(A/N: hello everyone, and thank you for deciding to read this. Before I begin, there is something I need to point out. Recently, there have been quite a few comments in the reviews for some of my stories- more specifically, ones where I ship Kion and Fuli. These comments are generally along the lines of 'it shouldn't be Kion and Fuli, it should be Kion and Tiifu, or Kion and Zuri'. I have no problem with people preferring KionxTiifu or KionxZuri, but please don't criticise me for choosing this ship. I use this ship because I feel it is the one that makes sense to me, and the ship that most inspires me. Also, do not point out that this wouldn't happen because A- they are different species, and B- they are cubs. Remember, this is fan-created literature of a fictional cartoon, so this sort of thing doesn't really apply. Please just allow me to enjoy doing this.

I'm sorry to have to rant about this, but it has been bothering me for a while now. Be warned- there will be SOME KionxFuli. I appreciate you all taking the time to read my work, and I won't ramble anymore. Please enjoy!)

The sun was rising in the Pride Lands, the sky clear and a beautiful crescendo of pinks, oranges, yellows and blues. A faint breeze rustled through the luscious green grass, the air beginning to warm from the surprisingly cold night before. All across the lands, animals were starting to wake up, ready to begin the day. In one of the plains, laying within the grass was a cheetah cub by the name of Fuli. As her green eyes began to open following a peaceful sleep, she let out a quiet yawn, before she slowly got to her feet and stretched her legs and back. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

'Time to start the day,' she thought to herself. As she started to move, thinking about what her morning hunt would be, she felt herself shiver. 'It's cold this morning!' She thought nothing of it, as she began to roam around, searching for some prey to hunt. After a little bit of searching, she found a gazelle, chewing on the grass peacefully. She licked her lips, before getting low to the ground. 'And so, the hunter stalks her prey,' she thought, slowly slinking towards the gazelle, making as close to no noise as possible. She was soon in pouncing position, but before she could, the gazelle looked up. Fuli held her breath as her prey scanned its surroundings, before resuming to its morning meal.

'Okay… three... two… one…'

"Achoo!" Fuli's sudden sneeze gave away her position, and the gazelle instantly fled from the cheetah, who groaned. "Aww, come on!" She quickly gave chase, not willing to let her catch get away. As she gave chase, she quickly felt herself starting to grow tired. 'What?! I just got up, I shouldn't be tired already!' However, the fatigue she felt soon got to her, despite her attempts to push through it, and she had to stop her chase. The gazelle got away without a second glance- had it looked back, it would have seen that Fuli was slightly shaky on her legs, her joints aching. Her head was aching slightly, and she felt dizzy. "What… what the…" She panted, gathering her breath. "How did that gazelle get away from me?" She laid down again, trying to collect herself. "Why am I acting like this? How are-" Hearing how nasally her voice was, her eyes shot wide. 'No… no, no, no! There is no way I am sick! I haven't been sick in so long, why now!' She shook her head, even though it made her head ache more. "No, I can't be sick," she told herself. "I must have just… slept funny. Yeah, that's it, and the sneeze was because it's still cold! I'm not sick, I'm fine!" She looked towards the sun, which was now fully over the horizon. "Darn! I need to get to the lair to meet the Guard for patrol." She sighed. "Guess that means I'm skipping breakfast."

She decided to head straight to the lair, but rather than run, she had to walk. She hated going slow, especially given that she was known as Fuli the Fastest, but she had to admit that the Pride Lands did look beautiful at this time. Ever since she had encountered Kongwe, Fuli had started to develop a new appreciation for things. Sure, she didn't stop at every single flower like Kongwe or Makini would, but she couldn't help but admire how serene the Pride Lands were at this hour, and how beautiful the sky was when the sun was beginning to rise. The time just seemed to flow by before she reached the Lair of the Guard. Pushing through the vines, she saw that she was the last one to arrive, seeing Kion conversing with Beshte by the water, Ono grooming his feathers while perched on a rock, and Bunga…

'Being Bunga,' she thought with a chuckle.

