Well, thanks to Disney Channel playing Tarzan twice Saturday (four times if you've got satellite with Eastern and Western), "Strangers Like Me" gave me the idea to write this chapter. Which is a good thing, because before I watched it I was just going to use Chapter 3 from Someone Like You to fill up a majority of this chapter. Bo-ring!
Chapter 6:
Zuri pushed some brush aside while looking for Timon. She finally found him, tossing some pebbles into the Jacuzzi, which lacked bubbles at the moment.
"Got room for one more?"
Timon looked back at her, and then patted the piece of ground next to him. "Come. Sit. Watch me sulk."
Zuri softly chuckled as she sat down next to him. "Why sulk about what happened in the past? If you had picked one of those girls, you wouldn't have had a chance with me. And I'd be married to Makali." She shuddered. She then leaned against him. "And I'm better than most of those girls on your side of the colony, right?"
Timon smiled. "Of course. You're not as picky as them." He puffed his chest out a bit. "And you've got good tastes."
Zuri chuckled and lightly slapped Timon's shoulder. "You're so humble."
"I know."
"Well, unlike those girls, I saw past the tunnel klutz in you. You weren't acting like someone you weren't. You were the first... well, second person to make me laugh in a long time."
Timon frowned slightly. "I'm guessing Sly was the first?"
"I thought I told you to forget about Sly." She grinned. "Am I detecting a hint of jealousy, Great Timon?"
Timon looked offended. "Me, jealous of your old boyfriend? Ha! Sly couldn't beat Makali in a fight to stay in the colony. I took down him down in one swing!" Timon punched the air. "Wham-o! Sucker-punch!" He laughed.
"Oh... so that's why his jaw was swollen that night. But why did you do that?"
Timon folded his arms in front of his chest. "For one thing, he was standing in front of the exit, preventing me from going outside to rescue you from Mataka the hyena. Second, he told me not to be an idiot like my father."
"Hmm. Awful sensitive, aren't you?"
"Well, no one calls my father an idiot except my mother... and maybe Uncle Max."
"And... you didn't care that he called you an idiot?" Zuri asked, arching a brow.
Timon sighed, "I've been called that enough times it doesn't faze me."
"I get what you're saying. You had problems fitting in, being accepted. I think you were trying too hard to fit in, trying to make your father proud." Zuri suddenly shook her head. "Look, why don't we drop the subject so I can think of something that might cheer you up?"
"Why? You're doing a great job so far, babe," Timon said, rolling his eyes.
Zuri grimaced, and then drummed her fingers on the ground. "OK, I think I know something you might like."
Timon suddenly perked up. "You're gonna tell me the secret to making your tarantula daiquiris?"
Zuri laughed, "Yeah, in your dreams! No, Timon, I was thinking more of a private memory session."
"Aww, Zuri, no!"
"Now, now, I'm not going to remember anything that embarrasses you."
"Such as...?"
"Well... remember the day we moved to the oasis?"
Timon grinned and wrapped an arm around Zuri's shoulders. "Heh. Oh, yeah. That was a fun day." He tossed a pebble into the Jacuzzi.
6 months ago...
Timon was up in the outer treetops, watching out towards the desert. When he saw nothing, he grunted, turned, and started pacing along the tree limb. He returned to looking out towards the desert again. Again he saw nothing. He growled, turned, and started pacing again. He finally stopped this pattern he's been doing for the past four or so hours, folded his arms in front of his chest, and tapped his foot.
He let out a frustrated groan and pulled on his ears, screaming, "WHAT IS TAKING THEM SO LONG?!" He softly winced when he heard his voice echo throughout the oasis. "Whoops..."
"Timon, there are other occupants in this oasis besides you that are trying to enjoy the peace!" an approaching voice called. Timon turned to see Pete swinging on a vine over to the tree limb Timon was on.
"Heh-heh... sorry, Pete. I guess I'm more excited than I realized." Timon leaned out towards the desert, holding onto a vine to keep him from falling out of the tree.
