Kion X Fuli One-Shots

Together They Stand (Part 1)

Story 2: Together They Stand (Part 1)

A/n: This five-part story is loosely based on the premises of Season Two of the Lion Guard Series, though it's not exactly cannon with the general plot of the Season. So, to a certain degree, this is somewhat of an AU. Please vote and let me know what you guys think in the comment section :)

It was the second week of the torturous dry season in the Pridelands, with the scorching Sun burning right above the African savanna. Animals all over were struggling to survive the day and were desperately counting the hours till nightfall when it would be slightly cooler. But for now, most of them were feeling helpless to the arid weather. The smaller animals had to survive by taking refuge in their dens and burrows while the bigger, nomadic land animals had to make use of what little shade they could find amongst the withering African trees that dotted here and there within the Pridelands.

But for a group of five animals, the unbearable weather was no excuse to be pardoned from the call of duty. The Lion Guard were all dragging their paws and claws as they trudged heavily across the deserted Urembo Meadows as part of their patrol, all of them looked fatigued as they strode ahead.

"Hey... uh... Kion?" Bunga tiredly called out to his friend and leader with what little energy he had left, and almost collapsed out of tiredness as he did so. "I don't mean to question your judgement or anything, but... why exactly are we patrolling in the Urembo Meadows again? There aren't any trees here to provide any shade, and I don't think any animals would be crazy to come and hang around out here in the open..."

Kion let out a sigh that was half-tired and half-annoyed as he patiently explained to his friend, "I know that, Bunga. But we still have to patrol every part of the Pridelands and make sure there aren't any tresspassers out here causing trouble."

"Yeah, have you forgotten what happened at Mapema Valleys the day before?" Fuli added, while giving an impatient look at the Honey Badger walking beside her.

While things appeared bad in the Pridelands, it was actually very much worse for the animals of the Outlands. The barren wastelands were already limited on resources to sustain the few animals who inhabitated there to begin with, but the dry season made things worst as the scorching heat had dried up almost all the limited watering holes in the area and the small rodents that lived there had either migrated elsewhere or had dug deeper into the underground to escape the heat, making it impossible for the predatory animals to hunt them for food.

As a result, some of these predatory animals became desperate and decided that they'd stand a better chance of survival if they managed to steal some of the Pridelands' resources. Just the day before, a pack of thirsty Jackals had managed to slip unnoticed into the Mapema Valleys in search of water. They did eventually find a small watering hole within the Valley after searching for hours, although it was unfortunately occupied by a family of equally-thirsty Servals at that time. Of course, with the Jackals desperate to get even a single gulp of the water and the Servals refusing to share the limited water source, a violent skirmish was inevitable and the two groups of animals began savagely brawling each other.

And it undoubtedly would have taken a turn for the worst had Ono and the Guard not been nearby, as the Keenest of Sight immediately spotted the violent altercation and guided his team-mates towards it to break it off. Luckily for the Guard, the moment the Jackals saw them coming, all of them immediately scattered away from the Servals, not wanting to get into trouble. However, one Jackal stolidly stood his ground and refused to move, much to the Guard's surprise and exasperation. They eventually learnt that he was in fact the leader of the Jackal pack and he braved himself to speak with Kion and the team, explaining the dire situation that he and his subordinates were going through and how they were desperately in need of water.