Welp, this chapter was finished up way later than I wanted, but as we're well past April, I bet you can imagine what I've been up too all this time...loving on my sweet baby boy. 333
Holy muffins, he's seven months old and I can't believe how much in love I am with my little man. Being a mother has been way better than I ever imagined! Sure, it can get challenging and even frustrating at times, but it's worth it all as long as I get to see his smiles and hold him in my arms. And he's quite the little character, crawling around, getting his teeth, and much too mischievous for someone who's still so very young.
But he makes every day an adventure 3 3 3
Any who, you're not here to listen to me gush about my baby, so let me just use this time to thank everyone who was so sweet to leave a comment.
Interstate2011: Thank you so much for all of your reviews, you have been incredibly helpful in letting me know which chapter need a little work in the spelling/grammar department :D :D :D And don't worry, there will be a very heartfelt reunion between Ryan and his mother...eventually ^^;
bored411: I've seen a couple of stoires that have a person changing into an animal, not much since I don't have much time to read, but I think that it's a great idea for lion king stories. Buuuut I do like seeing human interactions with animals, and I'm glad that you like Ryan and my story. I hope that you continue to enjoy it hun! Thank you so very much!
ZombieSlayerOfTheUnderWorld: Hmm, I'm more of a fan of bitter sweetness with hits of dark in stories myself, but that's an interesting idea. Actually, everything you listed from soldiers siding with Zira and then Scar and Zira molding a young kid to fight for them all have potential to be awesome for dark story lovers out there! (And wow, that's awesome, thank you so much for your service!)
I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far, I hope I'm still able to do a good job for future chapters and thank you for your review!
kitsunelover300: Oh wow, that you for your wonderful comment, hun! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story and that you're enjoying Ryan too. I promise I'll keep trying to do a good job with his character(well...naw, I won't giving anything away, but I hope you continue to enjoy the story hun)
Lol, you know, I never thought of making Tarzan refeances, but I'll try to keep it in mind for the next chapters :D:D Thank you so much for your review, I'll try my best!
bunnyxstar: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it :D:D:D
Guest: Awww, thank you so much for that sweet comment! I think I might have changed my profile picture since your comment, but still, you're super sweet!
gwencarson126: Ryan: Nope, Never again! No more bug hunting EVER! XD XD XD
Steelcode: Thank you so much, I can't believe it's already been seven months! *cries* He's getting too big too fast! Lol, and oh yes, it just wasn't a very good day for him at all XD XD XD But, at least it ended alright when Basi and Pua stepped in. And whatever that adventure will be, I bet he's keeping his fingers crossed that it isn't death defying!
Hmmm, maybe, or maybe I'll just let him find it on his own and if it ends up he likes my stories, then I'll blow his mind in the grand reveal XD XD XD Thank you so very much again!
Dave Bennett: That's good to hear, I'm glad you enjoy the story that much*dances* Yeah, that would have been a much better idea, trees that are bee free are everyones friend! XD(oh my gosh, it's been flipping ages since I last saw 'Ed, Edd and Eddy'! Now I gotta find it and rewatch the whole thing! XD XD XD)
Jason Chandler: Oh yes, If anyone would be able to save someone from crocodiles, you better hope that it's Basi because he's just so awesome! XD And YES! That is excellent advice, Timon needs to keep that in mind!
Jestalnaker94000: Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked the chapter! Well, I am gonna have some characters appear, I have two more groups of animals in mind that are going to be making an appearance, but I'm strictly keeping it to older characters.
I-Love-Trunks1: Awww, thank you so very much hun! I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story :D:D:D
Thank you again guys, your reviews and favorites are always very much appreciated :3 :3 :3
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Chapter 14: Trouble in the Oasis
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Ryan let out a loud, relived sigh at the greatly appreciated silence while he leisurely walked through the fertile oasis and took in the beautiful sights around him. It had been the first time he really had a moment to himself away from the pride.
After Simba, Timon and Pumbaa cheered him up when he was feeling down about Sarabi, he started spending more time exploring the oasis with them. They showed him all of their favorite old hangouts and told him stories about all the trouble they used to get into with each other and hilariously, those stories mostly involved Timon receiving the worst end of it whenever Simba did something dangerous.
And they also told him about the many contests they would have nearly every day, though while some of those contests were about "bowling" for whatever random cluster of animals they came across, the majority of them happened to involve bug eating. Which, on more than one occasion, they tried to coax him into participating in just one of them.
Of course, Ryan had to give every invite a very hard pass.
