Chapter 12: Fitting In
PS: This chapter is still going through beta, so I hope you're kind enough to pardon any visible spelling or grammar mistakes. Apologies in advance and I hope you're still able to enjoy the story.
The silentness of the still air slowly shifted as a particular Raven began wrinkling his face into a pained frown, letting out a low groan as he slowly opened his eyes after finally regaining consciousness. His head felt heavy and he felt like he had just woken up from a deep sleep that lasted for years. Through the slit of his blurred vision, he could just about make out the sight of several streaks of sunlight penetrating through the thick foliage of some overhead trees.
"Oh... where am I..." Rudo groaned weakly as he began rapidly blinking his eyes in an effort to rid the blurr that obscured his vision. The moment his sights were clear, he instantly realized he had been laying flat on his back on a patch of grass all this while. Not only that, his limited hearing senses soon picked up the sound of thundering, rapid-moving water somewhere nearby.
Not wanting to be on the ground for too long, he began shifting his weight onto his right wing for support in order to get up on his feet, but a sharp, stinging pain suddenly errupted within the same pinion he was using for support, causing the wing to become slack and sending him flat on his back once again.
"ARGH! My wing! Oh, Cripes... what happened..." The helpless Raven groaned in pain as he clutched onto his crippled wing with his good one, giving up all hopes of being able to fly away from wherever he was right now and back to his warm, comfortable nest in the Mukuni Woods.
His eyes suddenly widened with fear when a menacing-looking figure suddenly loomed above him. "Ah... finally, you're awake," The figure spoke in a familiar feminine voice.
Rudo's heart began pounding heavily against his chest when he realized the figure was that of a Lioness, the same one that attacked him and rendered him unconscious earlier. He gulped the lump in his throat as the Lioness narrowed her gaze onto him.
"A-Akina... please, why... how... why are you doing this?" The Raven stammered incoherently out of pure dread, his quivering with fear gave the smirking Lioness a sense of power and satisfaction as she stolidly stood over the cripled avian with bared teeth.
"You gave me no choice, Rudo. I asked you a simple question earlier... yet you refused to answer me," Akina softly spoke while maintaining a calm expression that was anything but genuine. "So now that you know what I'm capable of... I'm giving you another chance. Tell me where I can find them, and I won't rip you into pieces and make you my lunch!" She yelled out her threat before hovering her bared fangs just inches away from the Raven's beak to show that she meant business.
Rudo's eyes began wandering about in desperation as he debated with himself on what he was supposed to say next. The glowering Lioness watched him intently as she waited for his response, but after a few seconds, she saw the avian's expressions suddenly toughened, giving her a telltale sign that whatever he was about to say next was more than likely to inflame her even further instead.
"So... tell me, Rudo. Where are they?" She asked nonetheless, holding back her boiling rage to hear what he had to say.
As she expected, the Raven took a breath and tried to put on a stoic expression despite the nervousness that prevailed in his eyes. "Akina... all I can say is this; Wewe ni mbwajike na punda!"
The Lioness immediately let out an enraged growl when the avian spat the vile oath in Swahili right into her face, and it took every fibre of her being to hold back the urge of tearing the bird into pieces with her jaws right then and there, not yet anyways as she still needed to extract the important piece of information from him.
"I'm not telling you where they are, Akina! I never betray a friend, so you can forget about ever finding them!" Rudo continued, her incensed growl gave him a sudden boost of courage. Now, he never felt even more prepared to face his imminent end that was more likely to take place in just a matter of a few more seconds.
As he expected, Akina scowled threateningly at him before violently biting on his tail feathers and dangling him in the air between her jaws, causing the Raven to let out a howl of agony in the process. Rudo closed his eyes and braced himself for the moment when he would be consumed alive, yet to his surprise, the Lioness started walking off while clenching onto him between her jaws instead. He couldn't actually tell where she was heading as he dangled upside-down from her mouth, but one thing he could make out was that the sound of rapid-moving water got louder and louder with every step she took, and that was all that was needed for the Raven to figure out where she was taking him.
