[A/N]-

This chapter is intended to be more of a shorter filler chapter than anything and does not actually contain any events from the show. Don't worry though, because this chapter is an important point in the plot as the only two characters that are in this chapter are Sauda and Kion.

Have fun reading and tell me your thoughts on this chapter's content in the comments below.

Selena

~•{? ﾟﾦﾁ?}•~

Episode One: Never Judge a Hyena By It's Spots

Sauda and Kion traveled together along the narrow canyon path through the Outlands in silence. Both cubs were glancing at the other periodically, but looked away sharply to avoid being seen looking at each other. Sauda had injured her strained back leg again during the swim in the river's rapids, so with every step there was a slight, nearly unnoticeable limp to her stride. Kion was uninjured from the ride in the river, however both he and the dark furred lioness behind him were still wet from head to toe.

Eventually Sauda and Kion came to a bend in the path that forked in two different directions, one going left and the other right. When they came to a stop at the fork, Sauda finally looked to Kion, ready to follow him in whichever direction he chose to go in. Said lion met Sauda's questioning gaze and it was obvious to him that she was silently asking him what direction he planned to go in. Clearing his throat in the increasingly growing awkward silence, the young prince finally spoke to his female friend.

"Let's go left, towards the direction of the Pridelands," he stated. "We should be able to find a ledge to climb back up in the that direction."

"Alrighty, whatever you say," Sauda coughed out eventually in response.

Kion nodded and then began walking in the direction that they'd decided to go in, Sauda following close behind. There was more awkward silence for a few more moments before they came across a giant fallen tree in middle of the path. Kion who was uninjured had no problem jumping over the log blocking the way. Sauda on the other hand, gulped silently at the idea of jumping over such a large obstacle when it felt like she was walking over shards of broken glass with every step.

When he didn't hear his friend following him, Kion turned to see the former human still on the other side of fallen tree.

"C'mon, Sauda," Kion called from his side of the tree.

Not wanting him to worry, Sauda mustered up whatever tolerance for her pain she had left and backed up slightly before making the jump over the fallen tree. This plan backfired when she landed harshly on her back leg and crumpled to the ground with a painful scream that was loud enough to echo off the canyon walls and into the rest of the Outlands. Sauda whimpered in pain as she lay on the rocky path pitifully.

"Sauda!" Kion cried out in alarm.

The lion cub rushed over to his blue eyed friend who wasn't even attempting to get up from the ground. Skidding to a stop in front of her, Kion lowered his face to Sauda who was looking up at him from her position with something he'd never seen in her eyes before. Tears. Sauda was crying.

Hacking out a sob as she looked up at the worried look on her friend's golden furred face, Sauda wallowed in her pain and stress over all that had happened to her since she disappeared from her world. She wasn't even sure why she was crying, but what she did know was that her pain from the fall was the catalyst that had tipped her overflowing pot over and into the fire. Kion's brown eyes flicked back and forth over Sauda's sobbing figure on the ground while his brain attempted to determine how to handle this abrupt situation. After a few moments, Kion sighed and lay down next to his lioness friend, wrapping his front leg around her shaking shoulders in a feline hug.

Sauda flinched at the unexpected contact of her friend laying down beside her up against her black furry side. Having been caught off guard by Kion's actions, the emotional lioness cub finally shuddered in a deep intake of air into her lungs, calming her slightly down from her state of hysteria. Silently debating in his head over what to next, Neither of them said anything to each other, both of them just listening to each other's breathing as one became as slow and steady as the other.

Eventually Sauda opened her tear stained eyes and raised her head to look at the male cub who was currently spooning her in the middle of an Outlands canyon. Kion raised his head as well, turning her head to meet Sauda's gaze. As they both turned their heads at the same time to look at each other, the tips of their noses bumped into each other in a brief version of what Disney fans considered the "Lion King" kiss.

At the sudden sensation of their noses touching, Kion and Sauda both felt the skin of their face heat up in a fiery blush, and any evidence of this was thankfully hidden by their fur. Out of shock, Sauda flinches backwards and out of the reach of Kion's muzzle. Kion didn't seem to have much of a reaction from what the lioness could tell, however Kion was very much having his own mental breakdown just as she was. They didn't dwell on it though both of them shaking the weird feelings away and coughing awkwardly whilst looking at each other.

Kion finally stood up after a few moments of silence between the two and held out a paw to help Sauda up off the ground. Sauda took his paw gratefully and Kion hauled her back onto all fours.

"Sauda..." Kion started unsure.

Said lioness lifted her gaze from the ground and looked her friend in the eye. Kion's voice trailed off after he said her name and there was a few seconds more of quiet until the prince's mind could decide what would be the appropriate way to ask her what was wrong. He knew that she was probably still upset at him for what he did to her before she ran away that day, but there was still something else that was clearly bothering her. The only thing was Kion just couldn't figure out for his life what it was.

"Sauda," he whispered again. "I'm s-"

Kion stopped short and grunted when a dark, furry missile came crashing into him in the form of a hugging Sauda. Silent tears rolling down her cheeks again, Sauda smiled and sniffled into the fur on Kion's neck as she hugged him. Kion smiled himself and wrapped one of his front legs around his female friends's shoulder and around her neck to bring her closer to him.

"It's ok, Kion" Sauda finally stated aloud. "I'm sorry too!"

Pulling apart Kion and Sauda stepped back from one another, both with grins on their muzzles. Looking up at the top of Kion's head, Sauda let out a small giggle at the sight of the young male's man which had fallen out of it's usual style after she nearly tackled the lion prince. Kion looked up as well and laughed lightly before bringing his paw up and smoothing down his fiery red mane.

Their moment of reconciliation and apologies was then suddenly and abruptly ended when Sauda heard something coming from the large overhang of rock above them. Footsteps.

They were being stalked tracked by someone.