Chapter 7: Usafi
Author's note at (xxx) play I need a hero from Shrek 2
The sun rose over the lands before Kion and his friends and they struggled to take it all in. The Kingdom was even grander in scale than Pride Rock, with seven different environments within it. A snowy tundra, a forest and lake, a marsh, a desert, a river plain, a savanna, and a grassland in the center, connecting them all.
However, even this wasn't the end, for beyond the Kingdom's borders, Kion and his friends saw the boundaries of a jungle, an island, and another tundra.
"Amazing, how is this even possible!" Beshte muttered, barely able to comprehend what he saw.
"I wish I could see." Ono sighed.
"You will soon, buddy!" Bunga encouraged his egret friend. Kion, however, remained fixated on a single tree which sat in the very center of the grasslands, one larger than any he'd ever seen in his life.
Rani noticed Kion's expression and how the tree took his breath away. Despite her earlier misgivings of the scarred prince, she couldn't help but smile a little.
"This way."
Kion and his friends passed dozens of animals grazing, sleeping, or moving about, many of whom were species the Guard never saw before.
"Woah what are they!?" Bunga cried.
"That's an Okapi." Baliyo answered, earning another longing sigh from Ono.
"This place is as wonderful as I remember!" Makini tried to contain her excitement, and even Fuli lost herself to the awe of everything around her. That was until she saw who awaited them.
A large pride of lions, perhaps even bigger than Pride Rock's, all of whom looked like the Night Pride, rested between the Lion Guard and the Tree of Life. Many of these lions and lionesses gave the newcomers suspicious or unsavory looks as they passed.
"Princess Rani, who are they?" An adolescent female asked.
"Visitors, the Queen wants to see them." Rani said, though Fuli could sense much distrust still in the lioness towards them.
The cheetah narrowed her eyes at Rani with similar misgivings, that was until she felt Azaad nudge up against her.
"You should try and ease up around the Princess."
"Hmp, she doesn't trust us, so I don't trust her."
"What reason does she have to trust us? She has no idea who we are, only that we're strangers who seemingly attacked her home. Would you trust someone in her situation?" Fuli wanted to scowl at Azaad, but realized he had a point and sighed.
"Relax, just show her what you showed me, and everything will be fine." Fuli purred slightly while looking back at Azaad.
"I don't know if I'll show her exactly what I showed you."
Finally Kion and the others reached the tree itself, and followed Rani inside an opening near the base. The tree's interior glowed with a green moss-like substance and vines that rested across the cavern like sentient creatures.
Yet among these plants and wood, Kion saw a single mammal among them, a lioness who resembled Rani, but older than any lion he'd ever seen. She carried an unspoken wisdom and authority by her sheer presence, but also a clear humility and warm compassion.
"Queen Janna, I present to you, the Lion Guard of Pride Rock. Lion Guard, you stand before Queen Janna of the house of Capet." Rani said. Without instruction, Kion and his companions quickly bowed their heads in respect, much to the Night Pride's appreciation.
Jana smiled tenderly, and slowly raised her head and nodded.
"Welcome, all of you, to the Tree of Life." Janna turned her eyes specifically onto Kion. Both the Prince and Rani noticed something of a familial expression on Janna's face.
"So it's true then, a Plantagenet Prince has come at last. You look just like your grandfather."
Kion's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
"You knew my grandfather, your majesty?"
Janna continued to smile and nodded again.
"I may be the oldest lion alive. I met your grandfather when he was your age, and his father, King Ahadi. I had hoped his second son Taka would be the one to bring the Roar of the Elder's back to the Tree of Life, I was wrong." Janna said with a bittersweet expression.
Kion's face also grew dour as he heard her say Taka, Scar's actual name he long abandoned after betraying the Lion Guard.
"However, I am overjoyed to have lived long enough to see the Roar of the Elders return to its birthplace."
"Return?" Kion asked, more than a little confused. However, the prince quickly shook his head.
"Your majesty, we came all this way to receive healing from the Tree for myself and my friend, Ono." Makini nodded and placed Ono before Janna.
"Hello, your highness." Ono said, bowing his head again.
Janna took a closer look at Ono's eyes and needed no further explanation.
"I see, fear not. The Tree can heal your friend's eyes, it will only take a few days."
"Really! Hapana!" Ono squawked in pure joy.
"Makini." Janna said, nearly making the Mandril yelp.
