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Janja lined up his clan along the edge of the outlands, setting them up in position for the charge. He knew they wouldn’t even leave the outlands this time, but he had to keep up appearances. No one could know he’d tipped off the guard. He was going to play both sides a bit longer. After all, one freebie wouldn’t be enough to buy him for good—not after all that the lion guard had done.

He tried his best to look fierce as he topped the ridge, still bracing for the roar he knew was coming. He hadn’t warned his clan because he was afraid they’d blab, but he hoped Kion could pull his punch a bit, at least knowing it was him who gave him the warning. When he laid eyes on Kion, he was snarling on the surface, but inside, he was at peace. He felt good for some reason.

When the roar came, it felt weaker than it had been recently. He supposed that was probably because of the shear area Kion had to cover, but as he was blown back, he soon heard cracking coming from the ridge. When he landed, he quickly gathered himself back to his feet where he could see pieces of the rocky escarpment breaking off. Unfortunately, it looked like the roar had already intensified, and some of his clan was left on the ridge.

When the other members of his clan had landed, he raced to them to check for injury or wounds. There were few injuries among them, thankfully; however, many of them would need to take a rest in the cave. He gathered everyone together and left Nne in charge of leading the injured of the clan back to their cave. Janja headed back to Kilio Valley with Cheezi and Chungu, knowing that Scar would be furious if he discovered that they weren’t guarding the land – even though he’d been the one to order them away from it.

They waited in the cold morning air, stuck with nothing to keep them busy except each other. Though, that meant Janja was left alone with his thoughts. He couldn’t get his mind off Kion. The lion had been so nice the past couple of nights, and on top of that, he was sure the leader of the guard had been the reason he’d gotten away with that antelope. Why did he do that? He wondered to himself. It wasn’t like cuddle sessions were a worthy trade for food. There was far more Kion could have traded for. Maybe he knew we needed it, he thought. That sounded like the ‘Circle of Life’ Pridelanders always touted. He still wanted to eat a bit more frequently, but that lion was more on his mind than his growling stomach.

He’d spent a lot of time awake last night, thinking about him. Maybe he could stand that Circle of Life nonsense if he got to be around Kion more often. The blond-furred feline had been the first in a long time – aside from Jasiri – to show him affection.

He was fantasizing about the cat when Cheezi and Chungu interrupted him, complaining about the chill. He looked at them and just explained again what Scar wanted, but he couldn’t help thinking out loud that maybe they weren’t on the right side. When the other two stayed quiet, he went back to his fantasies, zoning out a little, but not enough to ignore the annoying vulture who delivered Scar’s message. “Scar says to come for an audience now.”

After his meeting with the flaming lion, Janja walked sullenly to his clan’s cave. He didn’t want to make enemies of the other members in Scar’s army – his cave was far closer to the others’ territories than Jasiri’s and he wouldn’t be able to relocate his clan quickly – but he really didn’t have it in him to fight the guard anymore. On one hand, Scars plan didn’t require him or his clan to fight again, and it seemed like they had a chance at achieving their long-running goal of taking over the Pride Lands; on the other, he could probably win over Kion by warning him about the attack.

As he weighed his options, he came to a decision. He would stick with Scar. Especially since the flaming lion was really in the final stages of his plan. There was no guarantee that Kion meant to help his clan in the long term.

It was night again when Janja saw blond fur appear at the edge of Kilio Valley. This time, Janja limped out towards him. He winced when the lion sniffed the air and a look of worry spread over his face. “Kion, I’d like ta’ tell ya ta’ go away… however, I’d really like it if ya could… lay by me again.”

Kion smiled, “It’s my pleasure, Janja.” Ono had done some reconnaissance earlier that day and found out about the hyena’s deal. He followed the hyena over to his clan, watching with worry as the hyena limped, his back legs nearly giving out. He knew he didn’t need to ask what had happened—the signs of his punishment were clear as day. As they laid down, even though tonight wasn’t as cold as it had been, Kion made sure to snuggle into the hyena as closely as he could.

When sunrise came, Kion cracked an eye, to find Ono waiting for him. “Everyone’s in place, Kion. You’ve got a few minutes to get going. I’m going back to coordinate.” The egret sounded rushed, and Kion understood. He was asking a lot from his friends today.

“Hey, Janja?” he nudged the hyena lightly, “It’s time for me to go.” The last thing he wanted was to leave the hyena without warning.

