KawaiiCutie12: Well...here it is... part one of the longest, and final chapter! I just wanna say thanks to everyone for coming along this journey with me. There'll definitely be many more to come.
+JulimasterHD: 😂😂I'm sorryyyy! Well...I don't wanna spoil the surprise...👀
+Dolicity: Yeahhh😂it'll be worth it tho😉❤
+Sera: Believe me, Scar will definitely confront them. As for Sarafina...she's kinda naive to most of what's going on; all she knows is that her daughter's being a good friend to the new cub
Onto the chap!
Chapter 18:
That same afternoon, Nala smiled as Tama lied in her father's arms. Despite being a little weak, the medicine worked and Tama was perfectly okay. Once she drank the medicine, after a good hour or so her body cleansed itself. Weak from the toll it took on her body, however, she was now getting some much needed rest.
Knowing that she was okay, she let her mind wander. She though back to when the Mountain Lands first came out here, to...the incidents that took place. She never expected that behavior from her friends, especially not Simba and Vitani.
The thought made Nala pause. Would Vitani really poison Tama?
She wanted to prove Vitani was innocent, but how?
One thing was for sure, she needed to get to the bottom of this. Whether Vitani was innocent or not innocent, she needed answers.
"Hey, Tama."
Tama slowly rose her head from her father's foreleg. "Yeah, Nala?"
Nala turned to her, complete seriousness emitting from her. "Who was it that gave you those berries?"
"I don't know her name, but she said she was a friend of Vitani's," Tama answered.
Nala nodded. "Well, do you remember what she looked like?"
Tama frowned, thinking back to it. "She had a white coat, and her eyes were...I think a few shades darker than yours."
Nala froze. A white coat? Darker blue eyes? No, no she can't be talking about her...
"Nala?"
She looked to see Waziri now staring at her. "Is everything alright?"
Nala didn't answer. Instead, she started pacing back and forth, thinking about how to go about this.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Tama weakly demanded.
She stopped, and took a deep breath. She looked at the father-daughter duo, who were waiting for her answer.
"Okay, this is gonna sound completely insane, but you guys gotta hear me out. Okay?"
Tama and her father turned to each other, then nodded at Nala.
"Vitani didn't poison you. The lioness cub you described? Her name's Panya, and she tried to set Vitani up. She must've overheard one of the arguments, and tried to frame 'Tani and give her a bad rep," Nala explained.
"Why would she try to ruin Vitani's rep?" Tama wondered.
Nala walked over and sat in front of her. "Well...Panya and Vitani never really got along, but it worsened after this; they both had a crush on one of our old friends, but he liked Vitani back; she was jealous that they grew so close so fast. Then one day, Vitani and him were out playing..."
Nala stopped. Should I really be telling her this?
"Y-You don't have t-to keep telling me," Tama reassured her. "She was bitter; that's really all there was to it."
Waziri looked between the two cubs, before stopping at Nala. "How do we get her caught?"
Nala looked around and her eyes fell on something. Not long ago, Rafiki came across a crystal ball. When questioned, he said real worlders must've lost it, and he found out it could be used to find out where someone was.
Rafiki came down and was ecstatic to see Tama awake and well. "A ha! How are you feeling, dear Tama?"
Tama smiled. "Way better. Thank you, Rafiki."
The mandrill grinned. "Anyting for you."
"Rafiki, can we use your crystal ball?" Nala asked. "It's an emergency."
Rafiki grinned. "Go right ahead. Just say de name of de cub, and den dey'll appear."
Nala let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much!"
He laughed and rubbed their head. "Of course."
Humming, he grabbed his stick and climbed down the tree. Nala quickly went over and placed her paw on the crystal. Tama and Waziri watched in awe as a light blow glow emitted from the ball.
"So, now I just say her name and we can go find her," Nala stated.
Nala turned to the ball and wore a serious look on her face.
"Vitani."
Almost immediately, the crystal glowed, and Vitani, along with Simba and Beleco could be seen.
"Look, there she is!" Tama said, pointing to the pure white cub.
The three didn't say anything else, listening in to the dialogue.
"That's so rude," Tama commented.
Realizing what was gonna happen, Tama turned to Nala. "Come on, we gotta go."
"Take it easy, princess, you're still recovering," Waziri stated.
Nodding, they went down the tree, and raced over to the grassy fields.
Beleco had no idea who she was, but Simba and Vitani both just stared in disbelief.
