Caution: This story often contains violent scenes and chapters that deal with themes of death, murder, and grief. Some of the themes contained in this chapter may be traumatic and triggering to some readers. Please read at your own risk, and seek the support of others if you require it.
Sarafina pads up the steps of Priderock very softly. The moon is still shining bright, and you can't hear anything in the Pridelands other than the noise of the locust. Widening her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, Sarafina makes out the sleeping body of Makua. She makes her way to him very softly, careful to avoid stepping on anyone's tail.
"Makua," she calls.
The cub opens his eyes wide, startled at the proximity of her face to his.
"What?" He whispers back, careful not to wake anyone.
"I need a favor," Sarafina sighs, "Let's talk about it outside Priderock."
Makua nods before carefully standing up along side Sarafina. The pair make their way out of Priderock and clamber down the rocks and onto the grass.
"What?" Makua repeats, his eyes tired and his jaws opened in a yawn.
"Don't say no," Sarafina prefaces.
"Depends on what it is," Makua shrugs.
"Come with me to the Outlands," she says very quickly, the words basically spilling out of her mouth.
"Are you crazy?" he widens his eyes, "Now? In the middle of the night?"
"Kion won't let me, if he has any say in it," she explains.
"I can see why," Makua huffs.
"So I have to do it behind his back."
"Great idea, Sarafina! Truly terrific!" Makua retorts dryly, "Let's go against the orders from the leader of the Lion Guard, shall we? Ya' know, the one that can blast us sky-high with the opening of his mouth?"
"Please. I can't go by myself."
"Why do you want to go in the first place?"
"You see, I was planning on asking the vultures some questions... about the day our mothers' died."
With a roll of the eyes, Makua promptly declines, "Um, no." He starts heading back to Priderock.
"Makua, I need to figure this out," she pleads.
"And what makes you so sure that those vultures won't make you a midnight snack?"
"I'll bring them some food?" she sugggests.
"You've got to be kidding me," Makua sighs.
"They won't mess with me," she assures him, "They know that I'm friends with Kion. And besides, all they have to do is answer a few questions and they get food."
Makua pauses for a moment, debating with himself on whether he should agree to her ridiculous plan. If he does go with her, he's risking the chance of death. But he could also find out some potential information about his mom's death. If he doesn't, there's a very high chance that she'll end up going alone into the Outlands. And Makua doesn't want to deal with Kion, should the prince ever find out he let Sarafina going in the Outlands alone.
"Fine," Makua sighs, "This is the one and only time we're doing this."
"Thank you, Makua!" Sarafina beams, "Go get some food for them."
...
"I'm pretty sure this isn't a good idea," Makua warns as the pair venture deeper into the Outlands.
"Makua, for the last time, I'm pretty sure this is a good idea. Now stop being such a —"
"Sarafina," Mzingo's voice startles the pair, "Funny seeing you here. In the middle of the night."
Sarafina and Makua turn around to see Mzingo and a few other vultures perched on a tree, raising bemused eyebrows at them.
"H-hi, Mzingo," Makua stammers.
"Hello, Makua," Mzingo greets before redirecting his gaze to Sarafina, "Speak. What's your business in the Outlands?."
Sarafina stands up straighter, and starts speaking with confidence. "So as you may or may not know, my mother and Makua's mother were both killed not too long ago."
"I'm aware."
"And I've come to ask you some questions about that day."
Mzingo falls silent for a second before opening his beak and roaring with laughter. At his laughter, a few other vultures join in. Sarafina and Makua both faltten their ears against their heads, obviously uncomfortable with their laughter.
"You've got guts, I'll hand that to you, cub." Mzingo finally chokes out.
"Thank you," she stands even taller, "We've brought you a portion of our Pride's food. A reward if you'll answer our questions."
To this, Makua draws out the food they stole from the Pride. While nobody ever told them stealing from the Pride was wrong, Makua and Sarafina could only imagine that they'd get in trouble for it.
"Fresh food?" Mzingo repeats before turning to his vultures. "All in favor with complying to the cub's unusual request, say 'aye'."
With a few shrugs, all the vultures say 'aye'. When Mzingo asks for all not in favor, nobody says anything.
"Okay, Sarafina," Mzingo nods, "We accept."
Next to a calm Sarafina, stands a rigid and quite fearful Makua. Unlike Sarafina, who has had several run-ins with Outlanders because of her friendship with the Guard, the only time he's seen an Outlander was the day the hyenas attacked the herd. That was the same day the Lion Guard came into being. A pain crosses his heart momentarily. That day was also one of the last times he saw his mother. Juhudi and Ayala were both killed the next day.
"Okay," Sarafina's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, "First question, did you witness their deaths?"
"Hey," Mzingo's eyes flash, "You give us the food, then we will talk."
Makua watches in disbelief as Sarafina's eyes also flash. Her eyes narrow and her eyebrows knit together in defiance. "No," she shakes her head calmly, "You give us our answers, then we'll give you the food."
Mzingo clenches his jaws together in irritation before sighing. "Fine, cub." Noticing the smile playing at her lips, Mzingo backpedals, "But please know you're getting on my last nerve."
"I wouldn't expect less of myself," her eyes flash once again, this time with amusement, "First question, did you witness my mother's death? And Juhudi's for that matter."
"No."
"Did you notice anything peculiar?"
"No."
Sarafina groans in frustration.
"Can you describe to me what you did that day?" Makua steps in, asking a better question, "Everything you saw, everything you did."
"Well," Mzingo trails off. "In the morning, we noticed your buffoon friend Kion nearly drown." He chuckles to himself, "That, my dear, was quite amusing." A few other vultures chuckle.
"Oi, then we saw you and that girl hyena," another vulture pips, "What's her name?"
"Jasiri," Sarafina answers briskly, "Please continue."
"For the most part, we just kept eyes on you guys. We noticed the Lion Guard getting lost. First Bunga tried to lead them. Then Beshte. Then Fuli. Each one of them failed miserably," Mzingo adds.
"Oh, Mzingo!" A vulture looks to the leader, "I think I've remembered something!"