"You must be. You're usually asleep until brunch on normal days."
"I couldn't sleep. Zuri and her colony are moving from the Pride Lands to the oasis today. I don't want to miss them."
Pete tilted his head slightly, watching Timon looking out towards the desert. "You're sure they're suppose to come today?"
"Pretty sure." Timon smiled as he let out a bit of a sigh, and almost looked like he went limp. "I can't wait. She is something else, Pete."
Pete shook his head and grinned. "I'm happy for you, Timon. After all these years of looking, who knew you'd find the girl of your dreams in a rival meerkat colony?"
Timon's happy expression suddenly faded to that of a worried one. He turned to Pete. "You're sure you guys can get along, right? I mean--"
"Hakuna Matata." Pete walked over to Timon and put a paw on his shoulder. "As a personal favor to our savior, we've buried the hatchet, so the two colonies will be united into one. But uh... don't be surprised if we're a little edgy around each other for a few weeks."
Timon smiled and shrugged, "Hey, once they've gotten into the Hakuna Matata lifestyle, we'll be fine." He then looked out towards the desert again. His eyes squinted when he saw movement approaching them. "I think I see them."
"I'll go tell the others," Pete said as he grabbed a vine and swung away.
Pumbaa appeared at the bottom of the tree Timon was in. He looked out towards the desert, and then up at Timon. "Are they here yet?" he called up to Timon.
"Not sure, but I see something out there."
"Mirage?"
"Hope not." He squinted his eyes again, trying to make out the approaching figures. He could make one of the approaching figures out as a warthog. He smiled when they were close enough to confirm it was Jina. The meerkats walking behind her could now be seen. "They're here!"
"Yay!" Pumbaa cheered.
Timon leaned forward a bit more, still holding onto a vine to keep from falling. His eyes squinted, looking through the crowd of meerkats. He blinked a moment. "Where's Zuri?" He paused. "Could she be...?" He looked over at the warthog, and then grinned when he saw a certain female meerkat riding on the warthog's back. "Arriving in style, eh? I like that in a woman." He cupped the side of his mouth with his paw to amplify his voice. "Hey, Zuri! Over here!"
Zuri, who was riding on Jina's back, looked up when her name was called. She looked forward, wondering where the voice came from. She looked up at the treetops and saw Timon up there. She smiled and waved, "Timon!"
Timon held onto the vine and dropped down from it, landing onto Pumbaa's back. He pulled on his ears, which started the warthog running. Jina and the meerkats stopped when they saw Timon and Pumbaa approaching. Pumbaa then skid to a halt in front of them.
Timon stood on top of Pumbaa's head and bowed, "Ladies and gentlekats, welcome to our humble home!"
"Look at the size of your front door! You call that 'humble'?" a meerkat asked.
"You should see our winter home," Timon grinned.
"You don't have a winter home," Zuri said, folding her arms in front of her chest.
Timon furrowed his brow at her. "Everything else I've told you is true and you didn't believe it. What makes this one so different?"
"We asked Simba before we left," a meerkat said.
"That traitor," Timon said in a low voice.
"Well, now I know you're a typical man!" Zuri laughed and then slid off Jina's snout to the ground. Timon grinned and did the same off Pumbaa's snout and went over to her. Pumbaa and Jina smiled at each other and walked away with most of the meerkats, heading for the oasis.
Shomari suddenly stepped between Timon and Zuri. "Not yet, you two. We've got to get ready for the ceremony, and then you two can do whatever."
"Huh?" Timon blinked. He watched as Zuri was lead away by her mother Dalila. Zuri looked back at Timon and winked at him.
"You can wait a few hours," Shomari said, patting Timon on the back.
"Yeah, I guess." Something in his mind suddenly clicked. "A few hours?"
"Didn't anyone tell you? The ceremony's tonight."
