Chapter Text
Janja paced, uncertain of what he should do. It had now been two months since Kion had lost his memory, and he still had no recollection of all that they had shared. It had reached the point where he was no longer comfortable just waiting for Kion's memory to come back. He glanced out in the direction of the Pridelands, then back to his clan, who were blissfully unaware of what he intended to do.
'I'll just be gone for a minute,' he told himself, and so he gracefully slipped away. He searched for an easily passable route into the Pridelands, and soon found one, following it as he carefully avoided being seen or heard.
Upon entering the Pridelands, he scanned the area, trying to figure out where Rafiki would be. As he looked, he heard something flapping, and then land next to him. He turned, and saw the Guard's keenest of sight, Ono.
"What are you doing here? If Kion sees you-"
"I know he hasn't remembered anything yet, and that's exactly why I'm here," Janja quickly cut him off. Ono stared at him in confusion, and Janja knew he needed to elaborate.
"I was going to go see Rafiki, and see if he could help me try to jog Kion's memory."
Ono seemed conflicted, but eventually sighed and started flapping his wings to hover above Janja.
"Follow me. I can lead you to Rafiki on a route where Kion definitely won't see you."
Janja happily accepted the help, and followed Ono, his eyes darting around, hoping he wouldn't be seen by anyone else either.
Thankfully, whenever Ono happened to see someone in their path, or just approaching their general area, he'd warn Janja so he could have time to hide in bushes or behind trees, or whatever was nearby. Soon, they were arriving at a large tree, where Janja assumed Rafiki resided.
"Rafiki! Janja is here to see you!" Ono said, trying not to be too loud. Rafiki swung himself down to the ground using the branches on the tree as leverage. He easily landed on his feet in front of Janja and Ono. He didn't seem to be paying a lot of attention to them, though.
"Um, I was wondering about Kion-"
"You want to know if there's a way to bring his memory back faster, yes?" Rafiki interrupted Janja, finally looking at the hyena and egret in front of him.
"Oh, um, well yes," Janja said sheepishly. Rafiki hummed in thought, turning his attention to the fruit he held.
"I suppose, at this point, you and the Guard could try telling him about the things he's forgotten. Perhaps he will then start to remember things on his own."
Janja looked at him skeptically. He somehow doubted it would be that easy, but it was all he had to go on, so he decided to give it a shot.
"Thanks," he said, with an awkward half-smile. Rafiki just waved his hand in a signal for them to leave him alone. Ono started to fly a bit over Janja and they headed off.
"So, do you want to go find Kion now?" Ono asked. Janja considered it for a moment, but before he could decide...
"Janja! What are you doing in the Pridelands?!"
Kion's yell caused Janja to freeze. Well, it seemed as though his decision was now made for him. He turned to face Kion, visibly flinching at the hostile expression on Kion's face.
Before Janja could come up with an answer, Ono flapped down in front of Kion.
"He wanted to bring you to Broken Rock for some reason. He wants you to come alone," he said quickly, and Janja was rather impressed by Ono's quick thinking. He gave Kion a nervous smile, while Kion gave him a suspicious glance.
Kion leaned down to whisper something to Ono, and then faced Janja.
"Alright, I'll come with you. Make it quick, though," he said. Janja wasn't shocked, since he figured he'd probably just told Ono to follow them at a distance and keep an eye on them.
Janja led the way to Broken Rock, his heart beating faster at the thought of their old meeting place. Thinking of that, he ran faster, and Kion sped up in an attempt to keep up with him.
They soon arrived, and Janja jumped down to the very spot where he would always wait for Kion. He turned to watch Kion jump down after him, looking around in suspicion before settling his gaze on him.
"Well? Why'd you bring me here?"
Janja took a deep breath.
"To try and jog your memory," he said, giving Kion a soft smile that seemed to shock the lion for a moment.
"How did you know I have amnesia?"
"Because you forgot everything that you and I had been through!"
Kion took a step back, his eyes wide in confusion.
"What?" he said in complete disbelief. He looked around before letting his eyes fall back to Janja.
"Kion, we-" Janja cut himself off. How to best start the story, he wondered.
Then he remembered, the perfect starting point.
He gave Kion a smile, and signaled for him to sit, feeling that this would be a long story. Kion gave him a suspicious glance, but apparently decided to trust him as he sat.
"To begin with, I'll start from the one small thing that began it all. I'll start with the butterfly," Janja said, as he sat in front of Kion, his gaze soft and loving. Kion only seemed to be skeptical and bored as Janja began to explain all that had happened.