"You..." Vitani scowled. "What are you doing here? I thought you left!"
"Well geez, can't I visit an old friend?" Panya smirked.
"You're not my friend; you never were," Vitani growled.
Beleco, entirely confused, moved forward a bit. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Oh wow, how rude of me." Panya moved up more. "I'm Panya, native to the Pride Lands, but due to some...events, I decided to leave." She glared at the cousins, more so Vitani, while saying this.
Beleco frowned, still not quite understanding, but Simba and Vitani got her attention back.
"Get lost, or I'll get my aunt and uncle to exile you," Vitani stated through clenched teeth.
"Please, you never do anything but run away from your problems," Panya scoffed.
"You're one to talk!"
Everyone turned to see the rest of the cubs standing right there. Kula found the statement hilarious, and began to laugh.
"You left because your crush didn't like you back!" Kula cried.
Chumvi, Tojo, Kovu and the Mountain Lands cubs laughed. Vitani, Simba, and Beleco couldn't help but snicker at the harsh truth.
Panya's face turned red with anger and embarrassment. "Shut your trap!"
"Or what? You gonna tell your mommy and daddy that I'm bullying you?" Kula sneered.
Panya smirked. "More like, I'll tell your mommies and daddies that you gave Tama a large amount of blood berries and tried to kill her."
Immediately everyone's laughter stopped, and Beleco frowned. "How do you know what happened to Tama?"
"How do you even know who Tama is?" Vitani narrowed her eyes.
"More importantly, how'd you get into the Pride Lands, unnoticed?" Kula also asked, now wearing a puzzled expression.
"Guys, what's going on?"
All of them turned to see the Mountain Lands cubs staring back and forth. Their eyes landed on Panya. "Who are you?"
"I'm Panya, and I-"
"-was getting ready to answer their questions." Malka cut her off.
Panya facepalmed. "Are you guys that dumb?"
Seeing as she wasn't getting answers, she huffed.
"I snuck into the Pride Lands, pretending to visit. I snitched on Simba and got him in trouble."
Simba growled, but didn't do or say anything else.
"And you know what else, too?" She locked eyes with Vitani. "I lied to Tama and told her you gave her the blood berries, and not only did she believe you, Nala hates you too."
Everyone was wide-eyed. They all turned to Vitani, who whose vision was a red blur.
"You did what?"
Vitani lunged at her, only to be stopped by Simba. She tried to free herself from his grasp. "I'll kill you!" she cried.
"It's not worth it, 'Tani!" Simba tried to reason.
"Yeah, let's just go," Beleco helped Simba.
Panya curled her lip. "Like how you basically killed Kopa?"
That was the last straw. Just as enraged, Simba's grip loosened and Vitani pounced on Panya.
"Yeah, get her, 'Tani!" Kula cheered.
Panya was completely caught off guard, and it didn't take long for Vitani to deliver some serious blows. Clawed, punched, and bitten, Panya swung her paw, hoping for the best.
She saw brownish-tan forelegs pull her back, and realized Nuka had came to the scene.
"Let me go, Nuka!" she cried, trying to break free from his grasp. Luckily, she still had a hold on her, so she still slashed and clawed at her. Panya swung again, hoping to have better luck this time.
Taking a deep breath, he quickly scooped her up and dropped her behind him, quickly grabbing her before she could attack her again.
"She's bleeding!" Kula gasped. Everyone turned and sure enough, there were three small scratches across her cheek; nonetheless, the hair tufted lioness cub didn't care at all whatsoever. She thrashed and thrashed, trying to wriggle out of her big brother's grasp.
"Tani, you gotta calm down," Nuka tried to reason with her while restraining her.
"I'm not gonna calm down! I'm sick and tired of people blaming me for for what happened to Kopa, when I didn't do a damn thing!"
Time froze. Everyone stared at the enraged lioness cub, but for different reasons. The vast majority of Mountain Lands cubs were baffled. The Pride Landers and Malka, however, felt horrible for her. Even Tama couldn't hide her mixture of shock and slight disgust.
Nuka's hold on her significantly loosened hearing this. She shot out of Nuka's grip, and kept her gaze low for a few seconds. Turning back to the other cub, she shot teary daggers at her.
"Go mate yourself!" she cried, before sprinting in the other direction.
All the lions were in surprise; not just at her language, but at her outburst. Vitani was one of the calmest cubs they knew; for her to snap like that was alarming. Everyone turned to glare at the bruised and scrapped lioness cub, who only stood up and stared back.
