Five. Hundred. Views.

How?!

A-hem, anyways. Enjoy while I go contemplate life.

"Hey James!" I looked up from my project. Kiara came running up. "I wanna-whoa!" I winced as she tripped on air and crashed into the thing I was working on. She yelped and scrambled to untangle her limbs.

"Sorrysorrysorry!" She backed up, her ears pinned flat. I patted the air.

"You're okay, Kiara. You didn't mean to. That actually helped, if I'm being honest."

"Really…?" She looked like she didn't believe me.

"I was taking it apart anyways. Besides, I can't be mad at you." I scooped her up and scratched under her chin. She purred before shaking her head.

"Can I help?"

"Let me think…can you look for more of these leaves?" I held one up.

"Oh! There's a big bush close by!" She ran off, nearly tripping again.

"Don't go too far!" I called.

"I know!" She called back. I chuckled as I got back to work.

Ever since Zira had banished herself, things had changed in the Pridelands. We had lost almost a third of the pride. Leone and I were picking up the slack when it came to hunting and patrols. I was hoping the pride could begin refilling those numbers by the end of the year. Leone and I wouldn't be here forever.

No longer were lions allowed to go anywhere near the border alone. I was to have an escort of some kind when leaving Pride Rock. Simba and I had agreed that Zira would kill me on sight, and I had been caught off guard before.

On the plus side, I got to know more members of the pride as I went on patrols with one or two of them at a time.

Bisa and Uzuri were my most common tagalongs, as they were the least nervous around Leone and I aside from Simba, Nala, and Sarabi.

I, on the other hand, was a little wary of the way Bisa kept looking Leone when she thought no one was watching.

Not that anything even could happen. Leone couldn't have those desires, nor could he even have fulfilled them. Not to mention he had no want to, as he informed me with a look of outright disgust when I told him what was happening. I just hoped Bisa wouldn't take it badly when she found out any advances would be pointless.

I would have to tell her at some point. Before she digs herself too deep a hole.

Why me?

I grabbed my pile of sticks and leaves and got back to work. It was a simple contraption, really. Nothing more than a rain catch with a portable filter I had in my pack. The water fell down the leaves and into the filter. I couldn't figure out how to stop the original leaf bowl from leaking, so I just used one of my small cooking pots to catch the filtered water.

Granted the lions didn't care about filtering water, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

Speaking of hurt…

The more I thought about it, the stupider it sounded for me to get injured by those dogs.

I turned the branch in my fingers as my eyes drifted to my scarred arm.

'Leone?' I prompted mentally, not wanting the others nearby to hear my conversation. 'Why didn't either of us sense those wild dogs?' Leone didn't respond at first. Then a hesitant feeling brushed my mind.

'You weren't sleeping, were you?' He responded in the negative. I frowned as I tied the stick in my hand to a few others. 'How could we have missed their intent for so long? We've felt such things before.' Leone could only give the equivalence of a shrug. 'That might be something worth adding to our training…' Kiara came back at that point.

"-ere!" She panted as she waddled around a bundle of long leaves. I had to stop myself from laughing at the sight. She plopped the leaves down and stepped to the side, beaming a toothy grin.

"Thank you, Kiara. That really helps." She beamed brighter and bounced on her feet.

"I'm gonna go play!"

"Careful on the rocks!" I called after her.

"I know!" I chuckled at her exasperation before getting to work. Weaving the sticks together in a rather loose fashion, as to not snap them, I built a teepee shape and tied it together with multiple stalks of long grass. The new leaves were woven around it to direct the water towards the filter that hung from the sticks. I placed the pot under it and made sure there was enough room for any of the lionesses to drink from it.

Simba preferred not to after his mane got snagged and it nearly came down on his head once. It was understandable, and he had no issues going to the water hole. It allowed him to personally come across more problems that may come up in the Pridelands, rather than depend on Zazu and others patrolling.

"Hello James." I looked over my shoulder to see Uzuri stepping out of the cave.

