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Description
“Papa says you have the Roar of the Elders—the real Roar, the one from our myths! Will you show me? Oh, please, please show me!”

Auni lead the group of youngsters out of Ukuni Woods and into the open plains. He was supposed to be giving Taka his daily lesson, but the king and young princess of the Tree of Life had arrived a day early, and he was obliged to change his schedule—while his brother spoke to the King Gilai, the leader of the Lion Guard was taking all of the royal kids on a tour of the Pridelands. Teenage Janna was hopping around him and chattering on like a cub half her age, while behind them Mufasa and Taka exchanged a rare look of mutual disapproval. Auni chuckled, taking care not to tread on the princess’s paws.

“I’m really not supposed to use the Roar without a good reason, your highness,” he said.

“Nobody at the Tree of Life has ever seen the Roar!” Janna continued, as if she hadn’t heard him, “Not since Askari rediscovered it, at Pratibamba—no, wait, at Cikha Escarpment! And that was when my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was king.”

“Which one was he, again?” asked Mufasa.

“King Rajaa!” she answered, proudly, “His queen was Sheranee, and his heir was Neela—Neela married Hanuni, the sister of one of your ancestors!”

“You’re sure good with history,” Taka said.

“Thank you! It’s my duty as the future queen to learn everything!“

“That’s... a lot of stuff.”

“I wanna learn more Pridelander history while I’m here, too!” Janna smiled, “Your kingdom and mine go way back.” Her expression turned glum, as she continued; “None of us have ever seen the Roar of the Elders. My grandparents say their grandparents only knew it as a legend.”

“Didn’t your pride have the Roar in the first place?” Taka asked, “What happened there?”

“Our pride betrayed the Great Spirits.”

“Betrayed the Great Spirits?” Mufasa balked, “How do you even do that?”

“The way I’ve heard the story,” said Auni, before Janna could answer, “Is that there have been two times that the Great Spirits ever interfered with mortals: giving the Night Pride the Roar to protect—“

“To protect the animals who came there to heal,” Janna interrupted, “And then to take it away again, when one of our monarchs stopped accepting new animals to heal. We’ve been back on track ever since Askari came to the Tree, but the Roar has never been given to us again.”

“Why did it go to Askari?” asked Taka, his gaze drifting to the mark on his uncle’s shoulder.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I guess the Great Spirits saw something in the Pridelanders. But the legend is that the Roar will come back! Someday....”

Janna looked away from the group, sadly. After a moment, Auni sighed and crouched to look the princess in the eye.

“Like I said, I’m not supposed to do this,” he told her, with a smile, “But you see that rain cloud over there?”

She nodded eagerly.

“It’ll burst soon anyway, so... well, watch this.”

Auni stepped back and stretched. He set his eyes on the low, dark cloud, while Mufasa and Taka scampered behind him. He took a breath, and the clouds behind him began to swirl and form into the a vague shape—when Auni roared, a deafening boom unlike any lion’s natural roar, the clouds formed fully into the heads of lions, and roared with him. As soon as the sound waves hit it the rain cloud burst, sending a massive splash of water onto the savanna below.

Auni chuckled, and looked to Janna.

“Was it like you imagined, your highness?”

She didn’t respond.

“Princess?”

Auni tapped her on the shoulder, and Janna startled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Baap re baap,” she murmured. She finally looked up to him, and said quietly: “Thank you, Prince Auni.”

~~~

Sort of a sequel to this old picture—but it’s not necessary viewing, lol I thought it would be nice if Janna had had one previous experience with the Roar of the Elders (in my headcanon, she was very Makini-like as a teenager, but witnessing this epic, magical thing really moved her and made her more reflective). And I’ve never shown Auni using it, so two birds one stone

Description
“Papa says you have the Roar of the Elders—the real Roar, the one from our myths! Will you show me? Oh, please, please show me!”

Auni lead the group of youngsters out of Ukuni Woods and into the open plains. He was supposed to be giving Taka his daily lesson, but the king and young princess of the Tree of Life had arrived a day early, and he was obliged to change his schedule—while his brother spoke to the King Gilai, the leader of the Lion Guard was taking all of the royal kids on a tour of the Pridelands. Teenage Janna was hopping around him and chattering on like a cub half her age, while behind them Mufasa and Taka exchanged a rare look of mutual disapproval. Auni chuckled, taking care not to tread on the princess’s paws.

“I’m really not supposed to use the Roar without a good reason, your highness,” he said.

“Nobody at the Tree of Life has ever seen the Roar!” Janna continued, as if she hadn’t heard him, “Not since Askari rediscovered it, at Pratibamba—no, wait, at Cikha Escarpment! And that was when my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was king.”

“Which one was he, again?” asked Mufasa.

“King Rajaa!” she answered, proudly, “His queen was Sheranee, and his heir was Neela—Neela married Hanuni, the sister of one of your ancestors!”

“You’re sure good with history,” Taka said.

“Thank you! It’s my duty as the future queen to learn everything!“

“That’s... a lot of stuff.”

“I wanna learn more Pridelander history while I’m here, too!” Janna smiled, “Your kingdom and mine go way back.” Her expression turned glum, as she continued; “None of us have ever seen the Roar of the Elders. My grandparents say their grandparents only knew it as a legend.”

“Didn’t your pride have the Roar in the first place?” Taka asked, “What happened there?”

“Our pride betrayed the Great Spirits.”

“Betrayed the Great Spirits?” Mufasa balked, “How do you even do that?”

“The way I’ve heard the story,” said Auni, before Janna could answer, “Is that there have been two times that the Great Spirits ever interfered with mortals: giving the Night Pride the Roar to protect—“

“To protect the animals who came there to heal,” Janna interrupted, “And then to take it away again, when one of our monarchs stopped accepting new animals to heal. We’ve been back on track ever since Askari came to the Tree, but the Roar has never been given to us again.”

“Why did it go to Askari?” asked Taka, his gaze drifting to the mark on his uncle’s shoulder.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I guess the Great Spirits saw something in the Pridelanders. But the legend is that the Roar will come back! Someday....”

Janna looked away from the group, sadly. After a moment, Auni sighed and crouched to look the princess in the eye.

“Like I said, I’m not supposed to do this,” he told her, with a smile, “But you see that rain cloud over there?”

She nodded eagerly.

“It’ll burst soon anyway, so... well, watch this.”

Auni stepped back and stretched. He set his eyes on the low, dark cloud, while Mufasa and Taka scampered behind him. He took a breath, and the clouds behind him began to swirl and form into the a vague shape—when Auni roared, a deafening boom unlike any lion’s natural roar, the clouds formed fully into the heads of lions, and roared with him. As soon as the sound waves hit it the rain cloud burst, sending a massive splash of water onto the savanna below.

Auni chuckled, and looked to Janna.

“Was it like you imagined, your highness?”

She didn’t respond.

“Princess?”

Auni tapped her on the shoulder, and Janna startled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Baap re baap,” she murmured. She finally looked up to him, and said quietly: “Thank you, Prince Auni.”

~~~

Sort of a sequel to this old picture—but it’s not necessary viewing, lol I thought it would be nice if Janna had had one previous experience with the Roar of the Elders (in my headcanon, she was very Makini-like as a teenager, but witnessing this epic, magical thing really moved her and made her more reflective). And I’ve never shown Auni using it, so two birds one stone