The Lionesses had been picking up the pieces just as well as you might expect. Many of their friends were lost during Scar's reign. Many broken hearts. Many empty bellies. And the same could be said for the cubs as well.

There were very few cubs in the Pride after the battle was won. As part of the horrors of the Tyrant's rise to power, all male cubs were to be sought out by the Hyenas and 'taken care of' as he put it. It was common for male lions to kill cubs to make room for their own bloodline, but the scarred Lion took it to another level.

Scar had no intention of raising his own cub. All that he cared about was demanding the loyalty of his subjects. Some of the mothers wanted more for their cubs, a better life for them without having the eye of a demon lion looming over them like the vultures above. But as they tried to escape with their children, the Spotted monsters made their presences known.

Green grass was turned red that day…

But today was a new day. The grieving mothers now had a chance to renew their happiness. They had the chance to move on, just like everybody else had been granted. As the animals ate what grass was OK to eat while the land was healing, there was one certain individual who was also adapting to the new Era.

For the first time since the fire of Pride Rock, Kanuk had felt the sunlight on his face. Two weeks since he had been injured by the flames, his muscles had found it within himself to stand again. His eyes set themselves on the Savanna below. The grass was starting to return to the ground, and even more lush than before.

He then began to pad down the oath that led past a cavern at the foot of the rock. There was something about that cave that he knew. Something a certain someone shared with him. But he wanted to suppress those memories for now. He wanted to enjoy the second chance life had given him.

Even though he face didn't show it, he was ecstatic that Scar was gone.

Ahead of him, four Lionesses were seen chowing down on a Wildebeest that they had brought down. One of them looked up and saw him approaching. She nudged her pride sisters skeptically, gaining their attention.

"Oh, Kanuk!" Adea, the leader said in surprise. "I didn't see you there."

"Adea." Kanuk greeted her with a nod. "Good to see you. That's a nice kill you have there."

"It is, you're right." Adea said. She then turned towards the other Lionesses. "Come on ladies. Let's wait until he's done."

Kanuk tilted his head. "What?"

"Well you're a male, Kanuk." Adea explained. "And males always eat the most of any kill while the Lionesses eat after."

"Hold up there, hold up!" Kanuk waved his paw and shook his head. "You got me wrong, ladies. I'm not here to take your kill. I'm not even hungry right now. I'm just out on a walk at the moment. Besides, Via's the one that hunts for me until I get all my strength back."

"Oh." Adea said. She couldn't deny that she was surprised that a male was allowing them to eat first. "Well, that's how it worked under Scar-"

"Scar's not here!"

The Lionesses jumped back in surprise at the snarl coming from their guest. Kanuk growled at them with an aggressive look in his eyes. He then calmed himself down as soon as he had snapped at them. With a deep breath, he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about that. Sca-… He's not here. Things can go back to the way they were before all that, ok? Back when Mufasa was your kind, however that went."

"Right. Nothing to forgive." Adea nodded to him. "If you're sure you don't want any, then are you saying we can have this to ourselves?"

"Of course." Kanuk said. "Go to town, girls. Have a good day." With that, the Lion then turned and walked past them quietly.

The Lionesses watched him leave silently. Adea learned closer to Naanda, one of her Pride Sisters. "He's the last person who should be breaking Pride Law if you ask me."

"Tell me about it." Naanda answered. "And it's nice to see Via finally making something of herself."

"Worst huntress ever taking care of a former soldier." Adea sighed. "Not very good odds."

Whatever Adea had said about his caretaker, Kanuk clearly didn't hear. The healing Lion was glad to be out and about in the Pridelands once again. He felt content to again feel the calm morning sun on his back. He felt it warm his skin after so long of being in that cave. It had taken him a while, but he had learned to control his legs again.

He sighed as he began to silently think about what had happened about there with Adea and the huntresses. How he had snapped at her. It was that word she said, that's what made him snap like that. The name of that monster who forced him to carry out his orders. The one who made him…

Never mind. It was all in the past now. He had to let it go. Just like Rafiki had been teaching him during his healing sessions. All he had to do was find something else to think of to get his mind off of it. He took a deep breath as he continued in a small jungle. Past the lush trees and bushes.

He felt calm now. Relaxed. He sat down in a little spot of shade and closed his eyes, centering himself in the calm and quiet. Birds called in the distance. And that was the only sound he could hear. And he knew every bird sound by heart. Turacos. Flamingos. Eagles. Every voice he heard was what he had learned throughout his life. From the smallest Duck to the large Ostrich, no sound was without purpose.

