"I'm glad you gave your Roar to your father," Nala smiled sadly at her son. "That was incredible."

"I don't want to lose him," Kion's ears drooped as most of the pride dispersed, murmuring about seeing the dead lion in the sky. "I'd give anything to keep him safe."

"No matter what happens, he'll always be with you," she nuzzled him.

"I know," Kion wasn't comforted. Kiara and Kovu joined them.

"You worried about him?" Kiara asked knowingly.

"Not exactly," Kion sighed. "I know that Dad is going to use the Roar responsibly, it's just, he didn't want it. I kind of forced it on him."

"Nobody can 'force' your father to do anything," Nala smiled in an attempt to lighten his mood.

"I told him that if he didn't take it, I'd follow him up the mountain."

"You helped him make the right call," Kiara affirmed. "Sometimes Dad needs a nudge."

"Yeah, well, I know he'll do a good job helping King Hafifu. And I don't think he'll have to use the Roar."

"You don't think he'll have to or you hope he won't?" Kovu asked, emboldened to participate in the conversation now that Simba was no longer present. Kion noted that Kovu was usually silent or nearly silent when his father was around. He'd watched the two interact and hadn't detected any aggression, intentional or otherwise, on his father's part. If anything, Simba seemed to largely ignore Kovu. He figured that the lack of interaction stemmed from Kovu's obvious fear of Simba, a fear he didn't seem to have of Nala.

"Both," Kion admitted. "He thinks he shouldn't have it."

"Sounds like he's aware of his limitations," Kovu shrugged. "That's healthy, right?"

"What's bothering you, Kion?" Nala asked.

"I just wish Dad knew what a good animal he is. I've met a lot of shady and even evil animals, and he's just not like them. I wish he knew that."

"Dad has a guilt complex, you know that," Kiara frowned. "It's, you know, just how he is."

"Your father was put through some very difficult things at a young age," Nala added, "it changed how he views the world and by an extent, himself. Striving for moral purity is, well...it's his way of coping with having to make difficult decisions that don't always have a right answer. He needs to believe that being good in a chaotic world is possible."

"When is he going to realize that he's achieved it?"

"Does he have to?" Kiara asked. "Isn't trying enough?"

"I guess," Kion relented. "So, what now? Dad's gone, the walking snakes might be creeping up the mountain, and Mkaidi is gone. The Guard is inexperienced and the pride seems rattled." Nala and Kovu turned to Kiara.

"I don't know," Kiara admitted heavily. "Mom, what would you do?"

"I'd encourage the pride to bond, and get some rest before the funeral tomorrow," Nala advised gently. "We should all do something together."

"I'd like to hear a story," Kion perked up slightly.

"A story?" Kovu made a face.

"Yeah," Kiara shared some of Kion's enthusiasm, her face brightening. "Let's ask one of the lionesses to tell a story, Kion hasn't heard one in a long time, and Kovu's never heard one here, have you, Kovu?"

"You guys seriously sit around and tell stories?" He was skeptical. It seemed childish to him.

"We all laugh and have a good time, its wonderful for stormy nights, but I think tonight we could all use some smiles," Nala smiled at her children. "Kiara, why don't you and Kovu invite the pride to join us in the den while Kion and I talk to the elders?"

"Sure!" Kiara grinned. "Great idea, Kion!"

"Alrighty then," Kovu followed the queen with a shrug.

"What about the insectivores?"

"Unorganized, almost nomadic in nature," the eagle summarized from Simba's shoulder. Above them, Anga and Ono flew casually. "They largely keep to themselves. The Thelugi Mountains are, I suppose you might say, quieter than the Pride Lands appear to be."

"The gorillas can't be the only stable source of authority," Simba frowned. "That's not the impression I got from King Sokwe at all."

"With all due respect, your highness," the eagle countered politely, "a lack of noise is not instability. It's a very peaceful region. All the animals fit for the climate exist harmoniously. I think you are equating discipline and strictness with civility. Our cultures are different, which is why King Haififu requested your help specifically. He wants a more...militant approach."