"And what's that?" Mzingo raises an eyebrow.
"That lioness! The rogue one!"
"Oh, yes," Mzingo nods, "Now I remember."
"Who?" Sarafina interjects.
"Like we've said, she was a rogue lioness. Therefore, we don't know her," Mzingo retorts dryly, "We didn't see your mothers' getting killed, we saw them after they were killed though. But we did spot a lioness pass through the border of the Outlands and the Pridelands around the time Kion fell into the river."
"Can we get a description?" Makua asks.
"Dark tan fur, scrawny, hollowed cheekbones," Mzingo describes, "The typical rogue."
"Any cubs?" Sarafina asks quickly.
"Pardon?" Mzingo cranes his neck towards her.
"Were there any rogue cubs with her?" She repeats, remembering Rafiki telling her about hearing a unknown cub's cry.
"We didn't see any," Mzingo informs. "Like I said, it was around the time Kion fell into the river. And to us, at least at the time, watching the leader of the Lion Guard drown was much more interesting than some rogue lioness."
"I see," Sarafina purses her lips together, biting the inside of her cheek ever-so-slightly. With a sigh, she pushes forward the stolen food. "As we promised. Thank you for cooperation."
"No, my darling, thank you," Mzingo smiles eeirly. Makua stiffens at the sight of it.
...
The pair race back towards the Pridelands, not wanting to spend another second in the Outlands. Once their back in the Pridelands, and far away from the vultures, Makua gives Sarafina a light swat on the head, pushing her backwards.
"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met!" Makua hisses, "Going into the Outlands alone in the middle of the night? Seriously?"
"Well you're the one who decided to come with me," Sarafina fires back, "What does that make you?"
"An even bigger idiot," Makua grumbles, "But in all seriousness, Sarafina, we're not doing this again!"
"Sure," she rolls her eyes, "But you should be happy, right? All in all, it turned out great!"
"You need to redefine 'great'," he retorts.
"We found out some more information, we're safe, and we're back before anyone noticed!" Sarafina looks up to see the sun had just risen over Priderock.
"Some information?" Makua repeats, "We figured out that there was one scrawny rogue lioness that passed the Pridelands. Hardly enough to take down to full grown lionesses. Pretty useless information if you ask me."
"There's still a chance!" she rebuttles.
"How weak do you think our mothers were? They were two full-grown, healthy, strong lionesses! Are you seriously arguing that some scrawny rogue lioness was stronger than them?"
"No!" Sarafina shouts, "That rogue lioness may not have killed them directly, but perhaps she had something to do with it."
"Sure," he huffs before walking towards Priderock.
Sarafina groans before following the cub. "Makua, it's better than nothing, right?"
Makua spins around to meet her, "Look, I agree that whatever information we pried out of the vultures was better than nothing. But it wasn't all too valuable. Nor was it worth sneaking off in the middle of the night."
She narrows her eyes, opening her mouth to defend herself when they hear sounds of herd animals fighting.
"Is that the zebras?" She asks.
"Sounds like gazelles to me," Makua says.
"It's definitely zebras."
"Gazelles."
"Zebras."
"Gazelles!"
"Zebras!"
"Fine!" Makua exasperates, "Let's go see for ourselves."
"Hapana!" Ono cries as he flies towards the land-bound members of the Lion Guard.
"What's the kerbubble, Ono?" Beshte questions as he, and the rest of the Guard, race towards the egret.
"There's trouble with the zebras!" Ono extends his wings, flapping them with each word.
"Oh, what else is new?" Fuli retorts.
"And the gazelles!" Ono adds.
"The zebras and the gazelles are in trouble?" Kion repeats, raising a concerned eyebrow.
"Yes! They're fighting!"
"Zebras and gazelles don't fight," Beshte points out.
"Are you sure, Ono?" Bunga questions before sticking out his hand in Ono's direction, "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"I know what I saw!" Ono defends.
"If the zebras and the gazelles really are fighting, we better check it out," Kion concludes.
Sarafina and Makua both race towards the direction of the noise, using their ears as their guide.
"I'm a thousand percent confident those are gazelles," Makua huffs.
"We'll see about that," she narrows her eyes.
The pair arrive at the gazing grounds, both confident that they were right. Glancing around, they realize that they were both right. For the first time in forever, the gazelles and the zebras are fighting!
"What in the Pridelands?" Makua breathes.
The two leaders butt heads, kicking up dust from the ground as they do so.
"What are you guys doing?" Sarafina yells trying to step in the situation.
"What are they doing?" Makua repeats, "What're you doing? Let the Lion Guard handle this."
Ignoring Makua's advice, Sarafina steps in between the angry herds, trying to get them to calm down. "Stop!"
"Stop!" She says again, but this time another voice accompanies hers. She looks back to see the Lion Guard running down a hill towards them.
Fuli runs up to Sarafina, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "I thought Swala and Muhumu were friends!" She's reffering to the leader of the gazelle and zebra herd, respectively.
"That's what I thought too," she nods.
"Move out the way, zebra-deebras!" Bunga announces, pushing his way through the crowd, "Black with white stripes on one side, white with black stripes on the other!"
"Scuse me, Bunga," Beshte shoves his way into the crowd, "I think I got this." Narrowing his eyes and tensing his body, Besthe runs through the crowd and parts a walkway for the Lion Guard.
"Thanks, Beshte," Bunga smiles, walking casually through the new opening, followed by the rest of the Lion Guard.
His eyes quickly widen when he realizes that Muhimu's backing up, about to land on him.
"Whoa!" He shouts as Muhimu slams him to ground with her weight. Having lost balance, Muhimu takes a minute to gather her breath and sits on Bunga.
"Uh..." Bunga trails off, looking up at the zebra incrediously, "Hello?"
"Ooh," Fuli smirks, "That's gotta hurt."
Swala, the leader of the gazelles laughs heartily at the sight. "Nice move, Muhimu," She taunts.
"What do you mean, nice move?" Muhimu narrows her blue eyes, "You pushed me!"
