Fuli along with the rest of the Lion Guard walked through the forest. She noticed that Kion's head and tail drooped. She didn't blame him, as they had both recently lost a great friend of theirs. She soon noticed that her own head and tail were drooping too. So were the rest of the Lion Guard's too.
She noticed Kion brought his paw to his eye. "Makini," she said. Makini, head drooping, reached into her gourd and pulled out some Tuliza blossoms. She walked over to Kion and held them out.
"Kion," Makini began, "I know you might not want to, but-" Kion ate the Tuliza out of her hand before she could finish her sentence. Even Kion didn't have the drive nor motivation to protest.
Beshte started talking to another animal, a tapir.
"Looks like Beshte's made another friend," Anga commented, likely hoping to brighten the mood.
"Everywhere we go," Kion remarked in agreement, smiling. Fuli knew it was a fake smile as to not ruin the mood.
"So, Tenuk, are there lots of good plants to eat in this forest," Fuli heard Beshte ask the tapir behind her.
"Ah, the best!" The tapir who was apparently named Tenuk told him. "Fruits, berries, leaves, you name it!"
"How are the bugs?" Bunga asked, jumping into the conversation. Tenuk's ears twitched in amusement. "Couldn't tell ya," he told him.
"Tapirs don't eat bugs," Ono told him, also trying to brighten up. "Common knowledge really."
"You don't know what you're missing," Bunga told the tapir. The others shared a good humored laugh.
"Gonna be in these parts long?" Tenuk asked. "I'd love to introduce you to my friends." He then motioned to a pair of animals nearby. "Hey guys! Say hi to my new friend, Beshte!"
"Hi Beshte!" They both said happily.
"Gee. Folks sure are friendly around here," Beshte remarked.
"Yeah. And you're welcome to stay here as long as you like," Tenuk told him. Knowing Beshte, he'd accept the offer in a heartbeat.
"Yeah well, we're just passing through. Right Kion?" She asked the lion who was walking next to her.
"Right," Kion agreed.
"Well if there's anything you need while you're here, just let me know. And I mean anything."
Makini's face lit up. "Oh! We can always use some more Tuliza."
The tapir's eyes widened in fear. "T-T-Tuliza?!" He stuttered. "I take it back! Go away!" He yelled in horror. "Leave me alone!" He dashed off quickly, leaving the Guard behind.
"Was it something I said?" Makini asked puzzled.
"Good gracious! What's going on?" One of the other animals nearby asked.
"What did you do to Tenuk?" Another asked fearfully.
"Nothing," Beshte tried to reassure the animal. "We didn't mean to scare him. Honest."
"Yeah," Makini agreed, "I guess he just doesn't like Tuliza."
"TULIZA?!" Both of the animals shouted then ran off as fast as they could.
"Weird," Anga remarked in a sing-song voice.
"What's going on around here?" Kion asked puzzled. He looked around curiously, trying to get a better layout of what was going on around him.
"Yeah. Everybody's running away from Makini whenever she says 'Tuliza'."
"Ahh! Tuliza! Ahh!" They heard a bird squawk fearfully from the trees above them, then flew away in a hurry.
"I don't think it's about Makini," Beshte said.
"Maybe they're scared of Tuliza?" Fuli threw an idea around.
"Scared?" Bunga repeated sarcastically. "Of a flower?"
"Well they're sure scared of something," Fuli told them.
"Well we can figure that out later," Kion told them firmly. "Right now we have to continue-" He broke off and pawed at his scar. Fuli looked on with pity.
"Agh..." She heard him mutter under his breath.
"Kion, are you alright?" She asked him. Kion stopped pawing at his scar and met her gaze. "I'm fine, Fuli!" He told her arrogantly then stalked off, leaving the rest of the Guard to follow him.
The Lion Guard walked for a bit less than an hour or so, and they saw a civet nearby.
"Oh guys, guys, guys, watch this," Bunga whispered to them. He then jumped behind the civet and shouted: "Tuliza!"
"Did I surprise him!" Bunga said amused. However, the poor civet he scared stumbled backwards into a raging river behind them. Ugh! Bunga should really be more careful and more polite to others! Ugh!
"Uh oh."
"Oh no! He fell into a river," Beshte exclaimed worriedly. Yeah, we already know that, Beshte.
"Bunga!" Fuli scolded, her ears flattened.