"Tonight?!" He grabbed Shomari by the arms and shook him a bit. "I'm not ready for a ceremony tonight! I've been waiting all morning for you to show up and--" He quickly realized what he was doing and dropped his own arms to his side, smiling nervously. "Sorry, Dad... or would you rather be called Mr. Shomari?"
"Shomari... at least until the ceremony."
Timon rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... boy, it's gonna weird, calling someone 'Dad.' That hasn't been a big part of my vocabulary for a few years."
Shomari patted Timon on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it, after the ceremony tonight."
"Why tonight?"
"You'd rather wait longer?" a meerkat standing next to Shomari asked.
"Well, I haven't had time to register anywhere yet."
"What do you need that you don't already have here?" Shomari asked, wrinkling his eyebrows.
"Blenders."
Shomari shook his head with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm getting old and growing impatient. We were suppose to have a wedding last week, but because of you we held it off."
Timon nervously chuckled. "I see your point."
"You go get ready for tonight. We'll send someone to find you when we're ready." Timon nodded and walked towards the oasis. "Oh, and Timon?"
Timon stopped and looked back at him. "Yeah?"
"Just kidding. The ceremony is really later this week."
On that note, Timon fell forward, surprise. "D'oh!" He got up and stared at Shomari with a furrowed brow. "Do you do that for all your future son-in-laws or just me?"
"Well, you are my first son-in-law, so both."
Timon sighed, "I knew it." He got up and dusted himself off. "Well, in that case, I'll go help Zuri settle in." He then ran off towards the oasis.
The meerkat that was standing next to Shomari blinked a moment. "Hard to believe he's the son of Fearless Buzz. Are you sure you want to let him into the family, Dad?"
"He makes Zuri happy and has proven himself worthy. I don't see a reason for him not to be in this family."
"Really. From what I've heard, I'd rather have a severe case of fleas than have him in the family."
"Spite what you think, Sudi. Timon is a good one. He saved your sister from hyenas and now he brings us to this paradise. If you can't accept him, go back to the Pride Lands."
The meerkat, Sudi, blew some air out of his mouth and walked alongside his father towards the oasis. "All right, I'll try to accept him... but it's gonna take me a while to get out of the digging habit."
"Well, I don't expect a rose garden to bloom overnight."
...
Zuri was getting a drink by the stream to settle the excitement in her stomach. She was going to get married later this week, and this time she wanted it. And she can finally have a little bit of freedom. She slurped the water from her paws, and then looked at her reflection. She pawed at her hair briefly to make it look better in case Timon suddenly showed up, and then she stopped when she noticed some movement in the reflection above her. She looked up to see Timon up on a tree limb, tying a vine around his waist. She wrinkled her eyebrows and got up. "Timon!"
That caught Timon by surprised, nearly scaring him out of his skin. "YAH!" He nearly fell off the limb, but he grabbed onto the vine. He exhaled and then he looked down at her as he climbed back onto the tree limb. "Zuri, what's the big idea scaring me like that?"
Zuri furrowed her brow and put her paws on her hips. "Well, what's the big idea committing suicide right in front of me?"
"Suicide?! What makes you think that?"
"Well, you're up 100 feet in a tree and it looks like you were about to jump."
"Oh, that. I just wanted to get your attention."
"By jumping out of a tree and leaving your impression over half the oasis?"
"I've got a vine tied around my stomach. It's what you need to survive bungee jumping."
She wrinkled her nose, looking confused. "What?"
"I said 'bungee jumping'! Can't you hear me from up here?"
"I can hear you just fine, but what is bungee jumping?"
Timon looked down at her and grinned. "Simply this." Timon jumped from the tree limb and screamed. Zuri covered her eyes, expecting to hear a horrible splat. Instead she heard a stretching sound and Timon laughing. She peeked through her fingers and watched Timon swing from the end of the vine. She uncovered her eyes and stared at him, amazed. "The ultimate in thrill rides, baby!"
"I still think it's suicidal."
