It was late afternoon, the clouds had begun to part and the sun shone down on the wet savanna drying everything off. Kijani quietly stalked through the savanna feeling the dew hit his paws as he stepped on the moist ground. The cubs were actually taking a nap at the moment and he felt that this was a good time to do something he had wanted to do since he arrived home, visit Hawla.

He had thought about her a lot on his journeys before becoming a story teller, and once he found his purpose, his longing for her was not as strong, yet he did hope to see her again and see how she was getting along.

It did not take Kijani long to smell the scent of the Misty Land's border, it was a strong scent but a friendly scent, one that he knew was safe to go near. He began to cross the border but as soon as he did so he stopped short, for some reason he felt awkward to keep going and run into the pride. They probably would not even recognize him, especially since now he had a mane and Itimu was not the king.

Silently he sat there, watching the land as the sun set its warm rays on the ground, he could see the mist rising too, such a perfect name for the territory. Then he began to wonder if Dinari was nearby and if he could find Hawla for him, perhaps he could but then of course he would still be a strange lion wandering the land.

"I hear you're a story teller now," came a voice behind him.

Kijani twisted his ear toward the sound and then turned his head, there before him stood Hawla, much older now but still as pretty as he remembered her. Kijani gave a small smile but stayed put; he let her come to him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Kijani as Hawla moved forward and sat in front of him.

"Dinari told me, he was patrolling this area not too long ago and decided to let me know, I should have not listened and waited to look surprised," said Hawla with a grin.

Kijani only chuckled as he stared back at Hawla with happy eyes, it had been so long he had forgotten how lovely she looked and she still seemed to have that seriousness she always showed while on that journey to rescue his sister.

"It's great to see you back, after that battle I kind of started to miss the mischievousness of the happy twin," said Hawla.

Hey Haidar is happy too," said Kijani.

"Yes but he's too serious to even want to play with, you on the other hand have a personality anyone would love though it takes a while for some," said Hawla.

"I guess that's true, but I have matured since we last met," said Kijani as he puffed out his chest making himself look important and not too slouchy.

"Those eyes tell me something different though," said Hawla who now had the look of smugness on her face.

Before Kijani knew it, Hawla was slowly circling him, rubbing up against him and whisking her tail on his chin. Kijani had to keep his cool though, under storyteller law, they could not have mates, they could be close to a female but not have too much attachment. The reason was because they were nomads and leaving a loved one behind to care for the cub was just not the right thing to do. Especially since the cub could never or even rarely see the father.

Kijani was going to explain this but Hawla had other ideas as she leapt away from him and stuck her rear end in the air, an invitation to play. Kijani hadn't really chased after anyone in a while and running around was definitely not forbidden. In the blink of an eye he was after Hawla through the long grass. They ran through puddles, jumped on boulders and stirred up the dew that was forming around the grass. By the time they had finished their game of chase, both where quite wet from the rolling around. Kijani's mane hung down his neck and chest making him look more scraggly than he was.

Hawla soon found a nice place under a tree that was a little drier and lay down panting from all the fun, Kijani lay a few feet from her smiling.

"So how does it feel to be a storyteller?" asked Hawla once she regained her breath.

"It was definitely a strange feeling at first, but over time, it just feels like its something I have done all my life. I love telling the tales, all the animals get so wide eyed and their jaws drop it makes me feel so satisfied," said Kijani.

"Can you tell me how it happened?" asked Hawla.

"I would love to," said Kijani without a second thought.

Hondo and I had been exploring, traveling, causing mischief, you name it we did it while out there in the wild blue yonder. And it was after a very exhausting adventure involving a lovestruck lion and her future mate that made me and Hondo realize that we weren't as young as we used to be and that one of these days we wouldn't get off as easily as we had. So we both agreed one evening that we should head back to our old family, find out if we were still needed and maybe do something important for a change.

For a week we traveled through the savannas of the south with quiet wonder the whole time. We kept wondering who was still ruling the Pride Lands and if any changes had come and we were so engrossed in our thoughts that I nearly tripped over a very old lion who was just lying out there in the hot sun.

"I'm sorry sir, are you okay?" I remember asking him.

For a moment he did not respond and both Hondo and I feared that he had died, until he let out a very sick and upsetting cough that made both Hondo and I shudder.

"Those gazelles aren't as slow as they used to be," he said as he slowly got up.

Both Hondo and I helped him up and once he was in balance, that's when we both noticed how skinny he was and we both knew we had to help him. Once we found him a nice cool spot for him to stay in both Hondo and I ran out to find some food for him. We caught a nice big zebra and shared a nice meal for him. For a few days he did not say a word to us, he just lay in the cave too tired to move, we would leave him water and food nearby and it would be gone by the time we both came back from wandering the area for a few hours. Hondo thought it would be better if we decided to keep going home and let nature decide the old lion's fate. But for some strange reason I felt connected to him and that I needed to stay with him until the time had come.

Well it was one rainy morning when I was awakened by a strange cry coming from the old lion, it sounded like gibberish at first but once I got closer I could hear the same words being said over and over by him.

