My first Tarzan fic. Yay! First off, Happy New Year 2016! Secondly, I would like to give credit to the 'Guest' review who gave the idea. This story takes a place in an alternate universe where Kerchak follows Kala when she first finds Tarzan as a baby. If Kerchak saw what happened and helped capture Sabor, maybe he would accept Tarzan as his son earlier and be warmer towards him. I hope you enjoy it, I worked hard on it!
I own nothing. The movie Tarzan and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.
Enjoy the story!
The morning sun shone over the jungle, revealing all the greenery and tropical flora and fauna. In one such part of the forest, crossing down the sides of the waterfalls, a troop of gorillas treked downward, lead by a huge, black male. About nine of them or so followed the male past the flowing water on one side and the lush growth. The male's head turned back towards the end of the band, towards a lighter colored, brown female lagging a few feet behind the others.
Kala, the head gorilla Kerchak's mate and wife. Her face was solemn, a sign of her grieving. Only a mere day ago, during the dark of night, her and his only infant, their only child, was taken from them. Stolen right out of their slumbering forms and arms by the jaws of the leopard, Sabor. By the time they had awoken by hearing the spotted cat's growls and their son's shrieks of fear and pain, it was too late. The big cat was long gone... and so was their baby.
A common practice among gorillas was letting go as quick as possible. Holding on to long-term emotions only could lead to more grief and pain. Their was some grief for the troop's next ruler, but it was a sign that they should keep moving. Always keep moving. Keep moving to avoid predators, find new feeding and foraging grounds, to find new places to rest at night. To keep moving on was to keep surviving.
Yet... yet Kala didn't feel like letting go of her grief just yet. It had been her first child, only days old when he was snatched away from her. Her heart felt as if a piece had been torn out like the jaws and fangs of Sabor had torn away her son from her. She didn't feel quite ready to let go, not yet. She needed more time, time the troop probably didn't have. They had to keep moving.
Kerchak's eyes still lingered on his wife's still form. The grief was still fresh in his soul, yet years of experience as the troop's leader had allowed him to learn how to mask his pain with a facade of emotions. He could be entirely in a furious rage, yet his face would be as calm as he ye off the storm. Still, his brown eyes now portrayed the concern and the sadness he felt along with her.
His eyes widened a bit in shock as he suddenly noticed Kala's face turn to shock as well, but from something he could not hear or sense from his position in the group. His jaw came down an inch when he saw her suddenly begin bounding as fast as she could the other way. Quickly reacting, he turned his form around and called out her name. The troop stopped immediately and some turned their heads around just to catch of a glimpse of Kala's fleeing form. His mind frantically searched through his recent thoughts. His child was gone, now his was rushing away from the group. What if something was to happen to her, now that she had left the protection of being in the troop?
His muscles reacted instantly. He began charging forward, all while dodging past the other member's of the band while giving orders to where to head to and where he would meet them, right after he got Kala to come back with them. Hands and feet pounded up the twig and leaf layered forest floor as he ascended the hill and looked over the top out to Kala. He spotted her brown form against the thin strip of land surrounded by water on either side. A flock of storks and other birds took in flight as she charged through the ground they before were perched on. Not wanting to lose her in his sight, he charged down towards her.
On his chase, he followed her past the baboon and mandrill troops and into the bamboo cloud forest. At several times on the path, he thought he had lost her in the plant growth or the mist, but found her once more again and again. At one part, the leaves had covered his vision and the branches from the trees made his vision blurry and dark. Swiftly he swatted them away from his face as he moved forward blindly through the trees, vines and bushes. His squinted eyes caught sight of a light, of a clear space right up ahead. The blue sky dotted with white, puffy clouds grew bigger and brighter up ahead. He kept charging forward, going faster and faster until...
He quickly skidded to a halt as he entered the clear space, right before it hit a cliff. Grass and small shrubs parted and hung loosely off the rocky surface. His eyes grew wide as he noticed an intricately woven bridge, swaying in the wind as it lead out towards and connected to a chunk of the land that had been cut off from the main part and was surrounded by the bright blue ocean that surrounded it.
