Two Brothers Under the Sun
Chapter – III
No Other Way
It was around midday when the man-cub arrived at another section of the Dirisha bank. He didn't have a particular destination in mind as he ran through the wilderness with tears leaking from his eyes, tears such as men use. After nearly wearing out his arms and legs from working, he finally stopped at the downstream shore, connected to a lowland floodplain, where a herd of nilgai antelope was grazing.
Squatting in the shallow water, he contemplated his reflection. Pink skin, no fur outside of his head, no visible muscles on his body. He glared at the sight, swatting at the puny image in anger until a stain of mud spilled on his face. He looked again and saw that, combined with the darkness afforded by the tree shade, the stain made his face look darker, like a gorilla's. He quickly grabbed more mud to cover his head and torso, by the time he stopped, most of his front was covered in mud. He looked again...
And saw the familiar body of a black panther.
"Tarzan." he turned to see Bagheera looking down at him from the treetop. "What are you doing?"
"Why am I so different?" he asked instead of answering. "I am weak. I am slow. And I got the Family in danger." he turned back to the river.
Bagheera sighed before droping down to join his student. "You didn't mean for that to happen. It was an accident, if we explain to the others-"
"That's not it!" he shouted and turned back to face the panther. "Look at me, l'm not a good ape." he said with sadness amounting in his voice. "Kerchak is right. If the tiger wanted he'd get me.
"If the Khan ever comes for you, we'll protect you. Me, your mother, even Kerchak and the Troop, despite what he said. You can count on it." the panther asserted, trying to reassure the boy.
"But, then you'd be in danger because of me." he replied sadly. "Everyone would be better off if l just wasn't around."
"Don't say something like that." Bagheera insisted, putting a paw on his shoulder. "Kala is your mother. She would be devastated if anything were to happen to you."
"That is the point." he declared. "I don't wanna see anyone get hurt. Especially her." he averted his eyes again.
the panther sighed one more time before turning Tarzan so them both could look eye-to-eye. "Listen, I'm not saying this just because I am your teacher: you're part of this Family." he said firmly. "You may not look like the others, but you are an ape. I'm sure of it. And it doesn't matter how long it takes, you will learn the ways of the Troop." he put his paw back on his shoulder. "I promised to teach you when you were accepted in the jungle, and that's what I'm gonna do." his apprentice looked at him with slightly puffed eyes. "It's a promise."
Tarzan leaned in and hugged his frame, Bagheera couldn't help but feel awkward even as he reciprocated the gesture. He heard a few light sobs emitting from the cub, yet he smiled, closed his eyes, and patted him on the head. Once he opened them...
"Tarzan..?"
"Yes?" he asked in a lightly muffled voice.
"Listen to me... You're gonna run to that ravine."
"...what?" something was wrong with Bagheera's voice. He seemed agitated.
" The one created by the Waterspout. Go back to the Troop and call Kerchak."
"What are you talking about-?"
'ROAR'
Bagheera moved quickly, grabbed the man-cub, and leaped out of the way before either got mauled by the leopard. The Waters had reflected her form on the tree above. He let go of Tarzan and turned to face the beast, deflecting the latter's paw strike and engaging her in a deadly match. Tarzan ran to the ravine as instructed, just missing the nilgai as the antelopes started a stampede. Sabor lashed at him but he was able to throw her away. She attempted a break for the cub but the panther throwed himself at her, making them both roll over to the water. Both cats tried to bite and swipe at each other while trying to keep their opponent underwater so he would drown. Unfortunately, their tussle got the attention of a bask of crocodiles, forcing the two to disengage before being seized by their great jaws. Sabor managed to walk out of the river before Bagheera and dashed to the man-cub, the latter having a difficult time escaping the massive reptiles.
"Run, Tarzan! Run!" he cried out to his apprentice, not even caring whether or not he could hear him.
The man-cub hurried his pace through the tall grass, but not nearly enough to even keep up with the Khan's top huntress and his limbs were already burning again. He looked back only to see her teeth getting closer and closer, faster than he was getting to the ravine. She nearly got to him but was hit by a stray group of nilgai and forced to fend them off with threatening roars. Then Tarzan jumped in the ravine.
