Unexpected Love - Chapter 3

This is the third chapter to Caldafox's Lion King/Guard fanfic "Unexpected Love". The text is copied from elsewhere.
== Plot ==
Vitani was surprised to hear Kopa call her name. She turned around swiftly and asked, "What is it, Kop---", she was cut off, not knowing that he was right behind her. Thus, him and her accidentally bonked heads.
"Ow!" They both said. Kopa started to laugh about it, causing Vitani to smile a little. She began to laugh too. "Sorry about that," Vitani finally said.
"It's OK," Kopa said, with his warm smile. "Vitani-- there's a question I've wanted to ask for a while now..."
Vitani looked at him in curiosity and asked, "Well, what is it?" Somewhat nervously, Kopa asked, "What's it like... to be leader of a Lion Guard?" 
Vitani, pleasantly shocked, proceeded to reply, "Well, it's a lot of work, I suppose, especially when your members start doing whatever they want. But since not many animals are troublemakers anymore, patrolling is usually a breeze." 
Kopa listened with genuine fascination. "That sounds so interesting!" he said. "I wish I could be in one." Vitani smiled at him - only the second time she had. 
"The only real troublemakers are Nadim's pride," she continued. 
"Who's Nadim?" Kopa asked.
With an eye roll of annoyance (not at Kopa), Vitani explained, "This rogue male lion who started his pride on our territory, and he doesn't want to leave. His mate is nice, I guess, but his cubs are super obnoxious."
"I see," Kopa said. "Thank you for telling me all of that, Vitani. I appreciate it." Kopa's warm, real smile made Vitani feel sort of bad about her suspicions about him. But she really couldn't help it - she used to be an Outsider, after all, and was still quite tough. "You're welcome, Kopa." she said, feeling more friendly now.
"I still haven't figured out my role, now that I'm back in the pride." Kopa confessed. Vitani nodded.
The only thing, unfortunately, left unsolved by Kopa's return was his role in the pride. He was the oldest, but Kiara was now established as the future leader (queen, in her case). So, was Kopa an heir... understudy, if Kiara was unable to perform her queenly duties somehow? No one was sure. Simba and Nala were still trying to figure it out. 
By now, Vitani's Lion Guard had been listening to their fiercest's conversation with Kopa, waiting for her to finish. Looking at them, Vitani said, "I've gotta go. Thanks for talking, Kopa." 
She turned to leave, and Kopa said in response, "See you later, maybe?" with a hopeful smile. Vitani looked over her shoulder back at him and said, "Sure..." her expression now softened. 
Kopa smiled and headed off, as did Vitani. Imara greeted Vitani with a smile. "Glad you've opened up to him, Vitani." she said nicely. Vitani looked back and saw Kopa give her one last smile over his shoulder, and replied, "I think I am, too."
Kasi smiled, with a dreamy sigh. "I wish I could talk to him like that!" she exclaimed, blushing lightly. Shabaha smirked at her friend. "Let's head back to the Lair now," she suggested. Vitani nodded her approval, and the five lionesses headed off. 
=== Meanwhile, elsewhere... ===
Dotty, a former Outsider lioness, had been running for almost a whole week, only sleeping a few hours each night. The journey to the Tree of Life was exasperating, but it would be even worse if she took her sweet time. She didn't want King Simba to be mad at her, so she continued on. Finally, in the late afternoon of one sunny day, Dotty arrived.
Kion squinted his eyes when he saw Dotty, who was panting as she lay down. His mate, Rani, was next to him. 
"Is something wrong, Kion?" Rani asked. 
Kion looked in amazement. "One of the lionesses from my father's pride is over there," he said in disbelief. "I'm gonna go check it out."
"I'm coming with you," Rani said, with a smile. Her and Kion headed towards where Dotty was. 
"Hello?" Kion asked, upon approaching the lioness. Dotty stood up.
"Dotty!" Kion exclaimed, in shock. "What brings you here this fine afternoon?" "How long have you been running?" Rani asked, sympathy in her pretty eyes.
"Gee, you could at least lay off the questions," Dotty grumbled. Kion smiled nervously.
With a few more pants, Dotty said, "Kion, you need to come to the Pride Lands."
TO BE CONTINUED...
== Characters ==
* Vitani (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Kopa (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Kiara (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Simba (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Nala (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Kasi (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Shabaha (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Imara (Caldafox's Fanfics) (unnamed in this chapter)
* Tazama (Caldafox's Fanfics) (unnamed in this chapter)
* Dotty (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Kion (Caldafox's Fanfics)
* Rani (Caldafox's Fanfics)
=== Fanmade ===
* Nadim
* Haki (unnamed in this chapter)
* Asani (Caldafox's Fanfics) (unnamed in this chapter)
Category:Chapters
Category:Fanfiction
Category:Caldafox
Category:The Lion Guard Stories
Category:Caldafox's Fanfics