The Tiger Queen (Season 1 of The Night Pride)

heavy is the head who wears the crown

Kion sigh, bowing his head as yet another animal complained to him about the living qualities in the Tree of Life.

He shakes his head. Shouldn't this be Rani's job? he thinks to himself. I am the king, she's just, like, the queen. What do queens do? My mom didn't do that much, it was mostly Simba. He smirks to himself. Well, Kiara and Kovu switched that dynamic around.

"Er, Your Majesty?" says the zebra, worried for his King.

Kion shakes his head, repressing a growl of annoyance. "Yeah?" he says gruffly, snapping a little.

The zebra gulps and takes a half-step back. "Uh, nothing, Your Highness, I was, uhm, just finished," he says with a look of confusion and apprehension, and even... maybe a hint of fear?

Kion looks at him for a second, then nods. "Okay then," he says, and gestures with his head for the zebra to exit. "You may go."

The zebra bows, then turns around and exits. Kion watches him go, then turns and looks at his two 'bodyguards,' also known as two of his best friends, Bunga and Beshte.

Bunga is a short and small (yet very deadly) animal. Why? He's a honey badger, one of the most dangerous animals in the entire animal kingdom. Known for their viciousness and violent nature, that side of Bunga is rarely - if ever - seen by most. He's well known around the Pridelands and the Tree of Life for his playfulness, usually bordering on mischief.

Beshte is similar in nature, being possibly the most friendly animal ever, a "gentle giant." A large hippopotamus, Beshte was supposed to be leader of his pod after his father, but instead joined the Lion Guard and later the Night Pride alongside his friend Kion. Usually kind, if Beshte gets angry, it will be very bad for whoever is his target, as all of his friends and many of his enemies have noticed.

"Alright, guys," Kion says, faking a smile through his tiredness and stress of ruling. "Who's next on the list?"

Bunga and Beshte trade looks, clearly seeing through Kion's forceful good cheer and noting the way he snapped at the zebra and his stress buried behind his loving and fun demeanor. Bunga looks down at the list, written on a leaf by Makini, a mandrill and the Royal Mjuzi of the Tree of Life.

His eyebrows go up in suprise. "Uh, it says..." He looks over at Beshte. Beshte quickly moves over from his side of the Royal Cave to go stand by Bunga. His eyebrows shoot up as while, in suprise and confusion. They look at each other, than look back at Kion.

"It says Vitani," Bunga finally says in confusion. Kion does a double-take, now understanding his friend's slight hesitation to tell him.

"Vitani?" He mutters. Just hearing that name brings back so many memories for him. Starting when he first met her a short while after Kiara took down her "mother" - they had never determined if Zira was her real mother or not - and her brother when they attempted to seize control of the Pridelands in the name of Scar. Originally distrustful of her and her brother Kovu - now Kiara's mate, Kion soon grew to like her. Maybe more than a friend.

Then, Vitani beat him and his Guard in a contest to see who could really be the best Lion Guard for the Pridelands. Kion still wasn't sure how he felt about getting upstaged by her. He guessed it was alright, because he was now King of the Tree of Life and both of his sons were members of their own Guard, called the Night Pride. Kion smiled, thinking about his sons.

Kira and Kai were his pride and joy. Both of them were around Kion's age when he started leading the Guard, and he smiled even wider, remembering those simpler times when the only things he had to worry about were Janja and his hyena clan and occasionally a vulture raid. Now Janja was the Assistant Prime Minister of the Outlands with his wife Jasiri leading as the Prime Minister, and Janja's hyenas and the vultures followed both with almost a cult-like following. Kion chuckles as he took a short walk down memory lane.