"You, you remember me?" Janna smiled and nodded.
"I will show you how to heal him with the Tree. Come."
"Yes, your highness!" She ran over beside Janna and Ono.
"Who else needed healing?"
"Me." Kion sighed, emphasizing his scar.
Janna's expression changed sharply and she took a closer look. Rani and the other Night liones felt shivers down their spines as they saw pure horror on the Queen's face.
"Grandma?" Rani muttered.
"Dearest me, you've been bit by a necromancer!"
Kion clenched his fangs and nodded.
"Please, tell me this is something you can heal?"
Janna took a deep breath.
"I'm afraid this is not something the Tree itself can fix, Kion."
The Prince felt his stomach turn to stone, and his friends caught their breath.
"However, that doesn't mean you cannot be healed." Kion's head shot up to Janna.
"Nirmala." The Night lioness nodded and approached Kion with a tender smile.
"Nirmala is our chief healer, she will oversee your healing Kion."
"This won't be an easy process, you must be willing and dedicated to seeing it through."
"I am!" Kion almost roared.
Janna smiled again and nodded.
"Great! You'll heal Kion, we'll beat Hasira, and get back to Pride Rock!" Bunga proclaimed.
"Hasira?" Rani asked suspiciously.
Kion grit his fangs, having forgotten about that particular detail.
"Hasira is the lion Baliyo saw me fighting yesterday. It's a long story, but he and his followers want to take over the Tree of Life."
"What!?" Surak snarled.
"Are you serious, and I protected him!" Baliyo groaned, earning giggles from Afia.
"Well done, valiant prince." She said nudging him.
Rani snarled and bared her fangs towards Kion with the same aggression as last night.
"You led him right to our Kingdom!"
"I thought he was died, the last time I saw him was in an exploding volcano!" Kion protested, returning Rani's aggression and bearing his own fangs.
"Enough." Janna didn't speak loudly, but her utter surety silenced all of those inside her Tree.
"What's done is done. For generations, the Night Pride has defended the Tree of Life, and they shall do so now. Afia, I ask you to fill in for Nirmala as she tends to Prince Kion."
"Of course your majesty." Afia said bowing while Rani rolled her eyes.
"Great." She muttered, looking even more annoyed as Afia smirked at her and then Baliyo, who blushed slightly.
"Queen Janna, Hasira only located the Tree of Life because of me."
"Us." Beshte corrected, the rest of the Lion Guard giving him looks of reassurance.
"Please, let us make up for it."
Janna shook her head with a slightly stern expression.
"You must be healed above all, Kion. You carry the Roar of the Elders inside you. That is far more important than stopping this upstart."
"Then let my Guard help the Night Pride."
"We've been fighting villains like Hasira for years, your grace. We can handle him!" Bunga promised with utter surety.
"Very well, Rani, you will have the Lion Guard at your disposal." Janna proclaimed.
Rani bowed to her grandmother and turned to the Lion Guard with a stern expression.
"If you're going to help us, you'll do as I say, understand?"
Fuli hardened her expression and nearly growled.
"Kion is our leader, not you."
"Fuli, this is her Kingdom, I trust Rani, which means you will." Kion said. His answer shocked both of them, and once again Rani struggled not to blush slightly. Baliyo and Surak didn't notice this, but Nirmala, Janna, and Afia did.
Afia mustered all of her strength not to burst out in excited giggles.
"Lion Guard, Night Pride, follow me." Rani said.
"Kion, wait outside, I'll be with you in a minute." Nirmala said.
Kion left with the others while Makini moved Ono closer to a few vines.
"Did you see that?" Nirmala asked her queen, who eagerly nodded.
"Yes, if this all goes well, the Roar may permanently return to the Tree of life, and I may ensure my Granddaughter has a King worthy of her."
"Plus uniteing the houses of Plantagenet and Capet." Nirmala added.
"That too." Janna grew up hearing the Tale of the Two brothers from her mother and father. The Queen longed to see the story fulfilled, and see her house of Capet join the legendary house of Plantagenet. Once she'd hoped to become mates with one of King Ahadi's sons, or perhaps have one of her sons join with Mufasa's children, but alas, Mufasa had already taken Sarabi as a mate by the time she met him, and Janna had a bad feeling about Taka. As for Mufasa's children, he only had a son, Simba. Still, her boys, Sahashi and Surak both found good mates, and in a few months, Nirmala would give Janna more grandcubs.
