It's been weeks since we arrived in the desert. We were all tired, hot, and thirsty, especially Bunga. Ushari had found it really hard to sleep in the hot sun, so he stayed awake.
"How much longer?" Ushari asked me.
"It'll probably be awhile," I told him.
Ushari let out a groan of annoyance.
"I thought you snakes liked the heat," Makini said.
"Not this much heat though," Ushari said.
I looked up at Kion. His scar was getting worse.
Then he tripped and fell over on his back.
"Kion!" I yelped in a panick.
Makini, Fuli, and I walked over to where Kion was, trying to offer him a helping paw.
"Here, let me help you," Makini said.
"I don't need help," Kion said, pushing Makini's hand away, "I'm fine. Let's just keep walking."
As Kion walked away, Fuli and I turned to Makini.
"Looks like Kion could use some tuliza," Fuli told Makini.
Kion turned around and looked at us with an annoyed look.
"What?" he asked, "I said I'm fine!"
"See?" Bunga chimed in, "He's fine."
I looked at Makini as we followed Kion and the rest of our friends through the desert. "Makini?"
"Tuliza, coming up," Makini said as she reached into the gourds for it, "Oh."
"You're out, aren't you?" Ushari said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Don't tell me..." Fuli said, knowing what Makini was going to say.
"I really need to do a better job keeping track of our tuliza," Makini said.
"Out of tuliza again?" Anga said, flying next to us.
Makini nodded in response.
"I'll find some," Anga said, flying deeper into the sky.
"Let's just hope Kion doesn't decide to roar before we get more tuliza," I said.
"That'd be bad," Ushari agreed.
"The journey through the desert have been hard for everyone," Ono stated.
"At least nobody's too thirsty," Beshte said.
"Thirsty?" Bunga said as he started talking dramatically, "Water! Water! I'm so thirsty!"
"Uh, except maybe Bunga," Beshte said.
"It's like there's a whole desert inside my mouth!" Bunga said, licking some sand, and sticking his tongue out.
He walked over to me and Fuli.
"See?" he asked, showing it to us," Dry as a sandy dune."
"Ugh, put that thing away," Fuli said, grimacing.
"Stop it!" I told him when he showed it to me.
"Haven't Timon or Pumbaa ever taught you manners?" Ushari asked in disgust when Bunga showed it to him next.
Bunga then walked over to Kion to show him.
"Kion, Kion," Bunga said, trying to catch up, "Wanna thee?"
Suddenly, Kion swung around, pounced onto Bunga, and growled at him.
"Bunga!" he growled, gritting his teeth.
"Sorry!" Bunga said, startled and surprised.
"Kion, calm down," Fuli walked over and intervened, "Bunga was just fooling around."
"Yeah, it was just Bunga being Bunga," Beshte put in.
"Sorry, everybody," Kion apologized, "Sorry, Bunga."
"Hakuna Matata," Bunga said, "I am pretty good at being annoying."
"Especially when it comes to annoying me," Ushari added, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, come on," Kion said, turning around to keep walking, "Let's keep going."
I sighed as we all continued to walk forward.
"Come on, Anga," I plead as I looked up at her, "Find us some tuliza."
"Yes!" I heard Anga say. She then flew down next to me.
"Anga, did you find any tuliza?" I asked her.
"Yep," Anga said, "But it's really far away."
"How far?" I asked again.
"Very," Anga answered, "Way past the sea up ahead."
"A sea?" Bunga said, shifting his head up, "You say you saw a sea? Big B! She saw a sea!"
"Yeah, little B," Beshte said, "I heard her."
"But a sea means water," Bunga said in realization, "And water means... water!"
That was when he ran off, and soon, I took off after him.
Then he stopped.
"Woah!" Bunga said with amazement,"Anga was right! It's a sea!"
"Like I said," Anga said, flying over to where we were.
"Poa!" Beshte showed up, "Look at all that.."
"Water!" Bunga said as he then jumped off the cliff into the open sea.
"Bunga, wait!" Ono cried out, "Don't drink it!"
It was too late. Once he was in the sea, Bunga took in a pawful of water and drank it, only to spit it back out.
"It might be salty," Ono noted.