Minutes later, the Lioness stopped walking and the Raven soon found himself dangling above the very top of a steep waterfall. Rudo let out a panicked shriek when he saw the thundering waters plunging down before crashing and foaming into lather at the base, hundreds of feet below from the ledge that the Lioness was currently standing on. The avian immediately recognized the falls as the Maporomoko Waterfalls at the very edge of the Backlands, and it held the impeccable reputation of being the tallest waterfalls in the whole Savanna.
Rudo began hyperventilating as he dangled, losing whatever ounce of bravery he had a few minutes ago. He knew that once she let go of him, he would immediately be consumed by the thundering rapids of the waterfall and there was no chance of escaping death, as his crippled wing would prevent him from being able to fly to safety. Come to think of it, he actually preferred being consumed by a menacing Lioness rather than being consumed by this monster of a waterfall. As if reading his mind, what she said next perfectly explained why.
"Sorry for the change of mind, but I think a quick and instantaneous death from a single bite of my jaws is a little too compasionate... and I really don't think you deserve such mercy, Rudo," Akina taunted with a slightly muffled voice as she dangled the Raven over the ledge. "Well... it was nice knowing you..."
"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" Rudo screamed out at the last second as Akina had began swinging him back and forth, with the intention of sending him as far into the falls as possible. She paused as a subtle smirk formed on the corners of her lips, but she still latched onto the bird's tail feathers between her fangs. The avian let out a defeated sigh that as accompanied with a look of guilt on his face.
"Alright, I give up! They're all at the Pridelands, okay, both of them! That's all I know, I swear!" Rudo finally blurted out in a last-ditched effort to save his own life. Truth be told, he had never felt so much regret in his life after he spoke those words. "Now please... just... just let me go..."
Akina's expressions immediately softened as she took a deep breath through her nose before exhaling it again. "Thank you, Rudo. I really appreciate your honesty," she said in a dangerously calm tone, though the Raven didn't realize the lethalness behind her voice as he let out a huge sigh of relief, naively thinking that his life had been spared. Then, with one swing of her head, the Lioness threw the avian straight into the plunging rapids of the waterfall.
"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH..."
The Raven's screams was soon drowned in the midst of the thundering crashes of the plummeting waters, giving the Lioness a sense of assurance that she won't be seeing him again. She lingered around the ledge for a few more minutes, just to enjoy the view and scenery that surrounded the Falls... a view that was simply to die for. Bearing a smirk at that thought, Akina turned and began walking away from the ledge.
The Pridelands, hmmm? She thought to herself as she trudged along the muddy ground of the surrounding woodlands. Now this will be interesting...
XXXXXXXXX
As the bright orange Sun slowly made its way above the horizon and marking the begining of another day, the animals of the Pridelands awoken and soon began about with their daily routines. Over at Pride Rock, Mwamba and Hasina were seen cheerfully playing with a Baobab fruit while Fuli and Kopa observed the cubs on the sidelands with contented expressions on their faces. Earlier just before dawn, Kion had left to join the rest of the Guard in responding to an emergency near the Zebra grazing grounds while Simba and Nala had to attend a rather important meeting with the Elephants at their territory.
That left Kopa and Fuli to attend to the kids, with the help of Kiara and Kovu who were both sitting quitely a few feet away from the cubs, while the other Lionesses watched from their usual corner at the other end of the den. Needless to say, it was a rather slow start of the day for the adults in the den, and the only ones who weren't laying on their sides or sitting on their haunches were the two cubs playing right in the middle of the lair.
"Hah! You can't get the Baobab ball from me!" Hasina taunted with a playful smirk as she dodged all of Mwamba's attempts to pounce on the fruit from her.
"Oh yeah? Just watch me!" Mwamba called out with an equally mischievous grin as he began chasing after her.
Kopa couldn't help but smile as he observed his only son play with the young Lioness, whom he just learnt was actually his niece. Kopa had never felt happier before in his life since he amended things with his family and Pride the day before. Of course, Simba and Nala were more than happy to welcome him back into the family, and so was Kion. It took a while for his brother to convince his mate that he was a changed Lion and was no longer hostile to any of them, but eventually, Fuli managed to put her grudges behind her and accepted him as her brother-in-law.
