Chapter 10:

Timon walked away from his nest, trying to figure out what time of day it was, so he could determine where his mother would be. As he looked up to find the position of the sun he saw Shani draped over a tree branch about six feet over his head, asleep. He stopped and looked up at her with a slightly irritated look.

"I know she said she wanted a tree house, but I didn't think she'd go this far," he mumbled to himself. He cleared his throat to wake it up a bit, cupped his paws to the sides of his mouth, and called up to his daughter, "Shani! The bus is here!"

Shani sat up in a rush. "Bus?! Why'd you wait to wake me up?! I--" She forgot where she spent the night, so as she went to get out of bed, she dropped from the branch with a scream.

Timon held his arms out to catch her, and she fell squarely into his arms. "I couldn't think of a simpler way to wake her up?" Timon dryly asked himself.

Shani wiggled to get down from her father's arms. "Lemme down, Daddy! You said the bu-- Wait a second... what's a bus?" Shani blinked.

"I don't know. That's what your grandmother used to get me up in the morning when I was your age."

Shani jumped down from Timon's arms and smoothed her fur out. "Whatever happened to waking up to the smell of breakfast, instead of waking up on a branch?"

"A better question is, what were you doing up there?"

She tried to think of an excuse of why she didn't return to the nest and fell asleep on a tree branch without spilling the beans about Kito and Bango... or that she had a midnight snack without her father. "I dunno... maybe I sleepwalked. What can I say?" Shani innocently smiled and shrugged.

"Uh-huh... then I don't suppose you know where Grandma Panya is?"

"Mm-mmm."

"Your mother?"

"Na-uh."

"Your brother?"

"Nope."

Timon pressed his nose against hers. "What do you know then?"

"Besides that you have stinky morning breath?" Timon stood up straight, breathed into his paw and sniffed it. He furrowed his brow. Shani nervously smiled. "I know girls are always right. Mom says so and she's the boss..." She gulped at her father's annoyed expression and flashed a big toothy smile. "Well, that's what she said anyway."

Timon looked at her for a moment, thinking about that off-topic reply carefully. He then smiled and gave her a pat on the head. "Well, if your mother said it, it must be true. As long as there are boys in their lives girls are always right." He shook his head and sighed with a smile. "Especially wives."

"Really? I can't wait until I get married!"

Timon gave her a light tap on the chin and said, "Oh, yes you can." Shani pouted slightly. "Pouting won't work. It didn't work for me and I won't let it work for you."

"Crud."

Timon bent over and kissed her on the forehead. "If it makes you feel any better, you helped me decide I should openly tell my feelings to your mother no matter what's lodged in my throat or how dry or sticky my mouth feels. I shouldn't be having trouble saying it if I really mean it."

"I don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm glad I could help," Shani blinked.

"Now, I'm going to look for your mother... or grandmother, whichever I can find first. I really need to talk to them. I want you to find Barika and play with her for a while until I get back. Then we'll go gather some of the little cream-filled kind with Uncle Pumbaa."

"All right, but I'd rather look for the crunchies. 'Bye, Daddy."

Timon began to walk away, but then he stopped, and turned back to Shani as she began to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing, Shani..."

Shani stopped and looked back at her father. "Yeah?"

Timon folded his arms in front of his chest and furrowed his brow slightly. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"W-What do you mean, Daddy?"

He arched an eyebrow at her slight stutter. "Are you sure you were 'sleepwalking' last night?"

"Uh... I uh..."

"I knew it," Timon sneered.

Shani gulped, "Daddy, I can expl--"

"There's no excuse, pup. You were midnight snacking without me, weren't you?"

Shani blinked, surprised. She thought somehow he knew about Kito and Bango. "Midnight snacking... that's what you're talking about?"

"Yeah. What did you think I was talking about?" Timon asked, arching an eyebrow again.

