Gone, But Not Alone (A KionxRani AU)

The Plan

Kion began to look at his surroundings again. "I searched to the left, nearby over there," Kion claimed while moving his head toward where he came from, "and there was no one...not one single animal."

"It's the same on this side too," Rani confirmed while also looking around.

"Okay...I think we should head back to the body of water," Kion suggested, looking back to where they originally came from: the water.

"Why?" Rani asked while looking in the same direction.

"So I can taste the water," Kion answered but noticed the confused look Rani gave him. "Since there are no animals, I think we might've somehow wound up in the ocean and we are now on a deserted island. Now, I'm hoping that the body of water is a lake and streams or rivers carried us to this lake. If it is a lake, we can walk around the lake to the other side, and we should be able to follow a stream or river home."

"Okay...but how would you know if it's a lake or an ocean?" Rani questioned as they started to walk toward the lake.

"Well, chances are if it's fresh, it's a lake. If it's salty, it's probably the ocean."

"But if it's ocean..." Rani began to say when a thought occurred to her, "wouldn't you end up drinking salt water?"

"Yes I would," Kion chuckled, "and it would not be my lucky day today."

Rani cracked a small, but noticeable, smile. Smart, funny, and a little cute...maybe this won't be so bad after all.

After a few minutes, Kion and Rani arrived at the body of water; it was the same way they had left it. There were no animals near or in the water.

"Let's pray, for the sake of my taste buds and our chances of getting home, that this is a lake," Kion joked to Rani as he began to draw closer to the water. At this point, Rani stayed behind to watch Kion taste the water.

Kion was a few feet in front of Rani when he got to the water. He leaned forward toward the water, stuck his tongue out, and drank a small amount. Kion waited for the saltiness to hit him, but it never did.

"Phew," Kion breathed a sigh of relief. "Rani, it's freshwater!"

"Well, in that case," Rani giggled as she trotted toward the lake, smiling at Kion, "I'll have some."

So, both lions drank water...quite a lot of it actually. After all, they had not drunk water since before the storm carried them here.

Kion, while he was drinking, was thinking of something evil. He looked at Rani and then back at the water. He moved his front-left paw slowly so Rani wouldn't notice. Then, all of a sudden, Kion splashed Rani with tons of water.

The now-wet Rani backed up and turned to the now-chuckling Kion with a drenched face. "Yeah yeah...very funny..." Rani joked as she had also begun to move her paw toward the water. Kion, however, already anticipating this, jumped out of the way before he got splashed with water.

"Nice try, Rani," Kion remarked with a smirk.

"I will get you back when you least expect it," Rani grinned. "Mark my words, Kion."

"Well, mark these words, Rani," Kion chimed in, creating a challenge between the two. "It won't happen."

Rani then cleared her throat when she realized she was getting off-mission.

Kion was thinking to himself, Well, even if I am stranded God knows how many miles from home...at least it's with someone like Rani. Once I got to know her, she seemed very nice...and wow is she pretty!

"Anyway...should we walk toward where we originally left to?" Rani asked while motioning to where they first went. "Or should we walk around the shore of the lake until we get to the other side?"

Kion thought a moment before responding. "We shouldn't go away from the lake. We may find help, but it won't do much good. We would be going in the opposite direction of where we need to go."

Kion looked at Rani, who seemed to be agreeing, before continuing, "I think we should walk around the border of the lake and hope we find someone on the other side."

"You know what, Kion? I was thinking the exact same thing," Rani beamed at Kion. They then proceeded to smile whole-heartedly at each other.

Wow, she has a beautiful smile.

Wow, his smile is just...wow.

Then, both Kion and Rani realized what they were doing and, at the same time, looked away while blushing.

Why am I blushing? Kion thought. We only smiled at each other...unless...no! I can't have a crush her, I only just met her! That's too soon...isn't it?

Rani was thinking something similar. Can I already have feelings for Kion? We only just met! No, I can't...I just need to focus and calm down. She then took a deep breath before looking back at Kion.

"So, do you want to get going?" Rani asked Kion once she looked at him.

Kion then recomposed himself and looked back at Rani, "Sure."