#oh hapana

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

Ohh hapana, here we go again…

Chapter five has arrived!! I feel like it's appropriate to tag @florafandoms bc lowkey you are the reason this is up right now, and not in like… three more months from now…

anyways

[Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 -> Chapter 6 (coming in the future)]

Chapter 5 - Dehydrated

“Hey, Kion?”

Kion looked over his shoulder at Beshte. The hippo looked absolutely exhausted. The two had been travelling across a wide stretch of flat, open ground, about a third of the way back to the Pridelands. It was a parched and rutted field now, but in the rainy season it would become a deep floodplain, and so the going was slow. 

“I think I need some shade.” It was clear that Beshte was struggling. The sun was glaring, and there was no cover, and certainly no mud. They couldn't stop, the only thing to do was push through to the other side. 

“There will be shade up ahead, beyond that ridge.”

They'd been walking for two days now, and they were both wearing out. They'd made this journey twice before, but this trip was different. Now it was just the two of them in a race against time, and the anxiety was eating at them both. An uncomfortable quiet passed over them as they pressed on. Beshte was solemn, and the sun continued to glare down on him. 

Kion was studying Beshte’s face now. He didn't look like himself. Worry was commandeering the deep smile lines around his eyes. When Beshte looked up and caught Kion’s gaze, Beshte held eye contact and broke the silence.

“Hey, Kion. Why didn't you let Ono come with us?”

Kion stared at him, a bit puzzled. “Because we needed to go fast? The less animals we bring along, the better.”

Beshte’s face was imploring. “He wouldn't have slowed us down, Kion. You know that.”

“The first time we crossed this way we lost him three times.” There was humor in Kion’s eyes as he said it, but Beshte pressed in anyways.

“Kion, he was blind the first time.”

There was a pause as Kion struggled to find the words he was searching for. Beshte had thrown him, because honestly, he was right. Back in the Pridelands, when Fuli wasn't an option, Ono was the one he would send ahead to get messages to allies, or to get to an emergency and assess it before the Guard even arrived. Now Kion was so quick to dismiss him… It made him feel sick. Ono had wanted to go with them. When was the last time Kion had even talked to one of his oldest friends? Besides snapping at him under the Tree. A week? More? But why were they even talking about this right now?

“I… I don't know what I was thinking. You're right, he should be with us right now.”

Beshte sighs. “He should be. He's been down lately, since Fuli left. I think it would have done him good to get back.” 

The regret must have been plain on Kion’s face, because Beshte gave him a smile, eyes extra squinty in the sun. “It's okay Kion. He’s Ono, he’ll be fine. But maybe next time just take a second to think about it.”

Kion sighs. “Thanks Beshte.” He says, giving a brief smile in return before dropping back into a stern frown. They kept trudging on, and the sun seemed to keep getting hotter. It pressed on his mind, and his thoughts squirmed beneath the pressure, forcing him to at least try to release them.

“Sometimes… sometimes it feels like I'm still trapped there. There, when the venom was making it hard to think straight. The things and the knowledge I thought I gained when the venom was holding onto my mind are still in here. My memories of that time are stuck the way I was seeing them, which I know wasn't always right. Beshte, I'm sorry. For everything that I did.”

“Come on Kion, don't apologize for that. You didn't have control over yourself. It wasn't your fault… and you just have to rethink little things like that. I forgive you.”

“Thanks. Are you doing okay though, Beshte? It's not much farther now, but I don't want your skin to burn.”

“Yeah, a little shade would be nice though…”

“I think I can arrange that.”

[Previous Chapter - Next Chapter]

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

trick or treat!! /np nf

“ ‘Hey, it's the first rain of your reign!’ ‘Wait, where's Bunga? He should have been all over that.’

”

You get: a sneak peek at my favorite line in an upcoming chapter of Oh Hapana!!

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

New game: Let's all pretend that it hasn't been four months since the last update of Oh Hapana!!

[Chapter 1 - Previous Chapter {5} -> Chapter 6 (someday!!)]

The morning dew was heavy and thick as Rani slunk through the dark and tussocked grasses on her way back around to the Tree of Life. She didn't mind the coolness of the early morning. It was humid, promising mugginess, and the scent of rain hung in the air. The damp grass soaked into her fur as she brushed through them.

She could have taken one of the main paths, but it was nearing sunup and she was tired. It was the last leg of her patrol, and she was circling her way back to the Tree. She didn't feel like bumping into anyone. The unpacked ground felt better on her paws, too; clumps crumbling as she padded through the field. The lumps of earth weren't mud yet, but Rani hoped that would change today. 

Anxiety and a twinge of disappointment curled in her stomach at the thought. She had been counting on Kion’s roar and Beshte’s help this season. The two of them were the best at dealing with floods and mudslides, and she had heard stories of the Hippo Lanes and she had hoped to implement them this year. But maybe not. As Beshte would say: Animals plan, and the savannah laughs. 