Shani chuckled slightly and shrugged, "Oh, nothing. I guess I did because I don't feel hungry, but I don't remember waking up to eat anything... there is such a thing as sleep-eating in this jungle."

"Sleep-eating, Shani? Name one person in this oasis that sleep-eats."

"Bango."

Timon looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. "All right, I'll let it slide this time. But let it happen again, I'm not sharing my desserts for a week."

"What? That can't be legal."

Timon grinned and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Need I remind you that I'm your father, and I'm in charge of you and your brother when Mom's away?"

Shani rolled her eyes with a soft giggle. "No, Daddy." With that she turned on her heels and ran towards the warthogs' nest.

Timon shook his head with a grin and started walking again. "That's Zuri's daughter." He looked down at his feet as he walked, frowned as he slowed his pace, and then finally stopped. He noticed odd footprints in the dirt, a few with deep claw impressions, as if they were dug out of kicking feet. He bent down for a closer look to examine just how deep. "Hmm... too small for an adult, and too deep for a sleep-walking/sleep-eating meerkat pup," he mumbled to himself as he traced the impressions with his fingertips. "And they don't look fresh either." He blinked when a shadow was suddenly cast over him and the marks, so he looked up.

"Trying to make sense out of those markings, Timon?" Ma asked, standing in front of him.

"Well, you don't see these kind of marks everyday, Ma." Timon cleared his throat and stood, dusting his knees off. "We need to talk."

"Yes, we do."

"I'll start first." Timon took his mother's paws into his own. "I'm sorry about what I said and the way I reacted yesterday. I just didn't know how to express my--"

"I had it coming, sweetie. I guess I was doing more than just forgetting about the pain of losing a son. It hurt so bad I didn't want you to feel it, too. Your father thought I should tell you when you were old enough to understand, but I couldn't find the words to say it."

"I know how that goes."

"When you and your father were starting to get along he decided he would tell you about Titus if I wouldn't. But that was the day..." Ma lowered her eyes.

"The day Mataka and his pack attacked?" Timon finished.

Ma nodded. "I wanted to tell you after that, but then you got so focused on trying to get the colony's approval of you again and feel that you'd make your father proud."

"But then I always made a mess out of myself or something else," Timon lowered his eyes slightly.

"I didn't want to add to your misery at any time by telling you about your lost brother."

"That makes sense, I guess. And you couldn't tell me about it after I got the colony's approval and moved them to the oasis because I left to be Kiara's babysitter for a year."

"That's right. In that long time I guess I had forgotten about ever needing to tell you. I'm sorry, Timmy."

Timon closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I can't blame you for that." He opened them to look at her again. "You sure I didn't have any other siblings I don't know about?"

Ma chuckled, "I'm pretty sure, but there is something else I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

Before she could open her mouth Pumbaa came trotting up to them. "Timon!"

"Oy," Ma whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes.

"What is it, Pumbaa? You're gonna tell me I had a sister now?" Timon asked, still annoyed that Pumbaa knew about his brother before Timon did.

"You had a sister?" Pumbaa blinked as he stopped by the two. He suddenly shook his head. "No, that's not what I came over for. Have either of you seen Bango?"

"I'm afraid I haven't," Ma said, shaking her head.

"I just woke up a little while ago," Timon said.

"You haven't seen him either? Oh, now I'm really worried," Pumbaa said as he started pacing.

"Calm down, Pumbaa. He's probably playing with Kito somewhere. Ask someone else."

"I did. Jina and I asked everyone and searched everywhere, and I mean everywhere and everyone. Inside the oasis, outside the oasis, all around the inside and outside of the oasis! We probably asked everyone and searched everywhere two or more times! No one's seen him!" He added in a less worried tone, "Well, I didn't ask everyone twice or more. I didn't ask Shani because she was still asleep, and you were still asleep, and I couldn't find Kito."

"They're both around here somewhere." Timon watched his best buddy pace, and then he looked back down at the claw marks in the dirt. His eyes squinted slightly, and then he looked back at Pumbaa. "Was he in the nest when you woke up this morning?"

