Lion Guard Defend

[Lyonize]

Lion Guard Defend

    The sun has begun to set as a gentle breeze moves the savannas in waves. The Pride Lands are quiet and Pride Rock stands tall, its inhabitants recently doubled after the joining of two prides. Tonight is special. Tonight, there is a reunion of sorts. Family members have come together, each taking time off from their respective duties. Three cubs with destinies of their own, their mother and father, and their homelands protector are all present.

    "Alright, you three, let's let grandpa rest. Out. We'll be with you in a bit." Kiara's voice reverberated against the deepest walls inside Pride Rock, her tone motherly and gentle. She leaned up against the solid rock of a lion that was Kovu, who simply smiled.

    "Ok! G'night, grandpa!" The three young siblings chimed as they headed out the cave.

    "Good night, little ones." The old king rasped. "See you tomorrow."

    The three cubs scampered down the path to the area where the lionesses usually lounged, playing and giggling all the way. Khari, Nuha and Tarajii were the son and daughters of Kiara and Kovu. This was the first time in several generations that more than two cubs were born into the royal family. After they had played for several minutes, three figures approached them from the same path they took. Their mother, father, and their uncle, whom they had not seen in quite a while.

    "Uncle Kion!" They all shouted as they raced to greet the red-maned lion.

    "Hey! Wow! You guys are getting big!" Kion's voice conveyed excitement. In contrast, his eyes reflected sadness, but the cubs didn't notice.

    "You're back from the outlands! What's it like out there? I heard there's a hippo graveyard out there!" Nuha began her barrage of inquiries.

    "Um. Actually, I think it's an elephant graveyard." Khari corrected.

    "Is it dark and scary?" Tarajii asked.

    Kion smiled and chuckled lightly, "I'll tell you about it when you're older." He lowered himself to the ground as he continued. "It's still dangerous, though. So you have to promise never to go there. Ok?"

    "Uh-huh!" "Yep!" "Yessir!" The cubs replied, inching forward for an intimate moment with their favorite uncle.

    Tarajii looked over her uncles shoulder, past her parents, and then back to Kion. "Where's grandpa?" She asked. Kions eyes averted to the ground for a moment, then he looked back at Kiara. She too looked away for a second and nodded faintly.

    "Grandpa..." Kion hesitated. "Grandpa went to be with the great kings of the past." Behind him, Kiara buried her head in Kovu's mane. "Look up at the stars." Kion watched the three as one by one, their little chins pointed upward. "He'll be watching you from those stars... So you don't ever need to feel alone. He'll always be there for you." Kion finished, glancing back and forth at Khari and Tarajii. Then his eyes fell to Nuha. Looking deep into her eyes, he continued. "And when you roar... he will roar with you." Nuha's expression turned to one of confusion. "You'll understand some day." The cubs were silent as they contemplated their uncles words.

    All three cubs lay against Kions forearms and paws as the family stayed silent. Kion thought back to the first time he was told about the roar of the elders. "Have I ever told you how I came to be the leader of the Lion Guard?"

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Several years later:

    The sun is rising, and with it, the day brings new adventure for the three siblings, now young adults.

[Tamber]

In the crisp air of the morning, under a sky painted with the bright orange of dawn, Nuha trotted through tall grasses soaked with morning dew. The fur on her legs was clumped and shiny from the moisture. A friend flew alongside her, a yellow weaver bird. After seeing the lioness set out on her morning venture, he decided to follow.

Nuha had risen before the sun did. In the hazy blue of twilight, she had lain at the edge of Pride Rock, watching eagerly for the grazers to appear. Once she saw giraffe heads rising from the horizon, she set out to beat them to their breakfast.

"Obasi said the acacias have ants living in their thorns," Nuha said to the weaver bird, heading for a patch of acacia trees nearby. "He said the ants bite the giraffes' tongues when they try to eat the leaves."

"Obasi?" the bird asked.

"The gazelle calf born a couple months ago? You remember him, Moyo."

"I can't keep track of your friends, Nuha," the bird said. "Do you want me to perch in the tree? I can watch and see if it happens."

"No, Moyo, I want to see for myself!"

Nuha reached an acacia and scrambled up its trunk. She maneuvered carefully to avoid being pricked by thorns, stepping over and around them as fast as she could. She reached a branch tall enough for a giraffe to use and settled there.

"Nuha be careful!" said Moyo. "Do you want acacia ants to bite your toes?"

"I guess we'll see about that, won't we?" she snickered. She crouched on the branch as an adult giraffe approached the cluster of trees, eagerly waiting for one of their long tongues to reach up and investigate the leaves.

What Nuha didn't consider was her fellow lionesses' morning hunt. It had been agreed the night before that fresh food was needed in the pride, and that the female hunters would set out for a kill at dawn. It didn't strike Nuha as she watched her research subjects that she had forgotten.

[Leorgathar]

“Everything the light touches,” Khari thought to himself as he stared at the beauty of the new rising sun over the savannah plains, far beyond Mount Kilimanjaro, painting the clouds in the copper tones of dawn. The young lion Prince had woken up early to see it, and to reflect upon what his family, especially his mother, Queen Kiara, kept reminding him day after day: that one day the time would come for him to rule over this land blessed by sunlight: The Pridelands.

As the Pridelands’ future King, his first duty was to learn the law his Kingdom lived by, the ways of the Circle of Life and every wisdom it holds. The attitude expected from a King to have in the face of any challenge the Pridelands might undergo.

But… is this burden what he really wanted? No one had ever told him he had the freedom to choose, as if his destiny to rule had been forced into his own existence. Why couldn’t he just have been born after any of his sisters? Or just be a normal lion, one with no links to Royalty? “Why me?”

The fact that no one seemed to like him as future King didn’t help him feel any better. His clumsiness to perform simple tasks and his slow learning sure left so much to be desired, and in the last couple of days it had been affecting in his relationship with his mother, who little by little seemed to be losing hope in her son.

His only comfort now lay in the Sun’s warmth, which reminded him of his grandfather Simba in life. How he played with him and hugged him so tightly into his mane making him laugh. How he had told him he would grow up to become a great lion someday. Khari figured out Simba never used the word “King” to refer to him, but simply a “great lion.” He didn’t know if his grandfather was only holding his tongue or if that was just the way he talked, but he liked to think that Simba loved him not because his value as future King of Pride Rock, but because he was his grandson.

The morning birds were singing now, and the sky began acquiring its soft blue tone. Khari got up and stretched his body, it was time to start his routine of greeting his parents as usual, then to play his eldest brother role and check on what his younger siblings were up to.

“Hakuna Matata… yeah right.”

[Leto]

A gentle poke in her side caused her face to twist into a slight grimace as she curled herself up tighter claws digging into the bark of the thick branch she was sleeping on, another gentle prod followed made her mutter incoherently in her sleep. The thick canopy of the Baobab shielded the lioness from the morning sunlight, giving her no sense of the fact that the sun had risen. That however change followed by the slightly harder third prod to her side; the canopy parted flooding her form in the bright light of the morning sun forcing her sleepy eyes to open revealing bright teal orbs staring idly into the distance.