She broke out of the field and took a path leading to the Tree. Surak was waiting for her there, and she could see Baylio coming out of the woods on the other end of the great open area around the Tree of Life. He spotted her and bounded across, excitement rising in his movements.

“It’s the first rain of your reign!” Baylio exclaimed, his head tilting up towards the dark, heavy clouds spitting their first drops across the dry, crumpled grass. He opened his mouth to continue, but stopped short. “Wait, where's Bunga? He should have been all over that” 

Surak looked around. “Where is any of the Guard? I thought Bunga, Anga, and Ono were going to do the morning patrol?” 

“I can find them.” The three lions turned toward the opening in the roots of the Tree, and Fuli stepped out, with Makini behind her. Her confidence had returned, and she looked recovered from her long journey the day before. She tilted her head up to the sky and continued. “Though, I won’t like it. It's drier in the Tree.” 

Rani smiled with relief and gave a quick, airy laugh. “Oh, Fuli! I'm glad to see that you're alright.” The rain was more of a spattering now, dropping heavy through the dark morning air. “The rain is good. We need it.”

It had been a dry dry season. Almost as if the Pridelanders had beckoned it, the dry savannah heat had followed at their heels, and the season had been a rough one. The roar had helped ease the drought a few times already, but this was the first true shower this year. It was a relief, but…

The ground was dry and hard as rock. Rani watched as a droplet of rain fell between her paws, creating a small poof of dust as it plopped before beading up and rolling with the slope of the ground. The conditions for flooding were all there, and everyone could see it. 

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

“when the trope is a found family that goes their own ways at the end besides one who will never move on” dare i say Oh Hapana...

I'm gonna puke/pos

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

Hi there everyone… u guys want to read about Ono feeling like shit?? Well boy do I have have some. Some stuff for you. Enjoy!

[Chapter 1 -> Chapter 2]

Chapter 1. - Sunshine

“I’m going back.”

“..What?” 

Fuli looked at Ono coolly from where she lay. 

“You heard me.”

Ono sat stone still, perched on a low branch of one of the few Acacia trees in the grove. Fuli was stretched out on a flat patch of sunny ground, in a swath of soft, sun warmed grass. The Tree of Life stood tall across the plain from them. Inside slept Kion and Rani, and probably the rest of the Night Pride besides Nirmala. 

Nirmala had more to do in the daytime, and with the Guard’s help, she no longer had to patrol every night and could put more of her focus on healing others. 

        The Lion Guard passed their work in the Pridelands to Vitani and her team, allowing  Kion to become king of the Tree of Life with Rani. The whole Guard went with him, and in the few months since, things had been going well. It was easy, and maybe a bit boring, but it was going well. That was what Ono heard everyone else say. He supposed that was true enough.

        He took a moment before speaking again. 

        “Back to the Pridelands?”

        Fuli sighed. “I guess. I was going to check in on Azaad on the way. Maybe get him to come with.”

        “Oh.” 

There was a pause, long and heavy in its silence. Ono looked out, past the mountains in the direction of the Pridelands. His childhood home lay far past where the eye could see. Far past where his eyes could see. That thought made his chest pang with regret. Things just kept changing. 

Ono broke the silence only once it became clear Fuli had no intentions to do so. 

“How long are you planning to stay?”

He already knew the answer to that. The herds here weren't even enough to sustain the Night Pride. Fuli had been shown the hunting grounds of the local big cats, but it was nothing like what she enjoyed. She enjoyed chasing down graceful gazelle on a bright, open plain, not weaving between trees in a thick dark forest after serows. Her long, streamlined body was made for speed, not maneuverability. She couldn't last. Why Ono had thought she would… Often he wondered why Kion decided to title him the smartest. He wasn't. He was knowledgeable, but being smart meant being able to apply that knowledge. More and more frequently he found that he couldn't. 

At least when he was the keenest of sight, he knew why. He saw farther and clearer than anyone, even Aanga. But now that was gone. It was something simple and obvious. Now that he was the smartest, he needed to prove his worth again and again, constantly.

He never had to worry about his sight, it was perfect and easily applied. Now, a single bad idea, or not being able to come up with an idea, or even not coming up with one quick enough, was enough to make him feel unworthy of his title.

After all, he’s not truly the smartest. Kion just wanted him on the Guard, and so called on his second best trait. Kion had named him the keenest of insight, said that he would always be a part of the Guard. But now the Guard was falling apart.

It didn't help that Fuli was looking at him like that. 

“Ono…” She didn't even need to finish that sentence to confirm Ono’s fears. 

She wasn't coming back.

[———> Next Chapter]

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

🫢🫢

holy fuck guys thats me

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

I shall give you this piece of art as a thank you for feeding me with Ono angst

Can’t wait for more of Oh Hapana!! Love your work :D

I have been staring at this for DAYS. THIS IS THE FIRST EVER FANART OF MY FIC!!!!!