On other occasions where the trio decided to go out and do their own thing, Ryan had been spending more time with Nala, little Kiara and the other members of Simba's pride. These times were far more relaxing as the lion ladies were content to just laze about or snooze in the shades of the jungle while the warm rays of the sun warmed the air.
But the tiny downside was that they had a habit of asking him a bunch of questions.
They would asked him about his home, what it was like living in a city, but it was a bit harder explaining other things like cars or movies or why people had to do all kinds of work in order to earn something called money which they then use to by items like food or cloths. Which wasn't by any fault of their own, they just didn't have much reference for any of those things.
And as much as he loved answering their questions and helping them learn about humans and himself, it was hard to keep up with them sometimes and it often became a bit overwhelming. So he was grateful for these little moments of quiet with nothing but the tranquil sounds of the jungle.
Until the peace he was enjoying was suddenly chased away by the sounds of a struggle of in the distance.
"Now see here, you are being incredibly rude!" a rather nasally voice stated in frustration. "I must go back to my herd and I haven't any time to waste standing around!"
Ryan hesitated for a moment, he was out here alone, and the jungle was full of animals of all kinds. Especially those that could potentially be dangerous as he learned from his past encounter with crocodiles. He just wasn't sure what he would find if he followed the voice, but as he listened on for a few more seconds, he decided to chance it as whoever was talking was in obvious distress.
It wasn't that difficult to keep on the trail, whoever it was had a lot to say about their situation, and when he parted through a tall patch of shrubs, he saw that a zebra was standing in the middle of a small clearing. He was kind of young, not quiet fully grown, but he definitely wasn't a foal by any means and he appeared to be all by himself out here and in quiet a situation as a curtain of vines hung all around him and wrapped around his body.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get himself free of them. He was actually so engrossed in this task that he didn't even notice Ryan as he made his way over.
"Well I never!" the zebra stated in frustration, stomping a foot as it seemed like he finally gave up.
"Need some help?" Ryan asked.
"AAAAH! Panic and run!" the striped equine screamed as he reared up, startling Ryan in the process. He tried to run away, but only ended up tangling himself in the vines even more.
"Hey! Hey! Easy!" Ryan cried as he quickly put up his hands up in a nonthreatening manner. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you!"
At that, the zebra began to calm down, though mostly it was because the vines where wound a little too tight for him to really move anymore. He fixed Ryan with a confused glance as his words processed through his mind.
"You're not?" He asked before his confusion was replaced by an expression of indignation. "Well then try to be more careful! Jumping out at someone like that, why, you're bound to scare them to death!"
Ryan could only blink at his accusation. Jumping out? He had only asked if he needed help. And it's not like he yelled it at him or anything like that.
"Um...sorry for scaring you then, I guess?" He simply apologized, deciding not to argue about it.
"As you should be!" the zebra snapped before he paused and his brown eyes looked Ryan up and down with a confused look. This must have been the first time he had ever met a human face to face. "Now who exactly are you, anyway?"
"I'm Ryan." the young man greeted, offering him a small and friendly smile. "I'm a friend of Simbas'."
As soon as he mentioned Simba, there was an instant change in the zebras' demeaner as he relaxed and a look of realization appeared on his long, black and white face.
"Oh, so you're the man fellow that has been staying with the lions!" He said with a smile. It looked as though he had forgotten all about his little scare just a few moments ago. "That's right, I've heard all sorts of stories about you; like the time you beat up three of the meanest hyenas to save Timon the meerkat, and is it true that you can set fires with your mind? I'm certain I was told that was how you saved the princess!"
"Unfortunately, it's also why we had to leave the Pridelands, but still, that's very impressive!"
Ryan gave an audible snort of disbelief at the totally outrageous statements, but before he could correct him, the zebra suddenly asked another question. A request this time.
"Listen, before we get into pleasantries, would you be so kind as to help me out? No matter what I do, I simply cannot get out of this." He gestured to all the vines that hung about him. "And no fires if you please; I'm currently grooming to be the future leader of my herd and they would become utterly lost if anything were to happen to me."
"Sure, I'll help you out." Ryan said with a nod as he walked over and began looking him over to see what kind of trouble he would be dealing with.
"Man, you really got yourself into a mess..." the young man commented as he could barley figure out where the vines ended and where they began. He briefly thought about using his knife to cut them away, but as he didn't want to scare him again, he knew that getting him out of this would take a while. "What happened?"
"Oh, it was just the strangest thing, let me tell you all about it!" the zebra began and cleared his throat. "There I was, just minding my own business and helping myself to some delightfully tender grass..."