When the hyena stirred, it came with a whimper. Kion thought he heard something about Goigoi, so he went out on a limb. “It’s okay, Janja. You’re safe with me.” He patted the hyena’s back.

Janja’s eyes shot open. “Kion?” he calmed when he saw the lion.

“It’s time for me to go, Janja,” the feline rose to his paws, turning to go away.

“Hey, Kion?”

“Yes?”

“How would ya feel ‘bout coming by again tonight, maybe a bit earlier? I, have somethin’ I’d like ta’ talk about.”

“Already planned on it.” The lion smiled, then continued on his way.

Not long after he left, a messenger arrived from the outlands. Mzingo touched down by the hyena. “Hello, Janja,” he said shortly, “I come bringing instructions from Scar.”

“Yeah, what are they?”

“Scar wants your clan to retreat to the outlands and prepare for an attack on the Pride Lands. His plan is to attack at dawn tomorrow.”

“Really?! Couldn’t he give us some dang warning. What if I got plans fer tonight?”

The vulture tilted his head at the hyena. His look said all he needed to, but he spoke anyway, “And what exactly would you have to do?” Immediately, he continued, driving home the point that he didn’t care at all about the hyena’s reasons, “Be ready. Also, since the lion guard was prompt to keep the others from making it to the Pride Lands at all today, you’re responsible for your own rations today.” He took off.

“What!?” The hyena stared at the retreating bird, his fur standing on end.

“What’s the problem, Janja?” Cheezi came over to his leader with a frown on his face.

“Nothin’ fur-brain,” he couldn’t tell them they wouldn’t eat again; he’d watched them starve too many times to see their faces when he said it. “I’m gonna go on a little trip, hold down the fort, okay?”

“What fort, Janja? And why am I holding it down?”

“Not a literal fort, you fur-brain. It means keep watch, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay Janja. I’ve got it,” he did that goofy salute that he always did, and Janja couldn’t help if that brought a little smile to his face.

As Janja walked to the edge of the territory, he wondered if he was making the right decision, but with a quick look over his shoulder, at his clan, he reassured himself that it was the best decision he could make. Even if Kion would be furious with him.

He made his way to the nearest herd he could find, stalking far more quietly than he normally did. He locked his focus onto an older antelope, trying to pick out one he thought wouldn’t be missed—not as much as the others, at least. He pounced like a bullet, surprised as he closed jaws around flesh. He made the death as quick as he could, not wanting to make things any worse than they already were. When the antelope stopped moving, he backed away from it, looking around to make sure the coast was still clear. He froze when he saw the egret, watching silently, his eyes trained right on the hyena.

When Ono realized he wasn’t moving, he was quick to speak. “Well? Aren’t you going to take it back?”

Nonplussed, Janja took hold of a leg of the antelope and started dragging it back towards Kilio Valley. On the way, he ran across another member of the lion guard, the hippo. While he looked more than a bit unhappy to see the hyena, he didn’t do anything to stop him, though.

When he came over the ridge with the antelope, members of his clan rushed over to help him bring it the rest of the way.

“Janja, you got this for us?” Chungu asked.

He nodded, “What? I can hunt.”

The other hyenas took turns congratulating him the whole time they were eating, but he sat to the side of it all, feeling lost. Why would those two let me get away with that? Did Kion put them up to it? Are they gonna come after us for what I did later? However, his worries seemed unfounded as his journey to the outlands later that day left him and his clan unscarred.

He passed Jasiri on his way into the outlands; she was leaving much earlier than she normally did, but he didn’t feel like commenting on it. She called out to him, though. “Janja? Not being roared out today?”

He stopped. “Can you tell Kion something for me?” he almost stopped himself from saying it, but now the female came close, all ears now that the lion had been mentioned.

“Hmmm… I don’t know. Can I?” she joked.

“Listen… I just need ya ta’ tell ‘im I’m sorry. I don’ need your sass.”

“Can do,” she went on her own way, not even phased by the hyena’s request.

Janja still couldn’t bring himself to leave it at that. “Jasiri,” he ran up to her. She stopped. “Warn Kion that there’s gonna be an attack tomorrow morning. I’m not sure where but be prepared at the border.”

Jasiri looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“I kinda owe him… I think,” he explained. He went right back to his clan, worried someone might catch him talking to the enemy.

