~Episode twenty: Return To The Pridelands~
~Part Five~
(AU; no Lion Guard competition; continued)
"Jaha! Stay close!" Madiha called, her ookas drawing the attention of every one of her young baboons other than the one she was addressing.
"Oo Oo!" The young baboon answered. Then turning back to the grasshopper resting on a rock nearby, he watched it carefully with a growing anticipation.
Creeping across the ground like a crocodile's belly drag, the small monkey snuck over toward the rock. Pouncing just seconds late yielded a fruitless catch and when opening hands confirmed this, he looked on and crept after it.
xxxx
"I'm telling ya.. having another honey badger around wouldn't be that big of a deal." Bunga was saying as they strolled across the tall grasses; their length coming up to the Guard's shoulders far lower than they remembered. And even while parts of it did brush under the two cats of the group in more of a tickle than a full on lick, it hardly bothered them at all. In fact it began to remind one of them of the opposite effect,.. when his branch perch rendered an annoyance that began to become normal, and he almost missed it.
Kion realized the oddness of this thought and shook his head out of a stare.
Since when do I miss frogs jumping all over me? He wondered.
"Yeah, that's just what we need." He heard Fuli say, diverting his attention once again. "Another you to keep track of."
"Cause that's not challenging enough." Ono deadpanned with more of a dry tone than anything.
"Oh come on? What's not to like?" Bunga scoffed.
"Let me see.." Fuli ventured, giving the illusion of hard thought. "The stink?.."
"The constant eating.." Ono added.
"The wild honey badger challenges?" Anga put in.
"Oh, come on! Those are the best parts!" Bunga returned with a wave of his clawed hand.
"Humph! For you maybe.." Fuli asserted.
xxxx
Jaha tried and failed to catch the grasshopper once again, the tiny insect landing on a log bridge not far from where it once was. Jaha smirked, leaving his spot to sneak two paces then plunged the rest of the way forward, leaping right before reaching the log and landing right in the center of it where the grasshopper was.
But when his fisted hands came up empty once again he curiously searched for where it went, and before he could find it, a cracking sound turned into a drop!..
xxxx
"Seriously though! What could be more fun than?..-" the honey badger's protest was suddenly halted by a crying howl. Kion's paws tingled and he could swear they suddenly became wet.
"Ono! Anga! What's making that sound?" He asked, looking to the two birds in the sky.
Anga flapped up a little higher and extended her vision, Ono maintained a lower altitude and searched around their nearer surroundings.
"*gasp* hapana!" He cried, focusing a little more. "There looks to be an animal in the river.. headed toward Maji Baridi Falls!"
That's where I got tripped way back when.. Kion subconsciously recalled.
"Let's go!" Kion called, turning and darting off to their left. "Anga, find that animal!"
"Anga Lenga!" The eagle replied, powering forward while the others caught up with their leader.
xxxx
Jaha cried out and was dunked under, flailing about while his arms and legs barely kept him above water. The splashing churn of the rapids tossed him whichever way was most powerful, and even the rocks poking up from the depths couldn't slow him down.
xxxx
"It's a little baboon." Anga called. "He's headed downstream, fast!"
"Then we gotta stop it.." Kion decided as they all ran along the stream after the baboon. "Fuli, Beshte, try to get ahead of the baboon. We gotta find something we can use for the baboon to grab onto."
"Got it!" Fuli called.
"On our way!" Beshte answered, charging forward.
"Anga, fly ahead! Help Fuli and Beshte." Kion instructed, as the eagle soared on ahead. "The rest of us will try to keep the baboon in our sights."
"No Kion, go!" Ono insisted. "You keep your eyes peeled just as much as Anga and I do.. You need to be up there with Fuli and Beshte to come up with a plan to reach the baboon."
"You sure?" Kion wondered.
"Pff! Of course! No sweat!" Bunga said, still running by his side.
"I'll keep an eye on things here." Ono said. "The rest of you go help the others."
"I'm not leaving you by yourself." Kion asserted. "Not with the risk of you getting caught in the water somehow. Bunga, stick with Ono; I'm going to help the rest of the Guard."
"You got it, Kion!" Bunga complied, as Kion powered on ahead of them.
xxxx
Jaha's cries could still be heard bouncing off the rocks, and the walls of the ravine, which the river funneled through, seemed to amplify its sound.
Beshte and Fuli looked over when sensing a presence and found it to be none other than their leader.
"Kion!" Beshte gasped at seeing him. "We've got a problem. There's nothing along this riverbed that's long enough or strong enough to reach him."
"None that won't take too long." Fuli added.
"Have the eagle go get him." A voice said.
