Chapter 7: Unwelcomed Visitor

Vitani heaved with a grunt as she strenuously dragged the massive carcass of a recently-deceased gazelle by its antlers up the stepping stones of Pride Rock. Earlier in the afternoon, while the Lions' den was filled with visiting animals who came to congratulate Fuli on her pregnancy, and also considering the fact that she didn't have Kovu nor Kion to strike a conversation with, Vitani decided to do something useful and hunt for the Pride's dinner instead of just hanging around and waiting for all the hoo-ha to die down. She'd be doing the other Lioness hunters a favor anyways, since all of them were busy handling the security of the Royal Family while Pride Rock was crowded with the Pridelands' animals.

She had gone as far as the Acacia grazing grounds several miles away from Pride Rock to track down a suitable prey big enough to feed the whole pride. Considering that most of the other animals were at Pride Rock, Vitani expected that she'd have to spend a few hours until she'd be able to spot one, but it turned out that luck was on her side when she chanced upon a particular gazelle laying on the ground on its side. As was her usual hunting procedure, she carefully and silently approached the unsuspecting prey while crouching low to the ground to remain hidden. But once she got close enough, she realized that she didn't have to put much effort in her hunt after all.

One look at the gazelle's face and she was able to recognize him as one of the elder members of the local gazelle herd that lived in that area, and judging by his quivering legs and his difficulty to breathe, it was clear to Vitani that the old gazelle was dying. She walked closer to the gazelle and stopped a couple of feet away from him. The gazelle noticed this and focused his blackening vision on the Lioness in front of him. He didn't move nor did he feel spooked by the Lioness' presence. There was no point to it. Accepting his fate, he slowly shut his eyes and calmly waited for the inevitable.

Yet, several moments had passed and he couldn't feel anything; no pain and no throbbing feeling of fangs sinking into his flesh. Nothing. He carefully opened an eye and, much to his surprise, saw Vitani calmly sitting on her haunches and staring solemnly at him with her azure eyes peering into his.

"I hope you know that you're supposed to use your jaws to snap my neck into half, right?" the old gazelle pointed out to the Lioness jokingly, albeit in a very noticably weak and raspy voice.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Vitani softly replied, bearing a small but barely visible pitiful smile on her lips, the very first time she's ever done that before. She had decided to show some form of compassion for the older animal and allowed him to pass on naturally instead of her killing him before his time officially came.

The gazelle understood her intentions and nodded. He rested his head on the ground and patiently waited for death to mark his completion of his journey in the Circle of Life. Minutes passed and prey and predator didn't exchange any other word after that.

"So... how come you're alone?" the old gazelle finally asked, after deciding that Death was taking far too long to come knocking at his door.

"My pridesisters are all currently busy at the moment, so I have to go out and hunt by myself," Vitani curtly replied, naturally not taking much interest in the conversation.

"Okay… but what about all the other times that you're alone? Why is it that you like being alone... Vitani? Why do you like being by yourself all the time?"

This time, Vitani's ears pricked up and her eyes widened as she stared at the gazelle. She had barely interacted with any of the other Pridelanders during the short while she's lived there, so it came to as a surprise for her that he knew what her name was.

"You've built yourself a reputation for being quite the loner, I'm afraid," the gazelle continued, as if he was able to read the thoughts in her mind. "The other animals can't help but notice you every time you got out from Pride Rock, avoiding the other Lionesses and then spending hours sulking and staring at the savanna by yourself till nightfall."

Vitani let out an annoyed grunt upon hearing this; not so much at the fact that he had exaggerated on how long she actually spent on her daily routine of observing the view of the African savanna (she only did so for only a couple hours every day. Of course, she'll have other duties to take care of immediately after that), but rather at the fact that the other animals had branded her to be a loner. Even then, she couldn't help but feel they were somewhat justified to perceive her as such.