“Up all night stargazing again?” A humored voice reached her ears making them twitch and swirl in the noises’ direction, followed by her slowly sharpening vision; as the blurry form of a mandrill came into view. When her sleepy mind connected the dots that she had overslept the lioness jolted awake indeed she raised from her log so quickly that she forgot about the branches above her causing her to smack her head against them, with a soft groan of pain her movements froze. The elderly mandrill uttered a soft chuckle seeing his apprentice’s panicky behavior, “Relax, boy.” He tried to calm the lioness down Tarajii gently rubbed the top of her head.

Seeing his apprentice awake the mandrill hobbled down to the bowl of the tree’s branches, Tarajii gave a long yawn and stretch of her limbs, and soon followed her master, gracefully descending from her lofty canopy perch, onto the comparatively solid ground of the bowl. The soft melodious hum and thump of wind chimes created a soothing cacophony with the winds rustle of the leaves high above them. “Today I have something very special for you.” The mandrill spoke as he sorted through his gourds filled with various dried herbs and dyes, not turning to even glance at the lioness behind him. Tarajii’s ears swirled forward in contained curiosity as she planted her hind on the ground listening intently to her Mentor.

“We’re running low on thorn root, and bristle rose.” He shot a glance to the lioness behind him, “I want you to be a good lad, and find as much of them as you can carry.” As it became clear she was being sent on an herb hunt the lioness went to fetch one of the hollowed out gourds fitted with a twine of braches so it could be used to carry them in, however she froze the moment she heard just what plants her mentor was requesting. “Master, those herbs, poisonous herbs only grow in-” “The outlands and the elephant graveyard, I know boy.” The elderly ape spoke not hiding the dire tone of his voice. “My parents wouldn’t-” Rafiki shook his head cutting her words, “I know you’ve been there before, lad.” Tarajii’s eyes went wide; she thought that was her own little secret her parents had never found out about it. “Your parents would be none the wiser this time.” He chuckled almost assuring the girl that this would remain between the two of them.

The light hearted expression on the mandrill’s face soon faded however, as this wasn’t going to be easy and the old ape knew it, despite those two badlands being declared officially vacant they were still off-limits to Pridelanders; well except him and by extension his apprentice. “I never sent you to collect those, because I didn’t feel you ready for such a dangerous task.” Rafiki mused, “But now you’re slowly coming into your own, grown into a fine young lion.” He approached his apprentice, “And high it’s time I started to teach you the less pleasant aspects of being Shaman.” He leaned on his staff studying his charge with a critical eye, “I’ll leave it to your own decision how to approach this task, and you may complete it at your own pace; but I’d preferred we had those roots in stock sooner rather than later.” The mandrill muttered. “Consider it a test of your mettle lad.” he winked, knowing full well how Tarajii couldn't resist challenges.

“Now, leave me to my meditations.” He promptly started shooing the lioness away, Tarajii knew that it was time to vacate the Baobab as her mentor always wanted to be alone when meditating. Making sure the gourd was secure around her neck she offered a humble bow she turned on her heel and gracefully descended head first from the bowl of the tree landing with a soft thud on the ground.

As she stood there in the moist grasses eyes trailing the morning savannah her paws coated in a layer of dew, she took a deep breath of the crisp morning air. Far, far in the distant horizon, almost blending into the hazy skies she could make out Pride Rock, indeed that structure could be seen from almost anywhere in the Pridelands, a wry grin crossed the lioness muzzle as she set off in a paced run towards the towering rock. She hadn’t seen her family in over a month, and it wasn’t like she was on a time-limit with this task; she had at least the entire week in which to complete it, might as well spend this "free-time" doing what she wanted for a change.

[abalancedbreakfast]

The promontory of Pride Rock stood in front of the young, black maned lion, about five miles away. Surrounded by the dust and sand of the outlands, he trudged on, worried. “Why did he tell me to go to these lands? What did he mean when he told me to defend the circle of life?” He thought to himself. He worried on. “What if I’m crazy? Perhaps I just saw something. But… this entity seemed so benevolent, so omniscient. He knew that there was going to be civil war in my pride, and he told me to escape, and he was right! But why me?”

He stopped for a moment, however. As he looked up from the ground, he saw a grand lion, with a pelt of solid gold and a mane of fire, his eyes seeming like diamond, walking with a regal grace in his direction. Immediately, Feroz dropped himself into a bow, pleading with this being. “Creator! I didn’t know what I was saying, I had a lapse in judgeme-”

“Rise, child of my creation.” The golden lion spoke to him in a voice of thunder. “Yes, creator.” Feroz said, standing up.

“My son, you question your purpose here, do you not?” The firemaned lion asked.

“I… I did, creator.” Feroz responded, ashamed of himself.

“Feel not ashamed, my son.” The firemaned lion spoke. “I hold the knowledge of the universe. I can answer these questions.”

“You… you aren’t angry at me?” Feroz spoke, looking up at this gargantuan figure.

“Fear not. I shall pass no judgement on you for asking questions. You have proven your dedication by travelling these past two years, for believing in me when I told you to leave the Setting Sun pride. I gift you with one last vision of my presence for some time. Ask me your questions, and I shall give you the answers.”

“Well…” Feroz stumbled. “Why the Pridelands specifically? What is here that I must fight in order to defend the Circle of Life, as you intended it?”

“Good question, my Son. There is a change in the winds here. Long ago, the world abandoned its belief in me. It is my wish that this pride be the start of my rise back to power. They are already deeply rooted in the circle of life, and they are worthy descendants to bear my name. However, there is one other reason you are here, one that you shall see for yourself."

“Wow… Well, how do I join their pride? Wouldn’t I get cast out as an intruder? They have a king already.” Feroz asked.

“Also, a good question. This will be your test of faith. Trust that I will take care of it.” The vision said.

“And what about you? Why won’t I be able to see you for a long time?”

“That is the Pridelands test of faith. A fool can believe in something he sees with his own eyes. But it takes true faith to believe in something that cannot be seen. Once the pridelands are ready, I will reveal myself. But until then, you shall not see me. I will always be there for you to pray to, and I shall answer your prayers, sometimes with yes, and sometimes with no. But you can confide in me.”

With this, the deity started to grow brighter, so much so that Feroz had to cover his eyes.

“I have blessed you with the gift of physical strength, my child. Go forth into the world and spread my message.” The creator said as a final message.

Feroz stood in awe, all doubt cleared away from his mind for a brief moment. “Yes, creator!” he exclaimed with conviction and faith running through his blood. He turned to face Pride Rock, and started running towards the Pridelands as fast as he could.

[Lyonize]

Quck. Think of something. A dung beatle? No. Where am I going to find one of those? A feather? Hmm. Too juvenile. Alari's mind raced back and forth, trying to think of something. Time was of the essence. From boulder to boulder, she leapt, each time pausing to think. Pride rock had a myriad of ledges and huge rocks jumbled up and piled on top of each other. It made for a nigh infinite supply of adventure and exploration. Where's Bunga when you need him? He'd know exactly what to do. Maybe I just need to get out. Then something will come to me.

With ninja-cat-like agility, Alari hopped down from one boulder to the next until she was on the ground underneath the promontory of Pride Rock. As she walked out into the savanna, she looked around for a place to go or something that might give her some ideas. Instead, she spotted a speck in the distance. It was a lioness approaching Pride Rock. She saw Nuha leave earlier but Alari didn't expect her to be back this soon. Almost immediately after, she noticed the fur color and recognized her. Alaris paws danced excitedly and she gasped. Her eyes widened and she was in a full on sprint. She bounded over rocks and hills and even startled a small dik-dik as she flew over it. The poor thing nearly fainted.

