Chapter 2: Tamaa
Kion braced himself as he felt the air grow drier around him, only exacerbating the pain in his left eye. Despite this, the Prince pressed on, slowly watching the flora around them wane in favor of more sand and stone.
"Desert." Beshte said in a wary tone, looking at the approaching terrain with particular anxiety.
"Are you sure this is the way?" Beshte asked Makini with a nervous expression.
"Yes, but don't worry, the terrain doesn't become a complete desert for a while."
"What's the matter, big guy, can't handle a little sand?" Bung asked, elbowing the hippo playfully.
"Bunga, hippos don't do well in the hot sun and drier terrain." Ono said, trying to look at Bunga by the sound of his voice.
Kion sighed, sounding slightly irritated.
"If you don't think you can make it, Beshte-"
"No! I'm fine!" He interjected.
"Alright, lead on Makini." Kion rubbed his eye again, the pain getting worse.
"Why are you bringing him with you? He'll only ssssssslow you down." Kion froze and looked around as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Kion?" Fuli asked, noticing this.
"Gaaah, the stupid venom, now I'm hearing things." Kion growled louder.
"Maybe we should rest a little before going on-" Anga started.
"No! We need to keep moving!" Kion almost roared, giving the others a slight fright.
"Gaaah, I'm sorry Anga, the venom is burning my insides and I-"
"I have the remedy!" Makini cried, eagerly reaching inside a hollowed gourd on her staff before taking out a handful of strange violet flowers.
"What is that?"
"Tuliza, a herb that will help with the pain." Kion didn't wait another moment and quickly ate the flowers. Within moments, the burning sensation faded, it didn't completely go away, but enough to ease the Prince.
"Ahhhh, thank you, Anga I-" Kion started with a guilty expression.
"It's fine." The eagle said, landing beside him and placing her wing around his shoulder.
"How much of that stuff do you have?" Fuli asked, also relieved by Kion's healing, if only temporarily.
"Enough for now, but don't worry, it grows along the path to the Tree."
"Good." Kion exhaled before turning to Beshte.
"Are you sure you're good to go through the desert? We could look for another way."
"No! I can handle it, you and Ono need to get to the Tree as soon as possible, come on!" Beshte now took the lead, earning smiles from the others. They didn't pass many animals along the way, and those they did encounter all raced for shelter with frightened looks.
"Are they scared of us?" Fuli asked, glancing from one animal to another.
"Maybe, most of the animals who live in the backlands are small, and they don't see lions, cheetahs, or hippos often." Ono said. However, Kion had other ideas.
"This is Makucha's territory, maybe he and his band are nearby." Kion growled.
Fuli similarly growled thinking about the leopard bandit they'd fought a few times before.
"Anga, you see anything? She asked the fish eagle who nodded and used her keen sight to look ahead for miles in each direction before finally understanding what had frightened the local animals.
"Sandstorm!" Anga squawked.
"Sandstorm!" Besthe muttered, his thick skin almost trembling as he thought aboard the course material racing against his body at high speeds.
"Come on, we need to find shelter!" Kion roared. He furiously led his guard ahead, desperately trying to find somewhere big enough for them all to escape the incoming storm. However, they were too late, and the punishing winds harried them like sandpaper.
"Ahhh!" Beshte groaned, the storm irritated his skin worse than the others.
"Don't worry, big guy! My skin is tough, I'll shield you!" Bunga leaped onto Beshte's hide, but only covered a small area.
Kion tried to use the roar as a means to push the storm back, but sand flew into his mouth and he violently coughed it up.
"You ssssee what they've gotten you into. Your friendssss have led you too your doom." Ushari's voice hissed into Kion's ear again and momentarily caused the pain in his eye to flare up.
"Graaah! I will find a way out!" Kion snarled, pushing himself against the storm even as it made seeing almost impossible.
"This way!" The others did their best to keep up, Ono clutching onto the back of Besthe's neck tightly.
"Hold on, I think I see something!" Kion indeed saw it, the entrance to a cave.
"This is it! Just a bit further!"
"Wait a second, I can't see, which way are you guys going!?" Fuli shouted while coughing up some sand.
"Follow my voice!" Bunga shouted.
