A King's Prayer
It seemed to be another peaceful morning in the Central Park Zoo, and nowhere was this more apparent than in the Lemur Habitat, which was quite a shocking change of pace taking said habitat's usual rate for some kind of craziness to be taking place into consideration. However, this didn't seem to be the case as there was nothing but silence in the habitat as the three residents were busy in their own activities: King Julien was lying in one of the lounge chairs enjoying his morning nap, Maurice happened to be in another chair rested beside his and having his nose in one of the books they had lying around and Mort was keeping himself occupied with a bounce on the royal bouncing castle. After a few moments of silence passed among the small group of three, Maurice let out a sigh of content as he turned his glance up from the pages he was currently reading.
"There's nothing like getting a morning like this, having nothing but do but relax and do the things you usually never have time to do." Maurice commented to himself, even though he had a feeling that he would be eating his own words as soon as Julien awoke from his morning nap, ready to begin a new day of fun in his kingdom. To be on the safe side, Maurice turned his eyes to see the royal lemur let out a mumble in his sleep before rolling on his side, turning his eyesight away from Maurice as he did so. Taking notice of this, Maurice felt a smile of relief cross his face before he looked back down at his book; it seemed as though he was going to get some much needed time for himself at last.
With the royal lemur in question, he was continuing his lying comfortably in the lounge chair with his crown rested comfortably on top of his head, just where he preferred it to be. After a few seconds, Julien slowly started to raise his eyelids open to reveal his bright yellow eyes with an amber coloured hue near the centre and he lifted his head up to catch notice of something unusual taking place at the Penguins' Habitat: he could see the fish bowl shift to the side to reveal the entrance leading down to the Penguins' HQ, but as he watched carefully, he caught notice of the fact that Skipper was the only one to exit the HQ before making his way out of the habitat. Upon taking notice of this, Julien's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he started to rub two fingers against his chin. "Hmm… something does not seem right here." he simply stated.
Maurice lifted his head up from his book in surprise upon hearing Julien's voice and turned his head to the king at his statement. "What is it, Your Majesty?"
Julien kept his attention on Skipper for a few moments as he watched him exit the habitat before he begun to make his way over to the front gate leading out of the zoo and into the park, and then he turned around to face his assistant, pointing in the direction Skipper was leaving. "Maurice, are you noticing something different about the penguins today?" he asked.
Maurice placed the book he was reading down on the ground beside his chair before he jumped on his feet and made his way over to Julien before looking out to spot Skipper walking off by himself. "Well… I do know that I can see Skipper heading out of the zoo, and I also know that he probably doesn't want us getting in the way of whatever he's doing." As Maurice was making this last statement, Julien gave a nod in confirmation before turning his head over to the aye-aye.
"Exactly, but look more closely. The leader penguin is leaving, but I do not see his comrades anywhere in sight. He's leaving by himself! What could he up to that needs him to be leaving his teammates on their own?" Julien quietly wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes as he spoke, with a growing curiosity to figure out just what was going on with the penguins today. As Julien kept his focus on this, Maurice turned his head to the royal lemur as he already had a feeling that he knew where this was headed.
"I'm guessing we're going to go down there and find out what's going on for ourselves?" Maurice asked, with an expression of minor annoyance showing on his face; he had a feeling that the day of peace and quiet he thought he was going to get would be thrown out the window in only a few seconds. However, he was met with an answer he didn't expect as Julien stood up, with his decision in mind.
"Correction, Maurice. I will go down there on my own and figure this puzzling matter out for myself. You stay with Mort and make sure he doesn't do anything stupidy." Julien replied. Without a moment to spare, he leapt off the platform and landed on the ground below before making his way over to the wall of the habitat and jumped over it to start catching up with Skipper and find out where he was heading for himself. From where he remained on the platform above, Maurice could only stare in silence at what he was seeing.
"He's actually doing this on his own…?" After a few moments of silence passed for Maurice to understand that he was actually seeing this, he felt a bright smile cross his face before he made his way back over to the chair he had been lying on earlier and made himself comfortable before bending over to pick up the book and flip over to the pages he had gotten up to. "Looks like today won't be too bad after all…" Maurice happily commented to himself; from the way things seemed to be going, it looked as though he was finally going to have the quiet time he felt he had worked hard for.
"AAAAHHHHH!" At the sound of that scream, Maurice lifted his head up in alarm to see Mort flying towards the area he was in, before dropping out of the sky and landing hard on the gravel, with Maurice giving a flinch at the sound of the impact, before Mort lifted his head up with an expression of pain etched on his face; he had been trying to do a high jump on the bouncy and if the state he was in was anything to go by, it hadn't ended very well. "I think my legs are broken…" Mort groaned, feeling unable to move at the moment.
"And I spoke too soon…" Maurice muttered to himself, rolling his eyes in dismay as he said this.