Oh good, he was one of those storyteller types.
"But when I grazed closer to these bushes, I suddenly heard this loud snapping sound and the next thing I know, these pesky vines are just everywhere!" he continued. "There's one in particular that's wrapped uncomfortably tight around my neck, too!"
As he began to ramble on from there, Ryan glanced over that the one that was giving him the most grief. It was around his thick neck tight enough that his flesh was raised, and following it's line, he was certain that the zebra must have panicked and managed to get it looped around his legs and around his middle. But it looked kind of different from the other vines that hung much looser around him.
Taking a closer look, he realized that it wasn't a vine, but rope.
This left him feeling confused, and it put him a little on edge because what would something man-made like a rope be doing in the middle of the jungle?
The more he thought about, the more that suspicious feeling in his gut was telling him that this may have been the result of a trap that was left by a poacher. Though as alarmed as he was to see it, it may have just been left forgotten for some time as it had been out in the elements long enough to accumulate a thick coat of moss. Even still, he figured it would be a good idea to take it to have as proof for his mother upon the day they would find each other again.
She would know what to do about it, and she might even end up needing to investigate this place for signs of any illegal activity just to be on the safe side.
Right when he turned his attention back to the task of freeing the zebra, a rustling sound in the bushes behind him made him pause and look over his shoulder at the dim, thick brush around them...but after a few seconds of nothing happening, as well as realizing that striped equine was still talking, he let it go and began working on his front legs.
"So, what's your name?" Ryan asked loudly, partly because he was curious but mostly to get him to put a rest on the jabber about what the best kind of grass to graze on was.
"Oh, haven't I given it yet? Goodness, I do apologize; but you know how it is, once you get going, everything else just slips the mind." the striped animal began with a chuckle. "Anyway, I'm Thurston, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
He finally got his front legs untangled, which was a bit difficult because Thurston had again become engrossed his own chatter to really pay any helpful attention to what Ryan was doing. But thankfully, the young man managed to get them free.
Though when Ryan started working on his hind legs, he stopped when he suddenly heard a loud snap! He stood up quickly, startling Thurston into silence as he immediately began to fear the worst.
"What is it? Something bad? Is it a predator?" Thurston asked rapidly, his hooves nervously dancing over the ground. "Oh, I hope it's not hyenas!"
Ryan didn't answer as his eyes scanned over the seemingly quiet and tranquil forest, but he knew better than to trust appearances...they were not alone here. As if to confirm, the bushes again of him rustled and the figure of a medium sized animal stalked out, its body low to the ground and its eyes reflecting a yellow green from the little light they had while they seemed to burn right through the shadows.
"Well, well, imagine running into you here..." the animal said, its voice was calm, but it also held an angry edge.
Ryan heard a low growl and another figure slunk out from the leaves to stand next to its companion.
"I should have known man would have something to do with this!" they spat. "How cowardly!"
The young man still couldn't see who it was, and he didn't really understand what they meant by 'cowardly', either. Did they think that he was the one trapped Thurston in the snare?
"I'm...sorry?" He began hesitantly. "We don't want any trouble, my friend just got tangled up and I'll get him out as soon as I can."
"You don't want trouble?" one of the animals repeated, the two of them finally stepping into the light. Making Ryan let out a gasp as he discovered that it was Zuberi and Gamba, the two wild dogs that were with Buziba when they tried to kill Kiara with Zira!
"You're already in trouble, man!" Gamba snapped.
"Oh, whew, it's just a couple of painted dogs." Thurston announced in relief, letting out a breath. "Ha, and here I thought we were in some real danger."
Ryan, on the other hand, was not as reassured.
"What are you doing here?!" he snapped. "Simba banished your lousy tails!"
"That pompous cat banished us from the Pridelands." Zuberi retorted with a condescending scoff. "And we are a long, long ways from there."
"Enough of this idle chat, already!" Gamba suddenly snapped, looking like he was struggling to keep himself from lunging at the young man. "If you know what's good for you, then the next words you utter better involve what have you done with Buziba!"
Buziba? So they weren't concerned about Thurston, but now he was even more confused.
"What have I done?" Ryan asked, flabbergasted. "I haven't done anything! I didn't even know you were here!"
"He disappears two days ago and then we just "happened" to run into you?" Zuberi questioned, Ryan could tell that he thought he was lying. "We'd never believe in a coincidence like this!"
