Imba narrows her eyes against the glare of the sun. Where is that lioness? She should've been back hours ago. Imba already checked Hakuna Matata Falls and found nothing. She even flew down to Jasiri's Clan and asked Tombie to keep an eye out for her in the Outlands. Imba desperately hopes nothing bad happened to her. "Dalia!" she calls out while flapping her wings fervently. "Dalia!"

She exhales deeply and composes her self before lifting herself up even higher in the air. "Tazama, Imba," she murmurs to herself. "Tazama."

Imba recalls Dalia saying something about following the gazelle scent trail near the grove of acacia trees. That would be the first place to look. The bird changes course, turning around and heading towards the grove of acacia trees. Of course, that would be the best place to look for Dalia. Why didn't she think of it before? As Imba flies overhead, her sharp eyes spot a heard of zebras.

It wouldn't hurt to ask.

She dives down towards them, claws tucked under her non-threateningly. Imba perches on a nearby rock directly beside the herd of grazing zebras. "Excuse me?" Imba flies about a foot overhead the herd. "I'm trying to find my friend." The herd pays no mind to her, continuing to graze as if she wasn't there. "Hello?" Again, no response.

Imba's brow furrows with frustration. "I said, I'm trying to find my friend!" she finally shouts, her voice echoing several times. She takes another deep breath in and out before continuing, this time with more calm. "So if you could please pay attention, that would be greatly appreciated!"

That got their attention. The zebras all turned their head towards Imba.

A zebra named Thurston quirks an eyebrow. "Fine," he complies. "Who is it you're looking for? We zebras have terrific memory, you know."

"I'm aware," she replies flatly. "I'm trying to find a lioness named Dalia. She's new around here, got here very recently. She has these weird green-gray eyes — very distinctive."

Thurston looks up to the sky as he thinks. "Hmmm..." he murmurs to himself. "Aha!" he says suddenly with realization. "Are you referring to Kiara?"

The eagle's eyes widen and she shakes her head in disbelief. "Not exactly," she states, agitation creeping into her voice. "Remember: I said she was new to the Pridelands."

"I see," he mutters. He looks up at Imba with an inquisitive look practically painted on his face. "Do you have any other descriptions of the lioness?"

Imba taps at the rock beneath her with her talons as she tries to think. "Let's see... she's got this awesome-looking scar on her forepaw." She looks up to the sky for inspiration. "Well, she said she's afraid of the water. I don't think that information will help any..." she trails off as she tries to think of more attributes.

"Water, eh?" Thurston murmurs to himself. He scratches the base of his chin with his hoove for a moment, deep in thought. "Wait!" he shouts after a moment of thinking, "I think I have an idea!"

Imba looks at him expectedly, her eyes lit with eagerness. "Yes? What is it?"

"Earlier today, there was a big scene over at Big Springs. The Lion Guard even had to get involved," Thurston explains. "Apparently, there were four lionesses — Kiara and her two friends along with an unknown lioness. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I know the unknown lioness nearly drowned and Kion had to drag her out of the water."

He stops his hoove against the grass for more emphasis. "I'm sure the foreign lioness was your friend, Shayla!"

"You mean, Dalia?" Imba questions dryly.

Thurston chuckles good-naturedly. "Yes, yes, I'm certain it was your friend, Jalia!"

Imba raises an eyebrow out of disbelief before shaking her head. "You know what — close enough." The eagle takes flight, eyebrows knitted together with determination. She was going to find that lioness.

...

Imba swoops down towards Big Springs, immediately spotting Kiara, Tiifu, and Zuri sitting near the body of water. Upon closer inspection, Zuri in particular looks irritated, her tail thrashing from side to side. This should be interesting, Imba decides with a grin.

As she nears to perch on a nearby tree that overshadows the spring, she can overhear the conversation between Zuri and Kiara.

"...Like who does she think she is?" Zuri demands, eyes still heated with anger.

Kiara sighs. "Zuri—"

"No, Kiara," the irritated lioness interrupts, "I already apologized to Dalia. Her comment was uncalled for!"

At the mention of the nomad's name, Imba's ears perk. She immediately dives down to the ground next to where the trio was seated. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, ladies," she says as she perches on the ledge directly in front of them.

"Not at all," Kiara assures.

Imba's eyes scan each of the three lionesses briefly before settling back on Kiara. "My name is Imba. I'm looking for my friend, Dalia." Imba looks over at Zuri. "I believe you're familiar with her."

Zuri scoffs. "Familiar with her? Yeah, I guess you could say that. She is by far the most unpleasant lioness I've ever had the displeasure of being around!" She rolls her deep blue eyes before lifting one of her paws so Imba could see. "She called my paws horrendous looking!"

The eagle stifles a snort of amusement. "That sounds like Dalia, alright."

"To be fair," Tiifu counters, "Zuri did push Dalia into the water."

Zuri rolls her eyes once more. "How was I supposed to know she couldn't swim?"