"I got him. Anga-lenga!" Anga told them then swooped down to catch the civet. She brought him back up on dry land while he shouted in protest and tried to squirm out of her grip.
"You welcome," Anga said annoyed after she'd brought the civet back to dry land.
"Sorry about that," Bunga apologized to the civet.
"So little civet, why is everyone here scared of Tuliza?" Beshte asked curiously.
"TULIZA?!" The civet then ran off in fear.
"Like I said, weird," Anga remarked.
"Let's keep going," Kion growled while digging his claws into the ground. "We don't have time for jokes."
"But I was just-"
"No more joking around, okay Bunga? We don't have time for jokes. We gotta keep going." It was obvious that Kion was trying to say that as calmly and patiently as possible. He then walked ahead of the group and scared to paw at his scar, grunting in pain.
"Makini," Fuli said, indicating to Makini that this would be a good time to give him Tuliza. Makini stood there for a moment, then obviously realized what Fuli was implying.
"Oh right," she said in realization. "Have some Tuliza, Kion," she said while walking up to him at the front of the group.
"We don't have much but you can have a little," she told him. She reached into the gourd that they stored their Tuliza in and pulled out some Tuliza blossoms.
"Okay." Kion ate the Tuliza from her hand and let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks Makini. Okay, now let's go."
The group started to walk, but then Fuli noticed Makini didn't have her bakora staff with her. "Uh Makini?" She said, eyeing the mandrill. "Forget something?"
"No I don't think so I-" Makini thought for a moment and gasped. "My staff! Thanks Fuli." She walked over to the log she put her staff on. It wasn't there. "I was sure I put it on this log. Where could it be?"
"You sure you put it on the log?" Kion asked.
"Yes. It was right here," she told him.
"Guys look." Anga motioned with her wing to some paw prints in the dirt. "Tracks."
Fuli recognized those type of tracks. "Porcupine tracks," she confirmed, "the tracks end here." She sniffed around, trying to catch a scent. There was only one thing she could smell. "And I can't smell anything but Bunga."
"You're welcome," Bunga said proudly.
That wasn't a compliment.
"You really think some porcupines stole Makini's staff?" Beshte asked, uncertainty lingering in his voice.
"Maybe," Kion replied. He looked at Anga. "Anga, see if you can spot some porcupines with Makini's staff."
"Yup." The eagle nodded and flew upwards.
Oh, I'm so sorry, Kion," Makini apologized. "My staff had the rest of our Tuliza. And, nobody here will help us find Tuliza!
"It's okay Maki-"
"But, what if you need some more? And, my staff makes the moja kwa moja stone paintings come to life, too! But, I think the only place I can find a new bakora staff is in the Pride Lands." She gasped. "We'll never find the Tree of Life now!
Beshte walked up to her, a calm expression on his face. "Makini, shwari."
"Oh yeah, thanks Beshte." She sat down on the ground. "Shwari."
Anga flew back down. "What'd I miss?"
"Nothing much," Kion replied simply. "Any sign of the staff thieves?" He asked.
"Nope," Anga told him. "To many trees and plants to see much of anything from the sky."
"What do you think Fuli?" He glanced over to the cheetah. She thought for a moment. "Uh, well, we do need Makini's staff to find our way to the Tree of Life."
"We could ask the animals who live here," Beshte suggested. "Maybe they know who took it."
"You mean the animals that run away every time we talk to them?" Fuli asked doubtfully.
"Only when we mention Tuliza," Beshte reminded her. "They might help us find a missing staff."
"Good idea Beshte," Kion praised him. "Let's go ask around."
The Lion Guard walked throughout the forest, looking for animals. They soon stumbled upon a gibbon - the same one they accidentally scared earlier.
"Maybe this guy can help us," Anga said. The Guard slowly walked over to the gibbon, being careful not to scare him again.
"Hey there, Mr. Gibbon," Beshte said in a non-threatening manner.
The gibbon looked at them. "Oh, uh, hello again," he stumbled out awkwardly.
"My friend Makini lost her staff," Beshte began to explain why they were here. "Maybe you've seen it?"
"A staff? What's that?" The gibbon asked with a confused expression.
"It's a stick with a couple of gourds hanging in it," Beshte explained. The gibbon looked puzzled. "Uh, why would somebody hang gourds on a stick?" He asked.
"That's where we keep our Tuliza," Bunga told him.
The gibbon gasped. "TULIZA?!" He ran off, screaming. Ugh, seriously?! Typical Bunga to ruin our chance of doing anything that might help us.
