Chapter 10
The sun beamed down on the savannah, and through the grass a small yellowish lioness cub crept. Her body low to the ground as she quietly made her way through the tall grasses, her blue eyes ever watchful as she moved toward her prey. Letting out a small growl, Vitani pounced, landing on her big brothers back and began pulling on his ear.
"Yow!" Nuka shrieked, rolling onto his side knocking his sister off his back.
Laughing, the young cub jumped to her paws and crouched down looking him in the face, "Hiya Nuka!" she giggled.
The ten month Nuka lifted his head and grumbled, "I was napping you know."
Sitting back, the two month old tilting her head to the side, "So? I was bored and I need someone to play with me. Now come on!" she jumped behind him and grabbed his tail in her mouth and began tugging on it.
Groaning, Nuka pushed at her with his hind leg trying to get her to let go so he could go back to sleep but the cub was persistent and just held on tighter. "Fine! I'm getting up" he slowly got to his paws.
Letting go of her brothers tail, Vitani smiled widely and jumped around him, "Lets go out into the Pridelands" she said as she began to run ahead of him but was stopped when Nuka's paw pushed down on her back holding her against the ground. Lifting her head, she looked over her shoulder up at him, "What?"
"If you wanted to go out into the Pridelands why didn't you go with mom when she was taking The Chosen One out there?" Nuka asked, an eyebrow rose in question.
Crawling out from under his paw, Vitani sat up her head hanging, "I asked her but mom said that she didn't want me tagging along to slow her down. She only ever wants Kovu around her" she whispered the tuft on her head falling into her eyes as she held her head down.
Nuka sighed, he knew the feeling, and placing his paw on his sisters' head he ruffled the tuft on her head. "Don't worry mom will come around at sometime. Now how about I take you out and explore," he grinned pushing her with his paw causing her to fall onto her side. Jumping over her he began to run ahead, heading down away from Pride rock.
With a wide smile, Vitani jumped to her paws and ran after her brother, though it took her longer to catch up with him due to her shorter legs but she soon caught up with him in no time.
"Nuka?"
"Hm?" the greyish male tilted his head down to look at her, slowly his pace to a brisk walk but the cub herself still had to walk fast in order to keep up with him.
"What was Scar like?" Vitani asked, "I know he's not my Father…I heard the other lionesses saying that. But what was he like?"
Stopping in his tracks, Nuka closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He forgot Vitani had not even been that old when Scar was killed. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the bright blue-eyed cub sitting next to him looking up at him waiting for his answer.
"Well Scar was…a hard ruler…but I felt he had some heart in him…he did keep you and Kovu alive and took you in as his own when you were born. He never really wanted anything to do with me at the time, I was too scrawny and weak looking since birth. It was because of how healthy you two when you were born that he had chosen Kovu to be future King…"
"But Kopa's going to be king now" Vitani said, mentioning to the young one month old prince she had met a few times through her brothers best friend.
Nuka scuffed and nodded, "Yes Kopa is the heir now. But that doesn't stop her…" he muttered his eyes flickering to the side where he could see their mother in the distance teaching Kovu how to stalk mice and birds through the grass. Growling lowly to himself he turned back to Vitani who was staring up at him confused.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
Nuka shook his head, "It's nothing" he nudged her with his paw, then turned and began to run toward the watering hole.
Vitani confused, but smiling, took off after him. She raced him to the watering hole, taking a running leap she leapt at him. Only to fly over him when Nuka ducked down. Water splashed up and onto shore as the cub landed in the water after just barely missing her brother.
Nuka threw his head back laughing hysterically, as Vitani; soaking wet crawled out of the water. She stood on her paws, her fur dripping wet, glaring at him, "You did that on purpose. You made me miss you so I could get wet" she stomped her paw on the ground making the older lion cub fall over in laughter.
Lying on his back, his head tilted back to stare at his sister he gave a large goofy grin, "Maybe that was my plan but you shouldn't have tried to pounce on me" he said.
Vitani grumbled and sat down licking her fur trying to dry off as best she could with help from the blazing sun above. Nuka rolled onto his stomach, jumping to his paws he walked by her toward a rock, but on the way he pushed her back into the water with his paw. Laughing he jumped onto the rock and peered down at her, "You look like a drowned rat"
Vitani sitting in the water, the tuft on her head falling into her eyes, she glared up at him. "This is so not funny Nuka. I'll get you back," she said stomping out of the water but the cub stopped when she felt movement behind her. Slowly she turned her head, her eyes shot wide-open, "CROCODILE!" she shouted taking off in a run. "NUKA HELP!"
Nuka, who was first frozen in fear at the large Crocodile that rose from the depths of the water, was brought back by his sister's cry. Jumping off the rock, he ran toward her, bending his head down to snatch her up in his mouth, barely missing the croc snapping its jaws at his head. Nuka jumped onto a rock and used it to propel himself to shore, landing he placed Vitani down as the cub hugged him around his paws, quivering himself as the croc made its way out of the water. The bit of braveness that he felt just moments ago…now gone to be replaced with cubbish fear.
The two were shaking as they watched the croc now joined by another make their way toward them snickering about cub brunch. Gulping, Nuka backed away pulling Vitani along with him. "RUN!" he shouted turning around and took off in a run with the younger cub running along with him.
The two ran away until they were a good distance from the water hole. Vitani fell on herself laughing, "Oh Nuka you should have saw your face. You were so scared!"
"And you weren't?" Nuka asked staring down at her. "And of course I was afraid…but I wasn't afraid of them…No…" he lied holding his head high, "I was afraid for you" which was half of it the other half was he had been scared to death of the croc's.
Vitani rolled her eyes, "Sure and I'm a Queen of the Hippo's"
"Well then your majesty" Nuka did a mock bow, 'I wasn't afraid…and if you're the queen of the hippos I guess that makes you fat"
Glaring at him, she stomped her paw, "You're so mean!"
"No, I'm just your big brother" Nuka reached out and grabbed her and gave her a nuggie on the head before dropping her, grinning down at her, and then turning he began heading back toward Pride rock. "Come on," he said, "We should get back before mother finds us gone."
Fixing the tuft on her head, Vitani scampered on after him, rubbing her head against his as they walked, "I love you big brother."
Nuka stared down at her, his eyes softening, bending his head down he rubbed it against hers, "And I you little sister. And I you."
