Chapter 2

~~~

Flat Ridge Rock, as it name suggested, was a huge flat rock situated on a ridge. What differentiated it from any other similar looking rock was the fact that the ridge it was situated on was itself on the border between the Pridelands and the Outlands; a meeting of two territories on a single boundary. And apparently, it was the place the leader of the Lion Guard chose to meet with the rest of the Guards. The only problem though was the lack of presence of the leader himself.

One would have asked the most obvious question regarding the current situation, but Bunga the honey badger had a mind outside of the cave. "Wait, this is Flat Ridge Rock?" He examined the structure of it.

"Well, it's a flat rock on a ridge. What did you expect?" Jasiri saw Fuli licking the last mud off her unusually soft fur. It had got there without her noticing, but it looked like Bunga was responsible for it, judging by how the cheetah stared at him who had what she guessed as a fake look of realization.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! I know this place. I've been here hundreds of time..."

Whatever happened between them next was lost to the hyena. She had her attention focused on the other side as she sat on the flat rock her fellow Guards had trouble finding. They had decided to rest for a bit after tiring themselves out, a suggestion from the cheetah since they had unknowingly left Beshte behind. The poor hippo was now flying in the sky with occasional snores informing just how high he went. That thought as funny as it was didn't brought any line of smile to Jasiri's muzzle.

It had been awhile since she took the time to look at her old home. Nothing seemed to have changed even for the slightest bit. The ever-dry ground continued to push living creatures away, while the shadows still became the shelter for those who sought their day away from the sun's glare. It was the same Outlands the once young cub abandoned all those moons ago, alone... How long had passed ever since she made that decision she had lost count once she gained her Lion Guard mark. A question from Fuli brought her out of her thought.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that, please?" She turned to look at the Fastest.

"I was asking if you're really fine sitting here waiting for Kion. We could go on looking for him first if you want, 'cause I don't think they're waking up anytime soon," She gestured behind her, where a hippo peacefully lay down, letting out loud sounds usually heard at night. Beside him was an equally loud honey badger, though not as tired but rather just napping.

"No, I don't think that's good idea," Jasiri looked beyond the Pridelands. "For one, there's only two of us. Your speed may come as an advantage, but without Ono or Kion leading us, we're just putting ourselves in unknown danger," Her attention went to her Lion Guard mark, before going back to her once home.

"We hyenas work best in large groups. With only the two of us, our chance of survival is quite low," she said. Not to mention all I can remember is the way from here to my old den.

"We'll just wait, I guess," Fuli said, turning around to look at the fallen males.

"Yes..." Jasiri hoped Kion and Ono wouldn't end up getting hurt because of her decision.

~~~

Kion missed his cubhood; being in the Pridelands, enjoying the day without a care, and playing with his best friend all day long. Being the bearer of the Roar of the Elders, he was trusted with the weight of defending the Circle of Life, even if it meant being lost in the Outlands a second time. Thankfully, it was not hard to find another good hyena willing to help him and Ono back to their home.

Currently, the sky was still the colour of bright blue, and they had not yet encountered any obstacles that might slow down their pace. Ono, now back into his territory, was navigating from above for Flat Ridge Rock and any sight of trouble, fighting tiredness. The cub himself sniffed the air once in awhile in case of one, Janja's scent being the one he looked out for the most.

Despite the seriousness air brought by the guard, Madoa remained lively by offering occasional cheerful conversations, mostly being between him and herself. The topic mostly centered around their duty as the Lion Guard, the predator-prey relationship in the Pridelands, or any stuff really that involved the light-blessed land. Their conversation, to his discomfort, became more and more personal.

While Ono was high above with his business, he and Madoa passed by yet another similar looking rock, or at least to him they looked the same. Madoa didn't seem to have any trouble differentiating them. Kion held his tongue when she told him some of them were named. Living in the Outlands made having objects to talk to quite necessary, she said.

A green and yellow lizard stood in the middle of the path, with a cockroach in front of it. As they came nearer they both could see a long tongue catching the cockroach before the tiny creature was trapped inside the lizard's mouth, then straight to its stomach. The lizard, sensing their presence, looked at them before quickly scampering away. A fond memory of long ago resurfaced in Kion's head, though Madoa brought him back to his senses.

"What is the Circle of Life?" She asked curiously, as in really wanting to know.

"W-well, you know, how every animals play their own role to maintain the balance," The lion was confused as to why she would ask that but answered nonetheless. "You... don't know?" He was just guessing, but she responded by lowering her eyes to her front feet, shyly pawing one of it over the other.

