Kion headed towards Pride Rock. The golden furred cub stomped over a drying mud patch. He pressed his paws, letting them cool as he reached the warm, stone path.
Leading up to his family’s den.
Kion glanced up at the peak. He recalled his father’s first teachings. About the kingdom.
Its everlasting fields had fascinated the young cub, but he had yet to understand then. How each animal had a part in the Circle of Life. For with life… came death, as Kion grew to realize.
Upon his first days of weaning, he became welcomed by the pride, partaking in the family’s evening quarries with little hesitation. A tingling instinct would urge him close, different from the usual encounter among the Pride Lands’ residents: those of herds he’d greet on his fathers’ walks. Some would turn up in the den sooner or later.
The mere thought of the hunting party halted him with panic. His ears lowered, shuddering.
‘My friends.’ Kion thought. ‘Some leader I am. Shoulda never asked them to join me. I’m no different…from the ones we stop.’
Midway up the den, he felt a sudden urge to look behind his shoulder. Glancing back, he scanned the fields for Fuli, smirking away at the prince. Even Beshte, laughing between heavy hops.
No one had followed.
Kion winced, his whiskers rising with bared teeth. He dragged his forepaw onto sunlit rock, lowering his gaze as he climbed again. It felt grueling to break his routine, to leave his ‘so-called’ duty out of mind. A brief, few weeks as leader of the Lion Guard now seemed hazy in the cub’s memory. Instead, he now remembered his first stroll through the Pride Lands… his retreat towards shelter from a mud-soaked rainstorm with Kiara… his first Baobab tag game with Bunga… how he used to feel…
‘Happy?’
Kion reached the den’s entrance and collapsed; numb legs splayed out. He peered out onto the clouds, then the trees. Nervous yet again, he jumped and turned to face the dark cavern.
Still alone.
He breathed in and draped his eyes with both forepaws, panting until he released a deep sigh. Breathes steady again. Lowering his arms, Kion spotted a smooth pebble laying on the floor.
With a faint smile, he rolled onto his back, just as Kiara had taught him. 'Like two silly logs', he recalled. The cub clutched the pebble with a light swat and dragged it between his paws, atop his chest fluff. Smooth and chalky, the pebble rolled. Yet, a new thought popped to mind.
‘Does dad just want me busy? Like Kiara? I didn’t know I wasn’t good enough...’ Kion pondered.
‘Am I gonna say bye to my friends someday? It’s true, I’ll grow up, like mom, dad, grandma. A lion. Will they be safe with me, still?’ Kion groaned; muzzle still shut. It had to be true, the days of royal siblings prancing along with the savanna’s herds, to betray their trust... His breath grew rapid. Both eyelids squeezed.
‘I just left him there.’ The cub’s eyes sprung open.
He shook his head as a breeze flew in. All four legs shivered, with Kion staring at the dark ceiling above. It seemed so high...
‘Hmm, I bet I can catch this if I toss it up...’ Kion eased his breath before licking across his muzzle, eyeing the vacant space. Suddenly...
“Kion?” A face poked from above.
“Ahh!” Kion flinched and dropped the pebble, paws folded beside his heaving chest. The large, tawny face of a lioness stood over, flinching back with wide, cerulean eyes.
“Mom?”
“Was I too sneaky this time?” Nala giggled.
“No-o. Okay maybe, heh. How did you know I was here?” Kion tilted his head, still lating on his back, forepaws to belly.
“Your little badger friend told me. He seemed very worried about you.” Nala answered.
“Oh Bunga, huh? Well, I’m alright.” Kion said.
The queen rolled her eyes and poked at Kion’s chest fluff with her snout, pressing the cub onto the floor.
“Oh no! Ha ha, stop, I can’t move.” Kion squirmed, blushing with brief chuckles.
“No, you cannot,” Nala chuckled, wiggling her muzzle in place. “Now, will you tell me what you are doing here, all by yourself? The sun really misses you.”
“It’s nothing, grr, m-m-haha-om.” Kion replied. Nala sighed, lifting her head with a gentle pull away from the cub. Kion stood back on all four paws, letting himself giggle and brush his messy head tuft. She had seen it before, his pout and ‘most serious’ eyebrows. Too much of his father in him, she supposed.
Many moons had passed since Kiara and Kion’s births, but Nala still pondered on her approach to motherhood. Her talks with Sarabi gave peace of mind, something she refused to take for granted. If only she were with them still… to see her daughter grown.
Nala’s eyelids fluttered, glancing back to the present moment. She hummed in thought, then turning to the den’s peeking sunlight. Tapping the ground beside her, the lioness gave a wide smile.
“Alright. It’s just us, you know I’m good with secrets. What is it?” Nala asked as her son waddled, hesitant with his steps. He kept steady as he approached the lioness’ shoulders, seeing her now poised with belly to the floor. She nuzzled her boy’s forehead, curious of his aversion.