"I apologize for the oversight, I have a lot to learn."

"Oh no, no feathers off my wings, your highness. What is your title, may I inquire?"

"It's just Simba now."

"Actually," a familiar voice cut in as Zazu joined their little band, "you are the queen father and second-ranking member of her majesty's royal Guard."

"Doesn't quite roll off the tongue," Simba rose his eyebrow. "What's wrong, what are you doing here?"

"Hmmph! I suppose you thought you'd be hobbling up this mountain without me, did you, young master?"

"I was under that impression," Simba smiled. "How foolish of me. Thank you, Zazu."

"You were saying, Mjumbe?" Zazu prompted.

"Actually, I believe I had finished."

"Why don't you take a break, Mjumbe?" Simba suggested.

"I might feel more comfortable in the sky for a bit," the eagle admitted before taking flight.

"I hardly think you got all the information you needed before I arrived," Zazu criticized, taking the eagle's place on the lion's shoulder.

"I don't need to know everything, King Hafifu is in charge, I will be following his orders, nothing Mjumbe can tell me today will be of more use than what Hafifu knows about his kingdom. And if he's not in a position to advocate, he'll have someone who will act as an extension of him."

"You seem rather relaxed about the whole ordeal."

"It's Queen Kiara's order that I take orders from King Hafifu," Simba managed to make a shrugging motion with his neck that didn't dislodge his friend. "There's no reason to overthink it."

"So it's the moral burden of making choices that bothers you," Surani narrowed her eyes, "not the danger?"

"I guess you could say that," Simba didn't seem to like her theory, but couldn't rebuke it. "Although if you extend that narrative, it implies that I'm willingly placing all the burden of guilt on my daughter to ease my own, which is certainly not my intention."

"It's weird," she looked back at the slightly worn path before them. "I never knew you were smart."

"Ha ha."

"No, I'm serious. You acted all bored and dim, but that whole time, you were a secret prince and nobody knew. That's where your little goody-goody morals came from, isn't it?"

"Technically, he was a king," Zazu corrected firmly. "His father's position transferred to him immediately upon his death, coronations are merely a formality. He was a king, and nothing short of that."

"No kidding. Your mom told me what happened, by the way," her voice grew more quiet. Simba's emotional disconnect was instant.

"Kings die," he dismissed stiffly. "And I wasn't the king as an adult, Zazu," he glanced over his shoulder, immediately pushing the conversation in a different direction before it could develop further. "If you really want to get technical, and I know you do, the moment I was physically able to return home and challenge Scar but refrained from doing so, I revoked my position. I challenged Scar as a rogue. Technically."

"I know your mother has corrected you, Simba, in fact because there was no formal rejection of your birthright, it remained intact."

"Define formal."

"A clear, verbal pronunciation that you have no intention of receiving what is rightfully yours."

Surani checked out as Simba and Zazu debated the finite technicalities of the situation, all of which were moot in light of the current situation. It was evident that Simba was not open to having a personal discussion with her. Then, she glanced at his broken leg. He was walking on it. There was only the stiff remnant of a limp, something had drastically changed.

"Your leg," she frowned. Simba stopped, his brown furrowing as he only then realized himself that he was walking. Not limping, walking. He gingerly tested putting weight on it. She and Zazu both cringed. Simba did not.

"Well I'll be," he murmured in shock. "Something must have happened with Kion gave the Roar to me, it doesn't hurt at all. I didn't even notice the pain was gone."

"It seems the great kings of the past are looking upon us quite favorably," Zazu commented with satisfaction.

"Want to bet it'll go right back to being useless when I give it back?" He snorted.

"Why would you say that?" Surani asked. "It's a blessing, isn't it?"

"Sure, for now, while I have the Roar," Simba tested his leg again by hopping slightly forward, like a gazelle. Zazu flapped his wings and landed on a low-hanging branch just above Surani's head. "The joint's still stiff," the lion muttered to himself, "but I'll be damned, it's almost back to the way it was. I just need to break it in."

