Chapter 3
Vitani growled as she stared into the night. She and her pride were finally home. What did she want? Revenge? Blood? No…she just wanted peace and this was how she was going to keep it.
"This is where I belong," she whispered angrily to herself.
"Vitani…I am not sure this place is safe," another lioness said gently, now walking up to her. Rolling her slitted eyes, she turned to the lioness.
"What do you mean 'not safe?' We have always lived here," she said.
"I mean that we have noticed the walls and ravine are still wet from the rain. We noticed the water is still high and even though they are trying to rebuild the dam, it may not hold when another rain comes." The lioness said gently.
Vitani nodded and went to inspect the damage. As they walked down the muddy pathway, Vitani's eyes widened. The dam was going to break loose again and it was only a matter of time. She suddenly had a flashback of when she saw her mother drug away by the flood water when the dam broke!
"Vitani?" a lioness asked.
No response.
"Vitani?!" Another asked.
No response.
"VITANI!" One yelled. That snapped her out of it. Vitani shook her head and faced the others.
"We stay here for as long as we can. When the dam begins to break again, we move on," Vitani said.
The others nodded and watched as she walked sadly to the other side of the cave. She saw the area where they left her mother's motionless body. Hanging her head, she looked at the others.
"Leave me. I must bury my mom," she said.
"We can help, Vitani," one offered.
"No…I can do this myself," Vitani said, now motioning them to leave. They all nodded and once they were gone, Vitani knelt down and drug the body over her shoulder. She then made her way outside and into the muddy field.
As Vitani walked, she had more tears falling down her furry cheeks. Burying her mother was something she never wanted to do. When she finally found a patch of soft dirt in the ravine field, she began digging. Once the hole was dug, she placed her Zira's body gently inside and then covered it up. Once she was done, she then let out a deafening roar that made the lionesses roar as well. They knew it was in mourning of what Vitani felt.
As Vitani continued to roar, she heard another roar in the distance that made her stop cold. The roar was unfamiliar and she prepared herself. It wasn't just a roar…it was a male lion's roar and it wasn't Simba or Kovu.
"Intruder!" She hissed, now ready to defend herself. But she paused as she heard something approaching her from the ravine. She extended her claws more and let out a threatening roar, but the figure only stopped and she heard a deep chuckle.
"No need to be on defense young one." The voice chuckled.
"Who are you?! Why are you in my territory?!" Vitani hissed.
"I have only come to help; you appear as if you could use some guidance," the voice said. Confused, Vitani's eyes widened at the sight of a large lion that had come into view. He was the biggest lion she had seen! He was slightly bigger than Simba and he had a thick, red mane! Vitani paused; she knew she had seen that face before but she couldn't remember where.
"Y-You look familiar," she said, now sheathing back her claws a bit more.
"We have met before," the large lion smiled. He then walked up to her where they were nose to nose. "Vitani…come back home."
"Home?" she asked.
"To the pridelands," the large lion said patiently.
Vitani paused in shock and then her eyes narrowed. "I am home. I belong here with the others."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm sure." She said, now turning and heading towards some very, tall grass.
"Hmmm…you don't sound certain at all, Vitani." He said, now following her. Vitani turned and she was going to say something when she felt the large lion nudge her over.
"HEY!" She gasped, now trying to get up.
"I think you need a new perspective on family," the lion chuckled, now nudging her more and gnawing playfully at her neck. Vitani was scared for a moment as she jumped away until she saw his tail lashing his flanks. She then realized he was playing with her.
"Well…well…is the great Vitani showing fear?" He smirked, now slowly crouching and approaching her.
"I-I'm not afraid of anything!" She scoffed.
"Then…PROVE IT!" He laughed, now running at her. Vitani let out a shout in surprise as he pinned her down and began nibbling her stomach and neck. Vitani, for the first time, let out a shout and began laughing. Her melodic laughter rang through the savannah and it made the lion smile from ear to ear.
"That is what I wanted to hear," he whispered, now giving her nose a lick and nuzzling her. Vitani slowly nuzzled back, feeling the lion purr in contentment. Vitani felt the playful assault stop and even though he kept her pinned, she for some reason felt like he was going to be leaving soon.
"W-Who are you? I never got your name," she asked gently. His eyes gleamed and before he responded, she heard the other lionesses calling her because they heard her laughter and the commotion. Vitani turned to what the commotion was and did not notice the lion pinning her down slowly vanishing.
As Vitani turned back to see him, she saw that the lion was gone! Her eyes got wide because she should have at least felt him release her….but she felt nothing! It was like he was never there! Vitani shot to her paws in shock and looked around frantically.
"WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU?! WHAT WAS YOUR NAME?!" She called out in shock. But she paused as she felt wind pass over her face and ears and she saw the clouds part in the night sky.
"Mufasa…," a voice whispered past her ears. Vitani's eyes then widened even more in pure shock! Did she just have a meeting with the former king of the pridelands?
As the other lionesses came to greet her, Vitani just stood in surprise. There was nothing she could say because she knew that no one would believe her.
Meanwhile…
"We need to find her now!" Simba said to the others.
"What do we do?" Nala asked.
"I'm going to find her. The rains will be heading back and she could be in danger," Kovu said, heading to the exit, but Simba ran in front of him.
"You are not going out there alone," Simba said.
"I have to! She's my sister! She could be in danger!" Kovu pleaded.
"Listen to me! You need to be calm! We won't let her get hurt," Simba said.
"But we need to find out where she is…the Outlands are very large," Nala said. "It could take weeks to find them if we don't know exactly where they are."
But before Simba could respond, he heard something. Something faint, but beautiful. He turned from the others and went to the exit of the cave and listened. It was only a few seconds until he heard something…something that made his ears perk up. It was the sound of laughter; sweet beautiful laughter that almost reminded him of Kiara's laughter.
"Vitani…" he said in almost a whisper.
"What? What is it Simba?" Nala asked, now walking over to him.
"Vitani! Somehow I just heard her laughter…," Simba said, now staring out into the distance.
"How?! A laugh can't travel over the savannah," another lioness chimed in.
"When King Mufasa is involved, it can," a voice said. Everyone turned and saw Rafiki walk in with a large smile. "Simba…your father wants the prides to be at peace. In order for that to happen, you must find Vitani before the rains come."
"Rafiki…are you saying my father had something to do with this?" Simba asked, his eyes sparkling in excitement when he thought of his father.
"Yes Simba. But time is short…you all need to find the other pride and fast. The rains will come soon and if it reaches the Outlands, they will all drown." Rafiki said gravely.
Simba nodded and once more heard the faint laughter…Vitani's laughter. He then turned to his pride.
"We need to go now! If we don't hurry, an entire pride will be destroyed because some of us did not accept them as we should have," Simba said, now hanging his head. After a moment, Kamau came forward.
"No, Simba…you accepted them…others did not," Kamau said, now sending a growl at the lioness who started it all. She hung her head in shame, knowing that she started it with the right of the pride fight!
"Right now it doesn't matter who's to blame! We just need Vitani back!" Kiara said strongly.
"Agreed…let's move!" Simba said, running out into the night with the others in tow. The rain was slowly starting to move across the savannah and it was literally a race against time!
Meanwhile…
Vitani could feel the rain going down her face and she saw the herds running for safety. The rain was beginning to fall and it appeared as if the dam would break soon!
"No…," Vitani said in horror.
"Vitani we need to get out of here!" One of the lionesses said in horror.
Vitani nodded and motioned for the others to follow her! "Follow me, guys! I will show you the path that leads to the Pridelands!"
As they charged and began to run as fast as they could, they noticed a pride of elephants that were stampeding to get away from the rain! But once the elephant matriarch saw Vitani and the lionesses, she trumpeted loudly and ran towards them to stomp them to death!
"VITANI! ELEPHANTS!" One of the lionesses screamed.
"Head for the open field! NOW!" Vitani ordered, now heading for the elephant matriarch! If she could distract her, she could protect her pride. The lionesses all ran for the open field, but turned and gasped at what they saw! Vitani was bravely roaring and trying to distract the elephant matriarch away from them!
"Why are you stopping?! Keep running!" Vitani yelled, now leading the matriarch towards the dam!
"Vitani! No! You'll die!" One of them shouted.
"Don't worry about me! Save yourselves and the pride!" Vitani bellowed, now trying to lead the matriarch into a trap. The elephant trumpeted and began gaining on her, trying to stomp her to death. But Vitani had a plan! If she could lure the matriarch towards the dam, she would cause the dam to break! The water wasn't strong enough to kill the elephant matriarch, but it was enough to stun her enough to stop the rampage! The problem? The water was strong enough and deep enough to kill Vitani!
"For the pride…" Vitani said, now closing her eyes as she pushed a few logs out of the way as she climbed up the dam. Within seconds, the dam broke and the water began to flow dangerously once more!
Simba and the pride had just arrived to see the water flow through the ravine and the elephant matriarch hurry and climb out, barely escaping! But Vitani was barely hanging on to the side of a cliff and she was slipping fast!
guestsurprise's words: Oh, dear! Vitani is in trouble!
To guestsurprise: Oh, my! Hope Simba and the others can reach her in time.
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418