Now, the Roar had returned, and there was a chance she could see her ambition fulfilled. Of course, Nirmala would have to get a good idea of who exactly Kion was. But then again, the Roar abandoned Scar after his betrayal, and so far it remained with Kion. That itself spoke much of his character.
Kion followed Nirmala through the Kingdom until they reached the river plains.
"Kion, explain to me your symptoms?"
The Prince took a deep breath.
"I feel a burning sensation that starts in my eye but eventually spreads to the entire body. After that, I hear Ushari's voice in my head, he hisses and tries to-"
"Influence your actions." Nirmala finished, earning a shameful nod from Kion.
"Indeed, a small fragment of his evil dwells in your soul, Kion. It entices the same temptations that live within all creatures, seven temptations in particular that are the source of all evil. However, there is a way for you to drive him out of your spirit, and this is how we'll heal you."
Kion listened closer.
"Yes."
"To complete your healing, there are seven virtues you must master, and today we start with the virtue of Usafi." Nirmala brought Kion to the river's edge where he saw a cliff on the other side.
"Look up onto the cliffside." Kion did as Nirmala said and noticed a single orange flower resting there.
"This is the river of patience, to reach the flower, all you have to do is wait for a log to pass and then use it as a springboard to scale the cliffside."
Kion gave a somewhat dubious expression.
"Alright, so I just have to be patient, and that's it?"
Nirmala smiled and shook her head.
"I"m afraid there's more to it than that, Kion."
Before he could ask, the Prince quickly became lost in an all too familiar sensation. He looked to his right and nearly yelped in horror as he saw an entire field of bright red tamaa flowers blooming there.
"Tamaa!" Kion cried, nearly scrambling backward.
"Ahh, so you know about Tamaa, good. Right about now, the breeze will start carrying their scent across this area."
Kion stared at the patch of flowers with a foreboding terror.
"That is the danger of Tamaa, they fill your body with the most intense and alluring sensual pleasure any animal could imagine, but that is all it will ever provide you, physical pleasure and nothing more. Animals have wasted their lives wanting nothing but to embrace the Tamaa flower, to accomplish nothing meaningful or lastful with themselves. But with the virtue of Usafi, you will resist the temptation of Tamaa and retrieve the flower.
Kion took a deep breath and tried to turn away from the Tamaa, but it's irresistible scent filled his entire body with a deep sense of longing and desire.
"You want the Tamaa, don't you. Go, savor it! You know you want it!" Kion growled and fought back against Ushari's influence while desperately waiting for a log to pass by him. Just then, the Prince felt a surge of excitement as a log came into view.
"Perfect!" Kion eagerly got into position and readied himself to use the log as a springboard to the cliff. Nirmala watched with cautious optimism, and once it was close enough, Kion leaped off the riverbank and onto the log. However, as he did so, the tamaa's scent filled his senses again and the Prince lost focus, causing him to trip up and crash into the flowing water.
Nirmala chuckled and Kion emerged with an incredibly frustrated expression.
"This is going to be a long day."
Elsewhere, just beyond the Tree of Life's borders, Hasira rested while his minions impatiently paced in front of him.
"How long are we going to sssssit here, while you nap!" Ora hissed. Hasira didn't respond.
"I assssk you a quessstion-" Ora went as silent as a stone when Hasira opened his eyes and pinned the komodo dragon to the ground. Makucha, Chuulun and the others quickly yelped when they saw the unrelenting terror in the lion's eyes.
"We move when I say so, understand?
"Yyyyessssss, massssster." Ora muttered in terror.
Hasira took a deep breath and looked back at the pass.
"There must be more than one entrance, split up and probe them, test how quickly they can react to each."
"Yes, master." Ora, Chuulun, and Makucha went to do as he commanded,while Hasira himself laid back down.
Back inside the Kingdom, Rani led the Lion Guard across the grasslands.
"Alright, if you guys are going to protect the Tree of Life you'll need to see the whole Kingdom. I'd love to give you an in depth tour, but I'm afraid I don't have the time." From the tone in Rani's voice, Fuli could tell she wasn't being dismissive of them, but instead, sounded sincere in the fact that she was busy with other important things.
"Good morning, your highness!" A diligent voice reached them, and within moments, the guard spotted a fish eagle flying down beside Rani before bowing his head. Rani smiled back and nodded.