"The scarred warrior sits with you and tells the tales, the scarred warrior sits with you and tells the tales," he would say.

It sounded like something bad was happening to him so I awoke him and when he opened those eyes I had never seen such a scared lion in all my life. His old grey eyes seemed to stare into my soul for the longest time, and it wasn't until Hondo came over to see what was going on that he spoke again.

"Tell me young one, what is your name?" he asked.

"Kijani," I said quietly.

Another long silence. "The scarred warrior!" he finally said.

Both Hondo and I looked at each other with confused eyes not sure why he was saying this and how it somehow related to his chanting.

"Yes sir, my name does mean warrior but I am no warrior, I am a terrible fighter," I told him.

"But my dream, I saw a lion just like you with that same scar and everything taking over the legacy, tell me how you received it," he said to me.

"There was a great battle over my Mother's land, the hyenas wanted to take over, they had first kidnapped my sister to use her for evil purposes but my friend and I saved her and brought her home. But the hyenas would not quit without a fight so a battle lasted for many days. On the final day, one hyena attacked me, I couldn't fight back and he gave me these scars," I told him.

Again he gave me that strange stare, it really made me uncomfortable and I ended up staring at the ground playing with some pebbles before he finally responded to what I had told him.

"Yes you are my successor," he said.

"Successor of what?" I asked.

"You my young lion will take my place as storyteller to all the lands," he told me.

For a moment I was shocked, it was the strangest thing I had ever heard someone say in my life, save for the time when Mahiri was drunk from all the fermented berries and had asked me what I thought of one berry he had named Berry Seinfeld. But I knew I had to be kind to this old lion and respond.

"But I do not know any stories," I told him.

"That is because I know them all and I am the one who will give them to you, it will take a few years but once I have told you them all, you will become the Storyteller of all the lands," he told me.

"But sir, don't you think there is someone better out there that can tell these stories better than I can?" I asked. I was still not sure about this and I suddenly started to feel very uncomfortable.

"But this is your destiny; the storytellers of the past have told me that it is your turn to tell the tales to those who want to hear it. Your description matches what the storytellers of the past have told me and if you walk away on this then all the stories will be forgotten and the world will become a little bit emptier," he told me in a very serious voice.

I don't know how long I sat there thinking about all this; I remember Hondo standing beside me trying to get me to move away from him so we could go home. To make matters worse, he was still staring at me almost like he wanted to put a spell on me if I said no. So I finally decided to humor him.

"Sir if you say it is my destiny then I will accept it, though I still think you have the wrong creature for the job," I told him.

The old lion only laughed at me before finally responding. "Your opinion will change soon young man, now listen carefully to my first tale for this tale is the one that will get you to change your mind, I know it did for me when I first found out about becoming a Storyteller from an old meerkat," he told me.

So I listened to the first tale which told of bravery, love, vengeance, and even a dash of supernatural, it was a story that only the storytellers can hand to each other, no one else can hear it, even Hondo had to leave the cave while he was telling me the tale. The story lasted three days and I stayed awake through all of it. Once it was over, I was so exhausted that I slept for a day and a half. During that sleep I had a dream involving myself running in a field toward a group of animals, I had never seen them before in my life, but the way I acted around them it was as if I had known them all my life.

"So Rasul has told you the first tale," said the meerkat that was the storyteller before Rasul.

"Yes sir, he has," I said.

"And are you willing to accept what destiny has called you to do?" asked an ostrich.

"I do," I said. I barely heard myself say this, it felt so weird, and my mind was made up in the dream whether I would like this or not.

"Then you must know the rules of becoming a storyteller," said a cheetah.

It was then that all the creatures parted revealing a mandrill, the first storyteller to ever be born. His name was Mugi and he shared the same description that many said Rafiki had that I almost wanted to call him that.

"So are you ready to hear the laws you must follow to become the Storyteller?" he asked in a deep yet calm sounding voice.

"Yes sire," I said quietly.

Mugi waved his stick and all the Storytellers of old began to chant for quite a while until Mugi began to speak.

"First the most important rule, never shun away a creature who wants to hear a story, even if you are busy with other things, drop what you are doing and tell it," he said.

"Even if I have an antelope by the throat I still do it?" I asked.

"That may be an exception but once you are done you must go to the creature and tell the story, even if the animal you have killed is being eaten by another creature, you can find a new one later," Mugi said.

I only nodded, it was a strange rule but it was one that had been passed down for centuries, in fact all of them had.

"Rule number two, you must be a nomad, you do not belong to any pride, you may stay with a pride for two and a half years if you need to but you must move on when that time is up, there are other creatures out there who want to hear your tales," Mugi continued.

"But what about the pride I was born into what if I want to settle down and have a cub?" I asked and I wished I would have never asked the question yet the answer would have come to me soon any way since it was another rule for all Storytellers.

"That's another rule you must follow, because you are a nomad you must not have a mate, you are a solitary traveler and having a cub means it will never or rarely see you. No cub should grow up without a father," said Mugi.

