Kion and Rani

Discovery

Kion popped open his eyes and sat up. He flexed his claws. Suddenly he felt a raw pain-like fury surge from his paw. He looked down and saw that a thorn was driven deep into his pad. It was so deep that there was a trickle of blood pumping out of the wound. He began to walk around, exploring his surroundings. He gritted his teeth. He was limping badly, barely even placing the paw down. He turned the corner and gasped. Rani's limp body lay stretched out across the rocky floor. Pain forgotten, he raced towards her. 

"Rani? Rani!" Kion nudged her shoulder, a sob cutting into his voice. 

Rani suddenly let out a gasp. Kion jerked backward. She slowly sat up, pain glittered in her gaze. Then her eyes fell on Kion. The joy that lit her face made Kion's heart burst. She nuzzled him and purred softly. Suddenly the light died in her eyes. 

"They got you too, huh,"

"Yeah," Kion said, he looked back at Rani. "I'm so glad you're OK," He murmured. "I don't know what I would do if you had died," He shuddered at the thought of her dying in real life instead of in a dream. 

Rani pressed her cheek against Kion's. "I will never leave you," she promised. "But, for now, we have to get out of here," 

Kion nodded and began to walk forward, still limping badly. Rani must have noticed too, for she hurried to his side, still covered in blood.

"Are you alright? You're limping," Worry and concern edged her voice.

"I'm fine really, it's just a thorn," he said earnestly.

"Well, here you can lean on me until we figure out what to do,"

Kion gratefully shifted his weight onto Rani's shoulder. She winced and he instantly pulled back. 

"Are you OK? I don't want to put too much pressure on you,"

"When it's about you, nothing is too much pressure," She said fiercely. She moved closer to him so that their pelts touched. 

As they walked through the tunnels Kion realized that even if they got out of this maze, they could be far away from the Tree of Life. As they turned the corner, they came face to face with the tiger. 

"You!" Kion snarled. 

He snorted. "My name is Sinrav,"

Kion suddenly squinted looking at Sinrav. That name was sort of familiar to him. But he brushed off the feeling, realizing that this wasn't the time to think about it. 

"You're here all by yourself," Rani said.

"So?" Sinrav asked

"So we can defeat you right here, right now," Kion growled.

Sinrav barked a harsh laugh. "You think I'm alone? Hyenas, pumas, vultures, leopards, monitor lizards. I got them all. Your pathetic little group couldn't defend the Tree no matter how hard they tried. I will always overpower, oh, and did I forget to mention that I'm on the verge of having an alliance with crocodiles and a couple of Lynxes? No? Oh well, at least you know now,"  

Kion let out a soft growl. "I don't care how many animals you have on your side! We won't let them take over the Tree of Life!"

Sinrav let out a harsh laugh. "You sound oh so confident, do you? Well, I guess that's because you have the roar,"

Kion froze for a moment, then recovered himself. "So what if I do?" Kion demanded.

Sinrav barked a laugh. "You think the roar is your greatest weapon, do you? Wrong, it will be your greatest weakness!" Sinrav backed away into the shadows, disappearing out of Kion and Rani's sight. 

Rani shot a sympathetic look at Kion. "I'm sure he's just lying, there's no way the roar can be a weakness,"

Kion sighed. "I hope so,"

They kept on walking until Rani's head suddenly pricked. "Kion!" She said excitedly. "I can see light up ahead,"

The pair instantly sprinted towards the light and as they entered it, they saw something they thought was far away.

Kion let out a gasp. "The Pridelands!"