'SPLAT' he rolled on the slopes before hitting the muddy ground, unharmed but covered in mire.
He slipped a bit before regaining his footing and supported himself on the knees to catch his breath. That was when he saw the herd running down to the ravine...
Hearing the thunder of their hoofs, he picked himself up and was back at running, only now way more clumsily. As he tried to evade his doom, he looked from side to side for a way to escape, until he was able to hug the opposite slope, just missing the torrent of piercing black horns. Looking to the cliff from where he fell, Tarzan spotted the leopard.
Never in his life had he seen such a terrifying monster. The man-cub could tell that cat was nothing like Bagheera, and not just because of her fur. She had a feral look on her slitted eyes that surpassed Kerchak's during one of his worst days. As she spotted him herself, a sinister smile appeared on her face and she licked her teeth hungrily.
He swore she was about to pounce at him from that high, and such a thought was enough to give the man-cub the push he needed to hightail outta there, his mind only focused on getting as much distance between him and that monster as possible. He kept himself from jumping back to the stampede and waited for the right moment to hop on one of the antelope for the weaker ones were shouldered out to the sides of the ravine.
When he made his choice, Tarzan ran alongside the herd and when the nilgai slipped on his feet, he mounted it... vanishing without a trace in the chaos of the stampede. Sabor followed from above until she found herself on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the herd scurry off into the wet plains, she let out a vicious snarl once she lost sight of her game.
The Troop made it back to their nests, still shaken from what had happened. Kerchak brought Kala away so they could discuss about some particular matters.
"I always knew that this would happen." The Silverback reminded her from across his nest.
"Please, don't start that again." his mate insisted not for the first time in this conversation.
"He can't be saved by you, nor Bagheera, Kala." Kerchak reprimanded. "He almost wiped out half the Family."
"He didn't mean for that to happen. It was a mistake!" Kala argued back.
"And how many more will he make? He can't run as fast as us, he can't climb as agile. He'll never survive in the jungle." he ranted.
"Bagheera is teaching him."
"And he did such a great job." Kerchak snorted. "But I can't entirely blame him, one can't simply cure a broken stem."
"But one can fix it with care and patience." she spoke trying to convince him.
"There are no creepers in the Wakalu, you know that." he asserted before further narrowing his eyes. "How long do you think you'll have to hold his hand?" he questioned.
Kala paused at that and lowered her head slightly. That was when Bagheera leaped down from the trees and landed next to the couple, grabbing their attention. Concern grew on their faces when they saw his scratch wounds as he panted heavily.
"Khan... has crossed the Dirisha... Sabor is here." he briefed them between long pants.
That was all the Silverback needed to hear. "Where?" he questioned with rage filling his yellow eyes.
"Downstream. Near where there was the Waterspout." the panther responded as he regained his breath.
"Where is Tarzan?" Kala asked, concern filled her eyes.
"She lost him in the ravine." he reassured the distressed mother. "He's heading West."
Kerchak was already on the move, as usual. As he marched to the roots of the great tree to rally his warriors, his mate joined his side. "Where are you going?" he asked trough neither of them ceased their pace.
"To find him." she answered in an oddly Kerchak-like firm tone.
"You can't." he told her.
"Kerchak, I'm his mother." she argued.
"I don't know what we're up against. I may not be able to protect you." he warned, and at that, she stopped.
"Kerchak." he also stopped and turned to her.
"Please. He's my son, I can't lose another one." she begged with a wistful voice.
Kerchak sighed at that, somberness also passed through his eyes. After a moment of consideration, he regained his composure and glanced at Bagheera behind her. "What of those wounds?" he asked the panther.
"Minor scratches, rushing here wore me out more." declared Bagheera.
The Silverback nooded. "You go ahead. We'll catch up."
Relief spread on Kala's form.
Using the Wind blowing over the Bukuvu highlands, a quartet of vultures slowly soared in tight circles around the afternoon sky: one bald, one with black bangs covering his eyes, one with a brown top, and one blond.
The bald one yawned. "Flaps, I'm hungry, what we gonna do?" he asked the blond one.
