OK, here's another memory... couldn't think of how to use the deleted scene of Timon and family going to Pride Rock, so I decided to use it for Zuri and family. Hope you like. Read on!
Chapter 10:
The straw passing went around once more, and Zuri drew the long straw.
"What are you gonna tell us this time, Zuri?" Pumbaa asked as he wagged his tail.
Zuri twirled the straw between her fingers a bit. "Well, that depends... do you want to be in it or do you want to hear a memory from before we met?"
"A memory where there's no chance I could get laughed at?" Timon said to himself. "I vote before we met."
"You would, Timon," Zuri grinned. She clicked her tongue and leaned back against Pumbaa. "Well, I guess since we heard how you and Pumbaa met, I could tell you how Jina and I met."
"Oh, boy! We get to hear how Zuri and Jina met!" Pumbaa cheered.
"I've been very curious about that myself," Ma said, nodding.
"It's weird enough when one meerkat and warthog, two completely different animals, meet and become friends, but two?" Uncle Max said.
"Yeah, Timon wasn't the only one to have some unbelievable events happen in his life," Zuri said. She then tapped a finger to her chin, thinking. "Let's see... the day we met was a special day..."
4 years ago...
It was a little past dawn when Shomari's colony finally stopped from their long journey. Tired, they sat and rubbed their aching feet. Zuri panted softly and walked ahead a bit more. In the distance was Pride Rock, surrounded by animals underneath.
"I can see it. We're almost there!" she smiled as she looked back at the colony, noticing they had begun to dig.
"No, we're here," Shomari said as he surveyed the digging.
"But the Lion King is there. We gotta get closer!"
Shomari exhaled and looked over at her. "Zuri, every animal in the Pride Lands is there, and that includes our predators. I doubt everyone ate before they came. It's safe right here. So, enjoy the view from where you are."
Zuri sighed and looked ahead, and then she growled when two hippos sat where she could no longer see the view of Pride Rock. "Papa, can you do something about this?"
Shomari looked at the hippos, and then he glanced at his daughter. "You want me to try to get two hippos out of your view of Pride Rock so you can see someone who'll probably end up eating us one day?"
"Is there a problem?" she nervously smiled when her father arched an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah. I'm not suicidal."
"But Papa, we're here to see the Lion King. We didn't come all this way to sit behind a row of--"
"Maybe you're here to see the Lion King, but we're here to dig our new tunnels. As soon as the presentation's over, we'll need the cover from the animals who skipped breakfast."
Zuri grimaced, and then she looked over at her mother Dalila. "Mom, help me out here."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I have to agree with your father. Why don't you climb a tree if you want to see what's going on over there?" Dalila said, and then she went back to digging.
Zuri growled and turned back towards Pride--well, the hippos blocking her view of Pride Rock. She approached them. "Climb a tree, my... I'm gonna see this presentation, hippos or no hippos." She started to climb up one of the hippos' backs, grasping onto the flabby skin carefully. She climbed to the top and sat on the hippo's head. "Ahh, much better." She put a paw over her eyes to shield the sunlight as she looked out towards Pride Rock.
The other hippo glanced up at Zuri, and then he looked to the first hippo. "Is that a new toupee?"
"No, but it does itch," the first hippo said as he went to scratch his head.
Zuri jumped back to her feet to avoid the hippo's nails. "Hey, watch it!" She yelped when she fell off and landed onto a brown warthog's back, who didn't seem to notice her. "Ow..." She rubbed her rear and noticed she was receiving a glare from the hippos. She nervously smiled and chuckled. "Guess I shoulda asked if I could sit on your head, huh?"
"It's not a toupee, so what is it?" the first hippo asked the second.
"An oversized rat, maybe?"
Zuri stood and growled. "Oversized rat?! I'm a meerkat, bub! And if you hadn't sat right in front of me, blocking my view of Pride Rock, I wouldn't have been scaling any 20 tons of mountain!"
"... You're a little low on the food chain to be mouthing off, pipsqueak."
Zuri gulped, and then stopped. "Wait a second...meerkats aren't part of a hippo's diet. Hippos are herbivores." She jumped off the warthog's back and offered a paw to shake. "No hard feelings, right, fellas?"
"Oh, I know what it is," the second hippo said.
"What is it?" the first asked.