"We hyenas... don't exactly have someone to show us how it really works. All I know is we basically must hunt only when necessary, never take more than our share, and be kind to our preys," Madoa looked up. "That's how it works, isn't it?" Upon looking into her eyes, Kion realized how little she knew regarding the Circle of Life.

As opposed to what Scar had done to the Pridelands while he was king, The Circle of Life kept everything in balance and harmony. All Pridelanders knew and understand how the only way for them to live in prosperity was to stand together, putting away their differences and feud. But that was in the Pridelands. Kion could barely guess whether he was going in the right direction if it wasn't for Madoa. Perhaps the way here was different, imbalance and disharmony all over which were either the direct result of Scar's reign on his people, or the source of it.

He reminded himself to ask Jasiri about this later, and how she learned about the Circle of Life. But for now, he had another plan. "Ono!" He shouted the Keenest of Sight who came down as soon as he heard himself being called.

"Yes, Kion?" The egret landed in front of his leader.

"I want you to go ahead and find Flat Ridge Rock first, in case Jasiri and the rest of the Guards are already there. Lead them here if you hear my roar. You know where to find me,"

"Affirmative, will be on my way!" The egret said and flew high in the sky, leaving the two for themselves. Madoa, as shown by her face, was confused by the interaction. Kion however just gave her a smile and walked ahead of her.

"Follow me?" He gestured with his head.

"To where?"

Kion led her a to a large clearing, looking for a group of tiny red insects. When they were watching that lizard earlier, he thought he saw a line of ants directing here. Sure enough, not far away, five of them moved smoothly on their six feet, crossing over a rock in a straight non-flawed line.

"I don't understand what you're trying to show me," Madoa's question remained unanswered as Kion again walked ahead, this time with the guide of the ants. He finally gave her answer when they reached a nest where a colony of ants reside. He gestured for her to crouch beside him, watching the colony perform their daily duty.

"See those hardworking ants there?" He whispered so as to not scare them off and risk getting bitten. She only nodded. "Those are the worker ants. They mostly search for food and protect the nest,"

Madoa inched closer to them as if she could get the answer by having a clearer view. "So..." Kion grinned at her curious filled face.

"Each and every ant inside the colony has their own role and duty. The workers outside collect food and may guard the nest as well, while the workers inside do the task of taking care of their children and making new rooms. And of course, the queen is the mom of the colony. My friend Jasiri always teases me how it's only the females that do most of the work," he whispered the last one. He got a look on her face and realized he was straying from the real point. "Anyway, all of them carry the responsibility of taking care of the colony. Even if one choose to not to, it leaves an impact to the whole colony,"

Kion closed his eyes before opening it again and sat with his head facing the sky. "When a predator, like me, finishes its part, its body becomes the soil. From it, plants and lives spring. Once the time comes, they too shall carry the responsibility of providing the food a prey needs to survive..."

"And in turn, the predators owe them for the meat offered by the preys," Madoa finished, understanding in her voice.

"And the cycle repeats," Kion returned to the hyena and offered a paw to help her up. "Everyone, big and small, holds a key to keeping the balance in check. Lose one, it will crumble to dust,"

Kion and Madoa continued their journey to Flat Ridge Rock in silence as the clouds passed over in the sky. It finally came to an end when the hyena showed him the way to the mentioned place, in an environment warning him of unwanted dangers.

"This is Janja's territory. I've stepped further than I should. This is where we part,"

"Asante, Madoa, for your help," As Kion climbed a large boulder to his destination, he felt the need to turn back for a few more words. "The Pridelands still has quite the numbers of untouched grass, you know," Madoa's reply to that was, disappointingly, only a shake of the head.

"One is the offer's limit, no more," Though confused, Kion smiled anyway and gave a farewell, before going in direction of his home. A couple of steps away however, a distressed voice came upon him.

"L-look, Janja! I promise I'll stay off your turf. Y-you can even come to mine if you ever need food,"

"Madoa?" Kion turned his path.

When he thought he would not see nor hear Janja again, it was official he needed to make sure to get rid of the water still inside his head. That troublesome hyena and his clan were cornering Madoa. Kion decided it would be best he intervene before his new friend got hurt. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, what with trying to find that traitor sister of your and all," The comment from Janja made him stop short. A traitor hyena?

Kion watched Madoa fix her stance. "Jasiri is not a traitor!" If he was surprised before, he was more so now with a hint of hidden betrayal. "And please, I promise you won't see me here ever again,"

Kion watched intently the scene before him, particularly Madoa. "Jasiri has a sister?" he whispered. He had to shake the thought off his head for now to focus on the more important matter at paw. Cheezi was the first one to attack Madoa.