"Bunga," Fuli growled.
"Don't worry, I got this. Zuka Zama!" He exclaimed before climbing after the gibbon. Fuli could hear yelling coming from the top of the tree. "Hey gibbon, I didn't mean to say Tuliza! It's not about the Tuliza!"
"No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no!" The gibbon stuttered fearfully. Ugh! Stupid, stupid Bunga!
"Forget I said Tuliza!"
UGH! COME ON! "Stop saying Tuliza!" The group shouted.
"Guys, you're not supposed to say Tuliza, remember? Oops, I said Tuliza. Oops, I said it again!"
The group all glared at Makini for losing her staff in the first place.
"Go away!" The gibbon shouted at Bunga.
"Yeah, he's not gonna catch the gibbon on his own," Anga said before flying after Bunga and the gibbon.
"Forget the other thing I said!" Bunga said. "We're just looking for the stick!"
"Look," Anga said calmly. "We just wanna talk."
The gibbon seemed to give up. He sat down. "Fine. You got me. But I don't know anything about anything. You should talk to the mongoose."
"The mongoose?"
XXX
"This is where he said the mongoose lives," Anga informed them. A mongoose popped out of the small termite mound that they were standing in front of. "Who said that? Who says I live here?"
"A gibbon said you could help us," Kion explained. "We're looking for a missing staff."
"Not me, but I know a guy who might," the mongoose told them. "A civet. He'll talk to ya."
XXX
"The mongoose sent me," Anga explained. The civet shouted in fright. "Not you again!"
"Easy little fella," Beshte tried to reassure. "We just wanna talk to you about a.. uh.. lost stick."
"Lost stick?" The civet echoed. "Hmm. I know a guy. A mouse deer."
"A mouse?" Makini asked.
"Why'd you call me dear?" Bunga asked.
"No." The civet shook his head. "A mouse deer."
XXX
"You need answers, I got answers."
"Oh! I get it now. A mouse deer," Bunga said while pointing to the animal. It looked like some sort of hybrid between a mouse and a deer,
"It's not polite to point," the mouse deer said rudely. "The guy you need to talk to about the stick, lives in the cave, right over there."
"Great. Thanks," Kion thanked him and the Guard went into the cave.
"Hey, you!" Bunga called out. "We see you there. Are you the guy who knows who took our staff?"
"Uh, yeah, that's me," replied the gibbon from earlier.
"You!" They all gasped.
"Why didn't you just talk to us before?" Kion asked.
"'Cause this is the only place I know that her porcupines aren't listening. I don't want her to know I'm helping you."
"'Her'?" Makini echoed. "Her who?"
"Mama Binturong." The gibbons voice grew quieter with every passing second, as if he was afraid that something might pop out of the bushes and ambush him.
"Mama been there what?" Bunga said confused.
"Mama Binturong. She controls all the..." The gibbon trailed off and his voice dropped to a whisper, "Tuliza in the forest."
"So that's why everyone's scared when we mention Tuliza," Ono realized.
"Yes. Everyone's scared of Mama Bintruong. She's so mean, nobody even wants to say "tuliza," in case it makes her mad. She's very mean when she's mad. Yeah, if she catches anyone with tuliza, she sends her porcupines after them." Porcupines? Seriously, they can't fight them? But then again, they are fairly small animals, probably no match for a whole group of porcupines.
"That explains the porcupine tracks," Fuli said.
"And why they took my staff!" Makini added. "There was still tuliza in the gourd."
"So how do we find this Mama Binturong?" Kion asked.
Her hideout is deep in the Stone Forest," the gibbon told them. "But, uh, you'll never reach it."
"Why's that?" Kion asked.
"The Stone Forest is almost impossible to get through. Only Mama Binturong and her porcupines can get through it safely," the gibbon explained.
"Well, we're the Lion Guard," Fuli scoffed. "We can do anything."
XXX
"Okay, maybe not anything. What do you think, Kion?"
"I think we have to get through these," he told her, determination clear in his voice. He started to walk through the rocks, but then one of them cut his shoulder. He quickly backed away. Is he okay? "Careful, these rocks are sharp," Kion warned.
"Maybe Beshte can get through," Ono suggested. "Hippos have very thick skin. Common knowledge, really."
"I'd be lucky if I could get a toe between those rocks," Beshte commented. They were so close together that what Beshte said couldn't be more true.