Tiifu quirks a brow. "But—"

"Enough!" Imba spreads her wings out from either side of her. The last thing she needs is to waste time by listening to two lionesses bickering. After Zuri and Tiifu silence, she tucks her wings back in and her gaze finds Kiara's. "I just want to know where she is now. She was supposed to be back several hours ago."

"Well, if you want to know where Dalia is, I'd say to go pay a visit to Rafiki and Makini," Kiara suggests, "She probably went back there to get her paw rebandaged."

Imba blinks. "Paw rebandaged?" she echoes before shaking her head in disbelief, "Oh, nevermind." She takes flight once more, this time in the direction of the Lion Guard Lair. "Thank you for all your help," she calls over her shoulder.


"Thank you, Makini," Dalia says as she pushes back the vines that cover the entrance of the lair. "And you too, Rafiki."

"No problem!" Makini cheers. She suddenly takes a few steps forward and wraps her arms around Dalia in a hug, taking the lioness by surprise. Eventually, the lioness lets her body relax in the mandrill's embrace. Dalia's never been too fond of hugs. Makini pulls away from the hug, her hands still resting on Dalia's shoulders. "I hope that one day, your journey will bring you back to the Pridelands."

A half-smile graces Dalia's face. "Yeah? Well, I hope so too." Between their constant smile and chattering, Makini reminds Dalia a lot of Imba. Speaking of which, Dalia needs to find the eagle and at least let her know that she'll be leaving the Pridelands. She owes at least an explanation. "I'd better get going."

Rafiki gives Dalia a knowing smile. "You'll soon find, young wanderer, that the best part of traveling is taking it slowly and seeing where fate will lead you."

The lioness tips her head into a slow nod, unsure what to make of the strange advice. "I'll... keep that in mind," she says eventually. Dalia turns on her heel, deciding that she better start getting a move on. "Thanks again."

Dalia starts her walk back to the hideout in Hakuna Matata Falls. She hopes that Imba is still stationed there and isn't flying around the Pridelands looking for her. Dalia remembers her mother once telling her that the best thing to do when you get separated from your group is to stay put and wait in one spot. She never understood that token of advice as a cub.

She really didn't understand or take to heart any of the advice her mother gave her as a cub, something she's come to regret.

A distinctive eagle screech snaps Dalia out of her thoughts. She looks up to see Imba flying overhead. The blue-feathered eagle's eyes light with recognition and a smile spreads wide on her beak.

Imba swoops down gives the lioness a big hug from mid-air. "Dalia!"

She suddenly pulls back from the hug and glares at her. "Dalia, you scared me half to death!" Her eyebrows knit together in frustration."You were supposed to be back by dawn, and it's getting close to evening!" She catches sight of the green bandaged portion of Dalia's paw. "And what in the Pridelands happened to your paw? And I heard you nearly drowned too!"

Dalia chuckles at her friend's concern. "Good to see you too, Imba." She looks at her paw sheepishly. "Sorry about scaring you."

Imba doesn't look convinced. "You're conveniently skipping over the part where you explain to me how, within hours of leaving Hakuna Matata Falls, you nearly drowned and managed to sprain your paw."

The nomad can only smile. "It's a long story, Imba."

Imba shakes her head in disbelief for what has to be the tenth time today. "I leave you alone for a few hours — a few hours — and you end up half-drowned and with a sprained paw. How you even managed that feat is beyond me."

Still grumbling to herself, Imba takes flight and starts figuring out the best path to take that would lead them back home. She doesn't hear Dalia's footsteps following her as they usually do, so she turns around. Paws fixed in place, Dalia hasn't moved an inch.

"Aren't you coming?" she questions.

Dalia shifts uncomfortably, eyes trained on the ground below her. "I think it's time that I leave the Pridelands and start heading elsewhere. I've already seen everything that is worth seeing here. And I don't expect you to come with me, but the option is open to you."

Imba is quiet for a few beats before she starts chuckling. "Of course I'll come with you," she says with a small chuckle. "You're one of the greatest friends I've ever had!"

"I'm glad to hear it, Imba." She looks to the woody area behind Priderock. "I suppose we should start heading south by sunrise tomorrow."

"Sounds great." She smiles before her face morphs into a more serious one. "But seriously — you better get some rest." As if on cue, Dalia's stomach lets out an awkward grumble. "And some food," Imba adds with a giggle.


Dalia stretches under the early morning sun, the heat warming the fur on her back. Her claws retract, digging into the spongey ground of their small hideout. This would be their last morning in their make-shift home. It's a small cave — not really a cave, but rather two slabs of rock that formed a teepee — with leafy coverings around it. Imba made herself a nest, and is currently sleeping comfortably.

Both friends feel miles better than yesterday. Dalia's rested, her stomach is full, and she's in an overall better mood. She turns her head up and sees the very tip of Priderock from where she's standing. They'd head south of Priderock and see where it takes them. Dalia settles back on the ground, sitting comfortably as she reflects over her nomadic journey.