"Not so fast!" Kion managed to headbutt him away in time. A quivering Madoa looked up from the paws covering her eyes in surprise.

"Kion?" A glance to the sides quickly made her to choose the lion's back as a better place."I thought you already left!" The fear and gratefulness in her voice made him translate that as a 'thank you'.

He grinned and eyed around. "Not when Janja's around, sadly," A few of said hyena's clan were sent flying to the ground. He turned to look at her still trembling figure. "Can you fight?" Kion recalled the aggressive female hyena he met earlier.

"Prefer not to," She barely managed to defend herself from a sneak attack, which Kion easily brought down by headbutting, resulting in a slight daze and spinning of his eyes. He recovered quickly though. "But I could try,"

"Lure them to me," With that said, Madoa left Kion to fend for himself. Cheezi was coming towards him, followed by Chungu. He only had to duck and the two lay limp after hitting the wall. Kion continued with the others.

Madoa did a great job at being a bait, although that might be due to the fact the other hyenas were dumb to begin with. A kick from one of them brought made him kiss the earth. He reminded himself not to silently insult them behind them lest he got into misfortune again.

Once Madoa had her followers right before him, he gave them each a punch good enough to immobilize them for quite a while. Despite doing pretty well, Kion and Madoa found themselves outnumbered in the end. More and more of Janja's clan spawn into existence until the only escape they had was the sky. Janja came forward.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Kion. Thought I wouldn't see ya again so soon. It is very kind of you to protect a hyena, more so that lives in the Outlands," He gave a sinister grin as he stepped further, flanked by his clan, fangs bared. "Oh, don't worry, it won't hurt... I think," Kion readied himself before Janja lunged.

~~~

Jasiri heard the sound of wings flapping and squinted her eyes to see a white bird over the distance, shouting whispers. "Guys, it's Ono!" As soon as the guard heard that, they jumped to their feet with the exception of Bunga who did a back-flip first.

"Don't worry, Ono, we've got your back!" It was apparent napping had left an effect on the honey badger. No one minded.

The Keenest of Sight was letting the wind lift his body. He looked relieved, but he was alone, no lion seen below nor over. Worries crept over Jasiri as thousand probabilities of bad things showed up in her head one by one.

"Everyone! Finally, I made it," Ono heaved a sigh while he landed on Beshte's back with slight trouble, before plopping and having his whole front side lying on it. He didn't care all the others were worried sick at the lack of sight of their leader.

Fuli beat Jasiri to the question that was on the head of most of them. "Where's Kion, Ono? Wasn't he with you?"

Ono replied in a loud voice, albeit muffled to the point nobody could comprehend what was being said. "He...ahead. Said he...alk...hyena...Mawowa," Whatever he said after that was no longer in the realm of comprehensibility. Fuli understood it perfectly though.

"Oh, how I admire your loyalty..." Jasiri saw her roll her eyes which was followed by an almost silent snore, which not in the least calmed her growing anxiousness.

In the tense moment of fears and worries, a feeling of unease washed over the hyena as she put a paw over her suddenly tightening chest. Up above, clouds began taking the form of lions head, glaring below them, their angry eyes boring deep into hers. Knowing full well what it meant, Jasiri made her the decision. "Ono, take us to Kion!" she made her tone as demanding as possible.

The egret, hearing her command, immediately came to his sense and started flapping his wings before he was back in the sky. He too had looked at the lining lion heads in the sky.

"Let's go!" Fuli picked Bunga onto her back.

"This way!" The guard followed the egret's lead even if they already had one in the sky.

Soon, the clouds had their jaws opened, readying to roar like Jasiri had seen King Simba often did, while at the same time the tightening in her chest spread over her whole body. Her feet felt soft and weak, her tail lost to her sense. The ground beneath was as if those clouds themselves had covered it with their impossibly fluffy being. Soon, her eyes darted all over the places. With her head spinning, she didn't even notice one of her feet had slipped until she hit the ground. She thought someone called her name.

Right as some unknown lion roared, all of her senses were gone.

~~~

Jasiri saw a hand of a mandrill offering half a fruit's shell acting as a bowl containing water. Another hand pulled her head towards it. She felt her lips touching the bowl, then a cooling sensation ran through her throat, giving the world around her a clearer view. She felt much better. "Asante, Rafiki," she weakly attempted to at least move her paw.

The old guy moved his finger left and right in front of her nose. "It is not I you should be thanking. The sun has already set. You might as well continue your rest," he gave her another bowl which she gladly finished in one gulp.

