"So now that Kovu's followed Simba off into the unknown and Vitani's talking about dead lion power stuff," Tazama turned to the other lionesses with a wry grin, "wanna play 'fuck, marry, kill?'"

"Shouldn't we wait until Tani gets back?" Kasi asked.

"Oh what, like she's gonna play?" Imara snorted. "Come on, Kiara'll be here soon, let's play."

Mvua, Tumaini, Imara, Kasi, Shabaha and Tazama, all former members of Zira's pride, were relaxing in a shady region at the base of Pride Rock, a comfortable distance from where the rest of the lionesses were sunbathing and chatting, soaking up as much sun as they could before the clouds on the horizon reached the land. The news of their former pride sister Mkaidi's death had shaken them, but they had set their grief aside to be processed privately, determined to put forth an unshakable façade.

"Fuck Tojo, marry Simba, kill Malka," Mvua answered easily.

"Whoa, at least pretend to think it over!" Imara laughed.

"Girl," Kasi shook her head.

"Tojo's cute but too soft, he's strictly one night only material, Simba might be quiet and weird but he looks out for his own, he's kinda sweet and not as much of a dick as he seems. I could tolerate him. And Malka's annoying. Easy."

"Eww, Simba's like, that's just too complicated," Shabaha shook her head. "Looking at him makes me think about Zira. Fuck Malka, marry Kion, and kill, um, that Mheetu kid that's always following Sarafina and Nala around."

"Aww, why him?"

"I don't know him, if someone has to die, better it be someone I don't know, especially someone easy to pick off."

"Why not just pick Simba if you don't like him?"

"That fucker nearly broke my damn jaw with one swipe, I want him alive and on my side. Let him do the work of fighting off rogues."

"Wait, wait, why the hell would you marry Kion? He's like, mini Simba," Tazama pointed out.

"Easy, maybe our babies would be half-super. Little baby half-God army."

"Fair."

"I'd fuck Simba, marry Malka, and kill Kion," Kasi mused.

"The hell?"

"Okay okay, look, I heard Nala's probably knocked up again, the sex has got to be good if they're still going at it, I haven't had a decent lay in forever, and Malka would beat the life out of anybody who bugged me just because he could, I'd never have to lift a paw. And I'd kill Kion because he seems to think he can't be killed. It's not personal, but he could be knocked down a notch."

"I like your thinking," Imara nodded. "I wouldn't fuck any of them though, men are gross."

"Amen," Shabaha bumped her paw against Imara's.

"Why is everyone sleeping on Chumvi?" Tumaini asked. "I'd fuck and marry him, and kill Malka."

"Chumvi's gay, though," Imara pointed out.

"So is Malka!"

"Nu-uh, Malka swings both ways, it's different."

"Who said we actually had to think these through?" Tumaini argued. "It's just a game, none of you would actually fuck, marry, or kill any of them."

"You can't say that, you totally joined Simba's pride thinking he'd fuck you eventually," Imara snorted. "Remember when we were all like, 'gee I don't know if he's boning just Nala or if he's going at all of them, we'd better move on before he starts coming after us,' and you were like 'oh I'll stay regardless?' You wanted a piece of Big Daddy, don't even lie."

"Shut up!" Tumaini bristled.

"Girl, you practically bent over for him then and there."

"Fuck you, Imara!"

"'Step on me, Daddy,'" Tazama taunted.

"Fuck you, too, Tazama!"

"Ladies," Kiara approached. "Is everything alright?"

"Great," Shabaha grinned. "Uh, just curious, how much of that did you hear?"

"Far more than I wanted to."

"Busted," Shabaha grinned at the others.

"Anyway," Kiara shook her head with a slight shudder, prompting a snicker from some of them, "I thought I could take the lead for today while Kion and Vitani talk, is that okay?"

"Sure," Imara shrugged. "Have a sit."

"So," Kiara sat comfortably, "how's everyone treating you?"

"Better than last time," Kasi flicked a rock with her claw.

