HOME | DD

Description
“I still can’t believe you’re all coming with me.”

Kion had repeated the sentiment so many times, that much of the group merely rolled their eyes. Standing at Pride Rock’s summit with his Guard, the extensive royal family and many of their friends were ready and eager to head to the Tree of Life.

“You had to miss my wedding, Kion,” said Kiara, ruffling her brother’s mane, “I’m not about to miss yours.”

“It’s a long journey,“ he said, “Are you sure it’s worth leaving the Pridelands all alone?”

“Alone? My girls will still be here!” Vitani chimed in, defensively, “They can more than keep the kingdom safe!”

The young lion smiled.

“I’ll be ready to go in just a minute—I wanna say goodbye to the pride.”

Kion turned away, and the group continued chatting amongst themselves. He entered Pride Rock’s den, where most of the now massive pride were resting from the day’s events. Kion made his way through the crowd, to bid farewell to the handful of lions he knew well, who weren't coming to the wedding. As he headed back to the mouth of the den, he raised his paw to give a final wave to the whole pride.

“Hey, Prince Kion!”

He blinked, as a dark furred lioness ran out of the crowd and up him. Not recognizing her, Kion realized that she must have been one of the former Outlanders. To his surprise, the girl didn’t look to even be his age.

“Oh, hey,” Kion said, not knowing what to expect, “Um, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“My name’s Pekee,” the lioness began, “I wanted to ask—you’re really leaving forever? Moving to the Tree of Life as in... permanent-like?”

“Yeah,” he answered, “Yeah, I am. Why?”

“Well...”

“If they’re takin’ new lions, we want to go with ya!” another lioness finished, approaching the pair. Nearly identical to the younger lioness, the prince figured that she had to be her mother.

“You do?” asked Kion.

“A few of us do,” said a third lioness, standing up alongside a fourth.

Kion looked the lionesses over. While the two dark lionesses were strangers to him, the prince faintly recognized the others—a scruffy gray lioness and a brown, oddly round-in-the-middle lioness—as having ambushed him so many years ago.

“You were all part of Zira’s pride, right?” he asked, “Why would you want to move to the Tree of Life? You worked pretty hard to get back to the Pridelands....”

“Some of us never wanted to be here in the first place,” said Pekee, looking away in embarrassment, “I wasn’t loyal to the cause, I was just born into Zira's pride.” She paused nervously, before continuing: “I never fit in there, and... well, I don’t fit in here, either.”

“And if my girlie wants to leave,” her mother added, "She's not goin' without me!"

“I want to live in a kingdom that doesn’t have any... any ideas about me,” Pekee said, looking up at Kion with determined eyes, “Not as a soldier, or as a former villain that I didn’t choose to be.”

Kion considered the pair.

“And what about you?” he asked, looking to the other lionesses.

“This war lost me my sister, and my niece,” said the darker of the pair. “They died for me to live here, but not the way they meant to. It doesn’t feel right for me to be here without them.”

“And now that I know what kind of a lioness I was supporting,” said the second, “I just can’t face the Pridelands. I know your pride forgives us, but we don’t all forgive us. We’ve caused so much misery and death, I want to try to bring happiness and—“ she made a small gesture towards her swollen belly, “—life to a kingdom that is actually wonting for it.”

“The Pridelands have got more than enough lions,” added the first lioness, “We were hoping that the Tree of Life could use a few more.”

Kion looked over the lionesses standing before him, and thought; if they wanted to leave the Pridelands, they were well within their right. But if the Night Pride needed more members, nobody had said anything to him about it—then again, why would they have? And as far as he knew, the pride currently consisted of only the small royal family, plus Nirmala....

