Chapter Text
“I’m going back.”
“..What?”
Fuli looked at Ono coolly from where she lay.
“You heard me.”
Ono sat stone still, perched on a low branch of one of the few Acacia trees in the grove. Fuli was stretched out on a flat patch of sunny ground, in a swath of soft, sun warmed grass. The Tree of Life stood tall across the plain from them. Inside slept Kion and Rani, and probably the rest of the Night Pride besides Nirmala.
Nirmala had more to do in the daytime, and with the Guard’s help, she no longer had to patrol every night and could put more of her focus on healing others.
The Lion Guard passed their work in the Pridelands to Vitani and her team, allowing Kion to become king of the Tree of Life with Rani. The whole Guard went with him, and in the few months since, things had been going well. It was easy, and maybe a bit boring, but it was going well. That was what Ono heard everyone else say. He supposed that was true enough.
He took a moment before speaking again.
“Back to the Pridelands?”
Fuli sighed. “I guess. I was going to check in on Azaad on the way. Maybe get him to come with.”
“Oh.”
There was a pause, long and heavy in its silence. Ono looked out, past the mountains in the direction of the Pridelands. His childhood home lay far past where the eye could see. Far past where his eyes could see. That thought made his chest pang with regret. Things just kept changing.
Ono broke the silence only once it became clear Fuli had no intentions to do so.
“How long are you planning to stay?”
He already knew the answer to that. The herds here weren't even enough to sustain the Night Pride. Fuli had been shown the hunting grounds of the local big cats, but it was nothing like what she enjoyed. She enjoyed chasing down graceful gazelle on a bright, open plain, not weaving between trees in a thick dark forest after serows. Her long, streamlined body was made for speed, not maneuverability. She couldn't last. Why Ono had thought she would… Often he wondered why Kion decided to title him the smartest. He wasn't. He was knowledgeable, but being smart meant being able to apply that knowledge. More and more frequently he found that he couldn't.
At least when he was the keenest of sight, he knew why. He saw farther and clearer than anyone, even Aanga. But now that was gone. It was something simple and obvious. Now that he was the smartest, he needed to prove his worth again and again, constantly.
He never had to worry about his sight, it was perfect and easily applied. Now, a single bad idea, or not being able to come up with an idea, or even not coming up with one quick enough, was enough to make him feel unworthy of his title.
After all, he’s not truly the smartest. Kion just wanted him on the Guard, and so called on his second best trait. Kion had named him the keenest of insight, said that he would always be a part of the Guard. But now the Guard was falling apart.
It didn't help that Fuli was looking at him like that.
“Ono…” She didn't even need to finish that sentence to confirm Ono’s fears.
She wasn't coming back.