Chapter Four: Takedown
As one, the gazelle stampeded toward Kiara, who suddenly felt very small and weak. How on earth was she supposed to pick out a gazelle that she would be suited to take down? Their hooves hit the ground hard and fast, and Kiara swore she felt the ground shake beneath her paws.
Her first instinct was to duck, to take cover, to flee. Get anywhere safe, get as far away from this place as possible. She was going to be stomped, trampled…
But nearby, Sarabi had waded rapidly into the fray, and had leapt onto a sizable male gazelle, who was trying to buck her away, trying to keep her teeth from reaching his neck. Sarabi snarled and lunged, and as the gazelle went down Kiara suddenly knew what she had to do. She just had to follow Sarabi's example.
There was one coming right at her, slightly larger than the one Sarabi had just dispatched. Kiara jumped at it, but it head-butted her right in the chest, and Kiara was flung to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. In a flash Kiara was back on her feet, ignoring the pain, trying desperately to grasp one of the gazelle. Finally, both paws made contact with something, and she hung on for dear life. Her back paws were skidding along the ground, slowing the animal down, and all Kiara had to do was bite, and bite hard, on exactly the right spot.
Her jaws, as if of their own accord, sought the gazelle's throat. She stretched her neck out, oblivious of the gazelle's fearful cries. And then, quite suddenly, it was all over. The gazelle stumbled, then fell, but Kiara held on stubbornly. She tumbled to the ground and, after she was sure it was safe to do so, opened her mouth, letting the lifeless prey go. She looked around.
In the time it took to bring down her prey, the rest of the herd had run for its life, and were well away from the lionesses. Kiara, panting, looked over at Sarabi, who was lying near her catch. Beyond her, one other lioness had been successful, though her gazelle was very small. Kiara saw Vitani dragging another young one.
"Congratulations." said Sarabi, looking at Kiara's gazelle. "I knew you'd be all right."
"Kiara!" Looking around, Kiara saw Nala running toward her. "You did it!"
Kiara couldn't help but grin at how proud her mother seemed to be. She really had done it, hadn't she? Her first kill… She was surprised that it had been so easy. Or was it just a fluke?
But everyone was coming toward her, offering congratulations. Kiara finally had to accept that she really had done a good job. Even Vitani gave her credit, which Kiara thought was very gracious of her.
"It's such a rush, isn't it?" said Vitani.
"Oh yeah," said Kiara emphatically.
Nala, who had also caught a good size female gazelle, told everyone that this was sure to be enough for today. She grabbed up her kill and began to drag it toward home, and Kiara followed her example. She was helped by one of the lionesses who hadn't managed to make a catch, and it was a fairly easy journey back to Pride Rock.
That night, there was a general cheerfulness among the pride members. It was the kind of contentment only a full stomach ever seems to bring, and Kiara received a good deal of praise for her first kill, making her especially happy. She and Kovu snuggled together and made jokes, but Kiara did not fail to notice Sarabi watching them all the while, looking confused.
After a while, Kiara got up and stretched, then moved over to where Sarabi was sitting. "Hello," said Sarabi pleasantly.
"Hi," said Kiara. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm pretty tired, but I've felt worse." Sarabi yawned, to mark her exhaustion. "You and Kovu seem very close," she said, after a short silence.
"We are," said Kiara. "He's been good to me."
"Yes," said Sarabi. "Simba told me that he trusts Kovu."
Kiara shrugged. "I think I always trusted him," she said slowly. "He was raised an Outlander, but it didn't take very long for him to come around. He was never a cold-hearted killer, not really. All he needed was a chance."
"I suppose he'll be king if you take the throne," said Sarabi heavily.
"Well… yeah, I guess. But now that Kopa's here… won't he be king, since he's the eldest?"
Kiara was frowning, but she was sure that Sarabi seemed to brighten at this theory. She knew that after being subjected to Scar and Zira's rule for years and years, it was understandable that Sarabi still mistrusted Kovu and Vitani, and the other Outlanders. Kiara didn't like it, but it only strengthened her resolve to prove to Sarabi how trustworthy they really were. She said nothing more, and moved over to where Vitani was sitting, talking to Kopa.
"It's really great hunting land," Vitani was saying. "When I joined this pride, I was amazed by how much more I got to eat."
"Yeah," said Kiara, laughing a little as she joined them, "You were skin and bones, back then."
"Was I?" said Vitani, looking around to try and judge for herself. "Well…yeah, I guess I was a little scrawny…"
Kopa laughed. "I was scrawny when I was a little younger too. But I like to think I've filled out pretty well."
Vitani nodded vigorously in agreement. Kiara giggled as she got to her feet and moved back to Kovu, who was busy grooming his paws. He looked up and smiled at her. "You look beat," he said with a chuckle.
"Oh I am," said Kiara as she fitted herself neatly against Kovu's side. "And I think I ate too much…"
Kovu grinned at her. "Yeah, you do look kind of huge --"
"Hey!"
"I'm just kidding… Kidding! Jeez, ow, that was my nose…" He rubbed his snout and turned away from her in mock indignation. "You don't have to be all serious," he said, but he was laughing.
"Sorry," said Kiara, rolling her eyes at him. "But seriously, I just feel so lazy at the moment…"
"You're entitled to a little laziness. The last couple of days have been crazy! And you'll need to rest up if you're going to be a regular member of the hunting party."
"Oh, I don't know if I'll be hunting too much," said Kiara. "I mean, I think I still prefer being the lookout. But it is very liberating to know that I can do it, if I want to."
"I always knew you could," Kovu purred.
"Yeah, you were just a bad teacher," she teased, remembering his attempts to help her hunt back when he first joined the pride. Even though she knew he had still been Zira's pawn at that point, she didn't doubt that his efforts to help her had been genuine.
Kovu pretended to sulk for a moment, but then leaned back against her. "I love you," he said softly.
"I love you," said Kiara, closing her eyes.
