Chapter Text
Simba(M):
"Oh yes. A few days later, Kubwa and I were play-fighting when we were visited by a young lion who had lost his pride the day before. His name was..."
points at Malka
"Malka."
Simba(K):
“Oh, then you have known each other for a very long time.”
Malka:
"But it started off rocky. At first, Simba was not very enthusiastic about my presence."
Simba(M):
"On the one hand, that was because he arrived at the exact moment Kubwa had struck me down. He said I had no chance against her. Quite the opposite: SHE wouldn't have had one. But since she still had to deal with dwarfism at the time, I let her win. On the other hand, Kubwa had always been very sociable towards new acquaintances and so the two of them started talking. To me Malka was nothing more than a suck-up at that point."
Laughter as if Simba had 'burnt his paws'. Simba smiles sheepishly.
Malka:
mischievous look
"Yeah, yeah. I only found out today what he thought of me back then."
Simba(M):
"And the next moment he discovered two hyenas that had sneaked into our land unnoticed and were helping themselves to our prey. He chased them away almost single-handedly. Dad was right. It was very brave of him, but also dangerous. Kubwa liked that, much to my displeasure. And the next blow followed immediately: if we didn't find Malka's pride, he would stay with us and I would have a new brother. That was out of the question for me. Such a show-off as a brother? No way, I thought. At the time, I couldn't imagine having siblings at all. So I wanted to get rid of him. The perfect opportunity presented itself when Kubwa was with her mother and Malka asked me if we wanted to play together. So I led him into a side arm at the entrance to the gorge, under the pretext that it would be great to play hide and seek there. He was to be the first to search. With these words, I left him sitting there and wanted to run away. But just as I reached the exit, he loudly called for help. It sounded as if he was in serious danger. I also remembered that I had promised Dad that I would look after him. I had to go back to him immediately. When I got back to him, he revealed his true face to me. He wasn't as brave as he seemed."
Malka:
"When I was a cub, everyone expected me to be smart and brave. But quite the opposite: I was very scared and had a terrible sense of direction. I kept getting lost and couldn't find my way back. My stranding in the Pride Lands was not the first time that I had lost my pride due to a lack of direction. I liked Simba very much at first sight. My fear made me think that I would lose him too. Luckily, he came back straight away."
Simba(M):
"Now that I knew his true nature, I looked at Malka in a completely different way. He no longer seemed like a suck-up or a show-off, but like a really good friend. Somehow I had a feeling that something really big could come of this. This was confirmed on our way back. The hyenas that Malka had chased away shortly before came back and chased us. We fled along a path that led under a tree's root, where they got stuck. Lucky for us. When we got home, it wasn't long before Malka's mother came to us and picked him up."
Malka:
"I immediately decided to come back as soon as possible. At first I wanted to have someone pick me up, but my mother showed me a route that even I could find my way on. From then on I commuted almost daily between the Sunlands and the Pride Lands. That's how we became best friends."
Simba(K):
“Yes... I once became friends with Kondo in a similar way...”
Mufasa:
"Malka's efforts to chase the hyenas away had a decisive influence on our future. His discovery revealed that we had a security problem. How could we protect the offspring when no one was around? In addition, Simba, Malka and Kubwa were not the only cubs in our land at the time. Besides them, there were also Kovu and Tama, two lions from the Outlands who had supposedly crossed the border by mistake. In order not to risk a war with the Outlands, we tolerated them with us. But when I happened to overhear them one evening, it was clear that the next threat from there was on its way. They were making plans to conquer the Pride Lands first and then the Sunlands. I had to act urgently before it was too late. I quickly ran to Rafiki and asked him to make the potion that would allow Kiburi's supernatural powers to be shared again. The next day, Simba would receive it in a playful way so that he could take on the matter still as a cub."