The gazelle saw the annoyed look on her muzzle and decided to calm her down by using whatever strength he had left to flash a kindly smile towards her,

"The others may consider you a loner, Vitani... but I do not. I do not know you that well, young child... but I can see it in your eyes that you actually want companionship, you crave for it. Loners will never bother to seek the company of others, they do everything in their power to avoid society. In short, they hate everyone. But you're not like that at all, Vitani. You just have one tiny problem that prompts others to perceive that you are a loner; you only want companionship from only the animals that you either like or have a close connection with. And even then, you don't make an effort to tell these animals you want their company or companionship. You just make them feel that they are just any other animal that you see in your life; you don't make them feel that they're important to you."

Vitani blinked, dumbfounded for a few seconds before eventually letting out a long, defeated sigh. As much as she wanted to deny the gazelle's statement, everything that he said was absolutely true. Everyone in the Pridelands knew she wasn't much of a talker; instead, she was widely known to prefer speaking only when necessary. And even when she does, she tends to be rather sarcastic and rude, and at times, offensive, due to her infamous sardonic nature, thus further deterring other animals from being eager to even strike a casual conversation with her. There were, however, those who were already used to her sarcasm and bluntness, and have no problem conversing with her without being offended by her response. These were the animals she didn't mind being in their company with and whom she completely trusts. But the list of these animals that fall under that category was very small, and that only included her Outsider pride sisters, her brother Kovu and Kion. The list excluded the other Lions of Pride Rock because, despite living under the same roof as them, she either felt uncomfortable being in their presence or she silently held personal grudges against them.

And yet, out of the small list of these few animals, Kovu and Kion were the only ones she genuinely loved and cared about. Of course, eventhough she rarely displayed it, she always had a soft spot for her younger brother whom she had long considered to be her only friend while growing up in the Outlands during their cubhood days. And then there's Kion. Being fierce and witty himself, she instantly had a genuine liking towards him the moment he introduced himself to her a few days after her Outsider pride had moved in to the Pridelands. But yet, as the elderly gazelle pointed out, she very rarely showed sincerity and appreciation for those two most important Lions in her life.

That was something that she hated to admit. And now, ever since Kovu and Kion were now already married and having their own kids, she had become even more reclusive, as she didn't have any one else whom she's comfortable with to talk to. Thinking back about her relationship with them, she couldn't help but feel that she had been anything but selfish towards the only genuine friends she's ever had.

"Don't be afraid, young Vitani. There's still time for you to fix all this," the gazelle unexpectedly continued, snapping the Lioness from her thoughts. "You are young, you have plenty of time to change your ways and atone all the wrongs that you've done against the animals who care for you, whether you care for them in turn or not."

She raised a brow and gazed at him with hesitant eyes. "I... don't know what you're talking about." She denied untruthfully, though the gazelle saw right through her lie.

"Young child... you are stubborn. That can't be argued," he sighed. "However... when I looked into your eyes, I can tell you have a kind heart... that's unfortunately trapped under a layer of anger and hate. But... let me tell you something. Someday, Vitani, you will come across a Lion... a male, a male who's rotten and hated by everyone, but yet... just like you, has a pure heart. He will be the key... to change everything around the both of you. Both of you... will have a happy ending to your life stories. Remember this, Vitani. Always remember..."

By now, the Lioness was unsure what to make of the gazelle's words. His mentioning of this other male Lion made her wonder if he was genuinely foreshadowing her future... or he was simply being senile and was making it up. Her thoughts were once again interrupted when the gazelle started having a coughing fit while his entire body began trembling violently.

"Remember, Vitani. Remember…" he managed to wheeze before he let out his final breath and his body stopped moving all together as the life in his eyes had finally dimmed out.

Vitani hung her head as she stared at the lifeless corpse in front of her. She began contemplating what the old gazelle had just told her and very nearly forgot the main reason why she had come across him in the first place. She now had second thoughts of turning his lifeless body into the Pride's dinner, she felt that a wise animal like him shouldn't be disrespected like that. She considered spending an extra few more hours to hunt for another prey, but a quick glance around the deserted grazing grounds had unfortunately made her revert to her original plan, and so she reluctantly clenched her jaws on one of its antlers and began dragging it back towards Pride Rock.