"What?" she demanded.
"Nice going, Panya," Tojo snapped, "you're a real jerk!"
"Yeah, so not cool!" Beleco seconded.
"That was really mean!" Nina shouted.
Soon, the rest of the Mountain Lands cubs shouted in her defense. Before Panya could attempt to defend herself, she was pinned to the floor.
"How could you say that to her?!"
The cubs ran up to try and get the second attacker off of Panya. After a long struggle, they finally managed to hold the cub back and get away from the scene. They let go, and went their separate ways.
"Oh, man! We gotta find 'Tani now!" Kula cried.
Simba looked to the horizon. We don't have much time.
"Come on, let's go!" Simba cried.
They raced around the Pride Lands, searching every nook and cranny. But the tufted lioness cub was nowhere to be found.
"Is it just me, or does it seem empty?" Malka asked.
Everyone just facepalmed at the question.
"What do we do?" Nina asked.
"Well, to be fair, I think she might want to be alone," Beleco stated.
"Yeah, she's really hurt," Kula sided with her.
"Should we tell her parents?" Tojo asked.
"Hm...let's wait and see if she comes back," Simba answered.
So there they sat, waiting and waiting.
The sun had gone down majority of the way, despite there still being a bit of sunlight out. Ths adults were all back at Pride Rock, and Mufasa and Sarabi still felt a bit guilty.
"Just the two I wanted to speak to."
The two turned to see Scar, coolly staring at them.
"Hello, brother," Mufasa forced a grin. "Was there anything you needed?"
Scar sat down. He looked the king and queen up and down, before sighing. "Simba came to me, claiming that you like this new cub better than him. Just what is that about?"
The royal couple sighed before looking downwards.
"We wrongfully put the blame on Simba, instead of getting both sides of the story," Sarabi shamefully admitted.
Mufasa looked back up at the older prince. "Does Simba hate us?"
Scar rolled his eyes. "Good Kings, no. He's just...hurt."
The two sighed in relief.
"Guys?"
The trio turned to see Zira, with a worried look on her face.
"It's getting late. Where are the cubs?" she asked.
Scar rolled his eyes before nuzzling his mate. "Relax, dear, I'm sure they're fine."
"Auntie Zira, Uncle Scar!"
"Scar, Zira!"
"Mister Scar, Misses Zira!"
They turned to see all the cubs racing towards them. Upon arriving, they began talking a mile a minute.
"Silence!" Scar roared.
The cubs immediately held their breath.
Taking a deep breath, Scar looked at them. "Now, one by one, do explain why you young lads are so frantic."
"Well, we were walking around in the field-" Simba began.
"And Panya came back!" Kula angrily tossed in.
"And she admitted to poisoning Tama and trying to frame 'Tani-" Beleco added.
"And Vitani shouted 'I'll kill you!', and Panya...said 'Like how you basically killed Kopa?'-" Chumvi added in frowning.
"What?" Scar and Zira shouted.
"But she totally whooped her butt!" Nina cried.
"Yeah, 'Tani's got paws!" Chaka exclaimed, laughing.
The cubs laughed, and the two couldn't help but chuckle at that. Returning their serious look, they prodded the cubs more.
"So, just where is our little princess?" Scar asked, still amused.
Their laughter was replaced with worry.
"We...we don't know," Simba frowned.
"She told the girl to go mate herself and she ran off," Beleco added just as worried.
Just then, Nuka skidded to a stop in front of them, trying to catch his breath.
"Did you find her?" Beleco asked.
Shaking his head, Nuka turned to his parents. "I don't know where she is."
Scar and Zira turned to each other, before looking at the others.
"We'll find her. Just stay nearby in case she comes back," Zira instructed.
The two ran off and went in search for their middle child. The cubs looked up and noticed the stars were just starting to appear.
"Oh man, I hope they find her soon," Chumvi prayed.
Malka looked around, and realized why it seemed so empty. "Hey, where's Tama?"
She ran and ran, despite her blurry vision. Her body was sore, her head spun, and her lungs felt as if they'd burst. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
Slowing down, she looked around and realized how far she had ran. Feelings of anger welled in her again, as she slashed a rock nearby and punched the fround. Soon...that feeling of sadness came back...
She plopped onto the ground, and her crying worsened. Kopa, I'm so sorry. That shouldn't have happened. It should've been me that-
The crunching noise of footsteps could be heard nearby. She immediately turned her head back.