Meanwhile with Julien, he had arrived on the other side of the habitat and was now standing in the heart of the zoo. "Now I just need to find where the penguin is headed and catch up with him…" With his goal set in his mind, Julien placed a paw over his forehead and started to slowly tilt his head towards both sides, scanning the surroundings of the zoo for any sign of Skipper. As he was looking, his eyes quickly fell on something in the centre and he turned his head in that direction to spot Skipper arriving at the zoo gate. "Ah-ha! I have spotted him!" Julien proudly stated, a bright smile crossing his face at his success before he started to rush towards the gate.
Meanwhile at the gate, Skipper was about to start making his way out when he suddenly heard a voice call out from behind him. "Hello! Wait for me!" Skipper let out a groan of annoyance as he could recognise that voice immediately, the one voice he didn't want to hear at a time like this. Sure enough, as he turned around to find out who was calling him, his suspicions were proven correct when he saw Julien running over to him with a large grin before stopping in his tracks, with his crown falling in front of his eyes before he reached up to push it back in its proper place.
"Ringtail? What could you want at a time like this?" Skipper asked, showing an annoyed expression as he wasn't feeling very in the mood for having to deal with Julien's nonsense today. Julien simply showed a bright smile before giving his reply.
"Oh, nothing. I just happened to see you heading out on your own and well… long story short, let's just say that I'm kind of wondering what you're doing that needs you to go off by yourself." Julien replied, placing his two forefingers with a nervous smile as he was saying this, wondering if Skipper would be willing to believe him on this instance. However, it seemed that this wasn't the case as Skipper gave him a firm stare before pointing a flipper at him.
"Well, long story short for you, I don't need you poking that furry tail of yours into it!" Skipper retorted, with Julien being left staring in surprise for a few moments before the smile quickly returned to his face as he rushed over to stand right in front of Skipper.
"Oh, sounds to me like someone's sounding a little extra feisty today!" Julien cheekily commented, clasping his paws while he said this before placing them on both of his hips. He then showed a mischievous smile as he continued. "Is this one of your secret missions?"
"You have no idea. And I need to be on my way, ASAP!" Skipper replied. But as he was about to continue his way out through the gate, he was met with a shock as Julien stepped in front of him again to stop him in his tracks, with an excited grin showing.
"Ooh, that sounds dangerously exciting! I would like to invite myself on this mission of yours." Julien stated. However, it seemed that idea was out of the question as Skipper shook his head in response.
"Sorry, Ringtail. But I can't have any co-operation on this mission; I have to go solo." At this reply, the smile quickly dropped from Julien's face and become replaced with an expression of surprise as he was starting to wonder what Skipper was getting at.
"Wait, wait, wait. By yourself, you are saying? But… why? Surely you don't plan on going off without an extra hand? Or two, in my case, because I have two hands…" As Julien was saying this with both of his paws in the air, he turned his glance to see Skipper looking at him with a blank stare, like he was wondering where he was going with this. Apparently realising that he was going nowhere with this as well, Julien lowered both his paws before he continued. "As I was saying, I plan on going with you, whether you want me to or not."
"No can do. This mission is more dangerous than any one you've invited yourself on, and it's one I plan on taking on myself. And I don't know if I plan on returning to the zoo after this." Skipper explained. As Julien was listening to this, he slowly showed an expression of concern; from the sound of it, it seemed as though that what Skipper was something he felt even he wouldn't be able to understand. However, the ring-tailed lemur figured that maybe he should speak up, just to be on the safe side about all this.
"Wait, wait. Let me see if I'm understanding this." Julien placed one paw against his temples to try and make sense of this before he continued. "You're saying that this mission you're going on is most likely dangerous, and that you have to do it on your own, and that you don't know if you'll be coming back here again?" As Skipper gave a nod in confirmation, that was when the penny seemed to drop in Julien's mind as he was starting to register what he was hearing, and he felt an expression of dismay slowly cross his face as he started to tap his forefingers together. "Oh… oh, wow… This sounds more serious than I thought. Just what kind of mission are you talking about that sounds so dangerous?"
Since he knew that Julien had heard this much, Skipper mentally decided that it was best to fill him in on everything. After all, for how much he usually disliked his ring-tailed neighbour, Skipper could tell that Julien was one to understand how dire a certain situation was when the right time called. "The name for it… is P.E.L.T: Penguin Endurance Leadership Test. And it's the only way for me to prove if I'm fir to remain in charge of my men. I have to go out and complete three tasks for this expedition, and they're all dangerous."
Julien simply fell into silence as he was listening to this explanation and he slowly crossed his arms and turned his head away, with the realisation of how serious the situation Skipper was dealing with slowly starting to sink in. After a few moments passed, Julien was finally able to find his voice again. "Oh… I see now. This really is something I couldn't tackle on my own… If this is the way it needs to be done, then I won't be a burden to you." With this, Julien turned and started to slowly walk away back to his habitat, figuring that it would be best to let Skipper take care of this mission by himself.