“It couldn’t hurt to come along and ask!” said Kion, flashing the lionesses a grin, “C’mon—we’ve gotta get going before the sun gets too high!”

~~~

Yay for headcanons! I’ve seen other people who have the idea that some former Outsiders left with Kion and joined the Night Pride, and I think it’s a solid idea. It helps the Pridelands not be overcrowded, and helps the Night Pride not be... well, so empty of lions that they couldn’t possibly survive another generation You just might recognize Pekee: when she grows up, she marries Baliyo The other lionesses I've drawn before too, and you can read what little I've written about them before here , if you're curious Along with Pekee, it's Kuharibu, Shambulio, and Yangu who become part of the Night Pride

As you read, there’s even a baby on the way already, helpin’ the Night Pride grow—I’ll draw the whole Tree of Life nextgen sometime

Description
“I still can’t believe you’re all coming with me.”

Kion had repeated the sentiment so many times, that much of the group merely rolled their eyes. Standing at Pride Rock’s summit with his Guard, the extensive royal family and many of their friends were ready and eager to head to the Tree of Life.

“You had to miss my wedding, Kion,” said Kiara, ruffling her brother’s mane, “I’m not about to miss yours.”

“It’s a long journey,“ he said, “Are you sure it’s worth leaving the Pridelands all alone?”

“Alone? My girls will still be here!” Vitani chimed in, defensively, “They can more than keep the kingdom safe!”

The young lion smiled.

“I’ll be ready to go in just a minute—I wanna say goodbye to the pride.”

Kion turned away, and the group continued chatting amongst themselves. He entered Pride Rock’s den, where most of the now massive pride were resting from the day’s events. Kion made his way through the crowd, to bid farewell to the handful of lions he knew well, who weren't coming to the wedding. As he headed back to the mouth of the den, he raised his paw to give a final wave to the whole pride.

“Hey, Prince Kion!”

He blinked, as a dark furred lioness ran out of the crowd and up him. Not recognizing her, Kion realized that she must have been one of the former Outlanders. To his surprise, the girl didn’t look to even be his age.

“Oh, hey,” Kion said, not knowing what to expect, “Um, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“My name’s Pekee,” the lioness began, “I wanted to ask—you’re really leaving forever? Moving to the Tree of Life as in... permanent-like?”

“Yeah,” he answered, “Yeah, I am. Why?”

“Well...”

“If they’re takin’ new lions, we want to go with ya!” another lioness finished, approaching the pair. Nearly identical to the younger lioness, the prince figured that she had to be her mother.

“You do?” asked Kion.

“A few of us do,” said a third lioness, standing up alongside a fourth.

Kion looked the lionesses over. While the two dark lionesses were strangers to him, the prince faintly recognized the others—a scruffy gray lioness and a brown, oddly round-in-the-middle lioness—as having ambushed him so many years ago.

“You were all part of Zira’s pride, right?” he asked, “Why would you want to move to the Tree of Life? You worked pretty hard to get back to the Pridelands....”

“Some of us never wanted to be here in the first place,” said Pekee, looking away in embarrassment, “I wasn’t loyal to the cause, I was just born into Zira's pride.” She paused nervously, before continuing: “I never fit in there, and... well, I don’t fit in here, either.”

“And if my girlie wants to leave,” her mother added, "She's not goin' without me!"

“I want to live in a kingdom that doesn’t have any... any ideas about me,” Pekee said, looking up at Kion with determined eyes, “Not as a soldier, or as a former villain that I didn’t choose to be.”

Kion considered the pair.

“And what about you?” he asked, looking to the other lionesses.

“This war lost me my sister, and my niece,” said the darker of the pair. “They died for me to live here, but not the way they meant to. It doesn’t feel right for me to be here without them.”

“And now that I know what kind of a lioness I was supporting,” said the second, “I just can’t face the Pridelands. I know your pride forgives us, but we don’t all forgive us. We’ve caused so much misery and death, I want to try to bring happiness and—“ she made a small gesture towards her swollen belly, “—life to a kingdom that is actually wonting for it.”

“The Pridelands have got more than enough lions,” added the first lioness, “We were hoping that the Tree of Life could use a few more.”

Kion looked over the lionesses standing before him, and thought; if they wanted to leave the Pridelands, they were well within their right. But if the Night Pride needed more members, nobody had said anything to him about it—then again, why would they have? And as far as he knew, the pride currently consisted of only the small royal family, plus Nirmala....

“It couldn’t hurt to come along and ask!” said Kion, flashing the lionesses a grin, “C’mon—we’ve gotta get going before the sun gets too high!”

~~~

Yay for headcanons! I’ve seen other people who have the idea that some former Outsiders left with Kion and joined the Night Pride, and I think it’s a solid idea. It helps the Pridelands not be overcrowded, and helps the Night Pride not be... well, so empty of lions that they couldn’t possibly survive another generation You just might recognize Pekee: when she grows up, she marries Baliyo The other lionesses I've drawn before too, and you can read what little I've written about them before here , if you're curious Along with Pekee, it's Kuharibu, Shambulio, and Yangu who become part of the Night Pride

As you read, there’s even a baby on the way already, helpin’ the Night Pride grow—I’ll draw the whole Tree of Life nextgen sometime