"W-Who's t-there?" she called out.
The footsteps got louder and closer.
Vitani turned back around, and in a much quieter voice, she pleaded, "l-look, whoever you are, just p-please go away. I'm not in the mood to fight with you; I want to be alone."
"Will you relax? I'm not trying to fight you."
Turning around, she was surprised to see Tama standing there with a seemingly irritated expression.
Good Kings, could things get any worse?
Narrowing her eyes, she looked at the Mountain Lander. "Now what do you want? Haven't you ruined my life enough?"
Tama's face softened. "Are you okay?"
Vitani couldn't believe her ears. "Do I look or sound 'okay' to you?"
Tama opened her mouth but quickly went silent, choosing to turn away in embarrassment.
Turning back around, she let out a shaky sigh. "Go ahead. Laugh it up."
Tama returned her gaze to her, entirely taken aback. "Why would I 'laugh it up'? What Panya said wasn't okay or funny at all."
She immediately turned around after hearing that. "What?"
Tama rose an eyebrow. "You seem surprised."
Walking closer, she continued on. "Well, I told Nala who the cub was and she explained how you two never got along, and well...we sort of put the pieces together. When she said your name in Rafiki's crystall ball, we saw and heard everything she said, and...that's when I ran after you."
Vitani turned back around hearing that, the heat rising in her face. She knows. She knows about what I did to Kopa. Damn you, Panya! You just had to come and fuck everything up, huh?
"I...I know you didn't do anything," Tama tried to ease the tension, "you were barely a year odl, and he was your best friend."
Though slowly, Vitani's exasperation was surely rising. "Why are you really out here? Did your mommy and daddy send you to get me? 'Cause if so, you can go right back."
Ouch. Tama ran a paw through her tuft. "No one knows I'm out here, and...I don't have a mom anymore."
The flame in Vitani's fire was slowed, and she immediately regretted saying that. To her bittersweet relief, Tama disregarded the comment.
"Vitani, I'm really sorry," she regretfully began. "For everything, especially not believing you. I should've never been mean to you guys, and none of this should've gone down."
"Yeah right; you probably wanted this to happen," Vitani snarled, though with her emotional state it wasn't as intimidating.
She couldn't hear a sound for a moment. I knew it. How could I have been so stupid?
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a paw on her shoulder.
"I promise you I didn't want any of this to happen."
Moving her shoulder, she got Tama's paw off, and kept her gaze towards the ground.
"So just what was going through your head, that made you think acting like a brat was okay?" Vitani turned to Tama, clearly frustrated with her.
Tama sighed, and momentarily looked downward. "I'm not sure if you were told but...Simba and I had gotten into a pretty heated argument. He basically said that I was being an insecure, attention-seeking wannabe. And...he was right...I thought maybe if I acted like I was 'so funny' and 'more important' than I was, then you guys and the other cubs would like me more."
Vitani's eyes widened. She...she can't be serious.
"What are you talking about? We would've liked you regardless."
Tama sheepishly rubbed her head. "I realized that at the last minute. And I'm really sorry I didn't give you guys a fair chance; you're...actually pretty cool cubs, especially after the way you showed Panya who's boss; that was the most badass thing I've ever seen."
Vitani didn't say anything, but she couldn't help the ghost of a smile appearing on her muzzle.
"And I'm also sorry you had to lose your best friend."
She was silent for a moment, then looked up at Vitani. "Can I tell you something?"
Curious, Vitani nodded. Tama closed her eyes, and composed herself. Casting her gaze to the ground, she told her. "My mom died...a week or so back, on our first night here...that's why I've been so miserable, and that's why I only spent time with Nala; she was the only one I trusted with that at the time."
If Vitani felt terrible before, now she felt like it was using her body as a vessel. "T-Tama, I didn't-"
She held up a paw. "You didn't know. Speaking of which..." she sighed as she looked back up at Vitani. "I should not have lashed out on you like that when you made that joke. It's not like you couldn't known; honestly, even if you had known, I deserved it. That was not cool, and I can't believe I reacted the way I did; I took my pain out on you guys, and that was so wrong of me. I'm really sorry I said that to you, and you're not worthless at all, no matter what Panya says."
Vitani didn't respond to that. Instead, she lowered her head. "How did she die?"
"She fell ill, and her lungs gave out," Tama answered.
Head still down, thoughts swirled throughout Vitani's head.