The little island had still kept some of it's original plant life and what eh could clearly see was a tree, towering over all the others clearly in the sunlight. But what caused him to gape his mouth open in shock was the strange and almost unnatural... structures built on, around and to the tree. It was abnormal, irregular, strange and... alien.
And there was Kala, already on the other side of the peculiar made bridge and walking slowly towards the tree.
His joints and muscles started to work to move him forward again, but froze once his eyes turned back to the bridge that was appeared to be made of common things found in the rainforest. Bamboo, vines, branches and wood, but... but in no order or style he had ever seen. Branches were purposely stuck into the ground on each side of him, wrapped with vines that extended out over on each side to the island and then wrapped over branches cleverly adjusted to hold them. Wood and bamboo was then wound and stuck to the vines, allowing them to form a ground and... something else he could not begin to describe, until it reached the end. It just was so strange, definitely not anything his kind or any of the neighboring creatures had created.
But who or what had made this cleverly designed? Were they on the side that Kala had just trekked over to. More thoughts, one of shrieks of pain and fear that matched his child's, now Kala's, screamed and echoed in his brain. His eyes widened at the dangers that might befall on her while she was alone, on the near and possibly isolated island that was on the other end of this weirdly-made bridge.
His forehead suddenly scrunched down and his eyes narrowed as determination surged through him. His left arm quickly shot forward and his hand planted his first step onto the flat piece of wood.
Strange objects littered everywhere, sending new senses flooding throughout Kala. She had entered the strange, unnatural space. Nothing, besides the scent of wood, seemed familiar or comforting about this strange place. Her eyes traveled all about the place, absorbing in all the new sight. The floor creaked under each slow step she took. Peculiar things dangled down from the ceiling and were strewn about the place, as if they had been knocked and thrown about in a chaotic order.
Her eyes turned towards an opening in the wall where the wind was blowing through. Clear, triangle shards stuck out on the sides of the hole, each pointing towards the center. A strange thin material, like a teal, smooth leaf with a hole in it, bended away as the breeze filtered into the room.
Her movements were slow and cautious as she continued through the place. Suddenly, her focus turned to a corner in the place, towards some things laying on the floor. They were still and silent, yet her mind knew, she just knew, that at one time, they might had been moving and alive. But now, with the undeniable proof of the white feathers littering the floor and scattering more with the breeze entering. Her head leaned in towards the mess on the floor. Red markings were scattered on the floor too. Paw markings. She could practically hear the predator that made them breathing in her mind.
She quickly lost some of her bravery and darted backwards towards the exit, only to stop abruptly when a cracking sound reach her ears and a weird feeling on her right front hand. Her eyes traveled down towards an oval object with more clear shards, like those on the hole on the wall, surrounding it. She could see jagged markings where they might had been on the object. Her focused narrowed on the strangely looking beings on the oval object. Three beings, all with pale, hairless faces and big eyes.
The tallest one had a thick line of fur on his face, though she could only assume it was he. Onto his right was one with no fur on her face, again assuming it was a she, but her fur was long and curled on her head. Her eyes lingered on the last being. No fur on the face, hardly any on their head, it was very small compared to the others, but it looked... looked very young and innocent. Perhaps it as a child of some sort.
Her head snapped up at a sudden call, appearing to be coming from a part of the space with several long, draped things hanging from the ceiling. Whatever was over there, it sounded like it was crying. Slowly, and forgetting all cautious matters, she started walking across the space towards the crying creature. Her head looked over another large object and down over it. Something, under another object like the ones coming down from the ceiling, except tt was a deep blue, she could see something squirming and struggling underneath.
Her eyes narrowed a bit in cautiousness, but widened back open in concern. Slowly, her hand hesitantly reached towards the squirming creature. Her arm retreated back for a mere second, but then lowered all the way down and grasped the soft draped things. he quickly yanked it off, off of...
The crying instantly stopped and the creature rubbed its eyelids before staring up with curious teal green eyes. Her head cocked in curiosity and shock at the peculiar creature. It was small, much smaller than a gorilla baby. It had absolutely no fur on its body, except some brown tufts on its head. Its skin was the color of the peach-colored morning glories. Its face was more pressed into its head and its nose was very small. A weird, slightly bulging white thing was clad around its hips and part of its lower belly. Whatever it was, it sure was no gorilla infant.