"I'm trying! I-, aaaahg!" Fuli, unable to see where she was going slid down the side off a hill of sand.
"Fuli! Where'd she go!?" Kion snarled.
"I don't know, I can't see anything!" Anga groaned.
"Fuli! Fuli!" Ono, Beshte, and Bunga shouted, but no response came.
"Sssshe'ssss gone, you failed her."
"Grauuu!" Kion snarled, his eyes on fire. Makini's eyes widened as she saw Kion preparing to use the roar.
"No! Kion you can't use the Roar like this!" With Beshte's help, she pushed him inside the cave with the others, finally escaping the raging sandstorm.
"Whew, finally." Bunga said, shaking the sand out of his fur.
"What did you do that for!? Fuli's still out there! We're not leaving her behind!" Kion snarled, louder this time. Makini nervously backed up.
"Kion, you were about to use the roar, and using it when you're in a venom induced rage is dangerous, you could lose control and hurt someone."
Kion's rage subsided and he looked back at the cave entrance with grave concern and guilt.
"Fuli."
Beshte groaned slightly and tried to ease his roughed up skin.
"Don't worry, sand doesn't bother me, I'll go find her!" Bunga proclaimed, about to step back into the storm.
"Well, well he's as bright as ever." A malevolent voice chuckled.
Kion grit his fangs and slowly turned with the others to see seven leopards near the back of the cave.
"Prince Kion, welcome to our humble abode, I didn't know we'd have the honor of hosting royalty." The leopard bandit laughed with his men.
"Makucha!" Kion growled, his Guard forming up beside him and in front of Makini.
"I see you're as bold as ever, intruding on my territory and then having the nerve to growl at me."
Kion sighed, his patience growing thin.
"We didn't come here to disturb you, we were just passing through when this sandstorm hit."
Makucha extended himself on a rock that placed him above Kion and smiled deeply.
"I see one of your little friends is missing, did she get swallowed up by the sandstorm?"
Kion snarled again.
"Watch your tongue before I rip it out!"
"Kion." Beshte muttered, growing slightly afraid.
"Well, you've certainly grown a temper, and is that a scar I see. How fitting, you look just like your great uncle now-" Kion nearly leaped up to slam Makucha off his rock when Bunga forced himself in front of him.
"Look Makucha, we didn't come here looking for a fight, we just want to pass through and be on our way. But we also need to find our friend now too. I'm guessing you leopards know your way around these sandstorms." Ono said, feeling his way until he rested on top of Kion's head.
Makucha's grin turned more sinister.
"Perhaps, but tell me this, why should I help you?"
"Because-" Kion started with an intense growl.
"Because otherwise you're stuck here with us until the sandstorm ends!" Bunga returned Makucha's evil smile and raced into the midst of his leopards before filling their section of the cave with stench.
"Gaaah!"
"It's disgusting!"
"Filthy little honeybadger!" Makucha growled. Kion finally smiled again and even chuckled slightly when Bunga came back to his side.
"Fine! We'll find the cheetah and lead you out, then you never show your faces here again!"
He walked into the passageway first, but Kion was still watching him suspiciously.
"Keep your eyes on him, Anga."
"With pleasure." She said with similar skepticism towards the cheetahs.
Makini offered Kion another tuliza flower which he gladly took before looking back at the sandstorm one more time.
"We won't abandon you, Fuli, I promise."
Elsewhere, Fuli opened her eyes and saw she'd landed at the base of a barren ravine. However, she soon saw the sand storm was slowly spreading even to that lower altitude and no shelter was in sight.
"Now I almost wish there was water in here." The cheetah sprinted forward as fast as she could, desperately trying to find shelter or the others.
"Kion! Bunga! Anga! Beshte! Ono! Makini!" Despite Fuli's desperate pleas no response came, and the storm soon began to obscure her sight once more.
"Guys!" Fuli froze when she saw the silhouette of a figure ahead of her and for a brief moment thought it was a leopard.
"Makucha!" She growled, taking a fighting stance. However, as the figure got closer, she realized it wasn't a leopard at all, but another cheetah. A young adult male.
"Huh?" He gave her a somewhat expedient look and emphasized a path she hadn't seen.
"If you want to live, follow me, and try to keep up!" He roared, nearly making Fuli roll her eyes.