"Didn't I just say I'm a meerkat?" Zuri asked, looking a bit annoyed.
The hippos ignored her. "It's a talking seat cushion."
"Ahh, good. I could use one right now."
Zuri gulped as she backed away from the hippos. "Talking... seat... cushion?" She backed up right into the warthog's back leg.
"Hmm?" the warthog grunted, and then looked back to see what bumped into her. She saw Zuri, and then looked up at the hippos. "What's this about a seat cushion?"
Zuri looked at the warthog and tapped her fingertips together. "I wouldn't be very comfortable, trust me," she nervously chuckled.
"I'll be the judge of that," the first hippo said as he reached for her. Zuri closed her eyes and covered her head as the hippo reached for her, but then the warthog turned around and snatched her into her mouth, completely into her mouth. She made a swallowing motion. "Hey, that was ours."
The warthog shrugged and then trotted off through the crowd.
"I didn't know warthogs ate meerkats..." the second hippo blinked.
"Eh, almost everyone eats meerkats," the first shrugged.
The warthog made it out to a small clearing, looked around briefly, and then opened her mouth. "Coast is clear."
Zuri still had her eyes shut, but when she felt the fresh air, she opened them and looked out. "You're letting me go?"
"Can you asked me that when you're out of my mouth?" the warthog asked with her mouth wide open, so the question was hard to understand.
Zuri did understand it after a moment. "Oh, sorry." She jumped out and groaned softly as she wiped some salvia off her fur. "Ugh, and I just cleaned the fur..."
The warthog rubbed her jaw and smacked her lips. "Better than being squished, isn't it?"
Zuri nervously chuckled. "Yeah... Thanks for your help. For a second, I thought you were actually going to eat me."
"I consider meerkats junk food, because almost everyone eats them, and I don't eat junk food." Zuri frowned. "Just kidding."
"Right. So what do you eat?"
The warthog shrugged, "Oh, grass, the occasional fruit..." She stopped when she and Zuri saw a beetle scurry by. The warthog grinned, crouched down, and started after it. Zuri did as well. When the beetle stopped, so did they. They wiggled their tails, preparing to pounce. They both pounced and made a dive for the beetle, who flew off, leaving the two sliding in the dirt.
"Aww, there goes breakfast," Zuri complained. She furrowed her brow at the warthog. "What's the big idea scaring away my meal, copy-hog?"
"Your meal? I didn't see your name on that beetle," the warthog retorted as she dusted herself off.
"I didn't see your name on it either." Zuri dusted herself off, and then she blinked. "You mean you eat bugs, too?"
The warthog chuckled as she tapped her front hooves together. "Well, they have better flavor than grass and you don't have to guess if they're ripe enough like fruit."
Zuri leaned closer to the warthog, tapping her fingertips together. "I've always wondered something..."
The warthog lowered her face down to the meerkat. "Go ahead."
Zuri leaned forward onto the warthog's snout. "Well... if another animal ate something that you eat... do you still eat the animal that ate what you ate?"
"... Huh?"
"If I ate a bug, you wouldn't eat me so you would have the bug, would you?"
"No."
Zuri leaned closer, looking her right in the eye. "Is that the same with all animals, or just you?"
"I wouldn't know. The food chain confuses me." She watched as Zuri nodded and took a step back. "Guess you'll be heading back to your mob, right?"
"Yeah, we were starting to dig tunnels when I wanted to watch the presentation," Zuri said as she lightly kicked some dirt. "And you'll be going back to your sounder, right?"
"Planning to," the warthog nodded.
"Y'know... if you're ever in the neighborhood, you could drop by. A lot of animals try to eat me, so it's nice to meet one that only eats bugs and stuff."
"Sure. I could probably show you some places, too."
"You could?"
"Sure."
"Great! See you around then." Zuri turned to walk away, and then she paused and turned back to the warthog. "By the way... what is your name?"
"Jina. What's yours?"
"Zuri."
"OK. See you around, Zuri!"
"Take care, Jina." The two walked in separate directions, wondering when their next meeting would be.
Present...
"So that's how you met, huh?" Timon asked.
"Yup," Zuri said as she tossed the winning straw over to Uncle Max. "Jina used to wonder around a lot with her sounder. That's why you guys didn't meet her until we brought her to the oasis."
"Ahh, so that's why," Pumbaa nodded.