The being looked up at her in the same expression she had at it. Quietly and gradually, she placed a hand on the wooden object to support her and leaned down to sniff at the creature. Her nose couldn't pick up any familiar scents coming up from it. Her head rapidly retreated back up once she felt the creature sneeze and moisture fly out of its mouth and onto her upper lip. She quickly wiped the stuff away. Coughing flew up from the creature, but stopped when she looked back down at it. It started throwing its hands up at her while cooing and giggling in a childish manner.
Looking around to see if there was anyone else around here besides her, to make sure the creature wasn't reaching up to her, she then reached her arm down and grasp one of its legs before lifting up. The creature was quiet for a moment, before cooing in curiosity at the sight of the world upside down. She moved it around before resting it down on one of her feet on its belly to get a look at it from its back and behind. Her focus turned to the white bulging thing on its behind. Using one finger, she stretched it out and took a few sniffs at it, only to let go and turn away in disgust as the retched smell of pungent dung reached her nostrils.
Another weird, yet not alarming, sound came from the creature. She slowly turned her foot around so that the creature as facing her. A small group of spit bubbles was being blown out of the creature's mouth. Using one of her fingers, she popped the biggest bubble and made the creature's clean of saliva. The creature blinked to protect its eyes from the drops of moisture, before looking back at her, now that their heads and faces were really close now. She didn't move her head and instead allowed it to touch and explore her upper lift with its two tiny hands, but leaned away for a moment when the creature ducked its hands into her nostrils.
She then lifted up a finger as the baby suddenly touched it. She realized how small the creature's hands was. His little hand could barely grasp around the tip of her pointer finger. It's hand grazed the other tips of her fingers before she lifted her hand enough so that it could touch palms with her. The contrast between the tiny, peach colored hand with no fur and her dark colored, large one. She smiled in adoration at the tiny baby's curiosity, one that reminded her so much of her son that she had lost. This baby was like her son, despite not being a gorilla at all. Still, they were close, despite the differences in appearance and behavior.
It was not her blood and flesh baby, but it would be hers anyhow. She would make him her baby, since he had lost his parents. Both she and him had lost those dear to them, but would now find comfort and love with each others.
Her hand reached out to take the boy from her foot and nestled him in the crook of her arm. The baby yawned before turning towards her and snuggling into the warmth and softness of her fur, even grasping small tufts of it as well. Kala was enchanted. She used her other hand up to his head and brought him closer to her head and nestling against his.
Little now did she noticed the white-tipped, gold and black tail whipping back and forth before her face.
Kerchak had been in a hurry to follow after Kala once she had crossed into the island with the strange anomalies in the forest canopy, but once he heard the feral growl of Sabor coming up from the place where Kala had entered, he had gone into a full-blown, fast as possible charge after her. His heart pounded in his chest and fear rose over him as the thoughts of losing his wife after his son flowed through his mind. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't lose her!
He stopped abruptly and his heart nearly stopped in his chest when his eyes caught sight from down below of Kala dropping down from a newly made hole in the structure, along with several pieces of broken wood pieces and Sabor not very far above her. His eyes watched as they all landed in a thin, stretchy canopy-like structure that drastically lowered their fall. His muscles reacted on their own as he ran up towards them, trying to get Sabor away from his wife and get her out of here.
Sabor soon clawed through the gold, stretched material enough to send both him and Kala onto the smooth, circular floor below. Kala struggled in horror and held back Sabor by his throat with her foot to avoid his claws tearing at her. Still, the jungle cat was determined. It sent one of his paws forcefully at her face, smacking her hard enough to let her hand holding her baby go limp and rolling away from her. She gasped in shock, not from the two scratches that now marred the left side of her face, but when she saw him fall down off the edge of the wood.
To her further horror, Sabor had also been distracted by her baby's fall and instantly abandoned Kala and leapt after the easier meal. He was about to jump down onto the net down below the wood, but screamed in surprise and some pain when he was suddenly grasped tightly around his lower torso by Kala. The female gorilla peered down past the spots and into a crack in between the planks to see her baby rolling down in joy on the net, completely oblivious to the action that was happening above him.