In the last stretch before she ran into the lioness, Alari put on the breaks and slid across the grass. The morning dew hadn't evaporated yet so she slid a decent distance before coming to a stop right in front of Tarajii.

"Taraji! I haven't seen you in forever! Quick! Do you have any itching powder? Mrs. Zuri is still asleep and I want to prank her!" She said as she half trotted, half bounced around Tarajii to come up beside her.

[cheezeegriff]

(OOC: Please don’t read into Jono’s ignorance regarding gender dysphoria as reflecting my personal views or anything).

Jono jumped down into his mother’s den, on the edge of Pride Rock, and dropped the gazelle’s leg at his mother’s feet. He grinned. “Look what I’ve got.”

Yuraha raised her head, eyes widening. “Jono! Where did you get so much? You haven’t been stealing from the lionesses again?”

“No,” Jono said, shuffling his legs to hide his right flank where the hyena, Kuuma, had bit him. For Mother’s sake he put on a smile. “Some of the Pridelanders let me eat with them now,” he lied. “They’re nice to me… but I have to be careful that the other ones don't see me.”

Jono flinched when his mother took his jaw in her paws, softly. “You ARE a pridelander. Your father was a rogue, but he was given permission to stay by the Queen. It’s not your fault he chose to leave.”

“Yeah…” he said, knowing better than to speak his mind. If we’re pridelanders, why are you sleeping at the base of a rock? Why won’t the other lionesses look after you when you're sick? Why aren’t I allowed to play with the other cubs? Dark thoughts swirled in his mind.

“Jono?”

“Well, seeya,” Jono said, and hopped away.

“Jono!” Yuraha called, calling him back, but when Jono didn’t return she didn’t berate him. She simply said, “Be safe!”

Jono walked up the little hill just beyond Pride Rock, then sat down at the top of a boulder there. It was one of his favourite resting places: shady, to hide his dark coat, and with an excellent view of the North Eastern side of Pride Rock. A great place to think. Or to not think, as per his need. Jono’s yellow eyes spied the hunting party, moving off to catch breakfast for the rest of the pride. In the distance he saw the royal princess scampering up an acacia tree, intent on some minuscule detail of nature that, as usual, had no bearing on her life whatsoever. He spied the shaman’s apprentice, what’s-her-face, approaching Pride Rock. He had heard her being referred to as a boy… but perhaps his ears had mistaken him. She looked like a girl. One day, he’d have to get a closer look, just to be sure. Regardless, Shaman girl-boy was soon joined by Alari. Jono smirked to himself, bearing sharp teeth. There was a name even he, an outsider, couldn’t miss. Anguished cries of ‘Alari!’ followed her wherever she went. And finally there was the crown prince himself, lording it over his domain from the very top of Pride Rock as the sun rose.

“Royalty,” Jono said, shaking his head. He saw more from his lowly boulder than they did from Pride Rock any day.

There was also a dot on the western horizon, drawing closer from the distance. One of the leopards returning with the morning report, he supposed, though something was odd about it. Did it have a mane? Jono just started to rise to take a closer look when he heard a familiar voice.

“Helloo Jonooo!”

“Kivani,” Jono said, under his breath. One of his biggest fans. “Oh no…”

[Leorgathar]

The Pridelands’ daytime wildlife became more active as the morning progressed, and Khari trotted through the grassy fields looking for any trace of the lionesses’ hunting party, where his younger sister, Nuha, was supposed to be.

Urgh, where are they now? he asked himself in frustration. His mother had asked him to watch for both of his sisters’ well-being, making sure they were safe from a distance and performing the tasks they should be doing. Simple enough. He didn’t have to worry much about Tarajii since she used to spend most of her time with Rafiki anyway, which already guaranteed her safety. All he had to do was to spot Nuha from afar before and after her hunting, then he would have to go back and find Zazu for his daily, boring history lessons.

At the other end of the grass field, near the Water Hole, Khari found the lionesses at last, but Nuha was nowhere to be seen. He got closer to them and approached Tiifu, the leader of the hunting party.

“’Morning, Tiifu!” he greeted. “Umm, have you seen Nuha? I thought she would be with you.”

“Hi Khari. We’re still waiting for her,” Tiifu sighed. “I’m afraid the princess is late, we’ll have to start without her if she doesn’t show up.”

“What? Nuha’s late!? Oh no…” Khari began to panic. “Don’t start yet, I’ll go get her.”

Tiifu gave Khari a puzzled look. “Oh… no, Khari, please don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”

“Yes it is! Nuha should be hunting with you! Otherwise my mom…” Khari stopped mid-sentence, feeling anxious. “Ngh, just… please don’t move, I’ll be right back!”

“Khari, wait!” Tiifu shouted, but it was too late, Khari had already dashed away. All the other lionesses sighed and rolled their eyes.

Mom’s gonna kill me! One thing she trusts me to do right and it’s already falling apart, not again! The young prince thought as he galloped desperately in search of his sister. But it didn’t take him long to spot Moyo, the bird that Nuha was friends with, and with whom she used to go everywhere. Khari saw Moyo landing on an acacia’s branch, and there was Nuha too.

Oh thank the Elders! He thought relieved and ran towards the tree. “Nuha! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be with the hunting party now! They’re very close from here, you can still catch up with them!”

“What!? The lionesses are hunting here!?” a nearby antelope asked very startled. Panic began to rise among the animals hanging around there.

“Oops…” Khari flattened his ears.

[Tamber]

The giraffe drew closer to branch on which Nuha perched. The lioness's breath quieted, and she remained perfectly still, aside from her facial expressions of excitement. Soon the giraffe began investigating the leaves at the outer reaches of the acacia's branches. Nuha strained to catch sight of any thorns the giraffe might encounter and anticipated his reaction when the rumored acacia ants would crawl out and nip him. She saw his long tongue investigate the tree, reaching deeper into the labyrinth of branches and drawing nearer to her.

Suddenly she heard a frantic voice call out to her.

“Nuha! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be with the hunting party now! They’re very close from here, you can still catch up with them!”

It made her start and shake the branch. The giraffe was startled, too - the loud voice and the jerk of the branch must have terrified him. He jerked a twig off the tree and began shaking his head violently as he backed away. "OW!" he shouted, along with other giraffe expletives. "Agh, thorns!"

The frantic voice belonged to Nuha's older brother Khari, heir to the throne of the Pridelands. Though he didn't act quite so dignified much of the time.

Disappointed and frustrated, she jumped down from the tree and approached her brother. "Khari! What were you thinking? I was so close to seeing-"

But Khari was looking at the herd of animals that had been grazing near the tree. Nuha turned to see them fidgeting about, suddenly aware of the presence of the hunting party nearby.

The hunting party ... Oh no.

The herd began to scramble, and the sound of thundering hooves rose from the dirt. "No, stop, it's okay everyone!" Nuha called out, but nothing could fight the animals' flight responses. They were stampeding away from Pride Rock within moments, kicking up dust into Nuha and Khari's faces. Soon they were dashing far onto the horizon.

Nuha flattened her ears and waited for her brother's response - she knew there was one imminent. She had forgotten about the hunting party, and now the herds had scattered. A flood of guilt washed over her. She dreaded her mother's reaction to this blunder and began rehearsing all her apologies in her head.

