Fuli finally came to a halt. Panting steadily, she looked back to make sure no one, especially Azaad, wasn't following her. She sighed heavily, looking down at her paws, feeling disappointment take over her anger. She still couldn't understand why Azaad was suddenly acting so paranoid about lions. This whole time he had been faking his friendliness with them? Not only that, he felt the need to protect her from them! Fuli growled to herself as she angrily swatted a pebble away. I don't need protecting! And I certainly don't need protecting from lions. Why can't Azaad let the past go? Why is he still holding a grudge against them? Azaad even accused me of not forgiving Simba's Pride, how dare he? I forgave them! Even the ones who I didn't like! I forgave them all! But, if I did forgive them, then why did I still leave...?
Fuli shook her head. "I chose to leave, I felt like I had no place there," she told herself. "I was happy being alone..." Was I? Yes, of course! I'm a cheetah, we're born naturally independent. She tried to push away Azaad's words, but she couldn't help but feel that she had purposely left the Pride. I had friends there, yet still I left them. Why did I do that? Did I leave because I wanted to or did I leave because I still hate the Pride...? She needed to clear her mind from all this. Fuli then came across the watering hole, she padded towards it and began to lap up some water.
"Fuli!" a voice called out to her, causing the cheetah to almost choke on the water. Fuli swallowed and looked up, she saw Ono flying towards her.
"Ono, what's wrong?" Fuli asked, now alert.
"I couldn't find Anga!" Ono replied.
"What?"
"I looked for her almost the whole night, but I couldn't find her! I'm worried something might've happened to her!"
"Don't worry, we'll find her." Fuli then turned around and raced back to the Tree of Life, Ono flying close by. There, Kion was chatting with Bunga and Beshte.
"Hey, guys," Kion greeted as Fuli and Ono approached him. He then noticed the latter's deeply concerned expression. "Whoa, you okay, Ono?"
"She's missing! Anga's missing!" Ono blurted out. "I looked for her for almost the whole night!"
"Wait, you looked for Anga the whole night?" Bunga asked. "Why?"
Now Ono looked nervous, he ducked his head and he anxiously pawed the ground with his feet.
"That's not important," Fuli said. Ono sighed and gazed at her gratefully. "The important thing is that we need to find her."
"Right," Kion agreed. "Let's go to the last place we saw her."
"She was by Dirisha, the River of Patience," Ono cried.
"Then that's where we'll go," Kion said. "Till the Pride Lands end-"
Kion then froze, biting his lip and mentally scolding himself for that slip up. He slowly turned to look at his friends, Fuli, Beshte, Bunga, and Ono now looked down with a solemn and even sad look. Each member seemed to glance over at their left shoulders, where their Mark of the Guard used to be. Kion looked down at his paws and let out a deep, regretful sigh.
"Right... Um, let's just go."
Fuli looked up and nodded slowly, Beshte, Bunga, and Ono did the same. The former Lion Guard then silently headed towards the River of Patience. Along the way, Fuli was beginning to feel downhearted.
I'm really going to miss using the Lion Guard battle cry... If I did agree to go with Kasi, I could still say it... She shook her head. No, this is my home now. I chose to stay here with my friends and that's what I'm doing.
They finally arrived to the River of Patience, Kion quickly scanned the area. Memories of how he started the first step of his healing journey here at the river came flooding back to him.
"Ono, see if you can try to find something that could lead us to Anga," Kion said.
"Affirmative," Ono agreed.
He flew upward, but not as high as he used to. In the past, Ono could spot things from up high, but now he couldn't, for the Tree of Life limited its healing powers on Ono and couldn't seem to return his sight to its former strength. But it didn't matter anymore, Ono learned to adapt to his new sight and he was perfectly happy with his new role as the Lion Guard's Smartest. The egret looked around, his eyes flashed gold as he tried to get a better look at his surroundings, though with his limited sight, he couldn't see much. Then something caught his eye. Ono flew downward to get a better look and he gasped.
"Kion! I see Anga's feathers!" he squawked. Ono gently picked up the pretty violet feathers and flew back to his friends. He placed the feathers down with care, sure enough they were Anga's.
"Where do you think she went?" Beshte asked.