"That's...good," Kiara nodded. It was true that while the lionesses had accepted Simba's order to allow Zira's former pride to live alongside them and grant them shelter, he had made no such orders about making friends with them. It was clear to all that Simba didn't particularly care if the new lionesses felt welcome, they were lucky to not be killed in their sleep for attempting to kill him. Shelter from the rain and rogues was more than what he owed them, and his loyalty was to his original pride first and foremost. They were the ones who had been at his side during his reign, they had hunted and fought for him, they were his family.

If anything, accepting Zira's pride had been a gesture to Kiara more than out of the kindness of his heart. Simba had acknowledged and legitimized Kiara's alliance with Kovu, this had been the way the King had asked to be accepted back into his daughter's good graces. It had worked, and their relationship had been repaired after the split between them following Kion's leave. Acceptance of the strangers seemed to many like nothing more than the typical social orchestrations of the royals. Simba had disrupted the tightly-knit community of their pride in return for the security of keeping his intended heir at Pride Rock. It had ruffled some feathers and led to a few arguments, but it was all for the sake of ensuring that Kiara stayed as she was supposed to. This was universally understood.

Kiara knew that her father hadn't only done it out of obligation to her, but he had genuinely felt some concern for the lionesses after their alliance had shifted and it had come to light that many of them had never cared about him one way or the other, that killing him had merely been a means to an end. Allowing them to join their pride had been the simplest solution, though it had been far from simple. To say that their reception had been cold and uninterested was an understatement. Kiara had been surprised at how unwelcoming Sarabi had been, making her interest in the safety of her son and pride as well as her position over them quite clear. Without Simba and Nala enforcing any sort of behavioral expectations and Sarabi setting a chilling example, the rest of the pride settled into their own spectrum of displeasure.

Now her Guard consisted strictly of members of that once-shunned group, and Kiara was tasked with finding a way to earn their respect and trust. This would be difficult, as she wasn't even sure she had either from Vitani.

The little she had overheard of their conversation (as much as the concept repulsed her) illustrated the chasm between her and them. Her reality had never required her to develop a fear of male authority figures, only rogues, but they were raised with an intrinsic fear of animals like her father. The difference was not morality, but privilege. They had never had the luxury of trusting animals like her father. Their fear was understandable, and to be startled by it cast Kiara's immunity against the many day-to-day dangers most lionesses faced in a sharp light.

This was all a very complicated way of processing the simple truth; earning their trust would take a long time, and it had to start soon.

Nobody else spoke, the group staring expectantly at Kiara. She was determined not to be intimidated by the empty silence. But before she could speak, Tumaini and Mvua stood.

"This seems like a Guard-only thing," Mvua explained.

"Yeah, later," Tumaini followed quickly.

"So," Kiara addressed the remaining five lionesses, "did I chase them off?"

"Yeah," Imara nodded. "Pretty much."

"Well," Kiara brushed this off, "if none of you want to be on the Guard, none of you have to."

"Who says we don't want to?" Shabaha challenged.

"Kasi did," Kiara reminded her.

"She doesn't speak for us!"

"I never said she-"

"Hold on, don't put words in my mouth!" Kasi spat back, "Imara, I said I didn't want to be pressed into service, working for Kiara is different than working for Zira or Simba!"

"Actually," Kiara picked at her claw. For some reason the claw had become scaly, despite the moisture of the dry season. It was odd. "I hate to break it to you, but working with me won't be that different than working with my father, by all accounts we're pretty similar. While I'm still starting, I'm very much doing exactly what I think he'd be doing."

"Nah, you're a girl," Shabaha stretched until her back cracked. "It's way different."

"Yeah," Kasi nodded. "I'd work with you, not your dad."

"Because he's a male?"

"An alpha male, yeah."

"I heard pretty much everything," Kiara still didn't make eye contact. "I forget how most lionesses view males."

"He's your daddy," Imara pointed out. "You uh, never had to, I'm sure he didn't let any males get within a mile of you until Kovu."

"Oh he's told me, I knew, I just, I forget, I guess."

"Please, your dad has no idea how scared of him everyone is," Kasi snorted.