The honey badger looked over at the cheetah and smiled. "Hey, it's about time you got here!" Bunga exclaimed, alerting the rest of the Guard to her presence.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Fuli told them, "but I thought that it was a beautiful morning, so I just… took my time for once."

Bunga looked at her quizzically, crossing his arms. "That doesn't sound like something you'd do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She challenged, shooting him a glare.

"Actually, Fuli," Beshte spoke up, looking concerned, "you sound a little… off. Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am, Beshte," she told the hippo. "Never better!" Unfortunately for her, she started shivering. "Why is it so cold today?"

Kion, looking at how the cheetah shivered and hearing how she spoke, looked at her, his expression both serious and concerned. "Fuli, you're sick, aren't you?"

"Kion, I'm fine! Seriously!" As soon as she said this, she happened to sneeze. The Guard all saw this, but she just smirked back at them. "That's nothing, just a little sneeze from how cold it is. I assure you, I'm not sick."

Kion didn't believe her one bit. "Ono?" He called to the egret. "Could you check her head?"

"I'm on it!" Ono called back, and before Fuli could argue, he flew down onto her shoulder. Using his left wing, he pressed it against her forehead, before quickly removing it. "No doubt about it, she's got a fever!"

Whilst Ono flew over to Beshte, Kion frowned at his cheetah friend. "Fuli, you shouldn't be here when you're sick. I can't have you on patrol with us like this."

"But, I'm fine!"

Another, slightly louder sneeze halted her. "Fuli, you're clearly not fine! If you go on patrol, and we have to deal with a hyena attack, you could over exert yourself again."

"Or she could sneeze them all away," Bunga suggested to Beshte.

"I don't think now is the time for that, Lil B."

"Plus," Kion continued, ignoring Bunga's joke, "if we need to track someone, you won't be able to find their scent if you have a cold."

"But, Kion-"

"No buts, Fuli! You need to stay here and rest!"

She looked at him in shock. "You can't tell me what to do, Kion! You might be the leader of the Guard, but-"

"I'm not telling you what to do, I'm…" He huffed in irritation, then looked at her. "Can you at least promise me you'll wait here? We're going to find Rafiki and ask him to take a look at your condition."

She groaned. "Fine… I'll wait. But once he's checked on me, I'm gone, you hear?"

"If Rafiki says you can, then fine." Reluctantly, she gave him a nod, so he smiled. "Don't worry, we won't be long. Just stay here and get some rest. We'll be back before you know it."

She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile as she muttered, "you better be."

Kion couldn't help but chuckle at her stubbornness, before he turned to face the rest of the Guard. "Alright, guys. Let's go find Rafiki, and then we'll go on patrol."

"See ya later, Fuli!" Bunga called as he followed the Guard out of the cave. Fuli just watched as they left, sighing as she tried to get comfortable.

'This is gonna be a long day.'

Far away from the cave, inside his tree, Rafiki was cheerily working away, mixing herbs and fruit in a coconut shell, while chanting. "Asante sana, squash banana, wiwi nugu, mimi apana," over and over.

"Rafiki?" He heard a voice call. Stopping his chant and placing the shell on the ground, he grabbed his stick and walked out of his tree, where he saw the Lion Guard coming towards him.

"Ah, Lion Guard!" He greeted, smiling ear to ear. "How nice to see you today!" Straight away, his smile faltered. "Wait a minute." He used his finger to count them, before stating, "there are only four of you today! Where is Fuli?"

"She's not feeling too well today," Beshte explained. "She's feeling sick, so she's waiting back at the lair."

"And we were hoping you could take a look at her, see how bad her condition is," Kion added.

"I see! Well, don't you worry, Rafiki will take a look at her, but I will need my things, and I only have two hands, so you will have to help me! Come inside." He led them into the tree, and began looking around for ingredients. "Describe to me her symptoms, and I will see what I can do."

