Chapter 10

The next morning, as the sun rose over the Pride Lands on a clear day, Kiara woke up early for the hunting and fighting lessons. Now, she just had to awaken Leo and then find Kovu, who was already out and about.

"Leo! Wake up!" Kiara said excitedly and quietly, not wanting to wake the other lionesses. She began pulling on Leo's shoulder with her teeth, but not enough to draw blood. "Come on, Leo!"

"Geez, Kiara…" Leo muttered, turning over on his side. "Can't you let sleeping lions lie?"

"Come on, Leo! Today's the day!" Kiara replied. "Kovu's going to teach me how to hunt and-"

"I know, I know, how to fight also…" Leo said drowsily. "Okay, help me up…"

Leo then stuck out his hand, and Kiara clamped her jaws around it, but not hard. She began pulling, and Leo sat up. Leo then yawned and said, "I think that medicine that Rafiki gave me last night for my wounds is making me sleepy."

"Are you ready, Leo?" Kiara asked, when Leo stood up.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Leo replied, shaking himself awake. "Let's find Kovu!"

The two of them went out of Pride Rock, down the entrance ramp, and into the grasslands. There, the two of them began walking for some time, just until they found Kovu, who was by the waterhole, looking like he was ready to pounce. Suddenly, Kiara jumped into his way, causing him to jump up in shock!

"Good morning!" Kiara giggled, walking around his excitedly. "I'm ready for my first lesson! Surprised you, huh?"

Leo looked at Kovu, and then looked towards the waterhole. To his horror, he saw Simba walking away from it! And with Kovu in an attack position like that, he was probably going to attack Simba! However, Kiara didn't seem to notice, and Leo was glad that she got in the way. He was also somewhat glad she didn't see her friend about to attack her father.

"Hey, you two coming or what?" Kiara, who was already off through the grasslands, called back to Leo and Kovu.

"Yeah, sorry!" Leo replied. He then looked at Kovu and, deciding to play dumb, asked, "What were you about to attack?"

"Nothing." Kovu replied, his voice annoyed. "It was just a gazelle by the waterhole. He got away when Kiara got in the way."

"Sorry about that; she gets excited very easily. Anyway, we better follow Kiara, before she starts reminding us why we're out here."

Leo then went after Kiara while Kovu paused, looked one last time at the waterhole, let out a growl, and followed Leo. Together, the two of them went out into the grasslands to practice hunting and fighting.

…

For the rest of the morning, Kovu began by teaching Leo how to fight a lion. He taught him how to get his arm out of a lion's jaw, the weak points of where to hit, how to avoid getting swatted during a fight and, most importantly, how to use his claws. Luckily, Leo's fingernails had grown over the years, till they looked like lion's claws, so that proved to be a useful substitute. However, they had to be sharpened on a rock before he could actually use them in combat.

After he was done teaching Leo, Kovu then began to teach Kiara. However, her hunting lessons weren't exactly going as great as Leo's lessons did.

At the moment, Leo and Kovu were sitting near the tall grass, hearing Kiara attempt to move silently and pounce on Kovu. However, she kept saying 'ouch' and stepping on different things hidden in the grass, which made a lot of noise for Leo and Kovu to hear.

"Does she always hunt like this?" Kovu asked quietly.

"Yeah." Leo replied, his tone equally hushed. "She couldn't even catch a butterfly."

Kovu chuckled quietly at that, and then he started counting, "3… 2… 1…"

"Gotcha!" Kiara yelled, jumping out to pounce on Kovu. However, Kovu dodged out of the way, causing Kiara to hit the ground and fall onto her back. When Kovu stood over her, she smiled kind of shyly and said, "Guess you could hear me, huh?"

"Only a whole lot…" Kovu replied, moving away from her.

Kiara then got up, and Kovu said, "You're too excited. You have to relax, calm down. Let your claws sink into the earth and feel how soft it is." He then stuck out his front claws and stuck them into the earth. Kiara did the same, and Leo squatted down and stuck his fingernails into the dirt.

Suddenly, some birds landed on a hill, to which Kovu took notice. He then said somewhat haughtily, "Watch the old master at work…"

"Oh boy…" Leo replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He and Kiara then crouched down and began following Kovu silently up the hill.