"So? What're you going to do about it?" Swala fires back.
With a growl, Muhimu gets off Bunga and charges towards Swala. They head-butt and Muhimu kicks Swala fairly hard in the leg, warranting a cry out of Swala.
"I know what side I'm on," Bunga groans before picking himself off the floor.
"I heard that!" Muhimu swivels her head around to glare at the honey badger.
As they continue head-butting and grunting, Sarafina remembers something quite important about Muhimu that makes her eyes widen.
"For Prideskies' sake, stop that!" she shouts upon this realization. Together, her and Kion race towards the head-butting duo.
"Muhimu, Swala! Stop that!" Kion shouts, stepping beside Sarafina. When they ignore him, Kion growls, "Enough!" He finishes with a small roar.
Muhimu and Swala both take a step back upon hearing this.
"What's going on?" Kion faces Swala, "I thought you guys were friends."
"We were," Muhimu nods, "Before Swala and her gazelles tried to steal our grazing grounds."
"Your grazing grounds?" Swala repeats, "Muhimu, these are our grazing grounds!"
"No," Muhimu scoffs, "They're ours!"
"But this is the Pridelands!" Beshte points out, "Can't you guys share?"
"Exactly, these are everyone's grazing grounds," Kion nods, "There's plenty of grass to go around."
"Uh.. Kion?" Ono interrupts, "Except for where you are, I only see dirt!"
"Seriously?" Fuli questions.
"Wait. So you zebras and gazelles weren't mad at each other, you're just hungry," Beshte notes.
"I do get cranky when I'm hungry," Swala admits.
"So do I," Muhimu nods.
"Regardless, it's no reason for this to have happened," Sarafina rebukes before turning to the zebra leader, "Muhimu, given your current situation, do you think it's wise to fight?"
"I know," Muhimu nods, lowering her gaze to the ground, "But there's not even enough grass for my herd!"
"Well, then we need to find a place with enough grass for all of you," Kion sighs.
"Can you do that?" Swala questions.
"Yes, where is all this grass?" Muhimu adds.
"I don't know..." Kion trails off.
"I know who will!" Makua steps forwards, speaking up for the first time — making a few members of the Lion Guard raise their eyebrows in surprise.
"Hmm," Simba groans, looking over the Pridelands from Priderock, "I knew this year's flock was larger than last, but I didn't think they'd outgrow thier feeding grounds."
"Isn't there somewhere with enough grass for the herds to share?" Kion questions.
Simba steps closer to the edge of Priderock. "Do you see that green patch, far out in the distance?" Simba gestures his head towards the rich green field past the Outlands.
"Mbali Fields?" Kion guesses
"That's where the zebras and gazelles can gaze," Simba confirms, sitting down.
"But that's almost in the Outlands," Kion points out, "You think they can make it?"
"I'm certain they can," Simba nods, "Because I'm sending the Lion Guard with them."
"You want me to lead the migration?" Kion repeats.
"You'll have the rest of the Guard with you. But I know you, Kion. You can do whatever you put your mind to," Simba smiles warmly at his son.
"Thanks dad," Kion smiles in return.
"Oh, and you'll have Sarafina with you too," Simba reminds, "Healers are supposed to accompany the Lion Guard should they ever depart the Pridelands."
"I forgot about that rule," he admits.
"Always remember, Kion: a Healer's job is to protect the Pride. Therefore, a Healer will also have to protect those protecting the Circle of Life. It's a beautiful cycle, really."
Back at the zebra and gazelle grazing grounds, Sarafina approaches the clearly pregnant zebra leader.
"Muhimu," Sarafina calls cautiously, "Your herd, as well as Swala's, will be making a journey towards more grass. In your current state, do you think you could safely make the trip?"
"Sarafina," Muhimu scoffs, "I'm not useless, you know."
"I'm aware," she quickly backpedals, "Just because you're so close to the end, I just needed to make sure you'd be safe making this migration."
"Well, I have to," the zebra states, "I'm the leader of this herd. Wherever they go, I go."
"Get ready for a Savannah trip!" Bunga exclaims as he bounces off his hands, and cartwheels through the grazing ground. "Raise your hooves!" He lands right next to Muhimu and Sarafina. His gaze quickly turns into a glare when he sees the zebra.
"Oh, it's you," he grumbles, glaring at her.
"Have we met?" Muhimu asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, yeah!" Bunga puts a hand on either hip, "You sat on me earlier? Remember?"
"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about, little mongoose," she shakes her head.
"Mongoose?" Bunga echoes, "I'm a honey badger!" He looks to Sarafina. "Right, Sarafina?"
"Whatever," Muhimu rolls her eyes, "When are we getting this show on the road. I need to get the grazing grounds."
"Before it's time," Sarafina adds, looking up at Muhimu.
"Yes," Muhimu nods, "Before it's time."
"Before it's time?" Bunga echoes, glaring at her, "Don't get all Rafiki on me, you two. We're almost ready to go. Just keep your stripes on."
Overhead, Ono flies to Kion who's standing on top a small cliff — overlooking the herds.
"All clear, Kion," Ono informs.
"Great, did you scout the best route to Mbali fields?" Kion asks.
"Affirmitive," he nods, "Through the plains, past Maji Baridi Falls, down Rocky Ridge, then right through the canyon to Mbali Fields! Pretty simple, really."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Kion chuckles before directing his attention to the crowd below him, "Listen up, everybody! It's a long way to Mbali Fields. But I'll do my best to get you all there safe and sound."
A beat of silence follows Kion's speech, making him wonder if he'd say anything wrong. He takes a glance at Sarafina, silently asking her to break the uncomfortable silence. She seems to pick up the message.
"We know you will!" Sarafina shouts encouraginly and murmurs of approval arise from the zebras and gazelles as well.
"We trust you, Kion," Muhimu smiles, "Right, everyone?"
In response, everyone cheers alongside her. Kion flashes Sarafina a grateful look before hopping down the cliff.
"Let's move out! Ono, point the way!"
"Affirmitive!"
