(Elsewhere in the Pride Lands…)
In the Mizimu Grove, there was a delicious aroma of new baobab flowers blooming and others falling. The sun was warming placidly, while the earth shone a lustrous green. Several animals were singing and sharing fresh, recently picked fruit, knowing and respecting each other's place in the Cycle of Life. That day was a day to celebrate the community of pride landers... it was a Kupatana.
An adult mandrill walked from one place to another, checking from the trees to make sure there were no problems. An adult egret approached him behind him.
"Rahisi," said the bird, "Your majesty and the lion guard are about to arrive."
"Very good, Ono" Rahisi responded, "Everything is in order, tell the other guests."
Ono nodded and flew over everyone, arriving at the beginning of the grove, where an adult lion with a somewhat dark reddish mane was waiting for him. There was a scar on his left eye, but his smile was that of someone good and kind.
"Your majesty," Ono greeted him, "We are ready for your speech to welcome and celebrate Kupatana."
"Ono… we already talked about it…" he replied.
"Oh, sorry. Well… Dan, we are ready…"
"Yes, thank you very much… where are my brother, Shany and the cubs?"
"Here!"
A lion with a browner fur, along with other adult lions arrived, each of them bearing the mark of a roaring lion on its side, the mark of the Lion's Guard.
"You're not going to start without us, are you?" asked the leader, Koda.
"Of course not," Dan replied, "Everyone should come to this celebration"
"It's a shame not everyone is coming," Lea said. "A herd of wildebeest is grazing a little far away from here, but they assured me they would send a bird if they needed help."
"Otherwise, everything is covered," Mako concluded, "I've never seen a Kupatana, I'm sure you have done a good job your majesty... I mean, Dan."
"We're here!" Shany shouted, arriving along with Simba, Amira, Haki and Salma.
"Everything in order then?" Dan asked, "Well, we can get started."
The group of lions entered the clearing, which looked so green and colorful, as it should signify spring. The leafy baobab trees with the whitish flowers gave an even more picturesque and young touch to the clearing; changing with the beautiful colors of the sunset made that place something magical. Ono, stepping forward, announced:
"With you, the King and Queen of the Pride Lands!" he said, "And also, the brave Lion's Guard!"
The animals present (there were groups of zebras, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, antelopes, cheetahs, hippos, and others) bowed when the group of lions approached the rock. Once in place, and by tradition, it had to be the king who gave a speech. Dan cleared his throat before beginning.
"Dear friends and brothers of the Pride Lands. Welcome to this celebration of friendship and fellowship. Today we are here, not only to witness the blooming of baobab flowers, but to celebrate our community. Gathered here, in the more rejuvenated than ever Mizimu Grove, which has gone through many difficult situations just like us. But thanks to our union, we have managed to preserve the happiness of this day until now thanks to our union… Happy Kupatana to everyone!"
"Happy Kupatana!" everyone present responded. Dan came down from the rock while he received praise.
"Practicing helped you" Koda asked him with a laugh.
"Well, I wasn't doing so well at that time…" he responded, "But I feel good now."
"Your majesty!" Nya told Dan, who went to see his traveling friend, "His phrase for Kupatana was inspiring and very motivating, thank you very much for this celebration."
"Nya!" Dan greeted her, "Long time! Thanks for your good wishes"
"You've been so busy your majesty, haven't you? So much time has passed"
"Please, try to call me Dan," he told her, humble as always, "And yes… I must organize the celebration, be a father with a family, and solve many of the Pride Lands' problems. I do the best I can"
"Well, those efforts are great, the Pride Lands are as peaceful as the times of King Simba… By the way, how is the new Prince Simba?"
"Well, he is a hyperactive cub, I can tell you that," he said, looking away from him.
There, playing with his sister and his cousins, Simba went from one side to the other.
"He's just a cub, Dan," Shany consoled him, "A lot of them get in trouble from that age, remember?"
Dan laughed a little.
"They get into trouble…or does someone get them into trouble?" he asked in laughter.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Shany responded, laughing, remembering exactly how she first met Dan.
"Yuju! Your Majesties!" someone called to them, "Lion's Guard!"
"Wow, it seems that the invitation did reach you, your majesty," Ono exclaimed, bowing and greeting, "Welcome, Jasiri, Queen of the Outlands"
"Hey! And you're not going to introduce me?" replied Janja, who was next to Jasiri.
"Of course, Janja…"
"What else?"
"Okay, King of the Outlands…" Ono completed.
Dan laughed: "Welcome both of you and… where are you?"
"My first!"
"No, me first!"
Two hyena cubs were running towards them, fighting and playing, when they were close enough, they slipped and rolled towards the lions.
