in our family, save for Zuberi's cubs on the way. I had never met him until now, well at least from this distance. He was handsome, of course, and his build was very strong considering he was so much younger. His pelt he inherited from Mheetu and his mane a soft red he got from Shanni's family. His mane was just starting to shine through. His chest and most of his head was covered in the red fur, making him very different from his other siblings. His eyes from here were a soft green and his paws colorless. His nose was thin and rounded like Shanni's. An attractive cub all together.

"Yes. Now, let's get home. I have a feeling there's a lot to tell from Egypt." My father says and rubs his face against Aunt Kiara's face.

"Have you heard from Kion?" She asks and my father's face falls.

"Not for a few years. I just know he's at the Tree of Life with Rani still. They're having trouble conceiving." My heart aches at the thought. Rani was a bit rough around the edges but she was a kind lioness and she always treated us with respect. She might be Queen of The Tree of Life but my father was King of all Lands. I wanted to see her with her own thrown room full of cubs. I wanted Kion to be happy with a litter of little ones. Maybe that would heal his aching heart.

His scars never healed and I think a new one grew around his heart. He had grown so cold and distant since the accident. He was my favorite of uncles growing up, maybe it was because of the age difference being close to nothing. We grew up together being raised as siblings after Nala and Simba passed on. I wanted to see him again and maybe restore some of that animosity between he and my father. The same way I wanted to restore the trust between my father, Imara, and Maalum.

What a mess.

Our walk back to Pride Rock was mostly silent. The only real chatter was between my mother and her sisters catching up on the latest gossip from grandma Tama's Pride. That lioness was ancient it was insane how she was still alive. Grandpa Tojo was alive and kicking too. I guess that's a plus on having young parents.

"So, whats the gossip here?" Malene asks now at my side. I giggled and shook my head at her.

"It's mostly silent here. Not much happens at Pride Rock."

"And Kion?" She asks and my face falls. "Is he still...you know... an ass?"

"He's my uncle! And your cousin don't say that." I reprimand though I don't know why. He was still an ass.

"Just because someone is family doesn't mean we can't call them by what they are." She raises a perfect brow. I roll my eyes but agree with her.

"He's an ass. I haven't seen him in a few years. I don't even know what his mane looks like."

"Do you think he'll be the cause for the war? There's a rumor about a war coming when Milk and Honey are in the Pride Lands. And, well, new life is arriving soon." She gestures towards the very pregnant mate of Zuberi and the cub walking between Nizsm and his mate. I gulp but again shake my head.

"With my father as king, war will not come. No one would dare start a war now, in the middle of this drought? Everyone would die and the war would be for nothing."

"And what do you two know about war?" Maalum interrupts, clearly someone was listening in on our conversation.

"Oh please. Just because you have a few scars doesn't mean you're some all knowing warrior lion now." Malene sasses and my brother laughs.

"You're right. But imagine what a lion would look like after a battle. A real battle. Blood, guts, gore--father is too old for a war. He'd die-"

"Don't finish that." I growl, my ears pinned back. "Mind your place. Father is older, but he is more of a lion than any."

"He's still a lion. Every lion dies at some point and to die in battle is an honorable way to go." He shrugs and I growl at him again.

"What's wrong with you? You're not the Maalum I remember." My anger transforms into pain and tears threaten to spill. My brother was always so carefree and loving as a cub. He was the cub everyone wanted to be friends with and play with. He was my best friend, the lion I could go to when I was sad or happy. Maalum was my brother and now he was a stranger in his skin.

"I grew up and maybe you should too. It's only a matter of time before we're all kicked out anyway."

"We have to earn our place here." I correct, still defending our family.

"Does Imara?" He asks, anger in his green eyes. The gold in them melting and burning with rage.

"He will be King after father, he doesn't have to."

"Then neither do I."

"You're second born. Maalum, it's the way things are."

"No. It's the law and I'm kinda tired of being second at everything."

"It's not like you want to be king Maalum. You would've challenged Imara years ago." I hiss and feel his temper rise as well.

"It's not about wanting the throne. It's about respect."

"Well it goes both ways doesn't it?" I challenge and he puffs out a groan. He opens his mouth to continue but he shakes his head and walks away from me."Maalum!" I call after him but he instead catches up with Kellan, Nizsm, and Zuberi and they all begin talking.

"He's...intense." Malene shivers but looks up at me and smiles. I hated being this tall. "So, back to the gossip."

We reached Pride Rock a few moments later, before I could really react to the latest gossip in Tama's Pride. That lioness really was as bad as everyone said she was.

"So, tell me of the Barbary Lions of Egypt." My father says and sits on the raised ground in the den and tells the rest of our Pride to settle down and listen. Abeni had been sent to fetch Jama and her son Nafasi. I missed M.K. and Ayodele but we understood they wanted to be able to see the world and be a part of the migration. Abeni was too young to join the migration, she would stay and be the majordomo until she wanted to migrate too. If she even wanted to.

"Turns out, our family descended from theirs. It explains your size." Kiara giggled, sending the rest of the Pride into a fit of laughter.

"Mohatu's family came from Egypt, it explains a bit." My father chuckles and beckons myself and my siblings over to where he was seated. "He was a fine King, father to Uru." He explains and I remember my great grandmother's name. If life had been fair she would be alive today. But, she was gone as well as most of our family.

"They're incredible, Tanabi. A little hotter than we would like but the kindest lions we've met." Kovu boasts and looks over at the tall females beside their sons.

"Have they given us an alliance?" My mother asks her brother and he nods happily.

"More than that Tani. The king and queen will be sending over their daughter to marry Imara." He says and the cave is filled with gasps and shrills. I felt my own jaw drop. How could they just send their daughter out like some trade? It was immoral and outdated.

"They will also send a son...since well...so Imara has a choice." Kiara smiles softly and my eldest brother finally joins us. The lionesses in the Pride lightly bow before him as he walked over. It was like he was floating. As the years went on my brother came out of his shell and he was much more brave. A little whiny and a worry wart but you could tell he had the potential of becoming a great king.

Maalum scoffs at my side as Imara greets our family kindly.

"Where the hell was he?" Maalum whispers and I look over at him.

"Hiding like father told him to."

"Coward." He spits and looks away when Imara goes to greet him.

"You haven't changed much." Maalum mumbles and Imara stops, being just the slightest bit taller than Maalum, he bows his head softly and says.

"Nice piercing." Before taking my father's side, right between mother and father. "So...a pair of siblings for the chance of an alliance in the future?" My brother says but I can see him tremble through his facade. He might be braver but he was afraid of the unknown. Of being king.

"Yes! Their Pride like many others are dying. Them wanting to send two of their children all the way out here is such a good sign!" Kiara says and my brother cowers.

"And if I refuse?" He sputters and my father turns to him.

"You can if you want to son. But, this is more for our people. You don't have to marry anyone you don't want to. Get the chance to know them and if it's not a good fit, well, we'll find another way to forge an alliance." He places his large paw on my brother's arm and he softens slightly. Maalum scoffs and rests himself on the platform and begins to bathe himself.

"Get. Up." I mumble but he grumbles and continues to clean himself. I roll my eyes, this is going to be interesting.