Kion took in a deep breath as he looked over the Pride Lands. He smiled- it looked as though today was going to be a good day, with the clear blue sky, bright sun and cool breeze that filled the air relaxing him. While in every other way today was pretty much the same as any other, Kion felt a certain lift in his spirit today, as he looked at how peaceful the kingdom that was his home was.

'Hopefully, it'll stay like this,' he thought, thinking about what was planned for the day. "I'll see you later, dad!" he called as he made his way down Pride Rock. He decided not to hurry to the meeting place for once- he took it slowly, with a spring in his step. He felt like he was in his own world. This, unfortunately, meant that he wasn't fully watching where he was going, which caused him to hit something. "Oof!" he shouted, falling back. When he looked up, he realised he had accidentally run into the strongest member of the Lion Guard, Beshte. "Oops! Sorry, Beshte!"

"Steady there, Kion!" his friend responded, smiling. "You seem in good spirits today. What's got you so upbeat?"

"I don't know. It's a nice day out, and I just have a lot of energy! I'm just really happy today!"

"I can't argue with that! So, are we headed to the meeting place?"

"Yep! The others should be there, so let's go!"

"Poa!" So, the two of them carried on walking. As they did, Beshte picked up a noise. It wasn't a noise that made him think someone was in trouble, so he wasn't worried. After a moment, he noticed that Kion was humming something. He didn't recognise the tune, but he saw Kion was smiling and couldn't help but chuckle. "You really are in good spirits, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Kion asked, stopping his humming. "What do you mean?"

"What was that tune you were just humming?"

"I was humming?" Beshte just laughed, realising Kion had been oblivious to his 'happy tune'. "I guess I was just in my own world there. I didn't even realise."

They both just shrugged it off as they continued to walk. It didn't take long for them to reach the meeting place. When they arrived, they saw that Ono was waiting for them on a rock, while Bunga was eating some bugs that had crawled in.

"Good morning, Kion!" Ono greeted the Lion with a wave. "Good morning, Beshte!"

"Good morning, Ono!" Kion greeted back, before walking over to the honey badger. "Hi, Bunga!"

"Hey, Kion!" He greeted, before holding up some of the bugs he was feasting on. "You gotta try some of these!"

Kion stuck his nose up in disgust. "No thanks, Bunga." Bunga shrugged, before returning to eating. "Has anyone seen Fuli yet?"

"Actually, no!" Ono replied, somewhat perplexed at the sudden realisation. "She's usually here first as well."

"Huh." Kion thought about what was keeping her for a moment. "Maybe she's helping someone. Let's wait a bit, give her a chance to get here."

So, they decided to wait for their friend. They waited… and waited… and waited some more… About twenty minutes later, she still hadn't turned up. Kion was beginning to grow worried, and had started pacing back and forth in the cave.

"Kion, I don't think she's gonna turn up," Beshte told his leader. It was easy to sense the honesty in his voice. "If she was, she would have made it by now."

"I don't get it," Kion huffed, "why hasn't she turned up yet?!"

"Maybe she had some personal business to attend to," Ono suggested.

"But wouldn't she have told us in advance that she wasn't going to turn up? After all, we're a team."

"I don't know, but we have to start the patrol and hope that everything's okay on her end."

Kion sighed. "You're right. We need to get going." He started to walk out of the cave, but he could tell the others weren't following, so he turned around. "What is it?"

"We were kind of waiting for the whole 'Pride Lands end' thing!" Bunga answered.

"Oh, uh, yeah. 'Til the Pride Lands end!"

"Lion Guard defends!"

So, they went on patrol like they would any other day. For the most part, everything was normal, but every now and then, Beshte would notice that Kion was not fully focused on what he was doing. He had tripped up a couple of times, and he sometimes didn't hear when someone was speaking to him. Any energy he had had earlier when he was happily humming seemed to have gone.

"Kion?" he asked, prompting the red maned lion to look towards him. "You seem a bit out of it. What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing, Beshte," he replied, rather quickly. "I'm fine."

"Kion, I'm not the smartest guy in the Pride Lands, but I can tell when you're lying. You've been off focus the whole day, and I'm concerned about you. If there is something bothering you, you know you can just-"

"Help!" they all heard someone shout. Looking in the direction of the scream, they saw Thurston the zebra running towards them. "Lion Guard, thank goodness I found you!"

"What seems to be the problem?" Kion asked.

"Hyenas! They've surrounded my group at our grazing grounds! I only just managed to slip away and find you!"

"Do you know how many there were?" Ono asked.

"I was too busy panicking and running away to do a head count!"

"Don't worry. We'll deal with them," Kion started heading in the direction of the grazing grounds, "find somewhere safe for now!" The rest of the Guard followed Kion, until they reached a hill that overlooked the aforementioned grazing grounds. "Ono, how many are there?"

Ono quickly flew up and overlooked the scene, before flying back down. "About thirty hyenas surrounding about twelve zebras," Ono reported back. "Janja's the furthest one from us."

"What are our options?"