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, because the last time I saw you mutts was when you were trying to murder Simbas' daughter!" Ryan shot back as he was starting to get angry himself with all these accusations they were throwing at him.
"So, you admit that you and that overgrown kitten are the only ones in this entire jungle who had reason to take Buziba!" Gamba shouted impatiently. "Don't you dare lie! Give him back to us or else!"
Ryan didn't know what he could say, it was clear that no matter how much he said it; they weren't going to believe the fact that he had no idea where he would be, and the pride certainly wasn't holding him anywhere; he doubted they even knew Buzibas' pack was here either. Gamba and Zuberi must have taken his silence for that of defiance, so they both gave out low, threatening growls and suddenly split off from each other and began to circle the area around them.
Their chilling glares almost daring Ryan to try and run away without telling them what they wanted to know.
Ryan kept his eyes on them as best as he could while he backed up into Thurstons' side, knowing that it was pointless to try and convince them that he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll get you outta this somehow." Ryan assured Thurston in a whisper that only he could here. But surprisingly, the zebra didn't seem as concerned about the fact that there were two, clearly angry predators there.
"Honestly Ryan, aren't you being a bit dramatic?" Thurston said with a laugh. "There's only two of them, and painted dogs would never hunt anything as big as a zebra without the whole pack."
Ryan blinked in surprise, looking back at Gamba and Zuberi as they continued to circle them while they growled and bared their fangs with vicious snarls...were he and Thurston even looking at the same thing? Because it sure looked like they were about to attack at any second.
"What about when the said zebra is by himself and helplessly tied up in vines, Thurston?" Ryan finally asked.
Thurston opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped, thinking it over for a moment and looking over himself as most of his body was still wrapped up in vines before a horrified expression finally appeared on his black and face.
"Panic and run!" he cried out in fear, rocking back from his front legs to his back legs as if he was trying to throw the rope and vines off. "Panic and run!"
The commotion Thruston was making caused the two wild dogs to spring into action, leaving Ryan with very little time to react. But he managed to dodge their attack and he began rushing around to avoid their snapping teeth; there was no more avoiding it now as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife and began to cut the vines from Thurstons' body.
It was rather difficult as Thurston was still panicking, and he had to keep moving to stay ahead of the two dogs.
But as the more vines he got off, Zuberi had decided to back off and keep his distance from the threat of Thurstons' sharp, kicking hooves as he gained more and more mobility.
Gamba, however, was a lot less cautious as his focus was set solely on catching Ryan where, at one point, he had actually managed to knock Ryan over just as he cut loose the last of the vines; luckily for him, Thurston managed to stomp on his tail before the wild dog could cause any kind of harm. Making Gamba let out a shrill yelp of pain and rushed away before he was stepped on anymore.
Once Ryan was in the clear, he climbed up on Thurstons' back and began to saw at the rope until it finally snapped.
"Let's get out of here!" Ryan cried once Thurston was free, and he held the rope as a crude set of reigns as he waited for the zebra to break into a run.
But to his surprise, Thurston didn't move so much as an inch.
"Ryan, we zebras never allow anyone rides on our backs!" Thurston scolded as he turned his nose in the air. "Please remove yourself immediately!"
A vicious snarl to his left made him look over at the Gamba and Zuberi, they had taken notice that the zebra was no longer thrashing about and began to charge them.
"Where is our alpha?!" Gamba roared, fangs bared and ready to tear into something.
"We don't have time for this!" Ryan yelled, referring to Thurstons' refusal to carry him on his back before lifting his arm up and swinging it down as hard as he could, delivering a stinging slap to the young zebras stripped haunches. Which caused Thurston to rear up as he let out a loud, high-pitched braying and immediately sprang into a gallop.
Ryan would have fallen off if he hadn't grabbed on the snare that was still around Thurstons' neck, but he still felt that he could tumble off at any moment if he wasn't careful as he had no experience whatsoever with riding anything other than a bicycle. Though it was a good motivator for him to hang on with ever turn and leap Thurston made when there were two enraged wild dogs hot on their trail.
"You won't get away!" the young man heard Gamba shout with rage as he and Zuberi were steadily closing in on them.
"Step on it, Thurston, they're gonna catch us at this rate!" Ryan stated.
"Easy enough for you to say!" Thurston said between gasps. "You're incredibly heavy, just what do you eat?!"
It was then that Ryan noticed that Thurston was getting slower and slower, and even more out of breath. At first, he didn't understand as running while carrying him shouldn't have been so hard, but then it suddenly dawned on him that he had mistakenly compared Thurston to that of a horse.