Kion darts to the front of the crowd, leading the migration alongside his friends. Ono flies overhead, making sure the herds don't go in the wrong direction.
"Thanks," Kion murmurs, playfully whipping his tail across her back.
"Would you stop doing that?" Sarafina rolls her eyes, "You know I hate it."
"That's why I do it," he gives her a boyish grin.
"Your Dad didn't mind you leading the migration?" she asks.
"Yeah, he actually told me to."
"Wow," Sarafina wiggles her eyebrows teasingly, "You're a big cub now, huh?"
"Shut it." Kion shoves her good-naturdley before getting a shove in return.
...
The migration so far, has been going smoothly. They're almost to Mbali Fields, and everything is going well.
"Ono," Kion calls the egret.
"Yes, Kion?"
"How's it looking from above?"
"So far, so good," Ono chirps.
"But everyone's slowing down," Sarafina says as she climbs up the hill Kion is on.
"I think they're getting tired," Ono points out the obvious.
"Especially Muhimu. I mean, who can blame her though?" Sarafina adds.
"I'd better give them some encouragment," Kion notes. "Hey everyone," He greets as the herd climbs up the hill, "I know you're tired, and I know you're hungry but..."
"We were hungry when we started," a male zebra rolls his eyes.
"Now, we're starving," a female zebra huffs.
"It's not much further. I promise. We'll get to Mbali Fields soon." He assures.
Sarafina walks up to Kion, her eyebrows knitted together. "We will get to Mbali Fields soon, right?" She whispers in his ear.
"Affirmtive," Ono responds after overhearing, "We just have to go down this steep slope and through the canyon."
"We can see the fields from here," Sarafina points out.
"I just hope we get there before it rains," Ono adds, looking up at the darkening sky.
"We're almost there, everyone," Kion announces as he turns back to the herds, "See that patch of green at the end of the canyon?"
"Look at all that grass," Muhimu sighs contently, "I can almost taste it from here. Oh, yummy!"
"Yummy?" Bunga echoes, "You know it's going to taste like grass, right?"
"Yes! And I can't wait!" She giggles with glee, "In fact, I can't wait!"
With a neigh, she takes off towards Mbali Fields from the other side of the canyon.
"Woah!" Bunga cries, "Muhimu?"
"Out of my way!" Muhimu shoves other zebras roughly, "I'm coming, grass! I'm coming!" She cries as she runs towards the patch of green.
"Great idea," a zebra nods.
"Let's go eat!" Another adds.
Within seconds, the entire herd is running behind Muhimu — each of them driven by hunger.
"Uh-oh," Kion widens his eyes at the incoming herd.
"Hapana!" Ono cries.
"Everyone! Slow down!" Kion orders, "The slope is too steep!"
They don't listen and instead charge even faster towards the grass, running down the steep slope at an alarming pace.
"What are we waiting for?" Swala looks to her herdmates, "Let's go!"
Within another few seconds, Swala's herd also runs after the green patch of grass.
"Lion Guard!" Kion looks to his Guard, "We've got to stop them!"
"And stop Muhimu! I told her specifically not to exert herself!" Sarafina narrows her eyes into a glare.
"I'll meet you at the front of the herd!" Fuli announces before running past them.
The thundering of hooves against the rocky slope causes shakes between the rocks on top of the canyon. The rocks on the surfance of the canyon start wiggling, catching the attention of Ono.
"Hapana!" He cries, "Kion, we've got a problem!"
"I'm on it!" Kion reassures before charging towards the front of the herd. He, accompanied by Fuli, stop just short of the first rock that fell. The rock in question creates a huge noise when it meets the ground.
Sarafina stays by Muhimu's side, screaming for her to stop running.
"Everyone, stop!" Kion shouts. He watches as rocks continue to fall from the top of the canyon. "Run, run back!" He shouts.
The herds listen and start stampeding in the opposite direction as rocks fall around them. Sarafina starts nipping at Muhimu's heels to get her to run faster. Bunga finally shoves Muhimu and Sarafina out of the way as soon as another rock falls. One that would've crushed them both.
"Why did you shove me?" Muhimu glares, "Don't you know I'm in a family way?"
"Don't you know you were in the rock's way?" Bunga quips. He looks around for a moment. "Hey, where's Sarafina."
"Get. Off." Sarafina's voice can be heard from under Muhimu, "I can't take the weight of three on me."
Muhimu looks down and sees that she's fallen on top of Sarafina. Not to mention that Bunga was on top of Muhimu.
"Three?" Bunga repeats, "It's just me and Muhimu sitting on you."
"And you're sitting on me!" Muhimu complains, "Would you get off?"
"Now you know how it feels," Bunga retorts before getting off. Muhimu follows, getting off of Sarafina who takes in a huge breath of relief.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Muhimu questions, "Oh, nevermind, you odd hedgehog."
"I'm a honey badger!" Bunga exhasperates.
"Whatever."
Stretching out her limbs and taking in as much air as possible, Sarafina stands up and starts towards Kion and Fuli.
"Is everyone okay?" she asks, looking over the Guard — none of them seem injured.
"We're fine," Fuli assures.
Kion sighs, flattening his ears against the side of his head. "I guess we're not as close as we thought."
"What do we do now?" Beshte questions.
"Well, the herds can't go over it," Kion states.
"And we can't go through it," Sarafina adds.
"So we've got to go around it," Fuli concludes.
"Ono," Kion looks to the egret, "Scout out another route to the grazing grounds."
"I'm on it," Ono nods before flying higher through the air.
Sarafina's ears perk up at Swala's footsteps behind her. Spinning her head around, she sees the gazelle leader walking up to the group. "I blame the zebras for this," she closes her eyes, and turns her nose up with pride.
Within a few seconds, Ono flies back down to ground with bad news for Kion.
"Any luck," Kion furrows his brows.
"Well, I did find another route to the grazing grounds," Ono starts.
"That's great!" Beshte cheers.
"But it goes through the Outlands," he adds quickly.
Bunga sticks a finger in the air, "That's not so great."
