"What about you, Lia?" Tombie lifts an eyebrow. "You ever want to go back home?"
"No," she responds quickly. Too quickly.
Tombie's eyebrows raise once more, but he doesn't say anything further. He knows the lioness isn't being exactly truthful, but he also can't blame her for it.
He still remembers it like it was yesterday — the way she ran to his den in the middle of the rainy night, soaked to the bone and shivering. That night, she had desperately begged him to help her, sobbing as she explained to him why she needed to leave immediately. Tombie had agreed, of course. In all the time he knew Dalia, he had never seen her like that.
They never talk about the night they ran away — it's a touchy subject for both friends. However, though Tombie never had the heart to bring it up again, he does think about that night occasionally. He often thinks about how the story would've changed if he had said 'no.'
Would he have liked it better that way?
The brisk, cool air of the night ruffles through Dalia's fur.
The lioness caught up with her hyena friend for the good portion of the night, only sleeping when Madoa lightly teased them about how late it was. Afterward, Dalia and Imba both left the Outlands in the morning, profusely thanking their friends for their hospitality.
After spending a day full of gathering more information on the Lion Guard, Imba has retired for the night and the lioness is on her nightly hunt. She's decided to hunt during Beshte and Bunga's shifts, after learning that they weren't very attentive. After a quick glance around to make sure no members of the Lion Guard were near, she lifts her head to the sky, catching the scent of the prey she's tracking. Stilling for a moment, she angles her ears to the side, trying to pick up any noise.
Her heart sinks with disappointment when she doesn't pick up anything
Just as she's about to call it a night and accept that her hunt won't be successful tonight, she catches the slightest rustling in the long grasses in front of her. Remaining absolutely silent, she spots the top of a gazelle antler peeking out from the long grass. Dalia grins before lowering herself to the ground. She was going to eat well tonight, she decides.
As she slowly parts the tan long-grass of the Pridelands, Dalia can't help but think of the conversation she had with Tombie the previous night.
After she quickly shut down Tombie's question, Dalia had decided to ask about Janja and his clan to change the subject. After all, gathering information about Janja's clan was the whole reason she came to the Outlands in the first place. Tombie had described in disgust exactly what he thought of Janja and his clan, which matched-up with what Dalia gathered from her spying in the Pridelands. After they had been through, Dalia trusts Tombie with her life, and will always believe what he tells her.
Lost in thought, Dalia hadn't noticed that the gazelle had spotted her until the four-legged creature was sprinting away from her.
Cursing herself under her breath, she sprints through the long grass. The gazelle got a running start and is already a good distance from Dalia, so she needs to make up for lost time. Her hindlegs propel her forwards and claws dig into the ground for more traction.
She kicks up dirt in her wake, sprinting to catch up with the gazelle. Dalia shakes her head in frustration as the early rays of the sunrise settle of the Pridelands, setting a pinky-orange hue over the grassy savannah. The Lion Guard would start their dawn patrol soon, and Dalia hasn't had food yet. She's half-tempted to just give up on the hunt entirely and endure the empty stomach, but she decides she's worked too hard to give up now.
The chase is long, and both the gazelle and lioness start letting out gasps as they try to catch their breath. It's a well-known fact that gazelles have longer endurance than lions, so she knows she'll burn out if she's not being careful. The sun rises higher over the Pridelands by the second, the heat starting to warm the fur on her back. She knows she's being careless, but she's too stubborn to stop now.
Fortunately for the gazelle (and unfortunately for Dalia), Dalia's too preoccupied with the gazelle to realize a certain golden-furred prince is running towards her. Dalia's jaws are barely a foot away from the gazelle when the prince tackles her to the ground. The nomad lets out a startled gasp as the heavier lion shoves her out of the path of the gazelle.
However, he didn't exactly take into account the sloping land directly behind Dalia. A blurred mixture of pale-cream and yellow-gold roll down the slopey hill behind Dalia, the lioness hitting her back paw at an awkward angle each time she hits the ground. She somehow manages to catch sight of the large acacia tree behind them and lets out a panicked shriek realizing that they would crash into it.
They separate when they crashed into the trunk of the acacia tree at the base of this hill, Dalia gasping to catch her breath. As soon as she gets her bearings straight, Dalia whirls around, ears angled down in hostility and claws unsheathed. Her assailant is also catching his breath, mere feet away from her. Not yet realizing who tackled her, her brows knit together in anger. "What's your problem, you—"
Her voice catches in her throat when the lion lifts his head, the sunlight behind him making his features more visible. Kion.
The backlighting of the morning sun behind him is doing the young prince wonders. His auburn tuft of main on his head shines bright red and the gold flecks in his eyes are more noticeable, giving him an almost angelic glow.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he starts before looking up to the top of the hill where he shoved Dalia. "Or push you down the hill, for that matter."
The fur on her back rises in embarrassment and heat rises to her cheeks. "I wasn't startled," she grits out, teeth clenched and claws sliding into the ground.
Her tail thrashes in annoyance. Dalia presses her weight down on her back paw and winces at the sudden jolt of pain that shoots up the length of her hindleg. Biting the inside of her cheek, she tells herself not to do that again and keeps her paw slightly elevated off the ground.
Kion's eyes narrow. "Regardless, I would like to know why you were attacking the gazelle."
Dalia lets out a scoff of disbelief. "Attacking? I was hunting." To emphasize her point, she stomps her back paw on the ground, forgetting how sore it is. The same sharp pain jolts up her leg, and she winces before lifting it a bit higher of the ground. Dalia chides herself and bites the inside of her cheek harder, this time tasting the copper swirls that come forth.
The fiercest's ears angle downward, and he shakes his head in disagreement. "But since you're not from our Pride, and you're not a Pridelander, you don't have a right to be hunting in the Pridelands." Kion then quirks a brow. "So which Pride are you from?"
"I don't belong to a Pride," Dalia answers sharply, ears still flat against her had. "I'm a nomadic lioness."
"A nomadic lioness?" Kion echoes doubtfully. Dalia knows that Kion's apprehensive of her because of the vulnerability of the Pridelands. She even overhead Ono saying just a few weeks ago that anyone could be working for Scar. He thinks for a moment, trying to decide what to do with her, before sighing. "I think you should speak with my Dad, and let him decide what to do," he says eventually.
Dalia isn't too thrilled about the idea but realizes there isn't a better alternative. Oh, this is so frustrating. She should've been more careful and gone home when the first rays of dawn settled over the Pridelands. Slowly sheathing her claws, she tips her head into a reluctant nod. "Fine."
Author's Note:
Yes, Kion and Dalia aren't exactly buddy-buddy upon their first meeting. I had to rewrite parts of it several times because I didn't like how it sounded, and I'm still not too thrilled with the final result, but it's better than what it was. As always, feel free to leave any criticism/feedback/suggestions in the reviews. If you have more detailed questions, consider creating an account and sending me a PM.
In the last chapter, I asked for some recommendations for voice actors and got several. Dalia will be voiced by Isabela Moner (Instant Family), Imba will be voiced by Andrea Libman, and Tombie will be voiced by Bruce Willis (RJ in Over the Hedge). I will have more OCs along the way, and ya'll can suggest voice actors for them as this series progresses.