"Everyone, this is Cadoc, he helps me run things within the Kingdom."
"Run things?" Bunga asked.
"Yes, typically defense of the Kingdom is the duty of the King while the Queen deals with internal matters. However, my grandmother is too weak to handle these affairs." Rani's voice grew quieter as she spoke, and Fuli noticed unmistakable sorrow fill the Princess's face as well as Baliyo and Surak.
"So where is the King?" Bunga asked before Fuli smacked him on the back.
"What?"
"He's gone." Afia muttered, her usual carefree demeanor hardening into stone.
Bunga felt his stomach tighten and he quickly understood the situation.
"Oh."
"Cadoc, this is the Lion Guard, they'll be staying with us for a few days."
"Ahh, welcome." Cadoc said.
"We'll run you through each of the habitats, but then I've got duties to handle."
"If you're busy, why not let Baliyo give us a tour?" Beshte asked.
"I'd love to, but I feel ready to pass out." The young lion said with a deep yawn.
"The Night Pride sleeps during the day." Surak explained.
"What about you, Rani?" Fuli asked. The Princess gave a somewhat weary expression.
"I don't have that luxury." She said.
"Speaking of which, Prince Rune's messengers arrived earlier today. Apparently he wants to discuss the matter of the beavers damming up parts of the river again."
Rani sighed.
"Alright, I-"
"You know, if you're busy, we don't need a tour." Fuli offered.
"Are you sure?"
"We're here to help you, not make things more difficult."
"You already have." Rani thought to herself.
"Whooo, I could show them around." Rani and the others looked up at a snow owl who descended towards them.
"Ullu! Perfect timing, this is Ullu, our primary scout. She warns us if intruders are near."
"That would work." Anga said.
"Actually, if you don't mind, Azaad and I could take a look ourselves." Fuli offered, glancing towards the male cheetah with a smirk.
"That is, if he can keep up."
"Alright, just be mindful, and don't cause any trouble." Rani departed with Cadoc as Ullu led Anga, Beshte, and Bunga towards the forest lake.
"You didn't want to go with the others?" Azaad asked, with growing interest.
"I've spent most of my life in Pride Rock, but whenever our duties took us outside the Kingdom, and in these last few weeks, I've seen places like I never imagined, and it's been incredible. I have a feeling I could see even more here, and I'd rather do so at my own pace."
"Fair enough." Azaad chuckled before moving his head closer to hers and whispered.
"Or perhaps you were just trying to get me alone."
Fuli caught the male cheetah completely off guard and licked across his face, nearly making him yelp in surprise. Just then, she raced off, laughing hysterically while Azaad growled and gave chase.
Elsewhere, Beshte, Anga, and Bunga took in the majesty of the Tree of Life up close. The environments teemed with life in a way that almost seemed supernatural. More flora and particularly, edible flora grew than what a normal habitat could support.
Predators and prey moved about in a harmony rarely seen, except in the most well-managed Kingdoms.
"This place is unbungalievable!" The honey badger cried as he saw a group of strange beaked beaver-esk creatures in the mashes.
"Whoo, indeed, animals from all over the world live here."
"Really! That's incredible! I wish we had more than just a few days here, I want to see them all!" Beshte huffed.
"Whoo, you'd need years for that. I still haven't even seen every single species that lives here, and I've tried."
Anga felt her stomach growl and looked around at a few small reptiles and mammals in the marsh's grass, making the eagle even hungrier. Hunting wasn't forbidden in Pride Rock, but predators were only supposed to eat what they needed, while poachers took as much as they pleased.
Anga wasn't sure how it worked here and felt nervous trying to ask. The last thing she wanted was to seem like a poacher. This got worse when she saw Bunga spot a large patch of bugs and began eating to his heart's delight.
"Umm, Ullu, if you don't mind me asking-"
"Whoo, you want to know where you can hunt." Ullu giggled, earning a slightly flustered nodd from the eagle.
"No problem, there are two authorized hunting grounds in the Kingdom. All of the animals know that predators are allowed to hunt there. One is in the savanna and the other in the tundra, we'll head there next."
"Thanks, I'm in the mood for snakes."
"Whoo, good choice."
"Why, do they taste better here?"
"Whoo, no, everyone hates snakes."
"...Right."
"This way!"
Bunga was about to follow when he smelled something familiar.