Kion lowered his gaze, sensing Nala’s paw pads pressed near his own. The queen’s brow lowered with worry.
“Kion.”
“I just… uh, mom, I don’t think I should be leading the Guard anymore.” Kion muttered. He winced his eyes and turned away. Nala stayed quiet, eyeing her son’s face. Top to bottom.
“Hmm, so you mean it.”
“Uh… we-we were helping antelopes today, from Makuu. I saw Pua again, he was crying. On his own.” Kion confessed, finally meeting eyes with the queen. In turn, she focused on her cub’s frown, her ears lowering.
“I didn’t know what to do. What to say. I just left. Bunga, he was with me,” Kion continued, back arching as he remembered the lake’s ripples, “...I felt like… I don’t really help at all. I had forgotten about Pua. All he went through. I was so busy chasing after hyenas and such, and I… I couldn’t even speak to him. See what was wrong. The…the Circle of Life. Mom, it’s more than that. I’m just getting in the way.”
He felt shivers in his voice, recalling the crocodile’s brave feats leading the float, dissipating into the image of Pua upon the rocky shore. Now alone, for what seemed until the end.
“Kion, you are not getting in the way. My little heartbush, you help many animals. They’re grateful for all you do...” Nala responded, “...and you shouldn’t feel bad about Pua. He’s a strong crocodile, but even he can feel hurt. He’s lived a long life, Kion. One with joy… and with pain.”
“But don’t I have to help? With all of that? Make sure everyone’s happy?” Kion asked. Nala nudged him closer with a firm paw. Her own memories began to trickle in, of losing so much…
So young.
“Kion, things don’t stay one way forever. It’s different each day, for all animals.” The queen replied.
“But…but some stay afraid, don’t they mom? Some, they’ll keep going after others, like we do.” He replied. Nala froze, fixated on her paw as the cub backed away. He tensed with each step.
“If Pua’s following the crocodile way, to stay like that…what can I do? There’s those that eat, and are eaten. Yet, even the strongest are left behind. Am I enough, to make it better? D-didn’t you wish it could all stop? Like when Scar was the king?” Kion blurted.
‘Did he just…’ Nala thought, eyelids wide open.
“Kion, please don’t speak of that.” Nala muttered.
“But mom, to the herds, I’ll be like all the hyenas someday, the ones you told me about. I’m afraid of my friends leaving, like I did to Pua, a-aand like what happened with grandma Sarafina, and…” Kion began. Nala turned with a lowered gaze, her chin towards chest.
“Kion, please stop with this right now.” Nala declared; her voice raised only in parts. The passing of flying bush shrikes filled the void between. She gasped, noticing Kion’s hunched form.
The queen still remembered with clear view, of her mother saying her final goodbye. Their last hug. To save her brother, to hopefully return someday…
They never did.
Kion flinched, catching on to his words. Nala lowered her head, beckoning for her son. He walked up to his mother’s leg and embraced her fur. Feeling his shoulders lower, he gazed up. “I’m sorry mom.” Kion whispered. Nala’s body rose with deep breaths, lifting her son along before subsiding again.
“I’m sorry too. Yes, I miss her very much. She’d be proud of you.” Nala licked her son’s bright head tuft.
“Thanks mom. Kiara’s going to be queen someday. What is it I should be, really?”
“Kion, we hunt, like other animals must. It is the way of the Great Circle. Remember what your father told you and Kiara?” Nala turned; Kion nodded. “Herds grow, we hunt. Your grandmother, Sarafina, believed it was our place to respect that balance, as your grandfather Mufasa did too. Each prey is a life, we must never forget so. Our place may be to take, but only so the land could give. For all who cherish it.” She nuzzled Kion, rotating her arms to form dusty spirals upon the den floor, guiding the cub’s view to the sky beyond the den.
More birds flew by. The sunlight seemed to nourish the lions’ fur, an aura of tranquil energy as thoughts slowed between them. She lowered her head back near the golden cub. He stood, contemplating her words with a gentle paw stroke upon the ground. A mini spiral to join the rest.
"I know my place is here. With you, Kiara, all your little troubles.” She chuckled. “She wouldn’t want me to forget about you, no matter what.” Nala licked her son’s bright head tuft. Kion smiled, then stared back at the ground, remembering Pua. There, in the lake, stood one of the mightiest of animals. Even such a crocodile could stand as an equal, to the field mouse nesting in the grass.
“Ha, ha, I guess not,” Kion replied, “If we all do share the great circle, should I still try? Leading the Guard, I mean?”
“Kion, you do a wonderful duty. You show respect to all, what many forget when exploring these lands. The Guard is a tradition that’s open for you to choose. One thing I want you to know, to never forget, I am here for you.” Nala answered.
Mother and son stared on, sharing faint smiles. Kion felt his breathing ease, welcoming the occasional gust of wind to sweep his fur. The sun seemed to cast a warmer light, the den no longer quite as dark.
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Published:
2 years, 8 months ago
06 Mar 2022 18:32 CET
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