I felt like crying after I had heard this but I had to remain strong I could not quit now it was a destiny I had to follow no matter how painful it felt to never have a mate or a child of my own. But then I thought of Hondo.

"What about my best friend Hondo though, he has been with me through thick and thin, I would hate to abandon him," I asked.

Mugi thought for a long moment about this, he had never had a sidekick and the storytelling had traced thousands of years, was there a Storyteller who had a friend with him?

That's when a female jackal moved forward. "I had a meerkat sidekick when I was a Storyteller and you told me it was perfectly fine," she said.

Mugi gave a small grin. "Oh yes I remember your friendship well, you begged me to let you have a friend on your journey's and I don't see the harm in having a sidekick with you either Kijani, living a solitary life can get lonely when the want of storytelling is dry," said Mugi.

"So it's alright?" I asked.

Mugi only nodded and I gave a sigh of relief, I don't know what Hondo would have done without me, we had been through so much already, we could never part.

"The next rule is you may not fight in battles, your stories are too important and if you loose your life then the world has lost someone great," said Mugi.

This one I understood of course, I didn't want to try again any way since you know how I cannot do well in battle.

"And lastly, when you feel your age, search out the one to become your successor, telling all the stories takes a few years to get them all down and its important that your successor knows them all," said Mugi.

"Thank you sir, I will follow these laws as best I can," I told Mugi. Mugi nodded back to me and waved his stick again while everyone began to chant over and over.

At first the chanting was loud but soon it became softer and softer until I had no idea what they were saying. It was then that I awoke and found Rasul standing over me smiling.

"You are ready?" he asked me. I only nodded.

So for two years he told me every tale that was told by him, from stories involving lost loves, to stories about creatures wanting something more, to even stories involving humans who were either helping us fight powerful forces or were just searching for strange cures to save their tribe. I heard them all and not one I have forgotten, they are all planted into my mind.

It was about a week after I had heard all the stories that I found Rasul was not in the cave with me or Hondo. Hondo and I went out to search for him and I soon found him in a field of wildflowers, his eyes were closed and he had a smile on his face. His long search for someone to take his place had finally ended and he was now among the storytellers of old in the stars. We left him where he had passed away so he could become the grass.

Hondo and I then made our way through the savannas and I remember telling my first story, it was four days later and I was relaxing in the shade when a Rhino came up to me and asked if he could hear a tale about a Rhino. I have about ten stories with rhinos in them so I gave him his options; he decided to listen to one about how a rhino got stuck in the mud only to have an elephant rescue him by pulling on his tiny horn. But the elephant pulled so hard that his horn actually grew and that was why the horns are so long to this day.

It felt satisfying after telling those tales and I could not wait to tell more. The whole time too we traveled to the Pride Lands, but it took us two years to do so because we ran into so many creatures who wanted to hear tales. I think it was worth it because now I can see my brother become king, and I can at least enjoy your company for a few hours.

Kijani finished his small story with a grin; Hawla looked back at him looking at little upset at the fact that they could not love each other the way they wanted.

"Even though I cannot have a mate, I can still love you as a friend," said Kijani.

"I guess it's better than nothing," said Hawla with a sigh.

Kijani could tell that she was not happy with this and gave her a small nuzzle. "I'm sorry this had to happen, but I guess it was a destiny I had since I was born, nothing can change that now, even if I had to stop, I cannot because my successor is probably not even born yet," said Kijani.

Hawla thought for a moment she looked upset yet she seemed like she could get over it in time. "Now that I think about it, kids can be a pain in the butt any way, though Safiya was not too bad but you never know, the kid could end up like you," she said.

"Oh we wouldn't want that now would we!" laughed Kijani.

"At least we can still enjoy each others company," said Hawla as she rubbed up against Kijani, he quickly returned the gesture.

For a few hours both lay together in the shade, enjoying the afternoon coolness from the rain that replenished the earth. Kijani even told a short story to her that Hawla enjoyed immensely. Soon the sun began to fade behind the horizon and Hawla knew she probably had to get back to the pride and help with anything they needed. Kijani knew he probably needed to head back and hopefully return to Pride Rock by morning.

"Well come by and see me when you want to," said Hawla.

"I promise I will," said Kijani who then gave Hawla and big sloppy wet kiss on the side of her cheek. Hawla touched her cheek with her paw and gave a goofy grin.

"That was the best kiss of my life," she said.

Kijani, who had just started to walk away after he gave the kiss turned back to Hawla, smiled and said. "…..So far, yes."

A/N: If you don't know where that last line came from then well I guess your sense of humor is a lot different than mine. I know some of you will be unhappy about Kijani's predicament but I don't care, love stories don't have to have the same theme to it. So yeah that's a nice different chapter for you guys to enjoy. Please remember to review or at least read this story, I seem to be getting less and less views, which is kinda sad. I do hope to update again soon since summer is hear for me, but you never know, I do have a life sometimes outside of the computer. LOL

Mugi means wise one.

So in the manner of Mickey Mouse: See ya real soon!