Speed Run
It was early in the morning. A certain rhino paced as he thought up his speech. He took a deep breath as he contemplated returning to the Pridelands. He was onto the next part of his plan...
"Hey."
The rhino in question sighed in annoyance before turning to the voice. He saw that it had been Mrembo, the monotone, hairy lion.
"Any idea when our next mission will be? Dying to get something to eat."
"No missions today!" the rhino then grimaced, "And you know how uncomfortable it makes me when you talk about the types of things you eat! Now, please! I've got a very important speech to make to a few friends."
"Oooh! Can we come?!" Jeuri suddenly piped.
"NO! Absolutely not!" the rhino roared, "I-I mean... why don't you try Flat Ridge Rock, I thought I spotted some nice big lizards there..."
"Lizards? Again?" Mrembo sighed in annoyance, "Better than nothing, I guess."
Jeuri rushed to the cave he and his made a home in.
"Hey, Kiume, no missions today!"
"Good," the older lion glared from the shadows, "I don't want anybody to see me like this..."
____
Later that morning...
The cacophony of several impatient, angered, and hyped calls made by various ungulates and birds rang across Mizimu Grove. There, they awaited the return of a certain pachyderm they placed all of their trust in, especially as of late.
The crowed turned to the sound of stomping. It had been their glorious leader, Ngurumo, surrounded by an intimidating, austere crash of elite rhinos guarding him. The crowd cheered in delight.
The cheering, however, gradually ceased as Ngurumo gracefully held up a hoof, preparing his rallying speech.
"My fellow prey... It seems every day I hear more and more about the violent nature of our oppressive leaders after my undeserved banishment! I understand that some of you, my dear, faithful bretheren, have been caught in some of these fights these barbaric creatures keep starting amongst themselves?"
"YEAH!" a few notable supporters shouted.
"Ngurumo? Sir? How are you receiving this news?" asked an inquisitive Oryx doe.
"I'm glad you asked." the rhino smiled. "While I stood in the outskirts of the Pridelands, where I had been mercilessly ejected to by the very perpetrators of these attacks, I was only able to hear of the goings-on of the Pridelands from my trusted, loyal tickbird, Uongo!"
The bird in question smirked cunningly as he flew into the scene, as if on cue.
"Now Uongo, what was it you heard these lions say about us poor herbivores?"
The tickbird, who possessed a drongo-like ability to mimic voices to an uncanny level, formed shapes with his mouth to recreate voices of a few lions:
"Kupatana?! -- nobody cares about that holiday!" the bird cherrypicked in Vitani's voice.
"We could've had them now, then it'd be over with!" he said in Shabaha's voice, completely out of context.
"Just beat 'em black and blue like the usual deal." he then said in Vitani's voice once more, and once again devoid of the true context.
The ruminants gasped, as did Ngurumo.
"Such violence!" he said, "The King orders bloodthirsty huntresses -- not even from here -- to form his new Guard. Not only was it such a foolish thing to get rid of his old Guard -- one that had a hippo, by the way --, but he allowed his own enemies to keep us in check, and now they want to eat us all! Siding with anything so long as they're predators, and specifically lions at that!"
The crowd of herd animals yelled in disgust.
"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire my own killers. What an idiot, that Simba is!" he cleared his throat, "But anywho, I hear a few brave animals, here, fought back at the Lion Guard, is that right?"
Karani screamed loud for Ngurumo to hear, and the vicious hippo that hogged the watering hole -- who was currently concussed -- bellowed proudly.
"Yes, heh." Ngurumo's chuckling face became a sympathetic frown, "I, too, am saddened by the senselessattacks made on some of you by these monsters for leaders. Especially around Kupatana! A day of supposed unity! These lions have morphed the very meaning of Kupatana. To them, it's their one day of the year where they gaslight us back into trusting them, in 'the spirit of the holiday'! Bah! I say we take inspiration from the bird and hippo, and fight back! I say we take back the true meaning of Kupatana -- what it meant to all of us since before these predators came about! The real origin of the holiday..."
The animals listened intently. They supposed they didn't know the old meaning of the day due to being younger generations raised under the rule of carnivores. They trusted in Ngurumo, who seemed to have knowledge of the past.
"In the Spirit of Kupatana, I shall hereby declare all the herds as one! Together, with my lead, we shall overthrow this so-called 'King of the Jungle.' For your loyalty, I promise tickbirds for everyone!"
The united herd screamed joyously as the tickbirds made their way to them. A few members of the crowd -- especially Kutoba, the scrappy, short-tempered Oryx -- enthusiastically rooted for the war that would rage on the coming holiday.
As the tickbirds became aqcuainted with their new partners, Ngurumo chuckled to himself, speaking in a low voice that most couldn't hear:
"Such easy animals to please. Anything works on them -- OW!! Not so hard, Uongo..."
The yellow-billed oxpecker glared slightly as he continued burrowing his beak into the rhino's hide.
____
Afternoon...
"Oh, man... it's too quiet!" Shabaha lamented, "Where's the excitement? I'm LOSING it!"