Timon folded his arms in front of his chest, which look quite amusing while he was just dangling there with a vine tied around his waist. "Call it what you will, but I like it. It's one of the many things I do for fun."
"That's fun? You jump from a tree, scream like a girl, and dangle at the end of your vine, looking like a complete lunatic."
Timon furrowed his brow. "I do not scream like a girl!" He blushed slightly when Zuri started laughing. He then cleared his throat, letting the blush dissolve away. "It gives you a good rush. If you give it a try, you might like it."
"Well... OK. Do you have any thrill rides that aren't so... advanced?"
Timon grinned again.
...
"Are you sure this is a first level thing?" Zuri nervously asked as Timon handed her a vine.
"It is compared to bungee jumping," Timon said, grabbing a nearby vine for himself. "All you do is hold onto the vine and jump. You'll fly through the air with the greatest of ease."
"That's all?"
"That's all." He noticed the worried expression on her face. "Are you sure you wanna go through with this?"
"Well, I wanna get a taste of what you do for fun here. You know, since 'fun' is--was considered a four-letter word in my colony when there were tunnels to be dug."
Timon counted on his fingers. "F-U-N--" He blinked. "Just how do you spell 'fun' on your side of the colony?"
Zuri shook her head. "Never mind."
"You know, if you're scared--"
"I'm not scared." She took a look at the ground a hundred feet below and then gulped. "I'm petrified. There's a difference. But I wanna do this." Timon pouted his lips a moment, released his vine and then took hold of Zuri's vine. He wrapped an arm around her and took a look down. Zuri blushed a bit. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Well, you act like you don't want to swing alone, so..."
"And you would be right," Zuri said, tightening her grip on the vine.
"Hakuna Matata, Zuri. I won't let anything happen to you. Don't let go." Timon took a few steps back with Zuri, and then ran and leapt from the tree limb. Zuri closed her eyes and screamed as they leapt. Timon smiled as he felt the wind rush through his fur, which caused him to yell, "Ye-hah!"
"Timon, if we die, I'm gonna kill you!"
"I'll keep that in mind!" Timon lifted his feet up and pushed them against a tree to keep them from crashing into it, sending them in another direction. The sudden change in direction caused Zuri to scream again. "You know, it's getting really hard to enjoy this with you screaming in my ear! Do you think you can stop?"
"Do you think you can stop bumping into things?" Zuri retorted.
"There's a big difference between bumping into things and pushing with your feet! If you'd open your eyes to see what's going on, you might actually start to enjoy this!" Zuri slowly opened an eye, and then she quickly closed it again. "Trust me! I'm not gonna let anything happen to you!" She opened her eyes and watched as the scenery quickly passed by.
"Whoa... Jina could never run this fast!"
"And you ain't seen nothing yet! Hang on!"
"I am hanging on!"
"I meant to me!" Timon reached for a vine that was passing by and jumped over to it, holding Zuri close. She screamed again when they jumped, but this time she let out a laugh right after. "You all right? I thought I just heard you laugh instead of scream!"
"OK, so I'm actually starting to enjoy this!"
"I think we've had enough for now! Don't wanna overdue it the first day!" He finally let go of the vine when they were above a tree limb, landing. The two laughed for a few moments, the thrill still being with them.
Zuri exhaled and looked over the oasis. "I still can't believe we're actually here." She half-laughed and looked at Timon. "How did you find this place?"
"Purely by accident. Pumbaa and I were nearly squashed by a wildebeest stampede and we went over a waterfall. Next thing we know, we washed up here."
Zuri arched an eyebrow. "Wildebeest stampede. Went over a waterfall."
"99% of everything I've told you so far is true and you still don't believe me? Ask Pumbaa and he'll tell you!" He pulled her over to him and whispered, "And you know he tells the truth 99% of the time."
Zuri giggled. "Well, you've gone through a lot of things in your life. Guess I shouldn't be questioning stampedes and waterfalls."
"Thank you."
Zuri leaned against Timon and looked out at the oasis again. "Will everyday be this wonderful?"
