KawaiiCutie12: Poor 'Tani, a friend breakup really hurts. But maybe...just maybe...they'll find a clue that'll help them...
+izzymariee: I'm down😂Yess they're really her people
+vampiregal15: That's okay, I still love u bb❤💕Yeahh, it did make me feel a little sad writing that part.
+Guest: Quality over quantity am I right? Yeah she's gonna be lookin' straight stupid😂😂💀
+Iz: I agree, but there's still hope...
***Announcement chap***
+ExGeneration35: Thanks so much😊❤❤💕here ya go!
+Dolicity: Welp, ya don't gotta wait anymore😉❤
+HydroCOre: Thanks a ton, I appreciate ya😊💓
Chapter 17:
"Princess, can you hear me?" her father's voice sounded.
After a long search, Sarafina finally came across Waziri talking with Scar. After telling him the news, he told Scar they'd catch up before racing for his life towards Rafiki's tree. Upon arriving, he was hit with not just a horrid smell, but Nala sitting right by his barely conscious daughter. Speeding over, he sat on the opposite side, waiting for her to wake up.
She tried to focus her vision, and came face-to-face with identical brown eyes. "D-Daddy?"
"Princess, what happened? Who did this to you?" he immediately bombarded her with questions.
"A f-friend of Vitani's...told me she wanted me to have them, 'c-cause she felt bad about something I overheard," Tama weakly explained.
"She felt bad? So she tried to kill you?" Waziri was...well, enraged to say the least. "She's lucky I don't go over and give her parents a piece of my mind!"
"D-Daddy...d-don't," Tama weakly begged him.
Hearing the hint of urgency in her voice, he calmed down and stroked her small tuft.
"H-Her friend...said s-she w-was scared...t-to...ap-proach me...but that...t-totally wasn't the case..."
She winced. So much pain wracked through her body, to the point where she could hardly talk.
"Tama." Nala took a paw in hers. "You will be okay. Rafiki's gonna fix you up, and you're going to be all right again."
Tama weakly squeezed her paw, while Waziri ran his claws through her tuft. Another hot wave of pain shot through her. Whimpering, she tightly curled up into a ball, tears staining her pale face as her sobs worsened.
"Shhh, it's okay, I'm here, princess." Waziri pulled her close and rubbed her back. Closing her eyes, she buried her face into her father's soft, thick mane.
Nala's heart twisted and turned at the sight of her friend's condition.
Something else passed through Tama, and she shot her eyes open, grunting and moaning.
"Tama..?" Nala asked.
"Princess what's wrong?" Waziri voiced, just as worried.
Pulling away, she quickly, but carefully, got of the cot and onto the ground.
"Tama, what's going on?" the advisor asked his cub.
Mumbling something incoherent, she stumbled over to a secluded corner of the treehouse. She stopped halfway as her entire gut seemed to twist inside-out. Unable to stop herself, she gagged, feeling another stream of vomit rise from her stomach. Nala and Waziri rushed to her aid, Nala holding her head and Waziri, massaging her back.
"It's okay, Tama, you're gonna be okay," Nala comforted her.
"Hang in there, princess," she heard her father say.
"Nala, ova here for a moment."
Hesitantly, Nala left Tama's side, urgently approaching Rafiki.
"De girl must drink de concoction with an empty stomach," Rafiki quietly stated, before turning to Nala. "Just how many berries did dat girl eat?"
Nala wasn't sure. By the time she had reached Tama, the berries must've started to take effect.
"I...I don't know." She turned to Tama. "Hey, Tama."
Tama wiped her mouth as she looked up.
"Hey, do you know how many berries you ate?" Nala asked.
"I-"
All three watched as her face turned green. This time, she dropped to the floor and began convulsing.
"Tama!"
Scooping her in his arms, he held her trembling body close to his, not caring about his now vomit stained fur.
"Stay with me, princess," her father begged. "I already lost Tisha, I can't lose you too! Tama!"
Nala's heart raced. Despite only knowing Tama for a few weeks, she truly felt like they've been longtime friends, and she didn't want to lose her.
"I have good and bad news."
They turned to listen to Rafiki.
"De good news: It can be cured," he solemnly began.
Waziri let out a sigh of relief, but quickly turned to Rafiki. "What's the bad news?"
"De bad news..." Rafiki ran a hand through his head. "Since I don't know how many she ate, dere's a possibly de medicine...will have no effect. It will be just like drinking water."
Waziri's heart slowly sunk at hearing this. He looked down at Tama, then back at Rafiki.