As Skipper watched Julien leave, he could only stare in surprise seeing how crestfallen the royal lemur seemed to be having heard and understood everything he was saying. "I don't think I've seen Ringtail be this upset for anything I've said to him. Well, at least anything like this…" Skipper commented to himself. However, he figured that he shouldn't worry about it right now. "I'm sure he'll snap out of it in no time." With this said, he started to make his way out of the zoo to get started to making his trek out towards the city.
Back at the lemur habitat, Maurice was still busily reading his book while Mort had decided to keep himself busy by looking around for something else to do. As Maurice turned to the next page, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and lifted his head up to see Julien. "Oh, your Majesty! You're back!" Maurice commented, showing an expression of surprise upon spotting the royal lemur before he sat up in his chair and turned around to face him. "So what did Skipper say to you?" The surprise he was showing quickly became replaced with concern when he noticed the solemn expression Julien was showing, along with the fact that he was keeping his eyes down on the ground and had his arms crossed tightly. "Uh… are you alright?" Maurice worriedly asked, wondering what was wrong.
Julien let out a quiet sigh before turning his head to Maurice, making the expression of dismay on his face all the more apparent to see. "I'm afraid… it isn't very pleasant news, Maurice. He said that he's off to go on this… Pelt expedition, and that this is something he needs to do on his own. He also told me that he did not know if…" Julien struggled to swallow the lump building in his throat before he was able to finish his sentence. "…if he will return to the zoo."
Maurice nearly felt his mouth drop open from shock at this statement. "Wait, wait, wait… Say what?! He really said that?"
Julien gave a simple nod in confirmation. "Yes. I heard him say so with my own ears. And from the way he said it, it seemed like he was being very serious about it." He then turned his head in the direction of the zoo gate, clearly still remembering Skipper's words, while Maurice had his glance down in uncertainty, trying to make sense of just what he was hearing. Before he could give a reply, however, Julien stopped him. "Don't say another word to me right now. There's something I have to do alone." After this simple statement, Julien started to slowly walk away while Maurice could only watch in silence; he could recognise that expression Julien was showing in a moment's notice, and he had a feeling that he needed to be alone.
With the royal lemur in question, he was approaching an empty area of the habitat. This was always the place he came to when he needed time to himself, away from the rest of the residents of the zoo around him, and away from his loyal subjects. Letting out a quiet sigh, Julien turned his head up to look towards the sky, still hearing Skipper's words echoing through his ears. "I still cannot believe that what he said is true. That he could possibly never return here…" After these words were spoken, Julien lowered his head slightly while keeping his eyes directed towards the sky, with an expression of unspoken sadness showing on his face. "While I cannot offer him my direct assistance on this mission of his, there is one thing I know I can do."
Giving a nod of affirmation at this simple statement, Julien slowly uncrossed his arms before placing his paws together. He then got down on his knees and folded his paws together before turning his gaze up to the sight of the clear blue sky above him. "Great Sky Spirits, I come before you now with a burden that weighs heavy on me, one that refuses to leave me be. It concerns my good neighbour and friend, Skipper. I have only recently learnt that he plans to go on this important mission on his own, and that he doesn't know if he plans on returning to the zoo. He made the details very hazy to me, but I know for certain that it is of utmost importance to him. But my own matters aren't the reason I'm calling to you; it's his matters that worry me at this moment, and it continues to worry me even now."
Keeping his eyes pointed towards the sight of the blue sky, catching sight of the few clouds drifting over his head, Julien let out a sigh to catch his breath before he could continue. "Even I'm not sure why this causes me as much worry as it does, but right now, all I can think about is what he could be doing, what he plans to do for this mission of his and whether or not he'll be safe. I can't help but feel like I should be there by his side to help him, but he's told me that this is something he must do on his own. Yet even with knowing this, and knowing how strong and resilient he is, my mind is filled with worry and fear for his well-being, and my heart weighs heavy simply thinking about what he's going through." Julien paused for a few moments, struggling to understand how he was saying all of this. However, it didn't take long for the answer to become evident: all of this he had been saying, this prayer was one that was coming from his heart. He meant every word he was saying, and this was a realization that he didn't know how to respond to. But he quickly pushed this thought aside as he continued with his prayer, shutting his eyes as he did so.
"Please, Sky Spirits… I ask that you offer him your protection as he goes off on his mission, that you keep him safe through any dangers that come his way…" Julien then started to feel tears building in his eyes even as he kept them shut. "…and that you guide him home safely, where everyone will be waiting for him." Once he spoke this, Julien started to feel a smile of relief slowly cross his face as he felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders, like the burden that had been weighing on him since he learnt about where Skipper was going and what he planned to do was finally being removed from him. Placing both of his paws over his heart, Julien let out a soft sigh before finally opening his eyes and turning his glance up to the sky, the smile of relief he was showing become more apparent to see.
"Thank you so much… for hearing my prayer…" Julien then raised a paw to brush the tears out of his eyes before he stood up from his kneeling position and started to make his way back to where he was certain Maurice and Mort were waiting for him, filled with a new certainty and reassurance that Skipper would succeed in his mission and that he would come back to the zoo safe and sound.
And when he did, Julien knew he would be there to welcome him back.