Chapter 6

Zinani suddenly became very still and said nothing. The tenseness in her body gradually ceased and she laid her head down, resting it on Kiara's arm. A few teardrops slid down Kiara's cheeks as she closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do now; Kitoko's vision had finally come true. She sighed, thinking about earlier…

Flashback

Waiting at the bottom of Rafiki's tree, Kovu sat solemnly, staring blankly ahead. He had not yet even uttered a word to Kiara, or even looked at her. His features were hard edged and tense. The air held a stressed feeling. Tears slid down Kiara's cheeks like tiny rivers.

After a while the young Queen turned to Kovu, her tear strained eyes seeking comfort. "Kovu?" She said, her voice cracking somewhat.

"What?" The king replied, a hard edge added to his voice. Kiara glanced up at the tree, took a breath and then said, "What are we going to do now?"

Kovu growled and then whirled to face his wife. "Nothing! We're going to do nothing. Zinani may be blind but it won't matter, we'll be able to take care of her just as easily as before." He looked up at the skies, which were getting darker and darker as the rain started coming down. "Kitoko and Raimi will never see the sun rise with them as the king and queen. It may have been her place at one time, but that time has long gone and it isn't coming back." He looked up to the skies once more.

"You hear me?" he roared. "She won't be Queen!"

End of Flashback

Morning found sunlight pouring into the den, warming those close enough to the entrance. Kitoko awoke to the warmth of the sun. She stretched out and then opened her eyes. She sighed and looked around. On the opposite side of the den lay the King and Queen. Kiara half in the shadows, with her head facing Kitoko. Zinani lay in her paws, sleeping soundly while Kioni lay cuddled against his mother's side. Kovu on the other hand slept fully in the shadows, not far from Kiara, yet not as close as he normally had.

Kitoko sighed, the only warmth she felt right then was from the sun. All the other warmth was drained from her body. She slowly rose and walked outside, leaving to find Rafiki…

As the day went by and the den cleared, Zinani sat facing the shadows, not talking to anyone. Kioni approached her after a while. "Hey sis, wanna go play?" He asked. Zinani merely growled and snapped her head away. Kioni pinned his ears and left.

He bounded down the steps of pride rock and went over to the water hole. There he found Amalie standing on a rock, watching the water intensively. He reached the waters edge and sat firmly to watch.

Amalie's eyes followed a small fish as it swam about for a few minutes. After a while, she leaned low to the ground, her tiny paws clinging to the rock, her eyes intent on the fish. Her ears tipped back and rested against her sandy colored head. She gave a slight flick of her tail before pouncing. Her aim couldn't have been more perfect as the water splashed out from both sides as she was submerged beneath it.

Kioni leaned forward and looked around. A minute or so passed before Amalie surfaced, holding the fish in her mouth triumphantly. She swam to the edge and gently set the fish down before shaking the water from her coat. Kioni smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey, that was pretty neat, how did you learn to do that?" He asked. Amalie's head snapped up in surprise at the sound of Kioni's voice.

"I don't know, I just…learned on my own I guess." She replied, picking up the fish once more and pouncing onto a rock. Kioni looked at the rock and frowned, seeing as there wasn't room enough for two. Instead he circled around Amalie's rock and climbed up onto another one.

"Well, do'ya think you could teach me how to do that?" he asked, his claws scraping against the rock for it sloped downward and it was hard to get a grip on. Amalie licked her lips, now salty from the fish and set her jaw in thought.

"I suppose, but not right now." She yawned and flicked the bones of the fish into the water with one sandy paw. "I'm a little tired, couldn't sleep to well last night, so I think I'm going to take a nap." Kioni nodded and gladly climbed off of his rock.

"Alright, well I'll talk to you later then…" he replied, heading back toward Pride rock.

Around midday Amalie woke to a butterfly on her nose. She crinkled it up and the butterfly flew away. Amalie watched and smiled. Slowly she sat up and then yawned, stretching her mouth wide and sticking her tongue partway out. She then stood and shook herself before dismounting the rock and looking around.

Scattered about the savannah and the watering hole were lionesses from the pride. She saw Kiara stretched out under a nearby acacia tree, sleeping somewhat soundly. Not far from her were Nala and Vitani. A few of the other previous outlanders were all snoozing together as well. They were probably resting up before they had to hunt.

The young cub smiled and then headed toward Pride rock. She wanted to talk to Zinani and see how her friend was doing. Quickly she ascended the steps and reached the top. She then entered to den to find Zinani in the same spot as Kioni had found her earlier.

Amalie tipped her ears back and frowned. "Zinani?" She said. Zinani's ears tipped back to catch her words but otherwise the cub didn't move. Not even her tail moved as restlessly as it normally had. Amalie gave a soft flick of her own tail and then walked toward her friend.

"Zinani it's me, you don't have to ignore me." Amalie said, moving closer to her friend. Zinani pinned her ears and turned toward the sound of Amalie's voice.

"You think I'm stupid? I know it's you…but what's the point? I can't see, I'm blind Amalie…my life is over…" Zinani snapped.

Amalie tipped her ears back and lowered her head. She had no idea what it would be like to go from being able to see one day to seeing only darkness the next. She sighed and then set her jaw in defiance.

"Zinani, you can't think that way. It's not right and you know it. Your life hasn't ended just because your sight has. You still have all your friends and family. And all of us are behind you no matter what happens." Amalie sighed. "Don't turn you back on us now Zinani, because we'd never turn our backs on you…"

A/N: ooooohhhhh cliffy, but dun worry, next chappie is coming soon!