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Before Jayla knew it, nightfall had silently crept up on her and Leo's pride had gradually split off as lions began to go to bed. Not quite sure where she should sleep, she made a small nest a bit away from the other lions, especially because it was evident a few of them were still unsure whether if she and Jason were to be entirely trusted. As she began to settle in besides Jason, she could hear a paw steps coming towards them. As she looked up, she was relieved to see it was only Russia. "Hey Jayla, mind joining me for a second? I'd like to catch up with you for a bit." Russia quietly whispered, glancing around as though she were worried anyone would be listening in. "Of course," Jayla turned to Jason, "I'll be back in a little while." Jason nodded and let out a yawn as he rested his head on his paws. Jayla followed Russia out of the main hangout for the pride and as they reached an open field, she could see the familiar figure of Shiro in the distance. Perplexed, Jayla turned to Russia, "I didn't know Shiro was going to be joining us too?" Russia lowered her ears nervously, "Yeah, there's something I wanted to talk to the two of you about privately, I just didn't want Jason to feel suspicious." Jayla could feel her heart start to race anxiously as they finally reached where Shiro was waiting. Russia sat besides him and the two exchanged glances before Russia finally let out a sigh. "Jayla listen, there's a few things we need to tell you but I just couldn't find the right timing. First things first.." She turned to Shiro who looked extremely withdrawn as he hung his head. "I have a pretty bad case of memory loss... I guess I hit my head really hard when we were running away, according to Russia, but I really can't remember a whole lot about my life before we became rogues. I understand you're my sister but I have such a hard time remembering..." Shiro admitted dejectedly, seeming almost ashamed he could not recall his own sister. Jayla's eyes widened in shock before promptly becoming filled with tears. "Oh Shiro..." Russia took in a deep breath before speaking again, "Listen, I haven't really told Shiro much about what happened the day we were driven out because he always had nightmares about it but I feel like it's time I do. The tribe leader's son tricked us into thinking Midas was looking for us but it was a trap. From what it sounded like, it turns out he and Jason were planning to kill us the whole time..." Jayla's jaw dropped, "N-No, that can't be true, surely it wasn't Jason?" "Jason was definitely there and he was initially there to help Tyrone but he ended up distracting him instead... He told us that Midas was already dead... But I guess he realized it was wrong to kill us too and helped save us." Shiro's ears had perked up as though he had an epiphany. "I-I think I remember that day now! At least some more bits and pieces..." He bashfully gave his ear a scratch. "All this time... he knew all along and yet he didn't even try to warn me..." Jayla sadly thought to herself, trying to hold back her tears. "I'm really glad you two are both okay, you have no idea. That day was hard on everyone but now..." Jayla stared off into the distance, trying to imagine what her pride was doing at that moment. "I'm not quite sure what to do to help our pride move forward and overthrow those tyrants for good..." Jayla went on to tell Shiro and Russia all that had happened since the day they had run away. They stared at her with empathetic gazes but it was evident Shiro was getting frustrated the more she went on. He unsheathed his claws, his bright orange eyes gleaming with a fiery determination. "I will help you. Afterall, it was my home too." Shiro replied. Jayla could have sworn she could see her father in him in that very moment. "I will try to convince my dad as well. Your pride deserves better than that, especially after they took me in without questioning me or leaving me out to die alone in the wilderness. Maybe setting foot there might help Shiro regain more of his memories too?" Shiro gave a half-hearted nod as though he wasn't sure he'd ever fully regain his memories but was willing to give it a shot. "Then, it's settled. Once I speak with my dad tomorrow, we will do our best to save your pride." Russia announced, the same determination brightly shining in her blue gaze.