"Were any of you ever alone with him?" Kiara asked quietly. They all glanced at each other and shook their heads. "Have any of you ever seen him alone with a lioness who wasn't close family?" Again, they hadn't. "That's because he knows. My father is a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He knows." Kiara didn't know why she felt the urge to defend her father, but she did. It wasn't important, if anything it was detrimental to the group's fragile makings, but she wanted to speak in his defense on that matter. Her father was scary, he was angry and strong and intimidating, but he wasn't predatory.

"Speaking of him being a lot of things," Kasi smirked, "Kovu said Simba's leg is better after it got snapped, isn't he going to take back his place once he gets back?"

"No," Kiara answered evenly. "He's not."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Kiara admitted. "He told me it's because he thinks I can do better than him."

"But you don't believe him?" Imara clarified, her voice betraying a note of genuine interest. Her aloof attitude was beginning to fade.

"I know not everyone has the someone high opinion of my father that I do, but I do think he was experienced and had a lot of valuable alliances, those alone make him more valuable than me. He says I'm more patient, that he was having a hard time not being angry."

"He knows that about himself?" Shabaha seemed surprised.

"Very few animals despise my father more than he does."

The words were out before Kiara could call them back. She didn't know why she had said them, nor why she had shared such a poignant and personal observation with lionesses she didn't know very well. Their quiet, almost reflective faces punctuated the sharp change in mood.

"Anyway," she employed a social tactic her grandmother had taught her to use when an inappropriate subject had been touched; to swiftly move the conversation forward without calling further attention to what they were leaving behind. "What do you ladies like to do for fun?"

"You said we were going to be working together," Tazama pointed out.

"Would you say it's correct to say that we're sort of strangers to each other?" Kiara asked.

"Yeah, that's fair."

"Well, our work is to change that. Let's relax today. What do all do to relax?"

"Mud wrestling," Imara made direct eye contact with the queen. Kiara met her gaze confidently.

"And I was worried you'd suggest something I wasn't experienced with."

"You're on, your highness."


"Whew!" Pumbaa shook off the water as rain poured down from the sky. Light still filtered into the den between the clouds.

"Pumbaa," Sarabi commented calmly. "It's been a while. Where's Timon?"

While the day had started with sunshine and warm breezes, as afternoon had moved in, so had the rainclouds. It was a very rainy wet season, which nobody was complaining about. Many of the pride members had filtered back into the den to wait out the rain before the evening hunt.

"Oh, he's, uh," Pumbaa looked uncomfortable. "We're taking some space."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Everything okay?" Mvua rose an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever seen the two of you apart. Like, ever."

"Well, you know," the warthog stepped over to Nala, who laid against Kula, "sometimes best buddies need some space."

"I hear that," Chumvi chuckled as he groomed Mheetu. "Welcome to the rainy day club, Pumbaa."

"I'm surprised you and Timon didn't want to go with him," Sarafina commented. "Simba said he offered to let you two come along, check out where you used to live."

"He did," Pumbaa nodded as he curled into a ball beside Nala, "but, to honest, we prefer it here much better. The jungle was a little intense."

"Not all bugs and lagoons, huh?"

"Not really. I mean, there was that, and it was nice, but we have those things here, too. Here, we know we won't get eaten. There, it was sort of iffy. Some predator was always trying to take our territory. It could get exhausting."

"Wait," Chumvi smiled at Nala. "You tried to hunt Simba's friend in his own territory?"

"I did," Nala affirmed without a trace of apology. "He took it pretty well, though."

"Oh, how could he not?" Chumvi snorted. Nala laughed.

"Do ya miss him?" Pumbaa asked.

"I do," Nala admitted. "I wasn't really able to spend much time with him while his leg was healing, and the very second he could walk, it feels like it's been one mission after another."

"That's Simba," Pumbaa sighed. "I'm awful worried. You think he'll be okay?"

"I think he and Kovu can handle themselves."

"Do you think he'll run into trouble?"

"What trouble could they possibly run into?" Sarafina reasoned. "Simba knows the land, right?"

"Yeah, but um, you know, he's not real popular out there."

