I have this book at home, titled "ZooBorns Cats," and they have pictures of every cat species there is in there. I found out that there is a total of ten cats that live on the African continent, and that got me thinking. If lions make up just one specie there, then there are nine others; leopards, cheetahs, servals, caracals, black-footed cat, sand cats, Jungle cats, African wildcats and the African golden cat; yet we only see two of the total ten. So if lions rule the Pridelands, what parts do the other nine have with the land? So this idea came forth.

I own nothing. The Lion King and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.

Enjoy the story!

As the sun set on another day over the Pridelands, the land's ruling creatures retired to Pride Rock for the night. Lulled to sleep by the sound of crickets chirping and frogs croaking under a heaven of stars above in a velvety sky, they slept without a care in the world.

But in the deep of night a group of cats assembled. Not lions mind you, but of the other felines that were part of the family. Leopards, the spotted climbers of the family. Cheetahs, the purring runners. Servals, the flying spots. Caracals, the mysterious sand leapers. Black-footed cats, the secluded, night hunters. Jungle cats, the forest dwellers. Sand cats, the swift desert nomads. African wildcats, the scarce savanna hiders. And lastly, the golden cats, named for their pelts as gleaming as the sun.

Once their older relatives turned in for the night, they awoke and assembled. While they followed the rules their bigger cousins put out for them and respected the Circle of Life, they created their own society and rules to live by. And it was on this particular night where they had quite an interesting topic to speak about. The group, two of each specie, eighteen total, met to speak under a grove of trees, hidden under the moonlight.

"Attention everyone," a leopard called out, "the meeting is now in session. Tonight's topic will be none other than of the recently assembled and christened Lion Guard. First thing on the agenda, both the servals and the cheetahs have the first speak."

"Thank you," a serval said politely. "As you may all know already, the current Lion Guard has changed traditions recently. Instead of being composed of all lions, the Prideland's prince leads with a honey badger as the bravest, the keenest of sight an egret, the strongest a hippo and the fastest..."

"Our daughter," explained the female cheetah. Her mate nodded in agreement. "Our daughter, Fuli, has been chosen to defend the Pridelands and protect the balance of the Circle of Life as the fastest member." The other members nodded and murmured in agreement.

"So, it appears that a another feline other than lions has been chosen for such a prestigious place," a golden cat commented.

"Along with a lion leading and three prey animals," a caracal murmured to them.

"Mm hmm, seems they're getting a bit downgraded since the last last Lion Guard," a sand cat commented.

"Yes. With that awful Scar murdering them and losing his powers in the process before killing his brother and attempting to kill his nephew, it seems that the Lion Guard has been going downhill since then," a Jungle cat agreed.

"Of course really with the new guard with new species as its members, it seems like things can only worsen from here," an African wildcat said. The cheetahs turned there heads towards them and began to flash their fangs at them.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? Are you degrading our daughter just because she is on the team," the female asked. The wildcats shook their heads.

"Of course not. It just seems not befitting for her standard after what the Lion Guard has shown what they turned out to be in the past," the male answered honestly. The cheetahs snarled until the leopards growled to calm the atmosphere.

"Enough. Now while this ragtag group seems to defy the previously thought ideals of the Prideland's defenders, we must still remember that every generation after the other brings forth new ideals and ideas. With this generations, it changes tradition, perhaps not as we may like it, but for what it believes to be best," the male said.

"Quite right, quite right," both black-footed cats said unision.

"And for all we know at this moment in time that this Guard might bring forth a new inspiration for future guards and hope to the next generations of creatures in the Pridelands. So me and my mate had decided to watch the new Guard and judge based on their actions and decisions on how they react in the face of danger as well in times of peace whether or not they exceed the views of others on their performances. The court's decision on this. Agreed?" Every cat's left paw went up, though some looked unsure still. "Opposed?" No one made any reaction to it.

"Very well then. Now the agenda is over, I call this meeting adjourned till the next new moon. Until then, fare thee well," the head leopard said before he and his mate disappeared into the night, along with the other members of the parliment.

And anyone who would had seen the spot where they had met before the next day would had never guessed that anyone had been there.

Thanks for checking this out. I know its short, but it has to be brief. I figure since cats are typically elusive, secretive and mysterious, the parliment of them should be short and in secret too. I feel as though the Lion Guard does give other animals; such as cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, cobras, crocodiles, porcupines, etc.; better credit and mentionings in the series as it progresses, I feel as if they're still missing out on several creatures that we may not even know about and are also endangered. Many of the cats mentioned in this chapter are endangered, some critically, due to deforestation, poaching and many other things. I guess this story is just a way of raising awareness for the mysterious, yet stunning beautiful creatures known as felines.

If you are wondering why I made the leopard as kind of the head of the group, well, I suppose I can really say that my reason is that they are the second largest cat in Africa, after the African lion.

Thank you for reading, please leave a review with some feedback, it's always very appreciated. Sincerely, v.t.7