"It looks like our only choice is to just go down there and confront them. It's risky, but we don't really have any other options."

'Damn. If Fuli was here, she could have given a distraction which would allow us to get the zebras to safety before we take them on,' Kion thought, not noticing that Bunga was trying to ask him something.

"Kion!" Bunga yelled, patting the lion on the shoulder to wake him from his thoughts. "C'mon, we need to go down there! They won't wait for ever."

"Sorry, you're right," he shook his head to regain focus. "Let's go!" He led them all down the hill, right to the hyenas. Janja, the leader, just sneered at them. "Janja! Let them go!"

"Well, look who it is!" Janja laughed. "About time you got here! We were about to eat some dinner!"

"You aren't welcome here, Janja!" Beshte challenged the hyena leader. "Leave the zebras alone, and go back to the Outlands!"

"I don't think so! The way I see it, there are thirty of us, and five of-" he stopped, then grinned even wider. "Wait, there's only four of you! This is gonna be even easier than I thought!" He laughed wildly, the other hyenas joining. "Boys? Get them!"

The hyenas immediately charged towards them. Kion sent one flying before two more came at him, pinning him down. He struggled to get them off, until Beshte knocked them away.

"Thanks, Beshte!" Kion told his friend as he got up.

"Don't thank me yet!" he replied, before turning towards a group of five. "Twende kiboko!" He charged into the group, knocking them all away. He turned around and saw a couple more sneaking up on Kion. "Behind you!"

Kion turned around and gasped as he saw the two hyenas leap for him. Fortunately for him, Bunga leaped in just in time, knocking one hyena into the other.

"Thanks, Bunga," Kion sighed, shaking his head, "I don't know why I can't focus today."

"Well, you better start focusing!" Bunga replied, jumping onto the head of another. "There's way too many for just me, Beshte and Ono to handle."

"Hapana!" they looked up as they heard Ono shout. "Janja's trying to attack one of the zebra."

"I'm on it!" Kion shouted. He ran through the crowd of hyenas, moving left and right to avoid being attacked from behind, and when he got sight of Janja, he leapt onto him, pinning him to the ground. He then turned to the zebra, and said "get to safety!", which they obeyed.

Janja took the opportunity to get Kion off of him, and pin the lion to the ground. "Well, looks like the tables have turned!" he taunted, a wicked grin on his face. "Guess you aren't so tough without your little cheetah friend, and once I'm done with you, there won't be a Lion Guard to defend the Pride Lands! We'll be able to come in and out as we please," he lowered his head tauntingly, "and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Huwezi!" they all heard a familiar voice shout. In a speeding yellow blur, Kion went from being pinned down to seeing Janja pinned down, a fair bit away from him, by a familiar cheetah. "You aren't doing anything like that! Now leave, before we make you!"

"Aw, look who it is! And we were just starting to get lonely! Weren't we, boys?" The rest of the hyenas began to form up behind him, laughing, but Fuli just smirked.

"Suit yourself!" She got off of Janja, and turned to Kion. "All yours."

"Thanks, Fuli! We really needed you there!" he smiled, before switching places with her. He stood in front of the hyenas, and dug his claws into the ground. He tensed his muscles and took in a deep breath, before releasing it all with the Roar of the Elders. The four lions in the sky forced the hyenas back to the Outlands. Janja dug his claws into the ground, in a futile attempt at resistance, but was also eventually forced away. Once he knew they were gone, Kion sighed out of relief. "Thanks for that, Fuli. We were-" When he turned around, he saw Fuli running back the way she had come from, so he followed after her. "Fuli!"

"Should we go after them?" Bunga asked.

"I don't know if we'll catch them, Lil' B," Beshte answered, "but we should follow to make sure she's alright." He turned to Ono. "You better fly up and follow in the air, in case we lose sight of them."

"I'm on it!" Ono said, before flying up.

"Fuli, slow down!" Kion shouted as he followed. He was running faster than he had ever run before, and even though she was still faster, he could still see her. 'Why isn't she stopping?' he wondered. 'She isn't mad at me as far as I know, so where is she going? And why wouldn't she tell us?'

He had been running for a long time- so long that the sun was almost fully set, and the skies were now a dark red, compared to the clear blue they had been when they were on patrol. He saw Fuli stop in the distance, but when he reached a tree not too far away, he stopped as well. He saw that she was speaking to another cheetah- this one looked a lot like Fuli, but was older. He knew he shouldn't, but he could just make out what they were saying, so he decided to listen.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Fuli apologised to the older cheetah, "but I had to help them."

"I know you did, mpenzi," the older cheetah, apparently a female, replied with a light-hearted laugh, "I could not be more proud of you. You're making such a positive difference here, and you're still just a cub. When I was your age, I had trouble even making friends, but I can see that you have friends who really care about you." Fuli tilted her head at this. "Is that not one of your friends by that tree?"

Fuli looked at the tree she mentioned, and groaned when she saw Kion by it. "Kion!" she shouted. When he realised he had been seen, he came clean and walked up to them. "Were you spying on me?!"