"Rais is probably deceased," Nala reminded Pumbaa. "And if he's not, he's far too old to pose a threat, he might not even remember Simba. Simba can speak enough of the local tongue to get by, he knows how to stay out of trouble. He just has to find Qabi and then find Chaka, and he'll be out."

"I hope you're right. Gee, I wonder who lives where we used to. Whoever they are, they're real lucky."

"It was beautiful," Nala agreed quietly, thinking about the lush paradise she'd found him in. "I wonder if his journey will take him back there."

"Oh, I doubt it. Rais' pride where Surani and Qabi lived was days away from our little spot."

"It wasn't 'little,' you three had a much bigger territory than you needed," Nala chided playfully.

"No offense," Chumvi nodded at the warthog, "but what's the point of protecting a big territory if you don't even use it to hunt?"

"Simba needed something to do, I guess," Pumbaa shrugged. "He would come home and say, 'hey, that cool tree you guys like is ours now,' and we didn't really ask questions."

"What an jerk," Chumvi chuckled, shaking his head as he examined behind Mheetu's ears. "I love it."

"Sounds like the behavior of a young lion with a lot of drive and determination, but nothing to do with it," Sarabi licked her paw.

"Or he just likes conflict," Tama snorted. Nala flicked Tama's face with her tail.

"That too," Sarabi winked.

"Chumvi, I'm clean!" Mheetu huffed, batting Chumvi off. "Jeez!"

"Ah, memories," Sarafina smiled at Sarabi.


"So," Kion frowned in the shadows. "You don't want to know if you have the Roar?"

"It's not that I don't want to know," Vitani toyed with a small rock, avoiding eye contact, "I just don't care if I have it. It's not like I'm going to use it."

"Why not?"

The two sat in the protection of an overhang at Pride Rock's base, sheltered from the rain that poured down, a veil of water shrouding them in cool shadows.

"I don't need it to help. Nobody needs the Roar."

"I've needed it. My dad needed it," Kion argued gently. "It's helped a lot of animals."

"Your dad had it for one day and he broke a mountain," Vitani pointed out dryly. "It's too much power."

"So you think I shouldn't have it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Vitani, I don't want to argue with you, I just want to understand," his voice was gentle. "You have the mark of the Lion Guard, the great kings chose you, you sensed the Roar when my father used it miles away before anyone else did, I'm the only other one who did. You're a leader, Vitani, it makes sense that the great kings would want you to lead Kiara's Guard."

"I'm not arguing any of that. I just don't think I'll need it. I can do my job without throwing rocks around."

"It does so much more than that."

"I know," she looked at him pointedly. "You've used it on me."

"I am sorry about that," he cringed.

"You shouldn't be," she flicked the rock, watching it clatter across the stone. "You were protecting your pride. You were just doing your job."

"You don't like me, do you?"

"You don't like me, or the girls, or Kovu," Vitani pointed out bluntly. "We tried to kill your dad, and even he has been more chill than you. So yeah, it's kinda hard to cozy up to you after you showed up out of nowhere."

"I'm not asking you to-" he sighed in frustration. "Look, I guess you have a point."

"Here's another thing," Vitani cut him off. "Your dad never got frustrated with us not trusting him like you are right now. Kasi could never speak to him and he wouldn't care, but it would bother you."

"Well yeah, she's part of the pride."

"That is so not the point," Vitani rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you just admitted that the feelings are mutual, why am I the only one getting heat for it?"

"Kion, you're used to being the hero. You always think you're the good guy. But not everyone is gonna see you that way. Sometimes you're just a guy."

A tense silence hung between them.

"You're right," he finally admitted.

"Humoring me isn't going to magically-"

"No," his voice was firm, "I mean it. You're right. I get in my own head and I don't always step back and consider the perspectives of others. I think that's something Kiara was always way better at than me. Maybe I'll always suck at it, I don't know. I guess I'm just a dick sometimes."

"I don't really care about the first part, but I like the part where you called yourself a dick."

"That's fair."

"Look," Vitani examined a scratch on her paw pad, picking at it carelessly, "I get that this whole guard thing is important to the pride. I mean, your dad didn't have one for a few months and look what happened."

"That's...also fair," Kion didn't want to admit how much that comment stung.

