Always: A Lion Guard Short Story

"By your side"

The sun steadily rose just beyond the horizon, bringing a sense of life into the lush Savannah. Animals of all kinds arise to see their home come to life as orange and yellow painted their landscape. All except one, a young teenage lion poisoned by a venomous serpent and had the scar on his eye to prove it.

'He had another nightmare, didn't he?'
His friends shared a discouraged look. With that thought his body began shifting and his voice quivering. "He's waking up," whispered his best friend. A Honey Badger with a more reckless attitude than most. "Or he's having another nightmare." His cheetah friend interrupted.

Fuli had tried her best to comfort Kion in the previous nights, she saw more than her friends the effect that the scar was having on the lions mental state. Transforming him from the optimistic, fierce and loyal friend into a more reserved, angry, and... fearful. The past few days had been hard on all of them, but Kion already was in a weak state, lashing out at his friends for any annoyance. At that last thought, Fuli gazed and her flank, her injuries sustained from their recent fight still healing. Fuli tried her best to let Kion know that he was forgiven by all of his friends for what had happened that day, but he refused to sleep, walk and in most cases talk around them. She awoke the previous night to hear him rustling in his sleep, feeling a sense of sadness, she quietly walked over to where he was sleeping, a fair distance from her and the rest of the guard. She slowed down the closer she got, he was... crying? She laid down beside him and wrapped her tail across his back. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt his tail find it's way over her back and she wasn't sure if he was conscious, but she swore he muttered "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

When she woke he wasn't beside her, she immediately sprang up to find her friend. That was when she saw her friends huddled behind some bushes all intently watching something. She crept behind them to see what was happening, only to sigh when she saw Kion laying and a large rock by himself.

"Let's go everyone, Anga are we still heading the right direction?" Kion's sudden awakening shocked Fuli out of her thoughts. Anga took to the sky and looked for the nearest landmark. "Yup, just past the nearest treeline is the ice river, the next Moja kwa Moja stone is just beyond that." Anga said as she descended to stay close to her friends. "How long will it take to get there?" Kion asked, the sound of grief ever present in his voice. "A day at most, if we go without breaks we should reach the tree line by nightfall." Kion turned to face the direction Anga pointed out. "Just a little longer." he muttered under his breath.

The day went by as the quietest the guard had traveled. Fuli tried her best to reel Kion into the group, but he never got closer that a few meters behind them. 'Why doesn't he understand that I forgave him? We both know he's been through a lot, and what happened a few days ago was not his fault!' "Hey Fuli, you thinking about something?" She looked up to see Beshte and Bunga looking back at her. She sighed "I'm worried about him." She confessed. "We all are Fuli." Bunga stated. "We've all been losing someone, the venom is eating him up." Beshte said with his head hung low. "It's worse than that guys, he's worse now than he was lashing out at us! He's completely lost his confidence and is terrified that he will hurt us again." "You mean hurt you again?" Bunga quickly responded. "Fuli froze. "What do you mean?" She asked, half expecting what he would respond with. "Fuli he knows that words don't really hurt us, we've been friends for years! But the other day he came close to ending your life. Haven't you noticed that his attitude change has happened since that day? He obviously doesn't trust himself around us and probably still blames himself." Bunga looked at Beshte and gave him a nod, letting him know to chime in. "Fuli, I know it's going to be hard, but you more than any of us need to let Kion know that you trust him." Fuli took in everything they said, "How can I let Kion know that I trust he won't hurt me?" Fuli asked with a sense of disbelief. An Egret that rested of Beshte's back then spoke up, "Be there for him tonight. We'll need some rest after the days travel, and he is obviously sleep and food deprived and needs a sense of comfort and assurance. And to be honest, you've looked out for him more than the rest of us on this journey." Fuli nodded back and looked back at her lion friend. 'I'm so sorry you feel this way, Kion.'

