Chapter 7: The forest's whisper
"Dan!" Nala's voice called from behind the hill, "Geno! Gurri!"
"You can come out!" added Simba's voice, "We've chased away the dogs!"
"We are here!" Dan exclaimed, calling for his grandparents.
Both lions reached the top of that hill and immediately slid down it until they reached where the younger ones were. Their bodies showed a little dirt caused by their fight, but nothing more serious. When Geno introduced Bell and Rose, they were almost afraid that they would be eaten, although in the end they managed to calm them down by telling them that they had come to help.
"Shany?" Simba asked when he saw the cub, "What are you doing here? Why did you come without saying? Does your mother know?"
Next, Shany received a whole lecture from Simba, because as many will remember, that attitude of disobeying the rules reminded him a lot of Kiara and himself in their cub days.
"He cares a lot about the little ones, I think you know that" Nala commented to Dan while Simba continued with the reprimand.
After saying a couple of things like 'your mom would be very worried' and 'you shouldn't put yourself in danger'. Dan noticed how Shany's ears drooped in embarrassment at everything they said to her. Dissatisfied, his friend interrupted:
"Grandpa Simba... uh, she's only here because of me," he told him, blushing a little at his own words, "And I also disobeyed before and... I wasn't punished... please forgive Shany."
"Dan..." her friend muttered, incredulous at what she had just heard.
Rose laughed lightly as she whispered to Bell: "Heh, he likes her"
Apparently, Simba heard that, but didn't say anything. Then, he turned to Shany.
"Anyway, we can't send you home since it's just as dangerous," he said, "So stay by Dan's side, and don't act recklessly again."
At this, Shany immediately raised her ears again and smiled as she said:
"Yes, your Majesty"
"What's wrong, Geno?" Nala asked as she saw the worried fawn.
"There are problems," Gurri commented, "We think we know where our mom is, but we don't know where our dad is."
"The great prince of the forest is missing," Bell summarized.
"Don't worry," Simba told them, "We will find him. For now, take us to your mom, Geno"
Then, the group entered through a rocky path covered with thick green grass, the leafy trees functioned as barriers, although the birds rather used it to make their nests or to sing in its crowns. To tell the truth, the chirping of a nightingale rehearsing its song was very heard; Afterwards, it would be silent for a moment and then begin again. The dense vegetation of the trees covered the evening light. Not long after, they came to a river which they had to use an old fallen log to cross.
Dan had already improved his balance quite a bit, so he had no problem reaching the other end, while Shany had done it many times before. Geno passed carefully, as he did not have soft paws like his friends, while Gurri stumbled at one point, being helped in time by Nala. Bell and Rose had crossed quickly alone.
Further on, they came to a space of deliciously fresh air; Well, a field of flowers with delicious aromas perfumed the atmosphere.
"Wow, what a nice place..." Shany said, sniffing the flowers.
"This is my house," Rose explained, climbing onto Shany's head.
However, when he reached one end of the flower field, the smell changed to something... extravagant. Suddenly, the head of another skunk appeared: this one was a little bigger than Rose.
"Rose!" she exclaimed.
"Mon!" Rose answered and without thinking twice, she jumped in like a person dives into a pool, hugging her mother, "Where have you been? Your brothers and I have been looking for you everywhere!"
Immediately, two more skunks came out after Rose's mother.
"Rose!" exclaimed the other two skunks.
"Acorn! Bambi!"
*Note: according to a review on the wiki, Flower has a boy (whom it also named Bambi) and two girls.
The three skunks met in a family hug that was quite... aromatic, to tell the truth, because thanks to that flower environment it aromatized the usual smell of that species. When they finished, she glanced at Geno and Gurri.
"Young princes!" He said, "We're glad you're okay! Faline's been worried about you."
"Mrs. Flower," the fawns greeted her, "We got lost and our new friends helped us."
Next, Geno introduced the group of lions. At first, Rose's brothers were a little scared because, like all herbivorous or insectivorous animals, they saw them as carnivores and anyone would get nervous being in front of them. However, Flower had a certain sense of trust in strangers and even more so when they clarified their reasons for coming to help, she felt more secure in having such help.
"Are my dad and sisters at the owl tree?" Bell asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, and soon a meeting will begin to find a solution to this great problem of hunters"
"I understand..." Simba said, "Please take us to that meeting. Maybe we can help you with this."
Flower accepted and, together with her daughter, on Gurri's back, she took them until the narrow forest road ended in a green clearing free of trees, where a fresh green grass seemed to nourish everyone's paws. There were barely two or three rocks, but these were covered in ferns that, to the naked eye, seemed invisible. Behind them, a tall, leafy tree stood, also covered in some vegetation that made it look green instead of brown. Under it there were at least a dozen animals including squirrels, porcupines, mice, raccoons, birds and...
"Dad!" Bell suddenly shouted, jumping off Shany's back and jumping quickly towards a group of rabbits of the same color.
