All right, 6 reviews in one day! I haven't had that happen forever! Thanks, TookBaggins! As for that "Darla Dimple quote" thing: it seemed like a good closing line. Couldn't think of anything original, what can I say? Only that Sudi didn't say it like Darla did. Kiara32, well, nice to know I'm still good at something... but the past chapter updates came from complete boredom, having nothing better to do, and total concentration. Next week my Dad's getting a hernia surgery, so I won't get much concentration for a while. Anyway, let's review the current story title votes:

Out of the Blue: 3 votes

With the Wind: 4 votes

His Brother's Keeper: 1 vote

Well, With the Wind is still in the lead. Though Cathy brings up a good point as to why I should keep Out of the Blue. Hmm... now I'm not sure... Maybe Out of the Windy Blue? ... Nah.

Chapter 22:

"Sly? You mean that was Zuri's Sly?"

"I'm very sure it was," Jina said to Pumbaa as they walked through the Outlands. Bango and Morake were running ahead of them, chasing a few wondering insects. "Same stripes, same height, same hair color, and the fact that his father Sengbe was there as well."

Bango looked back at his parents as Morake continued to chase after the insects. "So why are they here in the Outlands instead of with us in the oasis?" he asked.

Jina clicked her tongue. "Well, Bango, the reason for that started a few years ago, before Uncle Timon and your father met Aunt Zuri and me."

"Go 'head. We're not busy," Morake said as he dropped a paw on a bug, scooped it up, and dropped it into his mouth.

Pumbaa grimaced slightly at the cheetah. "Why did he have to find a cheetah?" he mumbled to himself. He turned back to Jina. "I remember hearing about Sly, but what about his father?"

"Sengbe learned of Sly's banishment, and demanded the reason from Shomari." Jina shrugged, "It was the same reason he would normally give: he wasn't worthy enough to stay in the colony or marry his daughter. No one ever thought it was a good reason. He always disliked Sly for one reason or another. Sengbe said he was tired of living under Shomari's ruling, ever since he fought his way into the mob."

"He was there before Shomari came into the colony?" Pumbaa asked.

"Older than Shomari and belonged to one of the alpha couples allowed to have pups. Three of the four pups he and his mate had in the last litter had died of illness or eaten by predators, and Sly was the only survivor of that litter."

"Gee, no wonder he wasn't too happy about Sly's banishment."

"Yes, and because of his age he wouldn't stand a chance against Shomari, so ignoring his wife's pleas he left to go after Sly and make sure he wouldn't lose him by some horrible death." She shook her head sadly. "His wife only lasted a week before she died of a broken heart."

"Oh, so if Sly wasn't banished, he'd be my uncle instead of Uncle Timon?" Bango asked as he tried to snatch a bug scurrying by. He missed it.

Pumbaa blinked and looked at Jina, "I don't think it would, would it?"

"Well, he would be Kito's father, but other than that, it was because of Timon that we all met. So you wouldn't even be born, Bango," Jina said.

Bango gulped. "So I wouldn't be alive if you didn't meet? But living is basically all I do!"

"That and letting Kito drag you out here," Morake said as he got down low and pounced at some bugs nearby. He continued to try pouncing on them as they headed towards a termite mound.

"Don't remind me."

Pumbaa watched Morake pounce and continued to feel a bit uncomfortable. Jina caught wind of this and nudged him lightly. "What's the matter?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pumbaa asked softly, gesturing over to Morake. "I've told you about what happened to my family when I was young."

Jina looked at Morake, and then watched as Bango walked over to him and sniffed at the base of the termite mound they stopped by. "Since when have you turned your back on someone in need?"

Pumbaa wrinkled his brow slightly. "I'm not turning my back on anyone, Jina. But who said Morake was in need?"

"Think about it. He's about four months old and his mother's no where in sight."

"Well, maybe he forgot about her when he found Kito and Bango and decided to play with them. It happened to Kito."

Jina shook her head. "Pumbaa, look at how skinny he is. Even if he left his mother yesterday you wouldn't see right through him."

"So you think he doesn't have a mother to give him food?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He probably thought of catching bugs after he met Kito and Bango. But we both know there aren't as many bugs out in the Pride Lands as there is back home." They watched as Morake reached into a hole in the termite mound. "He's an orphaned cub with almost no hunting instincts and Bango's already called him friend." She looked directly at Pumbaa. "Is your fear and hatred of cheetahs going to keep you from treating him as an equal, like you treat everyone?"

Pumbaa looked at her, and then he watched as Bango snatch the bug Morake fished out of the termite mound. "Well, I guess a cheetah isn't that much different from a lion. And if we could teach a lion to live on grubs, we can teach a cheetah, right?"

Jina smiled and gave him a loving nudge. "Right." Pumbaa returned the favor.

"He's deep in here," Morake growled as he continued to reach into the mound.

"Can't you blow him out? Get a lot of termites while you're at it," Bango said as he watched over Morake's shoulder.

Morake moved to pull his arm out, but then he blinked. "Wait a second." He pawed inside the mound until he pulled something out of the hole and batted it out onto the ground. "That doesn't look like something you'd normally find in a termite mound."

"Mom, Dad, c'mhere!" Bango called over to Pumbaa and Jina.

Pumbaa and Jina trotted over to them. "What's wrong?" Jina asked.

"You know bug behavior better than I do, so could you tell us why there was a snail shell inside a termite mound?" Bango asked as he pushed the object in question over to them with his snout.

Pumbaa turned the shell over, peering inside. "It's empty." He sniffed it and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm very sure termites don't eat snails."

"Maybe a local Outlands meerkat ate the snail and just decided to stuffed it inside?" Jina asked.

"Lazy litterbug."

"Outland meerkats are weird," Morake said, blinking.

"Another question: do termites mounds have limbs like trees?" Bango asked, poking at some sticks on the ground.

"No, but termites do eat wood. I would've thought they'd bring them inside to snack on instead of leaving them out here," Pumbaa said, eying the sticks.

"But there aren't any trees out here," Jina said, looking around. "Where would they get them from without walking all the way to the Pride Lands?"

Pumbaa shook his head, "The Outlands are full of mysteries. Maybe we'd better move on. We gotta find Titus for Timon." He received a round of nods before they walked away from the termite mound.

To be continued...