"This water is salty!" Bunga said in disgust, wiping his tongue to get the taste out of his mouth, "I gotta get this taste out of my mouth!"
The rest of us started walking down a path that lead to the shore.
Bunga ran out of the water and picked a small rock. He licked it and grimaced in disgust. "Gross!" he said, "Why would I lick a strange rock? I need water!"
Bunga ran to the water, and drank it again, only to spit it back out once more. "Oh, right. Salty."
"Well, if we can't drink the water," Kion said, "We should move on. I need Tuliza."
I looked at Fuli and Anga, who were deep in conversation.
"You think Kion could make it to the tuliza?" Fuli asked Anga.
"Doubt it," Anga answered, "It's still pretty far away."
"Sorry the Bunga Sea turned out to be salty," Bunga apologized.
Ushari and I stared at him for a moment. I tilted my head.
"The Bunga what?" we both said.
"The Bunga Sea?" Ono said in confusion.
"Sure!" Bunga said in his cheerful tone, "I was the first one in, so I get to name it."
"Oh wait!" Makini said after gasping in realization, "I just remembered something! Rafiki said that really salty water can be relaxing."
She reached her hands into the water, pulled up a puddle, and showed it to us.
"But you don't drink it, you soak in it," Makini explained before dropping the puddle and cupping her hands together to Kion, "Come on, Kion. Just try it, please?"
"Makini's right," Ono said, "Salty water should help soothe your scar. I should of thought of that."
"Okay," Kion decided, "I'll give it a try."
We all watched as Kion slowly walked into the water. He started to become calm as he sighed in relaxation.
"Well?" Makini asked, waiting for an answer, "How do you feel?"
"You know what?" Kion asked with a calm smile, "You're right. I do feel better."
We all sighed in relief.
"The Great Bunga Sea is a-mazing!" Bunga declared with grin.
"Now it's the 'Great' Bunga Sea?" Fuli said, rolling her eyes.
Then I heard some bubbling sounds from the water.
"Uh, guys?" Kion called out, "Something's happening." Then he was floating on his back. "Woah, check it out! I'm floating!"
"Makes sense," Ono said, "The saltier the water is, the easier it is to float."
"Poa!" Beshte said in awe.
"This feels great," Kion said as he continued to relax in the sea.
"The Great Bunga Sea is amazing!" Bunga said.
"Ugh!" Fuli groaned in annoyance.
"Come on, big B!" Bunga said to Beshte, "The Great Bunga Sea is a-waiting! Don't you wanna try it?"
"I sure do!" Beshte said.
"Last one in is an elephant egg!" Bunga declared as he ran to jump into the water.
"Uh, elephants don't lay-" Ono was about to say, but he stopped when Beshte dashed off to the water, surprising him.
"Twende Kiboko!"
Beshte and Bunga laughed as they splashed around in the water.
"Come on, everyone!" Beshte called out to us, "The water's poa!"
"Or do you wanna be elephant eggs?" Bunga added.
"Not me!" Makini said cheerfully. She immediately rushed to the water with Bunga, Beshte, and Kion.
"I usually wade," Ono said, making his way to the water, "But it might be relaxing."
He then sat and started float. "Oh, strange.. but nice."
I started making my way to the water. once I got in, I sighed in relaxation, and so did Ushari.
"Woah!" Bunga said in amazement, "This water won't let you sink! Seriously, Fuli, this is water even you would like!"
"Thanks, but no thanks," Fuli declined, "Besides, someones got to get that tuliza for Kion."
"Yep," Anga said, looking as if she was about to fly off.
"No, I'll go," Fuli told her, "I'm the fastest. You're the keenest of sight. I need you to stay here and watch for danger."
"Come on!" Bunga said as he relaxed in the water, "What could happen at the Great Bunga Sea?"
"Well, Kion could float away," Ushari said, pointing his tail at Kion, who, like he said, was floating away.
"Zuka Zama!" Bunga called out.
Makini and I swam over to Kion and pulled him back.
"Wow, Kion!" I exclaimed," You really are relaxed!"
Kion only sighed in relaxation as an response.
"So, how do I get to the Tuliza?"I heard Fuli ask Anga.
"It's under the tree," Anga answered, "On top of that mesa. Just beyond the rock formations? It's the only tree around!"
