Vitani clambered the rocky steps leading up the desolated, gloomy monument of Pride Rock. The skies above her remained depressing; consumed in a bleak sphere of grey, colourless clouds. The only shots of colour came from the frequent lightning bolts raining across the horizon with their soul-piercing green hue.
The scruffy lioness ascended the barren, ramped slope along the side of the ancient rock face. Her eyes darted to an opening, camouflaged with rotting vines and cracked boulders. A sharp howl of aggression echoed from inside followed closely by another growl of pain. Vitani's ears flickered as her body sprang into action, sprinting into the cave with all the urgency of the pride.
Rushing through the harrowed, death-lathered vines; Vitani found herself in a void lit cave. The shallow, green-hinted hue illuminated the deep, dried-up pool in its centre. Besides this dried up abyss, two lionesses stood, alert and defensive, staring each other down with deadly accuracy. The first, as muscular as the strongest males, held her ground, waiting for her competition to strike.
"You really think you can beat me, sis?" The muscular lioness smirked, staring into her sister's locked, focussed eyes. Her sister stood confidently, boiling up to a point of no return.
"Oh I know I can Imara!" Within seconds, the lioness pounced, swiping her paw at her more muscular sister. The pair exchanged blows, clawing and biting at each other's furs as Vitani stormed in. At first, they didn't even acknowledge their leader's presence, concentrating on their aggressive, sibling showdown. As the orchestra of painful howls and gnashing screams echoed through the cave as Vitani approached, pouncing in between the two conflicting sisters.
"IMARA! SHABAHA!" The blue-eyed lioness held her ground, flickering her attention between the two lionesses as they stared each other down. They could easily tear her apart, and yet they didn't. Within mere milliseconds of Vitani intervening, the two lionesses returned to a passive stance, their faces still scrunched in focus, however.
"What?" Imara turned to Vitani, relaxing slightly as she flickered her eyesight between her fierce leader and her brave if dimmer sister. Shabaha wrinkled her muzzle once more as her sister sat, conversing with the Outlander 'princess'. "She started it!"
"I don't care who started it!" Vitani growled in, not even letting Shabaha have a word in. "Both of you! Calm down, right now!" Just as Vitani finished talking, Shabaha pounced, claws unsheathed as she flew towards her ready, firmly planted sister. Imara, watching her sister pounce at her, fell backwards, sticking her paws out into the air.
Shabaha landed on her sister, her claws digging into her fur. Imara, feeling her weaker sister above her, kicked, sending the younger lioness into the air, forcing her to land a few feet to her side. Rolling over she pinned her down, using every inch of her muscular body to capture her sister, smiling victoriously as a shadow shifted to her left.
"Imara! Let her go!" Vitani growled, raising her paw towards Imara's face. She swiped past, continuing to walk past the two lionesses. "Save your strength for later." As Imara weakened her hold on Shabaha, the younger sister wiggled from beneath her older sister, softly sulking off to the side of the nearly bottomless pit nearby.
Just as Imara laid down where she stood, a lioness rushed into the lair. Her claws digging into the dry, dusty ground as she halted her sprint, coming to a stop behind a large, choking dust cloud. As the dust settled, the dully tanned lioness smirked, watching as her fellow sister of pride coughed in her dust. Her blue eyes flickered between the lionesses before her as she relaxed, trotting up to them quickly.
"So, what have I missed?" The lioness approached her fellow sisters, stretching out her front paws as she did so. Shabaha and Imara both quickly shot their attention towards each other, before turning their attention back to the athletic lioness who softly flopped to the ground between them.
"Not much, Kasi." Vitani smiled over at the slender lioness, licking her paws as she spoke. Kasi smiled back at her leader. The two sisters beside them continued to sulk and mumble, flashing their eyes between Vitani, Kasi and each other. Vitani continued, rolling her eyes towards the silently conflicting siblings. "Except these two fighting... again!"
"Well, she started it!" Imara bellowed out once more, igniting the sibling rivalry as she stared down her sister, stretching her muscular body out slightly, almost returning to a defensive position. As the two lionesses engaged in yet another pointless nattering argument, Vitani rolled her eyes, letting a small, irritated growl escape her muzzle.
Kasi watched as the fierce leader of their hunting party arose, softly treading away from the seething sisters. She quickly returned her attention to them, letting Vitani wander to the edge of the lair. The slender lioness smiled, enjoying the show playing out before her.
As Vitani strolled to the lair's walls, she noticed a distinctive figure, standing in the shadows further in the ancient cave network. The tanned, greyed fur ruffled slightly in a shallow breeze as a pair of focused, softly illuminating eyes scanned the cave's walls.