"Oh no." Kion groaned.
Across the river on the opposite side Vitani kept pace with them.
"Got that, Eagle?" The lioness called up to Anga. "You should be able to just swoop down and grab the baboon."
"No way, that's too dangerous." Kion declined. "The water's way too rough, she could get dragged in with even the slightest touch of the water's surface." The Guard ran on, and Vitani frowned then hurried to catch up again.
She saw the log bridge and got another idea.
"Hippo! The tree bridge!" Vitani called.
"Uugh, not enough time!" Kion growled, his frustration beginning to build.
They all continued running, leaving the log bridge behind.
Kion heard the baboon catching up behind them.
Gotta think of something! He thought. Something safe that'll actually work.
Looking up, and then beside them though..
"Oh no!" Kion sighed, seeing that Ono and Bunga were now among them. "What now?"
"Honey badger, maybe you can,..-"
"Vitani!!" Kion shouted.
Running past a stone as it loosened and fell into the river.
"Kion, the waterfall!" Ono squawked.
"Arg!"
And the young leader finally thought of the only thing he could. Pressing forward, he managed to get ahead of the group.
"Fuli!" Kion called. Then turning his body to skid to a stop, he slid his back half over the edge and held a grip on the riverbank with his forepaws..
"*gasp* Kion!" As soon as Fuli screeched to a halt she used her paws and body weight to hold down Kion's to help him maintain his grip; and the rest of the Guard gathered 'round to stand by. Kion's paws all clawed the side of the ravine, and he hoped it'd hold for long enough. Gazing up river with the corner of his eye, he barely made out the small baboon flailing about in the churning water. Straining once, he worked up the coordination and timing to flick his tail out far enough that Jaha could grab it and use it to scurry up Kion's back and over his shoulder. Scrambling up over Kion's head, he soon ran into the arms of the waiting Bunga, who caught him and held him close.
As soon as he saw this, Kion tried to pull himself up, but discovered that he couldn't move. Vitani peered far over the edge at him from the opposite side, a small paw size slice of land crumbled at her touch and she stepped away from it. But the stones that loosened from it, unearthed a log that had been encased in the side of the ravine. And when it tipped over it sent a splash of water over Kion that impressively soaked him.
Suddenly the ground beneath his back paws crumbled a little and he felt himself begin to slip. But soon a tug on his neck gave him the incentive to press forward and the aid of Fuli, Beshte and Bunga added to Anga's air support. Then Vitani took off downstream and used the log, which had planted itself under the water and laid to rest across the flow of the river, and came up it to the other side where the Guard were recovering their leader.
Kion came up onto solid ground dripping wet. Turning his right shoulder to the ravine, so that he now faced her, he spit something to his left and shook his head and shoulders to spray some water off him.
"What exactly were you thinking back there?!" Kion snapped, glaring at Vitani with his team, right as Bunga released the baboon; who leapt from his arms, came around in front of Kion and scurried up his opposite foreleg and appeared above his head.
"Uhh.. I was thinking about helping?" Vitani answered back. "Cause clearly you needed it."
"But it's not your job!" Kion asserted, his eyes flaring with the rest of him. "We could've rescued this little baboon long before now, if you weren't trying to tell everyone what to do. Which also isn't your job."
"Aren't we gonna stop this?" Ono asked but he was only shushed into silence.
"Well, if you'd just had your 'eyes in the sky' take care of it you sure would have." Vitani argued.
"I told you that wouldn't work.." Kion reminded her firmly, his stance taking on a more dominant one. "She may be able to get down there. But if Anga were to hit the water wrong it could've dragged her in with it. I'm not willing to risk my team like that."
"Like you did your own by jumping down there anyway." Vitani quipped, adding fuel to Kion's flame. "Or allowing those you lead to tell you where to go."
"Maybe you don't understand the standings of this team.." Kion answered with just a slight tone of sass. "We're all friends here, which means when one of us has an idea, we're all open to hearing it. I'd trust the insight of my team any day, especially Ono's. I'm their leader.. not their boss."
"Hah, isn't that the same thing?" Vitani wondered dryly.
"Not even a little bit." Kion snapped, mostly surprised that she appeared to believe this. "I'm not the leader just to tell everyone what to do.. I'm supposed to keep things organized so we function effectively as a team. I thought you would understand that."
"Look, just because I come from a pack of warriors bent on world domination and revenge, it's not the same as knowing how to function within a team." Now Vitani's tone took on a more personal tone.
"What?! I don't mean that! I meant how you and your friends.."