"Just try as hard as you can," he begged. "Please save my little girl!"
Rafiki nodded. "Bring de girl ova here."
Carefully grabbing her by the scruff, he brought her over to a room filled with different herbs and concoctions. Humming through them, he pulled out a red one, and poured it into a bowl.
"Normally, I measure based on how many you have taken in," Rafiki explained. "However, someting tells me you ate an extreme amount for you to be dat violently ill."
Tama was both too physically and mentally weak to response, so she settled for slowly sitting up. Rafiki pushed the bowl towards her.
"Drink every drop of dis," Rafiki instructed.
With the help of her father, she began to lap up the drink. One lap, however, and she recoiled.
"Ugh, what on earth is this?" she scrunched her face.
"Tama, dear, you must," Rafiki answered.
Taking a deep breath, Tama drank the rest of the concoction. Taking the bowl away, Rafiki told Waziri to put Tama to sleep.
All there was left to do was wait.
"Hmm, nothing here. What about you, Chum'?"
Kula and Chumvi were looking for anything that would prove Vitani's innocence.
"Nothing. What about over there, Kul'?" he asked her.
"Nothing either," Kula sighed.
The brown cubs flopped onto the ground. The rest of the cubs were spread throughout the Pride Lands, so it wasn't like they could go and consult with them.
"I never thought Nala would act like this," Chumvi voiced.
"And all because of Tama." Kula rolled her eyes.
The two went silent for a moment. Chumvi stood up and turned to Kula. "Hey, let's try to find Beleco, Simba, and 'Tani. They had to have found something."
Thinking it over, Kula nodded and got up to follow after Chumvi.
"Ugh, there's nothing over here!"
Beleco teamed up with the royal cousins to help them out. Good thing she did, because Vitani really needed her; as comforting as Simba was, female friends were often easier to confide in.
"Relax, love, we'll find something." Beleco sat down next to her and stroked her tuft.
Vitani looked up at her. "Will we?"
Beleco nodded, and Simba walked over to join them.
"Welp, nothing here," Simba sighed.
Vitani groaned and buried her head in her paws. Beleco moved her paw down her back in order to support her.
"Hey, guys!"
The trio looked up to see Kula and Chumvi trotting towards them.
"You guys find anything?" Simba asked.
The brown cubs frowned and shook their heads. "Everyone looked normal."
The trio sighed, and the brown cubs sat down and joined them.
"This makes no sense," Kula voiced, turning to Vitani. "You haven't done anything to anyone here. Who'd want to hurt you?"
The four sat there, all wondering the same thing: Who has bad blood with Vitani?
Beleco looked to the sky. The sun was now starting to set, and they still needed to check in with the other.
"Come on, let's try to find the rest of the gang," she suggested.
Agreeing, the cubs all got up and followed after Beleco.
"I just don't get it. Vitani's one of the most unproblematic cubs in all of the Savannah; who'd want to sabotage her image?"
Malka and Tojo walked alongside each other, scanning the area as they did so.
"I have no idea, Toj'," Malka answered.
They continued to look around, but nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Malka, Tojo!"
Kovu and Kiara were racing over to them, stopping right in front of them.
"Nothing, huh?" Tojo flatly asked, to which the two shook their heads.
"Guys!"
The four turned just as the other three got to them.
"We didn't see anything," Vitani went out and voiced.
Everyone downheartedly stared at each other. There would be now way to prove Vitani's innocence without any evidence, so at the moment, they were stumped.
"Ya know, it's getting late," Beleco pointed out. "Let's head back, and we can all get out extra early tomorrow."
Though hesitant, the cubs agreed and went back to their respective dens. Remembering what happened earlier, Simba pulled Vitani aside.
"You think you parents will let me sleep with you guys?" he asked.
Vitani nodded, and cocked her head to the side a bit. "You know I don't mind but...why?"
Simba sighed, then looked up at Vitani with furious eyes. "Teat-sucker Tama snitched on me, and my parents, my own flesh and blood, sided with her!"
Vitani was surprised to hear that. She knew her aunt and uncle to be fair lions. Had she been deceived this whole time? But she was also lost...
"When did this happen?" Vitani asked.
Oh yeah, she was with Kovu and Kiara, Simba thought.
He let out a sigh. "I'll tell you back at the den."
"Well, come on before they start to question us," Vitani playfully chided.
The two trotted side-by-side to Scar and Zira's den. Upon arriving, they were relieved to see Scar and Zira already in the den.