Sabor finally managed to slink his head and body out of Kala's arms by moving out backwards. While she was trying to get up, he stood on his hind legs and slashed her down from above at her face before allowing her to rolled away while he jumped down onto the net and started following after the easy prey. Kala got up and looked through another crack at her baby, now being stalked by a hungry leopard. She kept watching him roll till he came to a stop right before the large tree trunk holding up the structure. His face lit up at the sight of her and his arms rose up to her, still unaware of the hungry leopard staggering against the bendy net material heading straight towards him.
Quickly, she reached out towards him to save him from his fate, only to realize that the hole in the platform was not big enough to let all of her arm through to get him. Her fingers were just inches away from his waving hands as she stretched as far as she could to get him. Her mouth gaped open in shock when Sabor took a flying pounce towards him, but landed only inches away from him.
However, the effect from his leap sent her baby bouncing into the air, just high enough that her finger could hook under the white things he was wearing and hold him up from the spotted cat's jaws. Her smile lasted only a moment untils he realized her son could not get through the hole. She tried lightly pulling him through to space between the planks and the pole, but all she could do was bounce him up and down, making him easier toy and prey for the tangled leopard near him.
She kept pulling till the weird cloth managed to slip in and through one of the crack in between the wooden floor. She suddenly realized he could be slid out by the material he was wearing. She pulled him to the edge of the planks where he came out and she scooped him up back safely into her arms. Their touching reunion broke apart in seconds when the sound of wood cracking and Sabor's head and fore arms came through the plank near the pole as he started clawing his way out.
Kala backed away from him, only to realize that she was on the edge with only air between her and the bridge many feet below. Her eyes quickly searched till they saw a weird, large and seed shell-shaped cup hanging in the air just a leap away from her and her baby. Her mind could barely process her next move as Sabor clawed his way out of the floor below and leapt towards her. Barely thinking, her feet left the platform and into the dipped-in platform as soon as Sabor's claws nearly scraped her arm.
To her surprise, and later joy, the wooden depression she was in was then lowered quickly all the way to the ground, but stopped as soon as it was just about a yard from shattering on the earth. Kala looked up to the top where she had been and looked in shock to see the struggling form of Sabor tangled up in the thickly twisted vines that had lowered her and her son to safety.
Holding her son securely to her chest, she jumped out of the lowering platform and started rushing down the island towards the bridge. When she had gotten some feet onto it, she stopped and turned around one last time, turning her head up towards the squirming leopard. She bared her teeth, narrowed her forehead and snorted at him, signifying her victory in the battle between them. Her son cooed in response to his new mother. She then turned back and crossed the rest of the bridge and into the forest, eager to return to her troop and show them her new baby.
If she had spent a little more time looking back, however, she might had seen her mate, Kerchak, and the shocked expression he bore.
The troop had stopped in the middle of a clearing with the tree canopy above providing a mixed light and shadows on the forest floor below, just as Kerchak had instructed. They were halted temporarily until their two leaders returned. Hopefully, it would be soon. In the meantime, the troop was taking the time to groom one another while sitting and resting down in the shrubs and small leafy plants growing out from the dirt.
One such pair of gorillas, a mother and her daughter, had took to grooming her rambunctious daughter. All of a sudden, the little gorilla girl jumped up and pointed out to the side.
"Mother, look! Look over there," she called out. The mother, along with the other members of the troop, all turned and looked, to see the approaching gorilla coming up to them.
Kala had returned.
Instantly, the troop ran over to her, calling out her name, asking if she was alright and where had she been. She did not appear to be hurt, minus a duo of scratches left of her left face. Other than that, she appeared to be just fine. Her right, front leg was drawn up to her chest, like she was holding something.
"Are you you alright," one asked as she and the rest of them gathered around her. They leaned their heads in to try to see what she was holding.
"I'm fine, no, really, honestly. It's just that I got a little," she tilted her arm a bit to reveal her little bundle, "sidetracked." The others gasped as they took in the sight of her baby. The little gorilla girl climbed off her mother and came closer to Kala to inspect it.
"Well, isn't that, um, well it's so," the gorilla's mother stuttered.
"Well, it's just so, so," another mother continued. The little gorilla girl got in close and inspected it.
"Yeah, it's freaky-looking, okay that's what it is," she said honestly.
"Terkina," her mother scolded.