And all the while she hauled the carcass across the savanna, the only thing running through her mind was the 'male Lion' that the late gazelle had mentioned earlier, the male Lion she would come across who was 'rotten and hated by everyone'... which was odd, considering the only male Lions within the Pridelands and the Outlands area were Simba, her brother Kovu and Kion, and all of them were nothing like the one described by the gazelle; they were practically hailed and fondly loved by all the animals around them! Maybe the old gazelle was just being senile and made it up after all? But that didn't matter now. Right now, Vitani had found herself standing at the base of Pride Rock and was faced with the next daunting task of having to haul the large carcass up to the Den.

"What the... Vitani?" Kiara exclaimed in surprise as she and several other Lioness hunters exited the den's entrance at the same time when Vitani had finally managed to heave the lifeless gazelle up the last stepping stone. "Why did you go off like that? We were worried something had happen to you!"

Vitani ignored her and continued dragging the carcass before laying it right in front of the entrance. "I decided to do you all a little favor. Save your breaths, you don't have to thank me."

"Oh... well, we were just about to finally go off for our hunt, but... well, seeing as you've already did that... uh... well... thanks anyways," Kiara awkwardly replied and tried her best to flash a small, grateful smile at her. That was how most of the conversations between the two Lionesses went. Kiara, who was mostly soft-spoken, always felt uncomfortable and sometimes even threatened when conversing with Vitani, as the latter had a tendency to add a snarky remark or two to her words that will eventually leave Kiara silently hurt inside.

Not paying any more attention to them, Vitani turned and headed towards the Rock's pinnacle, much to Kiara, and some of the Lionesses' relief. Once there, she sat on her haunches and observed the view of the entire Pridelands spread before her. And there, she spent the next few minutes replaying the old gazelle's final words to her in her mind for the second time that day. Only this time, she focused on the part where he said about her having the time to 'atone all her wrongs' that she's done against those who cared for her. She didn't deny that she was guilty of that... but maybe the gazelle was right? Maybe it was time for her to change her ways and be a little more... caring to everyone else around her and not just be grouchy (and as a result, lonely) all the time. Of course, that itself posed a challenge of its own, since old habits die hard. But still, she had to start somewhere.

Then, she saw her chance to start afresh when she noticed the figure of a familiar red-maned Lion heading towards Pride Rock, trudging heavily on the grass.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kion silently made his way up the stepping stones, thinking about everything that had happened between him and Kopa earlier. His mind fired question after question that desperately needed to be answered ever since he left the Backlands; why did Kopa suddenly become antagonistic towards him in the end? Why didn't Simba or Nala ever told him and Kiara about Kopa? Why didn't...

"Kion..."

The young Lion was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Vitani's familiar voice call out to him just as he climbed the last stepping stone. "What? Oh, hey 'Tani..." he replied in a tired voice, his mind was still preoccupied with all the questions that were running through his head.

"Kion, I..." Vitani began. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you... in private?"

But her friend responded by letting out a sigh and looked apologizingly towards her.

"Vitani... I'm really sorry. I'm tired and I have a lot of things running in my head right now, so I think we should do this some other time. I hope you understand," he said in one single breath and proceeded to head for the entrance without waiting for a reply, leaving Vitani to stare after him with a bitter scowl on her muzzle.

Hmph... so much for starting afresh, she grumbled to herself before leaving the vicinity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kion stopped halfway through the den's common area and observed his surroundings. He could see Mwamba, gleefully playing with Hasina along with two other Lionesses in one corner, his sister Kiara and another group of Lionesses handling the pride's dinner at another, his parents were sprawled on a ledge overlooking the den and were observing Mwamba below them... and there, in the middle of the common area right in front of him, was Fuli. She was currently laying on her side and was noticibly in a deep and peaceful sleep.