Kovu then took a running start, leapt over the hill with a yell, and was greeted by a screaming Timon who was about to eat a grub but spat it out upon seeing Kovu.

"Don't eat me, please!" Timon yelled, putting his hands in front of his face. "I never met you, tyrant! I mean, scar! Heck of guy, little moody, though!"

"Timon?" Leo asked, as he and Kiara came over the hill.

"What are you doing here?" Kiara asked.

"Kiara! Leo! Thank goodness!" Timon replied, his voice relieved. "Hey, for once, we are not following you! This here just happens to be the smorgasbord of the Pride Lands! Bugs everywhere!"

The two lions and the human looked out upon the field, seeing several birds scattered on it and pecking at the ground.

"But," Timon said, his voice annoyed. "You don't make a reservation, and these guys come in and take over!"

"So, you two were bug hunting, and those birds took over when you found a good spot?" Leo asked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Timon asked. He then went into the field and yelled, "Get out of here you scavengers! Go on, shoo!"

One bird that was pecking at the ground, looked up at Timon, and jabbed him in the nose with his beak! Timon pulled back, holding his nose, which was pulsating and turning red!

"You see, these two eat bugs rather than eat anything else." Leo said to Kovu.

"That's disgusting." Kovu replied.

"I know, that was Kiara's reaction. As for myself, I once tried a bug when I was 5, and I have regretted it ever since! It exploded in mouth, and I ended up puking! Worms, however, weren't that bad, just as long as you put some mango juice on them."

"Oy, Timon…" Pumbaa spoke, with several birds sitting on his back and head. "I'm getting tired; I gotta start losing some pounds."

Timon climbed onto Pumbaa and yelled, "Shoo! Shoo!"

The birds flew away and Leo, Kiara, and Kovu went down into the field to give them some help.

"Hey, maybe he can help us!" Pumbaa said, as Timon cleared the last of the birds off his comrade.

"Yeah, right!" Timon said. "Let the vicious outlander help out. That's a-" He suddenly paused and said, "Hey, I got it. What if he helps us?" He got off Pumbaa and pointed at Kovu.

"Wasn't that Pumbaa's idea?" Leo asked.

"No, I thought this idea up really carefully." Timon replied.

"But a few seconds ago, you were disagreeing, and now you're saying it's your idea? You're stealing his idea, man!"

"Whatever…" Timon said, dismissing the topic of the conversation. He then asked Kovu, "Care to lend a voice?"

"What?" Kovu replied with his own question.

"Come on, roar! Work with me here!"

"What?" Kovu asked again, looking at Kiara and Leo.

"Like this…" Kiara said. She then let out a loud roar, which scared the birds away.

Timon cheered and jumped onto Pumbaa, and then began riding after the birds. "Come on, do it again! Do it again!" Timon yelled excitedly.

Kovu rolled this time, which made more birds fly away. Kiara then began charging through the fields, with Leo and Kovu following from behind.

"Why are we doing this? Aren't we supposed to be training?" Kovu asked as they were running.

"Training? This is supposed to be fun!" Kiara laughed.

"Fun?" Kovu asked.

"Yeah, fun!" Leo replied, running beside Kovu. "It's enjoyable, makes you laugh, and feels great to do!" Leo then began running up a hill and leapt off it, doing a front flip as he yelled, "YEE-HAW!" He then landed, and went back to running with Kovu and Kiara. "Come on, let me hear your Yeehaw!"

"Yee-haw…" Kovu replied, sounding kind of stiff.

"No, with more power and freedom to it, like it's the greatest thing you've done!"

"Yee-haw!" Kovu tried again, this time sounding louder.

"You almost got it! Do it for real! Let it loose!"

"YEE-HAW!" Kovu roared, his voice free and open.

"There you go!" Leo yelled excitedly. "You got it! YEE-HAW!"

"YEE-HAW!" Kiara yelled herself, causing everybody to laugh.

However, when they saw what they were about to hit, everybody stopped dead in their tracks. Apparently, they had run into a rocky gorge, where the birds they were chasing had perched on some rhinos.

"Uh-oh…" Kiara said quickly.

As soon as they stopped, the birds spat raspberries at them, and the rhinos prepared to charge.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Leo yelled at top his lungs. He then began running, followed by Kiara, Kovu, and Pumbaa, with Timon riding on him.