"Simba," Surani cautioned, "do not overdo it, you just said yourself you don't know how 'fixed' it really is. Simba!" Simba was already running, just as the terrain was becoming rocky and steeply graded, bounding atop the boulders.

"It won't do any good," Zazu deadpanned. "Once he gets an idea into his head, there's no stopping him."

"So he hasn't changed," she began walking stiffly forward. Whatever benevolent graces had reached down and healed Simba had not touched her.

"Oh no," Zazu smiled as he took flight. "And I highly doubt he ever will."

"Remember when we first met? The day with the crocodiles?"

"Hard to forget," he snorted. "First the crocs almost killed me, then your dad."

After hours of hearing stories told by the pride elders, stories of lands far away and the adventures that the kings, queens and prides had had in those strange lands. Stories of incredible storms flooding entire valleys, filling the land with crocodiles twice as large as those that lived in the Pride Lands. Stories of love, conquest and betrayal. After the conversation had quieted, the pride had divided amongst themselves, talking quietly in small groups as they prepared to rest. It was then that Kiara had asked Kovu to join her atop Pride Rock.

"Yeah," she frowned at the rock below them, her mind already far away. "I knew he would never touch you, but you didn't, did you?"

"Bygones," he shrugged. "Why, what're you leading up to?"

"Well," she eased herself into a more comfortable position, her brow furrowing, "a few weeks, maybe a month before that, there was this lioness that came to the Pride Lands and asked to join our pride. And of course this was pretty early into my father's reign, so my mother let her join the pride without much thought. The surrounding territiroes were going through a bit of a shift themselves, not just the Pride Lands, so there were a lot of lionesses that passed through. Some stayed, some didn't. Nobody thought anything of it. Her name was Onye. She was, well, to me she was just fun. She was a little younger than we are now, not quite grown, not too much younger than my parents, actually. It was a while ago. Anyway, she hunted like the others, but when she wasn't hunting, she started playing with me. This was a big deal to me for two reasons. First, because Kion had just been born. My dad was how he gets when he's anxious, and my mother was still a little blue, so I was feeling, I don't know, a little neglected, I guess. Everyone just loved baby Kion so much, I was starting to feel left out. Even Tiifu and Zuri couldn't get enough of him. And second, Onye played with me, she wasn't watching me, you know? She didn't have any authority to boss me around, somebody else was always not far off, so it was like..." she titled her head. "Honestly, I started to see her as a big sister. We bonded pretty quickly, at least I thought we did."

"So," the lioness grinned as Kiara pounced on her shoulder, playfully chewing on her friend's ear. "What're you up to, miss princess?"

"Nothin," she fell back in the grass, giggling.

"Kiara," her father called a dozen yards away.

"Yes, Daddy?" She perked up instantly. Even from a distance, he looked tired, his posture lacking its usual confidence stance. Onye turned her head as well.

"Be good for your Nana Fina today, are we clear, young lady?"

"I promise," she nodded earnestly, her ears tilting back slightly as she recalled the previous day's incident with a beetle getting crushed in the den. He turned his head and looked at Sarafina, who was sunning herself on a rock above them, a short distance away, just out of earshot.

"Be safe," Sarafina called to him. He nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait, Daddy!" Kiara called, disappointed that another day was about to pass without any time to play with him. "Where are you going?"

"A meeting," he answered unenthusiastically.

"What kind?" She asked, wanting to prolong the interaction for just a bit longer. She missed him. Likely knowing exactly what she was doing but moved by guilt nonetheless, he walked towards them.

"The boring kind," he nudged her cheek with his paw gently. "Why, you wanna come?"

"No," she admitted sheepishly.

"Smart move. I'll see you tonight, alright Princess?"

"Can't you tell them to do the meeting tomorrow so we can play today?"

"Well, their time is just as important as mine, I want to respect that and honor my commitments."

"Nu-uh, you're the king," she countered.

"More importantly, I'm your dad," he smiled with a raised eyebrow, "and I want to do the boring meeting today so your mom and I can spend tomorrow with you like we planned tomorrow."

"What about Kion?"