"And I'm bored. So are the girls. I guess making ourselves useful kicking some ass doesn't sound like a complete waste of time. So I'm willing to talk about this Guard stuff. But I don't care about the Roar, and I want you to drop it, at least for a while."

"I can do that," Kion nodded. "Hey, you said 'the pride,' not 'your pride.'"

"Well, yeah," she nodded at her mark. "Your ancestors kinda made that clear. I'm in the club. Whoopee for me."

"You like it here, don't you?" He smiled slyly.

"God, you're optimistic," she rolled her eyes.

"Yep!" He stood, satisfied that they'd at least made a little progress.

"It's annoying."

"I know," he smiled. "I'm gonna go meet Anga, she should be back from checking on Surani."


"Queen Kiara," the elephant frowned, "what's this I hear about a new Lion Guard?"

"It's a long story, Ma Tembo," Kiara stood before the matriarch, with Shabaha, Imara and Kasi stood behind her, wary of the large leathery mammals that raised their eyebrows at them. Though the rain had rinsed most of the mud from their coats, their paws were still filthy, covered in wet grass and flecks of muck. The queen seemed unbothered by her unkept appearance, carrying her head just as high as she did when she was spotless. If the elephants thought she looked unruly, none of them said anything.

None of the former Outlanders had expected Kiara to be as robust and energetic as she was, squaring off with Imara in the mud eagerly as they watched in bemusement. Before long, they had joined, splashing and shoving with boisterous laughter until they'd felt the rain sprinkle down on their backs. They were reluctant to admit it, but the queen knew how to have fun. Kiara had then stood with a giggle, saying that she needed to talk to some elephants before the storm became too strong, and invited them to join her.

"Just to get an idea of what it is that the Guard actually does," she'd explained. "If you're interested." They'd agreed to follow her, admittedly curious about what sort of tasks would be expected of them.

Most herbivores could hardly tell Nala from Vitani. The elephants were a different story entirely, and had immediately noticed that this group was new to the Pride Lands. They weren't welcoming. "The great kings have been...a little vague, lately. But I promise we have the Pride Lands' best interests in mind. Prince Kion and I are overseeing everything while the pandemic in the Thelugi Mountains peaks and settles in the next few weeks. And my mother has continued to counsel us both and we respect and value her input."

"Not your father?" A male elephant cut in.

"Zito, mind your business," Ma Tembo chastised. "Simba is still wounded, let him rest!"

"Actually, the great kings saw fit to heal him," Kiara managed to smile a little. "He's on a mission out of the Pride Lands for the next few weeks, but we are all eagerly awaiting his return."

"Great, Simba's gone and he didn't tell anyone?" The male huffed. "That doesn't bode well."

"My father has more than earned a break," Kiara stood her ground. "But I'll be sure to personally tell him you missed him in his absence, Zito."

"My apologies," he bowed his head. "I spoke in haste."

"Ma Tembo," Kiara turned back to the matriarch as the male took his leave nder the harsh glare of the growing audience, "I came to ask how your herd is fairing."

"Oh, we're quite well, wouldn't you all say?" She looked to the others, who nodded in agreement. "Yes yes, the rain has been a blessing, although," Ma Tembo's voice grew more quiet, and she looked back to Kiara. "I have to say, things have been a little...tense, ever since the events at your coronation, my queen."

"I have to earn their trust," Kiara answered simply.

"Oh no, it's not you," Ma Tembo shook her great head. "No, we all have the highest confidence in you, we've seen how Simba and Nala raised you and we feel that you have a very bright future ahead of you. It's well, it's the voices in the sky that spooked the herds. To be quite honest, your majesty, some of us are a little frightened. First your brother had those incredible powers, now the dead sounding in the sky at your coronation...the herds are worried that that royal family is garnering too much, well, power. And may I be blunt?"

"Of course."

"With all due respect to these young ladies," she nodded at Vitani's group, "the herds don't like the frequent changes in your Guard, either. They don't know who to trust."

"Ma Tembo, as always, your insight has been invaluable. How can I repay you?"

"The same way your father always did, please just keep me in the loop. It's all give and take."