After spending the entire morning and afternoon greeting and welcoming the hundreds visiting animals who came to congratulate her, and especially after consuming the clitoria ternatea leaves Kovu had brought to her (which, according to Rafiki, caused drowsiness as a side-effect once consumed), it was no wonder the pregnant Cheetah had absolutely no energy left and immediately fell into her deep slumber the moment the last group of visiting animals had left Pride Rock.

Kion approached his sleeping mate but was stopped when Kovu suddenly came into his view in front of him. "Kion! There you are!" he called out to the younger Lion in a whisper, so as to not wake the sleeping Cheetah up. "What took you so long? I was already thinking of gathering a search party to go look for you! What happened?"

Kion let out a sigh and led Kovu to a corner, away from Fuli. "Yeah, sorry about that. I err... discovered something interesting along the way and lost track of time." He whispered untruthfully, though Kovu apparently didn't seem to buy it.

"Yeah, yeah I'm sure you did." He said disbelievingly. "Anyways, did you find anymore of those flowers?"

"Does it look like I found any?"

"Ha! I guessed as much..." Kovu grinned teasingly at Kion, much to the latter's annoyance. "Anyways, Rafiki said that the flowers that we gathered are already more than enough to last her a few days, so... heh, I hate to tell you this, but you've pratically wasted five hours of your life looking for flowers that you didn't need."

"Gee, thanks for the added info," Kion replied in a bemused tone before promptly returning to Fuli, leaving behind a smirking Kovu to chuckle to himself before he decided to join Kiara and the other Lionesses.

Kion went over to Fuli and gently rested his muzzle on the nape of her neck. And all the while after he was comfortably rested against his sleeping mate, his gaze was focused on his parents, who were still resting on the ledge and observing his son. He had a burning desire to approach and ask them about them Kopa the moment he stepped into the den, but yet, for some unknown reason, he felt very reluctant to confront them about it at the same time. Maybe he was worried of how badly his aging parents would take the fact that they had abandoned and neglected one of their sons, who now, as a result, held a massive grudge against them? Or maybe it's because everything felt so smooth and perfect at the moment that he didn't want to ruin it by bringing up something from the past? He really couldn't tell.

The rest of the evening went by faster than he imagined. Fuli eventually woke up at sunset and the rest of the Pride immediately settled for the dinner that Vitani had caught for them earlier immediately afterwards. Much to everyone's surprise, however, Vitani refused to take a single bite of the gazelle meat that was being served, and instead, proceeded to head outside and spent the rest of the night at the peak of Pride Rock in complete isolation.

Simba and Nala, on the other hand, remained mostly quiet throughout their dinner, which also surprised the other inhabitants of Pride Rock, as the King and Queen were usually the ones to strike up a friendly conversation amongst the Pride members every dinner time. As a result, everyone else remained silent, since it was considered offensive to speak during Dinnertime unless a conversation was initiated by the King or Queen. Kion noticed this and even wondered if something had happen while he was away in the Backlands.

And so, after a quiet and rather awkward dinner, Kion and his family bid their goodbyes to the Pride and made their way to their den, a couple of miles away from Pride Rock. After spending almost the entire day playing and goofing off with Hasina, Mwamba was the first to succumb into his slumber the moment he arrived at his usual sleeping corner. Meanwhile, his adoptive parents settled down a few feet away from him, near the entrance of the den. After managing to gain a solid three-hour nap from earlier, Fuli had plenty of energy to spoil her Lion mate with her affection that night, as she nuzzled comfortably against his lush, amber mane and passionately groomed the fur on his muzzle with her tongue, purring contentedly as she did so.

And yet, after minutes of licking and nuzzling, it was soon very clear to her that her mate was very much preoccupied with something on his mind, as he hadn't returned her affection nor utter a single word of compliment to her as he usually would when she did so. Instead, he simply stared at the moonlit savanna outside through the entrance while remaining completely still as if he were a statue.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Fuli finally decided to ask, as she got bored of giving affection to her mate and not getting any in return.

"Nothing, dear. Everything's fine..." Kion trailed off almost monotonously, making it easier for the Cheetah to see through his lie.