"Your grandmothers will watch him, tomorrow's about you," he reassured her. She sighed with visible relief.

"Maybe when he can keep up he can come," she reasoned. Her little brother was still learning to walk properly, toddling around the den with some difficulty, though no shortage of energy or amusement. Playing with him was frustrating.

"Sounds like a good plan," he agreed. "You gonna be good today?"

"Yes," she rubbed against him affectionately, "I already said I was gonna."

"You'd better," he flicked her ear, "I don't want to come home to another dead bug in the den, understood?"

"Yessssss," she sighed, tired of hearing about it. "I promiiiiiiiise."

"I would have been swatted for that attitude at your age," he warned her gently.

"Sorry."

"Try not to wear Onye out, alright?" He asked, glancing at the lioness, who had perked her ears and was smiling warmly.

"Oh, we're just having fun, aren't we, Princes Kiara?"

"Yeah," Kiara grinned. "Onye's fun!"

"Your relief is right up there," he told Onye, referring to Sarafina. "Whenever you're ready to do something else, my mother's watching her today."

"Oh I don't mind! I don't get tired easily."

"Must be nice," Simba kissed Kiara's head before walking away. Kiara watched him leave, then looked at Onye, who was also watching him walk away.

"Onye?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Onye asked, still looking after her father's disappearing figure.

"Does growing up make you like boring things?"

"Nobody likes boring things," she answered, as if talking to herself. "What he needs is something to liven his life up."

"Hmm," Kiara thought. "Think we can help?"

"I'm sure one of us can," she murmured. "Anyway," she turned back to the cub, "what would you like to do today?"

"I kinda have to stay where Nana can see me," Kiara explained. "But we can play hunter!"

"Sure," Onye got into position. "So, who does your daddy have a meeting with today?"

"I don't know," Kiara shrugged before crouching.

"Does he have meetings often?"

"Oh yeah, all the time, when he's not beating up bad guys."

"Bad guys, huh?" Onye sounded amused.

"Mhmm, sometimes boys try to come and kill him, so he has to chase them out."

"He gets a lot of competition, huh?"

"Yeah, but I don't like it when he does that."

"Why not?"

"I don't like it when animals try to hurt him," she looked sullen suddenly. "I'm done talking about it."

"Then we wont' talk about it," Onye assured her. "So what am I, a gazelle?"

"Hmm," Kiara considered the question before grinning slyly. "No, you're a hippo."

"A hippo? What, am I fat?"

"No, but you can be a hippo anyway."

"Alright, I'm a hippo."

"I never understood at the time why my parents didn't want to spend time with her like they did the rest of the pride."

"What was really going on?" Kovu didn't feel any shame in admitting that he hadn't grasped whatever social dynamics were at play in Kiara's story. It wasn't, after all, his world. At least, it hadn't been until very recently.

"It turns out she was, um, she was trying to flirt with my dad."

"Eww, really? She used a cub as a wingman?"

"I mean, kind of?" Kiara shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know if she was just using me to show off how good she was with kids or what, but she saw that my parents weren't at their best and she tried to get between them. And she tried to use me to do it."

"That's really weird," Kovu admitted. This was a problem he'd never thought about, but it made perfect sense. Many kings were polygamous, it was a controversial practice, but there was no stopping those in favor of it. And what more could a lioness want than to be a queen? Of course stray lionesses would try their luck and attempt to exchange the sacrifice of bearing a few cubs for a lifetime of safety and ease in return.

This was considerably more awkward to contemplate given Simba's strictly monogamous relationship with Nala, however. Kovu hadn't known Simba and Nala in any real sense for long, but even to him it was clear that they were more than just mates. They were best friends, united for life, and fiercely protective of each other. He couldn't imagine Simba taking another lover any more than he could imagine Nala allowing an attempt in the first place. There was something almost untouchable about them.

"My dad tried ignoring her. He was suddenly very...very cold with her, I noticed it back even then. Then, the other lionesses started acting the same way, they were stiff and not as kind. I think everyone had figured it out at that point."