"I'm sorry for your loss...my mom and I aren't the closest, but I don't know what I'd do without her."
"Thank you. And yeah, she was really like my best friend..." Shaking her head, she regained focus on Vitani. "Trust me, I understand-"
"You don't get it, Tama!" Vitani suddenly cried, snapping her head back up.
Tama was both baffled and offended by her statement. "What...what do you mean?"
"You didn't mean for your mom to die! I had to watch Kopa get ripped to shreds-" At this point, she was unable to hold back her emotions. "-and it's all my fault!" She dropped herself and buried her face into her forelegs.
Tama stared at the now shaking cub in shock and empathy. I had no idea she was actually there...no wonder she feels even more guilty.
She slowly pulled Vitani's head into her lap, and to her relief, she felt Vitani softly hug her.
"I-I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't m-mean it," she heard Vitani mumble.
Tama stroked her head. "I know you didn't mean it."
Vitani continued to cry into Tama's lap. "I m-miss him s-so much," she whispered.
Tama moved her paw in circular motions on her back. "I know, Vitani, I know."
As Vitani's sobs worsened, Tama's heart cracked. Panya's a total bitch for throwing that in her face, especially in front of everyone else. She doesn't deserve to feel like this; she's already traumatized enough by the event.
"It's okay, Vitani, I'm here," she whispered.
They stayed in that position for some time and Tama's guilt intensified. Poor Vitani. Who knows how long she's feeling like this? There's no way nobody saw she was hurting...
"Vitani, look at me."
She lifted herself back up to look at Tama through her blurry vision.
Tama took notice and wiped her tears away. "What happened to Kopa wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was gonna happen."
"Still...I could've ran off to get help, or even jumped back in," she choked out. She lowered her gaze. "It should've been me."
Tama lifted her head up. "Don't say that! Neither of you two deserve to die, and I know everyone would've been totally crushed if they had seen you ripped to shreds too!"
Seeing as though Vitani had nothing else to say, her voice softened. "If I tell you this, do you promise you won't get mad?"
Vitani looked at her confused, but nodded regardless. "He was gonna die anyway."
Vitani frowned at the statement. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Even if you had ran off to get help, by the time you came back he would've been a goner. And if you hopped in to help him..." she deeply sighed. "You would've been a goner as well. You may have whooped the holy hell out of Panya, but there was no way you two could've taken on five African wild dogs."
"I know," Vitani sniffled. Risking it, she admitted something. "It's just not fair! Simba has Nala, Kula has Chumvi, you have Malka, and even Kovu has Kiara! Everyone gets to be happy; why can't I be happy too?"
Her crying started to kick up again, and Tama didn't hesitate on pulling her into a bear hug.
"Vitani, it's okay; sometimes I look at other cubs and I feel the same way," she softly admitted.
"How do you make the pain go away?" Vitani wept.
"Well, it's hard. But...sometimes I think about the things I have, that other cubs don't," Tama told her, stroking her head.
"Like what?" Vitani asked in a weak voice.
"Well..." Tama stopped and thought about it. "I still have my dad, and you still have yours. And you have not one, but two siblings. And I know you probably wanna knock them senseless sometimes, but I think it's cool that you have siblings that'd go to hell and back for you. And I know Simba sees you as more of a sister than a cousin."
Sniffling, Vitani cleaned her face up. "Yeah, I guess so." She now rested her head on Tama's shoulder.
Seeing she was still blue, Tama thought up a solution. Pulling away, she looked at Vitani.
"Hey, why don't we go for a walk? Maybe it'll calm you down and take your mind off of it," she offered.
Vitani didn't answer.
Tama tried again. "I...I know you were supposed to go with Nala, and I'm sorry I took over that too, but...if you're down for it, maybe...you and I could go to the hot springs together."
Vitani blinked. She must've overheard me that day. Hm...maybe I should give her a chance; forgiveness is important, right?
She slowly nodded, and slightly smiled as Tama's face brightened.
"I hope she's okay."
The cubs got the okay to sit by the waterhole. There was still no sign of Vitani, and Beleco was starting to grow more and more fearful.
"Hey."
They turned to see Nala.
"You guys got room for one more?" she shyly asked.
Beleco narrowed her eyes. "Two more, you mean?" was her sassy comeback.
Nala swallowed. Okay, I deserved that.
"No, just me," she reassured them.
They all looked to one another, then back to Nala.
