Hey. Thanks for the reviews! And I think I've been forgetting to do this but: I do not own the Lion King.

Chapter 7

Kiara was sitting on Pride Rock, looking out, trying to spot Nala. She was worried, and wanted to know what had happened to Vitani. Then she saw Nala, walking towards Pride Rock.

"Mum!" she yelled, running down to meet her. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Nala walked into the cave. Kiara looked at her mother curiously. What had happened? Was Vitani alright? But something about Nala made Kiara keep her mouth shut.

"Kiara," said Nala, turning to face her. "I don't want you wandering off on your own anymore." Kiara opened her mouth to protest, but Nala cut her off. "Kiara, this isn't open to debate."

~##~

A week passed by agonisingly slowly for Kiara. She had to do some hunting practice, but she wasn't allowed to do much else, as she was followed everywhere by Simba, Nala, or Timon and Pumbaa. When the day of her coming of age ceremony came, she woke up early. She was excited; today she would be able to go hunt by herself, and hopefully she would be able to see Vitani. It seemed like ages since she had seen her best friend. She walked out of the cave and gazed at the sun rise. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew she was being gently woken up by Nala.

It was late morning by that time. All the lionesses were assembled near the base of Pride Rock. Simba and Nala sat on the end, and Kiara walked between the two rows of lionesses to them.

"Daddy," she said seriously. "You'll let me do this on my own right?"

Simba nodded, and Kiara smiled. She glanced around Pride Rock, and then ran off to find something to hunt. When she was gone, Simba turned to Timon and Pumbaa.

"Follow her, make sure she's alright."

~##~

In the Outlands, Zira called Vitani and Nuka to her.

"I have a special job for you two," she said. Nuka nodded eagerly, and Vitani rolled her eyes at how pathetic he was. "Simba's daughter is hunting in the land near us. I need you to set fire to it." Vitani stifled a gasp. She had to set fire to the Pridelands? Kiara could die! She walked slowly out of the cave.

"Come on Vitani, we've been given a special job!" said Nuka. Vitani nodded slowly, and the two of them ran to the Elephant Graveyard. They set two sticks on fire, and ran to the Pridelands.

~##~

Kiara was creeping up to a herd of antelope. She lay flat on the ground and examined the antelope herd, trying to pick a suitable target. Ah-ha, there: an old, weak looking antelope, which was slightly apart from the rest of its herd. Perfect, she thought. She crept towards it, body flat to the ground, her eyes fixed on it. But then she tripped over a rock, and every antelope looked towards her, and fled. She moaned quietly, and gave chase. The antelope had settled again, and she tried once more to sneak towards them. This time she looked at the ground, making sure there weren't any rocks. She stepped over a rock, and glanced up, she was getting very close to the antelope. However one of her back paws caught the rock, and the antelope ran off again. Growling with frustration, she ran after them. As she chased them, she spotted two familiar figures hiding in the grass.

"Timon, Pumbaa, what are you doing here?" she said, trying to stay calm, only her tail flicking irritably showing her anger.

"Oh! Princess! We were just, uh, looking for grubs," Timon said hastily.

"Father sent you to follow me didn't he," she said, more to herself than them. Timon and Pumbaa glanced at each other. "He promised I could do this by myself!"

"But Princess, he doesn't want you to get hurt," said Timon.

"Well, I'm going to hunt by myself whether he wants me to or not! Even if I have to go away from the Pridelands!" she cried determinedly. She turned and ran, Timon and Pumbaa tried to follow her, but she was too fast. Soon she was near the edge of the Pridelands.

~##~

Nuka and Vitani, who had been sitting on a hilltop, watched Kiara run down another hill. Vitani's face was blank, but inside her thoughts were in turmoil. What should I do? I can't disobey Mother, but I can't let Kiara die either! What should I do? Next to her, Nuka was bouncing with excitement.

"Come on!" he cried. "Let's go!"

The two of them ran down the hillside, and started to set the grass on fire. Vitani was disgusted when she realised how much she was enjoying it. It wasn't her fault; she'd just been raised that way. She looked to see what Nuka was doing, and noticed with amusement that he had made a circle of fire around himself, and was trapped. He leapt out of it, and started to laugh hysterically. He was seriously unhinged. With a roll of her eyes, she turned to see if she could spot Kiara. Maybe she's gone back to Pride Rock, maybe she's by the lake, thought Vitani desperately. She started to run in the direction Kiara had gone. Nuka didn't notice her running off, and continued to cackle.

Vitani raised her head and sniffed, trying to catch Kiara's scent. Luckily, the wind was on her side, and she dashed off on the right path. Soon enough she saw Kiara, crouched down, trying to catch an antelope.

"Kiara!" Vitani shouted, racing towards her. Kiara turned and when she saw who it was, grinned.

"Vitani, it's so good to-"

"No time for that," interrupted Vitani. "There's a fire and you need to get out of here." The smile slid off Kiara's face. Kiara opened her mouth to say something, but Vitani cut her off. "Listen, it's been great to see you, but I really must get out of here, and you should too, unless you want to be burned to death." Vitani turned and ran, and quickly disappeared from view.

"Fire?" Kiara said to herself. "I should get to the lake, it will be safest there." She looked around trying to work out where she was. "But...where am I?" She looked around once again. She didn't recognise anything.

Then the ground started shaking. A huge herd of animals was charging down the hill. There were antelopes, wildebeest, birds, monkeys, elephants, and a cheetah. They were running straight at her. They probably know where the lake is, Kiara thought. I'll follow them. The first few animals passed her, and then she joined the group, charging along with them. Plants, bushes and even trees were being crushed by the stampede of terrified animals. Kiara glanced behind her, and saw smoke and a red haze coming from behind the hill. Then she smelt a whiff of smoke. This motivated the animals to run even faster, and soon enough they reached the lake. Kiara dived in, and sighed with relief. She was safe. I hope Vitani's okay, she thought.

~##~

Vitani slipped into the Outlands. She slowed down from her run, and settled on a fast walk. She reached the cave and strolled in. Zira walked up to her.

"It has been done, Mother," said Vitani bowing her head.

"Where's Nuka?" asked Zira, narrowing her eyes. Vitani's head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise.

"N-nuka?" she stuttered. "He's not here?"

"What happened?" snarled Zira, her eyes filled with rage.

"We got split up, I thought he'd come back here..." said Vitani.

"He's not still in the Pridelands is he?" Zira roared angrily. She called the lionesses to her and they set off in search of Nuka.

"Very nice Vitani," came a voice from behind her. She whirled round.

"Kovu," she spat.

"Well done, you failed a simple mission," he said, smirking. Vitani growled at him.

"It's not my fault. He's older than me, I shouldn't have to look after him!" protested Vitani.

"Vitani, denial doesn't sound good on you," Kovu said, and then he chuckled. Vitani leapt at him, knocking him to the ground. The smile disappeared off his face, and was replaced with a scowl. "You honestly think you can beat me? After all the training I've had?" He stood up and knocked her flying. Vitani landed in a heap on the floor. She leapt to her feet, and growled,

"I don't have time for this. I'm going to find Nuka." She hurried out the cave. Kovu stood there, his smirk firmly back in place, before strolling leisurely after her.

Wow, this was my longest chapter ever, WOOOO!!!!!!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review! And I'll try and update more regularly but I might be a bit slow for a little while, as it's the last day of my holiday tomorrow –sob-, and I'll be back in school, and there will be HOMEWORK.