[Leto]

The lioness slowed the pace of her run to more stable gallop as she got closer and closer to the towering rock. The gourd around her neck bumped gently against her chest as she ran however as she came within sights of the giant rock she noticed a leonine figure racing towards her; the gracefulness and spring in the strides confirmed her guess; Alari, her cubhood friend. “Alari!” the girl called out voice carrying a tinge of happiness and surprise someone had run to meet her. Tarajii slowed her trot to a walk then a final full stop as the other skidded to a halt in front of her. Her ears folded back slightly at the name Alari referred to her by, but she had slowly gotten used to people calling her by her birth name; even if it didn’t feel right.

Her head turned as she followed her friend bouncing around her, “Do you have any idea how much trouble that prank of yours got me?” Tarajii tilted her head with a playful scowl. “If I did it again the old monkey would have me sleep on an anthill.” She shuddered lightly while reminiscing her past punishment. “Besides, I don’t have any powder with me.” She shrugged continuing on her way beckoning Alari to follow, “I’m not even allowed to really handle it yet.” She muttered, indeed as much as her Mentor was sending her to collection poisonous plants in hostile territory, there were some concoctions and plants as well as their properties and uses her Mentor had yet to introduce her to; mostly on account of their dangerous nature.

The shaman apprentice walked in silence for a little while seemingly lost in thought, “Alari?” she turned to her friend, “How do you feel about an adventure?” she smiled innocently. She would wait and hear if her friend was even keen on going on a said adventure before she would reveal the details; the girl knew that they were all, well except her at any rate forbidden from entering the domains his master had sent her to, and requesting their help could get her in major trouble with her parents that would most certainly be opposed to the idea. It was a dangerous land after all, Tarajii had a few lucky escapes herself when she had sneaked out there during her cubhood; but scratches and bruises were surprisingly easy to explain away.

[abalancedbreakfast]

Feroz walked along what seemed to be an elephant graveyard. The pridelands themselves seemed well enough, but it looked as if there was an entire desolate ring around the place. He knew he was going to be spotted soon at this rate, so he had to practice what he was going to say. "Two years ago, my pride had a bloody civil war, of which I am the sole survivor. No" he muttered to himself. "Makes it seem like I was a combatant. I was the... sole refugee? Yeah, that works. A force... no, a vision compelled me to go east. After two years, I ended up here. Now I have to ask to join their pride..." Feroz tried to come up with something humble sounding. "I humbly ask to join your pride? No, sounds too planned. May I please join your pride? I have been traveling for two years. That's good." Feroz looked up for the inevitable border party that would come looking for him. That's when he thought he saw it. The river that appeared to split the pridelands from these god awful elephant graveyards. He quickly messed up his mane and rubbed a little dirt on himself to look desperate, and took a more tired and labored stride. His two years were finally done. He could rest, at least for a day. But first priority, he had to find a way to get himself caught, or rather, seen. At least he thought that was priority, until a hysterical, maniacal laugh came from behind an elephant skull behind him.

[Lyonize]

Alari matched Tarajii's stride and walked with her as she spoke. Taraji had prudence and foresight that Alari lacked. Most of the time, Alari acted on impulse rather than taking a moment to think first. 'Better to ask forgiveness than permission,' she'd say. She listened to her friend's reply, briefly remembering similar conversations in the past.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble that prank of yours got me? If I did it again the old monkey would have me sleep on an anthill. Besides, I don’t have any powder with me. I’m not even allowed to really handle it yet.”

She winced slightly at the mention of sleeping on an ant hill. The worst punishment Alari ever got was being grounded. To Alari, confinement to Pride Rock meant excruciating boredom. She was a particularly adventurous cub and she never grew out of her curiosity. Every day since she was old enough to play on her own, she spent exploring. Part of the fun was finding places nobody else had been. She loved to find small caves, hidden outcroppings, and little, isolated pools and creeks. Her fascination with the unknown got her into trouble more than once. Many times, her mother had to go out searching for her when Alari was out past sunset.

"See, the key is not to get caught." She said with a chuckle as she bumped Tarajii with her shoulder. For a while, the two walked, just enjoying each others company until Tarajii spoke again, changing the subject.

“How do you feel about an adventure?”

Alari grinned widely and she turned her head quickly to face her friend. "Are you kidding? You know who you're talking to right?" She raised an eyebrow. Alari was about to ask where they were going before she heard a rumble in the distance. Her ears perked as she looked around. A cloud of dust was visible in the distance. "The antelope are moving again?" She looked back at her friend. "Think we should go check it out?"

[cheezeegriff]

Edit: Lots of edits here to correct errors. I've also made some changes to make it shorter.

"Helloo Jonooo!"

Jono watched as Kivani emerged the grasses below his boulder, a lioness of his own age with large green eyes. She was pretty, sure, and when she was by herself she was good company… sometimes. It LOOKED like she was by herself today. He replied, “Uhh, hi, Kivani. Are you sure you’re meant to be here? If your mother finds out you’ve been speaking to me-”

“Oh I’m fine,” Kivani said, leaping up beside him. “Mother’s gone with the morning hunting party. She won’t be back for an hour. We have all that time just for ourselves…” she used her claw to grab one of Jono’s whiskers.

Jono pulled his head back. An hour was fine, but if she got too close, he’d need to take a bath to avoid Zuri’s wrath. The blue-eyed lioness would skin him alive if she even smelt a whiff of Kivani on him. “Still, maybe, we can… avoid any wrestling matches today?”

Kivani wasn’t listening. She had that far away look on her face again as she stared longingly into Jono's eyes. “Do you ever want to just run away, Jono?”

“Suure,” he leaned away. Kivani was breathing into his face. “Like, right now, actually.”

“Oh I can’t right now,” Kivani said, the spell broken. She stood and paced. “Mrs Tiifu has invited me to accompany me the hunting party today. And then Mother's going to do my nails. But I'll see you after that, if you like?” With that, she flopped over Jono’s back. Jono smouldered. So much for remaining smell-free. Then he grimaced. She was leaning right into the hyena bite on his back!

Two other voices approached through the long grass, and Kivani sighed, turning around. “You said you’d give me five minutes alone with him this morning!”

Jono grit his teeth. His three admirers. One at a time, they were usually reasonable. Together, they were insufferable.

“Yeah, well, that was about as long as the five minutes you gave ME yesterday,” Noki said.

“And TWICE as long as the five minutes I got last week!” said Tegra.

“Well maybe if you ladies weren’t so jealous you’d… hey, what's that rumbling?"

Jono looked down the slope, closer to Pride Rock.

"A stampede." Kivani said.

"They're coming this way!" said Tegra.

"Quick! Behind the boulder!" said Noki.

"No!" Jono said, for he had a hiding spot back there. "It's not safe on the ground." He looked up. "Quick! Up the tree. I'll give you a boost."

He lifted them up one at a time. Tegra paused to knead his back. "Oh Jono, your muscles," she said. Then the first antelope ran past. "Uhh... ok, I'm going." She jumped up, grabbing the branch beside her friends, who helped to pull her into the tree. They then reached down for Jono. "Grab my hand, Jono!" she said.

"No, grab MY hand," Kivani said, and elbowed Tegra in the ribs.

Jono saw his chance, and grinned upwards. "Sorry, ladies. A lion needs to eat. What's a better time than now?" With that he leapt from the boulder and onto the back of a charging antelope, gripping tightly with his claws as it sprinted from Pride Rock.

