The Newcomers
It was early morning, & Kovu was up early. He got up and stretched, then walked to the mouth of the den. He thought he was the first one up, but Vitani wasn't sleeping. He walked down the path of Pride Rock, and saw her lying lazily on a rock that jutted out near the base. Kovu walked down to her, grinning, and as he got close, he crouched into a pouncing position. Kovu was about to playfully pounce on Vitani, when she said, "Don't even think about it." This caused Kovu to give a disappointed sigh.
He asked Vitani, "What's eatin' ya?" and she retaliated by saying,
"Nothing yet, I'm still at the top of the food chain!" That remark made Kovu slightly annoyed, and he said,
"You know what I mean!" Vitani then said,
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't tease you about it!" She reached up to Kovu's nose with a toe of one of her forepaws as she said the word 'tease', and then applied pressure, which caused him to tumble onto his back.
At the same time a snow white lion was chasing about his pray, panting he went and rested in the grass in front of Pride Rock, he looked up and saw Kovu and Vitani "talking" to each other. He got up and started walking back to the herds of antelope and zebra, and yet again started fruitlessly chasing his pray yet again.
Vitani was thinking about helping the lion catch a meal, but as she was about to race off in his direction, he finally caught breakfast for himself. He noticed Vitani and Kovu just standing there, and dragged the prey over to them. He suddenly asked, "You want some?" Vitani simply replied by saying,
"No thanks, I'm quite capable for myself." The lion just shrugged it's shoulders and devoured his breakfast. Vitani decided to introduce herself, since she was there. "Hi there, I'm Vitani." She said. Her ears were perked up with excitement, but when he didn't introduce himself back, they drooped down.
"I'm Kuva." The lion said. Vitani sighed with relief. She hoped that this one, this one might at least get to know her. She was always known in the outlands for having a short temper. She had corrected that shortly after the migration to the Pride Lands, however, and it helped her to socialize. "I can tell you're not a very skilled hunter." Vitani said to Kuva. Kuva chuckled and replied by saying,
"Yeah, usually my sister hunts, but I was the first one up today." Suddenly, Vitani's stomach begins to growl with hunger. She notices a group of Zebras near the water hole, and sees that only of them is foolishly confident, a perfect target. She calls over to Kovu,
"Hey Kovu, can you help me catch breakfast?" Kovu gets up, walks over, and says,
"Sure 'Tani. Where's the prey?" Vitani is pretty ticked when she hears Kovu call her 'Tani.
"My name is Vitani, not 'Tani, as for the prey…" She begins, then nods in the direction of the water hole. "…Over by the Water Hole." She finishes.
"Ok, so which one do we pick off?" Kovu asked. Vitani already had that figured out as well, and she nodded in the direction of a Zebra that foolishly and confidently wandered to a patch of grass, which happened to be conveniently close to the base of a stone ledge. Kovu nodded, and Vitani asked,
"The usual plan?" Kovu nodded again, and Vitani nodded as well. They set off to get into position, but Kuva suddenly spoke up, saying,
"I already ate, but I can help if you want." Vitani nodded and said,
"Sure, there is power in numbers after all." She then used one of her claws to draw a diagram for Kuva in a small dirt patch. It was simple and to the point, and it didn't take long for Kuva to memorize it.
"Ok, I'm ready. Let's get to work." He said. The three got into their positions, and as they were about to put their plan in motion, a couple of lionesses ran towards them. Kuva noticed them and knew immediately who they were.
"Oh great." He said as they approached him. Vitani noticed them, and walked over, asking who they were.
"These knuckleheads are two of my cousins." Kuva said. The older of his cousins batted him playfully across the cheek, then asked a question to Vitani,
"So, Kuva's trying to hunt?" Vitani replied,
"Well, he's helping us catch breakfast, actually. He already hunted for his own, but he wasn't very efficient with it." Kuva heard that, but he paid it no heed. He didn't know how to hunt very well, and it didn't take long for spectators to figure it out.
"Ah, I see." The younger cousin said. "Oh, by the way, I'm Terri." She then continued.
"I'm Vitani." Vitani said. Kuva's older cousin took a good look at Vitani.
"Man, for a Pride Lander, you sure don't take good care of yourself. Your fur's all tangled and matted, and you look like you've been through malnutrition all your life!" She said. Vitani didn't really like how she grew up, but she decided to explain it.
"Well, you're right, but the truth is, I grew up as an outsider." She said, her voice explaining in itself that she didn't like to talk about it.
"Oh…" Terri said. Then her sister spoke up again,
"Oh, by the way, I'm Timali." Vitani then spoke again,
"Well, I guess we should hunt before the herd is done grazing." However, soon after she said that, she began to feel dizzy.