The three all returned together, Russia and Jayla quietly giggling as they recounted some of the mischievous events from their childhood. Shiro smiled too as he seemed to recollect some of their stories but still did not seem to have the full recollection. As they approached the sleeping pride, Jayla broke away from the pair and made her way back to where she could see what appeared to be Jason sleeping quietly on the outskirts of the pride's hangout. As she grew closer to him, she noticed his ear flick and as he turned his head around, she realized he had waited up for her. "You stayed up?" She asked in surprise as she sat besides him. "Of course, it's awfully late so I was honestly growing a little worried..." She wanted to smile at the consideration of her safety but what Russia had just told her was nagging at her inside. She felt extremely betrayed by who she thought was supposed to be her best friend. Jason was quick to pick up her change in mood and immediately asked, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Jayla wanted to ignore this feeling and pretend everything was fine but for some reason she felt as though she needed to hear him give her the truth. "I-I um... I think there's something we need to talk about." Jason's ears perked up and he could feel his heart racing as he sat up. "Of course, what did you want to talk about? Is there something wrong?" Jayla took a deep breath before asking, "Did you know that your clan was going to kill my father? Please tell me the truth. Were you in on it the entire time?" As Jayla stared into Jason's eyes, she could see them widen with fear and he quickly diverted his gaze to his feet. "I... I sort of did but I also didn't..." He admitted defeatedly. Jayla could feel her pelt prickle with anger and her claws unsheathed as she lost her composure, "You knew this entire time? But yet, you didn't even try to warn me or anything?! I thought you were supposed to be my best friend!" Jason's eyes clouded with grief, "Jayla, please hear me out! I didn't think they were actually going to do it, in fact, the only part of the plan I heard was that they had planned to betroth you to Tyrone! When I found out that they had actually killed Midas was when they asked Tyrone and I to kill Shiro... Even that I couldn't do because he was just an innocent cub!" Jayla turned away as tears welled up in her eyes. "But as my best friend... I thought you'd at least tell me this but here I am finding out on my own..." She sighed, her voice filled with disappointment. "Jayla, please listen to me! I felt like I couldn't tell you because I thought you would hate me! I never wanted to hurt you... I was just so in love with you I felt like you'd never want to ever speak to me or trust me ever again..." Jayla shot him a sharp glare as she began to walk away, "Funny because I feel like I could never trust you again right now." Jason let out a heavy sigh as he watched her angrily storm off to the opposite side of the pride's hangout. He had no idea he could ever feel so hopeless and if there were any way he could mend things between them. He found himself staying up the rest of the night pacing as he tried to brainstorm ways to make things up to Jayla. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Jayla was someone so special to him he couldn't dream of letting her go.

Original art: Disney
Story written by me

Part 34---> www.deviantart.com/truelightpo…

Description
Before Jayla knew it, nightfall had silently crept up on her and Leo's pride had gradually split off as lions began to go to bed. Not quite sure where she should sleep, she made a small nest a bit away from the other lions, especially because it was evident a few of them were still unsure whether if she and Jason were to be entirely trusted. As she began to settle in besides Jason, she could hear a paw steps coming towards them. As she looked up, she was relieved to see it was only Russia. "Hey Jayla, mind joining me for a second? I'd like to catch up with you for a bit." Russia quietly whispered, glancing around as though she were worried anyone would be listening in. "Of course," Jayla turned to Jason, "I'll be back in a little while." Jason nodded and let out a yawn as he rested his head on his paws. Jayla followed Russia out of the main hangout for the pride and as they reached an open field, she could see the familiar figure of Shiro in the distance. Perplexed, Jayla turned to Russia, "I didn't know Shiro was going to be joining us too?" Russia lowered her ears nervously, "Yeah, there's something I wanted to talk to the two of you about privately, I just didn't want Jason to feel suspicious." Jayla could feel her heart start to race anxiously as they finally reached where Shiro was waiting. Russia sat besides him and the two exchanged glances before Russia finally let out a sigh. "Jayla listen, there's a few things we need to tell you but I just couldn't find the right timing. First things first.." She turned to Shiro who looked extremely withdrawn as he hung his head. "I have a pretty bad case of memory loss... I guess I hit my head really hard when we were running away, according to Russia, but I really can't remember a whole lot about my life before we became rogues. I understand you're my sister but I have such a hard time remembering..." Shiro admitted dejectedly, seeming almost ashamed he could not recall his own sister. Jayla's eyes widened in shock before promptly becoming filled with tears. "Oh Shiro..." Russia took in a deep breath before speaking again, "Listen, I haven't really told Shiro much about what happened the day we were driven out because he always had nightmares about it but I feel like it's time I do. The tribe leader's son tricked us into thinking Midas was looking for us but it was a trap. From what it sounded like, it turns out he and Jason were planning to kill us the whole time..." Jayla's jaw dropped, "N-No, that can't be true, surely it wasn't Jason?" "Jason was definitely there and he was initially there to help Tyrone but he ended up distracting him instead... He told us that Midas was already dead... But I guess he realized it was wrong to kill us too and helped save us." Shiro's ears had perked up as though he had an epiphany. "I-I think I remember that day now! At least some more bits and pieces..." He bashfully gave his ear a scratch. "All this time... he knew all along and yet he didn't even try to warn me..." Jayla sadly thought to herself, trying to hold back her tears. "I'm really glad you two are both okay, you have no idea. That day was hard on everyone but now..." Jayla stared off into the distance, trying to imagine what her pride was doing at that moment. "I'm not quite sure what to do to help our pride move forward and overthrow those tyrants for good..." Jayla went on to tell Shiro and Russia all that had happened since the day they had run away. They stared at her with empathetic gazes but it was evident Shiro was getting frustrated the more she went on. He unsheathed his claws, his bright orange eyes gleaming with a fiery determination. "I will help you. Afterall, it was my home too." Shiro replied. Jayla could have sworn she could see her father in him in that very moment. "I will try to convince my dad as well. Your pride deserves better than that, especially after they took me in without questioning me or leaving me out to die alone in the wilderness. Maybe setting foot there might help Shiro regain more of his memories too?" Shiro gave a half-hearted nod as though he wasn't sure he'd ever fully regain his memories but was willing to give it a shot. "Then, it's settled. Once I speak with my dad tomorrow, we will do our best to save your pride." Russia announced, the same determination brightly shining in her blue gaze.