"You mean my teammates?" Vitani corrected, before Kion could finish. "That's just years of training under.. my.. mother." The sensitive touch of her words with the last two softened her a little and even Kion caught on to it. But soon she hardened up again and looked him boldly in the eyes. "I didn't come here to make talk.. I'm here to do what I have to do to protect the Pridelands.. As the future King's sister It's my job to..-"
"Your job?!" Kion cut her off. "The only job there is to do here is ours.. we're the Lion Guard, not you. And as long as we have these marks on our shoulders.." he turned his foreleg to her to show his Mark of the Guard symbol briefly. "..that's how it's gonna be. All you need to be doing is supporting your brother and being a part of our pride. These so-called duties you have to the Pridelands, aren't yours anymore. Not while the real Lion Guard is here." He glanced at the Guard who stood together just about a foot or two from Kion, all turning to frown at her when Kion brought attention to them.
"Go home, Vitani." Kion told her, a heavy-weighted emphasis in his tone. "And stay away from our rescues from now on."
Vitani just stood there,.. her body poised in a non-hostile stance yet they could feel her emotions bubble up and wondered if she'd act upon them. But instead, after some time, she stiffly turned and walked away, not another word uttered from her.
Kion drew in a heated breath, allowing his fire to die down a little.
"Ok, even I can understand Kion's frustration here.." Fuli mentioned to the group. "Vitani's getting more and more in our way. And undermining Kion like that?! No wonder she bugs him so much."
"We should get this little guy back to his family." Kion said, turning around towards them so he could walk straight through the group to begin following the river upstream. "Anga, see if you can figure out where this baboon started when he fell into the river, and have Ono help you track down the parents from there.
"You got it." Anga answered.
"Affirmative." Ono replied, and the two birds flapped ahead of them, as the remaining four kept a slow walk going upstream.
xxxx
Kion walked with his head in line with his spine, the frown that followed the ground continued as it was; nothing more than a remnant of the earlier encounter. And even when he paused before approaching the entrance to the Lair(his friends right behind him), he saw nothing on the upper terrace of Pride Rock; and was almost relieved by this. Finally heading into the folds of the vines, he stepped on with another downcast glance, which lifted when he sensed a presence within the small dwelling.
"Rafiki? What are you doing in here?" Kion asked, as they all approached the mandrill, noting the gourd set up around him. "Making some more paintings?"
"Actually.. yes." Rafiki answered, turning his body to face them. "Just continuing the ever expanding history of the Pridelands." The waving of his hand as he said this brought the glances up to the wall he was painting and they could instantly recognize the Tree of Life.
Rafiki picked up his staff and tapped on the painting.
"The return of the true protectors of the Pridelands.." he said. As the painting came to life with Kion and the Guard racing away from the Tree of Life with their friends and returning to Pride Rock.
Kion's gaze wandered down to the paintings right next to it, the memories bubbling up with each one he saw.
From the start of the assembly to the fire at Pride Rock his bones tingled with the chilling remembrance of what almost worked in Scar's favor. And when he came to that moment.. the moment Ushari left his mark on his face, every inch of his being crawled from his head to his toes, fading like a wave moments later.
"You're.. recording all this.." Kion observed, his tone wavering between surprised, disappointed, dreadful, and flat as well as starring the observation as a fact.
"Of course." Rafiki smiled, arriving at his side to look up and admire his work.
"Sure is crazy how long ago that was.." Kion mentioned. "Even if it feels like it was just yesterday."
"Kion?.." Fuli addressed him softly, her concern at his meaning growing once more, even before she turned his way.
Though his back was to her, she could tell by how he stood looking at the worst events of his past; and could only imagine what he was thinking.
The image of Ushari leaping at him, made a Kion swear he could feel the blow return to his face again. And he winced what the memory flashed back across his mind,.. if he'd have made a sound, he wouldn't have known.
And even though a presence, that turned out to be Fuli, appeared alongside him, he could only give her a simple look with no real clarity to it. Even while his brows furrowed with the disappointment of the reminder.
"Ahh yes!" Rafiki mused, subsequently wrapping an arm around the young lion from his other side. "As I always say,.. the past can hurt.. but whether you run from it?.. or learn from it.. that.. how you determine your strength."
Kion's gaze returned to the painting, and he began to wander off mentally, even while he now stood there alone.
xxxx
Every moment.. every memory.. all the events of the past before him.. and all he could see were moments of Scar.
Scar skipping Simba's presentation at his birth,.. Scar conspiring and subsequently destroying his Lion Guard out anger of refusal to his plans,.. Scar assassinating Mufasa by his own spiteful paws,.. Scar fighting and even manipulating himself and his father into believing things that they likely still wrestle with, even to this day. Kion's brown tightened, his amber eyes hardening at the thought of these memories. Though when his tension lessened he continued his aimless wandering along the painted walls catching glimpses of paintings and somehow noticing the same iconic characters throughout, and it seemed almost too hard not to notice the scar across one of their eyes.