Timon wrapped an arm around her shoulder and looked out at the oasis. "I'm hoping it's gonna get even better."
To be continued...
Chapter 6:
Zuri pushed some brush aside while looking for Timon. She finally found him, tossing some pebbles into the Jacuzzi, which lacked bubbles at the moment.
"Got room for one more?"
Timon looked back at her, and then patted the piece of ground next to him. "Come. Sit. Watch me sulk."
Zuri softly chuckled as she sat down next to him. "Why sulk about what happened in the past? If you had picked one of those girls, you wouldn't have had a chance with me. And I'd be married to Makali." She shuddered. She then leaned against him. "And I'm better than most of those girls on your side of the colony, right?"
Timon smiled. "Of course. You're not as picky as them." He puffed his chest out a bit. "And you've got good tastes."
Zuri chuckled and lightly slapped Timon's shoulder. "You're so humble."
"I know."
"Well, unlike those girls, I saw past the tunnel klutz in you. You weren't acting like someone you weren't. You were the first... well, second person to make me laugh in a long time."
Timon frowned slightly. "I'm guessing Sly was the first?"
"I thought I told you to forget about Sly." She grinned. "Am I detecting a hint of jealousy, Great Timon?"
Timon looked offended. "Me, jealous of your old boyfriend? Ha! Sly couldn't beat Makali in a fight to stay in the colony. I took down him down in one swing!" Timon punched the air. "Wham-o! Sucker-punch!" He laughed.
"Oh... so that's why his jaw was swollen that night. But why did you do that?"
Timon folded his arms in front of his chest. "For one thing, he was standing in front of the exit, preventing me from going outside to rescue you from Mataka the hyena. Second, he told me not to be an idiot like my father."
"Hmm. Awful sensitive, aren't you?"
"Well, no one calls my father an idiot except my mother... and maybe Uncle Max."
"And... you didn't care that he called you an idiot?" Zuri asked, arching a brow.
Timon sighed, "I've been called that enough times it doesn't faze me."
"I get what you're saying. You had problems fitting in, being accepted. I think you were trying too hard to fit in, trying to make your father proud." Zuri suddenly shook her head. "Look, why don't we drop the subject so I can think of something that might cheer you up?"
"Why? You're doing a great job so far, babe," Timon said, rolling his eyes.
Zuri grimaced, and then drummed her fingers on the ground. "OK, I think I know something you might like."
Timon suddenly perked up. "You're gonna tell me the secret to making your tarantula daiquiris?"
Zuri laughed, "Yeah, in your dreams! No, Timon, I was thinking more of a private memory session."
"Aww, Zuri, no!"
"Now, now, I'm not going to remember anything that embarrasses you."
"Such as...?"
"Well... remember the day we moved to the oasis?"
Timon grinned and wrapped an arm around Zuri's shoulders. "Heh. Oh, yeah. That was a fun day." He tossed a pebble into the Jacuzzi.
6 months ago...
Timon was up in the outer treetops, watching out towards the desert. When he saw nothing, he grunted, turned, and started pacing along the tree limb. He returned to looking out towards the desert again. Again he saw nothing. He growled, turned, and started pacing again. He finally stopped this pattern he's been doing for the past four or so hours, folded his arms in front of his chest, and tapped his foot.
He let out a frustrated groan and pulled on his ears, screaming, "WHAT IS TAKING THEM SO LONG?!" He softly winced when he heard his voice echo throughout the oasis. "Whoops..."
"Timon, there are other occupants in this oasis besides you that are trying to enjoy the peace!" an approaching voice called. Timon turned to see Pete swinging on a vine over to the tree limb Timon was on.
"Heh-heh... sorry, Pete. I guess I'm more excited than I realized." Timon leaned out towards the desert, holding onto a vine to keep him from falling out of the tree.
"You must be. You're usually asleep until brunch on normal days."