"Huh? Did I let out some stink?" He wondered, sniffing his tail. Bunga almost gasped as the stench reached his nose, but stronger this time. He didn't think it was possible, but the odor smelled even worse than his own.
"Ohhh! Is this what I put others through?" He muttered. Just then, the honey badger heard the crunching of insects getting eaten and looked down to see another honey badger only a foot or so away eating from the same swarm as him.
The female was slightly smaller than Bunga with a more violet tone to her fur. Just like that, their eyes met and Bunga suddenly felt his heart racing faster for some reason. After a moment of silence, the female giggled and stood up.
"Hello." Her soft voice was oddly alluring, and Bunga felt his legs grow slightly wobbly. He'd never felt this way before, not even before his most fearsome fights. What in the world was happening to him?
"Hi." He muttered, struggling to muster words.
"Hey, where's Bunga?" Beshte asked upon noticing his absence.
Anga and Ullu looked around until they found him standing in front of another honey badger.
"Ohh, it's Binga."
"Binga?" Anga said in disbelief before looking between the two.
"Binga, Bunga…. Wow." Anga almost wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of a female honey badger having almost the exact same name as Bunga.
"Huh, looks like he's made a new friend." Beshte said.
"...Friend, right. Why don't we let them get acquainted." Anga said, also not wanting to endure two honey badgers' stench.
Elsewhere, across the Kingdom, Fuli and Azaad finished their race in the middle of the desert.
"Looks like I win again!" Fuli proclaimed, full of pride. Azaad panted slightly with a slightly frustrated expression.
"Aww, don't feel too bad. I'm sure you'll catch up eventually." Fuli said, patting his head. That was until she saw a slightly aggressive smile form on his face.
"You might be faster, but you have a lot to learn about hunting." Without warning, Azaad pounced into Fuli and after a quick tumble down the sand dune she found herself pinned to the ground.
The female cheetah's face turned bright red upon seeing Azaad over her and she even began to tremble slightly.
"Looks like I win." Before either of them could say anything else, both heard a familiar voice.
Upon looking up, Azaad and Fuli saw none other than Rani with another male lion and two lionesses, all leading a herd of desert addax in clearing the rocks from the base of several shrubs.
The three lions weren't Night Lions, but neither were they typical savanna lions like Kion and those at Pride Rock. Instead, these lions' fur and manes seemed to match the desert much closer and the male's mane seemed to stretch further into his body, covering almost half the torso.
"How does it look, Cadoc?" Rani asked after moving the last rock away.
"Splendid, your highness! These shrubs will grow much faster now!" The eagle happily squawked.
"Perfect, thanks for your help." Rani said to the three lions who all bowed.
"It was our honor, your majesty."
"Thank you, your grace!" The addax herd cried in joy. Fuli saw in Rani's expression a warm and almost motherly look of compassion as she stroked the head of a young and hungry addax calf.
"It's my duty to make sure you're all taken care of." Rani didn't sound tired or weary, but truly fulfilled as she watched the addax begin eating. Fuli recognized this kind of behavior from Princess Kiara and Queen Nala.
"Alright, where to next?" She asked Cadoc.
"The sun bears near the river need help organizing a fishing schedule with the tigers."
"Sounds good, let's go!" Rani eagerly raced off, showing no signs of fatigue despite her lack of rest.
"Well, she is a diligent ruler in the making." Azaad chuckled, that was until he saw a sincere nod from Fuli.
"She is." The cheetah sighed.
"Is everything alright?" Azaad asked, letting Fuli up.
"I don't know, I guess it would just be easier if she were more stuck up and mean-spirited."
"Ahh, that's it, you don't like her." Azaad chuckled.
"Maybe I don't! The way she treats Kion, as if he's some poacher or usurper, after everything he's done." Fuli growled. After years with Kion, she and the Prince had developed an almost brother/sister relationship. Fuli had no romantic feelings towards Kion, but still loved him as if they were blood relatives, just as she did the other members of the Lion Guard, even Bunga.
"So you're protective of your leader, I wish I could understand better. But you have to give her a chance, Fuli. I wasn't keen on packs before I met you, now I consider all of your family my friends. Just give her time to see who Kion really is, and she'll warm up."
"She'd better." Fuli growled, almost wishing Kiara was with them. If Rani was faced with Kion's adoptive and real sister together, her attitude would quickly adjust.