"Only tree around," Fuli said, "I think I can find that."
With that, Fuli dashed off to find the tuliza, shouting out her catchphrase, "Huwezi!"
"Now, that's what I called relaxed," Bunga said as we all floated around in the water, enjoying ourselves.
"This is the best," I said.
"It sure is," Ushari said, "Better than that heat from the desert."
"This is nice," Beshte said.
"Indeed," Ono agreed, "I could get used to this if we didn't need to get to the Tree of Life."
"The Tree of Who?" Bunga said, sounding like he didn't remember what exactly our destination was.
"The Tree of Life," Anga reminded him, "Don't forget we've got a mission."
"Yeah," Kion said, "But this is the best I've felt in days. So peaceful."
"Yeah, it is peaceful," I said as I floated, Ushari laying down on my chest.
"Wait a second," I heard Ushari say, "What's that?"
"What's what?" I asked, sitting up a little and looking down at him.
"That!" Ushari said, pointing his tail at the sky.
I looked up and strangely, I saw some sort of moving pink cloud. I tried looking harder, but I couldn't tell what it was.
"Uh-oh."
I turned and saw Anga, who was seeing the same cloud.
"Guys!" She called out to us," Feathers! Beaks! Pink!"
"Huh?"
Beshte raised his head up to see that cloud.
"Flamingos!" Anga warned.
"Guys?" Kion said, hearing the commotion, "What's going on?"
"This is not good," I said as the flock of flamingos were flying towards us.
We were all surrounded by tall, pink birds.
"It's a whole lotta pink birds," Beshte said.
"More flamingos than you could shake a snake at," Bunga said.
I saw Ushari pull a offended look when he said this.
"Pay no offense," I told him.
"Makini," Anga called out, "Keep Kion away from... these birds."
"Oh yeah," Makini said, "Good idea, Anga!"
"What's going on?" I heard Kion ask as Makini rushed over to him.
"Nothing Kion," Makini said, shushing him, "Shwari. Just close your eyes."
"Okay, but-" Kion was about to say when Makini cut him off.
"It's all gonna be okay," Makini said, holding a leaf and lean over with it, "Just think happy lion thoughts."
With that, Makini placed the leaf on Kion's eyes.
"Happy lion thoughts?" Kion said with confusion.
"What are they doing here?" Beshte asked, "Kion's not gonna be able to relax with them around."
"Yeah," Anga agreed, "But we have to keep him til Fuli comes back with the tuliza."
"Leave this to me," Ono told us, "I'll have a bird to bird chat with them."
We watched as Ono made his way to two female flamingos, who were both chatting with each other.
"Excuse me?" Ono called out to them, "Flamingos? Pink birds! Might I have a word?"
One of the flamingos turned around and saw Ono and squealed with delight.
"Hey!" she said, "Look at the cute little birdie!"
"What?" the other flamingo questioned before then looking at Ono for the first time, "Aw, he's so cute!"
"Uh, cute?" Ono said, confused.
The two flamingos wooped and cooed at Ono.
"So," Ono started, " What brings you here?"
"Well, duh!" the first flamingo said, "We're on migration."
"Migration!" the two flamingos said in cheery tones, "Whoo- hoo!"
"And every year we stop here," The flamingo said, "At Flamingo Beach!"
"Uh-uh!" Bunga said, trying to correct them, "You mean the Great Bunga Sea."
"Listen," Ono told the flamingos, "Any chance you could keep the noise level down a bit?"
"Keep the noise level down?" the second flamingo questioned.
"And ruin the best Flamingo dance party of the whole feathered year?" the first flamingo finished.
"Flamingo Dance Party?!" Ono said after gasping in horror and shock.
"Flamingo Dance Party!" Bunga said in excitement.
"Flamingo Dance Party?!" Ushari and I said in horror.
Flamingo Dance Party!" the two flamingos both said with cheer.
The flamingos then all started dance and sing as the only thing we could do was watch or try to keep them from waking Kion.
"Go, go Flamingo
Go, go Flamingo
Go, go Flamingo
Go, go, go!
One leg up, one leg down
Now it's time to move around
Flap those feathers, lots of pink
Dance and dance, no time to think
Wings salute
Point beak
Head, flap
Flap repeat
Wings salute
Point beak
Head, flap
Flap repeat
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go Flamingo
Go, go, go!
