Several years ago...

In the savanna, the sun begins to rise, illuminating the once dark blue sky with orange. The bright yellow sun emerges and above the high mountain, Pride Rock, the mandrill shaman, Rafiki, raises the newborn prince and future king, Simba, high in the sky as the light shines down on him and the animals cheer, celebrating the birth of the future king of the pridelands.

Today in Sunset Savanna....

"Life is unfair..."

Leona grumbled gloomily. His annoyed glare stared back at him from his reflection in a fountain. "Can't believe I got stuck going on this useless trip to this good-for-nothing city." he grumbled as his ears flattened. His reflection in the water glowered at him, wearing a mask perched in their head.

"Well, if that's how you feel, whatever did you invite us along for?" Vil asked as his reflection came up with a look of irration. The pomefiore housewarden had a hand on his hip, sporting yellow robes. "You're the one who invited us here, you know. You're ruining the nice scenery, so could you maybe try not complaining for like five seconds?" He insisted, making Leona roll his eyes, not in the mood to tolerate the model's comments.

"Come on, guys."

Yuuma insisted, wearing her hair up with braids and a lion mask perched on her head. "This trip is supposed to be fun. Let's not be picking fights, alright?" She asked, putting her hands on their shoulders, hoping to ease the situation. After all, Vil was convinced with an offer he couldn't refuse, and Leona came because he HAS to.

"Besides. Check out the sights." The prefect brought up, motioning with her hand the large building with trees everywhere.

"And what sights they are!" The two housewardens and prefect turned away from the fountain and looked at the more eccentric Al Asim who was marveling at the city. "I'm so glad I get to visit the place where you were born, Leona." Kalim added, turning around to face, sporting a white robe.

"Agreed! I've been wanting to visit Sunset Savanna ever since I've heard about it." The prefect added, her mask slipping on her face from her excited movement. As she adjusted it, Leona narrowed his eyes at the two freshmen and immediately pointed a finger up at Yuu's face, making her stand back. Out of anyone, she was the one he feared would cause the most trouble on this trip. Yuuma smiled nervously at him as he glowered down at her.

"Oi. Lemme tell you this one more time. We ain't here for fun and games. Our goal is to..."

"You needn't be so concerned, Leona."

The lion turned his head over his shoulder to find Lilia popping out with a relaxed smile on his face. A magenta robe held comfortably on his small figure, complementing his eyes.

We all understand what we're here for. No matter who we go up against, they'll be no match for us. We'll win this thing lickety-split!" Lilia assured him confidently, placing a hand on the fustrated lion's shoulder.

" .....Fine. Long as you get it. Ya'll better not mess this up, you hear? You guys gotta be the ones who win the title of Sunset Warrior." he reminded them firmly, glancing back at the water fountain.

The other day, in Savannaclaw Dorm🦁....

Leona was cat napping by the pool in his dorm with a relaxed smile, arms behind his head.

Bzzzz!bzzzz!

His ears twitched at his phone buzzing, making his smile drop at the silence being disturbed. "Ugh. Who's calling me this early?" Grumbling, he glanced to his phone, seeing it vibrate as his hand begrudgingly picked it to see the caller. His half lidded eyes grew huge when he saw whose name popped up on the screen.

"Huh! Oh no..."

Leona sat upright, staring at the contact name with fear in his eyes. His finger moved to end the call but hesitated. "Tch. I rather not pick up. But that'll just make things worse. " he advised himself, slightly agitated he couldn't ignore this call. For once, this was someone he couldn't easily ignore or get past. Reluctantly, he answered the call, pressing it to his ear as he sat back down.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it? The morning report? Oh, I get it. A reminder call. Good to know that the royal chamberlain is on top of things." He commented saracastically. He can imagine the caller shaking his head in dissappiontment. Besides, Leona already had an idea of why his old 'friend' was making this call.

"Let me guess. You want me to come home for the Tamashina-mina, right?" He asked, and he pulled the phone away when the voice got irritated, hurting his ears. It made Leona roll his eyes annoyed. "I know, I accidentally forgot about it last year. Well, maybe I will forget about it again. You know how it is." he explained, the last part smugly as he had no interest in going. However, that smugged look was not gonna last for long.

"...huh? You're coming to get me? You and the other chamberlains?! To Night Raven College?!" He asked, standing up as his eyes grew with each sentence and his ears flattening in mere panic from those little threats. He knew that his chamberlain took his job seriously, but the prince didn't think at this level.

"Guess you're pretty serious this time then....Hmph. fine." Leona agreed begrudgingly. He couldn't believe that for once, his chamberlain was one step ahead of him. Now he had no way of slipping out of this.

"I'll come home the day before the festival. YES, really. Have I ever lied to you?" Leona told him, teasing the caller the last part until the voice got upset, making the housewarden pull back phone away from his sensitive ears.

His green eyes glared at the screen, wishing he could just send that through the phone and to the thorn at his side. "Oh shut it. It was a joke." The lion shot back irritated, seeing his old friend lacked a sense of humor. Leona wasn't done with him, though. He had one more trick up his fur.

"Here's the thing, though. I'll come home but on one condition...." he brought up because he knew the festival had one thing going.

"You hold one team slot open in the  Catch the Tail tournament for me." he requested firmly , making the contact question him much to his annoyance. "It doesn't matter what the reason is. Just prepare for it." Leona insisted, his patience gone and without a second thought, ended the call before the contact could ask more. He plopped back down on the chair, holding his forehead.

"Seriously, how long are they gonna continue these old, dusty traditions? Sigh. Stubborn old geezer." he groaned, running his hand through his hair.

However, an idea then popped into his head when he realized something. An opportunity. "Still, come to think of it, this will give me a chance to....take care of some things back home." he reminded himself, grinning smugly at the idea. For once, this old tradition had an advantage for him. "Well then, if I'm gonna win the game, I'll need the right pieces." he planned, and got up to start preparing for the game.