"Tazama?" The fierce lioness' eyes widened, staring into the dark towards the decently built lioness before her. She moved slowly, approaching the curious feline that stood before her "What are you doing all the way back here?"
"Oh!" The lioness jumped, landing on her dusty grey paws with a soft thud. She turned her head, catching her large, sharp green eyes warmly humming as she refocused on the lioness before her. "Hey there Vitani." Tazama smiled, bowing her head softly as her right ear flickered. Checking over the fierce lioness' shoulder she quickly brushed her head against Vitani's, flicking back to normal within mere seconds.
Vitani looked up at the walls. They were filled with colourful paintings and inscriptions. Some ancient in origin. Her eyes scanned through the crazy, irregular drawings, quickly becoming lost in the vast stories and events recorded before her.
"Amazing, huh?" Tazama sat beside her fearless leader, her tail swaying side to side as she joined Vitani, looking up at the paintings that had occupied her all day. Her claw-sharp eyes flickered along, towards a painting just within their eyesight. "Hey, look at this one." She raised her paw toward the painting. As she did, a flash of lightning shot through the lair's open roof, crackling across the walls. As the pulse rushed over the drawings they came to life, playing out the events unfurled within.
The painting Tazama pointed at showed a series of fully-grown lionesses, an adolescent male and two cubs. Both lionesses recognised them instantly. "That's when Kion roared us all away!" Vitani's eyes locked on the painting, watching as the drawn cub version of herself flew away into nothingness.
"Yeah, I remember that..." That day still scarred her mind. The feeling of defeat, the painful landing back into the very edge of the Outlands. She remembered the lifeless bodies of the lionesses that landed first. So many died that day, all to the roar of the Pridelands' prince. He would pay for their deaths.
Even though their land now belonged to her pride, Vitani couldn't wait to collide with the Pridelanders once more, and finish off what had been started. The mere sight of this painting fuelled the anger within her, her fur internally burning with a rage unknown to the world. But as she focussed on this pool of soulful anger, a bright, glistening light caught her attention.
"What is that?" She turned to the light. Her eyes widened as the glistening blast hit the centre of her eyeballs. A soft, almost inaudible sound muffled through the air. A whisper, unknown to her. She started to move closer to it, losing control of her legs as they seemingly loomed on the bright, soul pulsing light. Her own heartbeat slowed, matching the pulse of light cascading across her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Tazama turned to Vitani, rolling her head to the side. "I can't see any light." Vitani didn't seem to reply. She was far too focused on what lay before her. Tazama sat, curiously watching as Vitani moved towards the wall. She had no idea what the fierce lioness was doing.
Vitani continued to step towards the gleaming light. Her eyes glistened with the same colour as she reached a paw out towards its source. She noticed the shape of a crystal within, gleaming brightly, blinding the lioness as she reached out to it. The whispers grew stronger, practically seeping into her ears as she reached outwards.
"Please... Save them..." The familiar, gentle, masculine voice clung to her mind as her paws touched the crystal. The bright, blinding light consumed her vision. Her stomach fell as the light began to fade. The fur at the back of her neck standing firm. Flashes of multi-coloured lights burned across her eyes as she fell through a deep, almost endless void. The flashes intensified, revealing a clouded, fuzzy vision.
The first swept by quickly. Her mind burned with the image of a desolate land, cracked land, floating in a similar abyss that she now fell through. A sombre, weeping voice rumbled through the lifeless air, freezing her heart.
"Please... sis!" The voice cleared; her vision focused. She saw Kovu, laying at the edge of nothingness, looking out as his body shuddered, drained and bloody. He looked up to the sky, directly at Vitani. "Help me..." A single tear rolled down her cheek as she fell past him, the vision dissipating as she continued to fall.
The deathly howls of pain and destruction spread past her as she fell. Death consumed her, the pleas of the damned had become the only thing he could hear. She tried her best to block them out, to ignore their pleas. But it was too much. Roaring out her fear, the pleas quietened as he continued to fall.
Visions of a seemingly pristine, lush land flew past her. As she tried to focus on what flew towards her, the vision deepened. Two cubs, trembling, sobbing, their innocent, fear-ridden eyes staring up at her as they huddled together.
"Please... Keep them safe..." The masculine voice returned, much clearer now. Her ears shot up at the sound as her heart trembled. "Don't let him harm them..." The vision ruptured, revealing the depths of nothingness once more. How long would she be trapped like this? Would she spend the rest of her days here, contained for her curiosity? Suddenly, a bright light consumed her, a gentle breeze ruffling through her fur as it faded.