[Leorgathar]

The dust had just cleared, and the sound of countless galloping hooves became distant, but Khari’s jaw still hanged open. He looked slightly to his left and found his sister standing frozen just like him in the corner of his eye. A knot formed in the young prince’s throat, and now he looked down at his toes.

“It’s my fault, Nuha…” he broke the silence. “It’s always me. Why can’t I do anything right!?”

His eyes shut tight. He had messed up once again. Khari’s mind rushed with thoughts of lionesses giving him scornful looks, of his mother’s disappointment creeping into his soul. He had no escape this time. A tear flowed down his cheek.

“Maybe you should wait for Miss Tiifu and the lionesses, I’m sure they’ll show up any minute now,” he told Nuha. “I’ll… I’ll go to tell mom.”

Khari turned around his flank and began walking at a steady pace towards Pride Rock, pointing his muzzle down. He was hesitant to leave before the hunting party saw him, he was certainly not in the mood to hear their snorts to him. But at the same time he dreaded to see his mother’s face, losing faith in him even more. Still, it was better to hear the news from him first than anyone else, which at least would show her that he cared… to some degree.

After a few minutes walking, the lion Prince looked ahead and stopped when he spotted Tarajii and her friend, Alari in the grassland between him and Pride Rock. What are those two up to now? He wondered as he found strange that Tarajii wasn’t training in Rafiki’s baobab tree at that time. Desperately needing to take his mind off from what was coming to him, he crouched in the grass and decided it wouldn’t hurt to deviate from his path for a while to keep an eye on his youngest sister. After all, Kiara had asked him to look after both of his siblings. He might as well try and do the other half of his task right.

[Tamber]

"It’s my fault, Nuha,” Khari said. “It’s always me. Why can’t I do anything right!?”

Nuha was pulled out of her selfish concerns when her brother spoke. She watched him tear up and felt terribly sorry for him. He had a propensity for making mistakes, but it didn't bother Nuha the way it seemed to bother everyone else. Khari was still young, just old enough to start practicing king-like duties. In Nuha's mind, it was understandable that he had room to improve. After all, he was farther along in his training than she was in hers...

"Oh Khari, it's-"

“Maybe you should wait for Miss Tiifu and the lionesses, I’m sure they’ll show up any minute now. I’ll… I’ll go to tell mom.”

Before she could comfort him, Khari trotted away, probably hurrying from the hunting party. Sticking around to face their disappointment was not something Nuha was interested in. Sure, Khari had scattered the herd, but she had drawn him there, skipping out on a hunting trip at the same time. Tiifu would certainly have something to say about that.

She slinked into the brush nearby, heading for a thicker covering of trees and undergrowth a few hundred meters away. Before long she had reached a leafy, shadowy hiding place, where she plopped down for a rest. She knew she'd have to face someone's disapproval sooner or later, but for now she needed a moment to herself. She lay at the edge of the tree patch, looking out onto the plains.

After a while, a frantic bird flew into sight. He veered toward Nuha's patch of trees. Zazu. He glided into the trees with feathers flying, as usual.

"Nuha!" Zazu cried. "What on earth are you doing here? You've been missing all morning."

She raised her head to greet the hornbill. "I'm sorry, Zazu, it's been a difficult day. I-"

"Young lady, your mother seeks you for a meeting. I suggest you head for Pride Rock immediately."

"Mmmmfff..." Nuha shuddered. "What did Khari tell her, Zazu?"

"Khari?" he said. "Oh I've seen nothing of him. Ms. Tiifu came to tell us of your absence."

Nuha cringed.

"Odd, the herds have scattered in quite a hurry this morning, and before the hunting party was even on the move. There's quite a ruckus..." Zazu paused, then looked at Nuha suspiciously. "Why do you ask about Khari? Does he know something about this?"

Nuha stood with trembling paws, avoiding Zazu's disapproving gaze. "Thanks for finding me, Zazu." She ran out onto the plain and headed for Pride Rock. Zazu called after her, demanding information. But she'd had enough twiddling her toes for one day. At this point, speaking directly with her mother might even be a comfort.

[Leto]

((So so terribly sorry for the delay guys! I know this is not as long as to warrant the wait. But at least I am not stalling you guys anymore in having to wait for me.))

The shaman apprentice would’ve slowed her walk as they approached Pride Rock; however a quip from Alari and the dust cloud on the horizon forced them both to a stop. “It might be just the hunting party out and about.” She shrugged, which given the time it was it would’ve made sense. The morning hunt would’ve been started now. Ever since moving in Rafiki Tarajii had been pretty much forced to learn hunting by herself, aside from a few basic lessons given by one of her aunts the little girl had learned hunting on her own through trial and error.

Of course she had never taken down the prey the size that the hunting parties would bring down; mostly hunting smaller creatures like lizards and rodents. A good sized meal for one person, “If you want to check it, I don’t see why not.” Tarajii quipped as she trotted past Alari and headed in direction of the dust cloud. However in making their way there the shaman apprentice could make out a grey spot streaking along the horizon. “Hey! Big sis!!” she would call out, recognizing Nuha in an instant, her older sister and second oldest of the royal siblings.

Her trot would escalate in a full on run, having forgotten about the dust cloud happy of running into family she hadn’t seen in at least a month!

[abalancedbreakfast]

Feroz quickly turned around to see a pair of hyena eyes between the rib bones of an elephant. Standing before him was a hyena. A female of some sort, walking toward him, meaning, he perceived, to back him into a corner. "Hyena? Look, I mean no trouble with you! Back off."

"Ah, so you're a tough young rogue, aren't you? Well, you lions are all the same, I suppose. But you don't suppose you're going to just waltz into the Pridelands, do you?" The hyena said.

"What? What problem do you have with me trying to get into the Pridelands? It seems you've been banished." He said, noting the location they were in.

"Me? Banished? Oh, no, I just came to scavenge a bit. I live in these lands, you ditz. So if you've come to do damage to my pridelands...." She said, circling around to face him "Get out."

"Damn, calm down! I mean no harm! My home pride had a civil war two years ago when I was fifteen! I'm lost, and I've been travelling for two years in this direction!"

"What"  the hyena asked. "Never bothered to try another direction?"

"Well... no. There was something... a higher power of some sort, that compelled me to go to these lands. Please, Hyena. I just wish to seek shelter. I don't know what my purpose here is, but I hope to find out." Feroz said sternly, looking in her eyes.

"The name's Jasiri, first of all. And secondly, if you want to stay in the pridelands, you're going to have to go to Pride Rock and speak with Queen Kiara."

Feroz was offput a bit. "Wait... is there a king here?"

"Ugh, you lions. There is a king, King Kovu, but he's not royal blood, Queen Kiara is. She makes the big decisions. Now, if you don't want to get roared to death, I suggest you let me escort you to her."

"Roared to death? The hell's that supposed to mean?" Feroz asked.

"Oh, you'll see, lion." Jasiri giggled.

"The name's Feroz, Jasiri"

"Well, whatever your name is, follow me. Wouldn't want you lying and trying to challenge Kovu, would we?"

With that, Jasiri turned around and beckoned Feroz to follow her to Pride Rock as they both crossed the river together.

[Lyonize]

“It might be just the hunting party out and about. If you want to check it, I don’t see why not.”

At that, Alari dismissed the thought.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said and continued to follow her friend.