Back at the river, Kion paced back and forth with increasing restlessness. The burning sensation in his eye was growing steadily and he had no tuliza to ease it with. Unfortunately, this only exacerbated his weakness to the nearby tamaa, which wore away at the prince's resistance more and more.
"You want the tamaa, you know you do! It will make the pain go away, it will make you happier than you've ever been!" Ushari hissed.
Kion grit his teeth and growled in frustration, looking back at Nirmala who'd curled up and fallen asleep nearby, looking all too peaceful. Yet before he could get angry, Kion realized that she too could smell the tamaa's addictive scent, but showed no sign of desire towards it. Clearly she'd mastered the virtue of Usafi, and if she could do it, so could Kion.
Remembering Jonah and his grandfather's words, Kion refocused on the river until at last, he saw it, another log approaching.
"This is it!" Kion readied himself to jump, fighting off his body's desire towards the tamaa.
However, Kion was unaware that nearby, Rani finished mediating between a pack of sun bears and tigers.
"Alright, we have an agreed-upon schedule. But this will only work if you both abide by it, am I clear?"
"Yes, your grace." The two packs bowed and left, earning a relieved sigh from Rani.
"Well, look at that, we're ahead of schedule, your highness."
"Good, why don't you get some lunch, Cadoc."
"By your leave." The eagle flew over the river and then dove down, coming back up with a fish in his beak.
Rani looked around for a good place to rest when she noticed Nirmala, and then Kion. The Princess's peaceful expression quickly hardened upon seeing the scarred Lion. Kion leaped off the riverbank and propelled himself with a log floating by, giving him the leverage to cling onto the cliffside with his claws.
Growling slightly, the Prince slowly began scaling the cliffside, coming closer and closer to a flower atop the ridge. Rani nearly winced in surprise upon seeing Kion's great strength, even she hadn't successfully scaled that ridge despite numerous tries. She'd seen her uncle Surak do it once, but only once. Could Kion actually be stronger than Surak?
Her grandmother once told her that lions from the Plantagenet family were known to be particularly strong, and perhaps this was the proof. Kion gasped as he nearly lost control, but quickly recovered and resumed his climb.
Rani noticed this with great interest and her expression became mischievous.
Kion saw the flower within reach of his paw and reached out to grab it. Yet just as he felt the petals touch his footpads, a thunderous roar startled him, making the Prince jump and fall clean off the ridge before crashing into the water.
Kion's rage nearly made the river boil, and he snarled upon surfacing, determined to find out who'd made him fall. However, he didn't have to look far, and felt his fury subside into a deep annoyance when he saw Rani laughing so hard she nearly fell over.
"Thanks." Kion growled, climbing out of the water and shaking himself dry as close to Rani as possible, trying to get her wet. However, even this couldn't break her hysterical laughter.
"Hmp, it serves you right after what you did to my brother." Rani said without a hint of remorse.
Kion narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't respond.
"Ohh right, let me guess, that was your scar and venom's fault. It made you go berserk and nearly kill him." Rani's amusement faded into resentment, and her expression followed suit. However, to her surprise, she saw genuine remorse form in Kion's face, and he sighed.
"Even with the venom, it was my choice, and I made it." His answer shocked the Princess who looked taken aback.
"Yeah, that's right." She said, trying to regain her composure.
"I get it, if I saw someone do to Kiara, or one of my friends what I did to Baliyo, I'd have trouble trusting them too. I can't take back what I did, all I can try to do is move forward, and show you that's not who I really am."
Rani's expression softened.
"Who's Kiara?"
"My older sister."
"You have a sister?" Kion nodded with a longing gaze.
"But she thinks I'm dead, her and my parents."
Rani blinked.
"They think you're dead?" Kion explained to her how he got his scar and the volcano's eruption.
"That's why I came here. I can't let my family see me like this, see what I've become. Once I'm healed, I can go home, I can see them again." Rani fought back intense emotions and a horrible sense of shame.
"I'm sorry."
"You didn't know." That didn't make Rani feel any better. She'd been so angry after seeing Kion maul Baliyo that she never stopped to think about such things.
"So what are your parents like?"
Kion smiled.
"They're the best kind of parents, devoted to Pride Rock, but even more to Kiara and I. They always put us first, and never think about their own happiness above anything else." Kion glanced over and saw Rani looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"Rani, what's wrong?"