"Well it is! I mean, what the heck is it, anyway," she asked while pointing to him and leaning onto Kala's arm.
"He's a baby," Kala replied and gave him over to her to hold.
"Whoa! Ow! I can't," she said as the baby started crawling around on her. She finally stopped speaking when she felt him stop squirming and begin to smooth down the fur standing on top of her hair. She smiled as he began giggling. "So where's his mama?
"Well, I'm going to be his mother now," Kala replied sweetly. The other gorillas stared at her in shock, but remained quiet.
"You know he's not so bad once you get used to him," Terkina said as she hugged him. She gave him back to Kala and scrambled back to her mother. "Kala's gonna be its mother now, mama," she said.
"I heard Terkina." She then looked back up to Kala. "So where's Kerchak?" Kala then turned up to her in shock.
"I thought he was here with you." Kala replied.
"No, he went after you once he saw you leaving. Did he not follow after you," the mother replied. Instantly, the others began talking in hurried and worried tones. The heavy footsteps of something approaching soon silenced them.
"It's fine. I'm right here," came the deep baritone of their leader. Kerchak. He took a long glance at his troop before turning back to Kala. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before turning to the baby in her arms. His eyes widened for a second before narrowing in focus at him. He leaned in and sniffed at him, before stilling suddenly in shock when the baby suddenly squealed and reached out and touched his upper lip like he had done with Kala just a little while before. His eyes widened in shock, not from the baby's soft and curious touch, but as he was reminded of another infant having done the same before. His son had done the same thing when he had first met him.
"Kerchak." Kala's voice distracted him back to his thoughts. "I-I saved him from Sabor," she said quietly.
"I know," was his quiet reply. Her eyes widened and stared straight at him. "I followed you."
"Oh." The only sound close by was the murmuring of the other gorillas and the sound of the baby in Kala's arms cooing.
Hesitantly, Kerchak's hand extended down to the little boy. Kala's eyes focused everywhere it went, till it finally stopped right before her son. She watched quietly as her little boy reached out and grasped onto one of Kerchak's fingers and coo. Her eyes turned to Kerchak's face. It was as emotionless as ever, but she saw his eyes were softened. Suddenly, he turned his hand around and, surprisingly, used the back of his hand to stroke her baby's head.
"What's his name," he finally said. The sound of rainforest brush was heard crushed underfoot and Terkina appeared beside Kala again.
"Yeah, whatcha gonna call it," she asked. Kala looked thoughtful for a moment, before responding. The baby began sucking on his foot and she pulled it out of his mouth, before he moved to sucking his finger.
"I'm going to call him Tarzan."
"Tarzan? Okay, he's your baby," the youngster said. Her expression looked unsure, but was still was reasonable with Kala's choice.
"All right little lady, come on, it's way past your nest time," her mother said and took her up into her arms before placing her on her back.
"Aw, mom," Terkina complained in response, eventually leading to an argument between the two as they trudged away, leaving behind Kerchak, Kala and Tarzan.
"Kerchak," Kala said again. His vision swung back to her. Her eyes were turned onto Tarzan and she was gently stroking his head. "I know he doesn't look what we've lost, but..."
"We can keep him." Her head snapped up to look at his face. His eyes were soft and his face was less emotionless, even fatherly almost.
"What," she whispered.
"I said we can keep him. He can stay here," he said. Kala's face broke into a wide, happy smile.
"Oh thank you, Kerchak. I know he'll be a good son," she replied. He didn't respond, but she could still catch the hints of a smile turning up at the corners of his lips. He turned back to the group.
"We'll nest here for the night" he announced and began walking to the other members. Kala smiled warmly at him as he began to leave. She would think that he would react differently, perhaps even with some anger and harshness, towards her discovery, but strangely enough he acted more... warmly. Kindly. Even... even fatherly.
It made her heart feel warm that he had accepted Tarzan as his son.
Speaking of which, he began squirm in her arms. She gently pulled him close and walked after him and the rest for the group.
"Love is appreciating your differences as well as your similarities" -Unknown
I hope you enjoyed reading this. Once again I would like to thank the 'Guest' reviewer for suggesting this. Thank you all for reading. Please leave a review, they are loved and cherished. sincerely, v.t.7