You know what I just found out recently? I found out that hyenas live in matriarchal societies, meaning the females rule. Now that got me thinking, how is it that Janja leads the hyena clan when he's a male and the only other female hyena we've seen so far, Jasiri, lives in her own territory? So why isn't she ruling instead of Janja? And so I kept thinking about this and thus the idea for this story was born.
I own nothing. The Lion Guard, all its content and the cover image belong to their respectful owners.
Enjoy the story!
Dust billowed forward in small puffs as a blur of light yellow and dark brown spots kicked it up at blazing speeds. Fuli's legs moved so fast they sent her almost soaring over the ground. She felt her lungs suck in more oxygen and her heart beat faster in her chest as she accelerated. She and Ono were given patrol today, she took the land, he the sky.
For many creatures, moving at the dizzying speeds Fuli was going at might not be the best way to scout the land, but her species prided themselves on being able to see and make out things even while they streamed forward at top speeds.
As they headed towards the border of the Pridelands, Ono split off to head towards the Watering Hole and wrap the patrol up. That left her with some free time, and she knew exactly where she wanted to spend it. Zipping past several hills and making sharp curves on the way, she made it towards her destination. Flat Ridge Rock.
For some the entrance and only exit to the Outlands might not be considered by other creatures to be a good spot to relax, but Fuli had her reasons. Though she had been there only once beforehand, she had discovered that the sun's rays heated up the rocks, providing a nice warm place to rest upon.
Her claws put themselves to good use as she skidded to a halt once she had approached. To her shock, someone else had also chosen to take up relaxation and sunbathe in the sun on the rocks. Said someone else lifted her head off the rock and her navy blue eyes met Fuli's forest green ones.
"Well, well, well. To what do I owe to occasion of seeing Fuli, the Lion Guard's fastest, over on this side of the border?" Jasiri asked, finishing off with the classic hyena chuckles. Fuli could feel the hairs on her back starting to rise, but she quickly tried to shake off the feeling. Though they had only met once, Kion had told her that Jasiri was a friend. She wasn't evil. She could be trusted.
"Well it just so happens that I was planning to go to chill out on Flat Ridge Rock, but it seems like I wasn't the only one" she replied. Her response was a smirk from her and, to her surprise, she moved over a few feet and patted the spot where she had just been. A quick hop up and a few steps and she had sat herself down right next to her.
"Nice weather we're having," she commented. Jasiri let out a small fit of giggles.
"When you're in the Outlands, it's hard to tell with all the stone walls shading you from the sun. But yes, now that I'm up here, I can tell that it is good weather we're having," she replied.
"So... do you come up here often?" A sweet, soft breeze came by, wafting the scent of grass and life into their nostrils.
"Not until recently. This spot is good for getting warmed up, especially if you've been in the shade all day." Fuli nodded and licked one of her paws.
"Yeah. Well even if you haven't been in the shade all day, it's still a good place to rest up," she replied. Her moist paw wiped her brow to clean it off as well. The two remained silent, just soaking up the sun's heat while Fuli started to clean herself up. After a minute though, she was finished clearing the excess dirt and dust off her fur. The only sound that could be heard was the wind blowing through the Outlands.
"I gotta ask you..." Fuli started, but then regretted speaking after she saw Jasiri flinch. "Oh, sorry."
"No, it's fine," she quickly replied.
"Oh, well, I was wondering, why do you live in your own territory? Why do you live alone, aside from Janja's clan?" Another flinch from the hyena next to her. Fuli was about to speak again when Jasiri's head turned and the glare shut her up.
"Do you always ask other creatures about their personal business?" Jasiri hissed. Fuli's ears went down and she began to lean back from her.
"No. I just..."
"Look, I understand you're trying to get in conversation with me, and I think that's great. But I don't think you should ask such sort of thing with those you've barely met." Fuli's eyes went downcast and she dipped her head down in a silent form of submission.