"Bell!" The others received her, making a circle of hugs around another gray rabbit. He looked happy when he saw his daughter, but he felt... 'crushed' when everyone gathered around him.
"Bell... I'm glad to see you..." he commented, "...girls... let me breathe..."
"There are things that don't change, Thumper," Flower laughed, joining his friend.
"Flower..." said Thumper now free, "They found you... Hey! Geno and Gurri! Faline! They're back!"
Behind the tree, an adult doe with thin legs and bright eyes came out to meet Geno and Gurri, accompanied by an old owl.
"Geno... Gurri..." Faline said through tears of happiness, as she caressed them with her head, "My little ones, I thought I lost you... are they okay?"
"Don't worry, mom, we're fine..." Gurri mentioned.
Then, Geno told his mother, Faline, what happened after they were separated in the dog attack. Then how they had arrived in the Pride Lands and met a lot of new allies and friends and obviously introducing Simba, Nala, Dan and Shany. Finally, he told them about the return trip.
"Have you faced the dogs?!" exclaimed Owl impressed, "Amazing! You may be the help we need to face this catastrophe!"
"We have come to help," Simba announced to everyone present, "But first we would like to locate the Great Prince of the forest. As far as we know, he is missing."
Everyone was silent: no one knew what to say about it. Seeing that no one, even Faline, was going to say anything, Owl spoke:
"A few days ago the packs of dogs attacked us and the prince managed to keep them at bay so that we managed to escape. I, being someone who flies, explored the place where I last saw him and found traces of a fight. Without knowing where else search, I decided to explore above the human camp and saw with horror how they had devastated a small part of the forest with sharp weapons. We have managed to move the animals here but with each passing day the men deteriorate the forest more. This morning I'm afraid, I saw the prince of the forest lying in a cage in the camp..."
"No!" Geno exclaimed, "Please, he can't be..."
"Huh? No, calm down Geno!" Faline interrupted, "He's not dead, he's just unconscious with something the humans gave him. A small bird got close enough to see him breathing and moving his body slightly."
"So... if they haven't killed him..." Dan thought, remembering how his uncle once bragged about his deer hunt, "They might want to take him to make a trophy."
"Leave those men to me!" Thumper exclaimed, "I'll show them what's good for taking Bambi."
"The problem is rescuing him..." Simba questioned, "We can handle the dogs, but if there are also humans... we have to be cautious... any ideas, Dan?"
"Huh? me?" he asked, because he didn't expect Simba to ask him that.
"Isn't he too young to think about something like a rescue?" Faline asked, questioning it.
"Believe it or not, Dan has already saved a group of animals from the Pride Lands," Nala commented, "And many of them told us about this little cub's talent for saving lives."
Dan blushed as everyone looked at him and exclaimed in admiration and curiosity about the story they had just heard.
"Hey!" Shany exclaimed, "What if you open the cage? Remember? Like when I was trapped."
"Eh... yeah, I think I can do it" Dan said, still worried about the situation, "But... the humans would discover us."
"I'll take care of that," Simba proposed, "I'm sure the humans will be impressed if they see a lion in the forest and won't hesitate to chase me. And if they send dogs, those won't be a problem."
"I'll help you with the distraction," Nala told him.
"It will be dangerous"
"Danger? I laugh at danger"
Simba smiled knowing that Nala made him remember his childhood again and again. That way, he knew he couldn't stop her from following him.
"I want to help too," said Flower, "Bambi is my friend and I don't want to leave him like this."
"And it's mine too," Thumper continued, "And I'm not going to let those humans do anything to him"
Immediately, his daughters hugged him while saying 'always brave dad', which, if it weren't for the situation, would have been more comical.
"What do you think?" Simba asked Dan.
"They can come with Shany and me," Dan proposed, "I think Flower and Thumper's support will be a great help... especially in terms of aroma."
Simba laughed at that last bit. While they were talking, one of the squirrels yawned and this was contagious to everyone else, since night was falling. Likewise, Simba and Nala also had to rest: having faced almost a dozen dogs was easy since they were lions, but it did not mean that they did not have to recover energy. Even Dan, Shany, Geno and Gurri felt exhausted, as they needed rest from all the traveling.
"I think you should rest," Faline told them, "You have come too far to come here."
"But, we must rescue dad now," said Geno, trying to overcome his tiredness, just like his sister, "I want to help him."
"We will," Simba proposed, "We will rest a little and then we will rescue him before dawn."
"But, Grandpa Simba..." Dan tried to say.
"You need to rest more than others," Nala interrupted them, "Your bodies are small and you must rest. Don't worry, we will let you know when we are going to rescue the prince."
"But..." Shany tried to say; However, a simple look from Simba silenced him immediately.
Knowing that it was useless to contradict the orders of the adults, the younger ones obeyed.
(Later...)
