Female of a Different Species [COMPLETE]

Simba's Return

After Zira, there wasn't another mishap; as far as food went everyone knew they couldn't count on Scar, but for once they knew he had a good reason. They didn't like him but they respected Asha enough to understand how much he cared about her and how terrifying it idea of losing her was in his eyes, an idea once so distant now dangerously close. It felt strange to know that the most unique member of the pride was the most fragile.

Time past and one faithful day Nala was prowling the outlands when she caught sight of Pumba and decided tonight would not be another hungry night. Long story short, she met up with Simba again and the two of them slowly fell in love, but reality was a burden that unlike him she didn't have the luxury to ignore, so when she and Simba got in a fight over what was going on in the Pridelands, she decided to pull the ultimate ace card.

"Simba wait!" In several leaps she was in his path, facing him head-on. "If not for me, come back for Asha." Simba froze, if he was human he might've paled.

"What's wrong with Auntie Asha?" He surprised himself by saying that, Nala bit her lip. "She's...gotten worse." She carefully met his eyes. "You know how when we were cubs she was always so...sickly?" He carefully nodded.

"She hasn't exactly improved since you left."

~

So she told him everything; how she hardly went out anymore, how Rafiki could do nothing, how Scar had surprised everyone by dedicating himself to keeping her alive. Even after coming to know the truth.

"If you don't intend to take your rightful place as king, then at least give her the clarity of knowing you're alive. She'd like that."

Simba was silent as he let the news sink in; it would be nice to see his auntie Asha again, to look into those green eyes that seemed to be always balanced between uncertainty and determination to belong. But if what Nala said was true, then he might never get a chance to look into those eyes again. For the rest of the night he thought about it, through the interaction with Rafiki, when his father spoke to him, it wasn't until he started making his way back when a certain memory rose to meet him;

"Hey auntie Asha," asked young Simba, his front paws on her stomach as she lay looking up at the sky, "when I'm king, what will you be?" "What I've always been; your uncle's mistress." Simba laughed. "You're so odd." She glanced at him with a weak smile. "You have no idea."

Only now he knew exactly what she meant.

~

So Simba returned to the Pridelands, aware of how his uncle had changed and unsure what to think. Unknown to him, Scar wasn't in the best of moods that day; Rafiki had come some days before saying Asha had at least five days left to live. With the knowing there was nothing he could do to keep his sister alive, Scar had become bitter and took out most of his frustration on the rest of the pride, mainly Sarabi. So the two got in an argument, it had become a common occurrence, only this time Simba was there to keep it from going further. Fury mounting, Scar cornered Simba as the storm grew stronger, told him the real reason Mufasa was dead, but just when Simba got the truth out of him, Shenzi came running out.

"Boss, the boys and I have been doing some thinking and..." Her eyes were wide with fear. "It's Asha, today's her last day!"