"I don't know. What you wanna do?" Flaps asked.
"I got it!" exclaimed the one with the brown top, enthusiastically. "Let's flap over to the east plains! There is always a rancid carcass for a meal. All right?"
"Ah, come off it, Ziggy!" called out the bald one. "The boss will have our carcasses if we don't find and cantact the lady." he shook his head.
"I thought we were looking for Sabor!" Ziggy joked, they all laughed except the one with black bangs.
"Very funny." the latter said in a dull voice.
"Okay, so what we gonna do?" the bald one asked Flaps again.
"I don't know, what you wanna do, Buzzy?" Flaps asked in turn.
Buzzy responded slightly livid: "Look, Flaps, first I say, "what we gonna do?" and then you say, "what you wanna do?", they I say, "what we gonna do?", you say "what you wanna do?", "what you gonna do", "what you wanna" - let's do something!"
" Okay. What you wanna do?" he didn't even change his tone.
"Oh, blimey, there you go again. The same once again!" Buzzy shook his head, irritated.
"I've got it!" Ziggy surprised them. "This time, I've really got it."
Buzzy turned to him. "So you got it. So what we gonna do?"
"We can eat that!" he pointed his wing to a nilgai carcass atop a tall tree. "Come on lads, come one let's grab a bite." he flew down to the tree with others following behind, all with smiles in their faces. "Meal for four, gentlemen?" he cordially asked in a humorous manner as he extended his wing to give way to his flock.
"Don't mind if we do." Buzzy responded in a similar tone before the quartet dived right into the antelope.
"Say, who do think got it all the way up here?" asked the one with black bangs between bites.
"A buck this size? My part is on the panther." Flaps wagered. Unaware of a lithe form creeping in the other branch.
"Isn't too far from that great tree?" he asked before turning his head and coming face to face with Sabor's canines.
The flock gasped and flew away but the leopard grabbed Flaps by the neck, keeping him in place as he gasped for breath.
She gave them a wicked grin "Hello, boys." and preceded to lick the leftovers off the beak of the blond vulture. Much to his friends' cringe. "I'm glad the Khan sent you." with a creepy tenderness, Sabor smoothered the vulture's ruffled feathers. Then she focused back on the flock.
"Tell our Khan that I have successfully separated the cub from his guardians." she bared one of her claws, increasing the birds' uneasiness. "Soon enough his blood will run down my chin, just like his parents'."
Flaps swallowed. "W-we'll notify the Khan, milady." He managed to say with a raspy voice.
"Ha-ha-ha." she chuckled as she let go of his neck, then..."Boo"
And like that, the birds skedaddle. "Come on, lads! This way! Let's get out!"
Leaving the cackling leopard to her meal.
The nilgai herd was now confined to a narrow track circling around a steep hill, with the Dirisha rapids below. So narrow they could only walk one at a time in single file and so muddy it was easy for them to lose footing. Tarzan had made himself comfortable on the antelope's back, he ended up falling asleep from the aftershock. Unsurprising considering the day he had. When he woke up was so alarmed by the heigh that he opted to wait before getting off the nilgai. As the man-cub tried to get a better perception of his surroundings, bad fortune came to him once more: a rainstorm began.
'THUNDER CRASH'
In just a few moments, the weather turned nasty with heavy rain and strong winds. Tarzan heard the rumble that came from above... but then he heard one that didn't sound like thunder. Looking up to the hill, he saw the trees rustling violently. Then, right before his very eyes, a part of the hill slid down the slope, toppling trees and forming a huge mudslide. The nilgai in the front backed away in time to avoid the torrent, but Tarzan looked up again and saw more mud running down towards them. In panic, he jumped off the mount, rolled and wallowed in the muddy slope as he fell down, and finally fell in the river.
He had to fight off the stream the moment he dived. Some of the antelopes had the same idea and he had to avoid their bodies, lest they drop on him. Seeing a log floating downriver, he swam halfway across the Dirisha to get to it. The currents were strong but he got to the log uninjured. Watching behind, all he saw was a great pile of mud forming on the hillside. Looking forward, he saw the Dirisha that kept on dragging him. To where exactly? He didn't know.
