Lion Guard: Neema the Leopard

Chapter 16: (10-18-2017)

Janja, Mwamba, and Neema walk back to the outlands as the storm over the pridelands. Neema is tired from the battling and her body aches from the wounds she received.

Mwamba frowns glancing to the side at Neema. "maybe we can finish talking now?" he mumbles.

Janja's ear pricks up for a moment but only because he mistakenly believes Mwamba was talking to him.

"oh right I had almost forgotten." Neema replies. Taking her mind off the injury she continues with the group.

"I wish you would let me help you at least a little." Mwamba frowns. "it really just felt like during that fight you thought I was going to be in the way and... look how hurt you got."

"I'm fine really." Neema replies. "and I never said you were in the way. One of us had to help the king get away so we could get back up." Neema frowns and looks across the plains. "I would have done it myself but I'm not sure I would have been able to get Simba out of there. That is why I asked you to do it."

"listen Neema... about what I said earlier." Mwamba starts back trying to confess again but his words are drown out by a load roar and a thunder clap. "what the? The wasn't all thunder."

"no it sounded like a lion." Neema frowns looking back the way they had come from. "that can't be good."

"should we go back?" Janja questions. "I mean in this condition we'll just get our pelts handed to us but if you want to see what's up we can go back."

"no we wouldn't make it in time anyways." Neema replies scowling. "hopefully the king can handle this one on his own."

The group continue quickly back to the outlands. Upon arriving Neema begins to head for the leopard's cave but she is stopped by Nne and Tano who had been waiting for them to return. When Nne sees how badly beaten Neema is he smirks and walks around her in a circle. "you look like you fought a pride full of lioness." He chuckles.

"that's... oddly specific." Neema mumbles.

"isn't it?" Nne chuckles. "this is better than I could have hoped for. Leave them alone and someone I dislike comes back to injured to defend themselves."

"what are you talking about?" Neema questions but without an answer Nne lunges at her from the side knocking her into a hole on the side of some rocks. The hole leads into a cave but they'd never been down there because they don't know how to get back out of the cave.

"NEEMA!?" Mwamba rushes to the hole and looks inside eyes wide. Then he turns to Nne growling. "why di-"

Janja leaps onto Nne's back pinning him to the ground. "what's the meaning of this Nne? Why you attack Neema?"

"Neema is all you care about these days." Nne growls. "ever since the leopard showed up you've changed. If you ask me its rather insulting that you spend so much time and energy on someone who isn't even from here! You gave up territory to leopards... not once but TWICE! And you let them order us around." He pushes off from the ground sending Janja flying back off him and towards the pack of hyena. "well I for one am sick of playing second to leopards. We should take what we want and not take orders from inferior species."

Janja glares at Nne. "you've forgotten the reason we let her stay in the first place." He folds his ears back glancing around at the pack around him. "we all had the same idea."

"yeah we did but you became soft and felt bad because your weak. Your ruined your own plan Janja and since then we've had to suffer here in silence." Nne growls. "well no more silence. I think you can't handle the pack anymore so I'm going to take over."