“Janja, what were you doing?” Chungu asked as he came back.

“Nothin’, fur-brain. Now let’s get ready. We have a battle to prepare for tomorrow.”

Kion was surprised when Jasiri relayed the information to him, but happy to get some warning, nonetheless. He didn’t contemplate his options for too long before making up his mind. “Come with me, Jasiri.” He led the way through the Pride Lands, reassuring the lionesses that Jasiri was alright when they arrived at Pride Rock. He went straight to his father, who was talking to Zazu.

“… hunt a Pridelander. And then let him get away!” The hornbill trailed off as Kion approached.

“Dad?”

“Kion? Are you aware that the hyenas killed an antelope today?”

Kion was startled by the suddenness of the question, but he couldn’t hide anything if his dad already knew, and he figured his dad already knew. “Yes.”

“And you’re aware that your guard members let them get away?”

“Listen, dad, I’ve learned there’s going to be a full-scale attack tomorrow morning.” He wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. He couldn’t admit to his father that he’d ordered the guard to let the hyenas get a member of the herd.

“Kion…” Simba seemed pensive, “Did you make a deal for that information? If that’s what it is, all you needed was to c-” He noticed Jasiri behind his son. He’d been too focused to see her before, but now he was on full alert. “It wasn’t your girlfriend, was it?” He kept his sight focused on her.

The hyena backed off under Simba’s gaze. She looked to Kion to answer the king’s question.

Said lion stepped into his father’s line of sight. “Dad, the antelope wasn’t related… Also, I’ve told you Jasiri isn’t-”

“Oh, so you just let him get away with it?”

“Dad!”

“Then what happened, Kion? I must explain this to the herds.”

“I… He…” Kion sighed and collected himself, ignoring his father’s angry stare as best he could. “His clan has been starving, and it’s our fault, dad.”

“Kion. You should know better than to trust him. You know how he is.”

“Do I?” Kion asked.

Simba paused at that. “Kion…”

“Just let it be, dad. I came to talk about the attack tomorrow. And to let you know that Jasiri was going to stay to help. But if you’re going to be so awful about hyenas in general, I bet Jasiri could go back to her clan,” he stormed off, leaving Jasiri without thinking.

Both the lion and hyena remaining looked at him in shock. Jasiri turned to the king. “Sir, I think that’s my cue to leave.” She awkwardly bowed, feeling wrong doing it for the king, especially with how he’d acted.

Simba spoke before she left, “Jasiri?”

She paused, “What do you want, sir?” The words were abnormally flat coming from her.

“I’ve heard things from my majordomo, Jasiri. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about my son and that… miscreant. He reports that they’ve been seen getting… cozy… at night. I just don’t want him to let something like that cloud his judgement.”

Jasiri couldn’t help a slight growl creeping into her voice. “Look, I understand that Janja has been far from great, but if Kion’s tryin’ to be more kind to him, I think there’s nothing wrong with that! Especially if he’s found that he likes him.”

“Th–“ Simba was immediately interrupted by the hyena.

“And don’t you dare say Janja’s using him. He’s the one that told me about the attack tomorrow.”

“But he doesn’t care about the Circle of Life!”

“Well maybe all he needed was for someone to show they cared about him!” She yelled. Remembering herself, she tacked on a “sir,” quickly, then left the king to run after Kion.

When she caught up to him, he’d slowed down to a dragging cadence. “Hey, I’m sure he’ll come around, Kion,” she assured.

“Come around to what?” He tried to act like he didn’t understand.

“I recognize Janja’s scent on you,” she spoke slyly.

“What?!”

“He probably didn’t mean to.” An empty promise if she were honest, but Jasiri was trying to do anything she could to keep them on a path to amends.

“We just laid together, though.”

“From what I’ve seen, Janja’s a hopeless romantic, through and through. You might not be that into him, but you’ve certainly got him hooked on you.”

Kion looked away, thinking to himself. If he were honest with himself, Janja was attractive, but he didn’t feel like he knew the hyena well enough to really like him yet. Heck, he still had his reservations about letting him get away with the antelope.

“Hey, Kion, I know it might sound weird, but I do really think you two could make a good couple… Once you can get him to follow the Circle of Life, that is.”

The lion looked at her, doubt in his eyes. “Maybe,” he relented. That was all, though.