Chapter II

Vitani stared at Kovu giving her a warm, welcoming and much deserved smile for a few minutes before sighing and lowering her head.
"…Okay. Just for you."

Kovu's smile increased in diameter and he lead his sister out. She reluctantly stood up and plodded behind him, she didn't want to do this.
As they were strolling to Pride Rock, Vitani could feel a strange sensation welling up in her belly. It was definitely not the zebra she had for dinner last night. The sensation she tried to suppress didn't pass and grew in it's strength and soon enough her vicious mothers presence could be felt inside her. It was almost like Zira was dictating her from beyond the grave, telling her 'Now is your chance! Kill them all!' But she knew that it would be a wrong decision, she was the second to turn on her vicious mother. She could feel buds of sweat appearing on her forehead as her brother looked back and continued walking.
Vitani flung her head up and looked to the sky to see clouds covering the pride lands. Her strange sensation grew worse. She had no choice, she was going to have to get out of there. As they got closer she almost started sobbing. Even her thoughts were instructing her to slaughter all of them. If she didn't get away now, she just might of. Her claws slid from her pawfingers. Vitani was now convinced that her mother was sending her messages to kill them. She was still an outlander at heart, she knew it.

When they arrived, Vitani couldn't stay. Before they walked up the right side ramp she spoke. "Kovu, I have a strange feeling."

Kovu turned.
"What?" He questioned.
"I can't go. I can't do it."
"Why?"
"Because! You'll just think I'm stupid."
"I won't think that."
"Yes you will."
"No I won't."
"Yes! You will!"
"I won't..."
"You will!"
"For crying out loud Vitani, just tell me what's wrong!"
"Mothers, inside me!" She blurted out.

Kovu sneered.
"Wha-"
"It sounds silly but, how can I explain it? I'm being told to kill you all. I feel her presence, haunting me. If I harm any of you then not only will I live with the guilt I will be sent back to the vicious outlands. I hated it before, I don't want to hate living there again." She was beginning to panic.
"Look, Vitani, I-I just want to help you..."
Kovu was interrupted.
"I don't want your help!"
Kovu gawked, shocked, at his elder sister. He couldn't begin to fathom what she had uttered. Vitani sighed and cleared some sweat, attempting to calm herself down trying not to make a scene.

"I, what I mean is I would rather go on living like this, the way I am now. Please understand. Please just let me go home. Please…I don't want to hurt any of you, Truly...I don't."

Kovu inhaled, stared at his breaking down sister, thought for a second then exhaled.
"Okay," he said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Kiara stepped out of Pride Rock to watch Vitani walking away followed by a prolonged sigh from her mate. Something inside Kiara always told her; there was something about Kovu and Vitani that meant they couldn't be trusted alone. She couldn't trust the one she loved alone. She knew that Kovu was coming along nicely on his recovery, but Vitani, not as smoothly. Vitani since the war had always been a bit...confused. She didn't know if she followed Scar still or if she was a pridelander.
It had taken Kovu 3 years to stop feeling overly - controlled compared to through his childhood where he was utterly tortured. Despite this Kiara was determined not to give up on either of them. She loved Kovu too much to cave at such a stage like this.

With a worried exhale, she stepped down the ramp and plodded over to her mate.
"Everything okay? She questioned.
"No. I'm, concerned about Vitani. This isn't like her. I think she is still an, an outlander." Kovu cut off his speech; he couldn't quite believe he could utter something like that. The idea of there still being outlanders gave him the feeling that he was a traitor. He needed time to think. There was too much going on. Before he could walk off Kiara stopped him.

"Anything more than that?" She softly whispered. Kovu really enjoyed the sound of Kiara's understanding voice.

"What am I gonna do?" Kovu started. "How am I going to be able to take care of Vitani and at the same time if we have a cub look after them too, and when Simba's gone be king as well? Can you imagine what could happen?" Kovu sighed. Time to come clean. "Recently Kiara, I have-I have..."
"Go on."
"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'premonition?' You know, weird visions some lions claim to get over strange occurrences.'
'Yes...'
'I think, I only think though, I have had a few. It's so weird, I go all blurry, and then...and then I just see horrible, horrible things. I'm actually quite frightened Kiara..."

"Stop!" Kiara yelled in interruption. "Vitani can look after herself. She's fine. Even if she isn't, we will work through it. We've done it before, we'll do it again. We haven't decided if we want a cub yet, I mean, don't get me wrong, I do want a cub but we don't know when we want one. It could be a while." She nuzzled him comfortingly. "Plus my father still has much to teach you. You have only had about, what, 10 lessons? Trust me, it's a lot easier to remember than you think. Even if you forget, I'll be here to help you! Don't worry, Kovu. Everything's going to be just fine. Everything in the near future will be safe, okay and fine. I promise you from the bottom of my heart, we'll work through it."
Kovu stared into the one he loved worryingly. He didn't want to admit it, but he could see the derailment coming. It was going to happen, he could sense it. They continued to nuzzle for a minute before Kiara pulled away in realisation.

