I don't own any canon characters.
"Are you alright," one of the former Outlanders asked, as she and several other lionesses reached Vitani.
There was no reply for a few moments, so she gave Vitani a shove, and waited for a response.
"Hm, wha..." Vitani asked, coming out of her stunned trance. She turned to the others, and asked, "is there something wrong?"
"I was about to ask the same thing," replied the lioness, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Vitani replied.
"How could he do it," one of the other lionesses asked, glaring at where Nuka was rapidly heading back for the Outlands. The lioness then turned to Vitani asked, and said, "I don't understand, how could he do that, you're his sister."
"He was right in a way," Vitani said, more to herself more than to anyone else, "he was right."
"What are you talking about," the first lioness asked.
"Hm," Vitani asked, turning to the lioness, "what?"
"You said he was right," the lioness said, "how can he be right?"
"He was right," Vitani repeated, "in a way, I am a traitor."
"You're not a traitor," the first lioness said, "now, come on, let's go."
"You're alright," Nala said, licking the wounds on Simba's muzzle as he reached the edge of the cliff, and pulled himself up, "I was so worried."
"I was a little worried too," Simba said, "not much, but..." He shrugged, then said, "but, geez, I hope Rafiki's got something to cure a headache."
"Dad, you're okay," Kiara said, rushing up and nuzzling him.
"Except for a headache, yes," Simba said, then looked at Kovu. "I did my best," he said glancing back at the gorge, "I did what I could, but sometimes, no amount of help is enough."
Kovu nodded, understanding. He then turned to look at where Vitani was being lead in by several over lionesses. "Excuse me a moment," he said, and headed for them.
"Of course," Simba said, though Kovu obviously wasn't listening.
Kiara looked at Kovu, then asked, "father can I go with him?"
Simba looked at Kovu for a moment, then back at Kiara, and said, "of course you can."
"Thanks dad," Kiara said, then followed Kovu.
"They make such a good pair," Nala said, looking after Kiara.
"That they do," Simba said. He then looked back at the gorge, frowned, and said, "although, not everything came out as well as I would have liked."
"You said it yourself," Nala said sympathetically, "sometimes all the help in the world isn't enough."
"Mmm," Simba said, "still, we can always dream."
"What went on here," Kovu asked, as he reached Vitani and her escorts.
"Nuka shouted and slashed her," one of the lionesses said, then muttered under her breath, "some brother."
"Are you alright 'tani," he asked, turning to his sister.
"I'm fine," Vitani said, colder than she had been with the lionesses, a sure sign she wanted to be alone.
"Okay," Kovu said, then managed, with a little difficulty, to convey Vitani's wish to the lionesses, who obligingly backed off.
"Kovu," Kiara asked, coming up behind him, "what happened?"
"Huh," Kovu asked, turning to Kiara, "oh, Nuka lost it at her for some reason, I don't know."
"Oh," Kiara said, then stopped for a moment, before approaching Vitani a moment, and asking, "are you alright?"
"I'm perfe..." Vitani began, coldly, then saw who was asking. "I'm fine, princess," she replied forcing warmth into her tone, "I've just got some things I need to think about."
"Yes, well..." Kiara said, wondering how to phrase what she wanted to say, "thank you."
"What for," Vitani asked.
"For siding with us in the end," Kiara replied.
"Oh, that, yeah," Vitani said, "I was loyal, but..." At this point she turned to Kovu, and glared a moment, before returning her gaze to Kiara, "but I'm not stupid either, and anyway, what with the fire..."
"Fire, what fire," Kiara asked.
"Oh," Vitani said, as silence descended again. She looked around slightly pensively as she was quickly surrounded by lionesses.
"You lit the fire," one of them asked coldly.
"Yeah, I lit the fire," Vitani replied.
"Why," asked another lioness.
"Well..." Vitani began to reply, then felt a brush on her side, and saw one of her friends come up beside her.
"Why, 'tani," the lioness asked, "why didn't you tell us?"
"If I'd told you," Vitani replied, "if mother had found out, she would have killed you, and probably lamed me."
"She wouldn't have done, surely," the lioness asked.
"She would," Vitani replied.
"She wouldn't," Kovu replied, coming forward.
Vitani looked at him, and her eyes narrowed. "And how would you know that, Kovu," she asked coldly, "you never saw her bad side."
"Even mother had standards," Kovu replied.
"With you maybe," Vitani said in reply, "no so much with me, and Nuka might as well have been a rat for all mother ever thought of him."
"You've never spoken like this before," Kovu said, "what's wrong?"
"What's wrong," Vitani asked, starting to lose control a bit "what's wrong, I'll tell you what's wrong alright." She paused a moment, then went on, angrily, "love her or hate her, I've just been partly responsible for my own mother's dead, and of my two brother, one's got a life I can only dream of, and the other just accused me of being a traitor, how do you think I feel?"
Kovu was stunned. "I, I'm sorry," he said, "I never knew..."
"Of course you didn't," Vitani growled, "and you know what's worse?" Without waiting for an answer, she went on, "what's worse is that I'm the only one who ever looked out for him, the only one in the entire pride who ever looked out for him, and he's just accused me of being a traitor."
In the silence that followed, Vitani shifted her glare from Kovu to each pride member in turn, except, oddly enough, for Kiara. Waiting a moment after she returned her gaze to her brother, she growled, "good luck chosen one, and goodbye." With that, she took off, none too careful about avoiding collisions with other lionesses. Her route took her in the same direction as Nuka's had.
As the pride slowly recover from the shock of Vitani's words, Nala felt a touch on her side, as did Simba, and they turned back to find Sarafina there. "It might be best to close off the Outlands again," she said.
"Oh," Simba said, "and why's that?" He'd never been entirely at home around Sarafina since he returned to challenge Scar, but he'd never showed it.
"Because the way Vitani was acting there," Sarafina replied, "puts me in mind of the way Scar started acting when Mufasa became king."
Simba shivered a moment, then looked back at where Vitani was now just a dot on the horizon. "I'll take your word on that," he said, then turned back to the matter more immediately needing his attention, getting the enlarged pride organised effectively.