Come on, Kion. He thought to himself, finding it slightly odd that he'd address himself with his own name; even in his mind. Get a grip,.. this is where you belong. Right where you're needed. Everyone here knows it.. even your friends..
At this time he stopped and look to his right, and was almost surprised to find the painting of him and his friend among all the other Lion Guard's of the past. Which reminded him of how Rafiki came to his conclusion that had remained with him ever since the old mandrill had said it to them.
This Lion Guard is best together. The corners of his mouth bent up a little, warmth softening his gaze even while his heart still pounded with different shades of emotion.
Maybe this'll make things easier knowing that we're still together. He thought. Everyone's still by my side, even after all that has happened. Everything we've been through,.. everything that.. I've put them through.
He sighed.
How did they put up with all that?.. especially after almost.. attacking Fuli?!
Thinking back to that moment, he couldn't help but see red in his field of vision; as he recalled his threatened prowl before the Cheetah, standing between him and his team. And he could also recall the feeling boiling up I side of him which looking back his subconscious mind had tried desperately to rein in, but to no avail at that moment. Until his saving grace came, as the honey badger and his best friend pushing them both apart from one another; changing his focus from doing the unthinkable.
Thank goodness Bunga's concern was made as a point.. Kion thought with the lowering of his head and gaze. Or I really might have attacked Fuli.. even after all we've been through together.. I'm not sure I would've gotten her back after that.. or any of them for that matter.
But then a distant voice in the back of his mind came back to him.
"Always.."
Could that still be the case if I had.. acted? I mean what if I had? What if I had actually hurt her?! What if I'd actually won?! How would they ever think anything less of me becoming Scar? What if that was the very moment I became him..
His pupils shrunk in that moment, his blood running cold with that last thought that had spoken itself onto his short list of his worst and most terrifying fears. Then he remembered something that was said to him once.
"What if the Roar were to stay here?.."
But what would that make me? He wondered.. Who am I without the Lion Guard? And what does that make me with a scar? What does my scar change in me? Or what has changed me because of it..
He looked up into the mostly invisible beyond.
Why does home not feel like home.. anymore?..
XXXX
"Ok am I the only one who sees it?" Fuli asked, turning around toward the Guard after they'd all exited the Lair with Rafiki. The old mandrill wandered off, but the Guard remained with varying expressions.
"Uhh,.. See what?" Bunga wondered.
"I was kinda hoping it was just me." Beshte sighed.
"I don't even want to see it." Ono shook his head at the ground.
"See what?!" Bunga pried.
"Kion's not happy.." Fuli sighed, announcing this to the whole group. "And he's been so.. distant lately.. I..I'm not even sure where his head's at most of the time. We gotta do something."
"Maybe, like, talk to him?" Ono suggested.
"I can try." The cheetah said. "But knowing Kion, I'm not sure how much good it'll do."
"Well he seems to listen to you more than he does the rest of us." Ono reasoned. "But if his argument with Vitani means anything.. he'll probably believe it far better with all of us saying it."
"And what exactly are we gonna tell him?" Anga wondered.
"Well, I think we first need to figure out what's bothering him.. then figure out a way to make him feel better." Fuli decided.
"But what if it's nothing and he's fine?" Bunga wondered.
"Then we'll give him some more space." Fuli answered, and for once it wasn't in distaste. "But at the very least?.. we should try to find out if it is more than we're seeing." And the looks and nods that spread throughout the group became the collective confirmation, as Fuli strode right through the group toward the entrance again.
"Ok, then let's go talk to him." She decided, turning back toward them briefly. Then everyone fell in line with her, as she lead the way into the Lair.
~To be continued..~
Hey you guys.. WOOPH!! Has is been a while!! Again I SEVERELY apologize for leaving you guys hanging for so long. But between moving and getting settled and being busy on top of that.. things haven't quite been easy to maintain writing-wise.
But now that things are hopefully calming down again I give you this chapter early.. and will try my darndest to get the next one on time.. since I'll be going two sundays out the next scheduled date would be October 3rd.
Keep in mind.. this is an approximation and since I am behind in writing still it may get delayed.. continued prayers that it doesn't would be great!
Also.. I apologize if I don't respond to your PMs because for some reason the reply links on the emails I receive form you guys haven't been working any more. But they are still very much appreciated!!
That being said, I hope you enjoy, and I'll see you next time! And SORRY again for the WAY late post! Thx!!!