"Well," Ono explained, "she was sneezing, she said she felt cold and was shivering, even though she had a fever, and her voice sounded nasally."

"Ah. In that case, it is probably just a cold. Not surprising, since last night was especially cold."

"Of course! And since Fuli is a cheetah, she'll have slept out in the open by herself. That explains why only Fuli got sick out of us, because Beshte will have slept in the water, Bunga has extra thick skin to protect him agains the cold, Kion was in the cave with his family, and my flock and I stick together at night for warmth."

"Hevi kabisa… no wonder she got sick."

Rafiki laughed. "Do not worry, young ones- Rafiki knows what to do." He grabbed some bright orange fruit and some coconuts, then turned his head to Ono. "Could you grab the leaves from the top shelf? The darker ones, that is."

"Sure thing, Rafiki!" Ono replied, before flying up and grabbing the leaves with his feet.

"Thank you, Ono." He then took one coconut and looked at Bunga. "Here you go," he said before handing it to the honey badger.

"No problem, Rafiki," he told the mandrill, spinning the coconut on his claw. "I've got this under- WOAH!" He fumbled the coconut, but eventually caught hold of it. He smiled meekly at Rafiki, who was unimpressed. "Control…"

"So I see." He turned to Beshte. "Would you mind carrying my staff?"

"Sure thing, Rafiki."

Whilst Beshte grasped the staff in his mouth, Rafiki turned to Kion. "Okay, Kion. Lead the way."

Kion nodded. "Lion Guard, lets go." Kion led the Guard and Rafiki out of the tree. "So, Rafiki, was it really that cold last night?"

"Yes, it was! It was the coldest night the Pride Lands have seen in more than a few years! Not since before you were born has there been a night so cold!"

"What could have caused this sudden cold?"

"Nobody knows. There are many mysteries about this Earth that we do not know the answers to. All we can do is live our lives and face these mysteries as they come."

As he flew up ahead, Ono's eyes caught something. 'What the…' His eyes zoomed in on a small dust cloud in the distance and, following its path, saw that Fuli was chasing after an antelope. "Hapana…" he groaned.

Kion, hearing this, looked up to the egret. "What is it, Ono?"

"Fuli's left the cave. She's trying to hunt an antelope."

"What?! Which way is she headed?"

"She's currently North of our position, heading West, Kion."

"Alright. Lion Guard, let's move!"

Fuli slowed to a halt, growling as she tried to gather her breath, her legs aching. "Why is this happening to me?!" She groaned angrily. "Even sick, I am still the fastest animal in the Pride Lands! I shouldn't be failing to catch some lousy antelope!" She huffed. "Could this day get any worse?"

"Fuli!" She heard Kion call out, and her expression instantly went deadpan.

"Of course it could."

The Lion Guard quickly caught up to her, Kion stepping up to her with an irritated look on his face. "Fuli, what are you doing out here?" He told her, his voice cross but not quite angry. "You promised you would stay back at the cave. You PROMISED!"

Fuli, not one to back down, stood up to him. "Yeah, but I was hungry. My morning hunt got away from me earlier, and this antelope just got away from me, so I haven't eaten today. What, I'm supposed to stay there and go hungry? No way!"

"That's not the point, Fuli. Not only did you break your promise to me, but you could have overexerted yourself or worsened your condition."

"But I didn't! You're worrying way too much about me, Kion, I can take care of myself, it's really not that bad!"

"Perhaps not yet," Rafiki spoke up, stepping forward with his usual grin on his face, "but it could if you don't rest! Tell me, when you were chasing the antelope, did you find that you quickly became tired, and your body ached?"

Fuli blushed, embarrassed that Rafiki had rumbled her. "N… n-no…"

"Fuli…" Kion said, looking at her expectantly.

She groaned. "Fine! I'll go stay in the stupid lair," she grumbled.

"Actually, Fuli, I have a better idea."

She raised an eyebrow at the lion cub. "Oh?"