The first thing Kion felt was a sharp pain in his forehead. The second was the mild discomfort one feels when one's been sleeping for far too long - the body trying to tell you that something is wrong and you should definitely get up now.
And finally, there were the voices. Hushed whisperings all around him. What was going on?
"Hello?" Kion called out. Immediately, the voices got excited. Murmurs of "he's awake!" and "by the Kings!" reached the lion cub's ears. He tried to open his eyes, but felt a cloth on his face preventing him from doing so.
"Son." His father's voice calmed him immediately. "Dad? What happened? The last thing I remember is hearing about hyenas in Hakuna Matata Falls..."
Simba explained to him that the Lion Guard had been in the process of kicking Janja and his clan out of Hakuna Matata Falls, when something had gone wrong. They'd been ambushed by a large group of violent leopards that the hyenas had partnered up with, and forced to flee the oasis. In the process of doing so, Kion had tripped and knocked himself out.
Fortunately, Zazu had been around and alerted the lionesses of the situation, enabling them to drive off the offenders and escort the cub home. Kion growled in frustration. "I'm sorry I got in the way like that. I should've been more careful."
"Kion!" Fuli's voice interjected furiously from his side. He hadn't even noticed she'd come up to him, and her upset tone took him off guard. "It could've happened to any of us! Don't blame yourself."
The lion cub merely shook his head, eager to forget the whole thing. "Can I take this bandage off now?"
Suddenly, the entire den became dead silent. Kion felt a lump coming into his throat. "G-guys... can I take it off?" He could sense heads turning around him, but nobody seemed to have an idea what to say until finally he felt a warm, wet cheek rubbing, nuzzling against his. "Fuli? ... Are you crying?"
He didn't know how long he sat on top of Pride Rock. All he could tell was that the heat of the sun was no longer as oppressing as it was when he got there. The cub blinked and held a paw in front of his face. It was as if he was trapped inside the deepest cave during the most miserable night of the rainy season. The paw just wasn't there.
Kion began rubbing the paws together, and then dragged them across his face, just for the sensation, to prove to himself that he still existed, that he wasn't lost in some dark netherworld, never to be heard from again. No, he was here. He knew he was here.
He just couldn't see it. And now he never will.
It was a terrible reality, but Kion felt as detached from it as he did from... well, anything right now. He didn't feel like crying(not that he could anymore), or even bitter over the pointlessness of his fate. He'd fallen on a sharp branch. And now he was blind forever. It was a fact like zebras tasting good and his two favourite uncles getting into trouble. It was just there and he didn't know what to do with it.
"Kion? It's Fuli."
He knew it was Fuli. How couldn't he know her voice? It grated on the cub that she felt the need to announce her presence. "I know it's you. You don't have to say it."
"Uh... I thought..."
Kion waved her off, making her stop talking. For a while, the two simply sat together in silence. The cheetah moved closer to Kion so that their shoulders would touch together, making it clear to him that she was right beside him. He smiled at her thoughtfulness.
"How are you holding up?" She asked.
"I'm fine." Kion replied in a casual tone. He wasn't even lying. He didn't feel distraught or bitter or afraid. He felt nothing at all. "Probably would be better if I could see anything. Sun's going down, isn't it?"
Fuli sighed. "The sun went down two hours ago. It's a starry night."
"Oh."
"Kion-"
The cub interjected with a firm tone. "I'm fine. I'm just... not what I used to be. That's all. Right now, what we should be focusing on is the Lion Guard. With me out of the way, you're going to need a new leader."
"You can't be serious!"
How could she not understand? He was useless to them in this state. "Fuli, I cannot run around and help other animals or fight Janja when I can't even see. I'd just get in the way." He turned his head her way. It made no difference to him, but for some reason, he needed Fuli to see him move and behave the way he used to, and had to face her when she spoke to him.
"You'll never get in the way." Fuli said stubbornly. "There won't be any Lion Guard without you! You brought us together, you're the leader, you're the bravest in the Pride Lands!"
"And I can't see."
Fuli bit her lip, and her ears flapped onto the back of her head in concern. She didn't like this giving up talk, not one bit. Defiantly, she moved away from Kion's side and stood in front of him. "You still have the Roar. Nobody else can replace that."
The lion cub had no answer for that one.
"And what's more, nobody can replace you." Fuli continued. "It just wouldn't be the same without you..." All of a sudden, she sounded quiet and worried and not like Fuli at all.
"What do you mean?"
"Promise me you'll stay. You have to promise." The cheetah insisted, and stepped closer to Kion, her heavy, anxious breaths blowing against his muzzle.
"Why?"
Fuli waited a moment before answering: "Because I asked. Trust me. Just stay strong, even if it's just for me. Promise. Please?" She'd never sounded so serious, or so scared. Now that Kion thought of it, he'd never heard her be scared to begin with. He felt Fuli's face nuzzle into his neck and for the first time that night, an emotion passed through him. Shame, for having scared Fuli, his Fuli. He rubbed back onto her forehead and draped a paw around her back protectively. "Okay. I promise."
Relieved beyond belief, the cheetah kissed him on the cheek on impulse. "G-good." She stuttered, becoming increasingly self-aware. Kion blushed as well, the feeling of Fuli's lips on him having been magnified by the lack of other sensory input.
"I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow at patrol then." Fuli muttered.
"Yeah, you will."
"... and don't worry about... you know. I've got eyes for both of us." Confidence returned to the cheetah's voice at last as she began planning ahead for tomorrow. "We're a team."
Her words left no doubt in Kion's mind that as long as he had her, nothing could stop him.