"I couldn't sleep. Zuri and her colony are moving from the Pride Lands to the oasis today. I don't want to miss them."
Pete tilted his head slightly, watching Timon looking out towards the desert. "You're sure they're suppose to come today?"
"Pretty sure." Timon smiled as he let out a bit of a sigh, and almost looked like he went limp. "I can't wait. She is something else, Pete."
Pete shook his head and grinned. "I'm happy for you, Timon. After all these years of looking, who knew you'd find the girl of your dreams in a rival meerkat colony?"
Timon's happy expression suddenly faded to that of a worried one. He turned to Pete. "You're sure you guys can get along, right? I mean--"
"Hakuna Matata." Pete walked over to Timon and put a paw on his shoulder. "As a personal favor to our savior, we've buried the hatchet, so the two colonies will be united into one. But uh... don't be surprised if we're a little edgy around each other for a few weeks."
Timon smiled and shrugged, "Hey, once they've gotten into the Hakuna Matata lifestyle, we'll be fine." He then looked out towards the desert again. His eyes squinted when he saw movement approaching them. "I think I see them."
"I'll go tell the others," Pete said as he grabbed a vine and swung away.
Pumbaa appeared at the bottom of the tree Timon was in. He looked out towards the desert, and then up at Timon. "Are they here yet?" he called up to Timon.
"Not sure, but I see something out there."
"Mirage?"
"Hope not." He squinted his eyes again, trying to make out the approaching figures. He could make one of the approaching figures out as a warthog. He smiled when they were close enough to confirm it was Jina. The meerkats walking behind her could now be seen. "They're here!"
"Yay!" Pumbaa cheered.
Timon leaned forward a bit more, still holding onto a vine to keep from falling. His eyes squinted, looking through the crowd of meerkats. He blinked a moment. "Where's Zuri?" He paused. "Could she be...?" He looked over at the warthog, and then grinned when he saw a certain female meerkat riding on the warthog's back. "Arriving in style, eh? I like that in a woman." He cupped the side of his mouth with his paw to amplify his voice. "Hey, Zuri! Over here!"
Zuri, who was riding on Jina's back, looked up when her name was called. She looked forward, wondering where the voice came from. She looked up at the treetops and saw Timon up there. She smiled and waved, "Timon!"
Timon held onto the vine and dropped down from it, landing onto Pumbaa's back. He pulled on his ears, which started the warthog running. Jina and the meerkats stopped when they saw Timon and Pumbaa approaching. Pumbaa then skid to a halt in front of them.
Timon stood on top of Pumbaa's head and bowed, "Ladies and gentlekats, welcome to our humble home!"
"Look at the size of your front door! You call that 'humble'?" a meerkat asked.
"You should see our winter home," Timon grinned.
"You don't have a winter home," Zuri said, folding her arms in front of her chest.
Timon furrowed his brow at her. "Everything else I've told you is true and you didn't believe it. What makes this one so different?"
"We asked Simba before we left," a meerkat said.
"That traitor," Timon said in a low voice.
"Well, now I know you're a typical man!" Zuri laughed and then slid off Jina's snout to the ground. Timon grinned and did the same off Pumbaa's snout and went over to her. Pumbaa and Jina smiled at each other and walked away with most of the meerkats, heading for the oasis.
Shomari suddenly stepped between Timon and Zuri. "Not yet, you two. We've got to get ready for the ceremony, and then you two can do whatever."
"Huh?" Timon blinked. He watched as Zuri was lead away by her mother Dalila. Zuri looked back at Timon and winked at him.
"You can wait a few hours," Shomari said, patting Timon on the back.
"Yeah, I guess." Something in his mind suddenly clicked. "A few hours?"
"Didn't anyone tell you? The ceremony's tonight."
"Tonight?!" He grabbed Shomari by the arms and shook him a bit. "I'm not ready for a ceremony tonight! I've been waiting all morning for you to show up and--" He quickly realized what he was doing and dropped his own arms to his side, smiling nervously. "Sorry, Dad... or would you rather be called Mr. Shomari?"