"Is this another one of your stupid apologies?" Simba asked, narrowing his eyes.
Nala pinned her ears back. "I know you guys are really mad at me, and you all have every right to be. But, please let me explain."
The cubs stared at each other, speaking with facial expressions. Finally they reluctantly stared back at Nala.
"Don't mess this up, too," Chumvi snarkily stated.
Nala sighed, and sat down. Everyone watched as she fumbled her paws with her gaze down.
"Guys, I am so sorry for how I've been acting lately," Nala remorsefully began. "I was being completely inconsiderate to your guys's feelings, and that was really out-of-character for me. I should've talked to Tama and told her she had to at least get along with you guys, but I didn't, and I'm really sorry I've changed so much."
She looked to Simba and Beleco. "Especially to you two."
Kula's face softened a small degree. "But why did you do it?"
Nala sighed, and placed a paw on the ground. "I'll admit, I got cold vibes from her at first too, but...that day when I found her all alone, we talked, and...she loosened up. Knowing that letting her talk to me helped her open up, I...I grew protective of her. That's why I stuck to her side so much, and that's why I was so defensive about her."
Simba and Beleco thought over what she said.
Nala turned to Tojo. "Tojo, I'm sorry I didn't defend you. Yes, you can be a little soft, but that's who you are. You're always willing to help a friend, and you're so caring, especially to your birds. No other lion would do that, and that's what makes you special; I'd say only a real man can show their soft side. You, along with Chumvi, are the closest thing I have to a brother, and I don't ever want our bond to go to waste."
Tojo's eyes sparkled. "Really?"
Nala smiled and nodded. It soon fell when she turned to Simba and Beleco.
"Beleco...I was completely wrong for saying what I did that day. I didn't think how'd it make Simba feel if I started hanging out with Tama more. I guess I just didn't realize what'd that be like, until I saw you and Simba that day at the waterhole, and heard you guys finishing each other sentences. I got..."
She sighed, and looked back up. "I got jealous."
Simba and Beleco stared at each other, then back to Nala.
"You did?" Simba asked.
"Yeah. I mean, you and I are supposed to do that," Nala answered, cracking a teensy smile.
Simba couldn't help the teensy smile on his muzzle. "And I'm sorry too. I should've told you how I felt, instead of lashing out the way I did."
Nala shook her head. "Don't apologize. That made me realize how bad of a best friend I was being."
She then turned back to Beleco. "I'm sorry, Beleco, for treating you wrong out of jealousy."
"I understand, and I forgive you," Beleco shyly smiled.
Nala wholeheartedly returned it, and turned her attention to Simba. "And I'm so sorry about how I've been ignoring you lately. You've been my other half since we were babies, and I couldn't ask for a better best friend."
Simba's eyes slightly widened, and a dopey grin soon formed on his face. He threw his forelegs around Nala, who immediately returned the hug.
"I missed you," she confessed.
"I missed you, too," he responded.
"Okay, we get it! You can't hog Nala to yourself!" Kula teased.
The cubs laughed, and talked just like old times.
"Scar, she's nowhere to be found!"
Back at Pride Rock, Zira was currently losing it. They still hadn't found their daughter, and it was getting late.
"Love, calm down. Just because we haven't found her doesn't mean she's in danger," Scar reasoned.
"My brother's right, Zira," Mufasa interjected. "Besides, if what they said is true, then maybe she needs to be alone right now."
"You know how much Kopa's death affected her," Sarabi pointed out.
Though reluctantly, Zira calmed down.
She looked to the starry sky. Please be okay, angel.
"So what do these do?"
The hair tuft duo was sitting in the hot springs, located in the hidden valley Nala had previously discovered. Right now, they were each holding a large, purple flower in their paws.
"They help you calm down," Tama answered. "They release these really good smelling, calming oils."
Vitani frowned. "I don't think they're working."
Tama set her flower down, and turned to face Vitani.
"If you wanna talk, I'll listen," she offered.
And so, Vitani did. She vented about how her and Kopa met, to how she still sometimes had...bad thoughts about the incident.
She's so strong, Tama thought to herself. I don't know how she kept this to herself for so long.
"That's horrible," Tama gasped. "You're literally a warrior."
"I mean, my name does mean demon of war," Vitani bitterly joked, earning a chuckle from Tama.
Vitani place the flower back in her paws. Inhaling, she felt the calming affect take over.
"That does smell good," Vitani stated in shock.
