Chapter 13:
Shani hummed to herself as she braided the hair at the end of a female warthog piglet's tail. She used a thin piece of vine to tie it in place and admired her work. "There we go, Barika. All done."
The warthog piglet looked back at her tail and swished it a bit, seeing it from a few sides. "Are you sure this time? You decorated my tail about thirty times already."
Shani tapped a foot, thinking. She then smiled and snapped her fingers, running over to a bush of yellow flowers. She plucked one out and then stuck it into the braid. "Now I'm done."
Barika looked at the addition and smiled. "Oh, that is so cute, Shani! But then, so were the other twenty-nine things you did today."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Barika. I was getting bored waiting for Daddy to come back to go hunting for the cream-filled grubs he likes with me and Uncle Pumbaa. I kinda expected him to be done talking to Grandma and Mom by now."
"Maybe he's helping Dad and Mom look for Bango. He wasn't in the nest this morning."
"Oh, really?" Shani gulped, and then she cleared her throat and furrowed her brow. "Well, if he just told me he was gonna join the search party I would've eaten by now. I missed breakfast and it's almost lunch!"
"Hakuna Matata. I'm sure they won't mind if we grab some grub without them, since they left us alone for three or four hours."
Shani giggled, "Yeah, they owe us that much." She walked alongside Barika as they walked away from the warthogs' nest.
"But you know I'm getting worried because of that fact. Why would they just leave us alone for this long?" Barika looked down at her cousin with a worried expression.
Shani only shrugged. "Maybe they're more focused on looking for Bango. You know how parents get when their kids go missing. I'll bet you five spiders Bango's off playing with Kito somewhere, because we haven't seen him today either."
"Kito's missing, too?"
"Hakuna Matata. He and Bango are around here somewhere. This is a big place that's easy to lose a couple of immature boys in."
"I guess you're right..."
Shani stopped and stepped in front of Barika. She patted Barika's snout with a grin, "Don't guess I'm right, Barika. Agree that I'm right."
Barika rolled her eyes slightly with a grimace. "Whatever you say, Shani." She looked ahead. "Hey, there's your Grandma Panya."
Shani looked and saw Ma walk over to them. "What are you two doing all alone?" Ma asked, tapping her foot.
"It's not our fault, Grandma. Daddy told me to wait for him and Uncle Pumbaa by the nest, and I've been waiting ever since I woke up," Shani helplessly shrugged. "You miss breakfast and at lunchtime, you usually get hungry, you know?"
Ma knelt down, licked a paw, and smoothed her granddaughter's hair. "We had a bit of an emergency and your mother didn't take it too well. I guess she forgot about you."
Shani tried to duck out from under Ma's paw. "Grandma, I don't need grooming."
"I don't know, Shani. You did sleep in a tree this morning," Barika grinned. The grin quickly cleared up when Shani shot her a lot.
"Humor me, sweetie. It'll keep me occupied while your father's gone," Ma said as she finished.
Shani glowered at her smoothed out hair, and then she shook her head to puff it up normally. "Daddy's gone?"
Ma covered her mouth. "Whoops. I shouldn't have said that. I don't want you to worry."
"Worry about what? Something happen to Bango?" Barika gulped.
"I'm telling you, Barika," Shani said impatiently, "Bango and Kito are fine! They're in the oasis somewhere! We just don't know where."
Ma grimaced. "I've been holding a lot of information lately, but this is important. Shani, Barika, your fathers believe your brothers have been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?!" Barika gasped.
"Kidnapped?" Shani blinked. "Where would they get an idea like that?"
"There were pup-size claw marks in the dirt, like struggle marks. And Pumbaa and Jina looked all over the oasis at least three times today and they never found them."
Claw marks? Shani was sure she saw Kito and Bango run straight into the desert. Why would they come back, for a midnight snack? She suddenly remembered she was midnight snacking last night, and she kicked up a lot of dirt chasing after some speedy bugs. Those claw marks they found must've been the ones I made last night.
"... So your fathers left to find the kidnappers and bring the boys back," Ma finished.
"Bango..." Barika lowered her eyes.
