[There was nothing more important than getting revenge on Koto and taking back Julien's kingdom. Sage didn't have to agree.]

There was a point. There was always a point where she just lost it. Thrown out of bliss into an uneven turmoil, there was always a point where her attempt at a calm demeanor would falter, and instead showcase the fear growing in her eyes.

There was always a point where it was too much. The thought of him dying when she was helpless to do anything. Sometimes it would be the nightmares, where instead of escaping to frank-knows-where, Julien would be taken into the clutches of Koto and beheaded. Slowly. Painfully. Dripping with blood as the kingdom burned behind him.

Other times it happened in the middle of the night, like tonight, when Sage slept without a care in the world, and she couldn't due to the many thoughts lingering in her head about where King Julien was and if he was safe and if he was eating properly.

It was strange how even after all that's happened, and all that was going to happen, all her thoughts related back to him. It wasn't new though. Since the day she met the king —now technically a runaway civilian— she never stopped thinking about him. Whether it involved making a good impression on other kingdoms or if he was simply still living and breathing, there was always that lingering protectiveness that didn't solely come from being his bodyguard.

Julien was young. He was innocent once, but maybe not so much anymore. He didn't look at the world like she did, and she didn't really want him too. Julien knew what he was doing, maybe he didn't at the start of his reign, but he did now. Everyone's lives had been close to perfect. All because of him. They all had everything they needed in life. And then Sage's brother, Koto, had stepped in and took over and destroyed all of that.

Dear Frank, she hated Koto. She hated that she so blindlessly trusted him, that she so blindlessly fell for him, and that she had let him get so close to King Julien. She hated that she was still allowing him to tear her apart even though he was all the way across the island.

Clover's breathing hitched as the already small campfire began to dwindle. True, she didn't expect the few twigs Sage and her put in there to last all night, but surely longer than this.

Based on the height of the moon, and the glowing stars surrounding it, it seemed like they still had hours left until dawn. Clover knew on nights like these sleep just wasn't a possibility, so instead of dully laying there, coming up with new ways Julien's life could be endangered because of Koto, she stood and put herself to use.

Collecting twigs and branches was something that seemed like it would last no longer then ten minutes, but it wasn't until much later, with the sun peaking out from across the sky, did she truly notice just how far her thoughts had taken her and the distance she had stumbled across.

It might have been a problem heading back to the campsite, if it wasn't for Sage's loud yodeling that, every morning, would pierce the ear's of any animal in a five mile radius. It was a ridiculous meditation habit he was apparently committed too, and refused to break even on the mornings where silence was their key element.

"Good morning." Clover grunted. The bodyguard —now technically an escaped runaway— threw the collected branches into the now completely vanished fire. Sage mumbled something back, but Clover couldn't quite tell if he was talking to her or so caught up in meditation that he hadn't even noticed her return.

He was wasting time again. If they were going to free everyone, take back the kingdom, and return the crown to King Julien, they didn't have any more time to waste. It had already been seventy two hours since Koto's take over. Who knew what kind of hell the civilians were going through—

No. Clover's right fist clenched, like a reminder of how badly she wanted to take her problems out on someone. The civilians were shaped for this. They had fear weighing against their souls for years now. They would know what to do—maybe. Koto taking over would be no different than Uncle King Julien's rule—hopefully. Only this time, they didn't have their all new inspiring ruler to come and save them because King Julien was who knows where and all they had left was the sheer hope of getting free—and hope really didn't do so well in battle, so she had to do this. For the one, true king. She had to get the kingdom back. King Julien needed this. She needed this.

"Sage." Clover's voice was scratcher than she had planned, but the larger lemur didn't appear to notice. "Sage. Come on. We gotta go."

Sage made no movements to show he planned too, nor did he act as though he had heard her.

"Saaaage." groaned Clover, one more time. She tapped a paw along his shoulder to motion him up, but he continued to sit there, barking out different sounds. "Sage. Move it. We've rested long enough."

"My sensai once said, resting is not a virtue. It's just another to way to prep your soul for long journeys. I feel like that applies here."

"Right. Okay. Well you should have gotten up earlier if you wanted to waste time prepping your soul. Come on, let's go."

She tried again. This time, Clover nudged him up, but Sage didn't take the movement as a cue, and continued to sit there.

"Can the majestic peacock fly without being burdened by its small wings?" Sage questioned. His eyes were on her, as though she was truly expected to answer the seemingly pointless question.

Clover's left eye twitched. "I don't know Sage, can it?"

"It can't... Sadly they flutter there, while the much stronger birds stare it down. Laughing. Mocking." The lemur twice Clover's size clenched his fist, and for a few seconds, Clover questioned if a metaphor he had came up with would be what actually got a reaction out of him. However, Sage sighed and leaned back in his stance.

This was it. Clover was officially going to snap. Both fists clenched and her tail twitched as a response. "Sage, great! REALLY! I've always wanted to know about peacocks! You can tell me all about your knowledge of them as we walk to the kingdo—"

"—I suppose you sometimes let your fiery anger scald you, like the falling of lava on a already warm summers day." Sage continued on. His eyes were sealed shut again, as though oblivious to her so-called "fiery" reaction.

"OKAY! I'm glad you have SOOOOOO many metaphors for every occasion! Believe it or not, Sage, you can still SAY THEM AS WE WALK!"

Clearly camping overnight again was a mistake. They should have moved on immediately. Not wasted nearly three days coming up with a dumb strategy. They should have killed Koto the second he made the mistake of putting on King Julien's crown—They should have—

"You're.. angry," Sage stated, as though the yelling and red face weren't obvious signs. "at Koto." And with the end of that sentence, his eyes opened, and Clover could have nearly screamed.

However, she didn't. She was much more focus on what he had just said. "Are you not now?"

"Koto... is young. He never reflects on choices, meditates on them. My fire burns, not as high as yours, but instead like rays of sun over wat—"

"—He took over THE ISLAND, Sage! The island! Just because he's you're brother, doesn't mean you have to justify what he does!"

"Koto is... I will never justify Koto's behavior. He needs to reflect, prosper."

He needs to die. Clover didn't dare say out loud. A slow, painful death. Something that would terrify him up until the moment he's killed.

"Right." Clover changed the subject. "We need to focus on getting the kingdom back. Our first goal should be to get to the cells where they're keeping everyone and—"

"—You're lava is suddenly rising again. You must breathe in the cool, aqua of the ocean."

"You need to move! Sage! We can get there before nightfall if we leave now. We can't waste anymore time."

Sage took in a breath, but somehow, some miraculous way he stood up anyhow. Maybe the hours of mediation these past few days had cleared his head, or maybe he had calmed down and suddenly knew better, either way; "Don't let the lava scald you inside."

"Sage," Clover, who had already began walking, spun around towards him. "Come on. We have to do this for King Julien. "Besides. You hate your brother. Won't it be nice to know you helped take over what he thought was his?"

And as Clover began jogging forward, Sage wondered if it actually would be nice. He thought about why Clover was always rushing to take back the island—it wasn't like there was a time limit on these things—and he reflected on why she wanted to so badly do this for King Julien. And he questioned how she would possibly respond to her own sister, if the roles were reversed.

Every few minutes as they walked, Clover would turn just enough around to make sure Sage was really coming. A few times he had made it seem like there were more important things than taking back what was King Julien's and restoring justice against Koto. There was nothing more important than that.