The sun began to set, and the guard settled into the treeline Anga scouted out that morning. "Here we are!" Anga exclaimed. Kion was about to speak "If we keep going, we shou-" " Kion.." he turned to see Fuli, the worry in her eyes
ever present. "You need to rest, you have been through a lot these past few days." "Fuli, I'm not going to get any better just waiting here." "You should listen to Fuli, Kion." Anga said "We can rest for the night, and leave in the early morning, but you need to sleep and get something to eat." Fuli's words fought at Kion's heart and mind, but he still persisted. "But it's right there! We can't just stop now." Kion's temper was clearly getting short, and the guard flinched as he unintentionally unsheathed his claws. "Kion..." he looked back to see a fearful look on Bunga's face, 'what could have scared him?' He suddenly felt his paws cut through dirt, he looked down and shuttered at the sight of his claws. He broke into a run, as fast as he could into the bushes, not daring to look back. "We need to go after him." Bunga said. "We shouldn't, Bunga. He needs time to think." Ono said as he put his wing in front of the Honey Badger. "He's had enough time to think. I can't watch this anymore, I'm going to find him." Fuli said as she sprinted into the bushes.

She searched high and low but found no sign of Kion. Fear started to take over as she imagined what he could've done to himself in the time she had been searching for him. Just then, she saw the silhouette of a young lion by a river. She approached cautiously, as to not disturb her friend. She slowed down as she was only a few tail lengths away from her friend. "Kion?" She said, not bothering to hide the concern in her voice. "What have I become Fuli?" She was honestly surprised he responded to her. "Kion, if it means anything, you're not what you think you are-" "How can you think that? All I've done on this journey is hurt you guys," he turned around and stares at her flank, to which she tries to hide. "Kion, that wasn't you, I know you would never hurt me, I trust you." "How? I can't even trust myself, I can't hurt you anymore, you mean to much too me Fuli." She was taken aback by this statement, never in all their years of friendship had Kion been so vulnerable in front of her. "Kion, please look at me." Kion lifted his gaze, surrendering himself to hers. "Kion, you've been my best friend since we were cubs, the Kion I've always known was fierce, brave, passionate, and had an unwavering desire to protect. Your still that Kion to me, and you always will be." She took a step forward and nuzzled under his chin, taking him aback, but he leans into it. "But what if the venom is irreversible? What if there's nothing we can do? I can't live in a world where my closest friends are hurt for what I did." Fuli sighed as she knew what she had to say, but wasn't sure how to say it. "Kion, your insults and fights never hurt us. What hurt us was seeing you turn from the fiercest in the pridelands, into something much more unhappy, sad even. You always had a smile on your face and spoke to us whenever you could, now you lag behind to avoid us and you only speak when spoken to." Kion leaned out of her nuzzle, and stared into her emerald green eyes. Just like that, she broke through his defense. "Fuli, I-I had no idea." Fuli leaned back in on his shoulder, taking him off guard. "Kion, I will always be there for you, I will never leave your side and even if it kills me, I will see you happy again." Kion leaned into her embrace once again. Suddenly his stomach began to growl violently. "Skip meals again?" Fuli asked, already knowing the answer. Kion simply nodded. "Wait here." Fuli got on all fours and left Kion by the river.

Kion patiently waited by the river, soon to see Fuli return with a freshly hunted impala in her jaws. "Eat up Kion, we've got a big day tomorrow." Kion didn't fight her gesture and dove right in to the carcass. Once the two had their fill, Kion suddenly felt weak, he knew it had been over a week since he last slept right, and with that thought he slumps to the ground. "I'm staying with you," Fuli calmly said as she laid beside him. "And I'll always stay by your side." "Always?" Kion sheepishly stated. "Always" she replied, and with that Kion fell into a deep slumber. As Fuli was falling asleep herself, she felt Kion wrap his arms around her back and onto her chest, normally she would've been taken aback by this sudden gesture, it surprised her that even in his current state, the 'fiercest of the pridelands' was also very gently with her in his embrace. She turned to his face to see the scar that covered his left eye. 'I will never leave you.' She thought as she licked his eye and fell asleep in his arms.