But for Kopa, the real icing on the cake was when they all managed to discuss and arrive at an accord over the shared custody of Mwamba. Kion and Fuli agreed to regularly come over to Pride Rock and let him spend several hours during the day with his son. Mwamba however, still hasn't seem to accept the fact that he was actually his biological father, though he no longer feared or felt intimidated by his presence and instead, branded him as his 'uncle'. Kopa didn't mind this, however. He understood that the cub was still too young to comprehend of what was going on and he kept it in his prayers that his son will one day start calling him 'Dad' instead of 'Uncle'.
Despite being welcomed and accepted back into the family by his Simba and Nala and his younger brother, Kopa sensed that the other inhabitants of Pride Rock weren't about to accept him as one of them. His first night at his own home (which was, in fact, last night) turned out to be quite lonesome and somewhat depressing to say the least as the other Lions, including Kiara and her family, all avoided him during dinner and the hours after that. None of them spoke to him nor made eye contact, and there were even instances where he caught some of them throwing spiteful looks at him when he had his back towards them. Yet, he managed to maintain his composure throughout the night and ignored their psychological harassments, and it eventually caused him to end up sleeping all alone at the furthest corner of the den.
Simba and Nala have yet to realize this problem and Kovu was actually quite open and even willing to make an effort of making him feel welcomed, considering the fact that he had been through a similar situation a few years back, but he didn't had the chance to do so as Kiara would reprimand and even glared at him everytime he tried to approach the brown-maned Lion for a casual Lion-to-Lion conversation. And that was the one thing that really hurt Kopa. He couldn't care less if the other Lioness hunters treated him like an outcast, but to have his younger sister ignore and isolating him and earning her distrust was simply a pain he just couldn't bear. Then again, he can't really blame her for being that way since the ruckus he had caused two nights ago. As much as he's happy now to be closer with his little Reth, he prayed that Kiara would eventually warm up to him and accept him as her brother.
"Hey, Uncle Kopa! Did you see how I managed to take the Baobab from Hasina?"
Kopa jolted slightly when his son's voice interrupted his thoughts, though he was able to immediately put on a surprised look when he saw the young Lion pinning a frowning Hasina to the ground with one paw while holding the fruit in the other.
"Wow, you did great, kiddo! You really got her this time!" Kopa enthusiastically cheered him on with a grin, earning a contented smile from the young cub... though it didn't last long.
"Actually, I got him!" Hasina taunted before quickly springing herself up and catching the cub above her by surprise as she stole the fruit from his paw. They soon burst into shrieks of giggles and laughter as they continued chasing and pouncing on one another.
The two adults smiled as they watched the kids play their innocent game and thoroughly enjoying themselves. As she stood next to her brother-in-law, Fuli stole a glance towards him and noticed the vacant expression in Kopa's eyes as he observed his son Reth frolic about with his cousin. It didn't really take long for her to figure out that he was somewhat hurt by how his son had addressed him.
"Hey..." She softly called out to him, catching his attention as he faced her with a rather startled look on his face. "He's only known you for less than twenty-four hours. Give him some time, I'm sure he'll soon be ready to accept you as his father too."
Kopa let out a sigh before he spoke, "Thanks, Fuli. That's um... that's the exact same thing I've been telling myself the past few hours and I really we're both right," He said, finishing his sentence by flashing her an appreciative smile. They returned their gazes back onto the cubs, but there was still one more thing that Kopa wanted to say to the Cheetah since the morning before, something that he had been holding back for a while now and he felt that he had better say it to her soon while there's some degree of privacy between them.
"Hey, Fuli... can I tell you something?" he finally spoke, as the Cheetah turned to face him with a rosy smile on her lips.
"Of course. What's on your mind?"
The Lion pulled a sharp breath before exhalling it again just before he spoke, "I uh... I really want to thank you for finding and taking care of my Reth. I... I just can't imagine what would happen to him if some other animal had found him instead."
Fuli grinned before giving him a humble nod. "Sure. I did what any other animal with compassion would have done when stumbling upon a helpless infant all alone by himself, although I wasn't exactly expecting of adopting him when I found him."
The two exchanged a brief, friendly chuckle before Kopa returned his gaze towards his son, feeling much better now that he had finally said what he had to say to the animal who took care of his Reth when he was separated from him. Eventhough she succeeded in making him feel better, Fuli was now the one who had a burning question she wanted to ask him, though she was slightly afraid that it would be too sensitive of a question that might end up hurting him instead.