By the time the currents slowed down Tarzan couldn't tell what time it was, the clouds and mist made everything look grey. The only thing he knew was that, by now, he was far away from the Troop's territory, due to the unfamiliar trees he saw on the shore he was approaching. When the log stranded on the riverbank, he made his way to solid ground. Once there he looked around...
... and saw no one. He was alone.
The youngling never had traveled this far away from home, not even during his walks with Bagheera. The man-cub felt pain on his chest as he thought of his teacher. The last time he saw the panther, he was in a deadly match against that monster. Tarzan just ran away while they fought, and he could vaguely remember the panther telling him to keep running. That monster saw him escape with the herd but what could have happened to Bagheera? Could his life be in danger? Could he have sacrificed himself so Tarzan could escape? The idea alone made him want to cry. Was he really just a burden to those he loved?
And thus here he was: utterly alone. Tired, with no Family, no Troop of his own, and completely lost.
So he walked crestfallen across the jungle, with no idea of how to get home. The sky was so cloudy and the canopy so dense that it got to the point when he couldn't see the sun. As the hairless ape wandered melancholic into the deep jungle, the forlony in his spirit grew considerably. When he traversed an area of thick foliage, anxiety started to take over. The jungle seemed to close itself behind him and the dark memory of his encounter with that monster came back to haunt his mind, terrifying him even more.
'TWIG'
He stopped. The sound of something snapping sent creeps all the way down to his spine. He looked behind, only seeing the swinging of the tall grass by a light breeze. "Hello?" he called, begging on his indoor voice that a familiar voice would answer. "Bagheera?" no answer. "Mom?" only silence. "Kerchak?"
Then he bumped on something. Trembling, he turned to look what it was...
And saw the upper-jaw of a hippo coming down on him!
After a quick gasp, Tarzan tumbled off his feet and rushed blindly through the grass. The man-cub frantically ran through the undergrowth of the forest floor, fear blinding his mind to everything else, including the fact the hippo wasn't chasing him. He hurried his pace at the sight of the river, despite losing his bearings and thus being unable to use the Dirisha to guide himself back home.
But then, he tripped...
"Oof!" and colided with a feline build, knocking them both over to the ground.
Tarzan shook the daze off his head and gasped at the sight of what he could only assume was a tiger cub growling at him, making the man-cub back away fearfully. Said cub jumped to his paws and glared at him. "Who are you?" he asked as he advanced on Tarzan, the latter continued to back away. The man-cub, panting, attempted to dodge around the little cat without turning his back on him. The 'tigerling', in turn, blocked his path again and again. Suddenly the kitten tilted his head questioningly. "What are you doing?"
Tarzan mustered a scowl and said with faux determination: "My teacher told me to never turn my back to a Tiger!"
At that, the cub raised an eyebrow. "A tiger?" he made a face. "I'm a lion!" proclaimed the ti- lion cub.
"What is that?" it was the man-cub's turn to raise an eyebrow, only his was of confusion.
"A lion." declared the cub, slightly annoyed and his annoyance only grew when the Naked Ape kept looking confused at him. "Like..." he hesitated for a second before continuing. "The King?"
"King of what?"
The kit befuddled at his question. "...of everything the light touches?"
"Wouldn't that be the Elephants?"
"No! I mean... King of Beasts?" he tried again
"That's Khan." the man-cub responded.
"Can-who?"
"The most ferocious predator in the jungle and lord of south Bukuvu." Tarzan explained with light dread in his voice.
That shook the lion cub and made him back away, looking around in fear. "Is he around?"
"I- I don't know." Tarzan answered, also with fear in his voice.
An uneasy silence came between the two of them, until the lion cub turned to walk away.
"Hey. Where are you going?" Tarzan asked.
"Don't know." he answered, his face reminding the man-cub of his own from earlier.
"So, where's your Family?" the cat stopped at that question, throwed a glance at him before moving again.
"It doesn't matter. I'm can't go back." responded the kitten.
Tarzan now stopped at his answer. His last talk with Bagheera was still fresh in his mind. Could this cub...?
