Chapter 3: Calm before the Storm
Kion and Fuli finally arrived at the base of Pride Rock, where Bunga, Beshte and Ono had been waiting for them for the past two hours.
"Finally! There you two are!" Bunga exclaimed while giving Kion a friendly punch to his side. "What kept you? We almost wanted to call for a search-and-rescue mission thinking you guys were in some sort of trouble!"
"Heh, sorry about that, guys. We had to drop by the Dessert Plains to help pull Dhalili out from some quicksand this morning," Kion explained with a grin, as his best friend clambered on top of his back and snuggled himself in the Lion's bushy mane.
"Well at least you two had something to do. We spent the whole morning just patrolling around the grazing grounds and listening to Beshte chattering about his first date last night with Bashira!" Bunga lamented, causing Beshte to blush a deep shade of scarlet while his other friends laughed and congratulated him on his first night out with his long-time crush (who was also a hippo).
"Well, I'm really happy and glad for you, Beshte," Kion said, giving his hippo friend a wink to which Beshte smiled awkwardly and tried to hide his bashfulness.
"So there weren't any emergency at all when you three patrolled in the North?" Fuli inquired, bringing back the formality in their meeting.
"Nope, all seems to be fine out there this morning," Ono cheerily confirmed and feeling somewhat relieved by it. "All the herds are grazing at their usual spots and we didn't find any signs of Hyenas or danger within the vicinity."
"And we didn't see any signs of trouble while we were heading South earlier," Kion stated, recalling his journey to the Desert Plains with Fuli. "Huh. I guess there's not much going on in the Pridelands today."
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think this is exactly what we all need; an entire peaceful day to ourselves with not a single conflict or emergency to disturb us!" Fuli sighed, as she began stretching herself before comfortably settling down on the soft grass beneath her.
"Yeah, you got that right, Fuli!" Bunga exclaimed cheerfully in agreement as he began nestling himself against Kion's mane while Beshte settled himself on the grass with Ono perched on his back. "Hey, Kion! Anyone ever tell you how incredibly soft your mane is?! You can drown in all this plushiness!"
Kion was momentarily spaced out by what Fuli had said earlier and was noticeably startled when Bunga called out his name.
"What...? Oh, yeah sure..." he trailed off before suddenly lowering his head and carefully putting Bunga onto the ground.
"Hey! What gives?" the honeybadger exclaimed when he was removed from the comfort of Kion's mane and placed onto the grass.
"Sorry, Bunga, but I need to go up to the Rock's peak for a while," Kion briskly replied without explaining his motive and started walking ahead. "The rest of you can stay here and take a breather. You all deserve it."
The heavy tone of his voice when he said this clearly indicated that something was bothering him, but they knew that even as close friends, it would be disrespectful of them to pry into their leader's personal conflicts. Fuli's lips curved downwards with concern as she observed her Lion friend carefully walking up the narrow ledge at the side of the rock formation that eventually lead to the Rock's pinnacle.
Once Kion had reached the ledge of the Rock's peak, he took his time to observe and appreciate the view of the entire Pridelands that was beautifully spread right before him, from Mkuni woods in the West to the vast flood plains towards his East. But his main purpose for being up there wasn't just to enjoy the spectacular view. Taking a deep breath, he cocked his head upwards to focus his gaze towards the sapphire sky, just as a beam of sunlight passed through some clouds and focused its golden shine onto Kion, as if on cue.
Kion felt slightly guilty and uneasy when the ray of sunlight aimed its shine directly upon him. He knew that somewhere beyond the shining light, was the spirit of Mufasa looking down upon him. Mufasa was the deceased father to King Simba and was also Kion's grandfather. Despite completing his journey in the Circle of Life, Mufasa's spirit had made it a priority to readily assist his grandson whenever the young Lion found himself in a state of conflict, usually by materializing himself high in the clouds before giving some sound advise that would eventually lead Kion to resolutions for the problems that he faced. This was Mufasa's indirect way of looking over his beloved son, Simba... and also his way to escape the boredom that came with spending the rest of eternity in the Afterlife.