"Panya, I thought we wanted to keep this from the girls," Zuri said as she and Jina walked over.
"I'm sorry, Zuri, but I've been on an honesty streak since yesterday," Ma shrugged.
Jina walked over to Barika and gave her a loving nudge. "Don't worry, Barika. Daddy will find Bango."
"And Timon promised they'll be back soon... even if I have to find them and drag their tails back here myself," Zuri said, putting a paw on her hip.
"Are you sure they were kidnapped, Mom?" Shani asked, rubbing her paws together nervously.
"Those marks in the dirt were made by a pup, and your Uncle Sudi said his pups were in his nest all night." Zuri then thought of something. "That reminds me, why weren't you in the nest this morning?"
"I sleep-walked during the night," Shani said, putting her paws behind her back and crossing her fingers. "And I fell asleep in a tree."
"Then you didn't hear anything out of the ordinary? No kidnappers or anything?" Jina asked.
"No, no kidnappers..." She gulped. She didn't want to get into trouble, but she didn't want them to think Kito and Bango were in severe danger either. She tried to think of something to say without blurting too much. "But you know how weird Kito gets when he's had a lot of sugar? He comes up with these crazy ideas."
"Why are you going off-topic, Shani?" Barika asked, blinking.
"Is there something you're not telling us?" Jina asked, arching an eyebrow.
"May-be..." Shani squeaked.
"Shani..." Zuri put her paws on her hips. "I want the truth. You know where your brother and cousin are?"
"Well--"
"It's not right to lie to your mother, dear," Ma interrupted.
"But is it OK to break a promise to your brother?" Shani returned.
"Well, it's wrong to tell your brother that you'll lie."
"But it was a promise, brother to sister."
Zuri sighed, knelt down to her daughter, and put her paws on her shoulders. "Sweetie, I understand what you mean because I have a brother, but whatever I would promise him, if he was in danger, that would matter more to me than the promise." Shani looked away from her, to which Zuri put a paw under her chin to turn her face back to her. "You know what happened to Kito and Bango, don't you?"
Shani lowered her eyes and nodded.
"Then tell us."
To be continued...
Shani hummed to herself as she braided the hair at the end of a female warthog piglet's tail. She used a thin piece of vine to tie it in place and admired her work. "There we go, Barika. All done."
The warthog piglet looked back at her tail and swished it a bit, seeing it from a few sides. "Are you sure this time? You decorated my tail about thirty times already."
Shani tapped a foot, thinking. She then smiled and snapped her fingers, running over to a bush of yellow flowers. She plucked one out and then stuck it into the braid. "Now I'm done."
Barika looked at the addition and smiled. "Oh, that is so cute, Shani! But then, so were the other twenty-nine things you did today."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Barika. I was getting bored waiting for Daddy to come back to go hunting for the cream-filled grubs he likes with me and Uncle Pumbaa. I kinda expected him to be done talking to Grandma and Mom by now."
"Maybe he's helping Dad and Mom look for Bango. He wasn't in the nest this morning."
"Oh, really?" Shani gulped, and then she cleared her throat and furrowed her brow. "Well, if he just told me he was gonna join the search party I would've eaten by now. I missed breakfast and it's almost lunch!"
"Hakuna Matata. I'm sure they won't mind if we grab some grub without them, since they left us alone for three or four hours."
Shani giggled, "Yeah, they owe us that much." She walked alongside Barika as they walked away from the warthogs' nest.
"But you know I'm getting worried because of that fact. Why would they just leave us alone for this long?" Barika looked down at her cousin with a worried expression.
Shani only shrugged. "Maybe they're more focused on looking for Bango. You know how parents get when their kids go missing. I'll bet you five spiders Bango's off playing with Kito somewhere, because we haven't seen him today either."
"Kito's missing, too?"
"Hakuna Matata. He and Bango are around here somewhere. This is a big place that's easy to lose a couple of immature boys in."
"I guess you're right..."
Shani stopped and stepped in front of Barika. She patted Barika's snout with a grin, "Don't guess I'm right, Barika. Agree that I'm right."
Barika rolled her eyes slightly with a grimace. "Whatever you say, Shani." She looked ahead. "Hey, there's your Grandma Panya."