"Good afternoon." I nodded my head towards her. She leaned back, stretching her front legs with a growl of satisfaction. "Good nap?" I teased.

"I don't know how you can stay awake for so long," She said as she stretched her back legs.

"Too much on my mind. Besides, if I slept as much as you all did, I'd be in worse shape than I am now."

"Are you calling me fat?" She cocked a brow at me, her red eyes shimmering with humor.

"No. But I definitely would be." We both chuckled before I waved her over. "Can you see if you can stick your head under the branches for me? I want to be ready for the next rainfall." I scooted to the side as she nodded. After a few adjustments, I was happy that the catch was sturdy enough for the lions to use. I held my chin thoughtfully. "Now if I can just keep Kiara from plowing into it…" Uzuri laughed heartily at that.

"Cubs will be cubs!"

"Agreed." I mentally poked Leone, who shot me a half-hearted snarl. He knew he acted like a prideful kit sometimes.

I never let him forget it.

"Come on, I want to go on patrol," Uzuri said. I tipped my head and looked to the sky in thought.

"I thought Simba just sent one out?" Her ears reddened a little.

"It's more paranoia on my part." I smiled.

"Understandable. Leone probably needs to stretch his legs anyways." I felt him leap to full awareness. "Yup, he's excited now." We headed down Pride Rock after letting Nala know where we were going.

"Your ability to know what Leone is feeling is still so strange to me," She said, observing me as we headed out.

"I don't expect anyone to understand it. It's not something but a handful of other humans have felt." I pulled out my launcher and loaded up. Leone hit the ground and zipped around us before his spirit formed in its normal fashion. He nuzzled my shoulder before trotting ahead.

"I would like to meet some of the creatures like him, someday," Uzuri mused as Leone sniffed around.

"I think you would like them. There are a couple that are similar to zebra. There's another lion, though," I cut her off before she could comment, "I'm not sure how he would react to being near an actual king of a pride. His Blader is a…stubborn kid." No matter how much I tried, Kyoya refused to get along. Sure, as he matured there was less and less one sided hostility, but the guy couldn't let go of the fact that we both had Leone Beys.

He had even proven himself in battle.

Multiple times.

"I see. What other animals are there?" Uzuri asked.

"Of the ones I'm close to? Let's see…There is one that looks like a man, but from a time long before now. His clothing is weirder than mine." She shot me a flat look.

"Your removable skins are weird."

"I said weirder," I chuckled. I thought back to all the Bladers I knew. "There is one that is similar to a Wildebeest, except the horns are a little longer and smoother. It's not quite as bulky as a rhino, but it's strong. There's an eagle, imagine vultures, but without the receding hairline." She laughed again.

"Such fascinating creatures!"

"And I've only told you about the ones that actually exist."

"What do you mean?" We stopped in the shade for a short while as I explained what a dragon was.

"That sounds horrifying!" Uzuri's eyes were wide. "How can something like that exist?!"

"Well, that's the thing. They don't."

"Then how does one like him exist?!" She pointed her nose at Leone, who was dozing next to me.

"Because Beyblades aren't fully built after what is real. I mean, the idea of a living spirit inside of a top is crazy." I ducked under Leone's casual tail swat.

I explained how some Beys were designed after myths, or creatures that existed in stories alone. I didn't get into religion to explain Jupiter, which is why I just said he was a man. I avoided Kronos as well. Telling her about different religious pantheons would probably make her brain melt.

Dragons were enough for today.

We got back to our patrol when the sun fell low enough that our shade became nonexistent. Leone offered me a ride, which I accepted. I was able to keep a better eye out for anything strange from his back.

An elephant trumpeted, drawing my attention. A herd was off to our left, one of them stomping towards us at a rapid pace.

"Uh, Leone, gimme a second." I slid off his back after he stopped. I stepped a few yards closer to the elephant, putting myself between it and Uzuri.

"You wanna tell me why you're charging at my friends and I?" I asked calmly. The elephant slowed to a stop, its ears flapping. A scar on its shoulder was evident when it turned to the side. "Azizi?" The elephant rumbled in its throat. I could feel it through my shoes.