This has made me so, so so so happy./vvpos+vvgen.

I love your human design too!! You added wings, and I LOVE all of the small details too!! Idk if the colors of his jewelry are intended to be baobab themed but if they are I LOVE YOU. Idk how much of your design is influenced by my own, but we share so many things! His freckles, the longer hair, the fem style, GOSHHH YOU DON’T EVEN GET IT. You don't even understand how happy this made me. It's taken three days to get over my full on speechlessness. I'm STILL going insane, but I really need to show everyone and post this.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'm dead serious this has been the highlight of my day week the last two weeks now. (I know it's only Sunday but STILL imma be thinking about this)

I'm going to be printing this and hanging it on the wall of fame!! Btw!!!

[hyperfoxated-maybe]

Good afternoon, one and all!! Welcome, welcome!!! I have brought with me here today a special treat for you all! Ono angst, and a name for the fic!!!!

This is chapter 3 of the fic “Oh, Hapana”!!

[Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 -> Chapter 4]

Chapter 3. - Simplicity

It would be easy. Ono had thought through all the ways he could do it. Logically, it wouldn't be too hard to just slip out of the Tree unnoticed, to disappear and never come back. They'd search for a few weeks, a few months maybe. They wouldn't find him.

That would be the simplest way to do it. Breathe in, breathe out, dive in. Let the ice cold water fill his lungs and shock his system, and after a moment of pain… it would all be over. 

Jump up, dive in. Heh. Zuka zama. 

Bunga. Oh, Bunga. What in the world was he thinking? What about Aanga? Or Makini or Beshte? And, oh no, what about Ona? If he did that, then he would never see her grow up into an adult hamerkop. He hatched her! What was he thinking? 

If he were to go through with it, though, would anybody even think to tell her? Her, all the way back in the pridelands?

This “What about” mode of thinking kept him from doing anything, but still the weeks dragged on and Ono settled deeper into his nest of misery. Tiredness settled on his chest like a boulder, and he found himself getting up less and less because of the weight of it.

Now he was thinking of kinder ways to do it. Ways that would instead look like accidents, so that instead of mourning the fact that they couldn't stop him, maybe his friends would be relieved. 

Then one day he watched the sun set over unfamiliar, snow capped mountains, perched in a tree a hundred miles from home, completely alone. 

The warmth faded with the sunlight that day. Instead of feeling sick like before, he now felt so empty it hurt. 

Here, although the sun was warm, it was never hot. In the Pridelands, some animals spent most of their days finding ways to stay out of the blaring sun. This wasn't home. Nobody here loved him. Nobody wanted him around. The Guard was falling apart. If his friends ignored him, were they even really friends? Weren't they supposed to stick together? Fuli had told them that they would be friends to the end. Was this the end? Their journeys have all ended. No flock, no family, no friends. 

This was the end, wasn't it? 

A dot, in the distance. As Ono watched it come closer he registered first that it was yellow, and then that it was Fuli, streaking from the mountain pass toward the Tree. Everything he had been thinking about before was forgotten in his haste to meet her there. 

The Night Pride had been preparing for patrol, and were watching, confused, as Fuli ran to them. Ono alighted onto the ground next to Surak. 

“Fuli?” Kion asked, concerned. Fuli was breathing hard, and she half laid, half collapsed to the ground. 

“Kion.” she panted. “Basi is… not doing so great. He wants Beshte… to come back… before…” She stopped, her chest tightening from the sprint through the frozen air outside the Tree. Thankfully, Kion didn't need to hear any more. 

“Baylio, run and get Beshte. Surak, get Nirmala so she can make sure Fuli is okay. Rani, stay.” Kion hadn't even noticed Ono was there, so Ono took it upon himself to start after Baylio, but not before checking on Fuli, swooping down and landing on the hard packed dirt between her and Kion. “Are you alright?” 

Kion started. “Wah- Oh, Ono, good. Go with Baylio.” Ono took off at Kion’s confirmation, leaving the three felines behind. 

“I'm fine. Just need a minute,” he heard Fuli call after him as he flew away, urgently trying to catch up with Baylio. 

Baylio had slowed to a trot, before stopping at the edge of the grove leading to Beste’s pool. Ono checked himself, perching anxiously on a branch above the lion’s head.

“Wait, what do we say to him?” Baylio was panicking. “He’s going to ask what's going on. Do we just tell him that… that his dad is dying? Ono, I- I can't do…” Baylio looked up at him, asking the question with his eyes, his voice too heavy with emotion to lift. Once upon a time, someone had given this same news to Baylio as a cub, and he knew how this would go. Ono couldn't find his voice to speak either, so he just nodded. They started off through the trees to tell Beshte that his dad was dying, if not already dead.

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