Clouded Mind part 3 #9

Who is he?

Fuli opens her eyes. Her vision was blurred but after blinking a few times, she sees that she is no longer in a desert but in...a jungle of some sort? Her ears prick to the sound of someone drinking water. WATER! Fuli looks in the direction of where the water is but she sees the 'beast' that...saved her? Fuli checks herself over to see if there was any evidence that she might be dead or half eaten but no. Her fur was still sunshine yellow, her spots were still in place and she still had a few scratches from the vultures pecks.

'Did he save me?' Fuli asks.

There was something about the 'beast' she didn't like but he looked...familiar. After looking at some of his features, she realised that he wasn't a beast. He was a lion. He had golden fur, a fire red mane and a mud paw print on his left shoulder that looked like it was meant to be decoration or something.

Another thought pops into Fuli's head. 'Is he waiting until he gets hungry?!'

Fearing that this was the case, Fuli carefully stands up on her paws and creeps up on the lion. The boots she wore made her a silent hunter. She stops and gets into a pouncing position. The lion stops drinking the water from the stream and looks at his reflection.

In his reflection, he saw a cheetah pounce at him while shouting "HUWEZI!"

The lion flops onto the ground with Fuli standing on top of him.

"Is that how cheetahs thank their saviour?" He asks.

Fuli couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or just trying to be funny.

"Who are you?" She growls.

"That's not important." Replies the lion. "Could you please get off me now?"

Fuli raises an eyebrow while still wearing a stern look.

"I won't hurt you." Says the lion.

"Fine." Says Fuli, getting off. "Where am I?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Yells the lion, acting a like he's having a panic attack.

He jumps across the stream and starts running up a hill. Fuli watches him run, completely confused.

"Are you coming or what?!" Asks the lion.

"Coming!"

Fuli jumps over the stream and follows the mysterious lion. He waits for her on the hill until she catches up. He runs up the hill with Fuli hot on his tail.

"Where are we going?" Asks Fuli, getting annoyed and tired from all the running and climbing.

"We're almost there!" He answers, smiling.

He stops on top of the rocky hill. Fuli sits next to him giving him annoyed suspicious looks.

"Now what?" Asks Fuli in a snappy tone.

The lion puts his paw under her chin and moves her head to look at the view. Fuli's eyes widen in amazement. The oasis was huge. Tress stood tall wherever she looked. There were a few breathtaking waterfalls and a grassland area which must be the lion's hunting ground.

"It's beautiful." Says Fuli, not taking her eyes off the beautiful scenery.

Even the hill which they were sitting on was also beautiful. There was a tree providing shade and when the wind blew, some of the petals from the tree flew around them. There was also a little pond by the tree as well.

"Not many come to the oasis. They either don't enter the desert or get eaten by the vultures. You were lucky that I found you. One moment later and you'd be buzzard food." Says the lion.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Asks Fuli.

The lions face changes from a smile to a bit of a panicked expression like he was trying to lie.

"I...uh...I um heard your distress call." He says stumbling over his words.

Fuli could tell that wasn't the whole truth.

"Why do you have mud on your shoulder?" She asks.

"I thought it'd be cool to um...have a tattoo like you do."

"My tatto? It's the mark of the lion guard. Ever heard of it?"

"No Fuli, I haven't."

The lion covers his muzzle realising what he just said. Fuli whips her head around and gives him a surprised look.

"How do you know my name if you don't know the lion guard?" Asks Fuli, trying to keep down a snarl.

"Whatta you mean? You told me back at the stream." Says the lion backing away.

Fuli dips her paw in the pond and washes away the mud on the lion's shoulder before he could run away. He jumps back, pressing his paw against his 'tatto'.

"I can explain..." He says nervously, backing away once more.

Fuli lunges at him and pins him down.

"GET OFF ME! ASALI! HELP!" Cries the lion.

Fuli didn't care that reinforcements were coming. She wanted to know who this lion is and it seems his biggest fear and secret is whatever's underneath the tatto. Fuli holds the stranger firmly so she could get a good look at his tatto. Under the mud on the lion's shoulder, she sees a red mark but not just any mark. On the lion's shoulder was a red roaring lion identical to the orange one on Fuli's shoulder. Fuli could feel her heart racing in her chest. She could barely get the words out of throat.

"K-Kion?"