Lion Guard: Healing Heart

Chapter 12: Ullu's First Flight

I feel like Mipha's theme would be playing so I added the music

Rani and Bailyo ran straight ahead, already having in mind on who they want to see. "Come on! Let's go see if Ullu is ready to fly!" Rani told her brother excitedly.

The royal siblings hoped that if Ullu started flying, then maybe she could play with them. A mishevious smile came up on Rani "Race ya little brother!" She told him and started to speed up. "Hey!" Bailyo said annoyed as he tried catching up to her.

Rani kept swerving left and right to confuse her brother. She learned this from watching her parents hunt. The young princess looked forward to hunting alongside her parents one day.

Bailyo was panting heavily, quickly losing energy. He hated losing and he wanted to get to the owl's nest first. An idea came up in his head that made him smirk. He remembered in one hunt how his father had gained speed and tackles his prey successfully.

The young prince gained speed to get close to his sister. Now the tricky part. Timing. Rani was still zigzagging. So Bailyo had time it right. His parents always told him in hunts that you have to time your pounce and your leap. He decided to make a count down. "1....2....3!" He counted and then pounced.

While the pounce was a bit messy, he did pounce on her back leg and the two rolled onto the ground, even sliding on it.

The two finally made it to a stop, their fur all messy and sticking out in places with dirt on it. Bailyo panted heavily but he smiled knowing he won. "I...I win" he told her out of breath.

Rani glared at her brother annoyed but a shadow passed over her face and she looked up at the sky. "Hold on" she told him as she gently pushed him off. Her brother looked up at her direction at the sky, curious.

They saw Neha, the snowy owl, flying to her nest until she landed on the ground. Rani's ears perked in curiosity. The two cubs crept closer quietly. There was some bushes near the tree so the two stayed behind them and looked over it to get a view.

They saw Neha on the ground with her chick, Ullu, who flapped her little wings. "What are they doing?" Baliyo asked curiously yet puzzled. The snowy owl turned her back to her daughter. The two siblings looked at eachother puzzled before turning back to the owls. What were they up too?

Thing is, Neha was going to start teaching Ullu to fly. However, they weren't going to start using their wings yet. Neha had a different training progress set up for her little one. The chick was still too young to fly. Nor were her wings strong enough to give her the power of flight. And yet, Neha found a way for Ullu to feel what it would be like to fly.

The snowy owl turned her face to her daughter with a warm smile. "Hop on my back, my little snowball. We'll go to the skies together so you can get a feel of it" she explained to her as her wings opened. The sun reflected on her white wings, dotted with black markings. Her wings shimmer and her daughter awed at her mother's beauty.

The chick waddled over to her, and climbed onto her back. "Stay tucked in my wings, and do not open your wings" she instructed her calmly as her daughter curled into the soft, silky feathers.

Once assured her daughter was secured, Neha turned to the sky, and with one beat of her wings...

Whoosh!

"Whoa!" The royal siblings awed in surprise and amazement when all of a sudden, Neha took to the sky full speed, soaring up. The owl held out her wings and with one flap, zoomed ahead. "Did you see that Rani? She moved so fast!" Baliyo said amazed as his tail wagged in excitement. "Come on! Let's follow them!" Rani said, jumping to her paws and the two siblings chased after the owls.

Up in the sky, Ullu clung onto her mother's back, her eyes shut tight as she was scared of being so high in the sky for the first time. She could feel the wind going through her feathers but she kept her face buried in her mom's back.

"Ullu. Open your eyes my dear"

Her mother's soothing voice came up and at the same time, the wind had calmed down. Like her voice was commanding the winds. The small chick opened her eyes, and moved her face up to look. What the chick saw made her eyes widen in awe and wonder.

In front of Ullu, the clear blue sky was vast and large with a gentle breeze going through her feathers. She could see below her the lands they live on. It looked so wide and green and she could see the waterhole shimmering. She could make out some of the animals down below...especially two familiar balls of brown fur.

"Ullu! Hey Ullu!" Rani called out to her from below as the siblings tried to catch up to her. "Hi Ullu!" Baliyo yelled out excited, jumping in the air as if he was trying to fly. The little owl smiled big at them, and waved her little wing at them, saying hello.

"Ullu"

The chick turned back to her mother, curious. The older owl turned her head smiling warmly at her, her eyes shimmered. "Sweet Ullu. I want you to remember this moment. A moment where you feel the sky, and the air. Even if one day fate parts us, I do not want you to ever forget this remarkable moment. This is what it feels to fly. To be one with the sky" she explained to her daughter wisely and gently.

Ullu nodded to her mother. This was a feeling she would not forget. "Now should we try one more time?" She asked her, grinning at her. The chick flapped her wings excitedly, chirping. Neha chuckled at her daughter as she flapped her wings, giving herself a boost in the sky as she flew around their home.