It was late evening in the kingdom of The Tree of Life. After the sun set, dense clouds covered the sky, indicating the inevitable arrival of long awaited rain. With no light shining from above, the prosperous lands were surrounded by darkness. Near the Tree itself one could find an interesting group of animals. The ten of them were standing in a circle. However, not every eye could see in the dark.
"Fuli, are you sure we're in the right place? I can't see Kion anywhere! In fact, I can't see anything at all! It's like I'm under the ground!", Bunga complained.
"Bunga, he's literally standing next to you!", no one saw the annoyance on the cheetah's face, but everybody heard it in her voice.
The honey badger took a couple of steps and bumped into something soft. He then examined it by poking it with his finger.
"Ouch!", the figure exclaimed, surprised by the sudden attack, and turned around towards Bunga.
"Yep, you're right. It's him."
"Keeping him under the ground from time to time wouldn't actually be so bad. Just saying.", Anga commented.
"There're a lot of bugs there!", Bunga cheerfully replied without hesitation. The eagle's sarcasm was too advanced for him to detect, which made everybody else chuckle.
After a few moments of silence Rani cleared her throat. "Good evening, everybody! Sorry for the long wait, Kion and I had a lot to deal with on our patrol today.", the queen addressed the audience. "We've gathered you here for a little yet quite important ceremony. Baliyo, could you step closer, please?"
The teenage brown-furred lion, almost invisible in such darkness, stepped into the centre of the circle, facing his sister. Unlike Bunga, all the felines were able to see each other well enough.
"Has he stepped closer?", the honey badger asked eagerly.
Fuli sighed heavily. "Bunga, just...just...ok?"
"I'm here, sis.", Baliyo spoke up.
"Have you thought about what we discussed earlier? Do you accept the role of the Night pride's leader?", Rani's question sounded serious, but not intimidating.
"I have and I do!", he responded confidently.
"Do you swear to defend the kingdom from outside intruders' threats and do whatever it takes to keep our home safe?"
"I do", the prince nodded.
"Good.", a smile appeared on the lioness's muzzle. She continued, this time more tenderly. "Then as the queen of the Tree of life I officially declare: from this moment on Baliyo is the leader of the Night pride!"
"Woo hoo!", Bunga exclaimed.
"Congrats, little brother!", Rani gave him a hug.
He smiled. "Thanks, sis. And I'm not little. Just younger."
Everybody else followed the queen in congratulating Baliyo. Despite how little that change seemed to the Lion guard, it truly was a significant moment in the young lion's life. Would he become a great leader? Or simply a decent one? Or maybe he would make terrible mistakes that can't be fixed? Only time will tell.
After a few minutes of chatting, the king spoke directly to the Lion guard. "Guys, unless you have any important news about your patrol, you can go rest. I know you must be tired by now."
"We actually are.", Fuli, the new Lion guard's leader replied. "No trouble today, everything went smoothly."
"Glad to hear that. In this case, have a good night! We'll meet in the morning as usual."
YOU ARE READING
TLG: happy ever after
FanfictionWhat should you expect of this book? Well, the story will focus mainly on what could happen after season 3. I've decided to not change anything about the original lore, so pretty much everything canon is conserved (yes, I actually liked the ending)...
