Chapter 12:
A few hours had passed. Pumbaa walked through the desert paying no attention to the heat while Timon paced along Pumbaa's back, muttering to himself.
Timon stopped and smiled to himself. "Oh, that's good. That is so good."
"Thought of something?" Pumbaa asked while still looking ahead.
"Nah, it's good, but it'll never work."
"Oh. If you say so."
"You're a lot of help, pork chop."
"Well, maybe if you actually told me what were you doing," Pumbaa said as he glanced back at the frustrated meerkat.
"Practicing."
"Practicing what?"
"Apologizing to Zuri, and practice makes perfect. Right now I'm having trouble expressing myself without my mouth drying up."
"Well, if you kept your mouth shut the sand wouldn't be blowing your way."
"No, it's not the sand, Pumbaa! I'm in deep with the missus because of what didn't come out of my mouth."
Pumbaa sighed and rolled his eyes, "Oh, boy, what'd you say now?"
Pumbaa blinked when Timon suddenly jumped onto his snout to look at him square in the eye. "It's what I didn't say. And I don't like the way you asked that."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was thinking out loud again. Anyway, what's Zuri mad at you about?"
Timon cleared his throat, as if attempting to say something hard. "I try to tell her, I really do, but no matter what, I can't say I l...luh...guh... oy!" He coughed a few times and swallowed. "I can't say the 'L' word without doing that, at least when I'm thinking about saying it." He paced back and forth on Pumbaa's snout. "Oh, I can say it when I'm referring to someone in general, as a mumble, when I'm not thinking about saying it, or as a reply... most of the time anyway."
"The 'L' word?"
Timon made some motions with his paws. "You know, that special emotion you have between mates and parents and your children..."
"Tolerance? Oh, wait, that's the 'T' word. You mean love?"
Timon stared at Pumbaa for a moment, dropped down from his snout to his lips, and pried his mouth open. "Amazing. Your mouth didn't dry up when you said that." He climbed back up and stared at Pumbaa again, a bit amazed. "How'd you do that?"
Pumbaa stopped walking as he carefully thought of a reply. "Well, I'm more in touch with my emotions than you are, since you're like a Mr. Smart-Aleck Tough Guy."
"Hey, I used to think girls liked that in a man," Timon helplessly shrugged.
"You mean you're having trouble telling Zuri you love her?"
"In so many words? Yes. I feel like my heart gets stuck in my throat, or my mouth feels sticky or dries up. But that shouldn't be a problem anyway, right? Actions speak louder than words, don't they? That should be enough, right? Tell me I'm right, Pumbaa."
"Females are more sensitive and gentler than males. They need to be told these things." He paused, and then asked, "You do love her, don't you?"
Timon put a paw to his chin in a sarcastic manner, "Gee, let me think. I secretly left home to meet her, I arranged a plan to get her out of her arranged marriage to Makali, I saved her from Mataka the hyena, I saved her father from Mataka, and we put on the mother of all guilt tri--" He paused, realizing even Pumbaa didn't know about that particular guilt trip. He cleared his throat and shouted, "Of course I love her! You think I'd waste my time for an act of charity?!"
Pumbaa grinned, "So, you are capable of saying it."
"Huh?" Timon blinked, not realizing he said it. He took a moment to think about what he just said, and then he furrowed his brow and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Well, like I said, there are certain occasions I can say it. I wasn't focused on saying it."
"Shouldn't be hard to say it at all if you mean it."
Timon sat down on Pumbaa's snout, sighed, and nodded. "I know you're right. I just don't know why I have trouble saying it. Maybe some kind of encouragement would help." He cleared his throat again. "OK, enough of the 'L' word. We need to focus on finding Kito and Bango, OK? They're more important right now."
Pumbaa nodded, "You're right, Timon. Our poor sons... they're probably starving out there."
Meanwhile...
Kito sat against a tree and patted his stomach with a great big smile on his face. "Ahh... I couldn't eat another bug."
Bango was sitting next to him and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ah... yup." He looked over at Morake the cheetah cub, who was crouched down, watching some bugs scurry by. "How can you still be hungry, Morake?"