"Shoot! I have a hunting lesson with mother, speak to you later!"
Kovu smiled with a fake smile before returning to his thoughts. He couldn't understand anything at the moment. He remained seated in the grass before catching sight of a large flock of birds soaring across the skies. He grinned strongly as he stood up and began to playfully chase the birds, returning to his cub – hood for just a brief moment. It was undeniably fun.

Once Vitani had returned to her damp cavern she sighed, sat down and unsheathed one of her claws. She then put it against the wall and began to inscribe. This wasn't the first time she had inscribed on the wall, previously, she had drawn two lions falling off of midway gorge, leaving their two cubs behind, a burning forest with a lion surrounded by flames, a lion knocked out and drowning in outland lake, fire surrounding Pride Rock, Pride Rock collapsing and hyenas.

There was no explanation whatsoever for inscribing things into the wall however she too had been having premonitions of terrible things, terrible, terrible things. Almost like Kovu, she could sense that the derailment was approaching. The only problem the two lions had was, when? When would this problem happen? Would it even happen?

Vitani lay on her underbelly, rested her head on her paws and reassessed the situation. Her head was facing the exit of her cave, staring out into the gleaming sun that beamed down powerfully and gracefully all the same. Her first thought obviously was that this was all in her head and none of this existed. Was this just a dream? How could it be, the presence of her mother's beating heart she could still feel. The wind picked up in speed slightly and the roof of the damp cavern relinquished three drops of water that splashed directly on Vitani's back, startling the young lioness and causing her to shiver. She made no move to wipe off the droplets that slowly slid down her grey fur, leaving a trail of dampness past it. The lioness shivered once more shutting her eyes tightly.

The second theory that she came up with: her cruel father could be setting a devious plan, but bypassed this idea straight away. She remembered watching her father fall to his death, it was impossible that he was still around.

As Vitani remembered her father her mind slowly drifted off to her own cub hood, back to when she had a friend; Kopa. Kopa was Simba and Nala's first child. He had wandered off one sunny day to the outlands where he was ridiculed by one Nuka and immediately befriended by the young Vitani. They would meet in secret, knowing their worlds couldn't collide. At a young age Vitani had experienced what it felt like to be in love, but then only to have it taken away when her mother committed her cruel act and made King Simba doubly sure they were to stay a separate pride to the pridelanders. She had never forgiven her mother for that. From that day on she regretted rejecting Simba's offering to stay with the pridelanders and be brought up in a life of luxury.
The only thing that Vitani cared for that day on was her adopted brother; Kovu. She made sure that he had a friend when he needed one, even if she felt alone he was the first cub she turned to. Of course that was the case until Kovu's training intensified. He had no free time, nothing but praise and a killer look in his eye. Exactly what Zira had ordered.

()0()0()

The late afternoon was rolling in. Simba had relaxed a little too much today and was paying for it by proceeding with patrolling too late. He was stood next to the watering hole after chasing off two fighting leopards trespassing. Zazu was perched on the bottom of the lion king's neck noting things occurring that Simba didn't see. Simba bent down for a lengthy drink from the watering hole. When he was finished he looked into his reflection.

"How did my father do it?" Simba sighed. "It's unbelievably tiring. I think I need a break."
"You're merely just facing the stress of recovery from a war." Zazu reassured him.
"What for three years? I'm pretty sure father didn't need to deal with war aftermath. He wouldn't be proud of me."
"Of course he is!"
"Is?"
"Yes. Remind yourself, he is the great king of the past, watching over you."
"I suppose your right..."
"I am right sire, you are a great king."

Simba smiled warmly and continued to sleepily patrol the pridelands. The thought that his father might not be impressed with his current achievements freaked him out more than ever.

Ten minutes later, he finally finished at the outlands. Simba hadn't noticed them since he was ambushed there; just staring at it gave him the same fear he felt when he was under attack. He remembered sprinting to the dam for his life, climbing up that log wall. It reminded him of how Kovu did nothing, and the fearless act that Kovu took to remind himself that Kovu wasn't a traitor, far from it actually.

Greenery from the pridelands were spreading slowly and giving the outlands a fresher glow, trees had begun to spawn and the outlands was regenerating its beauty. Simba, however, still couldn't see it as the pridelands.

"Zazu, remember to tell everyone that the outlands are still off limits." Simba instructed.
"But, why sire? They seem to be-"
"I have my reasons." Simba Interrupted. "I, just want to keep it off limits. It still gives me the creeps."
"As you wish" Zazu replied flying off. Zazu could tell that there was something bothering the king. Simba continued to gaze into the outlands and thought:

What would have happened if Zira didn't die? Would we be living there? Would I be dead, killed viciously. I guess Kovu would have killed me. What if my father's promise of always being there for me was nothing but a fake lie? How do I know if the great kings are watching me? Are they really guiding and helping my every decision? What if I am not what is expected of me? What if he's not proud?

