Clouded Mind part 3 #9

A better future

"Hey, this isn't so bad." Says Fuli, jumping onto the fifth branch and preparing to jump onto the next one.

"WAIT! FULI! NOT THAT BRANCH!" Kion yells.

Fuli jumps onto the sixth branch and it snaps. Fuli falls and grabs the branch below her.

"Kion! Help!" She cries.

Kion jumps down until he is only one branch bellow Fuli. He moves his body so Fuli is standing on his back.

"Now jump up."

Fuli does as she's told and climbs back up onto the branch. She takes deep breaths to calm herself down from her near death experience.

"Fuli, are you ok?" Kion asks jumping up onto the same branch as her.

"THIS is why cheetahs don't climb trees." Fuli snaps still breathing heavily.

"We don't have to go all the way up if you don't want to." Says Kion.

Still angry at him, Fuli carefully jumps up onto the safer branch above her.

"You coming or what?!" She calls.

Kion smiles and catches up to her. He jumps ahead of Fuli to show her the rest of the safe branches and they eventually make it to the top. Kion shows Fuli around his tree. He shows her some of the paintings he made of himself and the rest of the lion guard when they were kids. Kion shows her the view of the Oasis through the branches. Fuli couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all.

"I've missed this." Says Kion suddenly after a few minutes of silence.

"What you mean?" Asks Fuli, looking at him.

"I've missed doing these kinds of things with you, Fuli. I missed you if you think I didn't. It's been fun spending the day with you."

"I've enjoyed catching up too, Kion. It's been too long." Replies Fuli, leaning her head on Kion's shoulder.

"This is what I've wished for everyday. Everyday I wished for you." He whispers.

"There are many things that I've wished for Kion. One of them was finding you." Fuli says.

"What else did you wish for?" Kion asks, looking deep into her green emerald eyes.

"Things that I had hoped to have by now. Freedom...love...a family. But I can't have them until the Pridelands are rid of the monster that rules them." Fuli answers.

The sun had set beyond the horizon and Fuli took this opportunity to stop the conversation and leave.

"Thank you for showing me around, this place is beautiful. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some rest." She says making her way out of the tree.

"Ok. Goodnight Fuli." Replies Kion with a smile.

She gives him a slight nod before jumping down. Kion listens to each rustle of the branches as Fuli makes her way down. He wished she could stay but she will do anything to protect the Pridelands.

Night fell over the Oasis and Fuli had found a nice cave to sleep in but she couldn't fall asleep. It bothered her that Kion didn't want to come home but if she couldn't convince him, he wasn't going to come back. Hoping that it will help, Fuli stands up to take a walk around the Oasis.

Back at the tree, a sleeping Kion sees visions of everything that had happened while he was gone. He saw Scar taking over the Pridelands, Fuli doing everything in her power to keep her friends alive and safe, Kiara and Kovu's cub Imani and more. What he saw next surprised Kion.

He saw a future life in the peaceful lands of the Pridelands. Everywhere he looked was full of life. Animals were grazing happily, the waterholes were glistening with water and there was not a cloud in the sky. You could call it paradise.

"Look out dad!" Shouts a little voice.

Kion whips his head around just in time to see a blur of golden yellow zoom past. Kion looks over his shoulder to see what the blur was running away from only to see a cub. She had thick lashes, blue eyes, golden fur and a tuft of head fur that was tipped with red. Kion guessed that she was chasing the blur and got tired.

"Hey...dad" she says, puffed out.

Kion looks around but doesn't see anyone else.

"Me?" He asks.

"Who else would I be talking to?" Replies the cub.

The blur comes running back and sits beside Kion.

"Hi dad. I think I just beat my speed record. Soon I'll be as fast as mum, maybe even faster." Says the blur which turned out to be a cub as well but a boy with amber eyes just like his.

Now that Kion could see him a bit more clearly, the cub has golden-yellow fur which was kinda fluffy, he also had green emerald eyes and his tail was tipped with red.

"You think you'll be as fast as me? In your dreams." Laughs another voice.

The voice was female and very familiar to Kion. Even though everything was fuzzy, he could see she was a cheetah with emerald green eyes. The cheetah nuzzles Kion as she walks past. Kion couldn't help but purr at her soft silky fur. She ruffles the little boy cub's head when she approaches him.

"Mum! You're messing up my mane." He snaps.

"HA! I see nothing on your hairless little head, brother." Says the little girl cub.

Kion no longer felt confused but he felt different. He felt calm and happy being around them but He remembers that it was a vision and that he is sleeping.

'Is this my future? It can't be.' Kion silently says to himself.

Kion starts walking away from the cubs and their mother.

"Kion? Where are you going? It was your idea to hang out as a family." Says the cheetah.

Kion looks at her but before he could say anything, he was pulled out of his dream and back into reality.

Kion wakes up and looks at his surrounding only to realise that he was home in the Oasis.

"Was that my future?" He asks himself.

Kion replays the visions in his head over and over again. If he went back to the Pridelands will his vision become a reality? Kion thought about this long and hard. It was highly unlikely that his vision will come true but he missed his friends and family back in the Pridelands. Kion remembers back when he was a cub, always determined to put others before himself. The one time he didn't, their lives were turned upside down. Maybe, just maybe if he went back...things could change.

'Go back? Stay here? Go back? Stay here?'

After thinking for what seemed like hours he had made a decision.

Sorry if the vision thing was a little confusing. Kion can see everyone in his dream but to him, they are blurry/fuzzy or whatever is the better word for you. I guess you could say it's a spoiler for more characters that I'll be adding in the sequel 😉😱