"I'm a growing cheetah, and I haven't had anything this good in a two weeks," Morake replied, and then pounced onto the bugs, scooping them up into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then licked his front paw. "I think we cleaned out most of the bugs in this immediate area."
"Yeah, there aren't as many bugs under the tree bark out here as there is in the oasis. Kinda sad," Bango said as he watched Morake walk over to them.
"Yeah, but whatcha gonna do? We're not living out here," Kito shrugged, and then cleared his throat when he forgot about Morake still having to live there. "I-I mean, we haven't looked everywhere yet. Bugs could more widespread elsewhere."
"Yeah. Thanks for teaching me how to hunt for bugs, guys. Maybe now if I tell other animals I only eat insects they'll let me play with them," Morake said as he swished his tail from side to side.
"You're welcome." Kito jumped to his feet and stretched. "So now it's your turn to live up to your end of the bargain. Point us in the direction of Rafiki's tree and we'll be on our way."
Morake was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking of something. "Right, of course. But, uh, you'll never find it if I just tell you where to find it."
"You think we're bad with directions?"
"No, but there are a lot of directions to follow, twists a-and turns, oh and don't forget the bigger, meat-eating--" His last word was cut off by a low, bellowing, monstrous roar heard off in the distance. Kito and Bango yelped and covered their heads. The roar soon died down, and then all was quiet.
Kito uncovered his head and looked up at Morake. "Morake, what the heck was that?!"
"That didn't sound like a lion, that's for sure," Bango whimpered.
Morake shrugged. "Beats me. We hear it every day out here, three or so times a day. No one ever sees it, but it's always coming from the same direction." He added in a scary, menacing tone, "No one's brave enough to find out what it is. There may have been a few who tried, but uh..." He grinned his sharp, toothy grin. "They never lived to tell the tale."
"Quit it, Morake. You're scaring Kito," Bango said, quivering with his head covered still.
"Sorry. It just seemed appropriate to the moment." Morake cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you two are sure to run into trouble if you get lost on the way to finding the tree." The cheetah puffed his chest out and grinned, "So you'll need me to get you there in one piece and on the first attempt. Besides, I'm bad at giving directions."
"Gee, I don't know..." Bango mumbled, still having his head covered.
Kito got up and lifted Bango's arms from his head. Then he lifted his eyelids open. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's got a point, Bango. We don't know the Pride Lands well enough to look for ourselves. We'll need a guide if we want to find Rafiki and, if he's alive, Uncle Titus."
"OK, OK, just let go of my eyelids." Kito stretched the warthog's eyelids out further, and then Bango quickly said, "Gently let go of my eyelids!"
"Aww, you're no fun." Kito gently released Bango's eyes, and then he cleared his throat and turned to Morake. "I just have one question to ask, Morake."
"Yes...?" Morake gulped.
"Are we going to be charged for this guided tour of the Pride Lands?"
Morake exhaled, a little relieved. "Nope. Do you wanna take a tour, or just go straight to the tree?"
"We're in a bit of a hurry, so let's just go with the tree," Bango said.
"Why are you in such a hurry to get back, Bango?" Kito frowned.
"I'm just trying to keep our absence from the oasis short. And the sooner we find Rafiki's tree, and the sooner he tells us Uncle Titus is not alive, we can relieve your sister from covering us."
"If she didn't rat on us already." Kito pulled Bango down to his level and growled, "And don't assume he's not alive, Mr. Mary Sunshine. Disappeared isn't the same as dead."
Morake stood between the two of them, blinking, very lost in the conversation. "Um... do you guys want me to leave so you can bicker alone?"
"We don't bicker," Kito grinned at Morake.
"Do too," Bango retorted.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
Morake rolled his eyes and laughed. "Are you guys done yet? Don't you want to go to Rafiki's tree?"
Both Kito and Bango gulped, realizing they forgot about going for a moment. They turned to Morake and nodded. "Lead the way." Morake chuckled and lead the way. The warthog and meerkat followed behind him, both muttering their "do not's" and "do too's."