"Only one way to find out," Kion replied. He nodded to Fuli. Fuli leaned towards the feathers and sniffed them. She then turned around and sniffed the air. Kion did the same and the two felines sniffed around, hoping to catch Anga's scent. Suddenly, Fuli's ears twitched and she perked up. She tasted the air again and her eyes widened.
"I think I found Anga," she said. Everyone turned around.
"Where?" Ono asked.
"This way!" Fuli pointed towards the direction where she picked up Anga's scent. Fuli sniffed again and nodded her head. "Yes, she definitely went this way."
"Let's go, then," Kion said. "Lead the way."
Fuli nodded and dashed off, everyone followed her. The cheetah followed Anga's scent, it grew stronger and stronger the longer she followed it. Then, the trail ended. Fuli looked around and tasted the air again, but she couldn't detect anything.
"Well?" Ono asked.
"That's it," Fuli said.
"What? That can't be!" Ono cried. He shook his ruffled feathers and began to nervously pace back and forth.
"Um, what are you guys doing here?" a voice asked. Everyone turned around and saw Anga standing right there a few tail lengths away.
"Anga!" Ono squawked happily. He then caught himself and cleared his throat. "I mean... Hi."
"Where were you?" Kion asked.
"I was-" Anga began, shrugging casually, then someone emerged from the bushes behind Anga. Fuli realized that it was another martial eagle.
"Anga? What's going on?" he asked.
"Who's he?" Bunga asked.
"This is Tai," Anga explained. She gazed at them fondly, Fuli noticed Ono growing uncomfortable. "We hung out last night..."
"So, you must be King Kion and his friends Fuli, Bunga, Beshte, and Ono," Tai commented in a smooth voice. "Anga told me about you, it's nice to finally meet you."
Kion, Fuli, and Bunga eyed him curiously, Beshte looked friendly, Ono looked upset, hurt even.
"They're really nice and charming," Anga said, she wore a moony smile. They gazed at her affectionately. Bunga chuckled a little, only to be silenced with a look from Anga.
"I'm guessing you're Bunga," Tai then said.
"Yeah, that's me!" Bunga exclaimed. "How'd you know?"
"Anga described you as immature and smelly," he explained casually.
"Why, thank you- wait what!?" Bunga cried. Fuli stifled a chuckle while Kion and Beshte gazed at the honey badger, amused.
"Kion, I was wondering if I could take Tai to see you and Rani?" Anga asked. "He's thinking about moving in here, if that's okay."
"Sure," Kion agreed. "We'll take him to see Rani now."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," they said, bowing.
Kion nodded at him, he turned back to the Guard. "Come on, let's go."
The red maned lion turned around and began to make his way back to the Tree of Life. Fuli, Beshte, Bunga, Ono, Anga, and Tai followed. Fuli noticed that Anga and Tai were flying close to each other, Ono on the other paw was lagging behind. The egret didn't fly like the eagles, instead, he walked slowly behind everyone. He gazed at the ground with sad, downcast eyes, not once did he look at his friends or Anga. Fuli gazed at Ono with a sympathetic look. Ono had feelings for Anga, she remembered. Seeing his crush with someone else must've broke his heart greatly...
Fuli turned around and went beside Ono.
"How are you holding up?" she whispered.
"Oh, it's fine. I'll get over it," Ono mumbled.
"I'm sorry," Fuli said sympathetically.
"Ah, no, I waited too long, anyway, it's not your fault..." the cattle egret scoffed wryly.
He then sighed heavily and blinked back a tear, "I wanna peck their eyes out, now..."
Fuli gently placed her tail on Ono's shoulder, "Hey, things will work out for you eventually, you'll find someone one day."
"I know..." Ono sighed reluctantly. "I guess the only thing I can do now is be... happy for Anga..."
"You'll be fine," Fuli said. "I know you loved her, but sometimes, things don't always go like how you want it... You'll find another girl one day, and hopefully, she's the right one for you."
"Yeah, you're right. It'll take some time, but I'll find someone. One day..." Ono agreed. Fuli nodded slowly and the egret looked up at the cheetah. "Fuli, thanks for keeping my secret."
"No problem," Fuli replied. "And don't you worry, I won't tell anyone."
Yup, Tai's non-binary.
And ah, I'm torturing Ono so much... Poor guy! >:3