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, go!
Yeah, we're having lots of fun
Because we're on a migration
Shrimp or algae? One of each
Party hardy, Flamingo Beach
Wings salute
Point beak
Head, flap
Flap repeat
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, go!
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, go!
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, go!
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, Flamingo
Go, go, go!"
"FLAMINGO DANCE PARTY!" The flamingos exclaimed with the cheer as they continued to dance.
"You okay, Ono?" Beshte asked Ono, who was feeling dizzy from being lifted in the air by the dancing flamingos.
"I'll be fine," Ono answered.
Kion groaned as he then heard the flamingos.
"Don't pay any attention, Kion," Makini told him, " It's all gonna be alright."
"Oh," Ono said in realization, "But if these birds don't get tired of partying, it's just a matter of time before Kion loses his cool."
I looked over at Ushari, who was looking annoyed as usual.
"Do you have any ideas?" I asked.
"My father says that the only way to get animals to listen is by force and threat," Ushari explained.
My eyes widen in shock.
"Woah, you can't just scare or threaten animals," I told him, "Violence is never the answer. Compassion is."
"Those things are the same things my mother always tell my dad," Ushari told me.
I sighed.
"Quiet, please!" Beshte tried to tell the flamingos.
"Keep it down," Ono told them.
Anga flew in front of the two flamingos, cawing as she did.
"Hey, cool dance!" one of the flamingos said, surprising Anga.
"Yeah, way cool!" the other agreed.
"No, it's not a dance, it's-" Anga was about to say when the two flamingos started to mimic her movements.
Gathering my courage, I slowly approached the flamingos.
"Excuse me?" I called out to them.
The two flamingos stopped mimicking Anga and looked at me.
"Why, hello!" one of them greeted.
"Great party, isn't it?" the other added.
"Yeah, but-" I was about to say when one of the flamingos interrupted.
"Is that a cobra on your back?" she asked.
"Yeah," I answered, "This is Ushari, my friend."
"I didn't know cobras had friends," one of the flamingos said.
"I always thought they were, like, solitary," the other said.
"Well, not this one," I told them.
"Oh, thanks for telling us," one of the flamingos said.
"So," I started, "I know this is a party and all, but Ushari and I would really appreciate it if you guys kept the noise down a little."
There was silence.
"But this is a party!" one of the flamingos told me.
"And what's a party without noise?" the other asked.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't make any noise," I tried to told them, "I'm just saying that maybe you should make quieter noise."
One of the flamingos shook her head.
"Then the party would be boring!" she said, protesting, "And parties are supposed to be fun!"
"Sorry, no can do," the other flamingo declined.
I was about to say something when I just heard Ushari grumbling something in anger.
"Keep the noise down, or else," Ushari threatened.
I grew worried. Even before Ushari turned evil, he still made threats.
"Or else what?" one of the flamingos asked in confusion.
"Or else the lion floating in this beach will roar you away!" Ushari answered.
The flamingos were silent. It wasn't because they were scared. They were confused.
"Roar us away?"
"Forget what Ushari said," I interfered, "Just continue dancing."
I walked away from the flamingos to talk to Ushari.
"Look," I told him, "I get that we have to stop the party before Kion loses his cool, but threats don't solve anything."
"I know," Ushari confessed, "I'm just getting annoyed by them. I don't even know what's worse than Bunga, flamingos or the heat."
"I know," I told him, "But we'll think of something."
"Beshte, all I can see are pink blurs," Ono told Beshte, "I'm guessing this means we haven't managed to break the Flamingo Dance Party."
"Affirmative," Beshte answered.
"This is not going so well," Anga said with a sigh as she watched the flamingos dance.
Just then, we heard Bunga scream.
"That's Bunga!" Makini said in alarm.
"Sounds like he's in trouble," Ono noted.
"We're coming, Little B!" Beshte said as we all ran to the source.
We all heard Bunga's cheery voice and saw him being carried into the air by the flamingos.
"Are you okay?" Beshte asked.
"Yeah!" Bunga answered, "This is Un-Bunga-lieveable!"
"Bunga, we're trying to stop the party!" Ono told him.