The rhinos stampeded, and the five continued running. They then found a crevice in the rocks to hide, as the rhinos wouldn't stop charging! Leo went in first, followed by Kiara and Kovu, and then Pumbaa and Timon. After the rhinos had passed, the five began laughing at their little escapade.

"What a blast!" Kovu laughed.

"Oh… sorry…" Pumbaa apologized, causing the group to laugh again.

"That was a close one!" Leo said. "Good job on the yeehaw-ing, Kovu! I think you got that down pat!"

"Thanks." Kovu replied.

"You did good, kid!" Timon said, giving Kovu a playful noogie. "You did good…"

The five then tried to get out, but since they were all stuck together in the crevice, they had to get Timon and Pumbaa out first. After they got Timon and Pumbaa, Kiara and Kovu were about to get out. But before they did, they turned and accidently touched snouts, almost like they were about to kiss.

"Oh… sorry…" Kiara said, smiling shyly.

Leo smiled and rolled his eyes. Kiara and Kovu then got themselves out of the crevice, and Leo pulled himself out last.

"Well, that was fun…" Leo spoke, brushing himself off.

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Timon yelled.

Leo then looked to Kovu and Kiara and said, "Shall we?"

"Come on!" Kiara replied excitedly, running in the direction Pumbaa and Timon were going. Kovu and Leo followed suit, on to new adventures in the Pride Lands.

…

As night began to fall, Pumbaa and Timon said their goodbyes and left. Leo decided to go his own way too, knowing that he was probably going to be a third wheel with his sister and her boyfriend. He left them under a tree, where they lied on their backs and began stargazing.

Leo walked along the grassy plains at night, with the moonlight and stars acting as a light source. He took his time walking, staring at the sky and feeling the grass in his feet. The reason being was that he was in deep thought, thinking about the day's events. They had been fun, no doubt, and he was starting to believe that Kovu was actually good. But then, the words of Braun came back into his mind:

"You can't… trust… Kovu… The Outlanders… are planning… to overthrow the Pridelanders… from the inside. Kovu… is in… on it. Don't… trust him…"

Now Leo was worried; what if Braun was right? What if Kovu was a villain, and they were playing into his trap? I mean, he had fun with them, but that wasn't enough to call each other close friends, or even brothers for that matter!

Leo then sat down under a tree, and began thinking about the things that Braun had said. After remembering what he said about Kovu, he then remembered the promise that he had Leo make to him:

"In the outlands… there's a lioness… her name is… Vitani. I want you… to protect her… and keep her… safe."

Leo felt extreme guilt at that moment, knowing that he had ended the life of a father. But it couldn't be his fault, because Braun attacked after Leo gave him a warning. And even Braun told him that he had nothing left, and killing him was a favor.

Leo then remembered the final thing that Braun said before he breathed his last breath, and it brought even more questions to the whole mess:

"Them… They are… still… alive…"

As soon as those words were remembered, Leo suffered a headache and began remembering; People screaming, a baby crying, a loud crashing, a lion roaring-

No… it couldn't be… they couldn't have survived. If they did, Leo would know. Leo was the last of those people that came from the metal structure. Braun had killed them, and those who survived his onslaught probably were killed by the elements of the Pride Lands.

Leo then picked up a rock next to him and threw it, trying to take his mind off his thoughts. The rock sailed through the air, went through the tall grass, and then hit something.

"Ow!" a female voice said through the grass.

"Oops! Sorry!" Leo replied.

"What did you have to go throwing rocks for?" the voice asked again, the grass rustling as it came forth.

"I was trying to take my mind off something that-" Leo was about to say, but then stopped when he saw the owner of the voice come out of the tall grass.

The owner was a lioness; a thin, scraggly looking lioness with a tuft of hair on her head, and a scowl on her face. Her color, which was a dull grey, instantly made Leo know who she was.

The lioness on the other hand, was rather surprised to see a young man with jet black hair that was like a lion's mane, large healing scars on his chest, and what looked like black fur growing on his legs (his sweatpants).

"Outlander…" Leo growled, dropping into a defensive stance.

"Pridelander…" The lioness growled, dropping into an attack stance.