"She gave up, right?"

"After things blew up, she left."

"What happened?" The strangeness of the situation, as well as the clear impact it had left on Kiara, intrigued him.

"She made the mistake of asking my father what it would take for him to take interest in her."

"Bold, I'll give her that," Kovu nodded. "What'd he say?"

"He told her that the only thing he was interested in seeing was for her to get back in her place and never forget it. She left shortly after."

"Your dad doesn't beat around the bush, does he?"

"Usually not. But, I was too young to know why she'd left."

"She said you hated her!" The cub accused, angry tears streaming down her face. "She was my friend!"

"I didn't hate her, Kiara," Simba kept his voice level as a tiny Kion squirmed from his grasp, attempting to put a stray pebble in his mouth. Simba brushed the pebble away from Kion's reach, and the tiny cub attempted to toddle after that, protesting when Simba held him back gently. "And I certainly didn't 'kick her out,' she left because she wanted to. I'm sorry, I know you liked playing with her, but she's an adult and she made her choice." He winced as Kion bit his paw, gnawing with growing tooth buds.

"Why didn't you like her?" Kiara couldn't stop crying. She felt ignored, stepped over, and she was hurt that her friend had left in an angry huff, spitting harsh accusations about her father as she did so. Kiara didn't understand why anyone would say those things about her father, but her father was here and Onye wasn't. There was nobody else to turn to, and she couldn't hold her feelings in any longer.

"Because she wasn't respectful to your mother," Simba's voice firmed a bit as he tried to contain Kion's squirming body and focus on their conversation. Kion mewed in protest. "Everyone here needs to respect your mother, that's not negotiable."

"She never said anything bad about Mom! I promise! Can't you talk to her?"

"Kiara," her father looked in her eyes. "I wish I could fix this for you, I really, really do. I know that you're upset. But this is out of my paws. We didn't get along, so she left. It's hard, but it happens."

"Because of you," she sat dejectedly, wiping her face roughly with her small paw. "It's hard because of you. She didn't do anything wrong!"

"What were you and Onye planning on doing today?" He asked in a gentler tone. "When your Bibi gets back, she can take Kion and maybe we can do that."

"I don't want to play with you," she glared at the stone floor of the den. Her father sighed slightly as Kion squealed, angry at being contained, so her father released him. Kion immediately tripped over his own paws and stumbled. "I wish Kion was older."

"Give him a few months, he'll catch up." Kion let out a pleased chirp before biting down on another pebble. Her father dove forward and delicately pried it out of his mouth, to the cub's dismay.

"Why does he eat rocks?"

"To keep us on our toes," he kicked the pebble out of the den, sending it clattering across the hard surface out of the mouth of the den. "You ate grass."

"Eww, no I didn't."

"You did, and if you swallowed too much, you'd throw up and scare us."

"That's gross," she watched Kion search for another rock with mild amusement as her feelings began to cool. "Why are babies so gross?"

"I don't know," her father remarked as he stood over Kion, determined to prevent another rock-eating incident. "Cute though, huh?"

"I think maybe it's just boys," she amended as she considered her position. "You ate bugs."

"I did eat bugs."

"Wasn't that nasty?"

"Well," her father considered her question, "yes, but I didn't have anyone to hunt for me. Bugs are better than nothing."

"Why didn't you try to find more lions? They could have helped."

"I didn't need other lions, Timon and Pumbaa were my family, remember?"

"Yeah, but I just mean until you were grown up. Wasn't Mom the first lion you'd seen since you were little?"

"No, I met other lions as a grownup."

"Onye said that you fell in love with the first lioness you saw, which was Mom, right?"

"Well, Onye was wrong," he bristled slightly, but she didn't know why. "And she shouldn't have been lying to a cub."

"She wasn't lying, she just didn't know. I didn't know either," Kiara defend her friend, frustrated that her father refused to understand that her friend was innocent.

"I fell in love with your mom because she's incredibly intelligent, very kind, very loving, and an amazing leader and I knew she'd be an even more amazing mother."

