"Color me impressed," Imba repeats her catch-phrase before ducking behind the large boulder that marked the border between the Outlands and the Pridelands. Dalia takes a far more lax approach, not bothering to duck behind boulders or lowering herself to the ground to avoid getting spotted by the Guard. "I'm surprised you managed to talk me into this."

Dalia quirks an eyebrow. "You make it seem like you'd have been hard to convince." Dalia arches her back into a stretch before continuing. "You've been to the Outlands before, right?"

Imba considers it, looking up to the sky as she does so. "Well, yeah, but..." she trails off as she tries to articulate her thoughts. "...But that time, I was doing it for the King."

For the King. The words replay in Dalia's head. When was the last time someone has ever gone out of their comfort zone to do her a favor? Or do her a favor in general? She clears her mind by shaking her head. She has nobody to blame but herself, she reminds herself. After all, she's the one who chose the life of nomadism. Well... not really.

Dalia takes her first real glance at the Outlands and is instantly struck with nostalgia. The Outlands, very much familiar to her home, appears to be a large, intricate network of stony canyons, gorges, and caverns. Some parts of it are dimly lit, the sun obstructed by rocks jutting out unevenly. Other parts of the territory are very bright, with little foliage to lessen the glare of the sun.

Her home was like that, except with a few more green patches here and there. Wiggling her toes, she remembers how the ground would become feel less sun-baked and moister with mud as they neared the many springs of cool water that beckoned the scarce prey the lands had. On hot days, Dalia and the other cubs would marvel over the fact that their paw-pads would start tingling from the heat of the ground beneath them. Her home didn't really have a name — at least not back then — they just called it 'home.'

She remembers how difficult the climates of such places could be, one portion of the year sweltering hot and the other portion flooded with water. Floods. Dalia physically shivers remembering the sweeping waves of stormy water thundering its way into the network of canyons, catching up everyone, and anyone in its path.

The sweltering heat and dryness of the dry season were a nuisance. A nuisance, yet bearable nonetheless. But the floods were vicious, sparing no mercy before snatching unsuspecting animals into its powerful grasp. And these floods started with no warning. One moment, you could be walking on dry land. The next, you could be flailing in the current of the flash flood.

If you were lucky, you were able to reach elevated land before being caught up in the water.

Lost in thought, Dalia vaguely hears Imba let out an annoyed sigh. "Hellloooo?" Imba drawls after waving a wing over Dalia's face, effectively snapping her out of it.

Dalia lets out a startled noise, one that would be made when your train of thought is disrupted. "What?"

Imba rolls her blue eyes. "I said, let's go." Dalia tilts her head to the side, still a little dazed, to which Imba groans. "Ya' know, let's go into the Outlands?"

"Right." Dalia starts walking towards the Outlands, taking her first few steps in the foreign place.

Imba flies right beside her. "Are you okay? You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine," Dalia assures.

The eagle flashes her an odd glance but doesn't question her further. The unlikely pair wander deeper into the grooves and canyons. Imba hums quietly a song that Dalia's never heard before as they make their way into the heart of the Outlands.

Dalia's not quite sure what she's looking to find over there. Really, she just has a burning curiosity about Scar and how a dead lion can return. Secondly, she wants to know what the other Outlanders will gain from Scar's rule. From what Imba has told her, you can only abuse the Circle of Life for so long before it catches up with you. And Dalia can attest to that from personal experience, as well. If Scar's army overthrows the Pridelanders, what makes them think that Scar will remain loyal to them and let them run loose in the Pridelands?

And even if Scar does remain faithful to the promise, the plan to overthrow the Pridelands is neither sustainable to them nor efficient in the long-run. Regardless, she wanted to know more about the Outlanders. She's only seen them portrayed in a bad light, and she's curious as to whether or not there's more to the story.

The pair make their way through the gorges, Imba in the lead after the pair decided that the eagle would be the best guide considering she's been their before. Unfortunately, the pair walk in circles for longer than Dalia found acceptable. And they only realized they were walking in circles when Dalia realized she saw the same gecko on the same rock three times in a row.

Upon noticing that, the lioness freezes in her step."Imba," she calls, staring at the gecko to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. "Imba, we're walking in circles. Are you sure you remember where Janja's lair is?"

Imba furrows her brows in frustration. "Well, I thought so — no, I still think so — but then again that day was kinda hectic! And it was pretty cloudy, too. Well, that's not to say that I forget things when it's cloudy out, it just may have contributed to it and well—"

"—Imba!" Dalia inwardly groans. From her short time of being acquainted with the eagle, she's realized that Imba has a habit of... babbling. Don't get her wrong, Imba's the sweetest eagle Dalia's met, she's just a bit of chatter.

Imba looks surprised, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. "Huh?"

"Do you remember where Janja's lair is, or not?"

The eagle flies overhead, scanning the expanse of the Outlands. "I know it was in that volcano," Imba points to somewhere Dalia can't see due to her being on the ground and the eagle being in the sky. Imba looks back down. "I'm just not sure how to get there. All these grooves look merged together. It's like a maze."

