Ziratani

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Ziratani
GENERAL
The Lion King
Character	Zira
Character	Vitani
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Mother and daughter
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Family

Vitani – “No, Mother! Kiara's right. Enough.”

Zira – “If you will not fight, then you will die as well.”

— The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

Ziratani is the family ship between Zira and Vitani from The Lion King fandom.

Canon

So far as is known, Vitani was born to Zira by an unknown father sometime prior to Zira's banishment from the Pride Lands alongside her children and other followers. First appearing in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Vitani warns her older brother Nuka after learning that he's defied Zira's orders. She later eagerly takes part in Zira's musical number "That's My Lullaby", in which Zira schemes to raise Vitani's younger brother Kovu to kill Simba and assume his place as king of the Pride Lands. Sometime after this, they would appear in an episode of The Lion Guard, "Lions of the Outlands."

Vitani joins her mother and siblings in taking over an Outlands water hole belonging to a hyena clan led by Jasiri, friend of Simba's son Kion. Upon Kion's arrival in company with Jasiri to try and resolve the conflict, Zira introduces Vitani to Kion. When Vitani comments on the oddity of a lion and a hyena associating, Zira further identifies Kion to her as Simba's son. Vitani is later baffled when her mother suggest that Kion could use his Roar of the Elders to provide water for the hyenas, but through Zira's coaching Kion does indeed prove capable of this feat.

Zira later takes Kion away for a private discussion, leaving Nuka, Kovu, and Vitani to keep an eye on Jasiri. Vitani later becomes impatient at her mother's prolonged absence. Soon enough, Zira assembles her children and followers to stand against Kion, having temporarily convinced him that he can't use the Roar against fellow lions without losing it forever. However, the rest of the Lion Guard soon arrives and engages the lion Outsiders in battle, and Zira, Vitani, and the others are soon driven from the Outlands as well.

Sometime later, and once again during events depicted in Simba's Pride, a now fully mature Vitani is a full participant in Zira's renewed hostilities against the lions of the Pride Lands. On Zira's orders, she and Nuka set a fire from which Kovu "rescues" Simba's daughter Kiara. Later, Vitani sneaks into the Pride Lands to observe Kovu, only to see him pass up the opportunity to kill Simba. Vitani quickly reports the matter to Zira, who reacts in anger but becomes determined that her plans will not be thwarted.

Vitani accompanies Zira and their fellow Outsiders in ambushing Simba when he and Kovu are visiting the area burnt by Vitani and Nuka's earlier efforts. As Vitani directs them, Vitani and the other lionesses swarm Simba, with Vitani even knocking Kovu away when he attempts to intervene on Simba's behalf. They continue to pursue Simba even as he attempts to flee, but he manages to escape by climbing an unstable pile of logs. Nuka is killed in his own attempt to stop Simba, and a grief-stricken Vitani sides with Zira against Kovu.

Zira prevents Vitani from pursuing Kovu when he departs and instead prepares to lead her followers in force against the Pride Lands. Vitani takes part in the resulting battle, which is halted when Kiara and Kovu arrive to plead with their respective sides to cease hostilities. Moved by Kiara's words, Vitani is the first of the Outsiders to choose reconciliation and attempts to convince Zira to do likewise. Unfortunately, Zira instead declares that Vitani too will be killed if she refuses to continue fighting against Simba.

Instead, it is Zira herself who perishes shortly thereafter, leaving Vitani and the other Outsiders to rejoin Simba's pride. Unaware of these developments, however, Jasiri travels to find Kion, who had departed the Pride Lands sometime previously, in "Journey to the Pride Lands." Upon the return of Kion and his Lion Guard in "Return to the Pride Lands", Jasiri identifies Vitani as Zira's daughter to Kion and the others. Fortunately, after a brief clash between Kion's party and Vitani's, Kiara arrives and informs Kion and the others that Vitani has joined their pride and that Zira is dead.

Fanon

As with most of Zira's relationships, the connection between her and Vitani is fairly toxic, revolving around Zira's obsession with avenging Scar by killing Simba. Such is this obsession that Zira expresses willingness to kill Vitani for daring to oppose it, mere seconds after Vitani first declares her objections. Vitani also seems, much like Kovu, to have been effectively raised as Zira's personal assassin. Fans have speculated that she and the lionesses who later became her Lion Guard teammates were trained by Zira for the purpose of confronting the Lion Guard led by Kion.

Some fans have gone so far as to take Zira's quick rejection of Vitani as evidence that Vitani is not, in fact, Zira's biological daughter, but instead a cub whom she took in for her own purposes. Proponents of this idea suggest that Nala may be Vitani's actual mother. Alternatively, the rift between Zira and Vitani is suggested as perhaps having its roots long before Kiara and Kovu appear to halt the final battle of Simba's Pride. This may include Zira taking action against Kopa, whom some fans ship with Vitani.

There are 2 works tagged for the relationship on AO3.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Vitani & Zira tag on AO3