"Before Kion loses his cool?" Anga added.
"Oh, yeah, right," Bunga remembered, hopping off the flamingos, "Where is Kion, anyways?"
"He's right here with me," Makini said, only to see that Kion wasn't there, "Or at least he was."
Then, Ushari and I heard some noises, and when we turned around, we gasped in horror.
The flamingos finally took notice of Kion, and two of them were now nuzzling against his fur.
"Looks soft and cute!" one of the flamingos said.
"Oh, it's so furry!" another flamingo said, nuzzling him.
Kion grunted as he slept as the flamingo continued to shower him with nuzzles.
"It even makes noises!" one of the flamingos said with a gasp. she turned around and called out to the other flamingos, "Everybody, you gotta try this!"
The rest of the flamingos all started approaching Kion and they all started nuzzling him.
I wanted to come stop them, but it was too late. Kion woke up with a yelp.
"That doesn't sound good," I heard Ono say.
"Come on!" Anga said, taking off in the direction Kion was in.
"Hey, get away!" Kion said, "Leave me alone!"
Kion was staring at the flamingos angrily. I looked in horror as I then saw the approaching dark clouds.
"Uh-oh!" Beshte said, "We're too late!"
"Kion, calm down!" Makini said.
"Kion, no!" Ono called out.
"That's enough!" Kion told the flamingos with a growl, " I'm warning you, flamingos. Take off now, or I'll send you flying!"
The flamingos were confused.
"Like what?" one of them asked, "Send off flying?"
"You can't fly," another corrected Kion, "You don't have wings!"
Kion continued to growl at the flamingos.
"No, Kion!" Beshte panicked, "Don't roar!"
Then, I decided to step in and defend the flamingos.
"Kion, that is enough!" Ushari told him.
"These flamingos didn't mean to make you angry," I added.
"Easy, buddy," Bunga joined in, "Calm down!"
"The Tuliza is on its way!" Makini assured him.
"In fact, here it comes now!" Anga said, who was now higher into the sky, " Kion, it's Fuli. She's got the tuliza, and... She's got a friend."
"A friend?" Bunga said, "Are you sure it's Fuli?"
Just then, in no time at all, Fuli showed up. But with another cheetah I didn't know.
"Fuli!" Anga called out, "We need that Tuliza, now!"
Although she hesitated, Fuli walked into the water and approached Kion, carrying the tuliza in her mouth.
The cheetah did the same thing, approaching Kion with the tuliza.
"Perfect timing!" Makini said as she took the tuliza from Fuli and the cheetah. She quickly gave them to Kion, "Here, Kion."
"Thanks, Makini," Kion said after he ate the tuliza Makini gave him.
"Um.. What's with the flamingos?" Fuli asked.
"What's with the cheetah?" Bunga asked back.
"You may call me Azaad," the cheetah introduced himself, "And Fuli may call me her friend."
"Then you may call me Bunga!" Bunga told Azaad, "And you may call this the Great Bunga Sea!"
"Feel better?" Makini asked Kion.
"A lot better," Kion said as he then turned to the flamingos, "Sorry, flamingos. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Oh, no worries," one of them said.
"It's totally fine," the other added.
"There's enough tuliza here to last us for days!" Makini said, "Thank you, Fuli."
"Thank you, Azaad," Fuli said, turning to Azaad.
"We should get back on the path of the Tree of Life," Kion told us, "Leave these flamingos in peace."
We all started walking with Kion.
"If you want to call it peace," Anga said, before looking at Fuli, "Coming, Fuli?"
"Yeah," Fuli said, before looking at Azaad again, "So, I should go. With my friends."
"Yes," Azaad said, "They are lucky to have a friend like you. And Azaad is lucky to have such a friend as well. It is my hope, that one day, we will meet again."
"Yeah.." Fuli agreed, "That would be nice."
"Until then..." Azaad started, "On your mark."
"Get set," Fuli said.
"Run!" They both said.
"Mibinamet!" Azaad said before dashing off. I had no idea what the phrase meant.
We were all walking the paths that we took after every turn.
"So, what happened on your way to the tuliza?" I asked her.
"It's a long story," Fuli answered.
"I think we have plenty of time for it," Ushari told her.
"Alright," Fuli said, "I'll tell you."