*Chapter 13: Timon and Pumbaa*
Out in the distant desert lied the bodies of both Simba and Ajani. After a whole night of running away from the Pride Lands as well as the Savannah, the two collapsed out of exhaustion. Ajani weaken opened his eyes and let out a groan. He slowly reached for Simba's paw, trying to wake him up.
"Simba..." Ajani spoke in a weak voice. He tried to get up, but the heat is too much. As the hot sun continued to blaze down on them, a large group of vultures started flying around them and soon landed right next to the pair, preparing to pick and eat at their flesh. Ajani tried to fight them off, but no avail. He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a few started to fly away as a warthog came charging with a meerkat riding on his back and they both yelled out.
"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The meerkat jumped off the warthog and kicked the vultures while the warthog headbutted them and kicked at them with his hindlegs as the meerkat shouted.
"Get out! Get outta here!" The vultures flew away. Ajani groaned and opened his eyes a bit to see them.
"I love bowling for buzzards!" The warthog spoke.
"Gets 'em every time!" The meerkat replied laughing as he dusted himself off. Ajani groaned again as the hot sun hits his eyes, making him pass out once more. The meerkat's laughter was soon cut short as the warthog spoke with concern while looking down at the lion cub and the human boy.
"Uh oh! Hey, Timon! You better come look! I think they're still alive!" The warthog said. Timon shuddered and started walking over to the unconscious figures.
"Alrighty, what have we got here?" Timon came close to the pair and sniffed at them, brushing back some of the boy's dreadlocks out of his face and then turning his gaze to the lion cub as he used his strength to lift his paw off of the cub's head. Taking a glance at the lion cub and then the boy's faces, Timon shouted in a panic while tripping over the cub's paw. "Geez! It's a lion! And a human!" The meerkat climbs onto the warthog's back and urges him to leave. "Run, Pumbaa! Move it!"
"Hey! Timon! It's just a little lion, and the human doesn't seem so bad. Look at them! He's so cute and all alone! And the human is a handsome young fellow! Can we keep them?" Pumbaa said to Timon with a smile.
"Pumbaa, are you nuts?!" Timon exclaimed. "You're talking about a lion! Lions eat guys like us! And not to mention, humans are the most dangerous! Look at the spear he has! He could use it to kill us!"
"But the lion is so little, and the human cub doesn't look like he could hurt anyone." Pumbaa argued.
"The lion will be even bigger than the human." Timon told him.
"Maybe they'll be on our side." Pumbaa suggested. Timon scoffed at his friend's idea.
"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! Maybe they'll be-" The meerkat stopped himself and followed Pumbaa's idea. "Hey, I got it! What if they're on our side? Ya know, having a lion and a human around might not be such a bad idea."
"So we're keepin' them?" Pumbaa asked as he picked up an unconscious Simba with his tusks.
"Of course. Now who's the brains of this outfit?" Timon asked. Pumbaa paused in confusion.
"Uhh..."
"My point exactly. Geez! I'm fried. Let's get them out of here and find some shade." Timon and Pumbaa carried Simba out of the desert and into an oasis. Once Pumbaa came back with Ajani in his tusks, he set him down in the shade and Timon began splashing him and Simba in the face with water, rousing them from their unconscious state. Ajani moaned a bit, feeling the cool water on his face.
"Hm? What...? You..." Ajani tried to find the right words, but he is groggy.
"You okay, kids?" Timon asked.
"I guess so?" Simba replied. Ajani sat up and gathered water by cupping his hands and started to drink.
"You two nearly died." Pumbaa said to them.
"I saved you." Timon said. Earning a snort from Pumbaa, Timon added begrudgingly. "Well, Pumbaa helped. A little." Simba and Ajani got up.
"Well, thank you for saving us." Ajani said. "Come on, little brother." The two started to walk away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Timon asked.
"Nowhere." Simba replied glumly.
"Gee, they look blue." Timon said as he and Pumbaa watched them.
"I'd say the lion looks brownish gold, and the human cub looks darkish brown." Pumbaa said.
"No, no, no. I mean they're depressed." Timon said, shaking his head.
