Sheesh, that glitch in the FF.N system was a real pain. Last time I checked it still said I had 24 chapters on the main page and the latest reviews haven't shown up on the page. Anyway, wanted to confirm a few things about Chapter 16. It was not Rafiki who saved Kito from the animal chasing him. It was the Nunda, the thing with the big bellowing roar. Also, I never said what kind of voice the animal had. No mention of "gruff" in that chapter. Sorry, JLASnoopy1. And Sly was the figure approaching Kito when he passed out. We clear? If not, all the other questions will be made clear in future chapters. Now get to reading!
Chapter 26:
Timon walked outside of the caves, tossing a pebble up into the air and catching it several times. He was mumbling various unintelligible things as he tossed the stone across the dirt and turned away. He sat down on a larger rock, hiked his knee up, and rested an arm on it. He heard a clinking noise and felt something bump into the rock he was sitting on. He looked and saw an empty snail shell spinning in place. He looked up when he heard some fast approaching footsteps and screamed, covering his head.
Morake growled and pounced on the snail shell, missing Timon by mere inches. He batted the shell between his paws a few times and tossed it into the air, catching it between both of his paws. He dropped it back on the ground and batted it away from Timon, chasing after it.
Pumbaa trotted up to Timon, who still had his head covered. He poked him. "It's OK, Timon. Morake's just playing."
Timon uncovered his head and watched as Morake batted the snail shell around. "Yeah, with his food," he said dryly. He blew some air out his mouth. "Where are Jina and Bango?"
"They went to the Pride Lands to look for other meerkat colonies because we couldn't find any out here... you know, just in case Titus wasn't in this colony. Is he?"
Timon scoffed, "No one here goes by the name Titus. Then we figured he was probably named something other than his real name, so I asked around and no one here has picked up a stray pup 6 years ago."
"Well, we figured Titus was probably walking through the Outlands when Rafiki did his spell because we couldn't find any other colonies," Pumbaa said as he sat down next to Timon.
"Did you look everywhere?"
"Well, no. There are scary places around here... like that green place with the geysers and marching hyenas." He looked around the area briefly and cleared his throat. "Not to mention I didn't want to stay out there knowing that creature is somewhere nearby."
Timon sighed and rested his chin in his paw. "Just as well. We don't know what name Titus is answering to now anyway."
"Yup."
"So why'd you get stuck with the miniature claws and fangs over there?" Timon pointed his thumb over at Morake, who was far enough away not to hear. Even if he was close enough, he wouldn't be listening. He was having too much fun playing with the snail shell. "Jina didn't want him following her?"
"Uh, no, actually. You remember I told you my family was killed by a band of cheetah brothers when I was young, so I'm trying to remember not all members of the same species are the same. I know he's just a cub, but--"
"Pumbaa, he's not much different than Simba." Timon blinked, "Wait, Simba ran away from his family. Are you sure this cub doesn't have a home to go to?"
"Bango told us Morake's mother died in her sleep a few weeks ago. He didn't learn how to hunt, so he had to eat grass and fruit until Kito and Bango showed him how to catch bugs."
"Good. Then maybe the kids won't ask us to keep him."
Pumbaa didn't respond to that. He tried thinking of something else to say. "Anyway, Jina explained what that hugging thing was about. I'm guessing you already know." He paused when he heard Timon growl. "I'll take that as a yes." Pumbaa nervously smiled, "So, how are things holding up?"
"Oh, things are just fine for some people I'm associated with, but I have been better." Timon looked over at the caves and growled. "I mean, of all the colonies in all of lands in all the world, Zuri's Sly had to be in this one. Why couldn't Zuri just wait for us to come home instead of coming here and reuniting with her ex?"
"If she hadn't come, you'd still be accusing him of kidnapping our sons."
Timon crossed his legs and folded his arms in front of his chest. "So? Maybe I liked accusing him. It'd give me another excuse to tackle him... even if he did save Kito from that Nunda thing."
Pumbaa furrowed his brow. "Timon, I'm surprised at you. You're suppose to be grateful and find a way to make it up to Sly for saving your son. At least try to get along with him."
"I would if he wasn't Zuri's old boyfriend. And Zuri's getting way too friendly with him," Timon growled.
"Maybe she's testing you, seeing how trusting you are."
Timon stood and pulled Pumbaa's face down to his level, staring at the warthog right in the face. "Oh, I trust her; it's Sylvester I don't trust."
"Sylvester? I thought we were talking about Sly."
"We are. Sly is short for Sylvester." Timon leaned his weight on the front of the warthog's snout. "I don't know, Pumbaa. I trust Zuri, but she's gotten so wrapped up with that guy I think she even forgot she needed to talk to me about the 'L' word."
Pumbaa tilted his head slightly. "I'm sure she remembers, but she probably wants to spend as much time getting reacquainted with Sly as she can before we find Titus and leave. Unless she asks him to come back with us, she doesn't want to waste the time we're spending here by talking to you."
Timon growled and climbed onto Pumbaa's snout, approaching his eyes. "She had better not ask him to come back with us! And if she thinks spending more time with that jerk is more important than talking to me about love, then--!" He gasped, slapping a paw over his mouth. He removed it slowly. "Pumbaa, correct me if I'm wrong, but--"
"Did you just say love without stumbling again?" Pumbaa finished his friend's sentence for him. "I'm very sure I heard you say it."
Timon rubbed his chin for a moment, and then cleared his throat. "La--luh--li--" Timon coughed and smacked himself in the forehead. "D'oh!"
Pumbaa grimaced and shook his head. "You weren't thinking about saying it when you said it, were you?"
"Actually... I was." He sat down on Pumbaa's snout. "Maybe now I can only say it when I'm mad."
"I think it's because you think that your relationship is in jeopardy and your brain's allowing that word to escape your lips un-stuttered. You must be jealous of Sly getting Zuri's attention."
Timon pouted his lips for a moment and dropped down from Pumbaa's snout. "Pumbaa, I've got something very important to tell you. I need to know you're paying attention, OK?"
Pumbaa lowered his head down to his level. "I'm listening."
"Good. Come here." Timon wiggled his finger, signaling Pumbaa to lower his ear to Timon. Timon took hold of one ear, cleared his throat, and then shouted into it, "I DON'T GET JEALOUS!"
Pumbaa winced and pulled his head away from Timon, rubbing his ear. "My... mistake."
"He has his fiance, Zuri has me. I'm closer to saying the 'L' word without trouble, so everything will be fine as soon as we find Titus and get back to the oasis."
"But how are we going to find Titus when he probably doesn't even know that's his real name?"
"The same way Kito and Bango found out he was alive: we'll go to Rafiki." He climbed up onto Pumbaa's back. "I've got a closer blood match than Kito, so it may be more accurate at pinpointing his exact location. And besides, this'll give me an excuse not to try getting along with Sly."
Pumbaa grimaced and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Timon." He walked over to Morake, who was still playing with the snail shell. He put a hoof over the shell, getting the cheetah's attention. "Morake, keep an eye on things. We'll be back later."
Morake swished his tail from side to side and blinked. "You just got here. Where are you going?"
"Hopefully we're going to find the real location of my brother," Timon said as he pulled on Pumbaa's ears. Pumbaa kicked the shell for Morake to chase as he ran back towards the Pride Lands.
Morake watched after them with a confused expression. "Real location? But..." His expression changed to a sad one. "Rafiki's never wrong. Mom said so. Titus is here in this colony... isn't he? Mom was right... wasn't she?" He looked at the shell that Pumbaa had tossed for him to chase, and he just walked by it, suddenly not in the playing mood.
To be continued...