Kion sighs before turning to the herds, "I promised my dad we'd get these herds to the grazing grounds. And if we have to go through the Outlands to get there, then that's what we're going to do."
"At least we have one thing going for us," Bunga points out with a smile, "That storm hasn't started yet." As the words leave his mouth, a bolt of lightning brightens the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. About a second later, a rain comes down on the migration. The migration all give a glare to Bunga, who gives a uncomfortable grin.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud," he looks to the ground.
As the migration treks through the Outlands towards their desired home, complaining starts to arise amount the herds.
"I don't know if Kion knows what he's doing," a zebra points out softly.
"Has he ever led a migration?" another questions.
"Maybe we should've stayed home," a zebra sighs, looking down at the water pooling around his feet.
"If Simba had brought us," Swala narrows her eyes, "We'd be there by now."
"I don't think Kion can handle this."
Sarafina, after hearing all this, looks to her friend to see how he's reacting to it. Kion angles his ears back towards the herd, and groans with an eyeroll.
"Ignore them," she says quickly before nuzzling him.
He gives a half-hearted nod before continuing forward.
"Hey," Fuli's voice sounds from the back of the crowd, "Is it just me, or is this water getting deeper?"
She paws at the water, trying to gage the depth of the water. Another second goes by and a frightened gazelle speeds past the group. Sarafina turns her head back, to see a wave forming from the other end of the rocky canyon. Fuli sees this at the same time Sarafina does. The pair make eye-contact for a brief milli-second before Sarafina turns to Kion.
"Kion!" She sounds the alarm, "Look out!"
His eyes widen and his ears fall to the side of his head. "Flash flood!" he shouts, alerting the migration.
"Higher ground, everyone!" Kion orders, "Move!"
Most of the migration manages to get to higher ground. The more unfortunate, however, get caught in the flood and flail around in the rising waters.
"No animal lost!" Kion demands, looking over the drowning animals. A shiver goes down his spine. This was how he nearly drowned in the Outlands not too long ago. "Ono, keep these animals, who are already out of the water, on safer ground!" He looks to his other friends, "We'll get the rest."
"Got it, Kion," Ono salutes before turning to the herds, "Zebras! Gazelles! This way! Uphill!" He gestures with his wings uphill. The herds immediately follow him, trying to reach safety.
Beshte runs along the side of the canyon before spotting two drowning zebras, both crying for help. Beshte narrows his eyes with determination before jumping into the water.
"I got you!" He assures them before lowering his body into the water, swimming across the current.
He fights the current before reaching them. He then lowers his body even further, allowing the zebras to climb onto his back to safety. The three of them struggle against the water briefly before Beshte heaves them all onto dry ground.
"Thank you, Besthe," one of the zebras pants.
"No problem."
Fuli races along-side the flood, spotting a gazelle running away from the flood. The water is practically licking his hooves, and he looks very frantic.
"Not gonna lose you, gazelle," she promises before jumping behind him and pushing him forwards onto the ground. Not even a second after she shoves him out of the way, the flood waters gain momentum and cover the area the gazelle was once in.
"Thank you!" the gazelle smiles gratefully at his rescuer.
She smiles back.
"Help!" Swala screams as she floats along the flood. She's starting to lose hope before spotting two lion cubs, racing on either side of the flood. "Kion! Sarafina! Help!"
"Don't panic, Swala!" Kion runs towards a tree-branch that overlooks the river. "I'll get you!"
"Kion," Sarafina warns from the other side of the canyon, "Don't fall in again. I don't know if I can get both you out of the water."
"Don't worry," he calls over his shoulder before climbing onto the tree-branch. "Here we go," He looks down at Swala who's in the water. Just before she passes, Kion grabs one of her horns before attempting to pull them both onto land.
"Kion..." Sarafina's voice is rich with worry as she watches the pair struggle. Her eyes widen in horror as she watches both slip back into the water. Now, the both of them are stuck in the water. "Kion!" she shouts again as she watches her friend struggle against the current along-side Swala.
With a groan, she runs towards the next tree-branch that overlooks the river. Like Kion did, she clambers up the tree branch and waits for Kion and Swala to pass by.
"Kion! Get on Swala's back!" Sarafina orders, "I'll get both of you out."
"Okay!" He calls back before clambering onto her back.
Sarafina braces herself by digging her silvery-gray claws into the branch. Just as the pair passes her, she grabs hold of Swala's horn and manages to get Swala onto the land.
"Thank you," Swala sputters. She looks around for a second. "But where's Kion?"
Sarafina's head spins around instantly, trying to spot the mass of golden fur in the river. Thankfully, because Sarafina taught Kion how to swim, she spots Kion swimming across the river and back onto dry ground.
She runs to him and he coughs out the flood water from his lungs.
"Are you okay?" he asks once he sees her.
"Am I okay?" Sarafina repeats incrediously before kneeling down to his level, "What about you? You're the one who nearly drowned. Again."
"I'm fine now," he insists, "I just couldn't get out of the water back there because of Swala."
"Sure," she rolls her eyes at his excuse before giving him a nuzzle.
Muhimu flails against the water before spotting Bunga. "Help me! Help me!"
Bunga braces himself against the cold before hopping into the water, "I'm coming, Muhimu!"
He jumps into the water and, using Sarafina's swimming lessons, swims to Muhimu's aid. "Gotcha," he sighs after grabbing hold of her shoulder.
"You got me?" Muhimu repeats, "You're the size of my head!"
"Then it's a good thing you've got a big head!" He quips.
Bunga turns his head back to dry-land and attemps to paddle the two of them back to shore. "Muhimu, work with me here!" He finally exasperates after realizing they aren't getting anywhere.
"I'm trying," she exasperates, "I'm swimming for two!"
"You're swimming for two? I'm swimming for two!" Bunga shouts, "Now help me out and paddle!"
Together, the pair paddle towards dry land — Muhimu giving a silent prayer that she, and the little one, would make it out of here alive. Seeing dry land, Muhimu thrusts her body towards it. She pants for air once she reaches it.
