Kion's Tale Ch. 10

"The LIon Guard? In our Kingdom?"

The small bird stood before the giant that was Scar Snout, delivering the news of the small group of animals from the Pridelands crossing into their domain. On his left stood Katali, the Leopard Queen. On his right, Norok, Katali's Striped Hyena mate. Behind the bird Stood the king's royal enforcer, Django, peering down at him with a look of authority.

"You're sure it's them?" Django asked him.

"Without a doubt." Gunge confirmed. "And they appear to be on their way to Karamoka Valley."

Scar Snout made a low hiss as he pondered for a moment on what to do about the Prideland interceptors. "That's the third time they have come to the Backlands without any Justification." He turned his head to Django. "Django, have a Battalion intercept them and bring them to me. Katali, Norok, go with him, make sure they come without fuss."

"Of course, your majesty." Katali bowed before exiting with her mate and the enforcer. Only Gunge was left to give orders to. 'What about me, Sire?"

"I want you to scout the area." Scar Snout answered. "Make sure they are the only ones from the Pridelands here."

"Right away, my king." With all that said, Gunge flew from the entrance of the great Komodo rock to the place his king had commanded him to scout. Whoever this "Lion Guard" was, they certainly weren't very welcmed in the Pridelands.

Especially not the Cobra who Gunge did not seem to notice just outside the Mountain.

--

"Stay alert, Lion Guard." Kion addressed his team. "We're passing into Leopard territory now."

"Ah, who cares about some Leopards?" Bunga gave a small shrug as he walked alongside his closest friend. "Who knows? Maybe we'll see Queen Dhahabu out here!"

Fuli gave a small scoff at the Honey Badger's referral to his love interest. "Yeah, that's a possibility." She rolled her eyes.

Kion looked to the Keenest of sight, who stood on the Strongest's back. "Ono, you think you could scan the area? Tell us if you see any sign of Jasiri's clan."

"Affirmative!" The cattle Egret took to the skies, brushing past the leaves of the trees above his friends. As far as he could see, the Valley before him was devoid of any sign of life. The grass that filled it was shriveled and brown. The Dry Season was a time where plants would enter such a state because of the dryness it brought. Ono had never been to the Backlands as much as the Pridelands or the Outlands, but he never would have guessed it would be this bad here.

And he never would have guessed a Vulture would ram right into him.

Regaining his flight, he flew back up to face his attacker. This Vulture was like none that he had ever seen. A beak with red on it along with black feathers on his body and white feathers around his neck, and his legs did not seem to be as long as the usual carrion birds he had to face.

"What was that for?!" Ono asked the bird.

"Tresspassin's a pretty serious crime, whitey." The vulture answered with his eyebrows furrowed. "I suggest ya turn yer tail feathers around and skedaddle back to wherever ya came from."

"You don't scare me." Ono glared at his attacker. "So get out of my way!"

The Vulture only grinned at this. "If anyone's gonna be gettin' outta anyone's, it's gonna b-"

Before the Vulture could give any threats, a blur of blue and white knocked him out of the sky and straight to the ground, where he was surrounded by the stern faces of the Egrets companions. He seemed rather frightened at first before calling out to the trees.

"Flock! Attack!"

As soon as he gave his command, more vultures burst from the leaves and dove at the Guard. Kion braced himself as he became bombarded with birds.

"Hey! I can't see!" Beshte exclaimed as at least four birds crowded in front of him, pecking at his face. However, the Hippo's skin was so hard, he did not feel anything.

Fuli began to zigzag at her fastest speed, dodging the Vultures that were attacking her. "Huwezi!"

Bunga had gotten off of the leader and began to bat away the birds that focused themselves. "Come at me, ya Stinkin' buzzards!" He then made a flip in the air and kicked one out of the sky. "Zuka Zama!"

With the Honey badger now off of him, the Alpha Vulture got to his feet. He glared at the Lion Cub and stretched out his wings in defense. Kion also braced for his own fight, swatting away some of the other Vultures. "Last chance, Vulture." He told his feathered adversary with a growl. "Back off."

"And this is YER last chance." The scavenger shot back. "Get outta the Backlands or you'll get a mouthfulla hurt."

"Not today, Vulture." Kion smiled and leapt at the bird. The young lion pinned his enemy to the ground. But before he could deliver a blow to him, a cold, chilling roar caught the attention of the Lion Guard and the Vultures. This was not a Roar the Lion Guard was used to. It was like a Crocodiles, but a lot, and I mean a LOT scarier. As if it were a mix between a Crocodile and a forest hog. The group turned to see what was the source of this eerie sound.

And there it was.

A lizard larger than a Crocodile began to make his way over to where the fight had taken place. The one other thing that made him stand out besides his bulk was his tail. Reptiles did not usually have tails made of wood, but this Dragon was an exception. The Lizard glared at the Guard, specifically Kion.

But he was not alone.

Behind him, a group of Spotted Hyenas emerged from the underbrush. These Hyenas were in no way distinguishable among the Lion Guard. Some of them were commonly Grey while some were Brown. The Leader of these Hyenas was a roughly average sized female. Several markings came from the bottom of her cheeks to the top of her eyes and two more on her throat. She looked nearly as stern as her cold blooded comrade.

"That is the biggest Lizard I've ever seen." Ono said under his breath as he lowered is head in fear.

"Chewa, what's going on here?" Django asked the Vulture leader.

"I caught these jokers comin' past the main borders." The Vulture, now known as Chewa, pointed out. "And that's when that smelly hairball belly-flopped on me." He pointed at Bunga.

Bunga gave a chuckle to himself. "Ya shoulda seen it, Idda given it a Ten."

"I have the perfect name for it." One of the Brown Hyenas said to the small Mammal. "Why don't you call it the "Stinkbomb?"" She then began to laugh at her own lame joke. As she turned to see if Django was laughing, she was met with the complete opposite, silencing her.

The Grey female stepped towards Kion, sternly glaring him down. "What are you doing here, Pridelander?"

Kion, being surrounded by Hyenas, Vultures, and a Komodo Dragon, saw himself outnumbered and decided to be straight with her. "We're the Lion Guard, and we're here to find some of our friends, have you seen them?"

"I'll ask the Questions here!" Nabii snapped. "You'll come with us, without a peep and with no guff." She turned to her reptilian comrade. :Lead the way, Django."

As the party that accompanied Nabii and Django departed, the Lion Guard was close behind. The Vultures also made sure they kept in line. Kion was not sure he was doing the right thing by allowing these strangers to take them to wherever they were going to, but being faced with a party that completely outnumbered his team, the odds were not in his favor.

Who knows? Maybe they knew where Jasiri was.