The Lion Guard Season 4 Part One: Legacy of the Night Pride

Episode 7: True Feelings

Azaad ran through a field, it was calm and the sun was setting. He ran up to a female cheetah, she turned around, it was Fuli. Azaad felt his heart racing at the sight of her beauty, he felt himself blushing, Fuli laughed and she nuzzled him, Azaad smiled and nuzzled her back. Fuli smiled and she ran off, prompting Azaad to follow her.

Both cheetahs ran through the field, feeling the wind blowing on them, they both felt free, as if they had no limits. Both Azaad and Fuli smiled at the feeling, but Azaad was also smiling because of Fuli. But Fuli all of a sudden stopped, Azaad slowed down and walked up to the Female cheetah, then she turned around as darkness slowly covered her, Azaad slowly backed away from fear, and he noticed the dark could quickly moving in, then Fuli let out a sinister laugh and lunged at Azaad. Azaad woke up from his nightmare, he looked around, and he remembered, he was at the Pridelands, he sighed to himself as he tried to fall back asleep,"Azaad will bring you back Fuli,"the cheetah told himself.

For the past week, the Night Pride was recovering from their injuries, some made more progress than others. Bunga was still shaken up and required constant attention, which wasn't a problem since Timon and Pumbaa freaked out when they saw what happened to Bunga, so they vowed to look after him. Rani's injuries healed quickly, but she still had a few bruises. Everything was running smoothly for everyone. 

Baliyo on the other hand, he was in a completely new land, so the Pridelands were a bit difficult for him to navigate. He woke up in the Lion Guard lair, and at first freaked out , until he realized he was still in the Pridelands. He walked out of the lair, but he didn't pay attention and accidentally bumped into a lioness,"oh, sorry,"he said, but then he looked at her and he began to blush from her appearance,"its fine, I'm Tiffu," Baliyo froze for a bit, then he snapped himself back to reality,"uh, I-I'm Baliyo," Tiffu laughed at his behavior,"well, I have to go meet up with Kiara and Zuri, I'll see you around,"Tiffu walked off and Baliyo stood there smiling,"uh yeah, see ya," Baliyo turned around and noticed Rani standing there,"um, how much of that did you see," Rani laughed at her brother,"enough to know what was going on, you like her, don't you,"Baliyo blushed,"um, no, I just met her, how could I like her," Rani walked up to Baliyo,"relax, I felt the same about Kion when I saw him, except I tried to shove those feelings away, just be yourself," Baliyo nodded at her sister,"thanks sis,"Rani smiled and she walked up to Kion.

Kion was discussing the Lion Guard helping them with the fight with Shomari and his army. Although Simba was reluctant, he did agree that the Pridelands were at peace, and that the Pride itself could protect the Pridelands while the Guard were gone. But the one thing that Simba wasn't too sure of, was Kopa. A few days ago, Kopa became a member of the Guard as the most loyal, but Kopa partially wanted to join so he would have an excuse to hang out with Vitani all day, which she found flattering. But Kopa has proved himself as a fighter a few times when the guard would practice their fighting techniques. But Simba didn't want to lose his son again, but Kopa reassured his father that he would return alive. 

The Guard would begin their journey back to the Tree of Life in a few days. But everyone noticed that Azaad was a little distant with everyone. He would mostly walk off to think and when he returned, the sun was down and everyone was asleep. When Kion summoned the Night Pride and the Guard, Azaad surprisingly showed up,"alright everyone, in a few days, we will return to the Tree of Life to defeat Shomari, Vitani and her Lion Guard will also be joining us,"everyone nodded in agreement, but Azaad spoke up,"Kion, can Azaad talk to you,"Kion walked down from the platform and walked up to the Cheetah,"what is it,"

"Promise Azaad that Fuli will be alright when the war is over,"Kion saw the concern that Azaad had for his friend,"of course, we will make sure of it,"Kion reassured the cheetah,"It's just, Azaad wants Fuli to be safe because, um-,"Kion interrupted him,"because you love her,"Azaad looked at Kion with a look of surprise,"how did you know,"Kion smiled at him,"it is a bit obvious that you have feelings for her, but don't worry, we will bring her back,"

The Tree of Life wasn't like it was before, there was destruction everywhere, although there was life there, it still wasn't much after all, the chaos that Shomari caused would for sure guaranteed the condition the Tree of Life was in right now. And at the entrance of the mountain pass, sat a female cheetah, she was waiting, for a message. A falcon flew up to the feline and perched on a nearby tree branch,"where are they,"Fuli asked."the Night Pride have retreated to the Pridelands as expected,"Fuli nodded and sprinted back to the Tree of Life. Inside Shomari was admiring the paintings on the wall. He heard footsteps behind him, and he knew that it was Fuli, but he continued to look at the paintings,"so many stories, so much heroes, so much potential. Dont you agree,"he turned his head and saw Fuli nod in agreement,"these paintings, they are wonderful, they tell stories that would live on for generations. But, they only tell the stories that glorify their heroes, its always the same, they never tell the stories of the villains, and why they thought they were right. Even if the villain was right, he would be depicted as a monster, they only let you see, what they want you to see. Do you want to know why I wanted to do this," Shomari once again turned his head towards Fuli,"no sir,"she responded. Shomari once again faced the paintings,"when I was a cub, my parents were sick, so they left me with my grandmother while they traveled to the Tree of Life. But they would never get healed because the Night Pride though of them as a threat. They tried to explain, but the Night Pride only saw their mistakes, and banned them from ever coming back. They died 2 days after they returned. And my Grandmother, she died the next day. But I always hear the stories about how the Night Pride are this group of Brave heroes, who sacrifice themselves for others. I would laugh at those stories because I knew the full truth, they were not heroes, they only help those that they believe to be worthy, I killed Rani's parents because I saw the look on their faces when I told them about my parents, and how they let them die, I only killed them in self defense, but I was perceived as the villain, the one who wants to cause chaos, that is not true,"Shomari walked out of the Tree of Life with Fuli following close behind. He used his paw and moved a pile of ashes, to revail a small plant,"I want to heal everyone who needs it, we will bring a new order, where everyone will get healing, no judgement, no unlawful banishments, only life will prosper, it might look like chaos right now, but everything would heal at some point, and this land is no exception, now what is it that you came to inform me about," Fuli spoke up,"the Night Pride have retreated to the Pridelands, but it is highly likely that they would bring the Lion Guard with them to help in the fight,"Shomari nodded and walked up to his army to inform them about the Night Pride returning.

Alright, we are more than halfway done with this book. I decided to include character development for Shomari for this part. But thank you for reading this and remember to like and comment.