"Of course. Thank you for your time, Ma Tembo."

With that, Kiara led the girls away from the elephant herd. Kasi was the first to speak.

"I like how your family can make threats while sounding polite. You basically told that asshole back there that you were gonna sic your dad on him for bitching, but you said it so nice and sweet-like that there was nothing he could say."

"My mom calls it 'refined defiance,'" Kiara explained somewhat glumly, rain dripping from her chin as she talked. "Everyone knows you're making a threat, but nobody can call you out on it because you used the proper language. It's a skill you've got to learn around here."

"So basically," Imara held her jaw open to drink some of the rain, smacking her lips in satisfaction, "everyone's scared that you're going to be as powerful as Kion and nobody likes us former Outsider scum?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the short of it." Kiara didn't bother with dishonesty.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Shabaha asked. "If everyone's scared of you, doesn't that make it easier to keep them in line?"

"Not for long," Kiara shook her head. "Alliances dissolve, communication dries up, resentment builds, and tension rises. I probably shouldn't have announced that my father left, but somebody was bound to say something, better to tell them myself than have it slip out and reveal that I'd been hiding it."

"Who cares where your dad is?" Kasi asked. "He's not in charge."

"Word got around that my dad isn't as crippled as we worried, they're expecting him to revoke his decision and return to power. They see my authority as temporary."

"Look I like you and all," Tazama stepped beside Kiara, "but why isn't your dad returning to power? I kind of thought that was his family's thing."

"It is," Kiara nodded. "I've never heard of anyone in our family line stepping down so young, I don't know that it's ever happened. Our family rules until death or old age, that's how it's always been. But, my dad said that the point of ruling was to do what's best for your kingdom. He think I'm a better fit than he is."

"But you don't think so," Tazama guessed.

"I just don't see how," Kiara admitted. "I mean, yes, my father has become more jaded and he has a hard time trusting and believing strangers, but, he's still much more experienced than I am. Animals trust him. They're still wary of me, some of them think I'm too soft. Maybe they're right."

"You stopped our prides from eating each other alive," Kasi reasoned. "Your dad and Zira were ready to soak the earth in blood, and we all blindly followed. Both sides. You, Kovu and Vitani were the ones who realized that it didn't have to be that way. The fighting finally stopped. Seems like something fitting rulers would do."

"Thank you, Kasi," Kiara looked surprised. "That...that actually means a lot to me."

"We've all said it," Imara and Shabaha nodded at each other. "Standing up to your father for us was pretty cool of you. We didn't see it coming, to be honest."

"The herds don't think so," Kiara set her jaw as they walked. "To them, it was just a skirmish between cats that interrupted my dad from doing his duties to them. He became less interested in them as protecting the pride specifically became his priority. That wasn't a popular shift in focus."

"Damn, sounds like the herds need a lesson in empathy."

"That's the masses for you. I think that's also what my father is sick of. He gave up his old life and nearly worked himself to death serving the Pride Lands, he missed a lot of stuff like my first steps and almost my first hunt, made so many sacrifices, but the moment he put his family first, they became irritated. I think it made my dad resentful in a way that made him stop caring about serving them as much, which was his first sign that he needed to step back. Breaking his leg was just his public reason. You can't," she looked back at them with her amber eyes, "tell anyone we talked about this, though."

"We get it," Imara reassured her. "Your dad's alright for recognizing when it was time to step back. We all kind of assumed he liked being in charge."

"Not exactly."

"You know," Shabaha cocked her head, "you're alright, Kiara. I think we should talk seriously about this Guard stuff."

"Well," Kiara's face brightened, "if that's what you all want."


"So, happy to be back in the desert?" Simba broke the silence as they crested the first of many, many sand dunes, referring to the time the group had seen Scar. There was very little ahead on the horizon, and the Pride Lands were a speck of green behind them. The flatlands had begun to give way to still waves of lifeless sparkling hills.

"It uh," Kovu made a face as darkness began to consume the empty lands in swaths of blue and purple. "It's a lot of sand."

