Kion has been distancing himself from everyone in the Pride Lands due to an accident. He lost control of his rage and roared so powerfully, he split Pride Rock in half and nearly killed his sister. He has been in hiding since, not accepting any kind...
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Vitani panted heavily and coughed as the fire continued to consume everything in its path. She watched as her allies struggled to dig the fire pits. Her guard was so tired that she and Imara had to do the last half chore. The rest of her guard helped with the evacuation of the burning area. The air was laced with smoke and screams. "VITANI!!!l" Imara called as she walked to her leader, coughing as smoke entered and infected her lungs. "We can't keep going like this. We're just wearing ourselves down." Imara struggled to get out as she continued to cough. Rani and the Night Pride were faring no better, as they were enveloped by smoke. Vitani cursed under her breath. She didn't know how to stop the fire, even with the Roar. *Kion would be able to solve this instantly* Her words plagued her mind. She wasn't good enough. She was just a copycat of Kion. She got the roar out of pity because everyone knew that he could beat her. She wasn't good enough.
Imara, noticing her friend's discomfort, gently shook her by her shoulders. "Vitani!!! Focus!!! Stop overthinking it or we will all die!!!" Imara's words danced in Vitani's head, grappling and fighting with her own words of self doubt. Imara was correct. She was overthinking it. She needed to focus on the task at hand. The fire. An explosion of flames spurt into the air. Imara felt the wave of excess heat brush against her and she jumped back. Vitani on the other hand, remained standing in the same spot she breathed heavily. Her mind had finally come to its conclusion.
"No..." Imara turned her head to Vitani, who now was staring at the sky, a determination in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Vitani?" The strongest didn't know what was going on in her leader's head. "I'm not Kion...I AM VITANI!!!!" The lioness cries as she unleashes the Roar of the Elders into the sky. The sky turned dark as storm clouds enveloped the sky, the lions of the past meeting in the sky. The lions joined Vitani by roaring with her, causing the sky to rain. The rain showered the land, extinguishing all of the fires. The guard turned to their leader, who for the first time, dropped to the floor exhausted.
Imara made her way back to her friend and helped her to her feet. "Great job Vitani." Vitani nodded back but coughed shortly after. Kasi noticed her leader was exhausted and was quick to point it out. "You never get exhausted like this after you use the roar. What's different now?" Vitani caught her breath and held a paw to her chest. "I dunno.." Vitani panted as she slowed and controlled her breathing. "It's never felt this...strong. Before, it felt like a light punch to my chest but this time...it felt like my entire body just took an awful gut punch." Vitani regained her breath and got off Imara, who she was leaning on for support. "We'll worry about me later, Shabaha, Kasi. You two cover the left side of the burned area. Tazama, Imara, You girls will cover the right side. I'm gonna head back towards the tree and meet with Kion's guard and the Night Pride." The girls nodded and followed Vitani's orders, while Vitani herself made her way back to the Tree, unbeknownst to the horror that was awaiting her.
Rani felt hope fill her soul as she felt rain start pouring down on her fur. "YES" Rani laughed in glee as more rain came down and put out the fire. Baliyo laughed loudly and rolled around in the mud. "THANK YOU VITANI!!! HAHAHA!!!!" Surak sighed at his nephew's antics and scanned the burned area. The fire managed to only burn less than half of the bamboo forest. Nirmala noticed Surak scanning the area and went to his side. "Is something troubling you Surak?" Surak nodded in response. "How could the fire have started? The bamboo forest didn't have any dry patches of land that could ignite a spark. So how did the fire start? It almost seems...like it was done purposefully." Nirmale took Surak's analogy and processed it herself, thinking that it was a good explanation for the fire. "You might be right...but who would do such a thing?" Surak shook his head. "I don't know. But it is something we will explore later. Now though, let's focus on helping survivors." Nirmala nodded and turned towards Rani, who was looking back in the direction of the Tree.