"No, and that's what really got me worried."

"Neither of my pups were in the nest when I got up, but Shani said she sleep-walked and slept on a tree branch last night." Timon looked to his mother. "Ma, have you seen Kito today?"

"No, I haven't," Ma shook her head.

"Kito's missing, too?" Pumbaa asked as he stopped in mid-pace.

"He might be. These marks in the ground aren't exactly fresh, probably made during the night. And they're about the size a meerkat pup would make."

"Maybe Kito was midnight snacking."

"I don't know... there are a lot of these marks. Some are deeper than others. It almost looks like a struggle."

"A struggle?" both Pumbaa and Ma asked.

"But who would he struggle with?" Ma asked, putting a paw to her chin.

Timon's eyes widened as he looked to Pumbaa. "We haven't seen Kito or Bango since last night... there are possible struggle marks in the dirt, possibly made by Kito... Pumbaa, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I don't know... what are you thinking?"

Timon jumped to his feet and pulled Pumbaa's snout down to his level, looking at him square in the face with a panicked expression. "I think someone came into the oasis in the dead of night and kidnapped our sons!"

"Kidnapped?!"

Timon and Pumbaa both gulped when they realized neither them nor Ma shouted that. They looked over to see Jina and Zuri standing there. Zuri ran over and grabbed the front of Timon's chest fur. "Our son's been kidnapped?!"

"There's a lot of strong evidence, Zuri," Timon nervously replied.

"But who'd want to kidnap Kito and Bango?" Jina asked as she walked over next to Pumbaa. "We don't have any enemies, do we?"

"She's got a point," Pumbaa said as he felt Timon climb onto his back and then onto his head.

"Well, they're not here, and they wouldn't have a real reason to leave without us, right?" Timon asked as he leaned forward to look down at Pumbaa.

"Right..."

"Sounds like they were kidnapped to me. So Pumbaa, you and me, we're gonna go track the kidnappers down and bring our boys back."

"And what are the rest of us suppose to do, Great Timon?" Zuri asked, folding her arms in front of her chest and tapping her foot.

"Oy," Timon mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. He exhaled and glanced down at her. "Someone has to stay here and take care of the girls. Why not the mothers?"

"But I really need to talk to you--"

"I know, and I really want to talk to you, but Kito could be in danger and I have to get him out of it." Timon added with a grin, "I am the son of Fearless Buzz after all."

Zuri rolled her eyes briefly, "Don't flatter yourself."

Timon furrowed his brow. "I know it's important that we talk, but which is more important to you, talking to me or finding our son?"

"Our son?" Zuri asked with a slight grin.

"Yes, our son." Zuri put a paw to her chin, in deep thought. Timon sighed and furrowed his brow a little deeper. He couldn't believe she was actually thinking it over. "Zuri... we need to find our son. Talking can wait... can't it?"

Zuri looked back up at Timon, and let out a small giggle. "I love it when you beg." Timon frowned, and Zuri sighed. "All right, just get your skinny tail back here quick. You know I hate waiting."

Timon swallowed, "Right." He straightened himself up and took hold of Pumbaa's ears. "We'll get the boys back, I promise." He pulled on Pumbaa ears and shouted, "Let's whip some grass, Pumbaa!"

With that Pumbaa took off running, out towards the desert. Jina looked down at the two meerkats standing next to her. "Do you think we should've gone with them, Zuri?"

"I don't think, Jina. I know we should've gone with them," Zuri said as she sneered after Timon and Pumbaa. "I have plenty to say to that man that can't wait that long, and I'm worried I'm going to be angry when I finally talk to him."

"He told us to stay."

"Oh, I'm staying," Zuri said as she folded her arms in front of her chest, "but I'm not happy."

"Neither am I," Ma said as she lowered her eyes. She never got to tell Timon what she was going to say either.

To be continued...