[Random Melody]

Kion went completely silent now as he led the way, his amber gaze fixed ahead to Pride Rock. He felt a little better, his paws sinking into the soft grass below. It was better than sand, at least. The cub's ears twitched silently as he gazed ahead. Now he was thinking. Thinking about Lucifer. About the desert. The Sabers. Claire. Claire. He couldn't help but wonder how she was doing. He hadn't wanted to leave her behind but she absolutely refused to come along with him and Chaka. "My place is here. I have a job to do." She'd said as her cold gaze fixed first on Chaka, then Kion. Then a spark of warmth, and a barely-there smirk as she'd added, "Now you go do yours." And she'd turned and walked away.

Kion's ears twitched faintly, no longer focused on anything except the memory. Claire had wanted to stay behind. She'd wanted to be there, with the Sabers, with Lucifer. But... Why? Kion had never understood it. Never understood how she... Well, Claire never seemed to like the desert. But she said it felt...

"Pure." Claire's nose twitched, the faint smell of blood reaching the two cubs. Her purple eyes fixed on a stray leaf blowing through the air, watching it whiz by her head, before her gaze fixed on the two fighting tigers. Not fighting. Training. "Like this is always where I was supposed to end up. Like... I have some kind of destiny to fulfill. A part to play." Her voice was distant. She didn't sound as if she had just realized this - She sounded like she'd had time to think about this. To understand. "I've been asking myself... Why am I here?" And she paused, her gaze shifting toward Kion. "I think I like the answer I've given myself. Everything happens for a reason, Kion... And we have a job to do."

Kion had stared silently at her, not responding, but he'd felt like he understood. Everything happens for a reason. We have a job to do. That, back then, those words... Were the only thing that kept him going. Claire kept him going. Kept him fighting. Not fighting against the Sabers, not fighting against Lucifer, but fighting against the brokenness. Kion was broken, yes, but he wasn't as broken as he should be after everything he'd been through, everything he'd seen. And he knew he had Claire to thank for that.

Miss you, Claire. Kion thought, ears flicking back, pricking faintly toward the desert, but his gaze didn't move, staring ahead. I hope you figure out what your job is. Kion's thoughts began to trail again, then suddenly focused on Atazi. This new girl... She'd been through Lucifer's torture. She had a cub. A cub. Lucifer's cub - That, apparently, Lucifer had taken from her. Kion couldn't completely be sure, but he felt like Atazi was close to the cub. Who wouldn't be? It was her... Daughter, right? Atazi had said daughter, yes. Kion felt a new rush of sympathy course through him. Atazi most definitely did not deserve the hell Lucifer put her through, and to lose her cub... Kion's teeth clenched, jaw locking. He really wished he could feel some anger toward Lucifer, but he couldn't. He didn't know how. The only thing he felt when he thought of Lucifer was fear. Maybe back when he'd first become a slave, he felt the rage then. He remembered it. Remembered desperately wanting to rip that saber-teeth's throat out. But--

But those feelings had changed in time as the pain and torture continued. Kion had steadily began to cower whenever Lucifer's voice rose, whenever Lucifer stared at him with those dark, angry red eyes, whenever Lucifer gave that sadistic, sinister smirk, whenever he laughed... Cowering turned into submission. The defiance, the fire, the fierceness, it all went numb. And fear, pain and submission replaced it all. Kion had been broken, Kion was still broken.

He'd tried to forget about everything, tried to forget about the desert. He'd wanted to tell his family, but he didn't know what good they would do. Maybe they'd try to stop Lucifer, put an end to his evil ways, but Kion knew that Chaka was already on that path. But Kion didn't know what good it would do. He knew how big Lucifer's army was. He knew how strong they were. He knew that they would outnumber Chaka's empire any day. And they most certainly would outnumber the Pride. Kion wished he could help the other slaves but he also knew that... There was just nothing he could do. Kion was a Prince, he was the Leader of the Lion Guard, but deep down, he knew that he'd always be nothing more than Lucifer's slave. No matter what happened. And, well... What could a slave do against his Master?

##

Claire continued to wander, and her thoughts continued to drift absently through any old subject, trying to distract herself from her rage. But in the end she ended up thinking of the desert. Then Lucifer. Then she remembered that he was dead. Dead and she had no job to do anymore. She had no destiny. She had no part to play. She was alone, she had nothing, and the thought of that scared her. Not that she'd ever admit it. Claire wasn't one to get scared. But right then, realizing she had nobody, nowhere, and nothing at all, as the situation finally sunk in, even she couldn't fight against the fear. What am I supposed to do now?

"Hello?"

Claire's ears perked and her head whirled around. A lioness cub stood there, older than Claire, wide brown eyes staring at Claire, looking concerned and a little bit frightened. Claire almost snorted, thinking of how she might look to the lioness. Her pelt was messed up, muddy, and her paws stained with blood. Not only that, she probably looked exhausted and half-starved. Not that it mattered - She was used to it. Still. Her purple eyes flickered over the cub, eyebrows raising faintly. Well, doesn't she just look like royalty? She couldn't help but think, bringing her eyes back to the lionesses face. "Hi."

"I'm Kiara." The cub introduced herself, head tilting faintly to the side. "Are you.. Lost?" She looked even more concerned, fear slipping away as she began to realize Claire wasn't rabid or something. She looks... Kiara let her thoughts trail off. ...Bad..

"I'm not lost." Claire said calmly, whiskers twitching faintly in amusement at the concern the lioness seemed to be showing. Ah, Kiara. That explains it. Explained why the lioness looked like royalty, anyway. This was Kion's sister. Princess Kiara. Well, whattya know? She mused silently. A smirk tugged at her lips, but it didn't go further than that. "My name is Claire."

(...Should I stop making my posts so long? XDD)