Once Kiara was filled up on grubs, she bounded back toward Kopa.
"Kopa, are you ready? Did you speak to Vitani," she asked, licking her lips.
Kopa didn't answer her. That was highly unusual, since Kopa never used to kid around. Kiara gulped as she looked around and breathed heavily.
"Come on, Kopa, stop kidding around. We have to get back before everyone wakes up," Kiara confessed as she looked around, thinking that maybe Kopa was stalking her. He sometimes did that to practice.
She looked around as she narrowed her eyes, swearing that she could see something. She then gasped as she saw the body of a cub beside the rock that Kopa had been hiding behind until Vitani showed up.
Kiara broke into a bolt as she pelted forward. "Kopa, there's someone hurt! Help!"
She suddenly skidded to a halt when she realized that the cub was her brother. Her eyes widened in shock as she let out a scream. "NO! KOPA!"
The scream was so loud that Kiara was sure that the whole Outlands could hear. She lowered down and began to nudge Kopa, even though she knew that he wouldn't wake up. Tears began to stream down her pelt as she sunk her teeth into Kopa's scruff and try and lift him up.
"Kopa, you have to get up," she pleaded with her voice crackling in grief as she tried to help him to his paws. "You'll feel better when you start getting to your paws. Please, get up. Get up!"
She continued to scream with tears streaming onto her bother's fur. She set him down and looked around madly. She darted forward and looked around.
"Help," she pleaded as she looked around with her eyes widening in shock. "Anyone! Please!"
"Kiara?"
Kiara turned around as she saw Vitani standing in front of her. Vitani tilted her head as she looked at her. "Kaira, what are you doing here?"
"Vitani, help," she begged as she turned, not able to stand anything else. She didn't want to move, but she knew that she had to. If anyone could do anything, it would be Vitani.
She led Vitani over to the rock, but Vitani saw Kopa before Kiara even had to point it out to her. Vitani darted forward and skidded to a halt as she looked down at Kopa.
"No," pleaded Vitani as her voice crackled as she looked at Kopa.
Kiara scooted forward. "What's wrong with him," asked Kiara.
Vitani didn't answer. He arched his neck as she touched her nose to Kopa's cheek. She moved it to his neck to try and detect a pulse. Tears shone in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall, at least not yet. She needed to keep it together for Kiara's sake.
"Kiara, go and get your father," Vitani told Kiara sternly.
Kiara's fur stood on end. "But-"
"Now, Kiara," she interrupted with her eyes narrowing as she faced Kiara. "This is important. He needs to see this. Kopa's not getting up. He's dead."
Kiara froze for a fleeting heartbeat as it sunk in. When she finally moved, she nodded. "O-Okay," she stammered as she looked at her brother's blank eyes one more time before she bolted forward and toward the pridelands to get her father.
Vitani looked down at her friend, the lion that had had her heart. She knew that she had loved him and she was pretty sure that he had loved her. She felt her heart break at the sight of him and she couldn't help but let out a sob.
She crumpled down and draped herself over Kopa and sobbed as loudly as she could. She couldn't believe that her best friend, the love of her life, was dead.