Ono scooted closer to get a better view. "Hapana, they are so close together I don't know if I would fit."
"Anga, maybe you can get through from above?" Kion asked.
"I'll see." Anga flew up into the air. She quickly came back. "I can't get through the rocks, but I'm pretty sure I found Mama Binturong's hideout."
"That'd be good news if anybody could get to it," Kion said.
Ono began to anylize the situation. "So, we need someone who's not bothered by sharp rocks or porcupine quills, and can carry Makini's staff back here." He paused. "There's only one choice!" He motioned with his wing over to Bunga who was scratching his back on one of the rocks. "Oh, that feels good. Oh, yeah, that's the spot."
"You think he can handle it?" Fuli questioned doubtfully. Do I even need to ask that question?
Of course he can," Kion assured. "Right, Bunga?"
"Uh-huh," Bunga replied. "Of course, I can do it." He paused. "Uh, do what?"
Fuli sighed exasperatedly and explained. "Go through the Stone Forest to Mama Binturong's hideout, and get Makini's staff back, all by yourself."
"Yes! You're right. I can totally do it," Bunga told them, confidence showing in his voice. "Show me the way."
"Straight through there," Anga informed him. "You'll see Mama's hideout when you get close. There's lots of Tuliza."
"Go straight, look for Tuliza. Got it! Zuka Zama!" Bunga darted into the stone forest, his pelt unbothered by the very sharp rocks.
"Good luck, Bunga!" Makini called out after him.
"Okay.. what do we do till he gets back?" Beshte asked.
"I don't know," Kion replied and laid down on the grass. He raised his paw and brought it over his eye, wincing.
"Maybe we could... look at the clouds?" Fuli suggested. Maybe it'll take Kion's mind off his scar. "It's something I learned from Kongwe." Kongwe was a very old tortoise that lived in the Pride Lands. She was very wise and had taught Fuli some things that she'd remember.
"Uh, okay," Kion replied.
"Poa," Beshte said. "I remember when we did that sometimes whenever we were on break."
"What do you mean, Beshte?" Kion asked. "I don't remember us doing that."
"You weren't there," Beshte told him, seeming oblivious to how those words might affect him.
A wave of guilt flooded through Fuli as she realized that Kion never joined in on their fun and games whenever they were on break. He was always too stressed or too tired from the exhausting day.
Kion must've realized it, because his ears flattened and his mood seemed to change. "Oh.."
Beshte seemed to realize this too, because he tried to fix his mistake. "I'm sure we can have a good time now. Like my dad always says; 'You can spend time dwelling on what you could've done, or you can just go and do it in the now.'"
"I guess," Kion replied uncertainly and laid down. "So... what now?"
"Well..." Fuli started to speak but trailed off. For once, she was lost for words. "Just... look up to the sky. Look at the clouds moving past it."
Kion tilted his head in confusion but did as she said.
"Look," Fuli giggled then pointed with her paw to an oddly shaped cloud. "That one looks like an acacia tree!"
"And that one looks like a fish," Beshte remarked as he motioned with his muzzle to another cloud.
"That one looks like a feather." Anga motioned with her wing to yet another cloud.
"Oh my Great Kings and Queens!" Makini exclaimed out of nowhere.
"What is it?" Kion asked.
"That one looks like Ushari!" Makini exclaimed and pointed to a cloud that did in fact look a lot like Ushari.
The whole group went silent. Kion tensed up. Fuli cast him a glance of worry. Makini looked around at the group. She looked confused for a moment, then gasped. She must've realized her mistake.
"Oh... I'm so so sorry, Kion. I didn't mean to-" Kion cut her off.
"It's alright Makini," the lion put in an effort to reassure her. "No harm done.."
But there was harm done, Fuli thought to herself. Maybe not physically, but mentally...
The others continued to have fun pointing out shapes in the clouds. Fuli noticed that Kion wasn't joining in. She inched her way over to him and lowered her voice so the others wouldn't hear.
"Are you alright?" She asked. Kion avoided her gaze. Fuli knew that now, with the scar, one of his more prominent traits was pride. He always refused to show weakness to anyone, not letting his guard down even to his best friends.
"I'm fine," he told her, still avoiding her gaze. No you're not... I can feel it.
Without much thought, Fuli placed Kion's paw in her own. She raised his paw to point to another cloud in the sky. Her lips formed a small smile as she looked into his eyes. "That one looks like a Baobab fruit."
