A lioness was resting in the jungle. It was close to a big desert. She was laying under a tree, it its shadow, near a lake. Suddenly she picked up the scent of another lion. "How is that possible?" she asked herself "I have been here for so long already, and there hasn't been anyone here in years." She looked around, hoping to see the lion the scent came from, but she did not find anything. She stood up. "I better just follow his scent." she said as she started walking.
The lioness reached the desert and noticed a male lion in the distance. He was not awake. The lioness decided to walk towards him.
Once she reached the lion she checked if he was alive, and he was, so she decided to bring him with her, hoping she could wake him up. It must have been the drought of the desert that got him unconscious. She would take him to the lake she was at before she started searching for him. There she could help him.
Kion woke up and noticed that it was not as hot as when he went unconscious. In fact, he noticed that he was in the shadow of something. He opened his eyes and noticed that he was not in the desert anymore. He was in the shadow of a tree, next to a lake. He looked around and noticed that there was a lioness a few meters away, drinking the water from the lake. "Hello." Kion greeted her.
The lioness was drinking water when she heard the voice of the lion next to her. She stopped drinking and walked over to him. "How do you feel?" she asked him worriedly. "Not good." was the short answer she got. "How come?" she continued asking. "I had to leave my home to keep everyone safe, and I almost died from the drought in the desert." The lioness looked shocked. "Oh, that is terrible. I'm sorry." she apologized. "What is your name?" the lioness asked. "My name is Kion. What's yours." "My name is Mwokozi." the lioness said. She then noticed the mark on Kion's shoulder. "What is that?" she asked, pointing at it. "It is a memory from my home. The mark of the Night Pride." Kion explained. "The Night Pride. Never heard of it. What is it?" "It is the team that protects the Tree of Life from danger. I used to help them, but I had to leave because of my problems." "Problems. Like what? You look fine to me" Kion pointed his paw at his scar. "This scar. I cannot always control myself anymore, and it will only get worse. I am slowly becoming more and more dangerous every day." Kion continued explaining. "That 's horrible, but how can a scar do that?" Mwokozi continued asking "I got that scar from a snake byte, the venom from it makes me lose control. I got it after a battle in the Pridelands. That is the place where I lived when I was younger. I was the leader of the Lion Guard. The Lion Guard is just like the Night Pride, but for the Pridelands." "But if you got that scar in the Pridelands, and the venom from that scar makes you lose control. Why did you go to the Tree of Life?" "To heal my scar, but it failed, and after a short time, my scar started bothering me again, and it couldn't be healed anymore. I had to leave my friends, my mate and my cubs behind, so I wouldn't be able to hurt them." Kion's eyes started tearing up as he said that. He stood up and walked towards the lake where he started drinking. When he was finished he started walking away. "Where are you going?" Mwokozi asked. "Somewhere where I can be alone." Kion answered. He kept his head low. "You can stay here if you'd like. I have been alone for years. I would like some company." Kion turned back towards her. "Are you sure that you don't mind. Remember, I'm going to become very dangerous." "I don't mind. Being alone for much longer will make me go crazy. That is dangerous too." Kion walked back towards the tree. "If you say so." he said as he laid down under its shadow. Mwokozi laid down next to him. After a few seconds of silence Kion was now the one who started asking questions. "How did you end up here all alone?" "I used to live here with my parents, but one day they left to hunt for some food, and they never came back. They must have been killed, or they abandoned me. I wanted to leave, and search for a safe place, where I would not be alone, but I stayed here, knowing that I would not make it out of the desert all by myself as a cub. When I finally was able to make it out of the desert, I had gotten used to living here so much that I did not want to leave, even though being alone all the time was terrible." Mwokozi told Kion. "At least you're not alone anymore." Kion comforted her. The two lions stayed in the shadow, not saying anything anymore. After a few minutes Mwokozi broke the silence. "Are you hungry?" she asked Kion. Kion turned his face towards her. "Yeah, I am starting to get hungry. Shall we go and hunt something?" "Of course. Lets go. I will show you where we can hunt.
The two lions went deeper into the jungle, where they were able to hunt for food. They caught a gazelle. They dragged the dead body back to the lake, where they ate it. "That was a great hunt." Kion commented once they finished eating the gazelle. "It was a great hunt indeed. It was also great that I didn't have to do it alone for once." Mwokozi stepped closer to Kion and nuzzled him. Kion stepped back from her. "Is something wrong?" Mwokozi asked. "Yes. I don't want you doing that to me. Understood?" "I understand. I won't do it again." Mwokozi answered. Kion got back to the shadow of the tree. Mwokozi, upset because of what just happened, did not go back to that tree. She walked towards the tree next to it and laid down under its shadow. Once Kion was asleep Mwokozi stood up and walked towards him. She cuddled up next to him, enjoying his warmth as she fell asleep too.