"James," The bull elephant greeted, "If I may, I heard something concerning, and was on my way to inform the majordomo. But, since you are here…"

"What is it?"

"Word travels far for us elephants. We can communicate over long distances. As such, I spread the word about the potential poachers in the area." Dread set in.

"You heard about them, didn't you?" I asked. Any casual posture vanished.

"Two herds away."

"How far away is that?"

"A few days travel. And there were close to forty of them from what was said." There were twice as many as I thought. Panic tried to grip my heart. I wrestled it away and tried to think clearly.

"Th…thank you, Azizi. I will inform the king right away." I bowed my head to him. "Keep your herd away from them." He flapped his ears.

"I have already started moving my herd to the far side of the Pridelands." We said our farewells and I called Leone over.

"We need to tell Simba, now." I hopped on before Leone and Uzuri tore across the grass.

"Are you prepared for them?" Uzuri called up to me.

"We'll have to be!" I said. Leone growled as he leaped over an old tree.

We made it back to Pride Rock in record time. I almost had to tell Leone to sit on Uzuri so she could catch her breath before I ran up into the den. A flash of red caught my eyes.

"Simba!" His head snapped up, his brow creasing when he saw me.

"James? What's wrong?"

"The elephant bull, Azizi, just told me that the poachers are a few days out, two elephant herds away." His eyes widened. "There were almost forty of them, by his account." He started immediately sending out a few lionesses to call a gathering at sunset. Nala padded up to us as he sent off the final lioness.

"They're nearby, aren't they?" She asked, having been outside when I first came in. Simba nuzzled her when he saw the worry in her eyes.

"They won't lay a finger on any of you," I said as I dug through my pack. Leone came in at my mental beckon. I caught him and took him apart, checking over the parts.

"What are you doing?" Simba asked. I explained with half a mind as I worked.

"Cleaning his Bey. I don't want to take any chance of him losing power due to being unbalanced. We need to end this confrontation as fast and as painlessly as possible. Well," I paused and looked up at them, a dangerous gleam in my eye, "Painless for the pride." Simba stepped out to handle some things before the gathering.

Nala stood there, an uncertain air around her. I paused and looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"I don't have a choice. Leone and I will train today, after the gathering, but I will need proper rest until they show up. I only hope they ignore Pride Rock, but I have a feeling that won't happen." I continued cleaning the Energy Ring, removing dust out with a small brush.

««{{}}»»

"Alright, more power this time." Leone switched to Stamina mode, the teeth on the Fusion Wheel glinting in the light.

"Phantom Zone!" The star beneath my feet shone with energy. I felt it pull at my core before stabilizing. Leone spun outside of the dome.

"Specter's Glare!" The Bey began vibrating at a near invisible speed. The resulting shockwaves hit the dome hard. I dug my feet in and held my hands out, putting more energy into the shield.

"Come on!" I called out. Leone growled and pushed more power into the Glare. A battle of wills began. Minutes into it, I felt numbness start at my fingertips and spread up my arms.

The vibrations started coming through the dome, bouncing around and rattling my skull. My eyes squeezed shut and I cried out. I held on as best I could. The Specter's Glare was canceled the moment the Zone failed. I fell to a knee and gripped my head, hissing through my teeth as my vision wavered. Leone crouched next to me, groaning in concern.

"Maybe too much power. Ow." He nuzzled me, giving me some of his strength upon physical contact. After the injury that led us into this entire situation, we had become less stubborn about sharing it. After all, Leone needed less rest than I did. I wrapped an arm over his shoulder and he helped me to my feet.

"Thanks bud. Man, no wonder the other guys hate that move. Might have to work on that, heh. Could prove to be dangerous." Leone gave a disbelieving stare before sending me the mental images of Cosmic Pegasus returning from orbit and Fang Leone's twisters obliterating anything in its path.

I blinked twice.

"Point taken."