Gone, But Not Alone (A KionxRani AU)

We're Almost There

"The Tree of Life!"

Rani sprinted off toward the Tree, but stopped when she saw Kion fall.

"Kion! I'm so sorry!"

He chuckled. "It's alright Rani; you're excited. Frankly, so am I."

Rani backed up toward Kion to let him rest on her. "C'mon, Kion."

Kion got up, but didn't rest on Rani. "Actually, I think I'm able to walk on my own now. My paw's feeling better, though definitely not healed."

"No, Kion, it's fine," Rani insisted as she saw Kion struggle to walk on his own.

Kion shrugged it off. "No, I feel bad. For this whole river, I've rested on you. I can do it on my ownnnnnnnnn!!!"

Kion fell as he couldn't keep his balance using own three paws.

"No, Kion, I really don't mind at all," Rani said as she walked to Kion's side. And I really like it.

"So do I," Kion smirked.

Rani's eyes went wide. "Did I just pull a you?"

"Yes, Rani, you did. For the record, I like it too."

Kion leaned on Rani as they made their journey toward the Tree of Life.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" Rani inquired, having a plan in mind.

Kion thought for a moment. "Well, other than hanging out with you...probably sledding."

"What's sledding?"

Kion's mouth fell open. "You've never heard of sledding?"

Rani shook her head, not recalling "sledding".

"Well, I usually do it while it's snowing, but it's not really that time of year," Kion stated. "Basically, I get a log, hop on, and push myself down the hill."

"That sounds...interesting."

Kion nodded his head. "It's really fun. One day, when my paw is better, I'm going to show you."

"I'm already looking forward to it," Rani smiled.

"What about you?" Kion asked nonchalantly, but secretly had the same plan Rani had, unknown to either of them.

"Ooo...that's a tough one," Rani though out loud. "I think watching stars. Sadly, where the Tree of Life is, there's not many places to watch stars."

Kion grinned; he knew just the right place.

"Oh!" Rani exclaimed, "I'm starting to recognize this area now. We should be there soon!"

Kion began to get a little nervous, but he tried to play it cool. Rani was not fooled, however.

"Kion, are you alright?"

Kion nodded. "Of course."

She gave him a look that read: "oh really?"

"Okay...maybe not so alright," Kion admitted to his girlfriend.

"What's wrong?" Rani asked with eyes of worry.

"Well," Kion began unsurely, "I don't know your family. I mean, what if they don't like me?"

"Kion, they'll love you. You're a great lion; there's a reason why I picked you to be my boyfriend."

"Oh, okay. Good to know I wasn't being manipulated as a tool to get you back home," he smirked as Rani shoved him, but not enough to where he'll fall.

"Of course not!" Rani exclaimed.

"I know...I know," Kion admitted, "but I am still a little nervous."

"Don't worry, Kion, I'll stay by your side. But I'll introduce you to them, now."

"What do you mean by now?" Kion asked.

"My mom, Ãnanda, and dad, Sãhasí, are...well...my parents. Baliyo is my brother. Surak is my uncle. Nirmala is my aunt, but not really."

"What do you mean 'not really'?" Kion questioned.

Rani thought about what to say. "She's one of those where my parents have known her for a very long time."

"Ahhh, okay," Kion understood. "Should I be scared of your parents?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if they're like 'I don't want my daughter dating someone she met in the middle of nowhere'? I mean, they haven't met me yet."

"Kion, we literally just went over this."

"I know, I know," Kion chuckled. "I'm just scared that they won't let us be together."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kion."

The duo was merrily walking along until a random thought came into Rani's head.

"Kion?" Rani called to her boyfriend.

"Sí?"

"I have a question: What was your first impression of me?"

Upon hearing Rani's question, Kion's fur was no longer yellow, but a crimson-shade of red. As if that wasn't enough, Kion's body became set on fire; it was very obvious to Rani, as Kion was leaning against her.

"Oh...uh...y-you know t-the usual," Kion stammered.

Rani grinned. "I don't think I do."

Kion didn't know what to say; he was at a loss for words. Why is this embarrassing?! You're dating her.

"When I got to know you, I thought you were pretty, a lot of fun to be around, and kind. Of course, at our first meeting, I thought you were going to bite off my head."

Rani laughed, heavily amused by what Kion said, partially because it was true. "Yeah...sorry about that."

"All good, I mean, look where we are now," Kion said, grinning at how he was so luckily that he and Rani's relationship changed.

"What about now?" Rani asked.

"Huh?"

"After you got to know me...I mean really got to know me?"

Kion didn't know how to respond, so he just said what came to his mind. "Beautiful, no place on Earth I'd rather be, and the most heartful person I know."

Rani thought she may have just died of love on the spot. "You're perfect, Kion."

"What about me?" Kion asked, interested to hear what Rani had to say to him.

"What about you?"

"What were your first impressions me?" Kion clarified.

Now, it was Rani's turn to be embarrassed. Her brown fur was able to hide her blush a little, but it was still very noticeable.

"I uh-well...I...HOLY COW!"

That was not an answer Kion was expecting. "Holy cow? Is that a good or bad thing?"

"No, not you," Rani answered. "Up ahead."

"Is that...?"

"Yes...that's Surak."