She found herself in an open lush field. The sky above gleamed with a clear, perfected blue view. Air so fresh her lungs cleared within an instant, adsorbing the purest rich air as they had in years, possibly during her entire life.
The distant horizon was eclipsed by a crystallised mountain range, gleaming and shimmering down on the grasslands beneath them. They hummed with a strange energy, pulsating through the ground and into Vitani's paws, like a heartbeat, calm and collected.
A slight breeze brushed her fur, slightly chilling her fur and yet... Warming her chest? She turned to its source to find a male lion, sitting, looking out to the land before them.
"Beautiful, isn't it? " The male spoke, his voice as calm and clear as a voice could be. Vitani's heart sank, then flew, then sank, bouncing around in her ribcage as she slowly, softly approached him. "It's a lot better than this place did look."
Vitani's eyes widened, refusing to close, to even blink.. she couldn't believe who stood before her. His strong, virile body, his light brown fur, seemingly sparkling in the sunlight. He turned slightly to look at the bewildered lioness, smiling softly as he did so.
"Kopa?" Her voice croaked as the majestic lion stared at her. His forehead glimmered with the Uasian Royal mark, but something was different. His fur gleamed, humming with the same pulse spreading through the land.
"You won't remember this." He stood before her, raising a paw to her forehead. Her eyes watering as she looked up to him, admiring the handsome lion before her. Vitani's entire body trembled, conflicting with itself as she stared at him. "But you will act on the things you have learned here." He placed his paw on her forehead, continuing to stare down at her. "You have to, for the greater good." He closed his eyes. Vitani remained speechless, completely taken back by this moment. Kopa's paw felt so warm, so strong against her forehead. Her heart pounded as she felt his paw warm, practically burning away at her brain. A bright light began to gleam across her eyes once more, as she felt herself fall once more.
With a solid thud. She opened her eyes once more. She looked up, barely able to open her eyes. She recognised the large, open cave ceiling, the choking, thick clouds hanging high above her, blocking out the golden gaze of the setting sun.
"Vitani!?" Tazama's worried, bordering tearful cry forced the fierce lioness to awaken more. She was back, her dreams subsided. She looked up at the lioness as she wiped her eyes. The other members of the hunting party had gathered around her, quickly leaping to their paws as Vitani arose. "We thought we'd lost you!"
"What... What happened to me?" Vitani rubbed her eyes with her paw, trying to regain her thoughts. She couldn't remember anything. The last thing she knew of, she was talking to Tazama, and then...
"You just... fainted..." Tazama quivered, her eyes falling slightly as she played back the events in her mind. The pure, unrelenting worry that played on her heart, like a claw stringing the flesh of its victim. Vitani was like a sister to her. The sister she never had. To see her in such a state...
"And then we picked you up and moved you over here." Imara smiled softly, huddled up close to her sister. Shabaha calmly looked down at Vitani, not concerned by her sister's close embrace. Considering they were both nearly ripping each other's throats out just a few hours earlier. It was quite strange, yet heart-warming to see them get along for once.
It was at this moment that Kasi rushed in, her chest beating up and down as she caught her breath. The dust from her halting sprint kicked into the air, blinding the others for a few milliseconds before clearing. She seemed worried, consumed with concern, terror even. "Vitani!"
What's wrong... Kasi?" Vitani shook her head, finally arising to her paws as she looked over at her speedy friend. Kasi approached quickly; her tail firmly planted between her legs.
"It's Scar..." The athletic lioness panted, staring down Vitani with her locked blue eyes. "He wants to speak to you. " the others turned to Vitani, mouths agape slightly. She couldn't see him, not in this state. And yet, she arose, gritting her teeth as she regained her footing. Tazama rushed to her side gently nuzzling the fierce lioness, only to be flicked away as Vitani strolled slowly, wafting the keenly sighted lioness away with her tail.
"I'd better go and see what he wants." She turned to her huntresses, her sister of pride. Each one of them showed their concerns in their own unique way. Tazama wiped her tears away, her body trembling as she stared forward. Kasi kept her tail low, not moving it as she sat on the cold, barren ground. Shabaha and Imara sat beside each other, staring worryingly at their fierce leader. What scared Vitani the most was that they didn't fight, didn't even squander. Each lioness cared for her, respected her. But then, they hadn't come face to face with Scar. He was ruthless. If she didn't go, he'd...
She daren't even think of the insufferable acts that demonic god could commit.
Turning around once more, she began to leave the lair, the soft, emotional sobs of worry mumbled behind her. Her heart trembled, as did her body. She cared about them, those strong, brave, quick, intelligent lionesses, maybe too much.
She had to protect them, from the one being that gave them purpose, that gave them succulence. But also, on the other paw, could easily cause their demise...