Kiara turned as she saw Sarabi and Sarafina enter the den, smiling warmly.

"You really did give birth to the perfect son," Sarafina commented to Sarabi, who nodded in agreement.

"No, that honor now goes to Nala," Simba straightened his posture, smiling at Kion, who was moving excitedly towards them, his stubby tail straight in the air.

"Well it certainly does," Sarabi bent down, greeting the cub with a warm lick across his face. "Who's our perfect little boy?" Kion chirped happily.

"He's eating pebbles again," Simba shook his head. "He's getting fast, please do not let him out of your sight."

"Oh, I know something about fast little cubs," Sarabi purred as Kion sat on her paw. "Don't I? Do you take after your daddy? Yes you do, yes you do!"

"Kiara," her father looked down at her, "would you like to go do something with me?"

"No," she shook her head, "I want to stay here."

"Oh no you don't," Sarafina nudged her. "Your dad's busy, go spend time with him while you can."

"It's fine," Simba looked at the setting sun wistfully. "She wants to have a quiet afternoon, that's fine. I'll be back in a bit."

"Our relationship wasn't the same for a little while," she sighed. "I just blamed him for my friend leaving. What was anyone supposed to say?"

"Yeah," Kovu frowned. "I guess that's kind of a tight spot to be in."

"My dad's taken so many hits to protect us from things like that, I wish I could go back in time and explain to my younger self that he was just trying his best. To cut him a break. What would you have done?"

"What do you mean?"

"Say you were the king and you were in his place. What would you tell your daughter?"

"Jeez, I don't know," Kovu was slightly flustered. "I-I guess I'd tell her that it was complicated, and that she'd understand when she was older? Maybe? I really don't know."

"I don't either," she chewed the inside of her mouth. "I guess not everything has to have an answer."

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say.

"Then I met you," she nudged him with a sad smile. "And Dad didn't take to you too well, either. At least not a first."

"Not at all," he snorted.

"Hey, he likes you fine. He just doesn't know you. I think you two will get along some day."

"That'd be nice," the male admitted.

"You want to have cubs, right?"

"Well, some day," he traced a figure with his claw, lightly dragging it across the rock, worn smooth by eons of rainfall. "You know, when things are stable, and I've sorted out my shit. Like I said before, I'm not against it, I'm just nowhere near ready."

"Well, some day," Kiara looked down, "would you want to have them with me?" Kovu's heart fluttered in his chest.

"I'd never want them with anyone else."

"Really?" She looked at him, her amber eyes misty.

"Really," he leaned his head on her shoulder, letting her rest her jaw on his forehead. "You're amazing, Kiara. And you're my best friend. I love you."

"I love you too," she kissed his forehead. "Can I say something crazy?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he cracked a smile.

"I think we should think about getting engaged. When we're ready. I feel ready, but I don't know if you are. I see how the animals treat you, I can't stand seeing you treated like you're just some rogue, like you're not important. It's time you got some respect. Being my fiancé, well, that's a rank they'd have to recognize."

"I didn't know that mattered to you."

"I didn't want to be bothered by it. I thought I wanted a quiet, normal relationship. But I thought about Onye, and how my dad wasn't angry at her for coming on to him, he was angry that she disrespected my mother by trying to step into my mother's place. My dad holds my mother's place by his side as sacred, and he's always accepted nothing less than the utmost respect for her. I like that. I think it's right. It doesn't feel right standing quietly by while animals gossip about you. Having a quiet and normal relationship was never an option for me. I want to start standing up for you. Besides, you'll be the Prince Consort some day, if that's what you want, and-"

"Of course it's what I want, I want to stay with you."

"Then we should make it official. Let them talk, but they'll have to get used to it. You're not going anywhere."

"I'd propose right now," Kovu looked at the lands below, "but I want to get your dad's permission first. It wouldn't feel right otherwise."

"I think he'll appreciate that."

"I know we've been over this a million times, but I still can't believe I was gullible enough to hate your family. They're just...they're so nice," he shook his head. "I mean, all of them are really incredible. Your parents would die for each other and you a hundred times over, your brother will do anything for you, you'd do anything for them, they all put up with me because it makes you happy after every stupid thing I did..."

