DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from LG. They belong to their respective creators and Disney. I do however own the storyline of this fanfic.
Enjoy!

"Sisi Ni Sawa"

Chapter 10

Two days flew by quickly. Jasiri was back on her feet before Kion and the guard knew it. She was still hurting a little, but Rafiki discovered she was healing nicely. Kion, Jasiri and Bunga spent the morning after breakfast planning what games to play at the festival. Kion explained to Jasiri how many animals were attending, not just their immediate family and friends.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Bunga exclaimed.

"Definitely!" Kion agreed.

Just then, Kiara joined them.

"Hey you three. Jasiri, I want you to meet some friends of mine," she turned to Kion, "can I borrow her for a sec?"

"Okay," Kion agreed.

"This won't take long," Kiara assured her brother. With that, she led Jasiri towards a spot where two lioness pre-teen cubs were trying to figure out what to wear to Kupatana.

"Hey you two!" Kiara called out. "I'm back. I have someone I want you to meet."

"Can you tell Tifu that green doesn't go with orange?" Zuri demanded.

"We'll figure that out later. Come here," Kiara beckoned.

Zuri huffed, but did so. Tifu followed suit.

"Girls, this is my new friend, Jasiri. Jasiri, these are my best friends, Tifu and Zuri."

"Hi!" Jasiri greeted.

Zuri yelped and ran to hide behind Kiara.

"Zur, relax," Kiara assured her, "it's okay. Jasiri's nice. She's been staying with me and my family. She and Kion are almost inseparable."

"Kion's friends with her?" Tifu asked.

Jasiri raised her eyebrows.

Tifu blushed.

"Sorry," the lioness apologized.

"Yes. And so am I," Kiara smiled at Jasiri.

"I guess we could give her a chance," Tifu decided. She held out a paw, which Jasiri met with her own.

Zuri, meanwhile, was still hesitant.

"You sure she won't eat us?" she timidly asked.

Kiara laughed.

"I'm positive. If she hasn't devoured my brother after listening to him snore, I think we're safe."

Jasiri giggled.

"He's not that bad. Although I do try to get to sleep before him most nights."

Kiara laughed.

Just then, Kion joined them.

"Hey Kiara, I need to talk to Siri for a minute."

"No problem. I'm gonna help solve a little fashion crisis, then I have to talk to Dad."

Kion became curious.

"About what?"

"I just need to ask him something, that's all," she answered.

"Okay. Come on, Siri. Bunga has an idea for a game. You gotta hear this!" Kion lead the way back to their friends.

"I'll see you later then," Jasiri said to Kiara.

"Sounds good," Kiara bumped her. "And maybe we could watch the sunset at flat ridge rock?"

"That sounds great!" with that, Jasiri turned and followed Kion.

Kiara shook her head as she watched them leave. She was glad she had given Jasiri a chance. Now if only Zuri would get on board.

******

"Here we are," Jasiri proclaimed. She led Kiara up to flat ridge rock. She lay down upon it while patting a spot next to her.

Kiara sighed with contentment as she rested her paws on the stone. The sun traveled up them, then her legs and settled in her chest. She grinned. She lay down next to her friend. Glancing up at the sky, she watched the sun make its descent.

"It's beautiful," the lioness gazed transfixed at the rainbow of rays in the sky.

"This is my favorite time of day," Jasiri revealed. "Watching the sunset from here was my favorite thing to do. I tried watching it from Pride rock with Kion, but it's not the same."

"So that's why you journey here every day around this time," Kiara realized.

Jasiri nodded.

"I like the time alone. Don't get me wrong, I love living with your family. Hanging out with Kion and being part of the guard is great! But sometimes it's nice to get away for a while."

"I know what you mean," Kiara smiled at her. "So are you excited about Kupatana?"

Jasiri shrugged.

"Yeah. A little nervous," she admitted.

"Why?" Kiara rested a comforting paw on the hyena's back.

Jasiri shrugged.

"This is my first Kupatana. I still feel a little out of place."

"That's understandable. You'll have a great time, you'll see," Kiara smiled at her new friend.

Jasiri nodded.

"Well we better get back. The sun's almost finished setting."

Kiara stood and followed Jasiri back home.

"Hey! Where have you two been?" Kion met them at the entrance to the lair.

"We just watched the sunset from flat ridge rock," Jasiri replied.

Kion's eyes lit up.