Shani looked and saw Ma walk over to them. "What are you two doing all alone?" Ma asked, tapping her foot.
"It's not our fault, Grandma. Daddy told me to wait for him and Uncle Pumbaa by the nest, and I've been waiting ever since I woke up," Shani helplessly shrugged. "You miss breakfast and at lunchtime, you usually get hungry, you know?"
Ma knelt down, licked a paw, and smoothed her granddaughter's hair. "We had a bit of an emergency and your mother didn't take it too well. I guess she forgot about you."
Shani tried to duck out from under Ma's paw. "Grandma, I don't need grooming."
"I don't know, Shani. You did sleep in a tree this morning," Barika grinned. The grin quickly cleared up when Shani shot her a lot.
"Humor me, sweetie. It'll keep me occupied while your father's gone," Ma said as she finished.
Shani glowered at her smoothed out hair, and then she shook her head to puff it up normally. "Daddy's gone?"
Ma covered her mouth. "Whoops. I shouldn't have said that. I don't want you to worry."
"Worry about what? Something happen to Bango?" Barika gulped.
"I'm telling you, Barika," Shani said impatiently, "Bango and Kito are fine! They're in the oasis somewhere! We just don't know where."
Ma grimaced. "I've been holding a lot of information lately, but this is important. Shani, Barika, your fathers believe your brothers have been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?!" Barika gasped.
"Kidnapped?" Shani blinked. "Where would they get an idea like that?"
"There were pup-size claw marks in the dirt, like struggle marks. And Pumbaa and Jina looked all over the oasis at least three times today and they never found them."
Claw marks? Shani was sure she saw Kito and Bango run straight into the desert. Why would they come back, for a midnight snack? She suddenly remembered she was midnight snacking last night, and she kicked up a lot of dirt chasing after some speedy bugs. Those claw marks they found must've been the ones I made last night.
"... So your fathers left to find the kidnappers and bring the boys back," Ma finished.
"Bango..." Barika lowered her eyes.
"Panya, I thought we wanted to keep this from the girls," Zuri said as she and Jina walked over.
"I'm sorry, Zuri, but I've been on an honesty streak since yesterday," Ma shrugged.
Jina walked over to Barika and gave her a loving nudge. "Don't worry, Barika. Daddy will find Bango."
"And Timon promised they'll be back soon... even if I have to find them and drag their tails back here myself," Zuri said, putting a paw on her hip.
"Are you sure they were kidnapped, Mom?" Shani asked, rubbing her paws together nervously.
"Those marks in the dirt were made by a pup, and your Uncle Sudi said his pups were in his nest all night." Zuri then thought of something. "That reminds me, why weren't you in the nest this morning?"
"I sleep-walked during the night," Shani said, putting her paws behind her back and crossing her fingers. "And I fell asleep in a tree."
"Then you didn't hear anything out of the ordinary? No kidnappers or anything?" Jina asked.
"No, no kidnappers..." She gulped. She didn't want to get into trouble, but she didn't want them to think Kito and Bango were in severe danger either. She tried to think of something to say without blurting too much. "But you know how weird Kito gets when he's had a lot of sugar? He comes up with these crazy ideas."
"Why are you going off-topic, Shani?" Barika asked, blinking.
"Is there something you're not telling us?" Jina asked, arching an eyebrow.
"May-be..." Shani squeaked.
"Shani..." Zuri put her paws on her hips. "I want the truth. You know where your brother and cousin are?"
"Well--"
"It's not right to lie to your mother, dear," Ma interrupted.
"But is it OK to break a promise to your brother?" Shani returned.
"Well, it's wrong to tell your brother that you'll lie."
"But it was a promise, brother to sister."
Zuri sighed, knelt down to her daughter, and put her paws on her shoulders. "Sweetie, I understand what you mean because I have a brother, but whatever I would promise him, if he was in danger, that would matter more to me than the promise." Shani looked away from her, to which Zuri put a paw under her chin to turn her face back to her. "You know what happened to Kito and Bango, don't you?"
Shani lowered her eyes and nodded.
"Then tell us."
To be continued...