It wasn't long before Taraji quickened her pace. Alari looked ahead to see what might have excited her. Alari would recognize that grey dot anywhere. Taraji confirmed Alaris observation as she called out to her sister. As they caught up to Nuha, Alari picked up a note of stress in her posture. It could've been nothing so Alari dismissed the thought. The two lionesses slowed to a trot once they had gotten close to the grey lioness.

"Hey, Nuah! Look what I found!" Said Alari gleefully as she bumped Taraji's shoulder indicatively. Alari loved to be the bearer of surprises.

[cheezeegriff]

"Calm down," Jono said to the antelope acting as his mount. "You're too big for me. I just need to escape from... hey-". The antelope was having none of it. He kicked and bucked, thrashing his horns around. "Well if it's going to be like that..." Jono dug his claws in and reached to bite the animal's neck. He'd seen the hunting party hunting. He knew the principles, but it was a lot harder than they made it look. No matter how much he tried to bite down the antelope's neck always slipped out of his grip. "Gurr, wait until I'm older," he said, but the antelope jumped suddenly, and Jono felt his grip loosen. With a final kick he was flung into the grass, tumbling and sliding on the morning dew. He was on his feet in but a moment.

Thankfully, he was far from the rest of the stampede. The antelope must have strayed in panic. Even more thankfully, he was far from his boulder and the three sisters, though he could see them in the distance. Tegra was trying to help Noki down from the tree, but between the two of them Noki landed flat on her face. Jono scoffed. "Love of my life..."

He looked over his shoulder, and his yellow eyes drank in the darkness before him. The outlands. Well, more specifically, the elephant graveyard, not too far away at all.

And there was that dot. Only now it was not a dot, but obviously a lion, emerging wet and dripping from the river. It looked like he had company.

Jono ducked down, creeping through the last of the scraggly grass to wait and to watch... when at last he had drawn close enough and realised the hyena was Jasiri, he grinned to himself crookedly. “Well look what cat the hyena dragged in,” he said, throwing his voice.

***

Jasiri sighed, and gave a sideways glance to Feroz. “That’s just Jono. Don’t worry – he’s harmless. Mostly.” She turned around to the long grass. “Hey Jono! Why don’t you come out and do your job? You’re letting a hyena escort a stranger into the heart of the pridelands.”

“That’s not my job,” Jono’s disembodied voice said, though Jasiri thought it might be coming from a collection of boulders off to their right. “Besides, I am escorting you. You just didn’t know it until now.”

“Pfft. Right. If you were escorting him then I don’t need to bother.” She crouched a little lower, looking about, until finally she spotted a dark shape in the grass and started crawling closer. “Why don’t you come out? I have someone to introduce you to.” Then she pounced, but her paws only landed on wood – an old log, in fact, rotting in the sun. “Darn…”

“You’ll have to try harder than that, old lady,” Jono said.

“Old lady?!?”

[Leorgathar]

Khari had approached both Tarajii and Alari while crouching behind grass blades until he got to a rock big enough to hide his body, where he stopped to rest and vent. It was just a matter of time before everyone found out what he did, and he dreaded the sight of Pride Rock with his mother waiting for him, but at the same time he wanted to use what time he had left to at least feel useful and finish his job.

After he calmed down, he wiped off his tears with the back of his paw and peeked over the rock to check on his sister and her friend. Judging from the gourd strapped around Tarajii’s neck, Khari assumed she had been instructed a task by her mentor, Rafiki, which made Khari feel relieved knowing she was still under the old mandrill’s guidance since he last saw her a month before. Maybe this would mean good news for the Queen to hear… after the scolding he’ll get from her, of course.

His attention turned to Tiifu’s daughter, Alari, whom he hadn’t seen in some time either. Khari used to like seeing her climbing trees and getting through any obstacle with so much ease when they were cubs. She often would perform a difficult acrobatic and then challenge him to do the same, which he would fail miserably every time, but they both ended up laughing and nothing ever mattered. Now they were both adolescents, but seeing the way she talked to his sister, as well as her graceful trotting, he knew she hadn’t really changed at all. With her carefree nature, her brilliant sense of humor, and her agility to do just about anything, Alari was everything Khari wasn’t, and he definitely admired that.

Khari rested his chin over his paws. He and Alari weren't as close now as they used to be, but he secretly wished it was him walking along with her instead of his sister, catching up on what has been of each other’s lives and laughing together at silliness like they used to in their cubhood. That thought made a warm smile draw in his muzzle, he felt less anxious, and for one moment he forgot the fear he still had to face over answering for the mess he made earlier.

…Until he saw they were joined by Nuha, which made him snap out of it and worry all over again.

[Tamber]

The gray lioness had almost made it to Pride Rock when she heard a call from downwind.

"Hey! Big sis!!"

Nuha skidded to a halt and looked to the North. Suddenly there was Tiifu's daughter Alari, and Tarajii was with her! Nuha's eyes lit up, and her worries fell away. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her little sister. "Hey Nuha! Look what I found," Alari said.

"Bless my whiskers!" she said under her breath as she ran to meet them. She tore up the earth with her powerful legs. Leap - POW. She plowed into her sister and pinned her in the dirt.

"What are you doing here, you little muffin?" she asked, attempting to tickle her sister. "I thought I'd be seeing you with a beard and a staff, it's been so long. Rafiki let you take over yet?" Nuha nippied at Tarajii and held her to the ground.

[Leto]

((Um not really her personality but... whatever here's my post. Thanks for putting in the effort to keep it moving.))

----------

The apprentice squealed as she got plowed to the ground in a playful tackle of grey fur. Tarajii squirmed underneath the tickling twitching and pushing her paws into her older sister’s chest and chin to get her to stop so she could speak. “Very funny, Nu!” She coughed catching her breath grinning up at her older sis, regarding the staff and beard comment. Of course she’d love a mane but, alas! Depressing thoughts were dismissed however as soon as they flickered into her consciousness.

“I’m still an apprentice.” She pushed her paws into Nuha’s chest trying to lift her sister off of her. “But…” she paused through the strain, strength not being her forthe. “My mentor’s allowing me more freedom in completing duties.” She bats at her sis’ face hoping this will give her a tally to get off of her, her leaf-tipped tail trashing playfully on the ground. “He sent me on a task this morning but I’d figure I come and see you and big bro first. Oh, and mom and dad of course.” She beams still pretty much pinned beneath the grey form of her sister, who in contrast looked like a male in comparison to the yellow younger one; with a slender legs and almost a cheetah-like physique for a lion.

[abalancedbreakfast]

"I swear, Jono! This will be the last time you decide to pull a trick like that on me!" Jasiri yelled, scurrying frantically to find the young lion.

"Uhm... Jasiri, I know it's not my place, but I think we should probably get going." Feroz said, waiting after his guide had been on the hunt for about five minutes.

"Oh, forget it. Kovu is a man, or as close to one as he can be considered. Point is he may be able to handle himself. Go there on your own. He should be in the den."

"Okay, Jasiri. Uh, thanks for your help." Feroz said, awkwardly shuffling away.

"No problem. But if I find out you mean any harm, I'm going to kill you! But not before I kill Jono for this little game of his!"