Animals like horses, mules and donkeys, they had thousands of years of breeding to be strong enough to carry people. But zebras didn't have that kind of history and they were considerably smaller and daintier than their other equine cousins, so carrying Ryan on his back like this must have been a terrible strain for Thurston. Ryan looked back at Gamba and Zuberi, they were going to end up catching them for sure, but it was obvious that they had no interest in Thurston which left Ryan quiet the dilemma.
He didn't want to die, which was what would surely happen if those two painted dogs got their claws on him…but it wasn't fair to involve Thurston in something he had no part of either. He didn't have time to make a decision, though, when a big, dark grey body suddenly stepped in in their path, making Thurston cry and hit the brakes so hard and fast that he left a cloud of dust in his wake as he skidded to a halt.
When the air finally cleared, Ryan couldn't contain a gasp to see that standing before them were a crash of five huge rhinoceros. All of whom were equipped with long, sharp and dangerous horns.
Ryan felt like he almost had a heart attack as the one they almost ran into blinked in confusion while the others snorted in agitation at the unexpected drop in. And lots of unpleasant thoughts of either getting trampled or impaled by these infamously ill-tempered creatures flashed across his mind.
"Quick! You go left and I'll go right!" Ryan quickly said as he scrambled off Thrustons' back. "We might have enough time to get away in the confusion before they decided to attack!"
"Attack? But it's only Mbeya; he and his crash happen to be the friendliest rhinos in the Pridelands." Thurston explained as if he were stating the obvious while Ryan only gave him a bewildered look.
"Mwenzi, what's going on?" the young man gave a rather embarrassing whimper as he was suddenly, and forcefully bumped to the side by the broad shoulder of an even larger rhino with a lighter grey hide and blue eyes when he came up from behind him. "Who's there? What's all the commotion."
"Easy there, Kifaru." a brown feathered tickbird spoke up from upon his back. "It's just that young zebra, Thurston and...um, a friend of his?"
"That's not just any friend." The rhino that Thurston identified as Mbeya stated. "You must be the man that lives with Simba and his pride."
"Yes, that's him." Thurston affirmed with a boastful smile. "Ryan and I, why, we're practically the best of friends. Helped me out of quite the mess, he did; Although I'm not sure why he didn't just set those pesky dogs on fire with his mind, it would have been much easier that way."
Okay, so it was a relief to know that the rhinos weren't going to stomp them flat, but did Thurston seriously forget that they were on the run for their lives just seconds ago?!
"We're being chased" Ryan cried, catching everyone's attention and pointing down the way they came. "Two painted dogs, they're right-"
He stopped when he suddenly noticed that Gamba and Zuberi were nowhere to be seen and realized that they must have given up their pursuit when the rhinos came into the picture. No matter how badly they wanted to catch him, the two lycaons were smart enough to know that it wasn't going to be worth tangling with even one walking mass of over four thousand pounds of muscle and horns let alone five.
"Well, seems like whoever was giving you trouble decided to go back on their way." Mbeya said with a short laugh. "We tend to have that effect on most animals."
Kifaru and other three rhinos, even Thurston, shared in his amusement, but Ryan couldn't bring himself to even pretend to find it funny. First, the whole situation with finding Thurston caught in a snare and now Buzibas' pack was here at the oasis? It was just too much bad news to discover in one day.
His concern must have been pretty obvious, because Mbeya stepped up before him and offered a comforting smile.
"If it would make you feel better, you and Thurston are welcome to stay with our crash for the time being." He said. "We were planning on moving on from here anyway, and we'll see to it that Thurston is brought safely back to his herd and you to the king."
At that, Ryan gave a grateful nod, he really did feel more at ease to have protection. And as the rhinos started to move on, Ryan took the time to loosen the rope from around Thurstons' neck and remove it.
"Thanks again, Ryan." the zebra said as he stretched out his neck, happy that it was finally free of any constraint. "Today has been delightfully exciting since meeting you."
But Ryan didn't exactly see it as 'delightful', and as Thurston left him so he could chat more with Mbeya up at the front, the young man took one more glance down the way they had come and a grim frown appeared upon his face. Simba and the others needed to know that there was trouble in the oasis, and they needed to be prepared.
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Hmm, I feel like I might need to go through this once more later on, but I was so eager to give you guys a new chapter! So if you happen to spot any spelling or grammar errors before I can get to it next, be sure to let me know because it would really help me out :3
Thanks for reading guys, and thank you all so, so, SO much for your patience.