"Can we do that sometime?"

"Sure," the hyena replied. She yawned. "I'm kind of tired."

"Let's get some sleep," Kion lead the way over to their sleeping spot. "Kupatana's in two days!"

"Yup," Jasiri settled down next to her best friend. She smiled as Kion draped a paw across her back. Resting her head on her front paws, she closed her eyes. Shortly after that, she was fast asleep…

*****Jasiri's nightmare*****

Jasiri ran down a path lined with trees. Sliding on a patch of stones, she felt herself falling. Grabbing the first thing she felt, she managed to pull herself back onto the bank. Taking off again, she went left. As the trees grew darker, she realized she had made a mistake. As she turned back, she felt someone or something push her to the ground. Glancing up, Jasiri locked eyes with Janja. Pushing against him, she managed to break free.

"You can't get away that easily!" Janja called after her. "You'll pay for abandoning us for those lions!"

"I was never a part of your clan! Just leave me alone!" Jasiri shouted. She suddenly felt herself falling down a steep incline. Reaching the bottom, she felt a set of teeth bite into her hind left leg. Fighting back, she soon tasted blood in her mouth. Managing to flip Janja on his back, Jasiri raked her front claws across his face. Jumping back, she took off again.

"You won't get away with this! You can't run forever! We'll find you! And when we do, you'll be sorry!"

Breathing heavily, Jasiri stopped only when she was a good half mile away. Stopping to take a drink, she soon felt sharp pain in her leg. Falling to the ground, she licked at the wound. Lying there, she closed her eyes, praying the pain would stop. As the pain increased, she suddenly heard a female voice calling her name.

*******

"Jasiri? Jasiri! Come on, you need to wake up. It's just a dream!"

There was that voice again.

Jasiri shot up a few minutes later. She was panting hard, sweat on her forehead. It was only when she tried to stand, that she realized she was shaking.

"Siri, it's okay. You're safe," a young female voice assured her.

"Ki-Kiara? I'm sorry. Go back to sleep," Jasiri said.

"It's okay. What happened?" Kiara rested a paw on her shoulder. She frowned when she felt her friend trembling. "What scared you?"

Jasiri took a deep breath in an effort to calm down.

"It was just a nightmare," she admitted softly. "I'll be fine."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" the future queen asked.

"You're sweet, but I'm okay," Jasiri tried to convince her. Glancing to her left, she let a tiny smile twitch at the corners of her mouth. "Kion's a heavy sleeper."

Kiara giggled.

"That's an understatement. He could sleep through a stampede."

Jasiri frowned.

"Are you sure you don't wanna talk?" Kiara offered.

"I'm sure. Asante for asking. We better get some more sleep," with that, Jasiri settled back down. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to drift off again. Unfortunately, sleep didn't come for a long time. She couldn't get Janja's words out of her mind. "You'll be sorry…you'll be sorry…" the logical part of Jasiri's brain knew it had only been a dream. However, another part couldn't help but feel it had been more like a warning. A warning of events to come… Finally, just as the first rays of sun were peeking over the horizon, sleep found the young hyena.

*****

Kion's eyes opened to a brand new day. Smiling to himself, he stretched and stood. Turning to his right, he was about to wake Jasiri up when Kiara stopped him.

"Let Jasiri sleep. She had a hard night," Kiara whispered.

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"She had a nightmare. She wouldn't talk about it though. I offered to listen. Whatever it was really scared her."

"Do you think I should try and get her to talk?" Kion walked over to where their parents were setting breakfast up.

"The best thing to do is let her know you're there, but don't push her," Nala advised, having heard her children's' conversation. "Jasiri has been on her own for years. The idea of having friends and adults who care about her will take some time to sink in."

"Okay," Kion replied. As he dug into his breakfast, he glanced over at Jasiri. He hoped she would talk to him. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't do anything if she didn't open up.

It wasn't long before Jasiri started to stir. Opening her eyes, she stretched. Standing, she went over to join Kion and his family.

"Hey, Siri," Kion nuzzled her. Lowering his voice he said, "If you wanna talk, I'm here."

"Asante," Jasiri licked his right cheek before turning her attention to the meal Kiara had just pushed over to her. "I'll be okay," with that, she dug in. As she ate, she tried to pay attention to the conversation going on around her. The harder she tried, the louder Janja's words played in her head. "When we find you, you'll be sorry. You'll be sorry…"