The Lion Swap: Return of the Roar

Part 6: Discussing the Roar

Kiara awoke a bit after sunrise to the sounds of a familiar bird's calls. The sun was already up, and making its path across the sapphire blue sky. Not a cloud could be seen in the majestic heavens.

"Kiara!" Tumaini called from the outside of Pride Rock. "Kiara!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the young lioness said, stretching out her limbs and yawning before joining the young bluebird outside, blinking in the sunshine. "What's wrong, Tumaini? I thought you always woke up the latest."

The bird rolled her eyes. "No, this is a one-off. I was thinking about yesterday."

"You woke me up because of thoughts?" the princess asked incredulously. "And I though I was bad, waking you up because I wanted to hang, but had no idea what to do!"

"Har har, you're so funny," Tumaini said sarcastically. "I was just thinking about that Roar thing you did! I was thinking, could you blast Chausiki with it? That crow is such a bully!"

Kiara fidgeted her paws uncomfortably on the stone ground, feeling unsure about the prospect of roaring at an innocent bird - even if he did bully Tumaini. "I don't know, Tumaini. It doesn't seem right. And about yesterday, I don't know how I did that Roar thing. It just... happened."

"You mean you won't do it?" Tumaini asked, visibly wilting. Her disappointment was unmistakable.

"No. Sorry, Tumaini," Kiara muttered.

Tumaini tutted, downcast as she flew closer to Kiara. "Anyway, how much trouble did your dad get you in?"

"Not much," the lioness admitted. "Daddy just scolded me for a minute, then sung a song."

"Sung a song?" Tumaini repeated, her face incredulous. "And I thought my family was weird. It's normal for us to sing - but lions?" She winced.

"Tell me about it," Kiara muttered, making her way down Pride Rock, Tumaini flying behind her, asking a load of questions that Kiara didn't yet have the energy to answer. 

When they reached the bottom of the trail, they (well, actually Tumaini) noticed Simba speaking with Rafiki, the Royal Mjuzi. The two friends hid behind a rock so they could 'overhear' their conversation. However, the lion and the mandrill were standing further away from them, so they could only hear a few words and phrases.

"...Worried about Kiara," Simba was saying. "This... safe..."

"...Lion Guard," Rafiki said in turn. "Great Kings... spoken... we must obey..."

Tumaini and Kiara shared a look. From what they could piece together from the conversation, Simba was worried about his daughter. 'Something' was safe - or was it not safe? And something about a lion guard, and the Great Kings of the Past.

What was a lion guard? Kiara wondered, concerned. And why was her father worried about her? All she was getting from the argument was questions, and not answers, she realised, feeling very irritated. 

Finally deciding to see if she could get any actual answers, Kiara leapt up, and marched towards her dad, ignoring Tumaini's chirp of alarm. 

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted, looking between Rafiki and Simba who had both fallen silent with vague expressions of guilt. "What's going on?"

A silent war had fallen between the king and the Royal Mjuzi who were in a stare-off, as if telling each other, tell her! No, you tell her! You know more about this than I do! You're her father! Kiara watched the two, bemused, as Rafiki held up his staff, as if he was going to bonk Simba on the head.

"What's going on?" Tumaini whispered to her, finally having caught up with her, watching as Simba yelped and reared back, already afraid of the stick that had given him major headaches when he was young.

"Hopefully, soon," Kiara murmured back as her dad sighed. 

"Kiara," he said, flicking his tail and glaring at the mandrill, before meeting her eyes. "I need to talk to you about yesterday."

A feeling of dread filled the young lioness. "Daddy! We already talked about this! We are one! Family! We are like the earth and sky! I get it!" She sung a few words to prove her point. Tumaini giggled, but Kiara glared at her. 

"No, no!" Rafiki said, jumping in before Simba could make any more of a disaster of what would be earth-shattering news to the cub and her friend. "This is about your Roar! Yes, yes!" The mandrill was dancing around a bit, making Kiara nervous of him. 

She frowned, feeling concerned. Was she in trouble? "Uh, yeah. It was kind of different yesterday."

"Different?" Rafiki shrieked, sounding thoroughly offended. "Different, you say? It is more than different. It is the Roar of the Elders! When you use it, the great lions of the Pride Lands roar with you."

"What? You mean, that's what happened to my roar?" Kiara asked, still bewildered at how the phenomenon had occurred. All she remembered was feeling anger towards the hyenas and letting it all out, and the loudest roar she had ever heard in her short life had come out of her mouth. She was still reeling in shock from it.

"Yeah!" Tumaini exclaimed suddenly, startling Kiara. "Lions in the sky! I saw that!"

"You did?" Kiara asked, turning to face her friend. The young bluebird nodded. 

"The Roar of the Elders is a great gift, Kiara," Simba said. "But..." he trailed off, leaving it unfinished.

"But what?" Kiara prompted him, questions swirling in her mind. What exactly was the Roar of the Elders? Why was her father acting so suspiciously? And why was he and Rafiki talking about a Lion Guard - whatever that was?

Simba looked at Rafiki, almost pleadingly. The mandrill shook his head and said, "No, no. It is you who must tell Kiara about the Lion Guard."

Kiara felt an odd thrill at the words. Finally, some answers! "What's the Lion Guard?" Kiara asked, staring up at her father, her tail wagging with excitement. 

But instead of answering her, Simba stood up and motioned for her to follow. "This way, Kiara." He and Rafiki led her and Tumaini away from the base of Pride Rock, before stopping at the side of it, where part of the wall was covered by vines and ivy. 

Kiara raised her eyebrow, unimpressed. "Daddy, what's so important about these vines? I've walked past them a million times!"

"But have you been inside them?" Simba asked, his eyes twinkling.

"What are you talking about?" Kiara asked, the corners of her eyes wrinkled in confusion. "There's just wall there."

But Tumaini drew a breath, obviously looking beyond what she saw. "Kiara, have you ever checked if there's wall there?"

"What do you mean?"

Simba smiled at his daughter, bemused by her confusion. "Rafiki, will you do the honours?"

The mandrill ambled over to the vine wall, lifting up his stick. "With pleasure," he said, using his staff to part the leaves, to reveal... a cave.

"This," Simba said, his tone reverent, "is the Lair of the Lion Guard."