Possible Affection

Kovu looked at Vitani, and could tell something was wrong. He walked over to her and asked,

"Hey, are you okay Vitani?" Vitani responded with,

"Yeah, I'm fine." However, her voice was weak.

"No, you need to get some sleep." Kovu said. Kuva and his cousins walked over to Kovu and Vitani.

"What's going on?" Kuva asked. Kovu responded by saying,

"Vitani's exhausted, but she refuses to sleep." Vitani argued by saying,

"I felt fine a minute ago." Kuva then said,

"Maybe you should go lie down, just in case." Vitani gave in finally,

"Alright." She began her walk back, with her brother and new friends close by in case something happened. Suddenly she collapsed.

"Vitani!" Kovu yelled out with worry. He ran to her side and nudged her, but she wouldn't wake. Kovu couldn't figure it out.

"May I have a look?" Terri asked. Kovu nodded in approval, so Terri walked over to Vitani. She looked her over, but saw nothing wrong. When she felt Vitani's forehead, however, she found the problem.

"She's suffering from heat stroke! We have to get her out of the sun and get some water into her, now!" Terri yelled. Kovu didn't understand how it could have happened so early in the morning.

"How could this have happened so early in the morning?" He asked. Kuva asked something,

"She said she was an outsider, right?" Kovu nodded, but his worried look didn't change. Kuva was now able to answer him,

"The factors that she has pale fur, and was an outsider, combined provide a perfect explanation. The Outlands shut out most of the sunlight, but this is the open Savanna. Major difference." Kovu then understood,

"So she has to adapt." Kuva nodded. He then grabbed Vitani by the scruff of her neck, and lifted her onto his back. He then carried her to the water and thought of something. He put Vitani down, and pushed her into the water. After doing that however, he grabbed the scruff of her neck again to keep her head above the water. Vitani slowly snapped back into consciousness, and found herself almost muzzle to muzzle with Kuva. It was a very awkward position, but she soon understood, thanks to an instinct she had. She gave a warm smile to Kuva, climbed out of the water, and said,

"Thanks for your help." She was back to normal now. The Zebra herd had moved on by now, so she didn't get her hunt. She shrugged it off though, and started back to Pride Rock. Kuva ran after her, and playfully pounced on her. This caught her by surprise, but when she looked behind her and saw Kuva, she gave another warm smile. Kuva thought he saw her blushing through her fur, but he wasn't sure. He got off her, and Vitani got up with a confused look.

'Why did he do that?' She thought. She shrugged it off, and continued to walk back. Over at Pride Rock, Simba saw the whole incident from the attempted hunt, all the way up to just then. He couldn't help but smile at what he saw. When Vitani, Kovu, Kuva, Timali, and Terri got to the base of Pride Rock, Simba ran down the rock to meet them. He confronted Kuva first and said,

"You have my thanks for looking after Vitani." Kuva said in response,

"My pleasure." Vitani walked over to Simba slowly, and asked,

"Dad, can they stay with us?" Simba gave a warm smile at this and nodded in approval. Vitani gave out a gasp of excitement, and motioned to Kuva and his cousins to follow her, Simba, and Kovu. Kuva nodded, and he, Timali, and Terri followed. The sun was going down, and as it crossed the horizon, Simba said,

"I guess it's time to turn in for the night. Come on everyone." He motioned toward the den, and everyone nodded. He walked in first, Kovu second, Vitani third, and Kuva and his cousins followed behind them. They all lay down in different locations, and went to sleep. Kuva decided to lay next to Vitani for some reason, and she didn't mind. About two hours into sleep, Vitani was feeling subconsciously uneasy. Something was going on with Kuva too, and he ended up snuggling up to Vitani. Vitani got a chill down her spine, but didn't wake up. The next morning, she woke up and found Kuva snuggled up to her. She smiled, and Kuva woke up.

"Sleep well?" Kuva asked. Vitani nodded, and Kuva smiled and stood up. As Kuva walked to the mouth of the cave, a mischievous grin found it's way across Vitani's face. She ran towards Kuva and playfully pounced on him. He was caught off-guard, but didn't mind. What really caught him off-guard was Vitani's next action. She reached her head forward and licked Kuva's cheek affectionately. As Kuva got his wits back about him, he returned the kiss. Vitani got off of Kuva and ran down to the water hole, where she liked to sunbathe, and Kuva followed.