"Keep up? Does he know who he's talking to!?" The female cheetah raced after her guide, quickly catching up to him and slowly gained a lead. This surprised him and Fuli grinned upon seeing his shocked expression.
Eventually, they reached the entrance to a cavern and finally escaped the harsh winds. Fuli exhaled deeply and shook herself free of sand, feeling her body grow much lighter.
"You must be new around here to get yourself lost in a sandstorm like that." The male cheetah laughed, earning a slight glare from Fuli.
"I would've been fine on my own."
"Of course you would have, you're welcome by the way." Fuli sighed.
"Thank you for helping me, ah?"
"Azaad, and you are?"
"Fuli, Fuli of the Pride Rock Lion Guard." She said, standing up tall and proud.
"Lion Guard? Exactly what species of Lion are you?"
"I, we….Uhhhg. Nevermind, I just need to wait out the storm here and then find my friends."
"Friends? Ahh, yes, your Lion Guard. Perhaps that's why I thought you might actually be a lion. Cheetahs don't make friends, especially with other animals." Fuli thought back to much of her early life living on her own before meeting Kion and the others.
"Not me, my friends are my family."
"Then why did they abandon you?" Azaad asked, his tone turning more serious.
"They didn't abandon me! We just got separated!"
"Of course." Azaad stretched himself before laying down on the ground.
"Storms tend to last a while, you'd best get some rest. Maybe use that time to reconsider these friends of yours. Us cheetahs are better off on our own." Fuli wanted to growl, but instead stared back at the storm with a longing expression and hoped that the others were safe.
Meanwhile Kion followed Makucha and his gang alongside the rest of his Guard, save Fuli. As Kion instructed, Anga attempted to watch the lead leopard closely, but the dimly lit cavern and movement of his companions made this difficult.
"So why were you trying to move through our territory anyway?"
"Well, with Kion's scar and all-" Bunga started before Makini nudged him.
"Ahh, yes, the scar. How did you get that? I certainly didn't give it to you, and if I didn't, that fool Janja couldn't have."
"Ushari." Kion muttered.
"The snake? Well, how about that. What was his punishment then?"
"A fiery doom." Anga said in a tone that sent shivers down many of the leopard's spines. Makucha, however, merely chuckled.
"Well, I didn't think you had it in you for something so cruel."
"Kion didn't throw him in, I did." Bunga said proudly, nearly making Makucha blink in disbelief.
"It's what he deserved for what he did to Kion, but it will all be better when we get to the Tree of Life-"
"Bunga!" Kion growled, silencing the honey badger while the others gave him a similar stern look.
"Tree of Life?" Makucha spoke quietly and with a look of sinister machinations. He turned to the other leopards and gave them subtle gestures, earning slight nods from each. Over the next few minutes, the leopards slowly moved in and among the Lion Guard, subtly separating them from Kion.
Anga remained so fixated on Makucha that she didn't even notice and within a few minutes after passing through a larger cross junction, she realized Makucha and two of his leopards were gone, and so was Kion.
"Hey!" Beshte, Bunga, and Makini quickly realized this too.
"Where's Kion!?" Bunga growled.
The four remaining leopards chuckled and quickly turned on the Guard, fangs bore.
Meanwhile, Fuli anxiously paced the cave while staring out at the sandstorm impatiently.
"Grrr, will this storm just end already!?" She roared.
"Yes, roar at it, that will certainly frighten the wind." Azaad said, sounding slightly irritated at her antics.
Fuli glared back at Azaad but suddenly noticed the entrance to a cavern behind him.
"Hey, what's back there?"
"Hmp? Oh, those are just the passageways."
"Passageways? Where too?"
"All over the area, us locals sometimes use them to move about during sandstorms."
"Maybe I could find my friends through there!"
"Don't count on it."
"Why not?" She growled.
"Because, those pathways go on for miles and even for someone as fast as you couldn't navigate your way through there."
"Just watch me!" Fuli sprinted inside and Azaad shook his head with an amused smile before laying back down.
Several minutes later Fuli returned with an incredibly frustrated expression and her head held low.
"So how'd it go?" Azaad asked only for Fuli to splash some sand towards his face.
"Grrr, you know your way around those caverns then?"
"I do."