"Well now that you've said me twice, I suppose I should admit it," she looks to Bunga after taking a few breaths, "I did sit on you."
"Yeah," Bunga stands, "I still got the stripe mark to prove it."
"Anyway, I'm sorry," she apologizes, "And, thank you."
"Hakuna Matata," Bunga shrugs it off, "Come on, we've got to get to higher ground."
After the storm has stopped, Sarafina clambers ontop of a ledge that overlooks the herds. Her heart drops to he stomach when she hears what they're saying.
"Kion nearly killed us!" A zebra accuses, her eyes fuming with fear.
Her ears perk as she hears Kion approaching the ledge.
"Kion?" She looks back at him. "Let's go somewhere else for a minute," she suggests, not wanting him to hear the complaining herds.
"Why?" He furrows his brows before stepping forwards. Sarafina blocks his path, but after another confused glance, she lets him go. Kion lets his ears fall to the sides of his head when he hears the herds grumbling.
"Exactly! Who takes the low grounds before a storm?" A gazelle huffs.
"Yes, he eventually saved me," Swala nods, "But if Sarafina wasn't there, we would've both drowned!"
"And it was his fault we were in this situation in the first place," another rolls his eyes.
Kion and Sarafina both make eye contact. His eyes show his disheartened spirit and his ears are angled downwards. But more than sadness, Sarafina notices shame in his eyes. Kion turns his back to her and starts walking in the opposite direction, his tail drooping.
"Kion..." her voice trails off as his gaze meets the ground.
Kion ignores her for a second before turning to her.
"What are we going to do now?" Bunga questions.
He sighs. "I don't know," he says in a low voice, "Keep the herds safe. I'll be right back."
Fuli looks to Sarafina, her eyes heavy with worry. "Should we follow him?"
"No," she shakes her head firmly, "Let him have some time."
Kion walks away from his friends and finds a secluded rocky ledge. He looks to the sky. It's still gray after the rainstorm, and to Kion, it feels sticky. Kion notices bright trendils of light peeking through the sky. The tendrils of light subside to reveal Mufasa, a lion with orange-tinted fur and a red mane, in the clouds.
"Kion," his deep voice booms from the heavens, "Something is bothering you."
"Grandfather, I don't know what to do," Kion admits. "Dad trusted me to lead the herds, and now? They all think I'm a bad leader." His voice trails off as he casts his gaze to the ground. "I'm starting to think so too."
"Kion, don't let their lack of faith affect yours."
"I really do want them to trust me."
"They will, as soon as you trust yourself," Mufasa promises, "Confidence, Kion. That's all you need to complete this journey. But confidence doesn't come from what others think of you; it comes from inside yourself."
With those words, Kion watches as his grandfather's cloudy image starts to fade back into the clouds.
"Thank you, Grandfather," he smiles just before his grandfather disappears entirely.
Sarafina looks in the direction Kion left. It's been a few minutes now. And while she knows that Kion can fend for himself, she can't help but worry.
"You think Kion's gonna be okay?" Beshte asks, looking to Sarafina.
Sarafina opens her mouth to say something before a gazelle's voice cuts in.
"Sarafina," an angry male gazelle narrows his eyes at the cub, "Where is Kion? Has he abandoned us after dragging us all the way over here?"
She grits her teeth. "No," a tensed voice comes out of her muzzle, "He'll be here."
"Are you sure?" he raises an eyebrow.
"Of course he will," Bunga puts a hand on either side of his hip, "He's Kion!"
"Hey, guys!" A happier-sounding Kion greets. Sarafina swivels her head and sees the golden-furred prince walking towards them.
A zebra immediately walks over to Kion. "The herds have been talking and we are not happy!" The zebra fumes.
Swala gets very close to his face, "You promised us the trip would end in a huge field with enough grass for everyone!"
"We're not there yet," Kion informs, "It's taking longer than we thought. But I know we'll make it. Trust me."
"I'm not sure I do," Swala huffs.
"Me neither!" Another zebra shouts.
"I'm with Swala!" A gazelle adds.
"Well, I trust Kion!" Sarafina puts her paw to her chest.
"So do I!" Muhimu adds from across the clearing. "I agree. The trip hasn't gone the way we hoped. But it's not Kion's fault! Part of it was mine." She looks down with embarrasment. "We all know I started the stampede. If I hadn't, we wouldn't have had to change course. And who can predict a flash flood?" She smiles at Kion. "But they got us through it safe and sound."
Muhimu then walks towards Kion. She kneels before him briefly, lowering her head towards the prince. "I have faith in you, Kion," she says as she stands up, "And—and I promise to make things easier from now on."
"Thanks, Muhimu," Kion smiles gratefully before jumping onto a rock to overlook the migration. "There's a whole new life for you in Mbali Fields. Now we have to cut through the Outlands. I won't lie. There are predators there. But you're with the Lion Guard, and we'll keep you safe. So who's ready?"
"I am!" the gazelle, who was angry before, states.
"Me too!" a zebra agrees.
"Let's do this!" another gazelle stands in agreement.
"You'll keep me safe, right?" Muhimu asks Bunga good-naturedly.
"Course I will! What are friends for?" Bunga raises his arms in a shrug.
"We're friends?"
"Sure!" he assures before giving her a good-natured tease, "As long as you promise not to sit on me again."
"Kion," Sarafina furrows her eyebrows at the cub, "Muhimu's due any moment now. Are you sure she'll be okay in the Outlands."
Kion stops for a moment and looks up to the sky with thought. With a sigh, he says, "We don't really have another option." When he sees Sarafina frown, he comes up with the best solution for this situation, "You're a Healer, right? Just stay with her for this leg of the journey."
"I will," she nods before walking towards the zebra.
"Okay, guys," Kion looks to the herds, "We have to be really quiet now that we're in the Outlands."
A zebra opens his mouth to protest, "But what if—"
"Shh!" Muhimu scolds, "Kion said to be..." her voice trails off before morphing into a pained scream. Next to her, Sarafina tenses and Kion jumps at the sound. Muhimu falls to the ground and knits her eyebrows in pain. Sarafina kneels beside her, taking a look at her body language.
