The world wasn't safe for Kion. When your abusive father is also the king, how can it be? With strict rules, harsh punishments, and a lack of caring, Simba seemed to make it his mission to make everything harder. Not that Kion's schizophrenia, a condition that caused him to vividly hallucinate on the regular, didn't already do that. The prince knew he was never in any in serious danger though, just as long as made sure to follow orders and keep his head down. The thing that mattered most to Simba was the Circle of Life. Usually spoken of vaguely, literally it was a set of five laws in place since the first lion kings to keep the natural order. Nothing was more important than the Circle as it should be. One: kill only to eat. Two: only hunt in your territory. Three: do not disrupt other living beings for the mere sake of it. Four: animals must keep to their traditional role in the community (ex. zebras must stay in a herd, leopards stay loners, etc). Five: love only your own species. All animals in the Pridelands must abide by this. Or face the death penalty. So you can imagine that if Kion were to catch feelings for his cheetah friend, it wouldn't go down too well... (NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO MY OTHER KION/FULI BOOK)