Chapter 7.
Vitani saw the desert about a mile in front of her. It was the beginning of twilight.
"I might have the same problem when I leave here. If i find a partner I'll have to tell him of my past. The question is will he accept me and forgive my past sins?", the lioness said to herself. Without further ado, Zira's daughter walked towards the golden sand. Vitani had not gone twenty feet from the Marshlands when two males exploded out of the sand and pinned her, one by the shoulders and one by the legs. Both had caramel-brown skin and lemon-yellow manes.
"Your plan worked bro!"
"Of course it did. Though this wasn't the prey I imagined! She does look very tasty though."
Vitani felt a sickening feeling in her stomach as she instantly knew what these two lions wanted to take from her. She tried to bite the one at her front, but he dodged and pinned her jaws shut with his own.
"Since I'm at her hindquarters I'll go first, Mkung'uto."
"Take your time, I can wait Mtumiaji,"
The former spread Vitani's legs as far as they would go, and said lioness struggled more frantically. The latter told her to keep fighting as it would make it more fun. Suddenly both would-be rapists were hit on muzzles by two flying foxes who first bit them, then clawed them during second attack. The evil siblings ran off.
"Are you all right miss?" one of the pseduo-foxes asked in a distinctly male voice. Vitani nodded her head, and the other fox, a female, opined, "You're quite lucky we came when we did."
"Yes, yes I am," the ex-outsider agreed.
"Our mouths and claws contain deadly bacteria, so those two will be dead soon. My name is Iperile, my husband's name is Lerumo."
"My name is Vitani, and it's a pleasure to meet both of you."
The two flying predators explained that they had left their jungle home to explore the wider African continent; staying in the same place all your life was was boring. Vitani turned away when they asked her past. She then softly explained her whole life story.
"I'm leaving for the same reason I'm looking away from you, because I can't handle them or you possibly shunning of me. I guess I'm a coward."
"No my child, you're flawed," said the voice of an albino baboon the former outsider knew all-too-well. Vitani's head snapped to the left and saw Kito looking at her with a sympathetic look. From behind her bounded Chinua, who ran toward the scrawny lioness and hugged her. Zira's daughter involuntarily blushed, and Chinua said ,"I was worried I'd never see you again."
"You must not have believed me when I said you wouldn't be judged," Yoruba added, emerging from the Marsh grass. The entire Marsh Pride followed after her. Elu-Igwe trotted up to Vitani and said, "You were brave to take Kiara's words to heart. And it caused Zira to threaten you, and thereby cause the other outlanders to abandon your mother. You saved them all!"
"Yes, yes I did," Vitani said with a nod. Then Moto walked up and said, "What you did in the past doesn't matter, what you do now does."
Vitani nodded and hugged her. Yoruba turned to the bats and said, "Thank you two for saving our guest. I'll show you where some fruit is."
Iperile and Lerumo graciously thanked the white lioness. Yoruba's cubs them ran forward and rubbed their bodies against Vitani's legs.
"Please don't run off again, Miss Vitani."
"I won't Piramidi. Don't worry."
"Let's all go home," proclaimed Chinua.
"May I go with you your highness?"
All heads turned toward the strange voice, and Vitani's eyes widened at the newly appeared lion stading atop on of desert sand dunes. Said male had a lemon yellow mane, chocolate brown skin, and was bigger than Nuka, Kovu, Simba, Scar, and Mufasa combined. The stranger, with a smirk on his face, asked Vitani if she liked what she saw. The gruff lioness turned away and blushed.
"I was about to intervene and save you from the those two rapists, but those bats did my job for me," he explained looking at Iperile and Lerumo gratefully.
"Is that so? Well then you can stay, Mr. …?"
"Hodari is my name sir," the male stated and the king nodded.
Without further ado, all animals re-entered the tall wet grasses. Hodari moved alongside the ex-outsider, once againt eliciting a blush from her, and said, "I was listening to you talk, so I know what happened before you got here, but not during. Care to share, miss Vitani?"
"S-Sure," the daughter of Zira responded, finding the massive lion's smile annoying yet cute.