This was certainly not the first time this thought had occurred to Simba. Over a year ago he had managed to convince himself that Zira still roamed the earth. Psychologically, Simba was suffering since the end of the last battle, he could especially never forgive himself for what he did to his only daughter; keeping her locked away. Even though Kiara accepted his apology she would never know how much Simba meant it. He hadn't been completely honest with Kiara recently. Six months ago Kiara had asked if he was telling the truth about the demise of Scar and purely because he loved her and wanted her protected, he said yes, but the guilt he felt after he lied was unbearable.

Simba heavily inhaled and started to walk away. He looked back at the forgotten lands, trying to look forward but finding it difficult. As he walked away staring at the pridelands, he re imagined the horrors that rampaged on from three years ago.

()0()0()

Dusk quickly followed through, the sun setting on another day. Today was strangely faster than any of the pride had imagined however, for Simba the days seemed to start dragging on. Seen as all he had to do now really as king was stop other animals from arguing and control the balance and aftermath of the war. He missed running investigations and uncovering information, Simba had always referred to that as the fun part of his job. Always. But to him, the best part for Simba was knowing and acknowledging he had all of his caring family around him, because they were always there for him when he felt depressed and after the childhood Simba had had it happened on more than one occasion.

The pride begun to return to Pride Rock. The evening glow spread across the lands, signalling the end of the three year anniversary. In first was Kovu. He slumped down in his and Kiara's section of the cavern waiting eagerly to give some news to Kiara. Followed by him was some of the pride lionesses, Nala and finally Kiara. His welcoming smile gave Kiara the indication that there was good things involved.
"What you smiling at?" Kiara chuckled, resting next to her mate.
"I think you're gonna be happy." Kovu replied.
"Come on, what?"
He bent down and came close to her ear.

"I think we should have a cub."
"Now?" Kiara shouted. Kovu silenced her, although no one really cared why she shouted.
"Don't you think we're ready Kiara? I do!"
"Well, yeah but what about all the things you have been saying about..."
"I'm sure you were right when you said nothings gonna happen. You're probably right, I am paranoid. Don't worry Kiara, we'll work through it together, side by side."

Kiara just gazed at Kovu for a little while. She knew she wanted this, but Kovu had been speaking earlier about his premonitions which freaked her out internally. Kovu had come to the conclusion that if nothing had happened for three years, then surely it must be safe now. He didn't settle with it was completely safe, because when was it ever completely safe?

Kovu gave Kiara a reassuring smile as she continued to ponder his request. This was what she wanted, but were they entirely ready? No one could be sure. She, after a few minutes, gave him another smile and nuzzled his long majestic mane.
"Okay."

()0()0()

Completely oblivious to them was the inscribings on Vitani's small cavern. She had continued to inexplicably draw more through the day.
As Vitani re entered her damp and dark cavern to settle down for the night, she glanced at the inscribed drawings on the side. Reluctantly, Vitani had finally decided she was still a follower of Scar. She didn't want to believe it, it was so. She knew perfectly well that he was dark and heartless; that he did wrong. She also knew that Zira was insane.
It was just the thought of not being how times were when they were still in cub-hood. Kovu and Vitani fighting and playing with their older brother, Nuka. The minute Kovu initiated that plan she always saw the flaw in the plot, the weak spots of it. Vitani always subconsciously knewthat Kovu would become a pridelander, his heart wasn't black enough and his eyes never contained much coldness until he was brainwashed. Even after Scar had adopted him; he always looked uninterested. Kovu's blood father obviously attempted to set him on the right path, but failed when he died.

Another thought occurred to the lioness; attention was always on Kovu. Never was any attention on Vitani or Nuka. Whenever they did something good and successful, they were ignored. Nuka constantly preached to Vitani how he hated Kovu. Vitani didn't hate him, she merely resented him for his selfish ways. Even at Nuka's death, when Zira finally paid some attention too him, Nuka could tell Zira's mind was still on her adopted son. Which, even though reflected positively on Nuka, was still paying attention to Kovu.
Perhaps Vitani still following the most heartless king was a good thing, but bad all the same. Kovu was the only family she had remaining, she wasn't prepared to give up her family, even if they were conflicting sides...

Vitani continued to gawk at the inscribings on the side. Every time she glanced at one, she could picture the event happening. She couldn't help but think that it could possibly be a reality someday…someday soon. The days had been rolling past at increasing speeds so it was very possible a derailment was ahead on the tracks. She sat down and then lay, rested her sleepy head on her paws and continued to stare at the wall. In a short period of time her eyes slowly closed so slumber. Vitani head was banging like a drum but she had to ignore it. Tomorrow she had to come to terms with her decision of still following scar, whether she wanted to or not.


:D