"Kopa... if it's not too personal for you, may I ask... what happened to your mate? Why did she leave you?" Fuli finally inquired, after not being able to hold back her curiousity for another minute.
The brown-maned Lion sighed heavily before he faced her, and she could immediately discern the look of guilt that was noticible in his eyes. "Well... let's just say I made a huge mistake in the past sometime before got married... a mistake that I wasn't really proud of. And that same mistake came back to haunt me a few days after she gave birth to Reth. After that... well, she was so angry and disappointed with me... she actually clawed me near my jugular before taking off with our son. Of course, naturally I would have gone after her to at least get my son back... but I was too injured to even move at that point," He finished relating his past by rubbing a paw across his throat as if he could still feel the stinging burn of the scar that was obscured by his mane.
Hearing this, Fuli immediately regretted for asking such a question as she watched him stare morosely towards the ground while still running his paw across his throat. "I- I'm so sorry, I... I shouldn't have asked," She softly whispered with guilt, though he didn't seem to be too affected by her earlier question as he let out a forced laugh before trying to flash an assuring smile at her.
"Nah, it's okay, I didn't mind," He said, giving her a friendly pat on her shoulder before turning his focus back onto the two squealing cubs.
Fuli actually had even more questions she wanted to ask him after he related his past to her, but decided against it as she didn't want him to brand her as being obnoxious. As she returned her gaze back to her adoptive son, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was the mistake Kopa made that caused his mate to leave him.
Meanwhile, just a few feet across from them, Kiara had been silently observing the brown-maned Lion since he began talking to Fuli, She still held so much hate and grudge against him to even consider him as her elder brother and so refused to speak with him since he arrived, and she made it clear to him when she walked away from the den last night just as he was about to approach her and have a heart-to-heart talk and get to know her better. She still hadn't forgiven him for the way he had talked and threatened the Pride two nights ago, and quite honestly, she didn't know if she could ever forgive him for that.
Kiara wasn't really the type to hold grudges against other animals due to her compassionate and kind nature, but with Kopa... she held this unusual level of hate for him that caused her to detest every single thing that he did; the way he talked, the way he ate, the way he interacted with their parents... especially the last part. She wondered how could her father and mother could forgive him so easily after all those vile and disrepectful words he spat at their faces that night. Was it the fact that he was the eldest of their children and so deserved such special treatment? That thought alone was more than enough to further enrage her as she intently observed that dratted brown-maned Lion across from her.
The only satisfaction she got out of all this was the fact that the other Lioness hunters seemed to share her same sentiments when she noticed that they've been avoiding him and even throwing spiteful looks and bad-mouthing him behind his back. Yet, somehow, for some reason... she held this strong urge deep inside her chest to tick off her subordinates whenever she caught them throwing those glares and murmured insults at him, though she never really had the courage to act upon the urge. Yet, the fact remains that she had actually thought of defending the Lion that she hated the most... and it really confused her as to why she had such an urge in the first place.
"How long are you gonna stay mad at him?"
Kiara's hazel eyes widened when the deep voice of her mate interrupted her train of thoughts. She looked to her left and saw Kovu looking at her with a raised brow. "You've been staring at him for the last ten minutes," He continued, his voice remained calm, though it was clear he was concerned for her.
Kiara sighed and looked away from him. "I don't know, Kovu..." She finally spoke. "I just... don't want to have anything to do with him."
Kovu breathed and slowly began nuzzling against her muzzle. "Kiara... he's still your older brother. You have to forgive him at some point."
The peach-coloured Lioness let out an annoyed grunt before turning to directly face her mate. "I don't understand you, Kovu. Why are you defending him? What's he done for you to earn your pity?"
"I pity him because I have been in his position before, honey. I know what it's like to be treated like an outcast, just because of some- "
"That was different. You never actually intended to hurt my father or my family, whereas he openly threatened to declare war against us two nights ago!"
"And because of that one mistake, he's supposed to be treated like a pariah and an outcast by his own family for the rest of his life?"
For once, Kiara didn't know how to answer him. Defeated, she gave him an exasperated snort before stubbornly facing the other way and turning her back on him. Kovu sighed, he didn't really mean to have such a heated argument with his mate... he was just trying to convince her to do the right thing. He scooted closer to her and rested his head against hers.