"Then please, help me find my friends!" Fuli pleaded. Azaad took a deep breath and gave her a somewhat stern look.
"Fuli, you're making a mistake. Cheetahs don't travel with others, you'd do well to take this opportunity to free yourself and remember who you are."
"Who I am is Fuli, swiftest of the Lion Guard and I will never abandon my friends!"
Azaad finally stood up and stared her down.
"Then show me how much they mean to you." Azaad led Fuli into the caverns until they arrived at a more open area that almost resembled a pathway ideal for racing.
"Solitary cheetahs can only rely on themselves, making us faster than any land animal. You aren't solitary. Prove to me that your friends haven't slowed you down, and I'll guide you through the caverns until we find them."
Fuli's cocky expression returned as she stood behind the starting position.
"That's it? Easy enough."
"We'll see." Azaad lowered his stance and after a few tense moments the cheetahs dashed off. Fuli savored the feeling of running free, even in the caverns she had enough room to go all out, which ultimately proved necessary.
Not only was Azaad faster than anyone she'd ever met before, but he clearly knew these caverns like the back of his paw, and made several subtle movements at key points that gave him an advantage.
Fuli felt a twinge of fear as she saw him slowly take the lead.
"This is the work of your friends, let them go and you will be free."
Fuli grit her teeth as they approached a point where they'd need to jump over a gap between two rocks.
"Never!" Fuli snarled, and with all her might, she dug her claws into the rock at just the right moment, propelling her forward and directly beside Azaad. Her sudden shift in position shocked him and he pushed harder, only to see Fuli gaining on him.
"How is this possible!" The young-male growled and threw everything he had into his legs, but to no avail. Fuli reached the starting point first by inches.
"And I win!" Fuli roared with her head held high.
Azaad panted heavily with a look of disbelief.
"How, how did you do that? You've been in a pack for years?"
Fuli approached Azaad with a sincere expression, staring deeply into his eyes.
"That's how I did it, they gave me a reason to win. If you didn't seclude yourself, you might understand that." Azaad lowered his head slightly in contemplation.
"Well, we made a deal. Come, we'll find your friends." Azaad motioned for Fuli to follow him deeper into the cavern.
The pain in Kion's scar began to return and he lost track of his surroundings, not even noticing the absence of his companions.
"How much further?" He muttered.
"We're here." The tone of Makucha's voice put Kion on guard and he quickly took a more aggressive stance, noticing the three leopards circling him with sinister grins.
"What do you think you're doing, Makucha!?"
"You're looking for the Tree of Life, aren't you."
Kion didn't answer, and just kept growling.
"Hmp, I thought so. As it so happens, I've also been quite interested in the Tree of Life for some time. You see, legend says that a very rare and very special plant known as the Tamaa grows there in abundance."
Kion looked slightly confused.
"Tamaa?" He'd never heard of such a plant.
"It's similar to an herb, and it has a marvelous effect on those who eat or inhale it. Allow me to show you." Makucha revealed a small stache of odd looking flowers. The pedals were a deep red that almost seemed to dance like a fire even as one looked at them.
Kion backed up only for Makucha's minions to block his path. Before he could do anything else, Makucha thrust the flower at the young lion's face and covered him with a strange liquid and auroma.
Kion shook his head, feeling an unique sensation that soon spread across every bit of his body.
"Don't fight it, ssssavor it."
"What is thisssss, ahhhhhh." Kion's legs wobbled and the tension on his face vanished alongside any pain from the scar. The Prince fell to his stomach with a dazed smile on his face as the tamaa's effects took hold of him. Kion never experienced something like this in his life, all of his senses seemed to dance to the immensely pleasant feeling of weightlessness and satisfaction.
"Now you understand the wonders of Tamaa. When one experiences its effects, one experiences a higher level of living. Imagine if someone had access to a sea of Tamaa, and fed on animals that ate it. That's a level of pleasure and wonder I intend to have for myself, but I can only have it at the Tree of Life, which means you're going to lead me there."
"I, I won't, I, ahhhh." Kion found himself unable to resist as the tamaa's sensation continued to sweep through him.
"You don't need the Tree to be healed, you don't need that Tuliza. You only need tamaa, it'sssss all you desssssire. Issssssn't it." Ushari's hissing mixed perfectly with the tamaa and he could only watch as Makucha prepared another tamaa flower.
