It was a long walk to the trees.
"How did you know about those leaves and what they do," Kerchak asked feeling relief as she gently applied the leaves to his wounds.
Kala laughed nervously.
"Whenever someone was hurt, I would oft- always apply the leaves to them as soon as possible. My mother used to do that for me and my sisters when we were young Apes, and I knew..."
He shook his head laughing.
"You've always been a soft touch," he said, "I didn't understand that not until Moonlight was born."
Now it was Kala's turn to laugh.
"You didn't understand that I was a soft touch?"
"I didn't understand why," he amended, "I didn't understand why it was so important to you."
"Kerchak," she said, "Many Apes I know are soft touches. You are the first among them."
She shuddered.
"I just keep thinking about Moonlight," she continued, "If anything ever happened to her…"
She nearly started crying to think of her daughter suffering. Picking up on her emotions, Kerchak gently placed his paws on his mate's shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"I would never let her be harmed. I would never let anything happen to her. She is a part of me. I love her as much as I love you and didn't think it was possible to love anyone or anything as much as I love you."
"You love the whole family," Kala pointed out.
"Yes, I do," Kerchak nodded, "You and Moonlight are not just family. If you were hurt, it would hurt me. If Moonlight were hurt the pain would be so great I don't think I'd be able to survive it."
"I understand what you mean," Kala replied, "I feel the same way too."
They walked hand in hand, in silence for a few minutes.
"Do you think it's possible to be positive and still keep things controlled," Kerchak asked after about five minutes of silence.
"Of course," Kala replied.
"And" Kerchak asked, "Do you think it's possible to lead without being negative?"