A Purrfect Afternoon

Kion smiled as his eyes opened. The morning sun streamed into the lair, waking the cub easily. Stretching, he stood. The grin grew when he realized what the day held in store. Timon and Pumbaa had taken Bunga on some sort of trip, Beschte was spending time with his Dad and Fuli was off doing her own thing. That meant Kion actually had a day to himself! He loved being leader of the lion guard and spending time with his friends. But following the floods and Kiara's disastrous reign as temporary queen, not to mention the nearly ruined Kupatana celebration, Kion was overdue for some downtime. And he knew exactly who he was going to spend it with. Eating a quick breakfast, he left the lair. Running along a familiar route, he greeted various animals as they awoke to a new day. Arriving at his destination, he took a few minutes to rest. He was early. She would be here soon. Sure enough, a accented voice addressed him from behind a few minutes later.

"Hey Kion!"

"Hey, Jasiri! Are you ready?" he asked.

"Always," she confirmed.

"Great! Follow me!" Kion jumped off the rock and led the way to a small area just beyond the prideland entrance. It was hidden by trees, so the chances of them being discovered were slim. It was a place where the two could play without breaking the law. The two unlikely friends chased each other around for a while and took a swim in a nearby pond. They ate lunch together before heading back to flat ridge rock.

"So how are things in the guard going?" Jasiri ventured.

"Good. Bunga finally realized Rafiki was right about the whole smart animal thing," Kion laughed.

Jasiri giggled.

"I wish I could have been there to see that."

"Me too," Kion sighed. Perking up when he saw what looked like a shortcut, he ran for it.

"Kion, wait! That bridge isn't strong enough to hold either one of us," Jasiri forewarned.

"I'm sure it's fine," Kion glanced at the short bridge of stones. Jumping onto the first one, he made it to the second without a problem. As he hit the third, he felt the rock give way! Before he knew it, he was tumbling down into a weed patch!

"Hevi kabisa!" he growled.

"Kion! Are you okay?" Jasiri called down to him.

"Yeah!" Kion spit out dirt and a few weeds as he looked around for a way out. Spotting an incline, he climbed back to the top.

The minute Jasiri saw his appearance, she giggled uncontrollably as Kion spit out more weeds while shaking his head to get grass out of his fur.

"I…I tried to warn you!" she said in between fits of mirth.

"Yeah, yeah," Kion grumbled. "I'll get you back for this."

"Empty threats," she bluffed. "Besides, this time it wasn't my fault."

"You wait and see," Kion promised.

"Okay," Jasiri stepped back. Timing her move perfectly, she had the leader of the lion guard on his back in seconds.