"Why are you wishing for something bad to happen?" Tazama squinted.
Vitani ignored her Guard as she looked and listened still.
Today's patrol, so far, had been rather uneventful. No herbivores screeching derogatory remarks, no rogues hunting and marking things that didn't belong to them, all was quiet for now. Peaceful as it was, for once, the Guard was still on-edge anyhow. Though it was only natural for the former members of Zira's pride to never trust a day going too well, silence was strange at a time like this.
Vitani had identified this phantom sensation as something called an 'anxiety attack', courtesy of Kiara's education on healthy ways to deal with trauma. She, and all the members of the Lion Guard suffered these, especially after this recent series of intense, violent events. She'd pondered if maybe her anxiety was unwarranted today. Still feeling like she couldn't be too sure, she proposed an idea:
"Kasi, why don't you make your usual rounds and scan the area? I'm still too achey to go too far."
"You wanna bet I can cover more land within the same time as last time?"
"I guess we have a little time for fun." Vitani smirked, "You got until sunset."
"I'll be back before the sun touches the top of Mekundu Cliffs!" Kasi was off, "Time me!"
The Guard smiled warmly and confidently as they watched the Fastest dash.
After moments of silence and staring, Shabaha plopped down in the grass.
"Soo... now what?"
____
Though Kasi was on a timed mission, she quickly took in her surroundings as she brushed by them. She had many parts of the Pridelands memorized, showing the remarkable amount of work and traveling the Lion Guard has done for about a year, now.
Feeling adventurous, and ambitious, she let her paws take her to parts unknown. Before she knew it, she'd been far on a border if the Pridelands she hadn't seen before. Feeling the grass vanish and be replaced by dry, cracked land was a sign she'd essentially left the kingdom. She was exhilarated as she felt downhill gravity make her sprinting go even faster. A huge cloud of dust gathered beneath her paws, making her feel powerful.
Bordering this dry wasteland was a forest that Kasi didn't know what territory it belonged to, be it the last bit of the Pridelands, or the beginning of the Backlands.
Something caught her attention, she almost could've sworn a pair of eyes and a pointed face poked from the bushes of the forest. She came to a screeching halt.
"Good, I was beginning to think you were never gonna slow down."
"Kelele..."
"In the flesh." grinned the wolf, "Pleasure seeing you again --"
Kasi turned the other way. Growling, Kelele quickly stopped her.
"Don't run." the wolf relaxed her pose, "I'm not your enemy..."
Kasi backed away slowly. She saw that Kelele's tail had been singed slightly from Vitani's first ever use of the Fire Roar.
"You have to believe me..." Kelele urged.
"I dunno, I mean you literally kidnapped a puppy because you thought he had powers..."
"And it's because of that, I cannot return to the Pridelands. I've got something I've been wanting to tell the Roar-wielder for a long time."
"Alright. You can tell me, and I'll see if I want to deliver it to her."
"Fair enough..." the wolf grinned again as she bowed her head, "While I have come to challenge the Roar, I don't plan to exterminate it. That's not what this is about. I wish to learn more about it, and bring that information back North, where I come from. There aren't very many of us left. I want to make my small pack proud by making history that will live on in paintings and legend."
Kasi listened intently. She still had her doubts, given the fact that Kelele's story sounded a tad self-centered, and it didn't at all explain why she threatened Sauti's life over it. But, then... what would the real story be if she turned out to be lying about it all?
The slender lioness continued to hear Kelele out, allowing her mind to open more. If it was all a lie, she could just warn Vitani. If it wasn't, maybe it was life-saving information for all parties.
____
Over a course of hours, Kasi settled beside Kelele. Their initial rocky start blossomed into similar things they bonded over, such as a shared competitiveness and snarky, dry humor. Though, speaking of competitiveness...
The Fastest's eyes suddenly caught the change in color of the sky, she glanced back to see an orange sun about to set. It looked like it was much further below the top of Mekundu Cliffs, she feared. Maybe there was still just a bit of time left.
"Oh, no... I really gotta go..."
"That's too bad." Kelele perked up, "Hey!"
"Yeah?"
"If you don't tell Vitani the things I wanted to share with her, I understand."
Kasi nodded. She was unsure if Kelele's self-awareness was out of modesty, or possibly manipulation.
"Fastest way back is through the woods. Less steep this way. Safe travels."
The slender lioness took the wolf's word for it, eventually finding her word to be true.
She wondered, if Kelele was being genuine about the way back, were her intentions genuine, too?
____
Kasi watched as the sky fell into twilight. She cringed. She knew it was long past the time she'd promised everyone.
Her sprint turned into a gradually-slowing scamper as she panted heavily. She saw the Guard all bonding. Shabaha was telling outrageous hypotheticals, resulting in some of the liveliest banter they've had in years. The leader of the Guard stood up as she saw Kasi on her way.
"You're way late, Kasi!" Vitani balked, "Very uncharacteristic of you. What kept you, you make new friends along the way?"
Kasi's panting slowed. A piercing question that happened to be.
"Maybe..."
She was still unsure of her judgment in Kelele. But she could save it for now, either way...