"I'm sorry, Kiara. I just... want to help you out. I don't want you to do something you'll regret later on," He whispered softly into her left ear, and that seemed to do the trick. Kiara gave a slight chuckle before adjusting herself so that head was now comfortably nested against his mane; she never could stay mad at him for more than a few minutes, and it was the reason why she loved him even more.
"It's okay, Kovu. I know you didn't mean anything," She said with a smile, and earning her a few affectionate licks to her muzzle from Kovu.
"Glad to hear it," He replied, grinning widely as he stared into her beautiful eyes. "So... you are gonna start talking to Kopa soon and make him feel welcomed... right?"
Kiara's ears almost instantly flattened when he asked the last question. She knew for a fact she wasn't at all ready to even stand anywhere near her elder brother, let alone having to engage with in a conversation with him, yet she didn't want to do anything that will undermine Kovu's efforts in trying to forge a healthy sibling relationship between herself and her long-lost elder brother. Then, her breath stiffened when she heard it; the sound of pawsteps heading towards them. She slowly peeked over without turning her head and saw that Kopa had excused himself from Fuli and started heading towards their direction, the determined look on his face was all she needed to come up with the premise that he had been mustering the courage to have a conversation with her.
Seeing this, two small voices began screaming at her in her mind, each telling her two different things of what to do next. One was ordering her to stand her ground and allow the brown-maned Lion to approach her and listen to what he had to say; the other one was shouting for her to do anything to avoid having to engage in a conversation with him at all costs.
Kopa was only a few feet away from his younger sister and her mate when she abruptly rose onto her fours, causing him to stop halfway in his tracks with surprise as he didn't expect her to do that.
"Hasina! Come on, sweetie, we have to go now! We have to start training you for your first hunt!" Kiara called out, purposely looking past the brown-maned Lion to set her gaze on her daughter. It was quite apparent that the second voice in her head had succeeded in wooing her to obey its command.
Kovu shut his eyes and lowered his head to hide his disappointment as he heard daughter respond back in a noticably confused voice, "What, really? But I thought you said we're going in the afternoon, Mum? Now is still early in the morning!"
"Hasina! Don't ask questions, just come!" Kiara repeated in such a stern manner that it confused both her daughter and Mwamba, as they both had never seen her act so strict before. Not wanting to incur her mother's wrath, she sadly bid a silent good-bye to the other cub before scampering past Kopa and straight towards Kiara.
"Come on, Kovu, let's go..." She said in a hurried manner and quickly led her daughter towards the den without waiting for her mate. Kovu sighed and reluctantly got up and followed after Kiara and their daughter, though he managed to flash a polite yet pitiful smile at Kopa before leaving the den.
Kopa nodded and returned the other Lion's smile, but his face immediately fell after they left. That's the second time his sister had walked out on him just as he wanted to have a friendly talk and clear the air between them. Behind him, he could hear his son pleading with Fuli.
"Mum! Mum! Can I follow and watch Hasina train?" He begged, still wanting to spend more time with his playmate.
"I'm sorry Mwamba, but I'm afraid we have to go back home now. Your father is waiting for us there," She responded with a gentle smile while ruffling the cub's head, though Mwamba was obviously not at all happy about it.
"Okay, fine..." He groaned and followed his adoptive mother as she led the way to the exit.
"Take care, Kopa. We'll see you tomorrow," She softly said with a grin when she passed him.
"Thank you, Fuli," He responded back and returned her smile. He actually wanted to have another word with his son, but the young cub was too sulky to even say good-bye him.
He chuckled to himself as he watched them disappear through the den's opening before he was hit by the realization that he was alone in the entire Lair. Well, he wasn't exactly alone as the Lionesses were still at their usual corner of the den, but given how they weren't on speaking terms with him, he was good as being alone. Well... maybe he could try to at least talk to one of them. It wouldn't hurt to at least try. With that, he took a deep breath, and started heading towards their direction.
One of the Lioness hunters happened to look towards his direction and scowled when she saw him approaching. "Hey, Bahati... Isn't it about time for all of us to hunt for lunch already?" She called out to a much older Lioness who was sleeping in front of her.
Bahati woke up feeling quite confused as they usually went hunting nearing the afternoon, but she immediately understood what her subordinate meant when the younger Lioness nudged her head towards Kopa's direction.