"Well, I guess I'm done."
"OK, then. It's time for the next memory!"
To be continued...
Chapter 10:
The straw passing went around once more, and Zuri drew the long straw.
"What are you gonna tell us this time, Zuri?" Pumbaa asked as he wagged his tail.
Zuri twirled the straw between her fingers a bit. "Well, that depends... do you want to be in it or do you want to hear a memory from before we met?"
"A memory where there's no chance I could get laughed at?" Timon said to himself. "I vote before we met."
"You would, Timon," Zuri grinned. She clicked her tongue and leaned back against Pumbaa. "Well, I guess since we heard how you and Pumbaa met, I could tell you how Jina and I met."
"Oh, boy! We get to hear how Zuri and Jina met!" Pumbaa cheered.
"I've been very curious about that myself," Ma said, nodding.
"It's weird enough when one meerkat and warthog, two completely different animals, meet and become friends, but two?" Uncle Max said.
"Yeah, Timon wasn't the only one to have some unbelievable events happen in his life," Zuri said. She then tapped a finger to her chin, thinking. "Let's see... the day we met was a special day..."
4 years ago...
It was a little past dawn when Shomari's colony finally stopped from their long journey. Tired, they sat and rubbed their aching feet. Zuri panted softly and walked ahead a bit more. In the distance was Pride Rock, surrounded by animals underneath.
"I can see it. We're almost there!" she smiled as she looked back at the colony, noticing they had begun to dig.
"No, we're here," Shomari said as he surveyed the digging.
"But the Lion King is there. We gotta get closer!"
Shomari exhaled and looked over at her. "Zuri, every animal in the Pride Lands is there, and that includes our predators. I doubt everyone ate before they came. It's safe right here. So, enjoy the view from where you are."
Zuri sighed and looked ahead, and then she growled when two hippos sat where she could no longer see the view of Pride Rock. "Papa, can you do something about this?"
Shomari looked at the hippos, and then he glanced at his daughter. "You want me to try to get two hippos out of your view of Pride Rock so you can see someone who'll probably end up eating us one day?"
"Is there a problem?" she nervously smiled when her father arched an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah. I'm not suicidal."
"But Papa, we're here to see the Lion King. We didn't come all this way to sit behind a row of--"
"Maybe you're here to see the Lion King, but we're here to dig our new tunnels. As soon as the presentation's over, we'll need the cover from the animals who skipped breakfast."
Zuri grimaced, and then she looked over at her mother Dalila. "Mom, help me out here."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I have to agree with your father. Why don't you climb a tree if you want to see what's going on over there?" Dalila said, and then she went back to digging.
Zuri growled and turned back towards Pride--well, the hippos blocking her view of Pride Rock. She approached them. "Climb a tree, my... I'm gonna see this presentation, hippos or no hippos." She started to climb up one of the hippos' backs, grasping onto the flabby skin carefully. She climbed to the top and sat on the hippo's head. "Ahh, much better." She put a paw over her eyes to shield the sunlight as she looked out towards Pride Rock.
The other hippo glanced up at Zuri, and then he looked to the first hippo. "Is that a new toupee?"
"No, but it does itch," the first hippo said as he went to scratch his head.
Zuri jumped back to her feet to avoid the hippo's nails. "Hey, watch it!" She yelped when she fell off and landed onto a brown warthog's back, who didn't seem to notice her. "Ow..." She rubbed her rear and noticed she was receiving a glare from the hippos. She nervously smiled and chuckled. "Guess I shoulda asked if I could sit on your head, huh?"
"It's not a toupee, so what is it?" the first hippo asked the second.
"An oversized rat, maybe?"
Zuri stood and growled. "Oversized rat?! I'm a meerkat, bub! And if you hadn't sat right in front of me, blocking my view of Pride Rock, I wouldn't have been scaling any 20 tons of mountain!"
"... You're a little low on the food chain to be mouthing off, pipsqueak."
Zuri gulped, and then stopped. "Wait a second...meerkats aren't part of a hippo's diet. Hippos are herbivores." She jumped off the warthog's back and offered a paw to shake. "No hard feelings, right, fellas?"
"Oh, I know what it is," the second hippo said.
"What is it?" the first asked.
"Didn't I just say I'm a meerkat?" Zuri asked, looking a bit annoyed.