She thanked him once more and let the night air of the Pridelands clear her mind. She was in Rafiki's tree, with him tending to her. It was apparent she had fainted yet again, and someone took the burden of carrying her back here, as it was also her home. She remembered bits of her memories coming to her before blacking out. "Is Kion alright? I heard his roar,"

"And I see the toll it has taken on you," He gave her a knowing look as he rearranged his herbs and fruits. He drew a smile and let out his distinct laugh she had come to know once he placed them in the place of his liking.

Jasiri's ears flattened. "Did you tell him?"

"The little prince was worried, but I promised him you would be running back and forth to the lair by tomorrow. He and the other guards wish you a good night sleep,"

Jasiri felt a wave of relieve passing through her as she heard his words. "Does that mean I can continue my guard duty as usual?" She tried to move her left foot, but was disappointed to find out she had fallen quite hard she couldn't quite lift it. Her ankle too was sprained, most probably from the fall too.

"No, but knowing you, that wouldn't make any difference. As of which, I think it's time we talk about your condition," He finally came to sit beside the smaller hyena. "Or perhaps you desire a talk in another time?"

Jasiri looked the other way, but eventually gave up. She lay her head fully on the tree's warm wood floor, not focusing her eyes in any particular direction. She spoke slowly. "Why does every time Kion roars I lose my consciousness? It's like he's doing it on purpose. Every time I look up, I saw their eyes, the lions', staring right through me, like I did something wrong," She never felt her watering eye until something, or rather someone, hit her in the head. She glared at Rafiki, which didn't constitute for one at all if words of her friends could be trusted. "What was that for?"

Rafiki feigned ignorance, munching on a fruit that magically appeared out of thin air. "Not my fault the Lion Guard is usually seen with only five members," he continued grinding his teeth against his midnight snack, producing a sound uncomfortable for the ears.

Jasiri hung her head, somewhat guilty. "I guess it is my fault leaving them in the middle of an emergency, or any other time. But still, there has to be something more! I mean, I fainted the first time Kion summoned the Roar, before I even got my mark!" She then realized there was a painting of two cubs she often stopped by to look closely. It was of her and Kion, directly painted in front of where she and Rafiki were now. She turned to said mandrill. "You know something about it, right?" Even with her best pleading eyes he still seemed to be none the wiser. Him sticking a finger in his ear then pulling a tiny bug already dead for who knew how long proved that.

Rafiki surprised her for a bit by standing abruptly. He walked to the painting, his staff hitting the floor a few times. Jasiri watched him as he placed his hand below it.

"My knowledge is limited to what I've seen and been told so far. Yours is a recent one, never ever heard in the history of Pridelands since the first settlers were chosen as its rulers," He fell into one of his thinking pose beside the painting. Jasiri, finally strong enough to move her feet albeit not much, walked to him, step by step, making sure to keep her sprained paw close to her upper body. She lay beside him with her head on his lap.

Her eyes went to his. "Found anything yet?" She smiled hopefully, before it turned into a frown once she realized his eyes were closing, along with a snore that blew some parts of her mane. She put on a tired smile and wished good night for him. As slow and silent as she could, not that she could move faster or make any sound in her current condition, she moved from Rafiki's side to her sleeping spot, where the moon and stars above lit her night. Her last thought before embracing her sleepiness was that of the painting, somehow shifting into life; her and her friend's little selves being watched from above by a pair of watchful eyes of a mysterious lion that was never there before.

Jasiri was greeted by the sight of an overly bright smile of her best friend by the time she was awake. The Guards, Kion particularly, was pretty insistent on her not overdoing things such as attempting to get herself crushed by an elephant, so she wouldn't suddenly fall unconscious during her duty.

Words got out someone had been spreading false--Kind of--news that the Kindest was out all over the Pridelands trying to help the pridelanders with their problems. She initially looked in Rafiki's direction, but it was Fuli who approached her.

"It's the best excuse I could give. I thought he had breathing difficulties when he saw you lying stiff like that," she said. Although reluctant, Jasiri found the solution to be the best. After all, she wasn't really keen on having her best friend discover her secret yet. Before she got to ask, the Fastest already had her paw raised. "And no, he doesn't suspect a thing. Or at least I think so. Kion's been pretty quiet since we decided to check on you," The two girls turned their attention to the lion cub who immediately looked away once he got caught staring at them.

"Heya, Jasiri! Wanna play a round of Baobab before going for patrol?" Bunga took out a Baobab fruit and tossed it at her. It didn't quite reach the target and almost hit Rafiki had the mandrill not paid attention and deflect its course using his staff. Or perhaps he just happened to put it there right on time while focusing on another painting of his.