"I can't stand it either," Simba commented as he carefully treaded along the peak of the dune, sand displaced under his paws flowing down both slopes on either side.

"How old were you the first time?" Kovu asked as he stepped in line behind him, noting that Simba's pawprints were still larger than his own as he stepped into them.

"What, the first time I came through here?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I was about the age you were when you met my daughter."

"Wait," Kovu stumbled for a second as the grains crumbled under his weight, "you were that young?"

"Yep."

"Zira always made it sound like you were, I don't know, older."

"Really?" Simba's voice took on a note of sarcasm. "Zira didn't empathize with me, huh?"

"You could say that." Kovu cringed to himself, hoping he hadn't touched a nerve.

"I was figuring we could keep going all night and rest in the morning before it gets hot, are you going to need a rest before then?"

"No," Kovu puffed his chest. Anything Simba could do, he was determined to do. "I don't need to stop."

"Great, all night it is."

"You can read the stars, then?" Kovu was slightly worried about getting lost without the sun to follow, he had no way of knowing how proficient Simba was at night navigation. Kovu had gleamed a little about Simba as a king and a little about him as Kiara's father, but Kovu didn't know much about Simba as a lion. Anything Zira had told him Kovu was slowly learning had all been false.

"You can't?" Simba cast a confused glance over his shoulder.

"Not very well," Kovu admitted with a touch of embarrassment.

"Reading the stars is a basic life skill, we taught Kiara and Kion when they were young."

"Yeah well, you sorta answered your own question there, it's a basic life skill and all. Kiara's already given me grief over it, everything I know about reading the stars I learned from her."

"That's my girl," Simba looked forward again. "Let's test your knowledge, we're heading southwest, what constellation are we going to use to orient ourselves?"

"Um," Kovu looked up. "Uh, first we find the cluster, which is...um..."

"Alright," Simba stopped and gestured with his paw at the darkening sky. "It's faint, but see that cluster right there?"

"The one that has like, four close together, right?" Kovu stopped beside him and squinted.

"Mhmm," Simba nodded. "That's Kichaka cha Moto, and the two bright stars Wafanyakazi and Kichwa are below it and off to the side a little, see them?

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright, now imagine an invisible line between Wafantakazi and Kichwa, and then a line straight through Kichaka cha Moto. Those invisible lines intersect right there," Simba gestured into the darkness, just above the horizon. "Now that's true south. So what's behind us?"

"North."

"Exactly. If behind us is north, what's to our left and right?"

"east and west."

"Which is which?"

"That's east, and that's west," Kovu pointed.

"Good, now where's southwest?"

"That way," Kovu pointed between west and the direction Simba had indicated was south.

"There, see? You've got it."


Author's Note,

Yes, this chapter was absolutely brought to you in part by unpaid time off work due to COVID-19. I wished for more time to write, and by God I have it now, for better or worse. Hope you're all doing alright!

Finding the cross constellation in order to find true south is the best way for our friends in the southern hemisphere (the geography of the Pride Lands suggests they're in Tanzania or a bordering country, which is below the equator) to orient themselves at night, as someone who was raised to locate the north star to find true north in the northern hemisphere, I had to look up how our characters would take directions from the stars. You learn something new every day!

As a side note I've reached 200 followers on Tumblr, so I'm writing a oneshot to celebrate, and I'm inviting readers to vote on what they'd like me to write about! The link is posted on my Tumblr, dierentumbls. Thank you all so much for making this such a fun corner of the internet to create and share in, you're all such lovely people and I do appreciate the community here. Voting ends, March 30, 2020, I'll reblog the link a few times to keep it accessible.

Corderbollie [AO3]: Weeeeeee'll seeeeeeee! (Thank you!)

little_sloth [AO3]: That is a lovely thing to say and a great question, to answer it, I'll just say that we have not seen the last of them by far.

Outlander15 [FFN]: They were hands-down my favorite new characters, and writing them has been so much fun. Thank you for your continued support, it really does mean a lot to me!

Miss Dreamxr [FFN]: You are too sweet, it's reviews like that that make writing such a fun and rewarding hobby, so thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely note, it really made my day!

Cheers!

- Dieren