Nakala

Chapter 108

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Nakala stopped in his tracks and looked around upon hearing a familiar voice.

"B-Bunga?"

The lion turned around to see Bunga, Cheezi, and Hani all gathered around him. Unlike Fuli and Badili, their eyes were full and their own. Their fur was normal, free from anyThey gazed at him with smiles on their faces.

"Nakala. What's wrong? What are running from?" Cheezi asked, looking around with a concerned look on his muzzle.

"C-Cheezi..." Nakala gulped, the lion looked behind him to see nothing but swirling shadows. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just so glad to see you again."

Cheezi gave a confused look to his friend but still smiled anyways. He looked as if he wanted to say more but Bunga instead butt in to make his own presence known.

"And what about me? What about your best friend?" Bunga chuckled, climbing on Nakala's back. He nuzzled against his friend with a wide smile on his face. "Aren't you glad to see me again?"

"B-Bunga... O-of course I missed you. Hehe..." Even though he couldn't help but laugh, tears threatened to spill from the lion's eyes. Bunga seemed to not notice as he slid off the lion and bounded around to his front. He saw the look on his friend's face and chuckled again. "Hey. What are you looking all sad for?" The badger took hold of his friend's face and squished it a bit.

"Did you really miss me that much?" Bunga smiled, tilting his head playfully.

"Of course I did. Especially when I found you-" As soon a Nakala said that Bunga's smile faded. The lion said no more and forced himself to smile. "I'm just glad that you're here right now." Bunga smiled again and his eyes grew bright.

"Oh! I didn't get to tell you..." Bunga beamed, bouncing in place a bit. "It's about me and Hani. We're together now, Nakala. Isn't that great?"

On cue, the second hyena made his presence known, stepping up alongside the badger. He nuzzled the smaller mammal lovingly before he looked Nakala in the eyes. Unlike the many times before, Hani's eyes were actually soft as he looked at the lion.

"Hey, Nakala..." Hani greeted rather awkwardly. "I... I just wanted to thank you and say I'm sorry."

"Thanks okay. But what do you have to be sorry for?" Nakala asked.

Hani was about to answer, admitting all the terrible things he had done to the lion and even the badger he stood beside. But Bunga pressed a paw to his chest and gave him a cautious look and a slight shake of his head. The hyena thought about how he should say it but still spoke nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, Nakala. I wasn't good to you, at all. But you were still nice to me. It was only at the last possible moment that I realized how stupid I was. Hehe..." Hani chuckled and then smiled. "But I guess it doesn't matter now. It's all fine now..."

"Are you really?" the shadows asked as they formed once again. Nakala gasped but collected himself and stood firm, ready to protect his friends.

"Leave them alone!" Nakala snarled.

"Why would I want to harm them? After all... They're already gone," the shadows purred. He dashed right past Nakala and was upon the two hyenas and the badger. But they didn't react to his presence, rather they watched Nakala attempt to defend them from something that wasn't even there. Nakala turned around and took a shaky breath as he watched the lion dissipate once again. The shadows surrounded his friends, enveloping them in a pitch black cloud. Nakala rushed over to them and the cloud quickly faded out.