Dalia groans. "So we're lost?"

Imba opens her beak to answer but is cut off before she can, by a male voice from behind them. The voice is achingly familiar to Dalia, but she can't quite put a paw on it.

"I think I can help you with that, Lia."

The mention of her nickname makes her nearly jump out of her skin in surprise. Nobody's called her that in a long time. Immediately spinning around on her heel, she unsheaths her claws, ready to lunge at whoever's behind her. Before she could even see who called her name, her hindlegs propel her forwards until she's tackled the unfamiliar being to the ground. Imba lets out a small yelp of surprise from the air. Dalia's always a stronger 'fight' instinct than a 'flight' instinct.

Only when she hears that unmistakable laughter does she realize who she tackled. She's heard that laugh several times in the past — lightly teasing her when she would do something bone-headed and present even in awkward situations. Pair that laugh with the fact that he called her Lia, and it all makes sense now.

Pushing herself off of him instantly, she can't help but grin. "Tombie?" she questions, mystified.

The hyena laughs once more, shaking the dust out his red-tinted fur. Dalia's grin spreads further as she remembers the unique-colored pelt the hyena bears. Dark stripes run down the length of his back and white streaks poke out from his mane. The lioness remembers being very startled by his coloring when they first met.

"Good to know you're still upholding your reputation as Dalia the Destroyer," teases Tombie with another laugh, using another nickname Dalia had as a young cub.

"At least I wasn't Timid Tombie," Dalia fires back playfully.

Tombia good-naturedly narrows his eyes at the lioness. Before he could make another remark, Imba swoops down and perches on Dalia's shoulders. "Hey, um, not to intrude or anything but...," she drawls out the word before pointing to Tombie with her wing, "Who's that?!"

"Oh. Right." Dalia lifts her brows before stepping in place beside Tombie. Tombie lifts his head higher, straightening his posture while Imba sits perched on a jutting out rock. "This is Tombie, a childhood friend of mine. We grew up together up north, then ventured out together too."

Dalia decides not to mention the circumstances in which Tombie and Dalia left their home. That's a story for another day.

Tombie notices Dalia's hesitation and finishes the introduction for the lioness. "We traveled together for a while as well before splitting up. It's a pleasure to meet you...?" The hyena trails off, asking the silent question.

"Imba," the eagle answers, a grin spreading across her beak.

Dalia redirects her attention to Tombie. "We've got to have a big catch-up!" she suggests, the smile not leaving her muzzle. "I can't believe you wound up in the Pridelands! Well, Outlands anyways."

"Who would've thought we'd wind up in the same place after we parted ways?" Tombie adds.

Imba preens her feathers briefly. "Why did you part ways?" she chirps.

Tombie and Dalia exchange glances. There's no way they can tell Dalia what really happened between the two. It still feels slightly strange being around Tombie after what happened between them. But, the lioness supposes that time heals all wounds. Maybe that saying holds true to friendships as well. Eventually, however, Tombie decides to answer the question.

"So when we first traveled out of our home, we headed south. We traveled together for a good while before I wanted to head east. We had a little disagreement on that, Dalia had wanted to continue south and I had wanted to head east." Tombie pauses to scratch at his ear. "So... we went our separate ways, no hard feelings."

Imba blinks, staring at the pair for a good few seconds. "You just threw away years of friendship over a disagreement about direction?"

Dalia shrugs. There could be no further explanation allowed.

Imba looks confused but doesn't say anything further, instead tapping her talons against the smooth rocky surface beneath her. Tombie looks up suddenly, eyebrows furrowing at the quickly darkening sky. "Why don't the two of you come back to my clan with me, it's about to rain." He motions with his paw for the girls to follow him.

Dalia's a bit bemused at the fact Tombie was able to tell it was going to rain so quickly. Back home, he was always terrible at telling the weather, once insisting it was going to rain right before a large drought struck their home.

Imba also looks up at the sky. "That sounds like a good idea." A droplet of rainwater splatters onto her blue feathers, only further solidifying her resolve to find shelter in Tombie's clan.

"Clan, eh?" Dalia repeats, following him as they make their way to where Tombie's leading them. In her mind, she replays the moments when Tombie would go on long rants, insisting and swearing that he'd never be part of a clan — opting to be a free-willed hyena who can do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants. But then again, he was younger. Less aware of the consequences of such a lifestyle. "I guess you've really settled down, haven't you?"

Tombie flashes her a grin. "You and I really do have a lot to catch up on."


Author's Note:

Hey ya'll, sorry for this kinda boring filler chapter. But, on the bright side, we are introduced to a new character.

Fun fact: Tombie's character actually belongs to the user, Hu-E3rd! This user reached out to me, pitching an idea for an OC. I really liked the concept of the OC and figured out a way to incorporate it into my fanfiction. This user has also written a few fanfictions on their page, and I recommend you check it out.

Also, one of the reasons I'm writing this fanfiction is to improve my writing, so any feedback/reviews are greatly appreciated.

~Maddie