"You know what, Asha, you're right," She calmly responded as she got up on her fours. "Come on, ladies. Let's go."
Kopa halted in his tracks as he watched the other Lionesses pick themselves up from the floor before heading for the exit. He didn't say anything when some of them purposely looked at his direction to throw a disgusted glare at him before they left. Eventhough he was hurt and disappointed, he convinced himself to remain calm, though he was now even more desperate to talk to at least one of them and try to clear the bad blood between them. The other Lionesses have already left the den, though only one still remained, as it was her routine to make sure all her Pridesisters went first before she herself left the den.
As she started walking for the den's opening, Kopa realized it was actually Bahati, the eldest of the Lionesses. He gathered his courage and kept his hopes up as he called out to her. "Um... excuse me, err... Bahati?"
The old Lioness froze in her tracks, and he could tell by the way she flinched that she wasn't at all pleased of being called out by him. Yet, much to his relief, she turned and slowly faced him, bearing a small, polite smile that Kopa sensed was anything but sincere.
"Yes, Kopa?" She asked, trying her best to sound polite.
The brown-maned Lion hesitated at first but managed to continue, "Is it alright if I borrow just a few minutes of your time? There's something important that I really want to settle with you."
"I'm sorry, Kopa, but I really have to go and join my sisters with their hunt," She replied, only with a twinge of firmness in her voice this time.
"Yes, I know, but... it'll only take a few minutes, I promise. Please... it's really important to me."
The Lioness let out a sigh and momentarily gazed at the ground before reluctantly looking back at him. "Fine. How can I help you?"
"Thank you," Kopa released a grateful breath before moving closer towards her and set his gaze onto her eyes. "Bahati... I just wanna say that... that I really want to apologize for what I did two nights ago. I know I have been a real jerk towards you guys that night and I probably deserve all the heckling and silent treatments you're giving me... but please, I promise you, I'm truly sorry for what I did. I just want to know if you guys could ever, ever forgive me?"
For a while, Bahati didn't say anything as she studied the Lion in front of her, as if she was judging him to determine if he was redeemable or not. Then, after letting out a heavy spoke, she spoke, "Kopa... I think the best way to answer your question, is by letting you in on a secret... a secret that no-one knows about besides myself... and your parents."
Kopa was honestly taken aback, he didn't expect the old Lioness to be as open as to share a secret with him that only three animals knew about, though quite naturally he was curious to find out what it was. "Um... okay. What's the secret then?"
Bahati looked around, as if to make sure they were truly alone before returning her gaze back onto him. "Kopa, a few years ago while you were still just an infant, there was only one other Lioness who had the privilage of taking care of you besides your mother... and that Lioness was me."
Kopa's eyes widened when she reveal that piece of information to him. "Wait... you... you actually took care of me?"
Bahati smiled and gave a nod. "Yes, I did. Whenever your mother had to be somewhere else with the King, I was placed in charge of looking after you, Kopa. I took care of you... as if you were my own son."
A tear rolled down her cheek as she pictured the adult Lion standing in front of her as the frail, skinny cub she once took care of many moons ago. "Oh, Kopa. You were so small and so helpless back then that I made a vow to you that I will always protect you with my life whenever I held you in my paws..."
Kopa stiffled a breath, not knowing what to say. Bahati sniffled slightly before she continued,
"I was just as devastated as your parents that day when you went missing in the Backlands. Every night after that, I kept praying to the Great Kings of the Past that you were still alive and had someone to look after you. Then... five days ago, that's when the first news came about that you were spotted in the Pridelands. At first I thought, the Great Kings have finally answered our prayers and that you've come back to us! But... instead, I found out that you were actually in the Pridelands to attack your own brother, Kion. I didn't want to believe it at first... but then, I finally saw myself your true colours when we brought you back here to the den. The way you spoke and threatened us and how you openly insulted your own mother and father... that was just too much for me..."
She paused to wipe away her tears while Kopa started gazing towards the ground, too ashamed and embarassed to look at her in the eyes.
"So... back to your question," Bahati continued, looking sternly at the Lion. "If you want my honest opinion, Kopa... I don't think it'll be anytime soon that I or my fellow sisters will be able to forgive you. Your parents may have forgiven you... but not us. You lost whatever respect we could have had for you when you threatened and talked back against our King, who just so happens to be your own father."