Feroz, not wanting to get caught up in the situation anymore, continued on his way towards Pride Rock. He had to think of a way to explain himself and not seem suspicious. In any case, it was rare for males other than the king to be allowed in any pride territory for most lions he'd come across. But something in him trusted the being he saw as the creator to be correct in his judgement. For a minute or two he walked, taking in the beauty of the scenery. Certainly the Setting Sun pride had some nice spots, but this, this lush grassland rife with peaks and valleys, was truly a sight to behold. He stopped observing this, however, when nearby, he saw a few lionesses, walking by and talking. Not wanting to seem suspicious, he kept a blank face and walked by without sneaking, as if it was perfectly okay for him to be there. At least he walked with this gait until he passed a certain rock, where another lion, an adolescent like him, seemed to be waiting. At least until he was discovered.

The young lion shrank back in fear, and backed up against a rock, absolutely confounded and petrified of Feroz, whom he probably perceived to be an intruder, waltzing up to him like it was no big deal.

"Oh, no, no, no! Look, I know this seems suspicious, but please, hear me out! I am the victim of misfortune from my home pride. I escaped from a brutal civil war, and something compelled me to travel for two years to get here. I'll explain later- Huh?" He said, noticing what appeared to be wet tear marks in the lion's eyes. "Uhm... are you okay? What's going on? You look like you've been crying."

[Lyonize]

Alari sat down with a big stupid looking grin on her face. She loved seeing the sisters react to seeing each other the way they did. Alari didn't have any siblings so she often wondered what it'd be like to have a brother or a sister. She imagined it was like having a friend who was around all the time. A few moments passed before she was suddenly reminded of Nuha and Tarajiis brother. She faintly heard another voice that sounded like his. She nearly dismissed it as a figment of her imagination as a side effect of remembering him and wondering where he was. Then there was another faint voice. One she didn't recognize.

"I thought I'd be seeing you with a beard and a staff, it's been so long. Rafiki let you take over yet?"

Alari's ears perked up as she put her head on a swivel. "Hey guys?"

“My mentor’s allowing me more freedom in completing duties.”

"Guys, where's Khari?" The two lionesses continued talking about Tarajii's mentor.

“He sent me on a task this morning but I’d figure I come and see you and big bro first. Oh, and mom and dad of course.”

The voice's continued and Alari quickly became impatient. She finally pinpointed where the sounds were coming from. Alari heard the voices coming from behind a boulder. She quickly slinked over to the playing lionesses and gently put a paw on Tarajiis muzzle. "Shhh. Over there." She whispered, gesturing with her head in the direction of the sound. She couldn't make out any specific words but it was a male voice she didn't recognize. She leaned in and heard Khari's distressed voice. Before either of the other lionesses could react, Alari was in full sprint towards the boulder. Like a lizard, Alari climbed the face of the boulder and leaped over the crest, landing sideways on the edge of the other side. As if time had slowed down, she looked down and scanned the situation. She saw an unknown lion facing Khari. Khari was smaller than the interloper. She focussed more on Khari who seemed to be panicked. Alari was good at spotting others emotions, and Khari was terrible at hiding his.

Time returned to it's usual pace as Alari used her momentum to barrel-roll her body off the boulder. She landed facing the unknown lion. Now, she got a good look at him. He was big. That was for sure. Alari had picked fights with bigger things though. The random irritable cape buffalo was often a victim of her pranks and she always got away.

Without thinking, like usual, Alari rushed in between the lions right legs. As she passed underneath him, she grabbed his front, left leg and used her momentum to leap up, dragging his body in a corkscrew so that he was on his back and she had him pinned. At leas that's what she thought would happen. Instead, as soon as she grabbed his leg, she stopped in place and landed on her stomach underneath him. She might as well have been trying to uproot a baobab tree. Who was this guy? Some elephant trapped in a lions body?

"What in the name of Mufasa are you made of?!" She shouted in disbelief at the sheer density of this lion.

[cheezeegriff]

It had taken Jono a while to lose Jasiri, but once he crept far enough away he jumped into a sprint. The lion was heading right to Pride Rock! This would be fun.

It was only once Alari failed to tackle the big meat-block of a lion that he finally caught up, but Jono quickly realised by the body language of everyone that no fight was about to occur. Not without a little bit of encouragement. Fighting a mischievous grin, jono raised his head and yelled, "Heelp! Intruder inthe pridelands. He's attacking Prince Khari!"

Then he jumped behind a boulder, barely stifling his glee as the hunters came running and the lounging lionesses on Pride Rock raised their heads birds of all sorts echoed his message across the savanna.

THIS was going to be GOOD.

[Leorgathar]

OOC: Sorry it took me a while to post, and for how long it is. It took long to come up with this :'D


Sigh… what am I going to do? Khari asked to himself. Seeing his two sisters together safe and sound made him realize there was no point in keeping an eye on them anymore, it was time to go to Pride Rock and tell the Queen what had happened. At least the presence of Alari there made helped to calm him down as he thought of her childhood friend, so he took a deep breath and regained some courage to go face his mother. Well, time to go, he thought.

When the young prince turned around he found out he had an unexpected visitor, a strange lion much bigger and stronger towering over him, looking at Khari with green eyes he had never seen before in the Pridelands, on a serious face surrounded by a menacing black mane. Khari became paralyzed for longer than he could react, fear trembling in his muscles, thinking of how stupid he was for not sensing an intruder approach him so close.
With his breathing rhythm accelerated Khari started to back away slowly, but he let out a yelp when he stumbled with the boulder behind him and realized he had no escape. He pressed his body against the rock shrinking as much as he could.

“Who are you? W-what do you want!? Y-you know who I am, right!?” Khari asked with a trembling voice, trying to remind the stranger that he was getting way too close to the Heir of Pride Rock.

"Oh, no, no, no! Look, I know this seems suspicious, but please, hear me out! I am the victim of misfortune from my home pride. I escaped from a brutal civil war, and something compelled me to travel for two years to get here. I'll explain later.” The strange lion said.

“OK!” Khari answered quickly, almost wanting to shout for help, but too scared to do it. “I-I mean… Of course! Yes! I-I’ll arrange a meeting with the Queen, whatever you want, just… please… stay back. I'm warning you!”

“Huh? Uhm... are you okay? What's going on? You look like you've been crying."

Khari’s breathing slowed down. His body relaxed as he eventually realized the foreigner lion was trying to be kind and meant no harm, but the question still made him uncomfortable. New tears were forming in his eyes, and he lowered his head turning to look at his own shadow cast over the rock’s surface.

“It’s… none of your business…” he answered.


In what seemed to be less than a second, a lioness landed in front of Khari, startling him, and before he could realize who she was, she dashed below the stranger and stopped while falling on her stomach when she tried uselessly to pull the lion’s front leg. Khari then recognized her.

“Alari?” he said confused.

"Heelp! Intruder in the pridelands!” A distant but loud voice shouted. “He's attacking Prince Khari!"

“What? W-what’s going on!?” The prince began feeling nervous again.

All of a sudden, the faces of many concerned lionesses and many other curious animals began showing up one after another. Among them was the hunting party’s leader, Tiifu, who gasped when she saw her daughter in the middle of the scene. Khari didn’t know what to say or how to react, but as scared as he was, he certainly wasn’t being attacked.

“Wait…no" He started, but he was interrupted by yet another lion who landed on the scene like out of nowhere and struck the stranger lion violently on his muzzle, making him stumble to the side, but not fall. It was Khari’s father, Kovu.

“Take your filthy paws off my son, you damn rogue” Kovu snarled. “We don’t mind visitors in the Kingdom, but nobody lays a claw on a Pridelander!”