"Shomari... at least until the ceremony."
Timon rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... boy, it's gonna weird, calling someone 'Dad.' That hasn't been a big part of my vocabulary for a few years."
Shomari patted Timon on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it, after the ceremony tonight."
"Why tonight?"
"You'd rather wait longer?" a meerkat standing next to Shomari asked.
"Well, I haven't had time to register anywhere yet."
"What do you need that you don't already have here?" Shomari asked, wrinkling his eyebrows.
"Blenders."
Shomari shook his head with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm getting old and growing impatient. We were suppose to have a wedding last week, but because of you we held it off."
Timon nervously chuckled. "I see your point."
"You go get ready for tonight. We'll send someone to find you when we're ready." Timon nodded and walked towards the oasis. "Oh, and Timon?"
Timon stopped and looked back at him. "Yeah?"
"Just kidding. The ceremony is really later this week."
On that note, Timon fell forward, surprise. "D'oh!" He got up and stared at Shomari with a furrowed brow. "Do you do that for all your future son-in-laws or just me?"
"Well, you are my first son-in-law, so both."
Timon sighed, "I knew it." He got up and dusted himself off. "Well, in that case, I'll go help Zuri settle in." He then ran off towards the oasis.
The meerkat that was standing next to Shomari blinked a moment. "Hard to believe he's the son of Fearless Buzz. Are you sure you want to let him into the family, Dad?"
"He makes Zuri happy and has proven himself worthy. I don't see a reason for him not to be in this family."
"Really. From what I've heard, I'd rather have a severe case of fleas than have him in the family."
"Spite what you think, Sudi. Timon is a good one. He saved your sister from hyenas and now he brings us to this paradise. If you can't accept him, go back to the Pride Lands."
The meerkat, Sudi, blew some air out of his mouth and walked alongside his father towards the oasis. "All right, I'll try to accept him... but it's gonna take me a while to get out of the digging habit."
"Well, I don't expect a rose garden to bloom overnight."
...
Zuri was getting a drink by the stream to settle the excitement in her stomach. She was going to get married later this week, and this time she wanted it. And she can finally have a little bit of freedom. She slurped the water from her paws, and then looked at her reflection. She pawed at her hair briefly to make it look better in case Timon suddenly showed up, and then she stopped when she noticed some movement in the reflection above her. She looked up to see Timon up on a tree limb, tying a vine around his waist. She wrinkled her eyebrows and got up. "Timon!"
That caught Timon by surprised, nearly scaring him out of his skin. "YAH!" He nearly fell off the limb, but he grabbed onto the vine. He exhaled and then he looked down at her as he climbed back onto the tree limb. "Zuri, what's the big idea scaring me like that?"
Zuri furrowed her brow and put her paws on her hips. "Well, what's the big idea committing suicide right in front of me?"
"Suicide?! What makes you think that?"
"Well, you're up 100 feet in a tree and it looks like you were about to jump."
"Oh, that. I just wanted to get your attention."
"By jumping out of a tree and leaving your impression over half the oasis?"
"I've got a vine tied around my stomach. It's what you need to survive bungee jumping."
She wrinkled her nose, looking confused. "What?"
"I said 'bungee jumping'! Can't you hear me from up here?"
"I can hear you just fine, but what is bungee jumping?"
Timon looked down at her and grinned. "Simply this." Timon jumped from the tree limb and screamed. Zuri covered her eyes, expecting to hear a horrible splat. Instead she heard a stretching sound and Timon laughing. She peeked through her fingers and watched Timon swing from the end of the vine. She uncovered her eyes and stared at him, amazed. "The ultimate in thrill rides, baby!"
"I still think it's suicidal."
Timon folded his arms in front of his chest, which look quite amusing while he was just dangling there with a vine tied around his waist. "Call it what you will, but I like it. It's one of the many things I do for fun."
