The coronation was over, Kion was now betrothed to Rani queen of the Tree of Life. The young lion would be leaving soon, likely never to return to the Pridelands. But before going he had quite a few goodbyes to say.
	But of all his friends trying to vie for the soon to be king's attention Kion had noticed one particular individual had been avoiding him. His former antagonist, Janja, formerly the leader of the bachelor clan of hyena.
	Madoa, Jasiri, Chungu and even Cheezi all were front and center, congratulating the young lion and promising to keep the Outlands safe. Janja, however, hung back, trying to keep out of sight, as if he were ashamed or embarrassed to be there.
	Kion sighed, thinking about how he would feel if he were in Janja's fur. It was hard to admit when you are wrong. It sometimes was harder to let go of the past.
	Kion knew that Janja had embraced “sisi ni sawa” and realized that he was no different than Kion or Jasiri, that he was a leader, and that leadership came with responsibilities. It probably also helped that the young hyena was absolutely smitten with Jasiri, something that Kion also shared with Janja.
	But Kion was about to take up a new role in the circle of life, and Janja would be as well, whether he was ready for it or not. He knew he could not afford to dwell on the past, but had to move forward.

	Janja slumped down into the dirt, heaving a deep sigh as he watched a beetle scuttle away in a hurry. His normal brash demeanor replaced by a more subdued sadness.
	The young hyena had a lot on his mind, and he was not sure he wanted to talk about it with anyone, especially Jasiri. He could not bear the thought of what she would think of him if she knew how he was feeling right now.
	Janja sighed, batting a rock with his paw before standing up again, ready to head back to the others. They would need to get back to the Outlands before the various factions there started to turn on each other over the littlest things.
	Turning to head back to the clan Janja smacked straight into Kion. The hyena falling to his haunches rubbing his head.
	“Watch where you're going you furbrai...” the hyena started, only to catch himself when he realized who he had run into. “I mean your majesty, sorry I ran into you.”
	Kion smiled, chuckling a little as he stepped over to Janja helping him to his paws. He was honestly glad to see a little bit of the old Janja was still in there.
	“Janja,” Kion said as he helped to push the hyena up. “You can just call me Kion, you know that right?”
	“I know, it's just,” Janja bit his lip, trying not to sound too much like a softy. “Jasiri says I gotta show proper respect to authority. She's been riding by balls pretty hard lately.”
	“Well she is the matriarch,” Kion said laughing a little at Janja. “She's gonna be tough on all of you, even her favorite.”
	“Yeah, well,” Janja started, once again keeping his thoughts to himself.
	“Talk to me Janja,” Kion said, sitting next to his friend. “Something's bothering you, and it won't help if you don't talk about it.”
	“I...” Janja started taking a deep breath. “I don't want you to leave.”
	Kion turned to the hyena a bit confused. He had expected that perhaps Janja was not ready to say goodbye and that he would try to hide that from him, but this was something else entirely.
	“Janja, I have too,” Kion said putting his paw on the hyena's shoulder. “I have responsibilities now, and you do too. You're gonna be Jasiri's mate, help the clan grow, keep the Outlands safe.”
	Janja sighed, looking off towards the distance. He felt a great deal of resistance to the idea, but he also wanted those things too. He needed to say this, he needed to tell Kion the truth.
	“Kion, all those times that I caused trouble,” Janja said hesitantly, choking slightly on his words. “Not the times where we were trying to get a meal but just made a general nuisance of ourselves. We... I was trying to get your attention.”
	“My attention?” Kion asked, a little bit surprised by the hyena's statement. “What do you mean?”
	“I... c'mon furbrain just say it,” Janja muttered, fighting back a lump in his throat. “I guess since you and Jasiri have had, some relations we could say, that you know that female hyena are a bit more manly than most.”
	“Yes,” Kion says slowly, his mind mulling on this a bit, though he had an idea of where this was going. “It's how hyenas are.”
	“Well, part of the reason I avoided her clan for so long was,” Janja sighed looking at his paws. “I might like boys a bit more. Which is weird considering how females are.”
	“Janja,” Kion says, lifting the hyena's head to look him in the eyes. “Do you have a crush on me?”
	Janja blushed, turning away from the lion. The hyena taking a few deep breaths trying to steady himself. There was nothing stopping him now, and he wanted, no needed, to at least get this off his chest.
	What happened next caught Kion off guard. Janja turning back, locking his muzzle to the lion's in a deep kiss, the hyena pulling the lion closer. Kion did not fight it though, honestly, he was thrilled that Janja was finally being honest. It meant that they could work through this and would both be better for it.
	As Janja finally broke the kiss he seemed to immediately deflate again, his moment of passion appearing to fill him with a great deal of shame.
	“I shouldn't have done that,” The hyena said once more looking at the ground. “I'm such a furbrain, you've got Rani now, and I should be happy with Jasiri.”
	“Janja,” Kion said nuzzling up to the hyena. “You've changed a lot over the years that I've known you, and I'm so happy you finally let me know how you feel.”
	“It doesn't matter,” Janja says looking at Kion with a deep sigh. “It's too late anyhow, and it isn't like anyone would have let us be together anyway. We do have duties in the circle of life. Jasiri isn't wrong about that.”
	“No, she isn't wrong,” Kion said comfortingly as he continued to nuzzle against Janja. “But that doesn't mean that we can't show each other how we feel before we move on with our lives.”
	“What do you mean?” Janja asked, tilting his head quizzically.
	“Let's find someplace a little more private and I'll show you,” Kion said simply getting up and heading into the grass, his tail held to the side just enough to tease Janja with a preview of things to come.

	The wind blew through the grass as Kion finally came to a stop. They were quite a ways off from the Tree of Life now, far from any prying eyes.