The two lions smiled at the two. "Hello, you guys."
Vitani walked in. "Hey, Mom, Hey, Daddy."
"Hi Auntie Zira, Hi Uncle Scar," Simba greeted soon after.
Zira frowned upon hearing their tones. "Is everything alright?"
The cousins looked at each other, before turning away and sighing.
"No," Vitani admitted. "Everything's not alright."
Simba stepped forward and opened his mouth. "Is it okay if I crash with you guys, tonight?"
Scar and Zira looked at each other for a moment, then back at Simba.
"You know you're always welcome here," Zira answered. "But...why don't you want to sleep with your parents?"
Simba's anger returned ten-fold. "Because they like that little brat Tama better than me!"
"Yeah, and someone set me up and tried to say I poisoned Tama!" Vitani hollered at the same time.
Taken aback by the cubs' sudden bursts of anger, Scar motioned for Simba to sit down.
"Simba, do tell me why you think they like Tama better than you," his uncle prodded.
"Because..." Simba took a shaky breath. "Yesterday, Tama was being mean when Kula, Beleco, Tojo, and I were trying to talk to Nala, and I stood up for myself. Tama, being the teat-sucking baby that she is, ratted me out, and my parents sided with her instead of getting my side of the story as well!"
Just what was going through my dear brother's head? Scar wondered.
"This whole get-together sucked. I wish teat-sucker Tama didn't show up, I wish Nala was still my best friend, and I wish my parents would open their eyes and realize she's not an angel!"
The adults and Vitani watched as Simba panted in anger.
"Simba, listen to me," Scar slowly spoke
A trembling Simba looked into his uncle's neon green eyes.
"I have no doubt Mufasa and Sarabi love you immensely," he began. "Don't think any different for a moment. I will say though, that behavior from both of them, more so Mufasa, is quite surprising. Tell you what: how about I talk to them tomorrow-"
"No!" Simba cried, before quickly recollecting himself. "I mean, no, I don't want them to know I told you."
Scar didn't push any further. "Alright then."
Turning their attention now to their daughter, he motioned for Vitani to sit down.
"So, what exactly happened with you and Tama?" Scar asked, while Zira awaited for her answer.
Vitani couldn't take it anymore. "She's so mean! Ever since coming here she's been a total bully to everyone, even me! And when we tried to call her out on it, Nala the traitor kept defending her! Thank Kings Simba put her in her place."
She took a deep breath. "And then earlier today, Tama ate blood berries, and when I went over, Nala claimed that I sent someone to give them to her, when that wasn't true! I didn't do anything mean to Tama, and I didn't poison the little brat!"
The adults looked at their trembling daughter, before looking at one another.
"Vitani?"
She looked up, to see her mother staring intently at her.
"You're plenty of things. But a murderer, or even a bad cub, is not one of them," Zira finished with a small smile.
"Really?" Vitani's eyes widened.
Scar gave her a teasing smile. "Oh, don't act like you didn't already know that."
Their smiles were contagious, and soon the cubs looked at each other with smiles of their own.
"Listen, I know both of you are great cubs," Zira added. "And you have nothing to worry about. Remember this: The truth will always come to light."
"My dear mate's right," Scar nodded.
"Okay...thanks guys." The cubs hugged the older lions and they graciously returned the love.
"Anything for you two. But it's late now, so just stay here until bed."
Simba and Vitani nodded, and the two sat there and talked with one another until the stars were visible.
Kula cracked an eye open and peared out. The sun was out, but not enough that everyone would wake up. Carefully wriggling out her mother's grasp, she walked over to Tojo and Chumvi.
"Hey, come on," she whispered, nudging them.
The two groaned and stirred in their sleep, but eventually cracked an eye open to look at Kula
"K-Kula? What are you doing up so early?" Chumvi croaked.
Tojo, however, was prepared. "Come on, let's wake up Beleco and the rest."
Realizing what this was about, Chumvi slowly got up and followed the two out of the upper den into the lower, guest den.
Beleco, Kovu, Kiara, and Malka were all bundled together in a corner, while the other Mountain Lands cubs were close by.
Padding over, the three nudged them awake before they all woke up. Waking up roughly around the same time, one look at the trio and they knew what was going on.
"Come on, let's go before our parents find out," Beleco whispered.
Quietly, they trotted out the den and towards where Vitani was residing. Upon arriving there, they noticed Simba and Vitani were not only awake, they were sitting down and discussing the area.