"I'm sorry," he explained, hanging his head low. "It's just you left so suddenly, I was worried about you."

The older cheetah laughed, and Kion looked up at her. "You never told me your friends were so caring, Fuli!" Kion felt his cheeks go red, which made Fuli giggle. "I take it this is Prince Kion?"

"Oh, right! I forgot you haven't met," Fuli said, almost apologising. "Kion, this is my mother."

"It's an honour to meet you, ma'am," he gave a bow out of courtesy.

"It's an honour to meet you too, but please, call me Kasi. I'm sorry that I kept Fuli away from you and your friends today."

"It's not a problem. I'm just so glad she turned up and helped us, though- the hyenas would have got us, if it wasn't for her."

"When she sensed you were in trouble, I had to let her go and help you. She speaks very highly of her friends, you especially, Kion." Fuli and Kion both blushed. Kasi laughed, fond of their innocence, but when she looked at the sun, she sighed. "I wish I could stay longer, but unfortunately, I have to get back to my group before nightfall."

"Is there no way that you can stay until tomorrow?" Fuli asked, hopeful.

"I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind," Kion added, "after all, you are Fuli's mother."

"You are too kind, but I really have to get back to my group. If I'm gone too long, they'll be worried."

"I understand." Fuli hung her head, but her mother placed a paw under chin, so she had to smile. "When will I next see you?"

"I will have my messenger tell you, and I'll give you a bit more of a warning, so your friends know. I would love to meet the rest of your Guard next time."

"Okay." Fuli sniffed, but she held back the tears as she hugged Kasi. "Bye, mama."

"Bye, mpenzi."

With that, Kasi left. Fuli watched as her mother disappeared, and eventually, she let the tears escape her eyes. Kion saw this and gently rubbed her back.

"You okay?" he asked, giving her a smile. She nodded in response.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this," she explained, "I found out last night when Mjumbe found me."

"Mjumbe?"

"My mother's messenger. I knew you guys would all be asleep, and I wanted him to let you know, but he left as soon as he told me. I didn't want to disappoint her, so…"

"It's okay. I get it. I can't imagine what it's like to see your mom only once in, what, a month?" She was silent. "Wait, it's been longer?"

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to ever see her again. Most cheetahs leave their offspring when they're old enough to look after themselves, and that was when I was a couple of months old." Kion was shocked at this. "I know it sounds weird, especially since your mom is still looking after you. It's just a cheetah thing."

"Oh." He didn't really know what else to say, but he didn't have to because he saw the others headed towards them. "I guess they found us!"

"Kion! Fuli!" they heard the others shout as they approached.

"Next time you run off," Bunga said, before panting, "can you run off to somewhere close so we don't have to run this far?"

Ono rolled his eyes at the honey badger, before turning to Fuli. "We followed to make sure you were okay, but… are you okay? You've been crying."

Fuli realised that she was still crying, so she wiped away the tears. "I'm okay now, Ono, but thanks."

"Well, thanks for helping us there, Fuli," Beshte added, "we were almost done for there."

"How did you know where we were?" Ono's question caught them by surprise. Fuli wasn't even sure how to answer it.

"Well…" she began, before Kion stepped in.

"It doesn't matter right now," he said. "All that matters is she found us when we needed her, and we couldn't be more thankful that you did." She blushed at his compliment, and smiled at him. "It's getting late, so we should all call it a night."

"Yeah, Timon and Pumbaa will be waiting for me! See ya later, Kion!" Bunga announced, before heading home.

Ono and Beshte each said their goodbyes as well, before heading their separate ways. That left Fuli and Kion.

"You gonna be okay tonight? You can come back to Pride Rock if you want," he offered, but she shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Kion," she answered. He smiled at her and she giggled. "Why is it that you're always the one to cheer me up?" He shrugged, and she laughed louder, which only made his smile grow. "Thank you, Kion, but please don't tell anyone about this."

"I understand. Today was about you seeing your mom, so-"

"No, I mean this." He was gonna ask what she meant, but she put a gentle kiss on his cheek before he could answer. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kion."

And with that, she left. Kion was stood still, unable to move from the surprise of what had happened. He was there for what felt like hours, the sun fully setting behind and the stars appearing in the sky, before he returned to reality. As he walked home, he smiled. He felt the good mood from that morning return, even stronger, and he started humming the same tune he had been humming, before he eventually began to sing:

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

By the time he reached Pride Rock, he was still in his own world. He didn't realise that Simba was waiting for him outside the cave, an angry, exasperated look on his face.

"Kion, there you are!" he shouted, but not so loud that anyone who was sleeping in the cave. "Your mother and I have been worried sick about you! Now, go into the cave and get to sleep." Kion simply walked past him and into the cave, where he lay down and went to sleep, still smiling. Simba was surprised at how easy that had been, and judging by Nala's face as she saw him lie down, so was she. "Well… alright then."

"What's got him in such good spirits?" she asked her mate as he lay down beside her.

He just sighed, before saying, "beats me."

THE END