Kion's eyes seemed to glow with nostalgia. Guilt pushed deep into Fuli as she wondered if she had accidentally made him feel worse. However instead of looking sadder, he managed a small smile.
"That one looks like a baboon," he remarked while pointing with his paw to another cloud. Fuli chuckled. The old Kion had returned. Fuli was overjoyed, even if it might only be for just a few moments.
"That one looks like your face when Kiara would brag about being queen," Fuli chuckled and pointed to a cloud that did in fact look like that. Kion laughed.
"I missed you," Fuli said softly. Kion tilted his head in confusion. "But I'm right here."
"No..." Fuli murmured. "I missed you. I missed everything that made you, you. The you that you were before all this. The old you came back there, just for a few moments, but he was there."
Kion lowered his gaze. "I wish I could bring him back," he told her remorsefully, his voice cracking. "But I can't. It's just..."
"I know, Kion. I understand," Fuli told him sympathetically.
"You know, I miss him too." Kion tried to blink back tears. "I want to be me again, but I can't. I miss myself..."
"I know that the real you is still in there somewhere," Fuli told him. "He might be buried deep inside, but he's there."
"How do you know?" Kion asked her, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
"You know the journey you made to find us," Fuli said. "You were fierce, brave, fast, strong, and keen. And if you can be all that, I know that the real you can come back."
Kion's eyes held an emotion that she could not read. The tears came. Kion buried his head in his paws. "Why..." Fuli heard him mutter. "Just look, I'm an emotional wreck who can't do anything right." Kion tried and failed to blink back his tears. "I'm now the exact opposite of what someone would look for in a friend. I'm horrible."
"Don't say that about yourself!" Fuli chided.
"Why not?" Kion protested. "It's not like I'm lying or anything. It's all true. I'm a mess."
"No you're not," Fuli protested.
"Why? Name one good thing I've done since I got my scar."
Fuli was lost for words. She tried to think of something, anything, but she couldn't.
Kion's ears drooped. "Exactly. I'm horrible." His eyes glimmered with remorse. "Fuli?"
"Yes?"
"I... can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Why..." Kion trailed off and swallowed. "Why did you stick by me, all this way?" He took in a shaky breath.
"I stuck by you because... I don't know how to explain it but... you mean so much to me."
Kion tilted his head. Fuli continued; "If I don't stick by you at your worst, I don't deserve to see you at your best."
"There is no best anymore," Kion told her sadly. "It's just my worst."
"You know that's not true," Fuli told him tenderly.
"Yes it is."
"No it's not."
"Say what you want, you know the truth. Leave me behind. You're only doing this out of pity." Fuli was shocked at how well Kion could read her. I'm not doing this out of pity. Well, maybe a little, but I'm doing it because I love him. I know that he's being horrible right now, but once we get him to the Tree of Life he'll be okay. He'll be the Kion he was before...
"It's no good for you. Do what's best for you." Kion buried his head in his paws once again, sniffling. "Please, it's not healthy for you to be my friend. Trust me..."
Fuli was shocked. I know he thinks he's bad, but not HEALTHY to have as a friend?! Fuli did get where he was coming from - other animals in the Pride Lands talked about those kinds of friendships -or in a lot of cases, relationships-.
Kion got to his paws and walked away from her. He laid down, his back facing the stone forest. Fuli noticed that the other had stopped their cloud gazing and also laid down, their backs also facing the stone forest.
"Somebody lose a staff?" A voice called out from behind them. They turned around to see Bunga climbing out of the stone forest, holding Makini's staff in his paws.
Makini got to her feet and gasped happily. "You got it! Yay! And you filled it with Tuliza!"
"That's right," Bunga stated proudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Fuli saw Makini open the gourd and suddenly sniff it. "Ew," she heard her mutter then close the gourd quickly and smile nervously.
"Great job Bunga," Kion praised. He wore a smile on his face. Fuli knew he was trying to hide his emotions from earlier. "Now let's go find that next Moja Kwa Moja stone." He and the rest of the Guard started walking.
Bunga walked up to Fuli. "You'll never guess how I got away," he told her. I bet I can. "You used your stink, right?"
"You know my secret weapon?!" He exclaimed surprisingly. Fuli was amused despite her conversation with Kion earlier and she chuckled softly.
"Not that much of a secret, Bunga," she told him amused. Everyone else shared a good humored laugh. Even Kion joined in, though Fuli could tell it was just a disguise.