Back when he was still a cub, Kion regularly had to consult Mufasa due to him still being young and regularly needed advise and support, both of which Mufasa was happy to provide to his grandson. But as Kion grew and matured over the years, his interaction with his deceased grandfather slowly declined as his strengthening thinking and problem-solving skills meant that he rarely needed to seek Mufasa for his help and advise. As a result, it had been exactly five years since he last made contact with his deceased relative, and now he felt completely guilty for 'abandoning' the only person who had helped him over the years, despite being in the Afterlife.
"Grandfather Mufasa... I know that... it's been too long since I last came to you for advice, and for that, I'm really sorry," Kion sighed with guilt while hoping that his grandfather would still find it in his heart to help him with his current personal conflicts. "Grandfather, there's something that's been troubling me very recently and... and I just hope you'll be able to forgive me and help me with my problems..."
He waited for his grandfather to manifest himself in the clouds, but after waiting for several moments, Mufasa never did, though the ray of sunlight kept focusing its shine upon Kion. His heart slowly sank as he was convinced his grandfather didn't accept his apology and was still upset with him. Disheartened, Kion let out a long sigh and was about to turn and leave when he felt a sudden gust of wind blew around him. Several pieces of leaves were picked up by the wind and for a moment, they twirled and danced just inches away from his muzzle. His eyes widened in bewilderment as he focused his gaze onto the leaves right in front of him before the wind made a sudden swooshing sound and carried the leaves past his head behind him. Kion turned around to trail after the leaves... and immediately saw Fuli slowly walking towards him, completely catching him by surprised.
"Kion? Kion, are you okay?" Fuli asked in concern before standing right next to her distressed Lion friend.
For a moment, Kion was unsure if she asked that question because she heard him 'calling out' to his deceased grandfather or because she genuinely sensed something was troubling him, but he guessed that she probably didn't have enough time to hear him reach out to Mufasa when she arrived.
"Oh... yeah, sure..." he replied half-heartedly, though he wasn't expecting his Cheetah friend to believe in his lie.
Fuli smirked and gave him a friendly nudge. "Come on, Kion, you can do a lot better than that!" she laughed so cheerfully that even Kion couldn't help but chuckle along. "Kion, it's so obvious that you're not being your self since we got back from the Desert Plains... what's troubling you?"
The young Lion gulped, not knowing what to say. He desperately wanted to tell her how much he loved her beyond than just being her friend and asking for her paw to be his mate... but how could he do so if he's already betrothed to Vitani? And as Kiara pointed out earlier, how would he even know if Fuli was willing to accept him and agree to be his mate?
Kion let out a long sigh and gazed at his Cheetah friend with a longing look in his amber eyes. "Fuli... do you still remember that one evening when we first met each other, back when we were still cubs?"
"Sure, I saw your butt sticking out from the tall grass and pounced on you, thinking you were a piece of dinner!" Fuli giggled as she fondly recalled their first, no-so-pleasant encounter with each other. "It's kinda hard to forget that cute, sour face you gave me when I got off from you, Kion."
"Haha! Yeah, I was really mad at you for trying to take a bite out of my backside," Kion chuckled in agreement as his boggled mind finally soothed down a little upon hearing her hearty laugh.
A pregnant silence soon followed between them as Kion considered what to say next. But before he could open his mouth, Fuli spoke first. "You know, Kion, I'm actually kinda glad that I mistaken you for a piece of gazelle meat on that day," she smirked teasingly at him.
"Really? Why's that?"
"Because if I hadn't, I would never have met you, Kion," Fuli replied in a soothing voice as her smirk slowly turned into a heartfelt and grateful smile. "Ever since we became friends... my life had been a little less lonely from then on... and, well... I'm just really grateful for the friendship that we have with each other."
Kion was completely astounded by her sudden confession, which, he could tell, was made sincerely from the bottom of her heart. But he was even more surprised when she unexpectedly got closer to him and nuzzled affectionately against him for the second time that day in an act of gratitude. The feel of her smooth fur brushing against his side was more than enough for Kion to forget all his conflicts and problems, as he returned her display of affection by gently rubbing his muzzle against the back of her neck and taking the opportunity to savour her sweet scent.
When they eventually broke away from their embrace, Kion regained his confidence and took a deep breath as he prepared himself to finally ask Fuli the question that would forever change his life. "Fuli... how do you feel about spending the rest of our lives with each other?"
