Love Unites Us All

Fallen

Chapter 4: Fallen

After about twenty minutes since Simba brought Mwamba and Hasina away from Pride Rock and away from the visiting animals, Fuli began experiencing painful stomach cramps that caused her to squirm and groan in pain, raising the concern of the visitors and the Lions of Pride Rock, especially Kion. Nonetheless, Rafiki assured them that Fuli will be fine and the cramps will wear off eventually, though he suggested that Kion and Kovu could go out there and collect a special type of herb that Fuli can consume to help her heal faster: twelve pieces of clitoria ternatea flowers that could be found in the Misitu Forest.

Kion initially didn't like the idea of having to leave his ailing mate's side just to collect a few pieces of flowers with a weird-sounding name that he never knew existed before, but after some convincing from Rafiki, Kovu and even Fuli herself, he reluctantly agreed to collect the flowers. It was probably the best thing to do for Fuli anyways, he thought to himself. Before long, he and Kovu had left Pride Rock and were heading south-eastward towards the Misitu Forest. Both of them didn't say anything at first, but ten minutes later into their journey, Kovu saw that his brother-in-law was staring at the ground as he walked, obviously worried about Fuli.

"Hey, you know she's gonna be okay, right?" He smiled, giving the younger Lion an encouraging nudge.

"Yeah, I know that, it's just... I'm just worried for her," Kion responded, flashing a sad smile towards him before lowering his gaze back to the ground as he walked.

Kovu nodded, he could understand the anxiety that Kion was going through. After all, he went through the same thing when Kiara was pregnant with Hasina. He decided to change the topic to something a little more positive to help lift his spirits up.

"You know, I think you handled the news about Fuli's pregnancy rather well yesterday," Kovu began, hoping the younger Lion would join in the conversation.

"Yeah, well... I guess that's because I'm not you. Ha! I still remember the face you made before you passed out when my sister told you that she was pregnant," Kion grinned at him, making Kovu relieved that his plan worked.

"Haha well... every male has his weakness. Mine happens to be whenever my mate announces that she's pregnant with our kid."

"Hmmm... I can't imagine how your reaction will be like should Kiara ever announce that she's pregnant with triplets."

Kovu let out a nervous laugh at this. "Well... I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. I mean, sure, getting your mate knocked up can be a blessing... but it can be quite a challenge for us males at the same time."

Kion faced him with a raised brow when he said this. "Why's that?"

"Oh... well, I can explain it to you... but only if you can accept the shocking reality behind getting your mate pregnant."

Kion paused in his tracks to make up his mind before he continued walking again. "Sure, I think can handle a few hurtful truths."

Kovu nodded. "Right. Well, like I said, getting your mate pregnant has its blessings... but it also has its curses at the same time. Things will start off like normal in the early stages of her pregnancy; you both will be a little more 'cuddly' than before, knowing the fact that the tiny life in her stomach is a product of your love for each other. But then, as the weeks go by and her stomach gets bigger, she'll eventually won't be in the mood and condition to uh... satisfy your needs. That's when suddenly, all the other Lionesses around you appear a lot cuter than usual, and you have the urge to hang around them as much as possible. That is your first challenge..."

Kion's eyes widened as Kovu said this. He had a strong feeling that whatever he was telling him was meant for his ears only.

"Then comes challenge number two: her mood swings. Carrying a huge load in her stomach and having her movements restricted will have a negative impact on her emotionally; there will be times she just loses it and starts cursing at you for making her pregnant. That usually comes in the later months of her pregnancy."