When she first started life as a nomad, Tombie was right by her side and helpful in every step. They both started traveling simply to get as far away from their former home as possible. Now, it means so much more to Dalia. It's a way of life. It's relaxing. She gets to see new places, meets new animals, and distracts herself from the thoughts that plague her mind.

All in all, a good way of life.

Sure, it may not be stable. But, really, nothing in life is. Might as well have fun while navigating the rough, choppy waves life hurls at you.

Dalia's ears perk when she hears Imba rustling in her nest followed by a yawn. In an instant, Imba was out of her nest and stretching out her wings.

"I take it you slept well?" Dalia says, raising a brow.

Imba nods before dipping down to preen her feathers. "Like a baby." She stops preening her feathers to think. "You know, I never understand why they say that. Babies are awful sleepers, aren't they? Well, I wouldn't know because I don't have a baby but from what I've heard from other birds and from my own mother, babies are horrible sleepers. Just the worst. You know who else is a horrible sleeper?"

Imba continues her rambling, but Dalia doesn't pay too much attention to it. After spending enough time with the eagle, she's learned how to deal with the constant chattering. It's endearing, truly, but also annoying at times.

"Hey, Imba?" Dalia interrupts abruptly. Imba's beak closes, and she looks at her expectingly.

"Yeah?"

"We should probably get going."

Imba tips her head into a nod. "Let's go!" she says cheerfully.


Dalia pads at a moderate pace towards the edge of the forest surrounding Hakuna Matata Falls. Imba flies overhead, leading the way. The lioness feels the familiar sense of excitement bubble up in her spirit. The same excitement always occurs when she's about to embark on a new journey. She's even more thrilled to be embarking this journey with a new friend.

However, they didn't make it very far before Dalia caught the scent of smoke rising in the air. She immediately swiveled her head around to see the billow of smoke and fire rising in the distance. Dalia looks over to her winged acquaintance, who has also spotted the billow of smoke. Where there's smoke, there's a fire. And everyone knows that fire is a force that only wreaks destruction.

It's nature's number one enemy.

Imba picks up on Dalia's silent question and gives an affirmative nod. "I'm on it," she says before taking flight. She hovers over the air for a moment, and the world stills around her. Her eyesight has always been sharp — sharper than most other birds — but she's also always had issues focusing and honing in. With the gift of sight that she has, it's hard to hone in on one particular spot without getting distracted by other sights.

She takes a sharp intake a breath before shakily releasing it. "Tazama, Imba," she murmurs softly to herself. "Tazama." In the distance, she sees blurry, dark spots in the air and fire seems to be dropped from the dots. As her vision gets sharper, she realizes that the dark spots are actually vultures. Furthermore, they're vultures dropping branches lit with fire!

Imba swoops down back to Dalia. "I don't know what's going on — but vultures are dropping fire over Kilio Valley," she says before realizing that Dalia probably doesn't know where that is. "It's where the elephant herd lives."

Dalia knew in an instant what was going on. While she was with Tombie, he had explained to her that Scar was using the creatures of the Outlands to do his evil bidding. He was talking about how Scar's Army launched attacks on his clan and he narrowly fended them off. Tombie also told her that it wouldn't be long before Scar would launch attacks in the Pridelands.

She bites at the inside of her cheek as she tries to decide her next move. She could very well continue on her way and assume that someone else would take care of it, or she could turn tail and help fight the fire. Imba's words from several weeks ago play in her mind.

"Sometimes, turning a blind eye can be just as harmful as being actively oppressive."

She's never felt as morally conflicted as she does now. There's something about the Pridelands that's practically begging her to stay. She feels the burning urge to return back to the Pridelands now. She had never felt this sort of desire to help other animals. She'll be the first to admit that she can be selfish and, at times, only cares for herself and those closest to her.

But today, of all days, something's different. She can feel it. Her mind then plays back Rafiki's words from yesterday.

"You'll soon find, young wanderer, that the best part of traveling is taking it slowly and seeing where fate will lead you."

Perhaps this was fate's strange way of dragging her back to the Pridelands. Regardless of the reason, the young nomad soon makes up her mind.

"Let's go back," Dalia states firmly. "Now."

Imba quirks a brow at her friend's firm resolve but doesn't say anything for the time being. She instead takes flight once more and starts leading the way to the source of the fire. "C'mon, it's this way!"


Author's Note:

Hello, Maddie here (*awkwardly waves*)

Sorry, I just had to put in that "hello, Zuko here" ATLA reference in honor of me just finishing the show. By the way, if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend that you do. This recommendation has nothing to do with this chapter, but I thought it was important to mention nevertheless.

Regardless, I hope you're having a great day/night. In this chapter, especially towards the end, I wanted a bit of character development to happen from Dalia's end and for her to return to the Pridelands after realizing that being silent can be just as bad as being oppressive. This chapter is admittedly a bit boring, but I promise that it'll get exciting soon.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter. Feel free to give me feedback/criticism/review.