To be continued...
A few hours had passed. Pumbaa walked through the desert paying no attention to the heat while Timon paced along Pumbaa's back, muttering to himself.
Timon stopped and smiled to himself. "Oh, that's good. That is so good."
"Thought of something?" Pumbaa asked while still looking ahead.
"Nah, it's good, but it'll never work."
"Oh. If you say so."
"You're a lot of help, pork chop."
"Well, maybe if you actually told me what were you doing," Pumbaa said as he glanced back at the frustrated meerkat.
"Practicing."
"Practicing what?"
"Apologizing to Zuri, and practice makes perfect. Right now I'm having trouble expressing myself without my mouth drying up."
"Well, if you kept your mouth shut the sand wouldn't be blowing your way."
"No, it's not the sand, Pumbaa! I'm in deep with the missus because of what didn't come out of my mouth."
Pumbaa sighed and rolled his eyes, "Oh, boy, what'd you say now?"
Pumbaa blinked when Timon suddenly jumped onto his snout to look at him square in the eye. "It's what I didn't say. And I don't like the way you asked that."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was thinking out loud again. Anyway, what's Zuri mad at you about?"
Timon cleared his throat, as if attempting to say something hard. "I try to tell her, I really do, but no matter what, I can't say I l...luh...guh... oy!" He coughed a few times and swallowed. "I can't say the 'L' word without doing that, at least when I'm thinking about saying it." He paced back and forth on Pumbaa's snout. "Oh, I can say it when I'm referring to someone in general, as a mumble, when I'm not thinking about saying it, or as a reply... most of the time anyway."
"The 'L' word?"
Timon made some motions with his paws. "You know, that special emotion you have between mates and parents and your children..."
"Tolerance? Oh, wait, that's the 'T' word. You mean love?"
Timon stared at Pumbaa for a moment, dropped down from his snout to his lips, and pried his mouth open. "Amazing. Your mouth didn't dry up when you said that." He climbed back up and stared at Pumbaa again, a bit amazed. "How'd you do that?"
Pumbaa stopped walking as he carefully thought of a reply. "Well, I'm more in touch with my emotions than you are, since you're like a Mr. Smart-Aleck Tough Guy."
"Hey, I used to think girls liked that in a man," Timon helplessly shrugged.
"You mean you're having trouble telling Zuri you love her?"
"In so many words? Yes. I feel like my heart gets stuck in my throat, or my mouth feels sticky or dries up. But that shouldn't be a problem anyway, right? Actions speak louder than words, don't they? That should be enough, right? Tell me I'm right, Pumbaa."
"Females are more sensitive and gentler than males. They need to be told these things." He paused, and then asked, "You do love her, don't you?"
Timon put a paw to his chin in a sarcastic manner, "Gee, let me think. I secretly left home to meet her, I arranged a plan to get her out of her arranged marriage to Makali, I saved her from Mataka the hyena, I saved her father from Mataka, and we put on the mother of all guilt tri--" He paused, realizing even Pumbaa didn't know about that particular guilt trip. He cleared his throat and shouted, "Of course I love her! You think I'd waste my time for an act of charity?!"
Pumbaa grinned, "So, you are capable of saying it."
"Huh?" Timon blinked, not realizing he said it. He took a moment to think about what he just said, and then he furrowed his brow and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Well, like I said, there are certain occasions I can say it. I wasn't focused on saying it."
"Shouldn't be hard to say it at all if you mean it."
Timon sat down on Pumbaa's snout, sighed, and nodded. "I know you're right. I just don't know why I have trouble saying it. Maybe some kind of encouragement would help." He cleared his throat again. "OK, enough of the 'L' word. We need to focus on finding Kito and Bango, OK? They're more important right now."
Pumbaa nodded, "You're right, Timon. Our poor sons... they're probably starving out there."
Meanwhile...
Kito sat against a tree and patted his stomach with a great big smile on his face. "Ahh... I couldn't eat another bug."
Bango was sitting next to him and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ah... yup." He looked over at Morake the cheetah cub, who was crouched down, watching some bugs scurry by. "How can you still be hungry, Morake?"