"Oh." Pumbaa said. He and Timon came up to the pair. "Hey kids, what's eatin' ya?" Pumbaa asked, sitting beside Simba.
"Nothing! They're on top of the food chain!" Timon chimed in. He began laughing really hard at his joke while Pumbaa looked to him sadly. Timon cleared his throat after he realized the joke fell flat. "So, where ya from?"
"Who cares? We can't go back." Simba replied.
"Ahh. You're outcasts! That's great, so are we." Timon said.
"What'cha do kids?" Pumbaa asked.
"It's not what we did. It was what...he did. But we don't want to talk about it." Ajani replied.
"Good! We don't wanna hear about it." Timon said, crossing his arms.
"Come on, Timon!" Pumbaa urged before turning to the lion cub and the boy. "Anything we can do?"
"Not unless you can change the past." Simba replied sadly.
"You know, kids, in times like this my buddy Timon here says, 'You gotta put your behind in your past...'" Ajani raised a brow. Timon waved his arms.
"No! No! No!" He chimed in. "Amateur. Lie down before you hurt yourself." Timon turned his attention to Simba and Ajani. "It's 'You gotta put your past behind ya.' Look, kids. Bad things happen, and you can't do a thing about it, right?"
"Right." Simba said.
"I guess." Ajani said.
"Wrong!" Timon replied while poking Simba in the nose. "When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world."
"That's not what I was taught." Simba said. Ajani only shrugged.
"Then maybe you two need a new lesson. Repeat after me..." Timon cleared his throat. "Hakuna Matata."
"What?" Simba and Ajani asked in confusion.
"Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta. It means 'No worries.'" Pumbaa answered. Following their motto, Timon began to sing.
"Hakuna Matata,
What a wonderful phrase!"
Simba and Ajani stared at the meerkat in silent but intrigued by the words. Ajani never heard such words. Pumbaa sang to them.
"Hakuna Matata,
Ain't no passing craze!"
Timon sang while he and Pumbaa started guiding Simba and Ajani back into the jungle.
"It means no worries for the rest of your days,
It's our problem-free philosophy!"
The two sang while Pumbaa provided Simba and Ajani some shade from a palm tree branch, and Timon began filing down Simba's claws.
"Hakuna Matata!"
"Hakuna Matata?" Simba asked.
"Yeah, it's our motto!" Pumbaa replied with a nod.
"What's a motto?" Ajani asked.
"Nothing! What's a motto with you?" Timon joked. He and Pumbaa began laughing hard at the joke. Ajani smiled a bit.
"You know, kids. These two words will solve all your problems." Pumbaa spoke.
"That's right! Take Pumbaa for example." Timon said. He began to sing again.
"Why, when he was a young warthog..."
Pumbaa sang in a rather operatic way. Ajani winced a bit as Simba's ear went back.
"When I was a young warthog!"
"Very nice." Timon says rubbing his ears.
"Thanks!"
"He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal,
He could clear the Savannah after every meal."
"I am a sensitive soul,
Though I seem thick-skinned.
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind.
And oh, the shame!"
"He was ashamed!"
"I thought of changing my name!"
"Oh, what's in a name!"
"And I got downhearted!"
"How did you feel?"
"Every time that I-"
Timon interrupted while covering Pumbaa's mouth.
"Hey, Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!"
"Oh... Sorry." Pumbaa replied with a sheepish smile. Simba and Ajani both exchanged glances of confusion towards each other as Timon and Pumbaa proceeded to sing while swinging along on a vine.
"Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase!
Hakuna Matata,
Ain't no passing craze!"
Beginning to warm up to the philosophy, Simba sang. Ajani smiled as he tapped his foot.
"It means no worries!
For the rest of your days!"
"Yeah! Sing it, kid!" Timon said while joining the two. "Come on, Ajani! Sing it with us!" Ajani knew he had to join in. He sang with them.
"It's our problem-free..."
Pumbaa sang as he joined the three.
"Philosophy!"
Altogether, Simba, Ajani, Timon and Pumbaa sang.
"Hakuna Matata!"
Leading them towards a bush, Timon pulls back a fern leaf, showing both Simba and Ajani a view of the rift-jungle. It has waterfalls and rugged terrain, making it a beautiful sight to see. Simba and Ajani are in awe. They've never seen a beautiful jungle like this before.
