Chapter 1: Confusion
It was a quiet night in the Pride Lands. Everyone was sleeping peacefully, well, all except one. Vitani was having a rough night, something had been troubling her since the migration to the Pride Lands. She was squirming in her sleep, something was definitely going on in her subconscious. However, while most might think she was dreaming about trouble, she was actually dreaming about something very different. She was having a dream about something she secretly longed for, though even she couldn't figure out why she longed for it. In the morning, when she woke up, she found something that surprised her.
"It must've just started." She said quietly. Kovu was already awake, and saw Vitani wake up, as well as heard her say that.
"What must've just started?" He asked, walking over. He saw the very thing that surprised Vitani, which was a small puddle. The thing about it was that it looked like blood. He understood then.
"Vitani, I never knew!" He said.
"I never knew either." Vitani said quietly. Kovu just stood there at that.
"What do you mean?" Kovu asked.
"I mean it took me by surprise!" Vitani practically yelled to his face. She then stormed out of the den, leaving Kovu to wonder what was going on. Vitani ran to the water hole to calm down. She didn't want everyone to wake up to her anger.
"What's going on with me? I've had dreams similar to that one since I got here, but never quite like that, and now this as well." Vitani said, hoping no one heard her.
"Now what as well?" Asked a voice she knew very well. Sure enough, soon after the voice came, Rafiki popped out of the grass. "What were you talking about Vitani?" He asked.
"I guess I should take it from the top." Vitani said.
"Nope, I'll just have a look." Rafiki said, leaving Vitani very confused. Something that left Rafiki confused was Vitani's next action. She plopped her rear onto the ground to get into a sitting position, yet she was unusually hasty with it. "What's with the haste Vitani?" Rafiki asked.
"Please just get on with it." Vitani said.
"As you wish." Rafiki said. He got into a meditative position, and before beginning, told Vitani what she would need to do to allow Rafiki to find the problem. "Before I can begin, we have to establish a mental link." He said.
"How do we do that?" Vitani asked.
"Just clear your mind, and I will use telepathy to transmit a chant through a telepathic link. That chant will open a mental pathway, and will also allow us to communicate at any time, no matter the circumstances." Rafiki explained.
"Ok, I think I understand." Vitani said. She closed her eyes to concentrate, and when Rafiki sensed that she had cleared her mind, he began. He transmitted the required chant, and also made sure it reached her mind. Once it did, Rafiki's view of Vitani's mind and thoughts became much clearer. He searched her thoughts for quite a while, trying to find whatever it was that was causing her problems. He finally found it, and understood immediately. He got a view of a dream that he figured Vitani had had in the past, where she was a mother, and that gave him enough information. He took his leave from Vitani's mind, and Vitani asked him what he found.
"Well, now I think I understand your problem, thanks to one of your past dreams." Rafiki said.
"Which one?" Vitani asked.
"The dream you had about being a mother." Rafiki said.
"I never dreamed about being a mother! I've never even thought about it." Vitani said.
"So your subconscious is keeping things from you?" Rafiki asked. That just left Vitani stunned.
"It must be something that is still forming as a thought." Rafiki said.
"I guess so." Vitani said. Then she gasped.
"That might explain last nights dream!" She said.
"I'm listening." Rafiki said. Vitani then realized she hadn't wanted to say that.
"I don't want to talk about it." Vitani said.
"Ah, but your subconscious is telling me all about it." Rafiki said, keeping a serious face as he listened. When he stopped concentrating, Vitani was really embarrased.
"Oh Vitani, why do you act like it's such a big deal? You wish to be a mother, and you saw yourself in the first step. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Rafiki said.
Vitani sighed, then thanked him and walked off, feeling a bit better about her situation, and understanding it a lot more.