Circle of Life Ch. 16

The group of four had recently left the cold climate that surrounded the snowlands and entered a new type of habitat. This was what looked like a Marsh with slimy water and tall, brown trees. Kito slithered along in his snake form as he led the group through the marsh.

"Watch your sssstep, now." Kito warned those behind him. "Thissss water can be very sssslippery."

"Got it, Kito." Askari then turned his head to their newest member. "So Chuluun, have you ever been outside the snowlands before?"

'Well once." The snow leopard shrugged. She began swatting away a cloud of bugs that buzzed around their heads. "I wanted to -ack- find those gorillas myself -ugh- but I couldn't, so I went back to my- Aaaah! These bugs are eating me alive!"

Ahadi slapped a few away himself. "What do they eat when they can't get us?"

"That's mosssquitossss for you, I sssuppose." Kito shrugged his shoulders.

Chuluun growled slightly at the transforming snake's comment. "I don't care what they're called, I wish they would change their diet!"

As the party trudged forth through the sludge, not one of them realized that they were being watched by a pair of yellow eyes. The unknown creature scampered through the shadows of the shade and chuckled to himself.

--

A lone female mandrill wandered through the Outlands. She held a large stick in her hand as she walked along the barren landscape. She remembered this land was the central location for one of the greatest wars of Pridelands history. This war involved the return of a certain evil lion of the past, existing through lava and fire.

Scar.

The Pridelands' most dangerous enemy. Scar was responsible for the death of his brother and the kingdom's near destruction. Luckily, he was defeated twice by his own nephew and grand-nephew.

Suddenly, she heard a scuttling noise.

She tightened her grip on her staff as she held it like a weapon, scanning the area for whatever was stalking her. So far, the Outlands showed no sign of life. Bones lie scattered on the ground, leftovers from meals of the now circle of life respecting clans of Hyenas.

And then, there was the lizard.

What jumped out at her was a large, green lizard with scars on several places on his body from a very lethal fight from his past. On his end, he wore a wooden tail to replace a normal one. The reptile growled fiercly as he lunged at the mandrill with open jaws.

The monkey dodged as she twirled her staff in her hands. She let out a yell and pushed against the might of her opponent. as he pressed his weight against the stick. He clamped down on the middle of the staff as he tried to knock her down. But this simian was not gong to be defeated so easily.

She shoved him back and swung her staff at him, knocking him off of his feet. She then stood on top of him and shared the same growling expression as him.

Followed by some laughter from the reptile.

"Yer gettin' better at that swinin' kid!" The lizard laughed in an Australian accent.

The monkey grinned as she stepped off of him. "What can I say? I learned from the best."

The lizard stood up as he nodded at her. "Y'know, Makini, since I've been stayin' 'ere, the thing I've looked most forward to was spendin' sparrin' time with ya."

"Me too, Django." Makini said as she leaned on her staff.

These two were as close as close could be. Django had met Makini during the war, and had become her idol after saving her from an attack. Ever since the war ended years ago, the Dragon and the Mandrill had become like father and daughter. These two had become a famous fighting duo in both the Outlands and Pridelands.

"Makini! Django!"

The two of them turned their heads to see the face of the Queen's younger brother running up to them with his eldest daughter.

"Kion! Good to see you!" Makini greeted her old friend. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has." Kion chuckled before turnng to the Komodo. "What's up, Django?"

"Can't complain, yer majesty." Django bowed slightly. "So what bring ya to the Outlands?"

"My sons Askari and Ahadi have gone missing, and we thought they might have come here."

"Well I ain't seen 'em." Django shook his head.

"Me neither." Makini said worriedly.

"No telling with Askari." Kion sighed. "But Ahadi? He's never run off like this. Those two take after their mom, though Askari gets in more trouble."

"Don't worry, dad." Mothatu assured her father. "Me and my lion guard'll find them."

"They couldn't have gone far." Makini said hopefully. "Maybe they're in the Backlands."

Django looked up to see a small grey bird flying down to them. "Oi, Gunge! What news do ya bring?"

The small cuckoo panted as he landed gently on a rock. "I just came to tell you that I've spotted tracks that look like lion prints head eastward of the Backlands."

The three adults looked at each other with concern on each face. Mothatu also shared this look as they all knew that they had come to the same conclusion.

They knew where the princes were now.