"Come on, you can do way better than that!" she chuckled teasingly and gave her mate a friendly nudge. "You can always tell me what's going on in your mind! Unless, of course, you're planning to say that you're thinking of another Lion that's currently stuck in your head."

For a wild moment, Kion mistakenly thought that she was talking about Kopa, which, of course, would be an impossibility as he was the only one who had knowledge of his long-lost brother's existence. Luckily, he was able to stop himself from expressing shock when he realized (judging by her stern voice when she said her last sentence) that she probably meant another female Lion. In short, she was questioning whether his quietness meant that he was being seduced by the image of another Lioness that was going on in his mind.

"No, no, of course it's not that, dear," he replied reassuringly, hoping it was convincing enough to avoid an argument (and also preserve his marriage). "It's just... a bit of a family problem that I'm having."

"Our family?"

"Yes... but not specifically us."

Fuli understood which family he was referring to, which immediately led her to make the assumption that whatever it was that got her mate in such a disturbed state, probably had something to do with the silent and awkward dinner that they had with the rest of his family back at Pride Rock.

"Hey... whatever it is that's eating at you, you know that I'll always be on your side, right?" she purred, nuzzling and snuggling against his mane once again.

This time, Kion took notice and he couldn't help himself from returning her affection by giving a few passionate licks to a particular spot on her forehead, much to Fuli's utter pleasure and delight.

"Of course, I know that," he whispered softly into her right ear in a husky voice, causing Fuli to bit her lip as a pleasuring tingling sensation to spread across her spine. Kion smiled when he saw the naughty grin spread across her lips right after he said that. "But err... I think it's best that you don't get involve in this um... particular family matter." He continued in a slightly firmer voice.

"TOO LATE! SHE'S ALREADY KNEE-DEEP INTO IT!"

Both Lion and Cheetah gasped when they looked up and saw that the thundering voice belonged to a brown-maned Lion that had suddenly appeared at the entrance out of nowhere, staring menacingly at them with a growl.

In half an instance, Kion sprang to his fours, unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth before putting himself between Fuli and the intruder to protect his mate.

"Kopa?! What the Hell are you doing here?!" He cried out with a threatening growl at his elder brother.

Kopa appeared to be unfazed by this as he calmly sat on his haunches and observed his little brother and his... Cheetah mate, who was now also on her fours with bared teeth and claws unsheathed as she posed herself in a defensive stance just behind her husband.

"Well, Kion. I came here because I believe you have something- or rather, someone... who belongs to me," Kopa responded in a dangerously calm voice as he trailed his gaze from the snarling couple to the little Lion cub who was sleeping in the other corner.

Fuli instantly realized where the intruder had laid his eyes on and instinctively rushed over towards Mwamba, using her own body to shield her adoptive son who was still sleeping soundly in his deep slumber.

"What are you talking about Kopa? And how'd you find me here?" Kion sternly growled as he went over and stood just a few feet away from Mwamba and Fuli, again, putting himself between his family and the hostile Lion.

"Hmmm... well believe it or not, baby brother, it just so happened that a little birdie told me exactly where you and your darling wife lived just a few minutes ago," Kopa replied in a mocking tone.

Then, as if on cue, the sound of fluttering of wings could be heard echoing throughout the den, just as a particular silky-black raven flew in before landing and perching itself on Kopa's head. "Rudo the Raven, at your service," the avian said in a deep voice with a distinct (and unusual) British accent, solemnly bowing his head at Kion before taking off and flying out of the den.

Kion's fiery eyes were immediately filled with rage the moment he saw the bird. This was the same filthy raven he saw circling above him as he was leaving the Backlands earlier that evening! Now he knew how Kopa found out where he lived; the raven served as his personal spy.

"Don't put any blame on Rudo, he was just doing what I instructed him to do," Kopa warned Kion after noticing the raging look in his eyes when the raven flew in.

He then looked past Kion's shoulder to aim his glare towards Fuli. "You, Cheetah! Let me ask you something... is it true that you found that cub in the Backlands? More specifically... near the vicinity of the Mukuni Woods?"