	Kion had been an insufferable tease the entire way, keeping his tail cocked, making sure his golden lion orbs and the pink tip of his barbed shaft were visible to the hyena the entire time.
	Finally, Kion flopped onto his side, flipping his tail back and cocking one of his legs up in the air, the young lion now on full display for Janja who could not help but stare at him.
	“You... you can't be serious,” Janja stuttered, a little taken aback at the offer presented to him. “What about Rani? What about your duty?”
	“Janja,” Kion laughed as he lay there, trying to get a good look between the hyena's legs. “Just because we have duties to the circle of life, doesn't mean you and I can't enjoy one moment between us.”
	“But,” Janja started, but already he was moving toward Kion, ready to mount the soon to be king. “How can you just put everything I've ever done behind?”
	“Because I'm not focused on that,” Kion said, noting that Janja's long slender tapered member was starting to become quite hard. “I'm focused on the now. And right now it's just you and me, telling each other how we feel.”
	“Is, is it ok with you?” Janja asked, starting to become more comfortable with the situation. “I mean, yeah you're lying there and all, but are you sure you're ok with this slobbering mangy stupid poacher invading your turf.”
	Kion could not help but laugh at that. He had heard Zazu say that sort of thing from time to time but had not expected it out of Janja, even in the self-deprecating way it had just been used.
	“Janja, I want this,” Kion said simply as he lay there presenting himself. “If it helps, think of this as a... formal diplomatic offer, a tie of kinship between the Tree of Life and the hyenas of the Outland.”
	“Now you're just being a furbrain,” Janja said with a hint of sarcasm, the young hyena climbing atop the young king, nibbling along his back and neck softly.
	Kion moaned softly, surprised that Janja had such a gentle and passionate side to him. Even with all the time that they had known each other the lion had never seen this side of Janja, not even with Jasiri.
	The time for talking had passed though, and both were about to speak to the other with their bodies and their passion.
	Janja was taking his time, slowly licking and grooming Kion. This was no conquest, it was an expression of how he truly felt, and he did not want it to feel like it was rushed, or that it was only for his own gratification. The hyena continuing to slowly work his way up the lion's back as he covered that golden fur with his own grey spotted hide, eventually his sex brushing under Kion's tail.
	The two looked at each other, Janja's eyes questioning, Kion's accenting to the hyena. And with that Janja took the plunge, both literally and figuratively. Letting go of his inhibitions as he pressed his member into the lion's back passage.
	Kion grit his teeth, thankful that the hyena was not super girthy as he felt himself being penetrated, though he was reminded of the rather long nature of a hyena with each inch. The lion shifting a bit under the hyena to get more comfortable.
	Janja was being as gentle as he could be, pressing slowly into Kion's rear until he had managed to hilt himself entirely within the lion. The hyena taking a deep breath, steadying himself as he let Kion adjust to the intrusion.
	“Let me know when you're ready,” Janja said softly, having been on the receiving end a few times he knew how uncomfortable it was to start.
	Kion took a few deep breaths centering himself before nodding, ready to begin their time together to the fullest.
	Janja licked the lion's cheek gently before withdrawing slightly, the hyena's body tensing up slightly at the sheer pleasure he was feeling. It was only a moment, but to both of them, it seemed like an eternity before the hyena began to thrust himself into Kion with a steady regular rhythm.
	Kion moaned softly, practically melting under Janja as he began to relax. The feeling of the hyena's long warm member pushing deeply into him was immensely pleasurable. The sound of Janja's fluffy orbs slapping against his own filling his ears, as did the grunts of the hyena above him who had tried to continue licking and caressing the lion, but found that doing both was far more difficult than he imagined.
	Janja was holding back on his end. A little afraid of hurting Kion, but more trying to ensure that the experience was as pleasurable for the lion as well, every once in awhile looking back to ensure that Kion was “enjoying” the experience.
	The young lion's pleasure though was far from hidden, his member twitching and leaking pre with each thrust from the hyena. The pair very much enjoying each other without worrying about what others might think or expect of them.
	Minutes ticked by as the pair continued in their loving affection, both breathing heavily as their ultimate show of affection drew near. Janja now desperately trying to hold back as he felt as though he was ready to explode.
	“Kion, I,” Janja stuttered, still thrusting into the lion, each hump becoming more erratic and needy. “I can't hold it much longer.”
	“Don't worry Janja,” Kion panted, himself on the verge of release. “I'm there too.”
	Janja shut his eyes tightly, teeth grit, as he felt himself give in. Hot strings of sticky hyena cum flooding the lion's bowels with each twitch of his penis. Janja could feel the same sticky heat splatter against foot and thigh as Kion let loose on him.
	For a moment the pair stayed like that, panting heavily, breathing in each others' scent as they felt entirely in unity with one another. But like all special moments, it would come to an end soon.
	It was Kion who brought the pair back to earth, licking Janja on the cheek.
	“You don't have to be ashamed of this Janja,” He said with a smile as the young hyena looked down lovingly at the lion. “You don't have to be ashamed of what you've done either. Be yourself and forgive yourself.”
	“I'm going to miss you so much furball,” Janja said licking Kion back before dismounting the young king. “Thank you for helping me to express myself.”
	“I'm going to miss you too Janja,” Kion replied with a little grin. “But I'm going to come and visit on occasion, and maybe next time we can bring Jasiri in on our fun too.”
	Janja looked stunned at the proposal but soon broke out into his trademark cackle, finding the thought preposterous.
	“Alright, but you gotta be the one to ask,” Janja said as he wandered over to the lion, bumping his shoulder against Kion's affectionately. “To tell you the truth, she kinda scares me.”