"You want it just as much as me now, Kion."
"I-"
"Huwezi!" Makucha turned just in time to see Fuli leap through the air and slam him backwards, sending the flower across the cave.
"Gaah! You!" He snarled.
"Get away from him!" Fuli growled, placing herself between Kion and Makucha.
The other leopards tried to flank her, but were similarly beaten back by Azaad who raced in behind Fuli.
"Another cheetah!? I thought you leopard rip-offs fought alone!" One shouted.
Azaad glanced back at Fuli and smiled slightly.
"Not anymore I suppose."
"Kill them!" Makucha snarled.
All three leopards attacked from different directions, forcing Fuli and Azaad to keep moving in order to protect themselves and Kion. Fuli could've handled one of the leopards, but dealing with multiple became an increasingly strenuous task. Still, she refused to give in, not with Kion's life on the line.
The young cheetahs soon fought back to back, Makucha's minions maintaining their full attention.
The bandit readied himself when suddenly he realized Kion wasn't where he'd left him.
"Huh?"
"Graaaww!" Kion slammed Makucha so hard he lifted him off the ground. The leopard desperately tried to fight back, but the lion's feral paw blows knocked him off balance and allowed Kion to snap his jaws around his foe's neck and hurl him into the wall.
"You can keep your damn flowers!"
Makucha tried to get back up, when he noticed both his minions get beaten back by Fuli and Azaad, who then formed up beside Kion.
"Grrrr, another time then, Prince Kion." Makucha backed up and vanished into the darkness.
At that, Kion exhaled in immense relief.
"Fuli, you're ok!"
"You too, what the heck were you doing?" She laughed, leaving Kion looking quite embarrassed.
"He hit me with some kind of herb, it was….." Kion didn't answer, only then truly noticing Azaad.
"Oh, hello."
"Greetings, Kion is it? I am Azaad."
"He helped me get out of the sandstorm and then find you."
"Well, thank you Azaad."
"Fuli told me she was a cheetah with a family. I found that quite odd, but it seems her willingness to protect those she cares about is stronger than even a solitary cheetah's experience."
"Kion! There he is, oh and Fuli too!" Bunga and the others raced in and surrounded them.
"So, this is the rest of your Lion Guard then?"
"Yep." Fuli chuckled.
"Woah, who's this?" Azaad introduced himself again before Makini explained their full situation.
"I see, well then, we'd best get you through the desert as quickly as possible. Follow me!" It took them two hours, but with Azaad as their guide, the Lion Guard finally emerged on the other side of the desert.
"We did it, we made it!" Bunga cried. Anga eagerly took to the sky while Beshte savored the less-dry air and gentle breeze.
"Thank you, Azaad." Kion said while Makini took out another tuliza flower and fed it to him.
"Hey, I appreciate everything you did for us today." Fuli gave Azaad a slight nuzzle making them both blush slightly.
"Well, I suppose you surprised me with your friends. Perhaps I was wrong…...If you're going to the Tree of Life, there is still a long path ahead of you. I've been there myself, I could help you stay on the fastest path."
Azaad's offer caught Fuli by surprise and she felt her heart race faster.
"We-"
"Awesome another guide! Welcome to the team Azaad!" Bunga shouted while jumping onto his back.
Azaad narrowed his eyes slightly while Fuli and the others chuckled.
"You get used to him."
"We'd be happy to have you with us Azaad." Kion added. With that, the Lion Guard and their new companion continued on as the sun began to set around them.
Not far away, Makucha snarled in frustration as he watched them get away.
"I won't let you steal my chance at all that Tamaa!" He snarled.
"Tamma? Is that really the limit of your ambition?" A dark voice said. Makucha jumped in fright and turned to see another predator looming over him on a rock.
"Who, who are you?"
The figure smiled.
"I'm the one who can get you what you want, and so much more."
Author's note
In this version I wanted to make Kion's struggle more profound than just anger, he will face many temptations on his journey, temptations we face too. Also Azaad will be with them for the remainder of the story. Not every episode will be adapted and changes will be made, but I hope it's still enjoyable.
So until next time,
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask (VIA PM)