Kion's eyes widened the moment he heard the familiar name of the woodlands he had ventured into during the day and instantly turned around to face his mate. Fuli worriedly looked back at him and slowly gave him a single nod, much to Kion's dismay. The fact that she had found Mwamba near the very same forest where Kopa had lived, and who was also the only Lion resident in that area meant only one thing;

"There we are. Now that we all know that that cub is my son, please hand him over to me," Kopa said triumphantly.

"Now, hold on a second! You never told me you were married! So how'd you conceive the cub, then?" Kion blurted out in an attempt to prevent him from taking Mwamba.

"Well, unlike you, Kion, I was married to a Lioness during my time in the Backlands. That's how we conceived little Reth together, until my former-mate left me and stole my son with her," he admitted, scowling furiously at the painful memory.

By now, Fuli was completely lost at everything that unfolded before her, but she noticed that her mate seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"The cub's name is Mwamba, and seeing as my mate and myself raised him together since he was an infant, that makes him our son." Kion growled, trying to remain calm as he flashed his fangs at the brown-maned Lion.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That's practically my blood that's flowing through his veins right now! He's my son, my biological son! I'm warning you, Kion! Give him to me or else..."

Kopa began seething furiously when his brother shook his head and said a firm, "No."

"Very well. I warned you, Kion. Since you won't give... I'LL TAKE!"

Before Kion could react, Kopa unsheathed his claws and struck Kion squarely on his face, leaving five sets of straight, bloodied lines that slashed across his left eye and downwards to his nose. Kion let out a pained growl but was able to recover quickly. Furious, the young red-maned Lion launched himself towards Kopa and instantly pinned down the older Lion to ground, sinking his claws into the flesh of his shoulders after catching him completely by surprise. Fuli's breathing raced as she watched her mate angrily grapple on to Kopa while the latter squirmed in pain beneath him, both Lions snarling furiously at each other at the same time.

"I'm giving you a chance, Kopa. Leave and never return here again," Kion warned, slightly easing his claws off from his shoulders.

To his surprise, Kopa merely responded by giving a sly smile before using a hind leg to deliver a powerful kick towards Kion's lower abdomen, causing him to groan in pain before Kopa easily flung him off from his body. Once again, Kion was able to recover and got back up again. Both Lions were on their fours and have begun circling each other, snarling dangerously as they waited for either one of them to strike first.

Fuli could do nothing more but hold on tighter to a still-sleeping Mwamba and pray that her mate would survive the vicious battle as the victor. Being a Cheetah and a smaller feline, interrupting a fight between two Lions was nothing more than a death-wish, even when one of the Lions is her mate. That was the unwritten rule of Nature.

But before either Lions could even make a move, their stand-off was miracously interrupted when the sound of rapid flapping of wings echoed throughout the den for the second time that night.

"Sir! Sir! I spotted three bogeys heading this way! Hippo, Honeybadger and Egret!" Rudo warned his master in a panicked tone.

Kopa let out an annoyed grunt and glared harder at his snarling brother in front of him. "Kion... you've made it very clear to me that you... are my enemy. You're not a brother, you're not my friend. I'm warning you, I still want my son back. You have until tomorrow evening to hand him over to me at the border. If I still don't get my son back by sunset, rest assured... I'll do anything to take him away from you... even if it means having to kill you."

Having said his final threat, Kopa promptly turned and fled from the den, with Rudo flying behind him. Kion stared after at the den's entrance for a few moments, still rather shaken, before walking over to Fuli and Mwamba to make sure they're okay. Fuli shed a tear of greatfulness, she was glad that her mate wasn't too badly injured (or worse) as Kion nuzzled assuringly against her side.

"Fuli..." he began, staring into her tear-filled amber eyes. "I think there's some things I have to tell you..."

To be continued...

A/n: Whew! That was the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories! Hope you guys enjoyed this one! My chapters are still unbeta-ed yet, so if you spot any mistakes, please inform me. Also, please don't forget to leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter and I wish you all a pleasant day ahead! :D