Chapter 2: Wrong Place Right Time
"Like I was saying, Andy, I'm just, you know, not very sure about this."
"Pancho, Pancho, Pancho. You're over thinking this whole shebang. " The bat languidly drapes his wing over the lemur's shoulder. "Just this one last thing, I swear, and we'll be kicking it up like kings."
Pancho looks at the bat and then away. "I don't know, Andy. I mean, I still have to think about Lindy and the things with her..."
Andy snorts and retracts his wing. "You know what I think would be the best option?"
"No, I'm not doing that again." He glares at him. "Sharon was one thing. And it was an accident. I like Lindy, Andy, she really gets me. She never leaves me in the dark."
"Lindy smendy." The bat rolls his eyes. "She'll walk in at the wrong time and you'll have to shake her sooner or later, Pancho, or you'll have to kill her like Sharon."
Pancho spins round and points his finger at Andy. "I told you that was an accident! Those foosa came out of nowhere!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." He smirks. "Your secret's safe here, Pancho."
"Like I said, Andy, Lindy's different. Completely different."
"Sure, sure. But you can't think about living like a king with her around is all I'm saying." The bat leans up against a tree, grinning. "I'm sure you'd find much better companions than her."
Pancho rubs the back of his neck. "I don't know, Andy. I'll think about it."
"What is there to think so much about? I mean come on! You and me, living like kings! Or you and her," he snarls his nose with disgust. "Living like all the other suckers."
"It's none of your business, Andy." Pancho backs up.
"You're leaving me in the dark here, Pancho," Andy growls and flaps his wings in frustration.
"Uh hi down there! Not that I mean to, well actually I do, yes. I do mean to interrupt."
Pancho and Andy both look up at the branches in horror. There suspended above them is an orange and brown lemur tangled up in the cords of a white parachute. Parts of a crate are tangled up with him.
"Oh no worries, I won't tell anyone anything I heard, lemur's honor. However, I'd keep the promise better with a little assistance, my good sirs." He winks down at them.
"Why should we help you?" Andy snorts.
"Really you have absolutely no reason to, but forgive me if I'm wrong, it sounded like you were discussing a scam. I do love myself a good scam." He smirks.
Andy and Pancho look at each other for a brief moment. "Alright, fine. Who are you anyway?" Pancho asks as he climbs up the tree.
"The name's Clemson. I'm from...Out of town. My cousin and I, we decided to take a little vaca, see?"
"There's another one of you?" Pancho sighs as he now works on untangling the cords.
"Nah, she's nothing to worry about. Hopefully she died from shock at the drop." Clemson chuckles.
Pancho glances at him as he finishes untangling the cords. "You're good to go now, but don't you tell anyone about what you heard."
"Yeah! Or else we'll use our scorpions!" Andy chimes in from below.
Clemson pulls himself up onto a limb. "No worries my compadres, my lips are sealed. By that I mean, not a word from me, I swear."
"Good." Pancho begins to climb down.
Clemson follows him closely. "Say! You wouldn't happen to have a king, would you?"
"Why?" Pancho looks at him suspiciously.
"Oh! Nothing very important, just I've never met a king before. It's on my bucket list!"
Pancho scrutinizes him a little longer before shrugging. "Yeah, King Julien XIII. We could introduce you if you like, but it will probably have to wait til the festivities are over." He hops down and dusts off his fur.
Clemson jumps down on the bat's head. "Fantastic! Festivities! Wait—festivities? What?"
"Get off of—!" The bat swats at him, but Clemson has hopped off before he can finish.
"Eva's Day, pretty much the summer solstice."
"Mhm, I see. Well, no matter, that won't affect anything," he murmurs.
"What was that?" The lemur glances at him.
"Nothing! I only meant to say, I don't mind waiting! It's my middle name in fact!"
"Uh huh...Sure." He rolls his eyes and leads him back towards the kingdom.
"Keep your head down, miss. Let's not interrupt the king until he's finished," Clover says and gently pushes Mialy down out of sight.
"What is he doing, Clover?" She tries peeking through the leaves of the bush they hide behind.
"A royal dance to honor the sun goddess."
"Oh I see. I suppose that is rather important...Maybe it would be better if I just went back to my crate until the humans return." Mialy begins to back away.
Clover grabs her by the scruff of her neck. "Nuh uh uh, not likely, Mialy. We do not have any lemurs that aren't citizens running about here until after they've met with the king and he's judged what to do with them."
Mialy's eyes grow wide and fearful. "Wha-what do you think he will say? Feed me to the crocodiles?!" she squeaks and dives deep into the bush.
"No. Now come out from there! Frank! Mialy, now this is just too much even for a lemur!" She reaches down, fishing around with her paw til she once again grabs her by the scruff and hauls her up to eye level. "First, the crocodiles don't eat lemurs, they're our allies. Second of all, for better or worse, King Julien accepts most alien lemurs into the kingdom."
"THERE ARE ALIENS HERE!?"
"Not alien like from out of space! Alien as in foreign!" She face-palms with her free paw. She then looks over at Julien and Masikura. "Now if you can just sit here quietly, they're almost finished and then we can go talk to them, okay?" She slowly sits her down, but makes eye contact with her before releasing her scruff. "Can you do that?"
Mialy nods slowly, her eyes still wide and nervous. "O-okay..."
