Kion: Fall from Grace (A Dark Kion Story)

Chapter 3: First Blood

"Come on, keep up," yells Kion as he quickly makes his way up the hill.

"Just keep going," snappily remarked Vitani, who wasn't even that far behind the eager cub. They stopped on a hill overlooking the Antelope grazing grounds.

"Well, here we are," said Kion.

"Yea, I can see that. So I hope you know the basics."

"Yea, stay low, watch your step and the wind, stay in the tall grass," kion said confidently.

"Easier said than done, follow my lead," said Vitani as she hopped down the hill. Kion followed closely behind not to be left behind, and determined to prove himself to this new cub. They crept up towards the grazing ground, making sure to not give away their position, and set themselves up for an easy hunt. As they neared the herd, they hid in a nearby bush as they scouted out their possible prey. "There, you see that one with the cuts and scratches on its leg? He's been wounded recently, and that means it should be a fairly easy kill, especially for a beginner," she said with a snarky tone. Kion just rolled his eyes this time, he'd let his skills do talking for him. "Ready?"

"Wait a second," said Kion, earning a quiet groan and an eye roll from Vitani. She turned and looked at him and saw his ears were moving on a pivot as was his head. His eyes were half closed as they darted from side to side as he looked up. After a few seconds of nothing, she became impatient not understanding what the prince was getting at.

"What is your..."

"Shhhh," Kion said, cutting her off. After a few more seconds, a hornbill glided down from the skies and began conversing with the herd leader. A few moments passed and the hornbill took off and began flying to his next destination. "He works for my dad, he's a spy as well as one of the hornbills who checks up on herds regularly. If he saw me here and not on patrol, he'd tell my dad. And if he saw you here hunting the herd, especially as a lion who doesn't live in the Pride lands, he would again, tell my dad."

"How did you know he was coming? I didn't even hear him?"

"When your dad is like my dad, you tend to learn a thing or two about how to stay hidden. I've memorized the time of day when my dad sends out his hornbills, so I was listening for him, and sure enough he showed up right on time."

"Wow, so you and your dad really don't get along huh?" Questioned Vitani.

"Ha, you don't don't even know the half of it, Vitani. But seeing that hornbill does remind me that I'm very well known in the Pride Lands. Every one of those Antelopes knows what I look like and will probably tell me dad that I was hunting."

"Hm, guess your right. Hold on one sec," said Vitani exiting the bush. She returned a few minutes later with some kind of fruit in her mouth. She cracked it open revealing a white paste at its center. "We are going to color your mane white, then we will have to do something about your fur." She dips her paw in the paste and begins to rub the paste in his mane, turning it from red to white. "Don't worry, it should wash out easily. As for your fur, I'm thinking something as simple rolling in the dirt should do the trick."

"I agree," says Kion as they make their way to a small dirt clearing. He rolls around in the dirt for a minute before standing. His usual golden fur was almost completely brown. "So...how do I look?"

"Not like Kion, so I think we are good to go." They made their way back into the bush and focused on their previous target.

"So what's the plan?" Ask Kion, anxious to begin his first hunt and prove himself to Vitani. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about proving himself, but nonetheless, he felt he had to do it, and he would.