Gone, But Not Alone (A KionxRani AU)

Meeting A Cub

The next day, Kion woke up at the crack of dawn. He stretched and looked over toward Rani, who was still sleeping peacefully. He thought about waking her up but decided to let her sleep. He laid there, resting peacefully, until he heard a quiet, muffled sob. Kion looked over toward Rani, but it wasn't her who was crying. It sounded like it was coming from behind them. He turned around and slowly made his way past the trees and toward the crying. He kept his guard up in case there was danger present.

When he got closer to the sound, he noticed it was a baby lion cub. He looked around and didn't see any other lions nearby.

"Ummm...hello there?" Kion asked unsurely as he didn't know how to approach the situation.

"Are you one of the bad guys?" the cub trembled while backing up and away from Kion.

"No no no...I'm a good guy. What's wrong?" Kion replied sweetly to the cub in front of him.

"The bad guys *sniff* we chasing me and *sniff* my mom. She told me *sniff* to run away and hide," The cub, on the verge of a tearful outbreak, whimpered to Kion.

"Okay...well, my name is Kion. You can trust me, I promise I will help you find your mom," Kion told the pup, who still seemed hesitant. So, Kion decided to build some trust first. "What's your name?"

"My name's Zane," the cub, named Zane, told Kion.

Kion nodded. "Well, my name is Kion. I'm from the Pridelands."

"You're from the Pridelands?" Zane gasped in astonishment.

"Not only am I from the Pridelands, I'm actually also the Prince of the Pridelands," Kion replied to answer Zane's question. "You've heard of them?"

"Yeah," Zane replied in awe as he was talking to the Prince. "My mom talks about them pretty often. What are you doing here?"

"Well, this other lion and I kinda got carried by the river over here. The other lion is from the Tree of Life, and we're both trying to get to get back to our homes," Kion explained to Zane.

"Oh! I've heard my Mom talk about that place too! Whose this other lion you're talking about?" Zane inquired.

"I'll show you," Kion said as they proceeded to walk back toward the trees where Kion sleep.

After they arrived, Kion introduced him to the asleep Rani, "Her name is Rani, we're helping each other get home."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Zane, so innocently, asked Kion. Kion just blushed and shook his head.

"What?! No no no...just a friend," Kion stammered, still blushing like a tomato.

"Why are you blushing then?" Zane teased. How am I letting a cub his age tease me?!?!?!

"Well...I uhh..." Kion tried to come up with something as he continued to stammer, but luckily for him, Rani started to stir awake.

"Good morning, Rani," Kion diverted the topic from him as she started to open her eyes.

"Good morning, Kion," Rani replied sweetly, but then noticed there was a cub standing beside him. "I'm not meaning to sound rude, but who are you?"

"I'm Zane," he smiled at Rani.

"I found him alone in the forest after I woke up," Kion mentioned, motioning to the area behind his trees. "His mother told him to run and hide; she was being chased by some bad lions."

"Oh..." Rani hesitated before looking at Kion, "Can I talk with you...alone...for a moment?"

"Ummm...sure. Zane, would you mind staying here for a moment?" Kion looked at Zane who nodded his head. So, Kion and Rani began to walk out of earshot from Zane.

"What's wrong?" Kion whispered to Rani.

"Look, I'm all for helping him...but what happens if we don't find his mother?" Rani asked, looking over toward where Zane was sitting. "If she's still alive, the chances of us finding her are very slim. And that's if she's alive. With lions chasing after her, she could very well be..."

"Dead?" Kion said, finishing her sentence. Rani nodded at Kion. He then responded to her, saying, "If she's no longer with us, I'll take him to the Pridelands with me."

Rani smiled at Kion. "You have a good heart, you know that?"

You have a beautiful smile, you know that? Kion was thinking to himself. For some reason though, Rani turned her head away. He noticed the blush creep up on her cheek, which could only mean one thing. Did I just say that out loud?

"Yes, you did..." Rani replied. Kion noticed a bit of excitement in her voice, but was too embarrassed to act on it.

Shoot! Rani? Can you hear me now? When he got no answer, Kion assumed he was finally able to get a filter. Was I trying to hit on her?

Rani was also thinking the same thing: Was he trying to hit on me? Oh god, I hope so...

They were both blushing, and when Zane noticed this, he chuckled. He may not have heard what they said, but he still found it funny.

"Oh...umm...we should probably get back to him," Kion said, still very embarrassed.

"Yeah..." Rani agreed, also embarrassed.

They walked back toward Zane who was still laughing; Kion gave him a death glare.

"So, Zane, we're going to walk around this area a bit and try to find your mother," Rani explained, leaving out the part that she may be dead.

"Do you know where she may have gone?" Kion asked, trying to figure out where she may be.

"I honestly have no clue..." Zane said when a tear came to his eye.

"All I remember is *sniff* my mom, dad, and I were all of the sudden being chased by some animals...*sniff*...and they were fighting them off. They told me to run and hide," Zane sobbed, now bursting in tears.

Kion was about to comfort Zane, but he was waved off by Rani. Instead, she went up to Zane and began to comfort him. She gave him a little hug and was able to calm him down.

"Don't worry, we're going to look for your mom as hard as we can," Rani assured him in a sweet tone as Kion watched from the side.

She was able to calm him down so much, Zane actually fell asleep. Rani slowly walked away from Zane and moved toward Kion, still slowly, so she wouldn't wake Zane up.

"You have quite a way with cubs," Kion whispered to Rani once she got to him. "You were saying I have a good heart...well, you have a great heart."

"Thanks, Kion," Rani said, extremely flattered for the second time in a couple minutes.

Both sat there, enjoying the view of the lake and the presence of the other; it was now midday. Kion gave out a yawn before deciding to lay down and, eventually, fall asleep. They were still tired; after all, it was still very early. Rani then followed suit as all three lions were taking a nap.