"Huh? Nothing, I just…..I'm fine."
Nirmala opened her eyes slightly, having overheard everything, and smiled before reaching down and licking her stomach. Only two weeks earlier she discovered her pregnancy, filling her, Surak, Janna, Rani, and Baliyo with more joy than they could remember. Her and Surak would soon be parents, Janna would have more grandchildren, and Rani and Baliyo would have their first cousins.
"Whoo! Princess Rani, Nirmala!" All three lions sprung up when they saw Ullu flying over with Surak, Baliyo, Afia, and the Lion Guard, save Ono.
"Ullu, what's wrong, intruders!?" Rani cried.
"Yes! Three groups of them, one in the southern border, one in the northern border, and one in the western border!" Ullu shouted.
"Hasira!" Kion growled.
"Alright, here's what we'll do. Baliyo, you, Afia and I will head to the western border. Nirmala, do you feel ok going into a fight?" Rani turned to her aunt while Surak gave a similarly wary look at his mate.
"I'm fine."
"Ok, you and Surak gather another lion or two and head to the northern border. Ullu, take the Lion Guard and head to the southern border."
"Yeah, let's make this quick, I uh, need to get back to the marsh." Bunga's usual carefree attitude was oddly replaced by a longing sensation that they'd never heard from him.
"Are you ok?" Fuli asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, I just uh….I'm fine." Anga snickered intensely before reaching over Fuli's ear.
"I'll explain later."
"Alright, let's go Lion Guard!" Kion growled before he saw Nirmala blocking his path.
"Oh no, you're staying here."
"What?"
"You haven't mastered Usafi yet."
"Are you serious! This can wait!" Nirmala shook her head.
"You can leave when you get the flower." Kion and the others turned to Rani who took a deep breath.
"Nirmala is our chief healer, I turn to her wisdom for such matters. If she's telling you to stay, then that's what you're going to do."
"Are you serious right now!? We're not going without Kion!" Fuli snarled.
"Fuli's right, Kion's our leader and-" Beshte started.
"Guys, just go! You can handle it without me!" Kion snarled in frustration, feeling the pain in his scar flare up again.
"Ok, I guess I'm in charge then." Bunga said. Anga, Azaad, Beshte and Fuli all turned to Kion who shook his head and pointed to Fuli, the others all nodding.
"Alright, let's move!" All three parties left, leaving Kion to stare at the orange flower. Almost as if on cue, the tamaa's intoxicating scent filled his nostrils and made the Prince shutter as he stared at the patch with a longing gaze.
"Ssssavor it'ssssss pleasssure, embrace your true dessssiressss!"
Kion held his eyes and forced himself back to the river's edge.
"I'm not controlled by my desires, I'm in control of myself, I'm not a slave to the empty pleasures of the world." Kion stared at the river, blocking out the tamaa until he saw it, another log. Lowering his stance, Kion blocked out all earthly distractions, focusing only on his duty to those around him, and then leaped forward.
With immense strength, Kion leaped off the log and onto the cliffside, burying his claws deep into the rock. From there, he slowly climbed up inch by inch until finally, he reached the peak and snatched the flower in his jaw.
"No! You wretched fool! You could've had pleasure beyond your greatessssst imagination!" Ushari hissed in rage.
Kion smiled while holding the flower in his jaws.
"I don't need it, I have something more." Kion turned to the south momentarily, only to hear a warm and familiar voice in his head other than Ushari.
"Not south, west."
"Grandfather." Kion muttered, looking at the sky for a moment. Despite his instincts telling him to join his Guard, Kion moved west, towards Rani.
At the western border, Rani, Baliyo, and Afia arrived just in time to see Makucha and two of his leopards.
"This is it! The Tree of Life and all the tamaa we could ever want lay ahead of us!" Makucha roared in anticipation, a look of pure eagerness and desire on his face.
"Not today!" Rani snarled. The three leopards looked up at the trio of Night lions who stood in their path.
"Well, well, well, looks like someone wants to stand in oru path, kill them!" Makucha roared.
The two groups of predatory felines charged and clashed. Rani slammed Makucha back into a stumble and delivered a crushing paw strike to his head when he tried to bite her. Nearby, Afia and Baliyo struck and bit at their opponents with similar success.
"Aww, so cute, you want to spend the rest of your life rolling around in flowers. Pathetic really." Afia giggled, earning a snarl from the leopard opposing her, until the night lioness slammed him into the snow.
