Chapter Three: Burning Questions

By dawn the next day, Kiara was aching to speak to her parents, but they kept brushing off her questions, whispering "Later!" every time she tried to engage them.

She went up to the summit for her lookout, but as usual, nothing exciting was going on down on the grasslands, especially compared to the situation in the cave down below. So many things had happened in the span of a day, and she couldn't keep from dwelling on all the new revelations. She had a brother! And her grandmother… she really wanted to learn more about them both...

Sarabi and Kopa had slept like the dead for hours, and as far as Kiara knew, they were still resting. She couldn't blame them for her own impatience, but it was downright annoying that they were sleeping when she had so many questions she was bursting to ask.

Kovu joined her for the last part of her watch and made a few jokes to cheer her up, though Kiara noticed that he seemed a little down. She smiled at him, glad for his presence. They went back down to the cave around midday, and Kiara was pleased to see that Kopa, at least, seemed wide awake. Sarabi was awake too, though she was still lying comfortably in the shadows with Sarafina, and the two were talking quietly. Kiara wondered if they had talked about her at all.

"Kiara," said Kopa, stepping tentatively near her. "I -- uh… Would you like to walk down to the water hole with me and get a drink?"

Beside her, Kovu made an odd noise, but thankfully he backed away, realizing Kopa's desire to speak to his sister alone. Kiara nodded to Kopa, and the two walked out of the cave together.

"I didn't know I had a sister," said Kopa as soon as they were out of earshot of the cave. "But I'm really glad to meet you. I hope, once everything starts to go back to normal for you, that we can be… okay."

Kiara found herself watching the path in front of her feet, and she forced herself to look at her brother. Her brother. Boy, that was weird.

"I like to think I'm pretty easy to get along with," said Kiara brightly. "I didn't know about you either. Mom and Daddy… I guess they didn't think I needed to know."

"What I don't get," said Kopa quietly, "is why they went through so much trouble to smuggle me away from Zira, and then they went and had you. I don't mean you any disrespect," he added hastily, "but it just seems like if they felt things were safe enough for you to grow up here… then why not me?"

"Well…" said Kiara slowly, "I think Zira went really quiet for a few years. Even though the Outlands are actually pretty close to Pride Rock, she just always seemed so far away. She wasn't making a move to try and attack our pride members, and she stopped threatening us. The most she ever did was occasionally hunt on our lands, and Daddy almost always overlooked that, because he knew how bad it was in the Outlands."

"So they felt safe enough to have another cub?"

"I have no idea. We should ask them. But my guess is that they didn't know what happened to you after you left. They needed a new heir, in case you didn't come back." Once again, Kiara found it a little odd that she was finding it so easy to defend her parents' decisions.

"I guess that makes sense," said Kopa. They had arrived at the water hole by this point. Kiara bent over to take a drink, thinking over their conversation. Yes, her parents must have thought they were acting for the best. There was even a chance that they had been advised by Rafiki to do the things they did, though it was often hard to follow any of the activities of the eccentric old mandrill.

Despite all the thoughts whirring through her mind, Kiara found that it was quite pleasant, spending time with Kopa, and after a short while the last of the awkwardness had faded away. Kopa wasn't talkative, but he listened attentively to everything Kiara said. She told him about Kovu, and how he had been trained to kill Simba all his life, but had rejected his mother's plans after spending time with Kiara. She told him how Zira had died.

"And you couldn't save her?" whispered Kopa at the end of the story. "After all that?"

Kiara shook her head wearily. "I think I might've seen a hint of regret in her face right before she… fell… but I still don't think she would have taken my help. She wouldn't be able to live with herself, owing a debt to the daughter of the lion who killed her beloved Scar."

"She was twisted, all right." Kopa watched a zebra foal walking along with its mother on the far end of the water hole, a thoughtful look on his face. "Kovu and Vitani don't seem at all like her. A little rough around the edges, maybe, but… I like them."

"Me too," said Kiara, smiling. "I don't know why, but they just don't have that hateful streak that their mother had." Kiara rose to her feet and stretched. "We should head back," she said.

"Yeah, Vitani said something about a hunt earlier," said Kopa. "Do you…?"