"Hey," she nuzzled him, "it's okay, they know you now. They know why you did those things. They understand, in their own way. And they don't just 'tolerate' you, they love you. You're part of the family, Kovu."

"It's stupid," he shook his head. "I grew up in the Outlands, but I feel more at home here after less than a year than I ever did there."

"Well I'm glad you-"

A loud, challenging roar erupted from the border south of Pride Rock.

"Holy shit," Kovu jumped to his paws, his body leaning into the sound. "When's the last time you had a rogue around here?"

"It's been a long time," Kiara answered before letting loose an answering roar. "I guess now's a good a time as any to face my first challenger."

"Wait," his face darted back to her, gauging her determined look with a jolt of fear, "You're not seriously going to take him on, are you?"

"What exactly are you asking?" She demanded, indignant at the potential implications.

"You have the Lion Guard, let us do the one thing we're supposed to do; protect you and the pride."

"My dad-"

"Your dad's Guard was different. Scar told us that the point of Simba's Guard was to unify the Pride Lands, they weren't his body guards, they were too young, it wasn't their purpose. Our job is to protect you so you can lead us in the coming changes. Let us do what the great kings assigned us to do."

"Fine," Kiara relented bitterly. "Let's grab my brother, Tojo and Malka and face this guy, whoever he is."

The rest of the pride was already on their paws and waiting for them when they reached the mouth of the den.

"Kiara, you don't have to fight him," Tiifu blurted.

"Yeah, let the boys scare him off," Zuri added. "Some rogue isn't worth it."

"We'll take him," Malka affirmed.

"Or just stand there looking scary," Tojo shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Relax everyone," Kiara looked slightly irritated. "The Guard's job is to defend the pride, that includes me. Without my dad, it's still four against one, there won't even be a fight. We'll just tell him to leave."

"Or," Kion smiled, "I can just Roar-oh yeah," he frowned. "No Roar. Never mind, I'm bailing on that joke."

"We won't need it," Kiara assured him as she led the group forward. Most of the pride followed, with a few staying behind to guard against a potential secondary attack in the case of multiple challengers.

The roar had come from the border, but soon, another roar came from within the Pride Lands, punctuated by a flock of birds taking to the skies, startled by the sound.

"How disrespectful," Sarabi frowned. Kiara didn't say anything, nor did she roar in response. When her father roared, rogues stayed where they were, skirting the border and allowing him to waste his energy traveling to meet them. It was also a sign of respect for the rules of the challenge; they didn't enter territory that wasn't theirs, and he would spare their lives if they surrendered. Though they were opponents, there was a bare level of mutual understanding.

By breaching her borders, the rogue was signaling that he neither respected nor feared her. An announcement to her, her pride, and the rest of the Pride Lands that he anticipated a victory. He didn't think she was a worthy opponent.

She could have asked the males to roar back on her behalf, to let this rogue know that he didn't stand a chance. But she didn't. She wanted him to come to her, and she wanted time to think over how she would handle the situation. How she would address the disrespect.

Author's Note,

Sorry about the typos, uploaded a flawed file by mistake, mixed most of them.

foxydabest1 [FFN]: Th-the whole thing? Then again, I suppose I post infrequently enough that this might be helpful in recalling what on earth is happening, haha. But seriously, thank you so much for sticking with the story!

Outlander15 [FFN]: At the risk of coming across pretentiously, 'invasive species' is absolutely what I was going for, thank you! And yes, luck, they're gonna need it!

Corderbollie [AO3]: Ahhh, thank you!

little_sloth [AO3]: I appreciate the concrit and will absolutely be mindful of it! And if you ever do write that fic I'd love to read it, it sounds great! Thank you for commenting!

Gryffindor0726 [AO3]: Hah! In this case yes, yes they are!

Maria_Banshee [AO3]: That's the best feedback a fic author can get, thank you so much!

Thanks for reading, cheers,

- Dieren