"Bunga, Jasiri's still not recovered from yesterday! You can't just throw a Baobab at her,"

Jasiri gave Kion a questioning but playful look. "And how could you be sure of that? I'm sure this is my body I'm living in,"

"Yeah, she looks pretty fine to me!"

"You just can't, alright!" He let out a sudden growl, though realized soon after and rephrased his words. He sighed. "Just to make sure you heal up nicely. Not even you could just magically recover in just a night sleep," He hung his head.

The exasperation in his voice and gestures from earlier didn't go unnoticed by Jasiri. Slowly, she straightened her legs, all of them, and fixed her wiggly stance. Slowly and firmly, she walked towards the lion who already had his back facing her. She stopped just beside him.

"Janja again, or your sister?" The only times he was ever like this were when those two were involved. There were others, but Janja and Kiara had the most impact.

Kion sighed. "It's not about Janja. Well, maybe a little. You're right about the sister part, though," Jasiri tilted her head, wondering since when that troublesome hyena had a secret sibling. She righted her position when he turned to face her. "Sorry about before. You too, Bunga!" He told the honey badger behind them.

"Pfft, we're friends. We're cool, alright!"

Jasiri thought of what could cheer him up tjen smiled. "A girl can take care of herself, you know? I thought your father taught you that," she said, to which he, as expected, responded with a smile of his own followed by a smirk.

"Oh, he did, didn't he?" They both laughed two the point they forgot about the presence of the others. "Oh sorry, guys. Patrol, right?"

"Definitely," Fuli deadpanned. Bunga had already went outside to play some Baobab with Beshte and Ono. Beshte couldn't enter so Ono volunteered to keep him company. Soon, she too followed. "I swear sometimes Jasiri is more related to you than Kiara ever is,"

Before they fully exited Rafiki's tree, Kion asked Jasiri one last time. "Is your head, okay? I dropped you a few time on the way here--Not on purpose! Bunga kept distracting me," he had his eyes white at the thought of his words getting misunderstood.

Jasiri ignored the desire to tease him in favour of answering. "Now that you mention it, yeah, I do feel a little bit dizzy," she rubbed her paw on the side of her head to ease the spinning.

"Sorry about that. Maybe after patrol we'll just work on coordination. No need to push ourselves so much. I could use some light exercise these times of days," Jasiri could not help but to notice a slight frown once he turned away from her. She thought to not press him about the matter for now, at least until he decided to tell her himself.

Outside, the others were waiting for them. At seeing her, Beshte grinned and greeted her. "How are you, Jasiri? Sorry I couldn't carry you yesterday. I was in pretty bad shape, running without stop like that and Kion insisted to take you here,"

She smiled back. "Oh, I can run all over the Pridelands!" At the look Kion was giving her, she chuckled. "But I think I'll just go patrolling with the rest of you for the day,"

"And your sprained ankle?" Ono descended onto the hippo's back, clearly curious of the condition of her foot. He must have noticed when she was unconscious back then.

Jasiri just raised and bent it around freely to her will. "See? all nice and healed up!"

"That's fast," he said, surprised. Jasiri shrugged.

"Anyway, since we're already behind our schedule"--Kion slightly raised his voice--"I think now is as good as any time to begin our patrol,"

Fuli cheered. "Finally!"

With all in agreement, they began moving to their fixed destinations, starting with the Watering Hole. They all needed refreshment to be on the best of their condition. Usually, it was always Kion who began their phrase. Right as they were about to move however, Jasiri jumped ahead, startling the lion.

"Till the Pridelands end-"

"Jasiri!" he sprinted towards her.

"-Lion Guard defends!" The other soon followed, all with humour written on their faces.

~~~

And... that's it. Leave a review. I won't judge(maybe).

About the scene with Rafiki's tree, I'm still not sure whether it is physically possible for hyenas(and lions) to climb a tree that big. So, for the sake of not having plot holes, let's just assume there's a normal entrance, if there never was, where animals like Jasiri can go through.

To Gracekim1: I am not new to the Lion Guard and Lion King fandom. In fact, this story is actually one that I already published on Wattpad. But thank you for the welcome anyway. About the flashbacks, I'll see if I can put them in the middle of some chapters. I'm actually in the middle of a project, which is inspired by this work of mine. That project is a series of stories about how Jasiri gets into the Pridelands, then what happens after. Maybe I could use some from them, as this story is kind of a base for it(which is not saying much, really).