"Hunt? Me? Nah." Kiara was slightly surprised that she felt embarrassed. "I'm horrible. I've messed up more hunts than I can count. How about you?"

"Oh, Grandmother taught me quite a lot. She was an accomplished hunter."

"So's Mom," said Kiara. "She leads the hunt, and lately Vitani's been her second in comand. Vitani's a natural."

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

They chatted amiably on their way back to Pride Rock. When they got there, Vitani and Kovu were waiting for them. Most of the pride had scattered by now and were lounging on sunny parts of the hillside, grooming or gossiping, or both. Nala, Sarafina, and Sarabi had settled down in a grassy spot, and were laughing about something. Simba was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi, Mom," said Kiara as she approached her mother and two grandmothers.

"Kiara," said Nala, getting to her feet. "Kopa --" She nudged his head fondly with her own.

"What were you ladies talking about?" asked Kiara sweetly.

"Oh, nothing," said Sarafina, carefully averting her gaze.

"Vitani said something about a hunt?" said Kiara, choosing (wisely) to ignore her urge to pry about the conversation.

"Yes, but we wanted to wait and see if you'd join us," said Nala. "Sarabi says Kopa's a fine hunter, and Kiara, you're --"

"Hopeless," said Kiara, staring at the ground.

"Ridiculous," said Sarabi. "You're my granddaughter."

"And mine," said Sarafina, grinning. "You're not quite as bad as you think, Kiara."

"You may not be a natural, but I can help you learn," said Sarabi. "You need confidence. I'll teach you. You'll be more than capable in no time."

"I don't know…" said Kiara, feeling as though she'd been put on the spot, which she thought was unfair. "I think I'm a lost cause."

"No, you aren't," said Nala supportively. "I should have made you come with me more often on hunts."

"Why didn't you?" piped up Kopa.

"We didn't like to let her get too far away from Pride Rock," said Nala quietly. "I didn't want her to wander away while I was too busy with a chase."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence. Kiara was sure that if she went on a hunt, she would somehow cause it to end in disaster. On the other hand, she did feel rather guilty and useless every time she ate food that had been brought down by someone else.

"Maybe I… Maybe I should go," said Kiara hesitantly. She expected them to withdraw their invitation for her to join them at any second. "If I mess one up, I'll just come home, I guess."

"You won't mess up," said Sarabi, with confidence. "I'll stay with you. We'll work it out." She looked over at Kopa, who seemed to have been distracted by something far off.

"Kopa?"

He cleared his throat and looked around. "Yes, Grandmother?"

"Would you care to join us?"

Kopa looked around. "Er… well…"

Kiara thought she knew why Kopa was hesitating. Now that Kopa was part of such a large group of lionesses, he probably didn't know if he was really needed for the hunt. He looked to Sarabi for help.

"You only have to come if you want to," said Sarabi lightly. "You can laze around with Simba if you want."

"Where is Daddy?" asked Kiara, looking around.

"Oh, Timon and Pumbaa are around here," said Nala. "He's with them. I don't know where they wandered off to…"

In the end, Nala and Vitani led Sarabi, Kiara, and three other lionesses out into the Pridelands. Sarabi stuck close to Kiara, giving her pointers the whole time. Kiara deeply appreciated having Sarabi's help, especially since Sarabi was, in her own words, "an old pro."

They managed to sneak up on a herd of gazelle. Nala and Vitani moved to the far side of them, meaning to ambush them and drive them toward the rest of the party. Kiara waited near Sarabi, her heart beating rapidly.

"Now, Kiara," said Sarabi soothingly, "you don't need to worry. They won't hurt you, these are easy. They're just very fast. Just do as I say, okay?"

Kiara swallowed, trying to hold back her fear. She nodded at Sarabi.

Just then, Nala appeared up on a distant knoll, just slightly above the milling herd. She was practically crawling, and she was going at a very slow pace. Vitani was no where in sight.

Then there came a high-pitched grunt from somewhere within the group of gazelle. The lionesses had been spotted. There was a commotion, and then, without warning, the herd began to move.

And they were heading straight for Kiara.