Chapter 32:
The moon was high overhead by the time Sly finally came down from the roof. He slid down the root hanging from the skylight and dropped down silently. He blinked once when he noticed the nest he landed next to had only one sleeping occupant in it: Kito. He shook it off quickly as he walked away to find an unoccupied nest, which he would normally find deeper into the cave. He came to an abrupt stop when Sengbe stepped in front of him.
"Oh, uh, hey, Pop," Sly blinked. He noticed his father's expression and added, "I'm guessing you're not here to say good night."
"You'd be correct. What's this I've been hearing from Yasmin about certain dreams of yours?" Sengbe asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"I can't control what I dream. I blame the termite-only diet," Sly shrugged.
"I don't. Because of those dreams you've been neglecting your fiancée. I can't let you do that, not after all the trouble I've gone to."
Sly scoffed as he went to walk around him. "You arranged a marriage so we would have a place to call home. I would've been happy if we just kept walking and earn a place to stay."
Sengbe grabbed Sly's shoulder, keeping him where he was. "There have been other arrangements as well, son. Things I've done on your behalf."
Sly slapped the paw from his shoulder and said with a growl, "I haven't asked you to do anything for me!"
"No, you're right... you haven't because you've been too busy spending the most recent hours with Shomari's daughter."
"Is it illegal to get reacquainted with an old friend now?"
"Depends on the occasion... and the fact that your old friend has crossed into forbidden territories where only Yasmin is allowed."
Sly sneered, "Oh, your spies are good."
"They are for your own protection. Don't you realize that if word gets out about that incident that girl could cost you your position in the colony? I want you to live the position I never had... because of that rat Shomari. He killed my brother and took the position I was suppose to get."
"Believe it or not, I don't care about my position in this colony anymore, Pop. Because I'm not like you... and I never will be."
Sengbe's eyes widened as Sly began to walk around him to get past. Sengbe snarled, grabbed Sly by the throat, and pushed him against the cave wall. It happened so fast Sly didn't see it coming. He clenched his teeth and tried to pull his father's paw from his throat. "Don't be so sure about that, pup! You got your genes from me, after all." He tightened his grip on his son's neck as he leaned closer to him, growling. "You're not the master of your fate, Sylvester. Sons take after their fathers, whether you like it or not. Like father, like son."
Sly managed to pry Sengbe's paw from his throat. He collapsed to the ground and coughed, rubbing his throat. He glared up at his father. "Don't assume that just because you had a part in my existence that I'm anything like you. Right now... I wouldn't wish those words on my worst enemy." He rose to his feet and dusted himself off.
"You don't know what you're saying." Sengbe went to put his paw on Sly's shoulder again, only for it to be dusted off by Sly.
"I don't know a lot of things anymore, so don't complicate things any further, Pop." With that, Sly turned on his heels and walked in the opposite direction of where he was headed.
Sengbe watched him until he was out of sight. Three meerkats appeared behind him. "He's lost all sense of reason because of that Zuri," one said.
"Sylvester has been made a full-fledged member of this colony. Fraternizing with outside meerkats, even meerkats from his former colony, is considered treason. If Khairi learns of this, your son will be marked as a traitor and put to death," the second said.
Sengbe gasped softly and turned to the meerkats. "No. His mother would turn in her grave if he died in that way! Tell me what I have to do!"
"You already know the answer, Sengbe," the third meerkat said. "Zuri has already gotten in the way, and you know what Khairi expects."
The old meerkat sighed and turned away from them. "What Khairi doesn't know won't kill him. The girl gets one last chance. If she gets too close to Sylvester--"
"What about the rest of her party?" the first meerkat asked.
"You can't do anything against the warthogs or cheetah. We'd have to send them away, by the Nunda's roar perhaps. Her brother, mate, and son, on the other hand... well, their only crime is being associated with her, or share the same blood. Unless they put up a fight, you do nothing to them. Until then, if she gets too close to Sylvester..." He sneered and said in a low voice, "I want her head on a platter."
The three meerkats bowed and backed away from him. "As you wish it."
To be continued...