"So, these are little Masika and Kyto, right?" Jabari asked.
"Children, say hello to our neighbors," her mother told them.
The cubs stood up and saluted (it seemed impossible to believe that they were Janja's children):
"Nice to meet you"
"The pleasure is ours," Shany greeted them. Then, she turned to the lion cubs, "Simba, Amira, Haki, Salma… accompany our guests, and I hope you become good friends."
"Yes mom," said Simba, approaching the hyena cubs, "Hello, my name is Simba. "This is my sister Amira and my cousins Haki and Salma, do you want to play coco-ball with us?"
Both hyena cubs immediately accepted (it seems as if there had never been rivalry between those two species).
"Don't get into trouble and let us know if you have any!" Dan warned them as he watched them walk away.
"You will never change your ways…" Janja laughed.
"You don't change much either, Janja…" Jasiri remarked, making them laugh at him this time.
"So, how are the Outlands going?" Lea asked.
"Well, it seems like a dream to see some vegetation sprouting and, with the recent rainy weather, the ponds are quite full. "We are all living in harmony, even the jackals"
"We might be better off if those thugs didn't cause so much fuss…" Janja commented.
"Thugs?" Koda asked.
"It's nothing really, it's 3 deserters from our pride: Tabaqui, Ganya, Mwongo. They go around doing whatever they want" Jasiri explained, "Their behavior reminds me of that of Shenzi, Banzai and Edd"
"But, if you have problems, we can help you," said Koda, "That's what the Lion's Guard exists for."
"Don't worry, there are only three of them and no one else from the pride. We'll take care of it. But if you see them in the Pride Lands, you can throw them out without remorse."
"No problem," Mako concluded.
"Look, I think more guests are coming," Akira pointed out, "Or maybe... trouble for the party?"
The approaching group also came from the Outlands; but, compared to Janja and Jasiri, these were more numerous: an adult male jackal, a female and a group of at least 10 cubs. Dan, Koda and Ono went to meet them, while the rest of the Lion's Guard was keeping an eye out for any of those cubs getting separated from their group.
"I see you received our invitation, welcome Dogo," Dan greeted them.
"It's not that we didn't want to come," said Dogo, "But since you have shown us so much kindness, your... your majesty..."
It seemed like he had a hard time pronouncing 'your majesty'. Ono did not miss that.
"You should be grateful that your majesty has formally invited you," he told them, "But I have not forgotten the disaster you caused the previous time."
"Yes... hehe" Dogo laughed remembering his cub antics with his brothers and parents
"I want this celebration to unite our ties in the Great Cycle of Life," Dan clarified, "That's why I have cordially invited you to join the party. Even so..."
"You will be under the supervision of the Lion Guard, to prevent any ploys that you jackals may pull," Koda continued, "We have spoken with the other invited animals and they have decided to give you a chance, but if you steal even one fruit, we will exile you"
Despite the little faces of Dogo's cubs and his partner, they were not going to convince both lions. So, they had to accept his terms.
"Kind like Kion, but cautious like Simba…" Dogo finally said, "Okay, no jackal ploys…"
(Meanwhile...)
The group of cubs were playing with the coconut as a ball.
"Here it goes!" Haki shouted, throwing the coconut towards Kyto.
"I have it!" The hyena cub received it. Then he swung them over his head and threw them at Salma.
"Good. Your turn, Masika" Salma handed her.
"Here I come!" she shouted, climbing on top of the coconut. She almost slipped, but Amira caught her.
The coconut rolled over to Simba, who was looking away.
"Simba!" Haki shouted at him, "This is not the time for you to be distracted."
"Hey Kyto, how much family do you have?" Simba asked, turning to the hyenas.
"A big pride," he responded.
"And they have all come?"
"No, why do you ask?"
Simba pointed into the distance. There, heading towards the Mbali fields, were three quadruped figures which, due to the color of their fur and spots, looked like hyenas.
"Should we alert the Lion's Guard?" Amira asked.
"Not if they are part of Kyto's pride," said Simba, "I propose we go see if they are good or bad. If we need help, we will alert the guard"
"I think it's a bad idea," Salma told him, "Uncle Dan always says not to get into trouble."
"But we also have to learn how to solve problems, right Haki?"
"In a sense... Well, I'll go with you."
"Me too, I'll accompany you," Kyto supported them, "Amira, Salma, can you take care of Masika in the meantime?"
"Yes, it's okay," Amira told them.
With everything ready, the two lion cubs and the hyena followed the trio of strangers. While, in Amira's mind, the phrase was written:
"I have a bad feeling"