Love Unites Us All

Darkness

The family of three eventually left their den a few minutes later as the rain had stopped sooner than they expected. They took their time as they strolled through the vast meadow on the way to Pride Rock, admiring the Sprawling Duneweeds that bloomed after the rain.

"Daddy, you think grandfather Simba would like to play Baobab Ball with us? Or is he too old to be playing games like this?" Mwamba asked while walking between his parents.

"Well, your grandfather may be old, but I don't think he's that old to turn down a game of Baobab Ball," Kion smiled at his step-son. "But, if you want to play, you'll have to find a new Baobab fruit since we left ours behind at the den."

"On it, Dad!" The young cub exclaimed before rushing ahead towards a cluster of Baobab trees a few feet in the distance.

His step-parents smiled as they watched him scamper away towards the trees. "You still haven't outgrown that baobab game of yours, huh?" Fuli asked, flashing a teasing grin towards her mate.

"Nope, not in a million years," Kion smirked at her. "You know, even Simba used to play that game with Nala when they were cubs, I don't see why you shouldn't be joining us whenever Mwamba and I play Baobab ball."

"Nah, that's okay... I still think it's a rather... childish game to play... especially if you're a Lion prince and the fierce leader of the Lion Guard."

"Nah, not for this Lion Prince," Kion grinned with a laugh. "And anyways, the rest of the Guard are always delighted to have a match with with me, except you of course."

Fuli chuckled and gave him a teasing nudge. They strolled ahead through the flowers as Kion kept a watchful eye on Mwamba, who was standing at the base of a Baobab tree. "Be careful when you're climbing that tree, son!" He shouted his warning.

He watched as the young cub sprang onto the tree bark and used his claws to carefully make his way up to the highest branch.

"Wow! Our boy has become quite the tree-climber, eh?" Kion commented with a chuckle as he .

That was when he noticed his mate had stopped walking and was now staring towards the ground, the confused look on her face instantly told him that she was somehow disoriented. "Fuli, honey, you okay?" He asked with genuine concern as he walked back towards her.

Fuli began blinking rapidly and her breathing had steadily intensified. She struggled to even look at her concerned mate as her vision slowly became distorted. "I... I don't know, Kion, I... I don't know... what's... going..."

"FULI!"

"MUM!"

The last thing she saw was Kion and Mwamba rushing hurriedly towards her, panic instilled in their voices before her legs gave way and she eventually collapsed onto the ground, as her vision slowly succumbed into eternal darkness.

To be continued...

A/n: Okay guys, my friend suggested that my chapters should be shorter to make it user-friendly  for mobile users. So I need to ask your honest opinions, should I make the chapters short like this one, or should I maintain writing them in longer chapters (about 2000+ words per chapter)? Thanks for your votes and comments, guys! :)