The three all returned together, Russia and Jayla quietly giggling as they recounted some of the mischievous events from their childhood. Shiro smiled too as he seemed to recollect some of their stories but still did not seem to have the full recollection. As they approached the sleeping pride, Jayla broke away from the pair and made her way back to where she could see what appeared to be Jason sleeping quietly on the outskirts of the pride's hangout. As she grew closer to him, she noticed his ear flick and as he turned his head around, she realized he had waited up for her. "You stayed up?" She asked in surprise as she sat besides him. "Of course, it's awfully late so I was honestly growing a little worried..." She wanted to smile at the consideration of her safety but what Russia had just told her was nagging at her inside. She felt extremely betrayed by who she thought was supposed to be her best friend. Jason was quick to pick up her change in mood and immediately asked, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Jayla wanted to ignore this feeling and pretend everything was fine but for some reason she felt as though she needed to hear him give her the truth. "I-I um... I think there's something we need to talk about." Jason's ears perked up and he could feel his heart racing as he sat up. "Of course, what did you want to talk about? Is there something wrong?" Jayla took a deep breath before asking, "Did you know that your clan was going to kill my father? Please tell me the truth. Were you in on it the entire time?" As Jayla stared into Jason's eyes, she could see them widen with fear and he quickly diverted his gaze to his feet. "I... I sort of did but I also didn't..." He admitted defeatedly. Jayla could feel her pelt prickle with anger and her claws unsheathed as she lost her composure, "You knew this entire time? But yet, you didn't even try to warn me or anything?! I thought you were supposed to be my best friend!" Jason's eyes clouded with grief, "Jayla, please hear me out! I didn't think they were actually going to do it, in fact, the only part of the plan I heard was that they had planned to betroth you to Tyrone! When I found out that they had actually killed Midas was when they asked Tyrone and I to kill Shiro... Even that I couldn't do because he was just an innocent cub!" Jayla turned away as tears welled up in her eyes. "But as my best friend... I thought you'd at least tell me this but here I am finding out on my own..." She sighed, her voice filled with disappointment. "Jayla, please listen to me! I felt like I couldn't tell you because I thought you would hate me! I never wanted to hurt you... I was just so in love with you I felt like you'd never want to ever speak to me or trust me ever again..." Jayla shot him a sharp glare as she began to walk away, "Funny because I feel like I could never trust you again right now." Jason let out a heavy sigh as he watched her angrily storm off to the opposite side of the pride's hangout. He had no idea he could ever feel so hopeless and if there were any way he could mend things between them. He found himself staying up the rest of the night pacing as he tried to brainstorm ways to make things up to Jayla. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Jayla was someone so special to him he couldn't dream of letting her go.

Original art: Disney
Story written by me

Part 34---> www.deviantart.com/truelightpo…