“Dad, he didn’t…” Khari spoke from behind, but Kovu interrupted him.

“Khari, go back to Pride Rock.”

“But dad…”

“NOW, KHARI!” Kovu roared.

The young prince flattened his ears and backed away, turning on his side to run towards Pride Rock, obeying his father. As he climbed up the slope to the cave, he stumbled across with the Queen herself, Kiara, who looked down to him with a serious expression.

“Mom…”

“Go to the cave and wait there… I’ll deal with you and Nuha later.” Kiara said before she passed by her son and trotted down towards the ruckus below. Khari had never felt any worse in his life.

[Tamber]

Nuha had continued to wrestle Tarajii as she listened to what her sister had been up to. She grinned at the lanky lioness's attempts to escape, but also at the knowledge that she was succeeding at her new career. Tarajii's role was unprecedented in their family.

But they were interrupted by Alari, who placed a paw on Tarajii's muzzle as she spoke. "Shhh. Over there."

Nuha's eared perked up, and she followed her friend as they searched for the source of the noise. Peering around a large boulder nearby, they saw an enormous lion facing...someone. Khari??

Suddenly, Alari slinked over onto the scene and tried to knock the lion's legs out from under him, but to no avail. After a few moments it became clear to Nuha that this stranger was not a challenger, as imposing a presence as he had. Nuha figured it was more likely that Khari was overreacting, as usual. She began to trot over to intercept the situation, but a voice on the air rendered her intentions useless.

"Heelp! Intruder in the Pridelands. He's attacking Prince Khari!"

Nuha gasped at what she'd heard. Within moments, the birds were carrying the message across the Pridelands, and alarm calls were sounding from all directions. Within moments, her father Kovu had arrived to deal with the stranger, and Nuha could see that Kiara was on her way. Khari was trying to explain something to their parents, but they would have none of it.

Nuha looked in the direction from which the voice came and saw another boulder ... with a dark brown tail flicking behind it. She watched closely until she saw bright yellow eyes peek over its crest, before snapping back out of sight.

A sneer came to her maw. "Jono!" As she spoke, she felt her chest rumble, and the ground trembled ever so faintly beneath her.

But she thought nothing of it and charged over to the quarterling lion. Jono may have had eyes like an egret, but Nuha could see intention from a mile away.

She leaped onto the top of the boulder and looked down on the felid crouching behind it. "Jono, what were you thinking?" she demanded. "You could have caused a huge uproar, and for nothing. If you had a problem with this stranger, why didn't you do something yourself like Alari did?"

A pang of rage hit Nuha in her heart when she thought of the way people tended to treat rogues in her homeland. Her lips curled, and her growls seemed to echo around her, the wind building in the grasses.

"My father was a rogue once, and came to the Pridelands with nowhere else to go. So did your father!"

The lioness's anger was getting the better of her, but she couldn't be satiated until she got some kind of apology or explanation from Jono. All she could think was how lucky he was to be in this pride, and that he'd be a fool to take it for granted.

[Lyonize]

Experimental posting order beyond this point.

[abalancedbreakfast]

"Oh, it's none of your business" The young teenager said to him. Poor kid, Feroz thought to himself. Looks like he doesn't have an ounce of confidence in his body.

Suddenly, however, from behind a rock, leaped out a dark lioness of some sort, who thought she could sweep a front paw out from under him. Feroz didn't bother to react, really. It was a trick he'd seen people try to do countless times in his two year travel. Eventually he just got strong enough to where his legs were kind of unmovable. So, he sat, trying to hold back a laugh as the lioness fell flat on her back. "What in the name of Mufasa are you made of?"

Feroz decided to take the action and use it to show he wasn't a threat, offering up a little joke. "Oh, same thing as you, really. Just some muscle, bone, a little more fat on the stomach than I'd like, but-"

"Help! Intruder in the Pridelands! He's attacking Prince Khari!" Shouted the voice of some punk kid behind a rock in the distance.

So. This is what the creator meant when he said "Have faith." Greeat. In any case, Feroz knew there was going to be an impending trial or fight or something going on here, and unless the Prince decided to vouch for him, he was going to either die or get kicked out. However, he didn't expect the King and the Guard to come as quickly as they did. Within a second, birds were already chattering about this attack, and in short notice, the King and Queen were already there (along with what seemed like the rest of the pride), the Male ready to start his fair trial with four claws directly to the left side of his face, making him stumble just a little bit.

"Take your filthy paws off my son, you damn rogue! We don’t mind visitors in the Kingdom, but nobody lays a claw on a Pridelander!" The one whom he thought to be the king shouted. Looks like his chances of joining this Pride were ruined by the sick, twisted joke of some kid. 

"Dad, he didn't-"

"Khari, go back to pride rock!"

"But, Dad!"

"NOW, KHARI!"

This was bad. His one advocate was basically shut out from any form of giving evidence or testimony on his behalf. In any case, he still had his head down from the hit to his face. Given how much larger than this King he was (odd, considering his mane had just fully grown together a month before), he was going to be seen as an aggressor if he tried to strike back. He didn't want to hurt any of these people, but he had to do something. So he got back to his feet, looked this dark king directly in his eyes, and he sat down.

"I did not attack your son. I promise you that. Nor did I lay a single claw on any other pridelander. I was-" He attempted to say, before earning one more clawing across the face with this line.

It seemed that the lioness had gone off to whoever decided to play this trick on him. Looks like he had two supporters. But then the oddest thing happened. He felt the ground quake beneath his feet, and the wind blow through his short, black mane. Clearly, the creator was here to protect him.

He got back up from the second strike, sat back down, and continued, panting. "I... was... 15 years old... two years ago...  A vision in a dream told me to-"

"Get out of the pridelands, outsider! I will not tolerate you here one second longer!" The king said to him, snarling.

"Wait! Kovu!" A female voice said, running behind him. "Hear him out!"

"But Kiara, he attacked-"

"I'm not saying this as your mate! I'm saying this as your queen! Now, obey the queen's orders!" she decreed, before turning a tender face to this rogue. "Speak, rogue." She said, seeming to take on the voice of a mother.

Feroz took a moment to wipe the blood off of his face at this point, before gathering himself and speaking.

"A vision in a dream told me to escape one night. And as I awoke, I saw my mother, killing the king of the Setting Sun Pride right before my eyes. Before having her throat torn out. I left as fast as I could, and I traveled for two years. Over time, I ended up growing to this huge size. I don't understand how. My father was nowhere near my size, at least according to my mother. But, after two years, I ended up here. The legendary pridelands, home of King Simba. I was going to humbly ask to join your pride."

Feroz stopped a moment, disheartened, not even caring to carry on. If this was the legendary pridelands, then the vision must have made a mistake.

"But it's clear you don't want me here. I'll just go."

With that, Feroz got up, gathered some dignity about himself, turned around, and took a step away from the crowd.

[cheezeegriff]

At first Jono was startled to be discovered – when had that ever happened before? – but startlement quickly gave way to self-preservation. "Do something myself?" Jono replied, incredulous. "To that? Do you think I take fighting lessons from Rafiki or something? And how do you know my name, anyway?"

But it was clear Nuha wasn't listening, mentioning her father, his father, and his own rage built up inside him. Jono' yellow eyes flashed as he jumped onto the rock before Nuha, put his forehead against hers and hissed, "Nowhere to go? Your father came here as an assassin! Don't you dare compare a low-life like him with mine."