The clouds and sun that hung over the Savannah in the day had disappeared long ago; it was night. Vitani laid on a sunning rock near the edge of the Outland/Prideland border. She loved the spot because it was nice and quiet. It was quite a ways away from the Outland pride's den, too. The young lioness sighed and placed her head on her front paws. She didn't really like it there, the place she called "home". She didn't have friends; being Zira's daughter, you spend your days patrolling, hunting, training, and well. . . scheming. This image, as you can imagine, doesn't scream "friend".
"I'm not a bad lion. . ." Vitani murmured. "Well, at heart anyway." She was supposedly Zira's kid, but she was actually brought to the pride by Scar before she could even open her eyes. He had found her near the river and Zira thought there was something special about the cub, so they kept her. At that time time, they were still allowed on Prideland land. . .
"That was such a long time ago. It's so different now." Vitani acknowledged. She had obviously grown a lot since then and become, well, harder. Distant. Zira's to blame for that, but Scar's to blame for Zira. Vitani raised her head and licked her front paw once; there was a new wound on the back.
"Zira's claws may be older, but they're still as sharp as they were all those seasons ago. . ." she said. Poor Vitani, as well as Nuka, had suffered at the hands of their "mother". You've seen her in action. Everyone in the pride knows how rough she is, but only the youngest members know how dangerous those claws can really be. Kovu had been slapped around only once or twice, but young Vitani for some reason was the Outland leader's favorite punching bag. She'd seen scars on her golden pelt where scars shouldn't have been. She had cried many tears that shouldn't have been shed. . .on this very rock, in fact. It was the closest thing to a safe place she had. Vitani felt free, but she knew she was alone here. Some times that was a good thing. 8.6 times out of 10, it was a bad thing. The lioness tilted her head up. The stars were shining bright and a comet danced across the sky. They couldn't speak, but Vitani felt them staring at her. . .
Smirking at her. . .
Laughing at her. . .
"Why me?" the Outlander whispered to the stars. The kings of the past were silent. Vitani growled and flattened her ears against her head. She shut her eyes tight and hisseed in frustration.
"Tawni?" came a familiar voice. Vitani's head shot up and she snarled.
"Who's there?" she demanded, ears back. She heard a twig snap to the right of her and two red eyes came into view. The look in those powerful orbs. . . the Outlander knew exactly who her visitor was.
"Kiara?" came her voice. It had softened a lot now. The Prideland princess stepped out of the shadows and padded up to the older lioness.
"That's me." Kiara smiled. Vitani frowned and cut Kiara a strange look.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, climbing down from her rock. She stood on Kiara's right, but took a step back. The younger lioness' smile faltered a bit.
"I came to see you, duh." she answered, taking a step forward. She touched her nose to Vitani's ear and whispered to her. "Didn't you miss me, Tawni? I missed you." Vitani purred, letting a tiny grin slip across her muzzle.
"Of course I missed you, Princess." she answered, bringing her muzzle to Kiara's. She nuzzled the younger female and Kiara happily accepted with a purr of her own. Vitani pulled back a bit too quick for the Pridelander's liking.
"I'm glad to see you, but you shouldn't have come." Vitani voiced gently. "You know it's dangerous for you to be out here. What if another lioness found you before I did? You could've been attacked-"
"Or captured, or caught by Zira, or ambushed by a crocodile." Kiara sighed. "I know, you tell me all the time. But I don't care. I'd fight my way through anything and everything just to see you." She gave Vitani a loving look. "You know I'm not leaving anytime soon, no matter how hard you try to get rid of me." she said with a soft grin.
"I'm not trying to get rid you, I'm just trying to do what's best for you. . ." Vitani mumbled, lowering her head as close to the ground as it would go. She shuffled her left front paw back and forth embarassedly. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Princess." Kiara chuckled inwardly.
"Thank you Tawni, really." she said. "But I'm a big lioness, I can take care of myself." Vitani frowned and shut her eyes, keeping her head down.
"I know, but. . ." she trailed off. "Kiara, you don't know what she can do to you. How cruel she can be. . . how one wrong word or one wrong move can end up scarring you, and the memory stays fresh in your mind even when your wounds are long gone. You have no idea how much it hurts-" She looked up at Kiara with sad blue eyes. "I don't ever want you to hurt like that." Kiara's eyes were wide with surprise as she saw the pain and unusual vulnerability in the Outlander's blue orbs. She leaned down and gave Vitani a few comforting licks on the ear. When she was finished, she rested her chin on top of Vitani's head. She could feel the older lioness trembling slightly.
"Tawni, I don't want you to stay here. . ." Kiara began. Vitani moved her head from under the Pridelander's with a groan. Her blue eyes met Kiara's red ones; the older lioness suddenly looked up to the stars.
"It's not like I have a choice. Where else am I supposed to go?" she argued, unconciously walking away. "My family's here. . ." She stopped and Kiara padded to Vitani's right side. She sat down and rested her head on Vitani's shoulder.
"You could always come stay with me." she offered. Vitani sighed heavily and sat down as well.
"We've talked about this, Kiara." she began. "There's no place for me there. Every animal in the pridelands has grown to hate Outlanders."
