Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Lion Guard or any of its characters, they belong to Disney! I DO own my own character Nekoda (Kody) because I made her up!

This story takes place before Season 2 of The Lion Guard.

Nekoda was having the best dream ever. She was back home, surrounded by freshly fallen snow, belly full from a meal shared with her family, and a long day of lounging around ahead of her. She almost didn't want to leave it. Mmm… I'm so comfy. The ground is nice and cool, my side doesn't hurt as much, and I haven't slept better in weeks. She mused. These were the first things that came to mind as the snow leopard returned to the waking world. She purred contentedly, deciding to relish in her pleasant dream and comfortable thoughts for a while longer. Her ear twitched as she heard movement around her. Wait a minute. Cool ground? Movement? I thought I passed out in the middle of the Savannah alone!

She jerked awake, sitting up fast enough to smack her head on the low outcropping hanging over where she had been sleeping. "OW!" As she rubbed the back of her head with her paw, she heard a subtle noise. A gurgling, choking sound. Giggling.

She looked up to see a young lion cub, a bright red plume on his head and tail. She was so startled at the sudden appearance of a lion, she backed up only to clunk her head against the outcropping again, "Ah!"

The subtle giggling amplified to full blown laughter. She looked to see the lion cub now rolling on the floor, unable to remain standing from his bout of uncontrollable glee. Through the throbbing of her skull, Nekoda managed to glare at the cub as he calmed down. Finally, the mysterious lion spoke, "Sorry, sorry. That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time."

"Really? I couldn't tell through all the laughing!"

He sat up and looked sheepish, smiling nervously. "I mean it, sorry. My name's Kion. What's yours?"

Still irritated, she introduced herself reluctantly, "Nekoda. My friends call me Kody."

"Nice to meet you. Anyway, are you okay?"

Kody sighed, "Yeah, in fact, I feel better than I have been for a few weeks." She stood up to gesture at her back. "What is this leaf around my stomach? It makes my side hurt a lot less, I've never seen anything like it before."

Kion stood and dared to venture closer to Nekoda in order to speak. The proximity made her nervous and she tried not to fidget, almost missing what he said. "Oh, that was Rafiki's handiwork. It's a medicinal wrap, glad it feels better. In fact, I think he'd love to speak to..." He turned his head to look around the empty room. "...you. That's funny, he was here a second ago. Probably went to go get dad."

"Rafiki? Is he another lion?" she asked somewhat apprehensively.

"Huh? No, he's a mandrill!" he replied.

"A what?"

"Mandrill, it's a cousin to the baboon. A monkey."

"Right, how silly of me..." As Kion moved away, Kody was able to relax. It was then that she registered his last sentence. "Wait, dad? As in adult lion?"

Not realizing how freaked out the leopard was, Kion boasted, "Not just that! He's the powerful King of the Pride Lands and just ruler over all animals!"

"My, what an introduction, Kion," a voice spoke from the entrance to the cave.

Standing there was a monkey and an adult lion ten times larger than Kion. The lion spoke, replying to the monkey's statement, "Yes, I only hope I can live up to his praise."

Nekoda evaluated the two newcomers. She first looked over the mandrill, which she could only assume was Rafiki. He stood on two legs, but leaned heavily on the staff he carried, frowning as if he just remembered a load of work that needed to be done. While trying to be as close to the lion as possible, he also was careful to keep his distance from Kody. Curious. The king, on the other hand, was calm and, for lack of a better term, regal. His face held a gentle smile and his burgundy mane framed his kind eyes. He glided his way across the stone floor towards Nekoda with a spring in his step and gracefulness in his stride. The pure size difference made her painfully aware of how defenseless she was. The snow leopard vowed to pay attention to his words and her own actions, as she did not want to offend him.

Nekoda listened intently as she was addressed by the king, "Hello there. I am Simba, ruler of the Pride Lands as my son said. And you are?"

"Nekoda. Or Kody, if you like."

"Okay then, Kody. You are a snow leopard if I'm not mistaken, correct?"

"Um, yes. Why?"

He ignored her question. "And snow leopards normally live far to the north, right?"

"That's right, but-"

The king's smile no longer looked kind to Nekoda."So, I have to ask, what are you doing here in the Pride Lands?"

She shifted on her feet, all of a sudden uncomfortable answering any more questions. Nekoda was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that this really big cat was assessing her threat level. She knew she couldn't reveal what she was doing, but he might catch her lie, so she offered the king a partial truth, "I'm looking for someone."

Simba looked surprised at this news. "Really? Who? Someone like you?"

"Uh, well, yes—no, maybe, I mean," she sighed tiredly. "It's a long story."

When the occupants of the room sat expectantly to hear this long story, Kody let out another huff. Thinking quickly she said, "I-I'm looking for my brother."

Kion looked on, confused. "So another snow leopard then."

"Well, yes-"

"So why the confusing answer?"

Nekoda opened her mouth to speak, but when the words failed to roll off her tongue, she sat in silence. It seemed she was done answering questions. Finally, after a tense silence, she asked one of her own, "Look, I don't really mean to be a bother. I'll leave your territory as soon as I can. Just tell me, have you seen another snow leopard?"

The young cub looked desperately at the king for an answer. The gleam in her blue eyes made it difficult for Simba to admit that they hadn't ever seen a snow leopard before she came along. At the news, she seemed to deflate, angry at herself for losing the trail. She didn't, however, miss the fact that Rafiki flinched whenever the topic of other snow leopards came up. Very curious.

She shook off the anger in a hurry, composing herself to speak with the royalty in front of her. "Is that so?" At this, she glanced at Rafiki, who avoided her gaze, but continued talking to Simba, "Well I guess I'll be going then. Thanks for the leaf around my stomach, see ya!"

Kody got about halfway to the opening when the young voice of Kion interrupted her exit. "Wait! You don't even know where you're going!"

She didn't know what to say to that. "It doesn't matter, uh, I mean… I'll just… ya know. Wander off in that direction."

The lions didn't seem impressed of her choice in travel. Simba's eyes finally turned sympathetic again as he spoke to his son. "Kion, why don't you take Kody to your friends? I'm sure that they are eager to know she's okay. Then you can show her around the Pride Lands."

Kion lit up at that suggestion. "Okay, dad! C'mon Kody! I'll have you meet the best defenders of the Pride Lands there ever was!"

Nekoda seemed amused at the cub's bounding energy and description of his friends, but she still shot an annoyed look at Simba for her delayed departure. He simply chuckled as the two left in a cloud of dust, remembering at the last minute to yell, "And be careful of her injury!"

The king slowly lowered himself to the ground and faced his companion. He folded his paws and spoke after a moment, "So, are you going to tell me what has you so apprehensive about our guest?"

"No," he replied much too quickly, before hopping away to work on his wall paintings. Simba could only lift an eyebrow at his behavior. Very curious indeed.

There we go! Chapter 2, yay. Sorry, it took so long to update, I wanted to figure out where the plot was headed. Thanks to those that reviewed, favorited and followed my story already, you guys are awesome!