"You ran away, didn't you?" he questioned the jaded feline, who stood still again. "What happened?"
"...I don't really wanna talk about it." that was the only response he got.
"So, you're just gonna wander around?" he asked as the little lion made his way to stride across a log in the middle of the river. "The jungle is dangerous, you know?" he warned and made his way to the logs as well.
"I will be fine, leave me alone." the young lion responded, skipping from a log to another, not noticing the one of the 'logs' opening its slitted eyes.
Tarzan made a sad face. "Alone?"
"Yeah, alone-" the cat turned around, fright appeared on his face, and then he screamed: "WATCH OUT!"
Tarzan turned around in time to see a crocodile opening its jaws behind him, he screamed. The man-cub raced away and the crocodile's jaws snapped on empty air. "Run!" he shouted to the lion cub and the both of them ran to a rock protruding in the middle of the river. The crocodile burst out of the water trying to catch the cubs, but the pair climbed higher. From atop the rock Tarzan called to the lion: "This way!" they leaped off before the reptile could deliver a finishing bite.
The duo hoped across several rocks, till they paused in the midst of the Dirisha. Tarzan panted for a bit before laughing. "That was a close one." The cat just nooded "Yeah."
Then the ground rised beneath them, revealing an entire bask of crocodiles! "Whoa!"
The crocodile beneath the lion snapped its jaws, forcing the cub to jump off. Tarzan climbed a half-submerged tree to get away while the kit hightailed across the bodies of the giant lizards. "Hey, what about me?!" called out the man-cub.
"I'll distract them! Run! Whoa!" but the last one lifted its tail, causing the lion to fall into the water. The cub emerged flailing and coughing, to see a crocodile swimming towards him. The rest of the bask joined the advance on the kit, leaving Tarzan aside.
"Look out!" cried out the man-cub. The cat clung to another tree as the croc brought forward its jaws, only for Tarzan to jump atop its nozzle, shutting its mouth. "Move it!" they both climbed the tree, avoiding a crocodile that lunged after them. Another croc tried to catch the pair as they crossed the dead branch but failed. The younglings made it to the top of a cliff on the riverbank.
The pair panted heavily before peering over the ledge to the river below. The crocodiles swarm up the side of the cliff but were unable to climb it. That was when the adrenaline wore off.
"We did it." Tarzan said before the excitement inside him overflowed. "We did it! Ha!" the man-cub laughed and lion cub joined in, and when the former raced off the latter followed. The duo rushed to a clearing, the sun had come out and the glass glistened with the light. "Whoa! That was a lot of crocs!" "Did you see the size of those teeth? They were going, 'Rawr! Rawr! Rawr!'" Tarzan rolled onto his back while the other cub sat down and laughed with him. "l can't believe we outran all of them." "When you jumped outta that tree!" The hairless ape stood up. "He was just totally eatin' you up right there and I jumped on his head, and I bopped him so good!" The pair laughed some more before Tarzan smiled at the lion cub. "We make a pretty good team!"
He seemed hesitant, but a smile found its way to his face nonetheless. "Yeah, I guess we do."
the man-cub extended his hand to him. "I'm Tarzan of the Great Troop."
It took a second for the lion to understand the gesture and reciprocate it with his paw. "I'm Simba."
A/N: Coming out with this fic, I realized that, while Tarzan and Simba have somewhat similar stories ('trying to find their place in the 'Great Circle''), they also have some glaring diferences, specifically, their teenage life. Tarzan wants to be the 'Best Ape Ever,' while Simba is happy living the Hakuna Matata life. When it comes to crossover fanfic where you fuse stories together there is a chance that one might overtake the other (Maybe one's characters became a Spotlight-Stealing Squad, maybe one's plot far excels the other's in terms of scale and Wordbuilding, etc). What I'm trying to do here is a story following the lives of two adopted Brothers growing up trying to find their place in a jungle with war themes, but... Yeah. Tarzan will get most of the focus, with Simba growing in importance as the fic goes on.
Also, you probably noticed by now that I love Mythology Gags. Don't make a drinking game out of it, okay? The hospitals are already full.