Kayto's journey: Revenge of the fallen

Chapter 4: Her

Chapter song: Lacrimosa-Mozart

A red light in the darkness causes Kayto to open her eyes. She sleepily turns to the rib cage to see if it's still night but to her surprise, it has become more cave. She is no longer in her cage from yesterday. Kayto turns her body towards the red glowing light. Tired, she gets up to approach it around the corner. Skulls and bones of all sorts line the walls and floor of the cave. In an opening, a pool of water is illuminated by a ring of fire. On the other side a thin, lavender-coloured lioness is sitting on an edge, eyes closed and head bowed. Her black muzzle and dark eye circles making her seem demonic. She slowly opens her eyes to reveal bright green pupils and a devilish smile. She hops off her rock, and walks towards Kayto. Kayto starts to back away, trying to avoid stepping on the multitude of ribs and skulls on the floor. "I can grant you what you desire." The lioness says with full confidence. She turns back to the pool suggesting that Kayto should look into it. Kayto hesitantly walks over and stares into the reflected water. The lioness grabs something resting on the rock wall. She comes to the pool gripping a long stick in her mouth. Hollow gourds and sharp animal teeth hang from one end. She dips the stick into the pool, creating a ripple effect. The pool starts to change into a vision. Simba is gripping onto a cliff, struggling to hang on. The pit below is of dark red fog echoing laughter. Hyena laughter to be exact. The edge keeps breaking away as he struggles until- Kayto hits him in the face causing him to fall yelling in agony. The vision abruptly stops and Kayto is staring at a pool again. She looks to the lioness for answers. The lioness only smiles evilly. Kayto starts to feel dizzy. Black spots form in her vision like specks of dirt gradually getting bigger and bigger, the room spinning faster until she loses her balance splashing into the pool. She gasps for air plunging into the darkness.