The two sat in silence, the only sounds being the bubbling from the hot springs. Vitani looked up to see the stars were out and brighter than normal.
"You ever stargaze?" Vitani asked.
Tama rose her eyebrows. "Are you kidding? I'm like, the queen of stargazing!"
Vitani smirked. "Oh, yeah? Well, there can only be one queen, so it looks like I'm gonna have to dethrone you!"
Tama smirked. "You're so on!"
Getting out of the hot springs, they walked out on the grass, and tried to find as many constellations as possible.
"I found ten so far," Tama playfully boasted. "How about you?"
"A thousand," Vitani triumphantly smiled.
Tama was genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"
Vitani looked up. "All of the Great Kings of the Past are constellations."
Completely dumbfounded, Tama blinked. "That doesn't count. You're such a cheater!"
They laughed it off, and silence fell over them.
"Hey, Tama."
Tama looked back over at her.
"What was your mom like?" Vitani wondered.
Tama didn't answer for a minute. "She was really strong, and I looked up to her as a lioness. She was so understanding too, and she'd always get Malka and I out of trouble."
Vitani chuckled. "Can't relate; my mom lost it anytime Kopa and I got ourselves in trouble."
Tama giggled at the statement. She completely rolled over so that she was facing Vitani. "There was one day, Malka and I were playing, and we started wrestling in the mud. We start freaking out, because Malka's parents were supposed to have guests over, and we knew they were gonna be so pissed, and she ended up cleaning both of us off, and acting like nothing ever happened."
Vitani laughed at the imagery. "Such terrible kids," she teased.
Tama smirked. "Like you and Kopa didn't get yourselves into trouble numerous of times?" she playfully retorted.
"We're talking about you, not me!" she shot back.
"Whatever. Still troublemakers," she teased.
"Okay, okay! So we pranked the adults and went missing for a week! Big deal!"
The two stared at each other for a moment, before bursting into laughter.
"I cannot believe you," Tama finally wiped her eyes.
The two ceased their laughter, and lied there.
"Hey."
Vitani looked up at Tama.
"You feel better?" Tama asked, patting her on the back.
Vitani weakly smiled and nodded. "I'm just super sore, but thanks for this, I really needed it."
"Of course," Tama responded.
Vitani paused, before speaking her mind. "Hey, Tama?"
Tama looked at her, wondering what she had to say.
Vitani looked into her eyes, a small smile on her face. "I bet your mom would be so proud of you."
Tama looked away. "I doubt it."
Vitani rose her brows. "Why wouldn't she? You came all the way out here looking for me; you didn't have to do that, but you still did."
Tama gave her a look. "Uh, yeah I did. Did you seriously think I was gonna let her get away with that?"
Vitani didn't answer with words, merely giving her a small smile. "Thanks for checking on me. Now come on, it's getting cold."
The two walked back into the steamy tub, and Vitani watched as Tama fumbled with her paws.
So...if you want, maybe we can be...friends?" Tama shyly asked.
Vitani wore a deadpanned expression. "You're joking, right?"
What?
"No...I thought we could be friends..." Tama trailed off.
Vitani blinked, before bursting into laughter.
Tama only stared, before realizing what the answer meant. "If you don't want to be, that's okay ya know...I totally understand-"
"Tama!" Vitani looked up, and she tried not to crack a smile at Tama's saddened expression.
"Yeah?" Tama looked up.
"We're already friends, idiot!" she cried, before laughing even harder at Tama's expression.
"I-but, you-hey, I'm not an idiot!" she splashed Vitani.
Vitani stopped her laughter and playfully growled. "Oh, you wanna splash people, huh?"
She gave a more violent splash back to Tama, causing her to cough and gasp for air.
"You little jerk!"
Laughing, the two were now engaged in a full water war. They went from splashing, to full-on wrestling. After some time, they declared a truce, and climbed out of the water.
"Hey, thanks for taking me here," Vitani stated.
Tama placed a paw on one of hers. "Hey, if you ever need a friend, you've totally got me. And you're welcome, I had so much fun with you."
Vitani smiled. "Same here; thanks, Tama."
Tama grinned. "No prob, 'Tani."
The two cubs shared a platonic nuzzle, before walking back towards Pride Rock.
KawaiiCutie12: So...since this chapter is already long enough, it's gonna be split in half. But yeah, Tama's alive! Wooo!
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 (maybe in a few hours)
KawaiiCutie12 signing off! ✌