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.
Kion decided to keep his eye on Nekoda. One: because he was curious about her and two: because as soon as they both stepped out into the sun Kody's eyes drooped and her movements became sluggish. She wasn't panting yet, but it seemed like the heat would get to her eventually.
"C'mon Kody, I'll show you the watering hole! The rest of the Guard should be there waiting for us." Kion was glad he had told everyone to wait for them there, he didn't think the snow leopard would last very long. Luckily the sun was going down soon.
Nekoda shook her head bemusedly. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good."
As they walked, Kion tried to desperately find something to say. Usually he would have no trouble in rambling on about a story or asking endless questions, but there was something about this cub that made him nervous. "So, uh, do you have siblings? Uh, I mean besides your brother that is, I know you mentioned him before, but I don't really know much about snow leopards and well, uh, I've got a sister you know. She's older than me and is set to be the queen of the Pridelands, which is why I'm the leader of the Lion Guard-"
He was interrupted by giggling from his traveling companion. Kion grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess I rambled a bit, huh?"
Kody took a deep breath. "Yes, but it's cute. Don't feel all embarrassed about it. To answer your question, yes I do. I've got my older brother who means the world to me and my-" She stopped herself and heaved a sigh. "I have an older sister too."
"Oh yeah? What's she like?"
She clenched her teeth. "I'd rather not talk about her."
Kion sensed that he may have crossed a line. "Um, well you said you were looking for your brother right? Wouldn't he have just as much trouble with the heat as you're having being a snow leopard and all?"
She chewed the question over, debating on what to say. "Well, that requires a little explaining. The reason has partly to do with why I'm here."
"Oh good, I'd like to hear this story!" Out of nowhere, Fuli appeared beside them startling them both. Nekoda jerked violently and subsequently tried to hide her wince. It looked like they arrived at the watering hole while they were talking. Kion watched as his friends introduced themselves to Nekoda who sat uncomfortably.
Once pleasantries had been exchanged and everyone was settled around the watering hole, Kion addressed them all, "Okay Kody, wanna explain?"
Nekoda took her time to meet the eyes of everyone gathered around her. She seemed to shrug to herself before beginning. "Alright, so the truth is, my father is actually a lion, not a snow leopard."
"What how'd that happen?" Ono asked confused.
"I, uh, try not to think about it. Problem is, I don't know who he is and our mother never got a chance to tell us before she died. My brother went to go find our father, but he's been gone awhile and my sister and I, well, we had a falling out, so I came to see what happened to my brother."
Bunga added his own question. "A falling out? What does that mean?"
"Yeah, and that doesn't answer my earlier question." Kion stated.
Nekoda shifted nervously. "Well Kion, since I'm half lion my coat isn't as thick as an actual snow leopard. My brother is even more lion looking than I am, he basically looks like a lion with spots. As for the falling out, we just disagreed on how to divide our territory, but I wasn't surprised."
"Why's that?" Beshte asked.
"We always fought. My brother was the one to break us up and with him gone… it was inevitable."
Kion realized something. "So to recap, you're looking for your brother, but what about your father? Do you think he's around here?"
She smiled sadly. "Well, even if I did find him I wouldn't know it. I don't have a name or even a description, but my brother was an optimist. He said he'd know who our father was once he found him, but I'm not that naive."
Ono spoke after an uncomfortable silence. "So you don't have any parents and your siblings just left you on your own and you thought, maybe I'll go on a trip to the south?"
That caused her to laugh out loud. "It sounds so dumb when you say it like that, but yeah, basically."
"I'm sorry," Beshte muttered.
Kody shook her head with a smile. "It's fine, stop worrying about it. Anyways, it was about time I went off on my own, snow leopards are not really pack animals you know."
Kion blurted out before he could stop himself, "But lions are! If you ever need to, uh, to have a place to stay, you can here."
She looked at him with a puzzled and slightly surprised expression. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she sputtered, "You hardly even know me, and you're offering me a place to stay? How forward of you."
Kion blushed and was about to retort when a scream came from a distance. Everyone except Nekoda stood suddenly and adopted serious expressions. Kion started giving orders. "Ono, go for an overview and report back. Fuli run on ahead and see if you can help immediately. The rest of us will catch up."
They all sped off and after a moment, Nekoda followed after them. She had been curious as to what exactly this 'Lion Guard' did and it seemed that she was about to find out.
Okay everyone another chapter! I know, I know, it's been WAY too long and I'M SO SORRY! So much has happened since Chapter 2. School started up again, I got a summer job, and I may be moving really soon so life really didn't want me to write anything lately, but I should get back into updating a bit more regularly now.