There were some that were communicating with each other. Just a friendly conversation between two mothers on their eggs. Others were trying to get lucky by getting a female's attention. It wasn't something Kanuk had ever learnt. It was something that he had to learn himself. After listening to them enough, he knew what every tweet and every call meant.

It was a peaceful sound to him. The sound of the wind blowing through the leaves and birds calling out in the Savanna. He took a deep breath as he took it all in. He hadn't had silence like this in a long time, not even while he was on his healing bed. He felt calm. Collected. Utterly centered-

*Crack!*

Of course.

Oh yes. Of all the trees in the jungle, that funky monkey had to be in the one right above him. The small branches fell on his head along with a few leaves that floated after. He rolled his eyes as he heard the elderly laugh of Rafiki above in the tree. He had no idea what 'Asante Sana Squash Banana' was supposed to mean, but he knew exactly who it belonged to.

With a thump, he knew that the old Mandrill had dropped down next to him. He looked to see him next to him, with that staff in his hand. "Hee hee! Well look at this, then. Look at who is out and about!"

"Hey Rafiki." Despite being annoyed at his silence being ruined, Kanuk smiled kindly at his healer.

"Dear Kanuk, whatever has gotten into you to bring you out here all of a sudden?"

"Well I figured that it was finally time to get outside again." Kanuk shrugged. "You've been telling me that the world is out here, not in the rock."

"Very true. Very true." Rafiki patted the Lion in the shoulder. "Your fur has been growing back very nicely, if I do say so myself. Ponya mixed with wild Zenia flowers are perfect for healing burn wounds."

"But what were you doing out here, Rafiki?" Kanuk asked the wise old Mandrill.

Rafiki's face turned from that of a calm and reassuring grandfather to that of seriousness. "Yes, good of you to ask. I mist ask you something, Kanuk. And listen to me very carefully. I cannot stress how urgent it is-"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right now." Kanuk interrupted him. "Whatever you have to ask me, I don't plan on answering."

"Kanuk-"

"I'm sorry, Rafiki. But I plan on having a peaceful day here. And spending time answering important questions would more than likely ruin it."

With that explanation out of the way, Kanuk stood up from his sitting spot and began to walk away. It was clear that he had no intention of discussing anything that was important with his healer. He had an inkling ad to what kinds of topics he would desire to speak about. That made him want to leave even more. It may not have looked it, but the Lion was utterly terrified to talk about the past with anyone. Especially about-

"Kanuk. I need to know more about Scar."

He stopped.

Rafiki sighed as he walked closer to the Lion who had his back turned to him. "Kanuk, I know that you are still healing. You still have much of Scar's trauma in your head, I can tell. But even though he is gone, I fear that Scar's influence still lives on. The Great Spirits do not speak to me as often, but they have told me that our troubles are far from over. They tell me that someone in Scar's league could reveal themselves in a very tragic way."

Kanuk slightly turned his head back to Rafiki. It was clear that he was listening to what the old Monkey had to say. And it scared him inside.

"They cannot tell me who it is." Rafiki admitted. "Whether they be Lion or Hyena. We know that the Hyenas want nothing to do with Scar anymore, so it must be a Lion. Someone in our very Pride. You were the closest to him. Even more so than Shenzi herself. Please Kanuk, tell me what you know."

On the outside, the tan lion was quiet. He was as stoic as a Buffalo was strong. He appeared to be as brave as an Elephant was big. But on the inside, it was another story to be told. He was breaking down inside. Two minds debating on what to do. He was terrified to even talk about Scar after everything he had put him through. And hearing Rafiki mention the Hyena he hated the most made his blood start to boil. But, he knew that the old Monkey also had a point. The last person in the Pridelands who knew everything there was to know about Scar could undoubtedly cause chaos in the kingdom, and while it was still healing. No other animal should have gone through what he had gone through. After what seemed like hours to him, he had made his decision. He would tell Rafiki everything. Everything about the traitorous interloper.

Everything about Zira.

Hello fellow TLK fans! Back again with another chapter. Well, I guess you all saw that name drop coming a mile away. It looks like Kanuk is gonna have a lot to tell Rafiki. So for the next chapter, it's going to be a bit of a flashback chapter. A sort of recapping of a story that Scar explained to him and only him. I'm also going to bring a little bit of Lion Guard into this minus the Roar. Also, props to anyone in the comments who can guess where I got the name Adea from. See you next time!