The hippos ignored her. "It's a talking seat cushion."
"Ahh, good. I could use one right now."
Zuri gulped as she backed away from the hippos. "Talking... seat... cushion?" She backed up right into the warthog's back leg.
"Hmm?" the warthog grunted, and then looked back to see what bumped into her. She saw Zuri, and then looked up at the hippos. "What's this about a seat cushion?"
Zuri looked at the warthog and tapped her fingertips together. "I wouldn't be very comfortable, trust me," she nervously chuckled.
"I'll be the judge of that," the first hippo said as he reached for her. Zuri closed her eyes and covered her head as the hippo reached for her, but then the warthog turned around and snatched her into her mouth, completely into her mouth. She made a swallowing motion. "Hey, that was ours."
The warthog shrugged and then trotted off through the crowd.
"I didn't know warthogs ate meerkats..." the second hippo blinked.
"Eh, almost everyone eats meerkats," the first shrugged.
The warthog made it out to a small clearing, looked around briefly, and then opened her mouth. "Coast is clear."
Zuri still had her eyes shut, but when she felt the fresh air, she opened them and looked out. "You're letting me go?"
"Can you asked me that when you're out of my mouth?" the warthog asked with her mouth wide open, so the question was hard to understand.
Zuri did understand it after a moment. "Oh, sorry." She jumped out and groaned softly as she wiped some salvia off her fur. "Ugh, and I just cleaned the fur..."
The warthog rubbed her jaw and smacked her lips. "Better than being squished, isn't it?"
Zuri nervously chuckled. "Yeah... Thanks for your help. For a second, I thought you were actually going to eat me."
"I consider meerkats junk food, because almost everyone eats them, and I don't eat junk food." Zuri frowned. "Just kidding."
"Right. So what do you eat?"
The warthog shrugged, "Oh, grass, the occasional fruit..." She stopped when she and Zuri saw a beetle scurry by. The warthog grinned, crouched down, and started after it. Zuri did as well. When the beetle stopped, so did they. They wiggled their tails, preparing to pounce. They both pounced and made a dive for the beetle, who flew off, leaving the two sliding in the dirt.
"Aww, there goes breakfast," Zuri complained. She furrowed her brow at the warthog. "What's the big idea scaring away my meal, copy-hog?"
"Your meal? I didn't see your name on that beetle," the warthog retorted as she dusted herself off.
"I didn't see your name on it either." Zuri dusted herself off, and then she blinked. "You mean you eat bugs, too?"
The warthog chuckled as she tapped her front hooves together. "Well, they have better flavor than grass and you don't have to guess if they're ripe enough like fruit."
Zuri leaned closer to the warthog, tapping her fingertips together. "I've always wondered something..."
The warthog lowered her face down to the meerkat. "Go ahead."
Zuri leaned forward onto the warthog's snout. "Well... if another animal ate something that you eat... do you still eat the animal that ate what you ate?"
"... Huh?"
"If I ate a bug, you wouldn't eat me so you would have the bug, would you?"
"No."
Zuri leaned closer, looking her right in the eye. "Is that the same with all animals, or just you?"
"I wouldn't know. The food chain confuses me." She watched as Zuri nodded and took a step back. "Guess you'll be heading back to your mob, right?"
"Yeah, we were starting to dig tunnels when I wanted to watch the presentation," Zuri said as she lightly kicked some dirt. "And you'll be going back to your sounder, right?"
"Planning to," the warthog nodded.
"Y'know... if you're ever in the neighborhood, you could drop by. A lot of animals try to eat me, so it's nice to meet one that only eats bugs and stuff."
"Sure. I could probably show you some places, too."
"You could?"
"Sure."
"Great! See you around then." Zuri turned to walk away, and then she paused and turned back to the warthog. "By the way... what is your name?"
"Jina. What's yours?"
"Zuri."
"OK. See you around, Zuri!"
"Take care, Jina." The two walked in separate directions, wondering when their next meeting would be.
Present...
"So that's how you met, huh?" Timon asked.
"Yup," Zuri said as she tossed the winning straw over to Uncle Max. "Jina used to wonder around a lot with her sounder. That's why you guys didn't meet her until we brought her to the oasis."
"Ahh, so that's why," Pumbaa nodded.
"Well, I guess I'm done."
"OK, then. It's time for the next memory!"
To be continued...