"Come on, is that all you've got!" Baliyo roared with a confident smile as he snapped his jaws around the second leopard's neck and hurled him into a rock.
"Well, how about that. I've never seen lions like you before."
All three Night lions froze when they heard the new voice. Looking up, they saw another adolescent lion staring down at them with murderous intentions on his face.
"Hey, it's him, the lion I saved from Kion!"
Hasira chuckled.
"Yes, and I appreciate your foolishness. You should've let him kill me, for your sake." Hasira snarled and raced down.
Rani snarled and bore her fangs, charing to meet Hasira, only to feel his stone-paw crash against her face.
(xxx)
"Rani!" Baliyo muttered upon seeing his sister slammed backward.
Despite this painful blow, Rani regained herself and snapped her jaws towards Hasira. The lion crashed his head into Rani's, nearly making her go dizzy and land on her side.
"Now you die!" Hasira laughed while bearing his massive fangs.
"Graauuu!" Baliyo hit Hasira hard and sent him into a stumble, freeing Rani. The Fisadi prince snarled with a feral rage that matched Kion's from the night before and sent a shiver down Baliyo's spine.
"You interfered with the Plantagenet, fool!" Baliyo cried out in agony as Hasira unleashed a fury or paw strikes and bite marks with even less mercy than Kion showed.
"Gaaah!" Baliyo moaned, feeling his body break down from each strike.
"Baliyo!" Afia and Rani screamed in terror.
Makucha and his minions laughed, then renewed their assault upon the two lionesses. Afia fought like a beast, managing to occupy all three.
"Go! Save Baliyo!" She cried. Rani nodded and raced to her brother's side, yet another threat soon revealed itself. Five striped hyenas snapped their jaws at Rani, racing out from the heights to back up Hasira.
"You think I just came with these fools!" Hasira laughed, and Rani looked at her brother with sheer terror as Hasira pinned him down.
"No!"
Baliyo growled at Hasira in defiance.
"I should've let Kion kill you!"
"Yes, you should've." Hasira opened his jaws only to feel the wind pick up as a thunderous roar filled the air.
All eyes turned upon the ridge as Kion appeared with a similar feral rage as the night before, only this time controlled.
"Kion!" Rani cried.
"Plantagenet!" Hasira snarled.
Narrowing his eyes, Kion raced down almost as fast as Fuli would. Three of the hyenas counter charged to block him only to get hurled aside with three blows from the Prince, sending them flying like ragdolls.
Without breaking stride, Kion body slammed Hasira, and forced him off Baliyo.
The Fisadi prince growled and faced Kion, the two lions snarling with ferocious expressions. Without warning, they charged at the same time and clashed, unleashing a relentless series of blows upon each other. However, unlike the previous night, Kion didn't fight to kill his opponent but to protect someone else. Rani felt her mouth drop as she recognized Kion's defensive positions, always ensuring he was between Hasira or his hyenas and Baliyo.
Hasira sunk his fangs into Kion's leg making him snarl in agony. Despite this, the Prince forced himself forward and into Hasira, giving him leeway to bite into the Fisadi's back and pull him free.
The five hyenas turned on Kion, but found no safe haven. Rani unleashed an unrestrained fury upon the smaller predators, making them whine in terror before scurrying away like rats. Seizing the opportunity, Rani body slammed Hasira and flipped him onto his side.
The exiled prince grunted and slowly got up to see Kion and Rani before him. Additionally, Baliyo had recovered and joined Afia, hurling Makucha onto his back with a headbutt.
Hasira snarled and slowly backed up.
"Another time, Plantagenet." Hasira retreated, Makucha and his band quickly following,
Kion exhaled deeply, feeling the fatigue catch up with him.
"Are you alright?" He asked Baliyo who almost laughed with Afia.
"I'll be fine, eventually." Baliyo's face turned red when Afia began licking his numerous injuries.
"You, you saved Baliyo." Rani muttered.
Kion smiled, only slightly.
"It's only right, after what I did last-" Kion's face turned bright red and he nearly yelped when he felt Rani passionately lick him across the face. Rani herself blushed uncontrollably, doing the action more out of instinct than intention.
She turned away, looking more flustered than she had in her entire life. Baliyo's mouth dropped while Afia lost herself to laughter. Kion and Rani slowly looked back at each other, not sure what to think.