Kion still looked a little guilty in this nice, cozy cae that Sokwe and the other mountain gorillas call their humble home. He really didn't mean hurt Rani this way. He never meant any harm like that at all.
Meanwhile, the humans were looking at how wondrous and beautiful this cave looked on the inside.
There were so many gorillas galore. Males, females, juveniles, and babies as far as the eye can see. Tara was pulling out here cellphone to take as much pictures and selfies as possible on her phone. Many gorillas were confused at what she was doing, since they have never seen a cellphone before.
"Is your flash off, honey?" Joel asked her.
"Yes dad. it's off. I don't want to scare anyone with the flash." Tara replied
"Good." Joel was just as amazed as his three family members. "Just look at it in here." he said. "It's so beautiful." he himself took some pictures as well, but not as much as he daughter, who was apparently glued to thay little screen of hers.
Most teenage female humans seem to he addicted to those kind of devices.
The other gorillas were a little nervous to see a hyena in their own home, but as they see he is friends with Kion, they start to try and accept him a little more. After all, Sokwe said that Heri is a friend.
If the whole gorilla family couldn't trust Kion and his family, then they can at least trust their own beloved leader.
Chris looked at Kion, still looking a little glum. "You ok, Kion?" he asked
"Yeah Chris i'm fine." the cub sighed.
"So how many gorillas live in here,?" asked Persephone.
"Around fifty of them." Sokwe answered. "It is our own safehaven from any incoming blizzards or snowstorms."
"Well, there's no snowstorm now." said Kovu. "I don't think their is."
"I checked." said Majinuni. "Area's cold aa always, but just some regular snowfall."
"Yep. You guys should have seen that blizzard a month ago." Hafifu added. "We basically got snowed in for three days."
"What? You guys didn't eat anything for that long?" Chris said in surprise.
"Nope." Sokwe answered. "But we gorillas are strong animals, and we can fast for a little while and eat so much vegetation. Of course, more vegetation would be at the valley below the mountaintops. Sometimes we would rest down there to get away from the harsh blizzards where it's nice and cozy if we are unable to come back to the cave."
"That's cool." said Chris.
"So can you humans tell me more about yourselves?" Sokwe asked
"We can. But we can't really describe everything." Joel admitted, taking a seat on a lone, flat stone, and laying his rifle down next to him. "So, we humans are a very... complex species." he began talking to the large group of apes who sat in front of him like he was going to be a good tale-bearer. "We humans come from the same family as gorillas, but we're differejr species of apes than gorillas." he pulled out his smartphone and opened his screen. "Now don't be scared when i show you, but here is an illustration of how humans evolved over the course of the countless years."
A couple of the great apes got a little frightened by how bright the screen was showing them, but quickly realized that jt wasn't hurting them.
"Ooh, shiny." said a female gorilla.
"So sparkly" a large male gorilla added. "Just look at those colors."
Joel showed them other photos of human beings and how they would normally live in there lifestyles. The gorillas, along with Kion, Heri, and the lions were impressed with the structures that they created in the background.
Yes, they were out of the ordinary for these animals to look at. "Looks like no jungle we've ever seen." said Kiara
"We can call it a concrete jungle." said Tara.
"That's what we call cities." Chris pointed. "It's like a whole new environment. And a little noisy."
"I'll say." Kiara chuckled. "How do you catch food in this kind of place?"
"It's complicated." Persephone said. "But at our home, we use something to purchase food called currency, and our currency is dollars."
"You humans never cease to amaze us." said Kion. "This is something really different. I mean, it's almost like you're not animals at all."
"That's what many people think, Kion." said Joel. "But believe it or not, we are animals. Many humans just don't realize that."
"Isn't there any trees or grass in your home?" asked Heri
"Yeah, there are places in our home where humans don't live in." said Chris.
"Nice." Kovu said.
The whole gorilla family, and Heri were becoming more amazed by the humans as much as the lions were. Joel showed them more pictures and intriguing photos of humans and how they lived. In the mean time, the humans made themselves more at home in the warmness of the cave and got to chat with some gorillas.
Heri was just ejoying a nice little fire that Persephone made inside to keep him warm. The other gorillas were amazed at how humans could create fire like that and dozens of them crowded around it to keep themselves warm in the cold.
"Oh this is nice." said Heri. "Nice to get away from the cold like this on here."
"I'll say." another male gorilla concured with him.
Kion noticed Rani sitting and laying in the corner of the cave and not really saying a word. He really hated seeing her girlfriend like this and went over to try and talk to her again. "Rani?"
"Leave me alone." Rani said flatly.
"Look, I know you're still mad at me, but I want to tell you how sorry I am. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Just tell me what I can do."
Rani was silent again and after ten long seconds of silence, she said: "Well, maybe we can still go out and enjoy a walk in the snow."
Smiling with hope, Kion said: "Sure, we can still do that. I told you I didn't forget our date, right?"
"Yeah." she sighed. "You did say that." she got back up and stood on all fours.
"Just let me know when you're ready to do that, and we can go out there in the snow."
"We can go out there right now." she smiled at him. "But we should at least tell everyone before we head out there."
"Yeah, good idea. Kiara and Kovu worry about me, and the last thing I want is: them freaking out and thinking I was missing."
Rani made a small laugh before saying: "Can't be as bad as my parents worrying about me. They would never let me leave their side again. Grr, having royal parents in your life can be a blessing, Kion. But's a curse too."
"No, Rani, you're right." Kion admitted. "So come on, the day's still young for us."
"Sure, Kion." Both of them came up to Kiara and Kovu to tell them whatbl they were going to do now.
"We're fine with that, guys." said Kiara nicely. "Just be careful out there."
"We will Kiara. We always are." said Kion. "You worry too much."
"I know, Kion." Kiara sighed. "But, hey, someone has to look after you."
Heading out into the snowy atmosphere, there was still snowfall happening right now. "Brr, still cold out here." Rani said.
"Just be careful out there, ok?" said Kiara. "In case there is an avalanche, or if the Lion's Bane comes back-"
She was soothed by a gentle touch by her mate. "Kiara, it's ok." said Kovu. "Kion knows exactly what he's doing."
"Right. Sorry."
The skies were still cloudy and it was a peaceful walk out here in the mountains. "So, are we good now Rani?"
"Mostly." Kion's girlfriend said. "But we'll see how it goes."
"Good."
They were strolling side by side without leaving one another. "So how are your parents doing?" Rani asked him
"Same as always." Kion replied. "Doing royal things, trying to run the kingdom, so on so forth."
"Heh. Same with my parents. They're probably worrying about me too much right now."
"haven't they given you more space, Rani?"
"Yes. But they can be a little overzealous a few times. But yeah, i'm glad they gave me more space than before."
"Well this is nice." Kion smiled at her. "You know, i feel like i owe you for trying to save me from Inuwa."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Really." Rani flushed. "He overpowered me and knocked me out cold."
"Granted, he was more powerful than you, but you still tried help me because you love me. And i love you too."
Rani flustered somd more and said: "Oh Kion. You never cease to be the sweatest lion I know." she hugged him close to her to show appreciation for his kind attitude. Granted, she was still not completely mad at him anymore, but the anger was slowly going away.