"...blood berries. But I don't know where you'd find those" they heard Vitani say.
"Hm...maybe in the same place where Rafiki finds his herbs at" was Simba's response.
The cubs approached them. "Hey, guys."
The two stopped and looked up. Immediately their eyes lit up as they got up from their positions.
"Hey, guys! Okay, so Simba and I were jusy talking and maybe we should check the bushes.
"Good idea," Malka stated with a smile.
Quietly, they hurried over to the bushes. The sun was now a little higher, so it was easier to see what they were looking at.
"Okay, let's get looking!" Malka whispered.
Looking through the bushes, they tried to find anything that would prove Vitani's innocence. For quite some time, nobody saw anything out of the ordinary...
"Hey!"
Everyone turned to Kula, who was holding something in her paw.
"What is it, Kula?" Tojo asked.
"Look!" she shoved her paw in their faces.
Peering in her hand, they gasped. In her hand was a piece of white fur.
"But...none of the cubs here have white fur," Beleco frowned, puzzled.
"Could it have been a rogue cub?" Malka suggested.
While Beleco, Malka, and Kiara were confused, the Pride Lands cubs looked at each other.
No way, Vitani thought. It can't be her. She left the Pride Lands!
"...tani? Vitani?"
Snapping out of her trance, she looked at everyone else. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Should we hold onto this?" Beleco repeated her question. "It's not much, but-"
"Yes. yes, we'll keep it," Vitani confirmed.
Holding onto it, the cubs went to the waterhole, and sat there as the sun rose.
The sun was now at its peak, and the hunting party came back not too long ago. The lions and other cubs were surprised to see the Pride Lands cubs, Malka, Beleco, and Kiara were already awake and sitting by the waterhole. After eating their share, they returned to their spot.
"So how do we go about this?" Simba asked.
"Well, we obviously can't just shove this in Nala's face and say it's proof," Kula pointed out the obvious.
"True," Vitani pointed out.
"I don't know about you guys, but my legs are lifeless," Beleco tossed in. "Why don't we go for a walk?"
"Yeah!" Kula cheerfully agreed. "Maybe getting our blood flowing will help us come up with something.
The cubs stood up and turned to head to the grassy fields.
"Hey, wait up!"
The group turned to see Nina, Chaka, and the rest of the Mountain Lands cubs raced towards them.
"Hey, what gives? You guys haven't hung out with us lately," Nina stated.
The cubs looked at each other in guilt. So caught up with everything, they forgot the other cubs even existed.
"We didn't mean to," Simba reassured them. "We just-"
"Someone's trying to frame me, and I need to know who did it," Vitani explained.
Nina tilted her head. "How so?"
Vitani explained the situation with the help of the others and Nina was appalled.
"That's horrible!" she cried.
Vitani rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it." Shaking her head, she looked back at Nina. "You guys wanna join us on our walk?"
Nina hesitantly looked at the Pride Lands cubs. "You sure? If you guys need space-"
"Our space is yours," Vitani smiled.
"Yeah, we love you guys!" Kula added in.
Nina's eyes slightly widened, and a grin formed on her face. The cubs talked as they walked throughout the field, though quietly as to keep it discreet.
"So, who do you guys think did it?" Nina asked.
"We have no idea," Simba sighed.
"How about we split up and look around again?" Beleco suggested.
"Good idea," Nina nodded.
Chaka turned to the other Mountain Lands cubs. "Come on guys, we've got a friend to help out."
Wishing the others good luck, Nina and Chaka led the others away.
"Come on guys, let's look around!" Kula chirped.
The cubs split apart within the same groups(1) and began scanning the area again.
"Ya know, as upsetting as the situation is, this mystery-solving adventure is kinda fun," Beleco admitted.
The royal cousins chuckled, and they continued to scan the area. Not finding anything, they gave stopped in their tracks.
"We haven't found anything else, so maybe we should take a break," Vitani suggested.
Beleco nodded. "So-"
"Well, hello there."
The group turned around, and Simba's and Vitani's eyes went wide.
KawaiiCutie12: So...who did they see? Nope, I'm not telling! Ya gotta wait😂😂
I imagine Scar and Zira being the "cool aunt and uncle", like the parents Simba wished he had.
As always, leave your opinions down below and follow and fave to keep up with the story, and I'll see you guys next time!
1: The teams were:
• Malka and Tojo
• Chumvi and Kula
• Kovu and Kiara
• Simba, Vitani, and Beleco
KawaiiCutie12 signing off! 😌