Wild Legends: Rise of a New Force

Chapter Eighteen

   The lair of the Lion Guard is still the same as he remembered. Kion is walking passed the paintings in the wall until he stopped at the one that portrays his first team. Anga wasn’t there before and Ono was still the Keenest of Sight. The teen lion smiled at all their adventures together and turned his head away to look at them.


   Beshte was at the watering hole with the egret on top of him, talking with Ronin who is sitting on dry land. Next, he saw Fuli, Jasiri, Anga, Villa, his sister, and the Guard are having some conversation of who knows what it is. Then, he heard a loud splash and turned to see Kovu, Janja, and Vincent all soaked up, Bunga popped his head out seconds later from the water to see the three glaring deadly at him. The badger just laid it out and ignored them.


   “So, I am guessing that painting is your team,”


   Kion rolled his eyes and looked at the human who is crouching beside him, looking at the small portrait he was staring at.


   “Do you see any of the former Guard who doesn’t have lions in their team?” Kion said.


   Nathan didn’t reply and scrolled a hand on the paintings but frowned upon looking at the painting of another Guard, one lead by an elder, black mane, brown lion with a left scar across his eye. Kion followed his gaze and could see why before another voice spoke out of their silence.


   “Scar tried to use the Roar for his advantage to rule over the Pride Lands,”


   They both turned around to see Simba coming to them with Nala beside him, stopping between them and looking at the painting with distant eyes as he continues.


   “He even tried to get the other Guards to help him. When they refused, he used the Roar at them, losing it for good,”  the king then looked at Nathan with a sad gaze. “Sorry if you had to listen to this,”


   “It’s okay,” Nathan said softly and hugged the large lion.


   Suddenly, they heard a loud yelp outside the lair followed by series of gasps. Everyone else heard this as well and looked at the entrance. Kion and Nathan looked at each other and then at their team, seeing that they had the same thought.


   Trouble.


   Without a second, everyone went to the entrance of the lair with Kion and Nathan running in front. Upon pushing through the thick vines, they went in a full halt at the sight before them. The others soon came beside them shortly and saw the source of the commotion as well. All the animals had all eyes focused on the source, but what actually got their attention is the source. Like everyone else, their eyes were focused on two young animals, a jackal pup and a zebra foal,  standing their ground before another jackal pup. Behind the two younglings is a zebra foal with one patched leg.


   Finding his voice, the limp zebra foal spoke in disbelief. “Dogo? Is that you?”


   The pup in front looked over his shoulder where his blue eyes meet the foal’s purple ones and said something with a signature smile.


   “Is it really that hard to tell the difference between an aardwolf and—”


   “A hyena in the middle of a cloudy night,” Kwato spoke along with him as the foal’s muzzle grew a wide, big smile and his eyes growing big and gleaming with joy. “Dogo, it’s actually you!”


   He is not the only one who is happy, many of the Pride Landers were actually glad that the pup came back without harm. Dogo smiled as he looked at the smiling reliefs around him before someone else said his name.


   “Dogo?”


   He turned his head and saw his mother and his sister approaching him while the rest of the family stayed at where they are with various expressions. Some were confused, others were shocked, a few were relieved, his father…..as clueless as he still is, and the one brother who tried to attack the foal gave him a mad snarl.


   Dogo closed his eyes before standing from his position and opened his eyes with seriousness glinting from his face, trotting forward to his mother and sister. As the pup approached them, Hamu can only watch in concern for the one he called brother. Turning at Kwato, the other foal shared the same expression before they both turned their head back at the mother, daughter, and son walking towards each other.


   Soon, they stopped close to one another’s reach, giving some silent tension to the audiences around them. Dogo looked at his sister’s eyes and averted to his mother’s, seeing her stern gaze but saw something else in her eyes that he couldn’t recognize clearly. He closed his eyes and shook his head, it is not the time for him to play guessing games. Breaking the silence, Reirei spoke.


   “Dogo—”


   “I know what you two are going to say,” Dogo cut her off and looked at her with tearing eyes. “Why? Why am I standing against my brother? Why am I on their side? Why am I friends with them?” raising a paw, he pointed it to the Pride Land animals around them to prove his words and continued.


   “Why? Because I’m tired of just wondering about everything around me, thinking ‘how does it feel like to play with friends other than my own siblings? Why are there greens in the Pride Lands but not in the Outlands?’. I started to think of more and more questions until I snuck out. Soon, I started to learn so many things that I couldn’t back at home,” he cast his head down and a sad smile grew on his muzzle as he listed. “Having good friends, helping the animals, I’m even the one who casted Kwato’s broken leg,”


   Many gaped and turned their attention to the young zebra who shrunk down nervously at the gazes and whispered loudly.