"That's fun? You jump from a tree, scream like a girl, and dangle at the end of your vine, looking like a complete lunatic."
Timon furrowed his brow. "I do not scream like a girl!" He blushed slightly when Zuri started laughing. He then cleared his throat, letting the blush dissolve away. "It gives you a good rush. If you give it a try, you might like it."
"Well... OK. Do you have any thrill rides that aren't so... advanced?"
Timon grinned again.
...
"Are you sure this is a first level thing?" Zuri nervously asked as Timon handed her a vine.
"It is compared to bungee jumping," Timon said, grabbing a nearby vine for himself. "All you do is hold onto the vine and jump. You'll fly through the air with the greatest of ease."
"That's all?"
"That's all." He noticed the worried expression on her face. "Are you sure you wanna go through with this?"
"Well, I wanna get a taste of what you do for fun here. You know, since 'fun' is--was considered a four-letter word in my colony when there were tunnels to be dug."
Timon counted on his fingers. "F-U-N--" He blinked. "Just how do you spell 'fun' on your side of the colony?"
Zuri shook her head. "Never mind."
"You know, if you're scared--"
"I'm not scared." She took a look at the ground a hundred feet below and then gulped. "I'm petrified. There's a difference. But I wanna do this." Timon pouted his lips a moment, released his vine and then took hold of Zuri's vine. He wrapped an arm around her and took a look down. Zuri blushed a bit. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Well, you act like you don't want to swing alone, so..."
"And you would be right," Zuri said, tightening her grip on the vine.
"Hakuna Matata, Zuri. I won't let anything happen to you. Don't let go." Timon took a few steps back with Zuri, and then ran and leapt from the tree limb. Zuri closed her eyes and screamed as they leapt. Timon smiled as he felt the wind rush through his fur, which caused him to yell, "Ye-hah!"
"Timon, if we die, I'm gonna kill you!"
"I'll keep that in mind!" Timon lifted his feet up and pushed them against a tree to keep them from crashing into it, sending them in another direction. The sudden change in direction caused Zuri to scream again. "You know, it's getting really hard to enjoy this with you screaming in my ear! Do you think you can stop?"
"Do you think you can stop bumping into things?" Zuri retorted.
"There's a big difference between bumping into things and pushing with your feet! If you'd open your eyes to see what's going on, you might actually start to enjoy this!" Zuri slowly opened an eye, and then she quickly closed it again. "Trust me! I'm not gonna let anything happen to you!" She opened her eyes and watched as the scenery quickly passed by.
"Whoa... Jina could never run this fast!"
"And you ain't seen nothing yet! Hang on!"
"I am hanging on!"
"I meant to me!" Timon reached for a vine that was passing by and jumped over to it, holding Zuri close. She screamed again when they jumped, but this time she let out a laugh right after. "You all right? I thought I just heard you laugh instead of scream!"
"OK, so I'm actually starting to enjoy this!"
"I think we've had enough for now! Don't wanna overdue it the first day!" He finally let go of the vine when they were above a tree limb, landing. The two laughed for a few moments, the thrill still being with them.
Zuri exhaled and looked over the oasis. "I still can't believe we're actually here." She half-laughed and looked at Timon. "How did you find this place?"
"Purely by accident. Pumbaa and I were nearly squashed by a wildebeest stampede and we went over a waterfall. Next thing we know, we washed up here."
Zuri arched an eyebrow. "Wildebeest stampede. Went over a waterfall."
"99% of everything I've told you so far is true and you still don't believe me? Ask Pumbaa and he'll tell you!" He pulled her over to him and whispered, "And you know he tells the truth 99% of the time."
Zuri giggled. "Well, you've gone through a lot of things in your life. Guess I shouldn't be questioning stampedes and waterfalls."
"Thank you."
Zuri leaned against Timon and looked out at the oasis again. "Will everyday be this wonderful?"
Timon wrapped an arm around her shoulder and looked out at the oasis. "I'm hoping it's gonna get even better."
To be continued...