The Lion Guard: A Dark Secret

Chapter 29

Fuli along with the rest of the Lion Guard walked through the forest. She noticed that Kion's head and tail drooped. She didn't blame him, as they had both recently lost a great friend of theirs. She soon noticed that her own head and tail were drooping too. So were the rest of the Lion Guard's too.

She noticed Kion brought his paw to his eye. "Makini," she said. Makini, head drooping, reached into her gourd and pulled out some Tuliza blossoms. She walked over to Kion and held them out.

"Kion," Makini began, "I know you might not want to, but-" Kion ate the Tuliza out of her hand before she could finish her sentence. Even Kion didn't have the drive nor motivation to protest.

Beshte started talking to another animal, a tapir.

"Looks like Beshte's made another friend," Anga commented, likely hoping to brighten the mood.

"Everywhere we go," Kion remarked in agreement, smiling. Fuli knew it was a fake smile as to not ruin the mood.

"So, Tenuk, are there lots of good plants to eat in this forest," Fuli heard Beshte ask the tapir behind her.

"Ah, the best!" The tapir who was apparently named Tenuk told him. "Fruits, berries, leaves, you name it!"

"How are the bugs?" Bunga asked, jumping into the conversation. Tenuk's ears twitched in amusement. "Couldn't tell ya," he told him.

"Tapirs don't eat bugs," Ono told him, also trying to brighten up. "Common knowledge really."

"You don't know what you're missing," Bunga told the tapir. The others shared a good humored laugh.

"Gonna be in these parts long?" Tenuk asked. "I'd love to introduce you to my friends." He then motioned to a pair of animals nearby. "Hey guys! Say hi to my new friend, Beshte!"

"Hi Beshte!" They both said happily.

"Gee. Folks sure are friendly around here," Beshte remarked.

"Yeah. And you're welcome to stay here as long as you like," Tenuk told him. Knowing Beshte, he'd accept the offer in a heartbeat.

"Yeah well, we're just passing through. Right Kion?" She asked the lion who was walking next to her.

"Right," Kion agreed.

"Well if there's anything you need while you're here, just let me know. And I mean anything."

Makini's face lit up. "Oh! We can always use some more Tuliza."

The tapir's eyes widened in fear. "T-T-Tuliza?!" He stuttered. "I take it back! Go away!" He yelled in horror. "Leave me alone!" He dashed off quickly, leaving the Guard behind.

"Was it something I said?" Makini asked puzzled.

"Good gracious! What's going on?" One of the other animals nearby asked.

"What did you do to Tenuk?" Another asked fearfully.

"Nothing," Beshte tried to reassure the animal. "We didn't mean to scare him. Honest."

"Yeah," Makini agreed, "I guess he just doesn't like Tuliza."

"TULIZA?!" Both of the animals shouted then ran off as fast as they could.

"Weird," Anga remarked in a sing-song voice.

"What's going on around here?" Kion asked puzzled. He looked around curiously, trying to get a better layout of what was going on around him.

"Yeah. Everybody's running away from Makini whenever she says 'Tuliza'."

"Ahh! Tuliza! Ahh!" They heard a bird squawk fearfully from the trees above them, then flew away in a hurry.