A Dark Secret

Chapter 16

Fuli blinked open her eyes. It was late morning, she realized. She turned around and saw Kion sleeping peacefully beside her. I'll let you sleep. This is the best sleep you've gotten in weeks. She rose to her paws and stretched.

Not long after, Gozi began to stir. He opened his eyes and yawned. Hiya Fuli! Good morning!" he said after getting to his paws. "I'm going hunting, catch ya later!" He then sped off out of the den.

Not long after, Kion began to stir. He finally opened his eyes. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Or should I say, afternoon?" Fuli playfully ruffled his mane, well, a still-growing mane. "You've been sleeping all morning. The sun is on the peak of its path now."

"Huh?" Kion asked. He shook his head. You've not fully waken up I guess. Kion yawned and rubbed his eyes with his paw. He then got to his paws and stretched. "Fuli? I think we should leave today. Find the rest of the Guard and continue to the Tree of Life."

"Yeah," Fuli agreed. She looked at Kion who was now starting to paw at his scar. She felt a stab of pity for him. He didn't deserve this. "Let's wait for Gozi to get back 'cause he's already out hunting," she told him. Kion's ears fell flat the moment she mentioned that, though she could see he tried his best to hide it.

They then heard Gozi's scream from outside. "FULI! KION! HELP!"

"Heyvi kabisa!" Kion exclaimed as he and Fuli rushed out of the den and followed Gozi's voice.

"SOMEONE HELP!"

Fuli and Kion kept running towards Gozi. They cleared the next hill and were horrified. Fuli's father, mother, and a bunch of cheetahs surrounding Gozi. The cheetahs prevented Gozi from escaping while her mother had Gozi pinned and her father was repeatedly clawing and slashing him.

"This is your punishment for attempting to escape Swift's Clan!" her father yelled, but had a contradictory wicked smile.

Her mother smirked at the helpless cheetah in front of where she stood next to Fuli's father.

"Let me go!" Gozi screamed. That earned him a slash on the underbelly from her father.

"NO!"

Kion leaped into the group of cheetahs, clawing his way in. He pounced on her mother pinning her to the ground. Fuli followed him immediately, tackling her father and pinning him also.

"Fuli?! What are you doing?!" Mwepesi snarled.

"I'm saving my friend!" she shouted back. Mwepesi quickly flipped their positions and pinned Fuli. Fuli looked to the left and saw that Kion was also pinned by her mother and two other cheetahs. Gozi was held in one place by five cheetahs.
"You're coming with us," Mwepesi snarled at Kion. "Fuli, Gozi, you too." The group of fifteen cheetahs that we're there herded Kion, Fuli, and Gozi back into Swift's Clan territory.

Kion gave Fuli an anxious glance. She rested her tail-tip on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. She noticed Gozi's shivering, so she leaned her muzzle to his ear and whispered, "Everything will be okay." Though even she wasn't sure if her words were true.

When they got to the Swift's Clan camp, all the cheetahs turned to look at Kion.

"A lion!" one exclaimed.

"Chase it off!" another yelled.

"No, don't chase it off. Kill it!" another shouted.

Kion flattened his ears. He almost seemed to shrink behind Fuli as the cheetahs continued shouting. "Kill it! Kill it!"
The fifteen cheetahs surrounding Kion and Fuli herded them to Fuli's den when she stayed in Swift's Clan. They shoved all three of them in the tiny den.