"It's time!" Muhimu screams to Sarafina. She nods before trying to remember everything Rafiki taught her about child delivery. Granted, he only taught her about a lioness' delivery. But she imagines it can't be much different for a zebra.
"Yeah!" Bunga snaps before covering her mouth, "Time to stay quiet!"
"Bunga, it's time for the baby," Sarafina corrects as Muhimu squeezes her eyes shut in pain.
"What baby?" Bunga frowns.
"The baby I'm about to have!" Muhimu throws her head back as another contraction racks her body.
"You're having a baby?" Bunga's eyes widen. He puts his arms together, pretending to rock an imaginary baby, "Like a baby baby?"
Muhimu says 'yes' through clenched jaws.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I've been telling you this whole time, you silly honey badger!" She huffs.
"Yes! I'm a honey badg..." his voice trails off before realization strikes him once again, "You're having a baby!"
His voice booms through the Outlands, ricocheting off the canyon walls. Ono drops to the ground at the sound of his shout. Sarafina glares at him before turning her attention back to Muhimu.
"Now who's not being quiet?" Muhimu quips.
"She's having a baby? Right now?" Kion looks to Sarafina.
She nods in response, her eyebrows knitted together and her lips pursed thin.
"What do we do?" he asks.
"We need to stay calm," Sarafina instructs, "I think I can help make sure she's safe during the delivery, but I don't know anything about foals..." she looks to Swala.
Swala nods her head in silent understand before standing beside Muhimu. "She'll need help, ladies," she looks around at the female herd animals, "Who's with me?"
The female herd animals, zebras and gazelles alike, crowd around Muhimu — creating a protective circle around her. Sarafina stands in the center of the circle, right beside Muhimu — giving her soft words of comfort and encouragment.
Swala looks at Bunga, "She'll want some privacy."
"Uh... no problem!" Bunga laughs uncomfortable before starting to walk off, "See you later!"
"Wait!" Muhimu interjects, "Actually, I'll feel safer if you're nearby. You saved me before. I wouldn't be able to have this baby if it weren't for you."
"Um... okay," Bunga nods, "How 'nearby' do I have to be?"
"Uh-oh!" Muhimu cries before turning to her side, "Here we go!"
Sarafina kneels before Muhimu's face, encouraging her to take deep breaths, and when the time's right — to push.
The Lion Guard, on the other hand, stand outside the circle of female zebras, gazelles, and Sarafina — unsure of what to do.
"A baby zebra?" Beshte questions before moving a bit closer to the circle, "It's gonna be so cute!"
"But we're in the Outlands!" Fuli points out, "There's predators everywhere! She can't have the baby here!"
Ono flies up, looking at the crowd from the sky. He sees Sarafina telling Muhimu to start pushing.
"She can and she is!" Ono informs before flying back down to the ground.
"We're gonna have to stay here until she has it," Beshte notes.
"No," Kion shakes his head, "Fuli's right. There are alot of predators here. If we want to keep everyone safe, we've got to split up." He looks at Fuli, Beshte, and Ono. "You three take the herds to the grazing grounds. I'll stay here with Sarafina, Bunga, and Muhimu."
"No!" Fuli rebuffs, "What if there's an attack? You'll need our help!"
"What I need to do is protect the Circle of Life," Kion says slowly, "That means by taking care of this baby and the herds."
Fuli narrows her eyes and furrows her brows at his words.
"Fuli, you know it's the right thing to do," Kion reminds.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it!" Fuli grumbles before walking away.
"Wouldn't expect you to," Kion smiles as he watches the cheetah walk off.
"See you at the grazing grounds," Ono waves.
"Come on, everyone," Fuli calls the males of the herds.
"Do some deep breaths for me," Sarafina instructs, "Deep breaths."
Muhimu takes in deep breaths, letting the air expand her lungs before giving sharp exhales.
"It hurts!" Muhimu screams as another, more powerful, contraction passes.
"How often are you feeling that pain?" Sarafina asks.
"Every few minutes!"
Sarafina looks up at Swala, "At what point do you herd animals start pushing?"
"Right about now," Swala notes, "Whenever the mare has contractions after every few minutes."
Another gazelle kneels down to Muhimu's level. "You can start pushing, Muhimu. It'll be over soon, and you'll see your beautiful foal."
"I am!" Muhimu says before squeezing her eyes shut.
From the outside of the circle, Bunga tries to peek at Muhimu. "How you doing, Muhimu?"
"She's doing fine," Sarafina answers shortly.
"Muhimu?" Bunga looks at the mare, "Everything okay?"
This time, a final loud scream followd by a high-pitched neigh answers him.
"Your baby!" Bunga cries, "It's here!"
The crowd spreads apart, revealing a exhausted Muhimu and a newborn foal. Sarafina smiles proudly at the foal. It looks like Muhimu, but has lighter blue eyes in comparision to her dark blue eyes.
"It's a boy," Swala confirms after taking a glance at him.
"Oh, it's a boy," Muhimu's eyes brighten with love.
"Woah," Kion and Bunga both say at the same time, making Sarafina giggle.
"Look at that," Bunga smiles, "He's pretty cute!" The foal approaches Bunga, "Does he do anything?" He questions.
"Like what?" Muhimu asks with a hint of laughter.
"I dunno. Like play? Or tell jokes?"
In response, the baby runs up to him with wobbly legs and neighs loudly next to his face.
Unbeknownst to the proud mother, her proud friends, and the baby, three hyenas look on from a nearby cliff with hunger in their eyes.
"Did you hear that?" Cheezi questions Janja.
"Yeah," Janja nods, "Sounds like a snack. No — a whole pack of snacks! A snack pack!"
Janja snickers at his joke. Cheezi on the on the other hand, bears a concerned expression.
"That's not all, Janja," Cheezi lowers himself to the ground to see the crowd better, "Kion, Bunga, and Sarafina are down there too!"
"So what?" Janja snaps, "When we run in, they're gonna protect the baby. And all the big zebras and the gazelle will panic and run!"