"Welcome... To our humble home." Timon spoke.
"You live here?" Simba asked as he is gazing at the view.
"We live wherever we want." Timon replied.
"Yep! Home is where your rump rests." Pumbaa added with a chuckle.
"It's beautiful." Ajani said with a smile.
They are giving a tour in the jungle. It was so peaceful. Simba and Ajani could stay out here forever. It's their new home now. Pumbaa let out a loud belch.
"I'm starved!"
"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole zebra." Simba said. Ajani let out a chuckle. Some of the animals around them heard this and hid behind the bushes or in the trees.
"We're fresh out of zebra." Timon spoke to Simba, letting out a nervous chuckle.
"Any antelope?" Simba asked.
"Nuh-uh." Timon replied.
"Hippo?"
"Nope. Listen kids, if you live with us, you have to eat like us." Timon told them. Ajani raised his eyebrow at him. If they can't eat meat, they have to eat something else. Timon walked over towards the log. "Hey, this looks like a good spot to rustle up some grub!" Stopping in front of the log, Pumbaa forced it up with his tusks and revealed many insects underneath while Timon picked up one of the insects.
"Eww! What's that?" Simba asked while Ajani watched in disgust.
"A grub. What's it look like?" Timon replied, holding up a bug.
"Eww! Gross!" Simba said.
"Mmmm. Tastes like chicken." Timon replied while eating a mouthful of insects. Ajani held his stomach, trying not to get sick.
"Slimy yet satisfying." Pumbaa added while slurping up a worm.
"Okay, there is no way I'm eating a bug!" Ajani said. Simba had to agree on that.
"These are rare delicacies. Mmmm! Piquant, with a very pleasant crunch." Timon said, eating a bug.
"You'll learn to love 'em." Pumbaa said with a mouthful of worms. Ajani gagged a little. Timon is carrying a leaf being used like a platter over to Simba and Ajani.
"I'm telling you, kids, this is the great life. No rules, no responsibilities..." He took out a bug. "Oooh! The little cream-filled kind." He ate the bug and walked over to Simba and Ajani. "And best of all, no worries. Well, kids?" Ajani watched Simba took a grub worm.
"You serious, Simba?" He asked.
"Oh, well. Hakuna Matata." Simba said nervously. Ajani took a grub worm of his own. He shuddered a bit.
"Well...here goes nothing." With that, both Simba and Ajani slurped down the grubs. Simba smacked his lips and smiled a little.
"Slimy yet satisfying." He said.
"Hmm. This isn't so bad. If the fruit around here is out, the bugs will do fine." Ajani said.
"That's it!" Timon said in satisfaction while more bugs flew away from his platter.
XX
As time went on, Simba and Ajani had both went through various changes. Simba was no longer a young cub, as he had gone through adolescence and finally became a fully grown lion with a red mane. Ajani was no longer a teenager either, as he has fully grown into a handsome young man and his appearance has changed over the years. His dreadlocks are long, and he put some in a bun. And his red loincloth remains the same except it is around his waist and it reached his knees.
While the four of them walked across a waterfall, Timon and Pumbaa continued singing.
"Hakuna! Matata!
Hakuna! Matata!
Hakuna! Matata!"
Simba and Ajani sang to them.
"It means no worries!
For the rest of your days!"
With Timon and Pumbaa joining the two, they all sang.
"It's our problem-free philosophy!
Hakuna Matata!"
One by one, all four dive off of the edge and into the pond. Timon does a cannonball, Pumbaa does a dive, and Ajani takes one of the vines and does a flip-like dive into the pond. Lastly, Simba swung off of another vine, only for it to snap and for Simba to fall into the pond, causing a splash that's big enough to wash everybody ashore. Once Timon, Pumbaa and Ajani were out of the water and drying off, Simba joined them all soaking wet with his mane sagging. Shaking off all of the water and having his mane poofed up, Ajani laughed at his brother. Harmonizing their philosophy, Simba, Ajani, Timon, and Pumbaa walked further into the jungle. Dancing to the beat of what now seemed a problem-free life.