The Lands Of Pride, The Rouge Rising

Eighteen

A Year Later~

"JAMILA! RUN! QUICKLY!" Folami yelled as he spead past a lean brown lioness with emerald green eyes. She turned her tail and ran after the young adult cheetah.
"Why are we running, Folami!?" she shouted her brow raised in question. He looked over to her.
"I may or may not have started a row with a group of chimps!" he shouted to her making her eyes widen in horror.
"You what!?" she yelled in anger glaring over at him.
"Run now, be mad later!" Folami shouted knowing he was going to be shouted at when they got to safety. The two ran threw the plains until they heard Timbre's voice.

"Go left! Left!" he shouted and the two felines turned left running in that direction.
"Now go right!" Timbre shouted again. Yet again the felines did as they were told. Turning right. They followed Timbre's directions until they finally lost the chimps. Timbre landed on the ground in front of them. His brow raised high.
"What did you do this time?" he asked them both looking displeased. Jamila took in a deep breath.
"It wasn't me, Timbre. Folami was the one that annoyed them and he dragged me into it!" she told the vulture with a slight pout.
"I only said they looked stupid when they scratched their heads. Didn't know they'd react like that." Folami told the two animals in front of him. Jamila rolled her eyes and Timbre shook his head in amusement.
"We should find the other now." Jamila sighed as she finally stood up. Folami followed her example and Timbre flew onto Jamila's back and she and Folami began walking back to their pride's cave.

Nailah and Ajani sat next to each other watching the sunset. Nailah was now a beautiful grey lioness with euny red eyes. Her ears were perked up and she smiled softly at the scene in front of her. Ajani was now a young adult male lion. He had matured greatly since he was a young cub and his mane was starting to grow. His grass green eyes took in the sunset before he turned to face Nailah. She felt his intense gaze on her and shifted so she was looking at him. She furrowed a brow at him.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly her voice was music to Ajani's ears and he merely smiled at the young lioness.
"Just admiring your beauty." he told her with a soft caring smile. Nailah blushed and she smiled at him bashfully.
"You're sweet, Ajani. Overly sweet though. What would your father think?" Nailah joked and she laughed softly. Ajani smirked himself.
"What would yours think if he saw us right now?" he asked her in a whisper. Nailah giggled.
"He'd scream, bloody murder." she replied and the two of them laughed. They both stopped and stared at each other intently. Both leaning in...

"Ajani! LOOK OUT!" a girls voice yelled and a baobab fruit was thrown at Ajani's head. Making him growl and look in the direction of a wild dog and a hyena. Both looking nervous and guilty. Looking bashfully down at the floor. The wild dog was Nombeko and she had grown into a beautiful canine. Her eyes shone with anticipation though. Next to her was the hyena, Boipelo. She to had grown and she was smiling skirtishly at the ground.

"Sorry! We were playing baobab ball, and well...your head got in the way." Boipelo explained. Ajani growled and he lunged forward in a fake attack making Boipelo yelp and run behind Nombeko giving out a nervous hyena cackle. Nombeko rolled her eyes at her best friend and then looked back at Ajani and Nailah. Her eyes then widened.
"Oh my gosh!" she shrieked in shock before she looked to the ground guiltily.
"What? What is it?" Boipelo asked her with a raised brow.
"We ruined there moment!" Nombeko explained to her naïve hyena friend. Boipelo's eyes widened and she bowed her head apologetically.

"We're really sorry." she told the two lions. But Nailah only smiled at her.
"It's okay, Pelo. Really. Ajani only overreacted a bit." Nailah chuckled her ruby eyes soft and they held amusement.
"A bit!?" Nombeko repeated jokingly making them all laugh. Including Ajani.
"You got me there, my canine friend." Ajani chuckled just as Jamila and Folami walked over. Timbre standing on Jamila's back looking rather relaxed.
"Hey Jamila, Folami and Timbre!" Nailah smiled at her three friends. They smiled back at her.

"Guys! Guys! You've got to see this! It's a cheetah and she's badly injured!" Jabari's voice suddenly shouted and the bird flew over to them his eyes wide. He had grown up as well during this last year. Jamila looked up and her emerald eyes narrowed.
"Lead us to her!" she told him he nodded and began leading them all to the hurt cheetah. Folami ran ahead at his top, cheetah speed and he made it to the cheetah first.

Then Timbre and Jabari. Nombeko and Boipelo were close behind and they all stood around the unconscious cheetah. Jamila, Nailah and Ajani then walked over as well and looked down at the cheetah pityingly. She groaned and Folami peered down at her. That was when Boipelo noticed a mark on the cheetah's shoulder. She nudged Jamila and pointed her paw at it.
"What's that on her shoulder?" she asked curious. Making Jamila, Nailah and Ajani look at the cheetahs shoulder. They're eyes widened. The cheetah began to stir and Folami sighed in relief smiling. It had been a while since he'd seen another cheetah.

"There's only one cheetah I've seen that mark on before." Jamila stated as the cheetah slowly began waking up.
"That's the mark of the Lion Guard. From the Pride Lands." Ajani added in nodding in agreement to Jamila's words about the mark and only seeing it on one cheetah, ever.
"This cheetah is...." Nailah began and the cheetah opened her eyes. They were green and the looked up at the animals surrounding her.
"Fuli!"