Kopa's eyes began to fill with unshed tears as Bahati finally let out the painful truth. "Bahati, please... what you said is absolutely correct and I can't blame you or the other Lionesses for treating me like an outcast. But... I just want you guys to give me a second chance to redeem myself so I can earn your forgiveness. Please... I'm begging you, can you... give me another chance?" He pleaded, painfully looking into her eyes as he anxiously waited for her reply.
Bahati took a deep breath and, to his dismay, gave him a pitiful look before shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Kopa."
Those were the only words she could respond before she could no longer withstand the emotional pain that scarred her heavy heart. Without saying another word, she turned around and headed for the den's opening, tears streaming down from her eyes as she hurriedly made her exit.
Kopa could only sit with a pained look on his face and stare at the opening where he last saw her. He shut his eyes and let out a low groan before finally allowing the tears to fall freely from his eyes, the heavy feeling of being rejected and left alone was just too overwhelming for him to handle. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked, there was no-one else in the den to judge him as he cried his heart out. He looked up towards the ceiling of the den, visualizing as if he were staring at the heavens above.
You said my destiny was to come home and be with my family. How can I even call this my home when most of my family have rejected me?
He let out a heavy sigh when he could no longer shed anymore tears from his eyes before turning his gaze towards the den's opening. He started debating with himself if he should just leave the place and go back to the much happier life he had back in the Backlands. But no, he decided he better not as he didn't want to hurt Simba and Nala any further.
"Hey, you okay?"
The brown-maned Lion nearly jumped from his skin when he heard a feminine voice behind his back. He quickly turned around, and was instantly greeted by the sight of a blue-eyed Lioness with a unique tuft on her head staring solemnly at him.
"OH! Oh... man, you scared me!" Kopa exclaimed while breathing heavily as the Lioness continued eyeing him with a bemused look on her face. He was finally able to calm himself down before recognized the Lioness standing in front of him. "Hey, wait a minute. You're Vitani right?"
"One and only." She curtly replied, though this time she said it with a small grin that graced the corners of her lips.
"Ah, okay..." Kopa continued, though he couldn't help but feel awkward for some reason. "Hey err... how long exactly were you there... and how much did you hear?"
"I heard more than enough."
"Oh." The Lion stared blankly at the Lioness, suddenly losing the capability to ask or speak anything else to her, eventhough there were several questions going on in his mind that he wanted to ask her. Vitani sensed that her bluntness was a little too overwhelming for him to handle and decided it would be easier to just go ahead with her main agenda.
"Listen... I'm about to head off to the Zuberi River, but... I thought I could use some company. I'll try to answer your questions along the way," She explained, though she hoped for Kings' sake that he got the hint she was dropping to him and say 'yes'.
Kopa was quite honestly baffled by her invitation and apparent kindness towards him, though he was able to snap from his confusion and give her his reply, "Sure, I uh... I'd love to join you!" He said with an appreciative and relieved smile.
Vitani gave him a slight grin before turning and walking ahead, to which Kopa quickly raced ahead to catch up with her. Together, they headed side-by-side past the den's entrance and enjoyed the comfortable silence between them as they headed for their destination.
Back inside the Lair, a particular Mandrill who supported a staff sat himself on the ledge where Simba and Nala slept as he watched the two Lions exit the den. He chuckled to himself once they were gone before picking himself up and heading towards a hidden passage deep inside the kopje, one that connected the Lions' den with the Lair of the Lion Guard.
To be continued...
A/n: Apologies if my writing was out of touch. Been spending the whole of last week preparing balance sheets and financial statements that I think my story-telling skills have gone down the toilet. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and hope to see you in the next one. Speaking of which, I just want you guys to know that I'll be trying my best to update the next chapter in two or three weeks time, though quite honestly I don't really know if that's even possible just looking at my hectic schedule. If I'm unable to do so, then I'm afraid today will mark the begining of my four-month hiatus and I most likely to update anything until December. Please do leave your reviews on your honest thoughts of this chapter, I would really appreciate your feedbacks. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and positive messages in the last review, particularly from 'Guest' [you know who you are :) ] and 'Gage', I really appreciate your advice and words of encouragement! Hope to see you guys soon :)