Kiburi, Upesi and Thambo were standing in a triangulated rate, guarding some ostrich eggs. Actually, standing wasn't exactly the correct term, as Kiburi was lying on his back, fast asleep, and Upesi was resting his head on his paws. Only Thambo was standing, as it was his duty to keep a look out of the area.
"Oooh… Nala… What made you come around?" Kiburi muttered in his sleep, causing Upesi to snicker at the Strongest's sleep-talk. "Well, only in his dreams is Nala interested in him." Thambo said, lowering his voice so that the yellow-maned lion wouldn't wake the jovial dreamer. Upesi lifted his head, so that he could properly look at the Keenest of Sight. "Sounds like someone is jealous that she at least gives him time of day." Upesi said with a smirk, earning an eyebrow raise from the light Guardian. "Now that was low, especially coming from the guy Uroho rejected." Upesi's coffee colored face turned red with embarrassment, before he regained his composure. "Yeah, but at least I had the guts to actually make my feelings known, as opposed to spying on the lionesses like a pervert." Upesi countered, and now Thambo's turn to blush. "Hey, being the Keenest of Sight has its perks, you know. Are you telling me you wouldn't be watching lionesses hunt if you had the chance?" Upesi couldn't disagree, but he was not going to let Thambo know this. "Why would I watch when I can simply impress the ladies with my hunting skills?"
Almost as though on cue, Kiburi stirred, and then woke up. "Huh? Nala?" He asked hazily, until he shook the sleep from his eyes and saw that it was just Thambo and Upesi. He rolled over, stretched and let out a leonine yawn that was as powerful-sounding as he physically was. "What I miss?" He asked. Upesi scratched his chocolate mane, as though pondering how he should answer, before giving his reply. "Oh, nothing important. Still guarding the eggs." At that, Kiburi groaned. "Why did we volunteer for this job, anyway? Escorting that new family of koalas around the kingdom would have been more fun." Kiburi complained, and both Upesi and Thambo both looked at the Strongest member of their team. "Ummm… you do remember that this was your idea, right?" Thambo informed, and though Kiburi did in fact remember, he regretted it. "If only it weren't, though. I had no idea that we'd be so bored doing this." Thambo shook his head. "We shouldn't even have to do this. It's not our fault the swans were dumb enough to forget that mongooses and snakes live around here. I thought the point of the Circle of Life was to weed out the mediocre." Once again, neither of his teammates could totally disagree, but their job required them to do so. "Well, you know how it goes. 'Till the Pridelands end, Lion Guard defends', even if it's an exercise in futility." Upesi said reluctantly.
"If only Chumvi or Tojo were here. They definitely wouldn't have us sitting here for hours, doing absolutely nothing." To Kiburi's comment, Thambo could help but smirk. "Knowing Chumvi, he'd probably let us eat the eggs, and maybe give a flamingo or two to Scar and Zira." Kiburi and Upesi concurred this time. "Yeah, and Tojo would probably say it was his idea just to get Scar to say 'well done'." Kiburi added, and for once the other Guardians joined in the laughter.
"Still, I wonder what the two of them are doing right now? Surely, the wild dogs on the southern border can't be that much of a problem for the two of them." Thambo pondered.
Chumvi and Tojo both lead Lana back to Pride Rock. Although they had spent hours listening to Lana's dulcet tones and the story she had weaved for the both of them, they were happy that border patrol had went smoothly anyway. Thambo had sighted some wild dogs lurking at the southern border, which could have meant a few things. However, neither he nor Tojo nor Lana had so much as seen any sign of wild dog presence on this day, so there was nothing left but to return home.
While Tojo and Lana kept making small talk and exchanging what Scar would call 'sweet nothings' with one another, Chumvi couldn't stave off a nagging thought in his mind. According to Lana, much had happened since the day he and the Lion Guard visited the Goldlands. Almost as soon as the Guardians crossed the border on the way home, Lana's father had attempted to exact vengeance upon Iago and his family for an attempted kidnapping that resulted in her getting hurt. Although Iago escaped with his life, it was thanks to a sacrifice his mother had made by attempting to divert the attention of a father on the warpath. Her death was brutal, but it also kick-started quite a few other events before the day Lana left to explore the world.
One of those events in particular just would not stop haunting Chumvi's mind; specifically, the fates of Mato and Sefu. He just could not fathom the idea that both of them would fall to Iago's machinations so easily, nor could he process the idea that Magnus and especially Othello would betray someone as kind, smart and beautiful as Lana. However, the tears in her eyes as she divulged that information made it clear that she was telling the horrific, unfiltered truth. Under her flirty, bubbly demeanor was a survivor battling heavy burdens. The pain of Othello and Magnus' betrayals; the loss, grief and anger of seeing Mato, Khari and especially Sefu die; above and beyond it all, knowing that she was the cause of it all, despite what others might tell her. Chumvi and Tojo were both touched by her story, and without either one of them saying it they both had unanimously agreed. Although they did not and would not share this with Lana herself, they had both made a personal vow.
No matter what, they both would ensure that she would never have such burdens put upon her again, especially if they could help it.