"But you're different, Vitani-"
"Try telling that to your father." Vitani murmured, stalking away, partly annoyed. She dreamed of having a life with the young Princess, but uh. . . life got in the way, for both of them. The lionesses and most of the animals had taken sides with either King Simba or Queen Zira; everywhere Vitani turned was a reminder of an enemy face or an unfriendly reminder of her Mother's influence on the darker part of the Savannah.
"Vitani, I couldn't care less about what my father thinks." Kiara said softly, trailing behind the Outlander. Vitani merely snorted in reply. Kiara frowned and ran in front of the other lioness, making her stop.
"I know you don't think I'm lying." Kiara said with a challenging stare. "If I was, I would have listened to him and never would have come to the Outlands in the first place. I never would have met you, I never would have kept sneaking out to see you, and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
"It's not that." Vitani sighed, sitting down again. "It's just that you usually listen to him; you're supposed to, Kiara . . . he knows what's best most of the time. He's just looking out for you and trying to turn you into a mature, responsible lioness." She frowned at Kiara. "And aren't you the one who's always wanted to impress him? Make him proud or whatever? Get a mate and take over the kingdom when Simba's old and gray? Have a son and name him after Mufasa?" She looked down at her paws and growled at herself in slight frustration. "Y-You know I can't give you that, Princess. I-I can't make you happy. . ." Kiara stood there for a moment before padding over to Vitani and nuzzling her head into the older female's neck.
"Tawni, I love you." she purred soothingly. "And you do make me happy." Vitani murmured a sad reply Kiara didn't catch. The Pridelander sighed and knocked Vitani over onto her back; she caught the other lioness off-guard, so she went down easy. Kiara pinned Vitani down at the shoulders and gazed down at her lovingly. Vitani dropped her jaw to question her, but Kiara beat her to it.
"I don't care about having a cub or ruling over the Pridelands as long as I have you." she admitted. "I wanna make my Dad proud, but I can find a way to do that with you by my side."
"Simba hates me. And it's just because I'm an Outlander." Vitani whined. "He won't let me come anywhere near you. I don't think he'd be so quick to welcome me into the family, Kiara. . ."
"That's because he dosen't know you like I do, Tawni." Kiara blinked once and leaned down to touch her nose with Vitani's. "No one does. But we're gonna change that."
"How?" Vitani murmured as the younger lioness pulled back.
"Do you trust me, Tawni?" Kiara asked, beginning to walk away.
"Of course I do." Vitani's reply was automatic. Kiara motioned for Vitani to follow her with a flick of her tail; Vitani did.
"You have to have faith, Vitani." Kiara said, leading the Outlander to the river. "You have to believe-" Vitani just laughed.
"No offense Princess, but it's hard to have faith in a world like mine." she chuckled grimly. Kiara stopped when she reached the river and waited for Vitani to catch up. She pressed into the older girl's side and twined their tails together.
"That's why I wanna share my world with you." Kiara said quietly, nuzzling her head in the side of Vitani's neck affectionately. "You don't belong here. You belong with me. Look-" She raised her head and looked down at the river, which was shining brightly under the moonlight. Vitani looked, too. She could see her and Kiara's reflections in the water, but it was a little clouded; it looked like the two girls were one lion.
"We're one." Kiara smiled. Vitani let out an amused purr and a small grin slipped onto her muzzle.
"Yeah, I guess we are." she said. She laid down and the Pridelander followed in suit.
"I'll think about it, Kiara." Vitani promised. Kiara offered her a sleepy grin and tried to fight back a yawn. She lost.
"You should get some sleep, Babe." Vitani told her, briefly glancing up at the moon. "I'll stay here with you; it's too late for you to go back home now and no one will miss me if I stay out a while." Kiara lowered her head and her eyes began to droop.
"Promise you won't leave me?" came Kiara's half-awake mumble. Vitani cuddled close to her love and brought her muzzle close to the younger lion's ear.
"Promise." she whispered. That was all Kiara needed to drift off to sleep. Vitani laid her head down as well, but decided to stay awake for a while.
"Faith, huh?" she wondered aloud. She thought about her home. She thought about the dying earth of the Outlands. She thought about the field mice and grubs, AKA the only food sources located in the Outlands. She thought about her pridemates, their thin bodies and their cold, dull eyes. In her mind, she saw an overview of the Outland territory and every animal that had made a home in it. They were miserable; so was she. Vitani always believed that there was was something better out there; she just didn't believe it was meant for her. Kiara made a small noise in her sleep and the Outlander chuckled. A gust of wind ruffled the two lioness' fur; Vitani automatically moved over, shielding most of the younger girl's body from the breeze. A thought dawned on her.
Kiara.
She was the whole reason Vitani was still here. Kiara had done so much for the girl and she didn't even know it. She made gave Vitani joy whenever she came around. She made Vitani care about herself and her fellow lions again. She made her laugh, she made her worry. She gave her the gift of a friend and blessing of a lover. Vitani grinned, and her surprisingly white canines sparkled in the moonlight.
"You made me believe in love, Kiara." she whispered. She closed her eyes, and even though she couldn't see it, she felt Kiara smile.
Their future, beginning on this calm, moonlit night, was beginning to look very bright.
End
I liked the Kiara/Vitani pairing and their were almost NONE on Fanfiction (compared to other pairings), so I wrote one and this is it. Review, please. I love your comments. :)