"Sorry," she said quietly. Jasiri sighed and started to turn her head back, but then stopped and a small smile made its way up her face.
"However, if you really want to know, then I suppose I don't mind telling just you." Fuli's ears and head perked up at this.
"Really?" She asked. Jasiri nodded, but then leaned her head in close.
"But you cannot tell anyone, got it? I don't want you blabbing to anyone else and having them feeling sorry for me but can't do anything about it since I'm a hyena and hyenas aren't allowed into the Pridelands. Got it?" Fuli's mouth immediately clamped shut and she nodded rapidly.
"Good." Her body returned back to its position and she shifted into a relaxing one. Fuli followed the suit until she was lying down right next to her. "Well, I suppose then that I should start from the beginning."
It all started before I was born. The hyena clan had already been exiled to the Outlands when your king came in. Most of our clan had died during the time of Scar's reign, reducing us from almost a hundred to about nine or so of us. One of them, the remaining survivors, was my mother.
Janja was already set in line to rule, being the strongest and most powerful hyena at the time. His mother had been Shenzi, the previous ruler and one of Scar's closest hyena friends. Normally then it was supposed to be my mother to rule, since we live in societies where it is typical for females to rule, but my mother was pregnant with me at the time and with the added starvation time during Scar's reign, she was very weak.
When I came in though, everything changed. Being born female, I was automatically set to become leader. My mother, however, became sick and passed away just as I had been weaned. As you might expect, Janja didn't want to be put in second place with me around, but he waited until he found a perfect solution to get back on top once more.
I started training at a young age, as most females do. For our species, the females are the dominant gender. Males are just good for being around when you need them, or not. Couldn't say I made any friends with them though. However, could say that Janja did.
You see, I was already different from the other hyenas, aside from the obvious gender factor. Janja was obsessed, still is obsessed, about returning back to the Pridelands and restoring his idea of 'order' back in. Mine, however, was keeping the clan alive by following the Circle of Life, like we're intended to do. Scavengers, keeping the land clean after all the other messy, meat eaters.
He was such a lying, sniveling traitor. Still is. He had me isolated from the rest of the clan, not that it mattered anyway. He all convinced them to his side behind my back. He then ran me out, out of his land and to here where I staked my territory.
"Yeah, but you still could've fought back and put him in his place," Fuli interrupted. Jasiri just smirked in reply.
"You think I wanted to? Even then I knew that I didn't belong there. They put shame on the entire hyena race, caring more about keeping their bellies full rather than considering the effect it has around them. Plus I was one female around eight male. Anyone would want to leave after awhile," she replied.
"You gotta a point there. Only girl, eight boys. One me, four boys. Sometimes I need a break from them and everyone else for awhile." Jasiri chuckled.
"Yes, there are benefits of being alone, just as there are ones to being with your friends after a while," she finished softly. Fuli noticed her eyes went a little downcast. Jasiri almost flinched and looked back up at the cheetah when she felt Fuli place her paw on hers.
"Hey, at least you have Kion and me as your friends. Plus the rest of the Lion Guard," she said proudly. Jasiri looked shocked for a moment, before a smile graced her face.
"Yeah, I suppose I do have a few friends," Jasiri replied. Fuli nodded and returned the smile.
She might had come to Flat Ridge Rock with the intention to spend some alone time by herself, but instead she had helped a friend feel not so lonely in the end.
So, this was my first time writing with Fuli, I think I got her character and personality right. I hope so at least. I like her spunky, smart aleck attitude. So, at least in my theory, Janja is Shenzi's son, Chungu is Banzai's son and Cheezi is Ed's. It makes sense, considering their bios on the Lion Guard wikia say that they are descended of Shenzi, Banzai and Ed's clan.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this, took me awhile to put it up since the window I was using it on crashed and I lost everything and had to restart doing it. I'd like some feedback on my story, reviews are always loved and cherished. I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7