Kayto wakes up in a gasp. Sunlight seeps through the rib cage but the cave is as cold as ever. Just a dream. A vivid dream. She's been having those lately, first with Mende and now this. It's only a matter of time before something is in reality again, like with the new island. A shadow in the cage distracts Kayto from her thought process. "Morning! I got you some food." Kiara says weirdly gleefully, despite everything that happened yesterday. She stuffs a zebra leg in between the ribs until it falls out through the other side with a thud. Kayto claws the meat towards herself to eat. The nostalgic flavour of zebra fills her palette. "How was your sleep?" Kiara asks, chipper as usual. Kayto swallows the last piece of firm zebra meat. "Quite weird actually, I-" A sharp pain hits Kayto hard in her innards. She yelps writhing on the ground. "Uh what's wrong?!?" Kiara panics. Kayto lurches to the very back of the cave dragging herself along, shaking. "Kayto?!" Kiara calls. She begins to try digging at the rib cage to see what's going on. Kayto reaches the back of the cave before finally throwing up everything she ate. She coughs everything up, wiping her lip and facing Kiara. "...You tried to poison me didn't you." Kayto accuses with a stern, raspy tone. "No! I don't know what happened...it was hunted this morning! I ate it and I was fine!" Kiara is almost in tears. Kayto calms down a bit from her sudden sickness. "No...You wouldn't do that. I'm sorry. You didn't give it to anyone else did you?" Kayto sighed. "No..." Kiara sniffles. "But...I think I know who can help! Stay here!" Kiara runs off once more. "..I literally can't be anywhere at all." Kayto mutters to herself, still appreciating the humor of the situation. Kayto waits by her jail bars until Kiara returns with a very old mandrill trailing her. Kiara moves so the mandrill can see Kayto. "OH NO NO NO!" The mandrill turns away at the sight of her. Kayto drops her hopeful face annoyed. "This is da crazy lady who tried to kill your father! She'll eat me!" He hits Kiara over the head with his walking stick. Kiara winces in pain rubbing her head. Kiara's credibility to Kayto starts to dwindle. "She's promised to keep peace until after the cubs are born! Please Rafiki?" Rafiki sighs, turning to Kayto. "What is de problem?" He scoffed. "I just threw up everything I ate-" "Wait a minute- Kiara? Cubs?"Rafiki interrupts. He turns to her confused about the news. Apparently she hadn't told him. "Kayto could sense with her paw that I had two cubs!" She explains to him. The Mandrill looks amazed. "Ha ha! Kiara, you go over there. I need to speak with Kayto about things." He shoos her away. Obediently, Kiara steps back outside and out of sight. "So. Mende has a new chosen one!" Rafiki exclaims giddily. "How do you know that!??" Kayto whisper-yells. "You are a warrior of the ground, yes? You feel the vibrations in the earth and within others! Great power you have with that roar of earth!" Rafiki demonstrates by moving the dusty dirt with his dexterous hands. Completely unafraid, Rafiki squeezes through the cage into close contact to visually scan her. He turns to her shoulder but his face turns confused. "Hmmm...Interesting Mende..." Kayto looks at her bare shoulder. "What?" She blurted. "You are no doubt the chosen of Mende but you have not earned your mark. Very interesting." He hums to himself reaching for his staff. He grabs onto one of the many gourds hanging off of it and pours purple buds out of it into his hand. Kayto stares at his long stick and remembers her dream. The lioness had one just like it! "Eat." Rafiki orders her. Kayto looks at the purple flowers confused. "I haven't told you what's wrong-" "No. But the tuliza still helps." Rafiki insists. Kayto hesitantly eats out of his hand. The buds taste bittersweet, but the aftertaste puts Kayto in a floaty and calmer mood. "What have you been eating?" Rafiki asks. "Well. Fish I guess." Rafiki looks surprised. "Fish?!" Kayto sighs. "It was the only thing I could hunt on the island. It's been the only thing I've eaten since washing up on it." Rafiki doesn't think long on this at all. "Ah ha! I know what it is. You aren't used to this type of food, see? So you threw it all up!" "O-oh." Kayto looks down at her paws, embarrassed. "You'll need to keep eating what you always have been and gradually try other meats, yes!" Rafiki begins to leave, wrangling his staff around the bone of the ribcage to try and fit it through. Kayto takes the opportunity to get a good look. No animal teeth, but the same gourds as her dream. "Hey...Your staff..I...I saw one like it in my dream. I've never seen them before." Kayto comments. Rafiki abruptly stops. He looks as if someone died in front of him. "...Who was holding this...bakora staff..?" He asks very quietly. "A...a lioness-" Rafiki covers her mouth with his hand before she can finish. "...She visited you..." he whispers. "She?" Kayto inquired. Rafiki turns away. "The Mchawi of the elephant graveyard." Rafiki explained. "A...witch?" Kayto seeks to clarify. Rafiki turns to face Kayto. "Do not take her lightly, chosen of Mende. While she can be trustworthy, her methods can never be trusted." Rafiki warns on his way out of the cage. He walks slowly away and out of sight into the great unknown. Kayto lies down and waits. After a while, Kiara comes into the room once again. "Feeling any better Kayto?" She says, peering into the cage. "Yes." Kayto replies. Kiara sighs with relief. "So what was wrong?" Kiara asks. "I'm not used to regular meat like I used to be. I need fish if I will ever eat again." Kayto explains. "Fish?" Kiara tilts her head a bit curious. "Yeah. I'll keep throwing up if I keep eating other things." Kayto