   “It’s true,”


   Reirei, who is shocked that her son, her once lost son, did that to fix the foal’s broken leg, looked back at her child in front of her who hasn’t moved his head up and tears now started to leak out of his tight closed eyes as he is in the verge of crying. There, she could see mixed emotions from him: sadness, guilt, confusion, and more that she cannot describe. Kajina can’t stand seeing his own brother like this, her own tears dwelling out as well.


   “I—I—” Dogo choked in his own words as he tried to speak, his fragile body is shaking up. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about this. You already had me and my siblings to take care of that I don’t want you to work yourself a lot more than you already are. Like it will do any change anyway…”


   The jackal pup looked up at his mother as the tears burst out once he opened his eyes. The adult jackal stood silent in front of him, confusing him more so until the built-up of emotions made him do something shocking.


   “Why aren’t you saying anything?!”


   He snapped. Loud enough to be heard around Pride Rock and enough to be heard by an old mandrill who was making his way there along with three animal companions and a human girl.


   After that, Dogo’s voice went down until his breathing started to shake as his eyes shut firm and let his tears run down. He knew he can’t change his family’s mind, nothing will.


   Suddenly, he felt someone pulled him close to a hug and opened his eyes to see it was his sister, Kajina, who is now crying on his shoulder. Not knowing what to do, he began to speak softly.


   “Sis’—”


   “You idiot!”


   Dogo flinched at his sibling’s burst as Kajina pulled away to meet his eyes with her wet ones. What she said next is not what he was expecting


   “Everything you said, everything you thought that mom would say aren’t even close to it!” she said before a smile started forming in her face. “Dogo, mom is actually proud of you. Proud of the things you did for them. All of them,”


   Dogo looked at her for a moment then turned his head to their mother. The expression in Reirei’s face sums all of what his sister said once he saw the proud smile of his mother. Soon, Reirei lowered her head as Kajina stepped aside and let her press her forehead to Dogo’s, whispering with tears flowing out of her shut eyes.


   “I should be the one who should be sorry,” she said and moved away to looked at him face to face as the pup listens with tears. “You are a very, very unique child, Dogo and that helped me see the light you saw. I love you and so does the rest of us,”


   Without a word, and to Reirei’s shock, the jackal pup tackled a hug at his mother. Recovering to a warm, genuine smile, the older jackal pup returned it with joyful tears. Kajina then joined in as the three of them sat there in a moment of silence.


    “So…”


   The trio looked behind Reirei and saw one of Dogo and Kajina’s eldest sister and Reirei’s daughters walk up to them with a confused and wondered expression as she spoke. Her pelt has a pale brown color and her eyes were, in which many are shock, silver. The Pride Landers only thought that Dogo is the only pup with a different eye color. Apparently not.


   “Does this mean we have to follow the Circle of Life? For real?”


   Reirei looked at the two pups huddling under her and turned back at the elder with a nod. It took a moment before the young jackal responded with an accepting smile.


   “Probably for the best,” she said, shocking them, before turning her head to a thin, limber lioness with dull tan fur and blue eyes. “Hey, Kasi!”


   The lioness broke out of her paralysis and asked the jackal. “What is it, miss…?”


   “It’s Haraka and before you could say anything, yes, my name may or may not sound like your catchphrase so call me Hara for short. As for the reason I called you,” a competitive grin formed as she taunted the next few words. “How would you like to have a race between me and you,”


   Kasi blinked at her a few times before her face matches the young jackal’s expression. Soon, some followed and it surprised the Pride Landers that the family is not who they seemed to be. Goigoi walked to his mate and their two children and sat next to them, watching the rest talk with those around them.


   Suddenly, out of the corner of Reirei’s eye, she saw one of the pups sneakily trying to walk away and she knew why.


   “Mtunzi,”


   The jackal pup went frozen stiffed and slowly turned his head with a sheepish grin, meeting her mother’s stern gaze as she continued.


   “We will have a talk later and don’t you forget that,” she said, making the pup flat his ears and look down in shame.


   Although things have escalated to a peaceful level, Nathan, Kion, their gang, Vitani, and most of her Guard couldn’t help but feel like they’re invisible from everyone else aside from the royalties who are yet to be noticed. Tempted to get their attention, Nathan made a cautious move of folding his right hand to a fist then slowly raise it directly in front of his mouth.


    Kiara, who was beside him, glanced at him and realized his actions as they made eye contact. He hadn’t done anything but she knew this bold, stupid move. She silently gave her a threatening look as he stood still without breaking their contact. The stared at each other for along time, seeing who would go down first.


   Then, Nathan silently sighed in defeat and quietly placed back his hand to his side. Kiara smiled victorious and turned back at the scene silently to enjoy this happy moment.


   “Achoo!”


   And then Kovu accidentally sneezed.