Kiara had never seen her father hurt before. Not really. A slight bruise here, a minor cut there. Once he'd even had a thorn stuck in his paw that had to be taken out by a friendly mouse. Trifling.
This was not.
He was limping. He was panting. He was bleeding. She sent Zazu for help and ran to him. She tried to find out what happened, but only got two words.
"Kovu...Ambush..."
He collapsed. People do that when their injuries are severe enough, she heard. She had just never seen it happen before.
And for it to happen to her father...
He wasn't breathing easily. They had to get him home, but he was so big and she was so small...Pumbaa was used to carrying lions around when he played with the cubs. He scooped Simba up in his tusks, but parts still hung limp. There was no helping it. He would have to be half carried, half dragged to Pride Rock. It hurt her heart to see him weak like that.
He was always so strong. When he hunted, he could take down prey with ease, though never as fast as her mother. He was always there with a roar if any of the pride was threatened. Threatening. Serious. Playful, he changed effortlessly. But he was always a safe and strong part of her home.
Her home didn't seem very safe right then. Lionesses came to help Pumbaa with her father, and none of their expressions showed anything but worry.
"Kiara. What happened?" They asked her. She just shook her head. No. She couldn't tell them what he had said. Kovu...It couldn't be the whole story.
She would wait.
~*~
Hey! Lion King fanfic! Who would've thunk it? This is just something that bugs me every time I watch the Lion King II. Simba gets hurt, he collapses. Then the next time we see him, he's waking up, somehow feeling well enough to banish Kovu in a rather dramatic fashion. Makes. No. Sense. This will just be what I think went on while Kovu was off gettin' scars and annoying his family. Obviously, I don't own the Lion King, or something like this would be in the movie.