"Oh, yeah!" Cheezi remembers.
"Zebras always do that," Chungu laughs.
"Then we can pick 'em off without even thinkin'!" Janja cheers.
"Without thinking?" Chungu echoes, "Good! That's how we do everything!"
Chungu and Cheezi both throw their heads back and roar with laughter, leaving Janja to roll his eyes at the pair.
Immediately, Bunga draws the baby close to him — slinging an arm over the baby's shoulders.
"That was really cool, but a little loud," Bunga tells the baby, "It's not your fault, though. You weren't born whenever Kion told us to be quiet, but —"
"Okay, zebras," Janja's voice sounds from on top the cliff, "You better run, 'cuz here we come!" The three hyenas speed down the cliff towards them.
"Hyenas!" The herd animals scream at once.
"Panic and run! Panic and run!" The neigh as they run around frenzied.
"Kion!" Sarafina looks to the prince, "Get them to calm down! The baby will start crying, and that'll ring the dinner bell for every other predator out here."
"No!" Kion looks at the panicking herd animals, "That's just what they want you to do! We have to stick together! Circle around Muhimu and the baby! Now!"
Whenever they don't listen but continue running, Kion looks back at his friend not knowing what to do. Thankfully for them, Muhimu steps in before the situation gets too out of hand.
"Everyone! Stop running and listen to Kion!" Muhimu orders.
Immediately, all the animals halt and look back at the golden-furred prince.
"Thanks," Kion smiles at Muhimu before turning to the herd animals, "Now circle up!"
Immediately, the herd animals circle around Muhimu and stand their ground against the incoming hyenas.
"What's the matter, zebras?" Janja questions, "Not gonna run? Don't we scare you?"
"Whoo! Oogie woogie boogi!" Cheezi shouts in an attempt to scare the zebras.
"Forget it, Janja!" Kion snarls, "We're not making it easy for you! You'll have to deal with all of us!"
"Our pleasure," Janja bares his teeth before lunging forwards.
Kion tackles Janja and sends him flying. They both hit the ground with a thud, Kion on top of him. Cheezi gets about halfway to the herd before getting met by Bunga. Bunga thrusts Cheezi forwards, making him hit the rocky wall, before folllowing Cheezi and wrestling him to the ground. Chungu manages to get even closer to the zebras and gazelle before a zebra gives him a strong kick to the face, sending him flying.
Unfortunately, Chungu knocks over Kion who was tackling Janja and the pair start wrestling on the ground.
"Kion!" Sarafina's eyes widen as her friend and Chungu become a blur of claws, gold fur, and dark gery spots.
Now that Janja's free of Kion and Bunga's preoccupied with Cheezi, Janja notices a clear opening for him to attack. He grins to himself as he makes his way closer to the herd animals. The herd animals part, allowing him to see the baby. Snarling to himself, Janja prepares to pounce. Unfortunately for him, however, the baby spins around before buck-kicking him square in the face.
He falls back with an 'oof', and Kion and Bunga both push Cheezi and Chungu off of them — making all three of them collide. Kion approaches the three hyenas with a growl forming in his muzzle.
"Beat it, Janja!" He snarls.
"Yeah, yeah," Janja calls over his shoulder as he runs off, "I don't even like zebra anyways!"
"Yeah, it's too chewy!" Chungu adds.
"Yeah!" Cheezi agrees, "And too... uh... stripey!"
"Hey!" A female zebra narrows her eyebrows.
"Bunga," Muhimu looks at the honey badger, "Did you see him? He kicked that hyena!" She nuzzles her baby, "He saved my life."
"I don't know much about babies," Bunga prefaces, "But that's a pretty cool baby you've got there."
Ono flies over Mbali Fields and smiles whenever he sees the herds grazing safely.
"All present and accounted for," Ono informs Kion when he lands on Beshte's back. "The Mbali Fields Migration is officially over!"
"Nothing went the way we thought it would," Kion notes.
"But we still got everyone here safe," Sarafina points out.
"And that's what counts," Fuli adds.
"We even added one!" Beshte flaps his ears.
As if on que, the baby zebra leaps forwards and brays at the group.
"Welome to the Circle of Life," Ono smiles warmly.
The baby zebra jumps around happily, braying at the welcome.
"You said it, baby!" Bunga smiles, pointing finger-guns at the baby zebra.
His words stir laughter amongst the group, and they watch as Bunga shouts 'Zuka Zama' and runs off with the baby zebra.
Author's Note:
Would ya' look at that! We got a longer chapter and it was published on time for once! (Woo-hoo!) This episodes was one of my favorites of season 1, and I loved writing it and adding Sarafina to it.
Alas, the mystery of the murders continue. Fortunately, we'll be seeing a lot more of Sarafina's (maybe some of Makua's) investigation. In future chapters, I'll also try to grow the friendship between Makua and Sarafina — I just think they can relate to each other alot and think they'd have a good friendship.
Since last chapter, I've decided to answer some questions/respond to some comments because a lot of you guys have guest accounts (otherwise, I'd just message you). So...
Q/A Time!
thatrandomreader — I'll try! But I'm a full-time student as well, so carving out time for my passion project proves difficult. Thanks for reading and supporting!
hey jesse — First off, I love-love-love your username! Second, I'm not fond of Scar either. Thanks for your support!
Arika Koski — I think I answered your question last time (sorry if I wasn't clear enough). But as I said previously, I think if this was a film it'd be rated PG-13. And I've rated this fanfiction T (for teens). Good question!
Guest — It was a sad chapter, I agree. And I will definitely talk more about Sarafina's parents, and her backstory in later chapters/seasons (all in good time). And I agree with you, I think it's pretty intersting as well. Thanks for your review!
Toast with Coffee — Thank you for the confident boost! Like you said, it is challenging for me to write this story because it revolves around my OC. (Also, I'm a student). And hopefully, after reading this chapter, you've seen some Kion and Sarafina moments. Thanks for your support!
I'll see you guys next time with... Bunga and the King!
~ Author
