"Will you shut up with your constant mewling, already?" a voice growled. "Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

Kion whipped his head around and almost jumped. Standing before him was a bengal fox, she glared at him with hostile amber eyes, her tail lashed with irritation. Kion relaxed a little, despite her cold gaze and threatening pose, Kion could tell that the vixen wasn't down on attacking him, yet.

"I don't know if you know this, but my den is back there," the vixen said. "Which means, these are my tunnels. You're trespassing, and believe me, trespassers don't usually make it out in one piece once I'm done with them..."

"Sorry," Kion apologized. "I didn't mean to come here." 

The vixen stared at him for a heartbeat before sitting down, her bushy tail wrapped neatly around her paws. She looked a bit eccentric in his opinion, the grayish-white canine had a torn right ear tip while her other ear had two teeth pierced, as if they were some sort of earrings. There was a small scar over her eye on the same side where the ear was torn and she wore a mini bracelet made out of colorful, small shells on her left paw. Boy, does she look odd or what...? 

"Why are you here, anyway?" the fox asked, scratching her ear with one paw, the teeth earrings made a light "clink" sound as her claw tapped them. "I thought lions didn't live underground."

"We don't. I..." Kion hesitated. "You're gonna think I'm crazy..."

"Well, you are in my territory, underground. So yeah, I already think you're crazy," the fox chuckled. "But please, enlighten me. I've heard many crazy things in the past, I'm sure yours is nothing new."

Kion looked down at his paws, then sighed. Well, might as well tell her, seeing as she already thinks I'm crazy... "Okay... I'm on a journey to heal my scar."

"Which one? You got a lot," the fox asked, tipping her head to the side, now curious. "And why would you want to get rid of your scars? I think they look cool. More cooler than that little tattoo of yours. I got one scar right here, yet I don't wanna get rid of it."

Kion fidgeted. "Where I come from, scars are bad luck. Especially mine. I'm the leader and fiercest of a team called the Lion Guard. This 'tattoo' is the Mark of the Guard, since I'm the leader, I have a power called the Roar of the Elders. My friends are part of the Lion Guard, they're helping me get to the Tree of Life because a snake bit me, giving me this scar over my left eye. The snake's venom causes me to lose control and misuse the Roar."

The fox stifled a yawn. "Yeah... I'm just gonna pretend I understood, like, half of the stuff you just said... So, you want to get to the Tree of Life so you can get rid of the scar on your eye, because it makes you go insane?"

"Pretty much..." Kion trailed off, looking down at his paws. 

"Yup, never heard anything like that before," the fox admitted. "I guess that means you break the record of the most craziest things I've ever heard." 

Kion sighed, She's really not helping- not that she's trying to, anyway. "But, I don't think I'll go there now..."

"Why not?"

"I... I lost control. I was mean to my friends, I got so mad at them when they were only trying to help, and... And, I even... killed one of them..."

The vixen stared at Kion, Kion couldn't tell if she was shocked, angry, or confused.

"Huh, must've been... Tough," she finally said.

"Yeah, it is..." Kion admitted. "The worst part is that my friend who I killed, she's now looking for revenge..."

"You mean her spirit's chasing you?"

"Yeah. She said if she ever finds me here still alive, she was going to make sure I go to Hell for what I did to her, and honestly, she's right. I deserve to die and go there..."

"That's just really concerning. And don't you find that a little odd?"

"What do you mean?"

"Wow, you have no common sense at all, do you?" 

Kion looked at the bengal fox, more confused then offended.

"A friend would forgive you for every wrong you've done to them, even if you killed them," the fox explained impatiently. "If your dead friend's out looking for revenge, then she's not a good friend."

"But... but I killed her!" Kion said.

"So? If she were a real friend, she would've understood why you did what you did," the fox said. "She would've known that it was your scar that caused you to lose control. She would've known that you didn't mean to kill her."

Kion's eyes widened. But Scar... He showed me that Fuli is still mad at me! He... Suddenly, Kion gasped softly to himself. Unless he was manipulating me! How would Scar know what my friends were thinking? How would he know what Fuli was thinking? He must've sent that dream to trick me! He probably wanted me to embrace his side! Kion then felt a wave of relief flow through him. If what Scar had shown me was false, then maybe... Maybe Fuli... Could still be alive! I wasn't seeing her spirit this whole time, she's probably still alive! She was never dead!

"I gotta get out of here!" Kion murmured. He then quickly turned around and bounded off, leaving the fox to stare after him, confused. Kion raced blindly into the darkness, panting heavily as he bumped into the hard walls or stumbled over lose rocks and roots. I gotta get out of here! I need to know if Fuli's still alive! I need to see if my friends are okay! 

Kion then banged into a dead end, he staggered backward, groaning as he rubbed his head. Ugh, but how? I can't see a thing!

Kion then heard laughter behind him, the vixen slowly and calmly padded towards him. "I gotta admit, seeing you run around in circles is quite hilarious."

I was running in circles? Kion sighed dejectedly. The bengal fox then quickly stopped laughing and shifted her paws.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I can see you're pretty desperate, so if you want, I can help you get out of the tunnels."

"Yes, please," Kion said, nodding his head. 

"This way," the vixen said, turning around and beckoning Kion to follow her with her tail. "Here's a tip, stay near the walls. It usually helps when trying to navigate around here."

"Thanks. What's your name by the way?" Kion asked. "My name is Kion."

"Lomri," Lomri replied. "My name's Lomri."

"Nice to meet you, Lomri. Thanks for helping me," Kion said.

"No problem," said Lomri.  

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! We got a fox!