explains. Kiara processes all of this to herself. "...I think I can help." Kiara says out loud. "You can fish?" Kayto asks surprised. "No...but there is a private pond nearby. You have to promise me something." "Promise?" Kayto's ears perk up. Kiara nods. "Promise me that you won't use this to break your deal with daddy." Kiara states. Kayto looks down. "I know it's very hard to trust me, but I'm a lioness of my word. I don't break promises especially to those who've treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. I promise." Kiara smiles a little. "Push out the back of the cave. The ground is loose and you'll easily be able to fit through. I'll check if the coast is clear first." Kiara turns to walk out. "How did you know that?" Kayto inquires. Kiara smiles. "Because I've escaped that same cave once before." Kiara runs off leaving Kayto to examine the wall. A few moments later, a familiar voice can be heard through the other side. "No one is here! I'll take you to the pond." Kayto does as Kiara instructs, pushing away the loose rocks until there's a hole big enough to fit through. The sunlight burns Kayto's eyes temporarily but its warmth soothes her as if apologizing. "Cmon!" Kiara calls, somehow far ahead of Kayto. They walk together through the dry grass within the shadow of pride rock to a large pond with multiple acacia trees providing shade and flat rocks providing comfort. Kiara plops her larger than normal self down in the shade with a deep exhale. Kayto prepares herself. "So...why fish?" Kiara asks, visibly trying not to be judgmental. "It was the only meat on the island that I could hunt or eat. I taught myself to fish as a cub." Kayto crouches in the shade examining movement. "Island..? How did you get there?" Kiara asks. Kayto pauses to push down the internal anger rising within her. "I washed up there. After escaping your father." Kayto spoke through her teeth. A flash of silver movement catches Kayto's eye, promptly springing her into action. She leaps into the water, claws extended just as she's done every time, and every time she's successful. After shaking off her mane, Kayto guts the fish right in front of Kiara, but can't bring herself to do her normal ritual. Something doesn't seem right about it anymore, especially since Kiara is right there. "...I'm going to just check the surroundings. I'll be back." Kiara hobbles up and walks away from Kayto's horrific display. Kayto finishes her fish in no time, getting ready for her next. She continues throughout the afternoon catching fish after fish, before finally deciding to have a regular swim. One of the things that made her happiest growing up was the water and the way it felt in her fur and mane. It took Kayto a few seconds before seeing a pale and a pinkish lioness wading and watching her. Panicked, she freezes unsure of where to go. "Hey!~ Why don't you swim in the shallow end with us?" The pinkish one calls out. Kayto's brain stops all functions. She becomes heavy of breath and warm in the face. It's the feeling again she had with Dunia. The horrible, horrible, floaty feeling. She stands up on the water awkwardly. Both lionesses are staring at her in a daze. Kayto shakes out her huge mane, flipping upwards to put it out of her eyes. The two lionesses hoot and holler at her. Kayto is filled with a sudden confidence and a certain sashay to herself. No one has ever been interested in her, nonetheless two at once. She struts over to the two lionesses hiding her nervousness about if they realize who she is. "Hi...I'm Tiifu..and this is Zuri..~" The pale one whispers gazing with her olive eyes. Her ears with white rings and cheeks covered in pink freckles. "Aren't you going to say hello, stud~?" the pinkish one asks. Her fur shines with a peachy glow. "Uh..Hey..~" Kayto tries her best to be charming without seeming overly infatuated. The lionesses' faces form from desire to complete horror in a millisecond. "O-oh! You're a girl? Ah- Sorry!!" They both stammer over each other apologizing. Kayto's feelings change just as quickly. "So uhhh....how did...this.....happen?" Zuri subtly refers to Kayto's abundant mane. Kayto is too upset and embarrassed to talk to her. She gets out of the water and starts walking back to her cage. "Aww c'mon! It's just a question!" Zuri cries out. Kayto doesn't even look back. She rushes to her cave and buries the entrance again. The familiar darkness of her cage overcomes her and she lets out a deep sigh. She lies in the dirt using all of her remaining strength to not start crying. "Someone adored me for a moment." She thinks to herself. "Just a moment." Kayto isn't as emotionally strong as she thinks she is. Soon, tears swell in her eyes and everything spills out. Her paws grip her mane hard and she tries her best to muffle sobs of pain. Kayto was never one to pay attention to her mane. If anything it was just a part of her body, the same way her body parts are. It's only been in the pridelands where Kayto has paid attention to the sheer unnaturalness of it. The way it grows like a creeping vine on her body is enough to make her hate it. This feeling was amplified because of the incident today with Tiifu and Zuri. Kayto doesn't even want to think about the way she felt about herself before they realized. Sick to her stomach yet so giddy and for what? Wiping her tears finally, she turns over to look at the sunset. The only highlight of being trapped here. It's brilliance and colour bring warmth to the cage. A symbol of the present, past, and future right in front of her eyes. Days coming to an end only to begin once again. Simba's life will one day come to an end. And that is the sunset Kayto looks forward to the most.

To be continued...