"I'm a growing cheetah, and I haven't had anything this good in a two weeks," Morake replied, and then pounced onto the bugs, scooping them up into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then licked his front paw. "I think we cleaned out most of the bugs in this immediate area."
"Yeah, there aren't as many bugs under the tree bark out here as there is in the oasis. Kinda sad," Bango said as he watched Morake walk over to them.
"Yeah, but whatcha gonna do? We're not living out here," Kito shrugged, and then cleared his throat when he forgot about Morake still having to live there. "I-I mean, we haven't looked everywhere yet. Bugs could more widespread elsewhere."
"Yeah. Thanks for teaching me how to hunt for bugs, guys. Maybe now if I tell other animals I only eat insects they'll let me play with them," Morake said as he swished his tail from side to side.
"You're welcome." Kito jumped to his feet and stretched. "So now it's your turn to live up to your end of the bargain. Point us in the direction of Rafiki's tree and we'll be on our way."
Morake was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking of something. "Right, of course. But, uh, you'll never find it if I just tell you where to find it."
"You think we're bad with directions?"
"No, but there are a lot of directions to follow, twists a-and turns, oh and don't forget the bigger, meat-eating--" His last word was cut off by a low, bellowing, monstrous roar heard off in the distance. Kito and Bango yelped and covered their heads. The roar soon died down, and then all was quiet.
Kito uncovered his head and looked up at Morake. "Morake, what the heck was that?!"
"That didn't sound like a lion, that's for sure," Bango whimpered.
Morake shrugged. "Beats me. We hear it every day out here, three or so times a day. No one ever sees it, but it's always coming from the same direction." He added in a scary, menacing tone, "No one's brave enough to find out what it is. There may have been a few who tried, but uh..." He grinned his sharp, toothy grin. "They never lived to tell the tale."
"Quit it, Morake. You're scaring Kito," Bango said, quivering with his head covered still.
"Sorry. It just seemed appropriate to the moment." Morake cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you two are sure to run into trouble if you get lost on the way to finding the tree." The cheetah puffed his chest out and grinned, "So you'll need me to get you there in one piece and on the first attempt. Besides, I'm bad at giving directions."
"Gee, I don't know..." Bango mumbled, still having his head covered.
Kito got up and lifted Bango's arms from his head. Then he lifted his eyelids open. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's got a point, Bango. We don't know the Pride Lands well enough to look for ourselves. We'll need a guide if we want to find Rafiki and, if he's alive, Uncle Titus."
"OK, OK, just let go of my eyelids." Kito stretched the warthog's eyelids out further, and then Bango quickly said, "Gently let go of my eyelids!"
"Aww, you're no fun." Kito gently released Bango's eyes, and then he cleared his throat and turned to Morake. "I just have one question to ask, Morake."
"Yes...?" Morake gulped.
"Are we going to be charged for this guided tour of the Pride Lands?"
Morake exhaled, a little relieved. "Nope. Do you wanna take a tour, or just go straight to the tree?"
"We're in a bit of a hurry, so let's just go with the tree," Bango said.
"Why are you in such a hurry to get back, Bango?" Kito frowned.
"I'm just trying to keep our absence from the oasis short. And the sooner we find Rafiki's tree, and the sooner he tells us Uncle Titus is not alive, we can relieve your sister from covering us."
"If she didn't rat on us already." Kito pulled Bango down to his level and growled, "And don't assume he's not alive, Mr. Mary Sunshine. Disappeared isn't the same as dead."
Morake stood between the two of them, blinking, very lost in the conversation. "Um... do you guys want me to leave so you can bicker alone?"
"We don't bicker," Kito grinned at Morake.
"Do too," Bango retorted.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
Morake rolled his eyes and laughed. "Are you guys done yet? Don't you want to go to Rafiki's tree?"
Both Kito and Bango gulped, realizing they forgot about going for a moment. They turned to Morake and nodded. "Lead the way." Morake chuckled and lead the way. The warthog and meerkat followed behind him, both muttering their "do not's" and "do too's."
To be continued...