Fuli raised a brow, surprised by his random question. "Well, we've been friends for so many years... I don't see-"
"I meant spending the rest of our lives together... beyond than just being friends."
Fuli's eyes widened in disbelief when she finally understood what he meant by his question. "Are you... are you asking me-"
"Yes, I am..." Kion replied, all the while staring zealously down into her striking emerald eyes. "Fuli... since all those years ago when we first met, not a day goes by where you're not with me by my side. We played and had fun with each other when we were cubs, we became members of the Lion Guard and protected the Circle of Life... we've done and achieved many great things together and..."
The female Cheetah held her breath as Kion spoke the words she'd never thought would ever come from her Lion friend. "Fuli... we've been close friends with each other for a long time and... I was considering of taking our relationship to the next level by spending the rest of our lives together... as mates."
Kion sat back and waited anxiously for her reply, as his heart pounded against his chest and his gaze locked firmly onto her eyes. For a moment, he noticed a small smile graced Fuli's soft lips and a gleam of excitement reflected in her brilliant jade orbs. But sadly, it didn't last long as Kion saw the sparkling twinkle in her eyes was spontaneously shrouded by a flicker of rejection and her beautiful smile was replaced by the violent twitching of her lips.
Kion's heart sank to the deepest pit as he watched Fuli divert her gaze towards the ground with ears folded back as she slowly shook her head. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Kion... but... I can't."
The disheartened Lion let out a long, disappointed sigh as he struggled to accept her blunt rejection. He remained silent as he stared intently at Fuli, who continued to avoid from meeting his gaze by staring straight towards the ground. He noticed the tears that was slowly trickling down from her crystal orbs and her mouth quivered violently as if she were choking on her own words. Kion frowned, not understanding the logic behind her repudiation to his proposal. He saw the excited gleam in her eyes right after he popped the question to her and she reacted as if she was more than delighted to say 'yes'... so why did she unexpectedly rejected his plea to be his soulmate, then? That was the question that would slowly kill him if he didn't find out soon enough.
Kion took a deep breath and gave Fuli a gentle nudge to get her attention. "Hey... look, I don't mind you saying 'no', but... could you at least tell me why?" he softly asked and mentally prepared himself for her answer, which he felt would most probably hurt him even more.
Fuli finally gathered enough courage to look at her heartbroken friend in his amber eyes. She hesitated, not knowing how to explain her rejection without hurting Kion any further. "Kion... you're my closest friend and my leader... and I can't tell you how much I love and appreciate our special relationship with each other. But there's something I-"
Fuli's reasoning was abruptly cut short when they both heard a loud squawking sound coming from above them. Both felines turned their attention towards the sky where they saw a scruffy, blue-feathered hornbill struggling to keep himself airborne while screaming hysterically in the air.
"IT'S A TRAP! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! ALL OF THEM! CALL THE CAVALRY! THEY'RE DECLARING WAR AGAINST THE PRIDELANDS!"
"Is that Zazu?" Fuli exclaimed in surprise, the hornbill's sudden appearance seemingly snapped Kion and herself from their emotional state. Fuli then noticed Zazu's feathers were ruffled up and blood was dripping from a wound that was slashed across his midsection. "Look, I think he's injured!" she pointed out, as the frazzled hornbill swooped past their heads and flew straight into the opening that led into Pride Rock.
Kion looked on towards the opening, where Zazu's hysterical squawking could be heard echoing throughout the Lair, even from outside. "Fuli, whatever it is you were about to say, you can tell me later. Right now, we have to put our emotions aside and see what happened to Zazu," he finally stated while noticeably struggling to sound professional and maintain his composure. As difficult as it may be, he didn't want his personal conflicts with Fuli to affect his duty as leader of the Lion Guard, even if it meant that he might never know the reason behind Fuli's rejection to his proposal.
Though she was disheartened for losing her opportunity to pour her heart out, Fuli managed to give a single nod of agreement before they both made their way towards the Lair, with neither of them speaking nor making any eye contact with each other along the way. Whatever problems they were having with each other, Kion and Fuli had a hunch that there were probably bigger ones heading their way, especially when they heard Zazu mentioning about an unknown enemy declaring war against them and the entire Pridelands.
End of Chapter 3