All the inhabitants of the forest and visitors to the Pride lands were resting peacefully, but that would only be for a few hours, as they had to go rescue the Prince of the Forest. Dan, Shany, Geno and Gurri were resting peacefully in a small bed of leaves under the Owl tree... or so it seemed because after a little rest, Dan stuck his head out, as if he had heard something or someone calling him.
"What...?" He asked himself in his mind, poking his head above the rest of the sleeping animals, "I guess I imagined it."
"Dan?" Geno's voice whispered, "Are you awake?"
"Um...yeah, Geno, can't you sleep?"
"No... I'm worried about Dad... I don't want the same thing to happen to him as our grandmother"
"What happened to your grandmother?"
Geno didn't speak immediately, but instead stood up, careful not to wake the others.
"Come, I want to show you something," he said, walking back into the forest.
For a moment, Dan thought it was a bad idea to leave without telling the adults, but he felt a certain urge to go, as if the forest were calling him. Careful not to pick up Shany especially, the lion cub followed his friend.
"You heard it too, right? " Geno asked when they were alone.
"Hear?" Dan asked, "Wait, you felt something?"
"I could hardly sleep and someone whispered to me, making me wake up. I thought it was you, but now... maybe it was the spirit of the forest"
Dan remembered Ahadi's words.
"Where is that spirit of the forest?" Dan asked.
"I don't know... dad always tells us that the forest speaks to us, as if it had a spirit" Geno explained, "And our grandfather told us the same thing"
"Speaking of that, what had happened to your grandmother?"
Geno's voice trailed off as if he didn't want to talk about it.
"Humans, that happened," he said, and there wasn't much more to explain, as Dan guessed what happened, "I don't like humans: we did nothing to them, we don't hurt them, they don't said nothing to them, why do they attack us? Why are they hurting the forest?"
Dan's stomach was churning, because he knew the answer to those questions, but... what was Geno going to say if he knew the truth? Would he still see him as a friend, or would Ihe hate him? Although the cub hated not telling the truth, he knew that it would hurt a lot for the fawn.
"And they send their dogs on top of that..." Geno continued, "...by the way, thanks for helping me with the dog in the ice cave, you know? I've never had a lion friend like you. In fact, I would have if we wanted to get to know the Pride Lands better, do you think your parents would have let us stay?"
"Yeah I guess..." Dan replied.
"By the way, they tell me that I look a lot like my dad, but I've noticed that you don't look much like yours..."
"Oh! That's... because I'm adopted."
"Adopted?"
"Yes... my parents died during a landslide..." Dan explained, without giving many details, "I... I was lost for a while... until Kiara found me"
"Oh, I'm sorry if it was bad to ask."
"Nothing to forgive. After all, I have a new home now and I meet good friends from time to time... Wait! Did you hear that?"
Again, someone or something was whispering to them through the trees. Although it was night and that mixed with that mysterious whisper could make it seem mysterious and dark, this call did not cause that sensation, but rather just a feeling of curiosity and something, just something, of nostalgia.
"It's coming from over there," Geno said pointing with his nose towards a group of trees together, "What do you think it is?"
"Maybe we should find out..." Dan suggested, feeling something press on his heart. Despite that, I had the feeling that I should go.
(Meanwhile...)
"Shany... wake up..."
The cub woke up, called by Gurri, who had also woken up.
"Hey?" she asked. Then, he noticed the disappearance of Dan and Geno, "Gurri, where are they...?"
"I'm wondering the same thing..." Gurri commented, "Do you think we should tell...?"
"Shh. Let's go look for them, but don't wake anyone up..."
(For his part...)
Dan and Geno walked through the darkest side of the forest, where the trees, almost as dark as jet (for the same night), crowded together so much that they seemed to want to prevent any innocent being from approaching that place. However, either they both did not notice that, or they did not give it importance because the force that motivated them made them ignore it.
"Look, above us," Geno said suddenly.
It was a light blue butterfly which, despite the darkness of the night, showed its bright colors as if it were the first day of spring. And, amazingly, it was accompanied by a golden-yellow butterfly, which also showed off its colors in the middle of the night. As they watched them, Dan had a strange sensation as he watched them spin in the air.
"Is my idea or do they want us to follow them?" Dan asked.
"Very strange, I also had the same feeling" Geno replied.
The two butterflies continued on, making the lion cub and the fawn follow them into that deep, dark part of the forest. As they went deeper, they noticed that a few rays of moonlight were passing through the leaves of the trees and, at one point, they lost their two little guides.
"Where have they gone?" Geno asked, "Dan, did you see...Dan?"
The lion cub had paralyzed and then the fawn did the same: in front of them, in the moonlight, with the aura like that of a ghost, was a human child crying.
"A... human..." Geno said, getting scared of it too, "Dan, react... we must go..."
But he did not respond, because the reason was too obvious and shocking: it was an image or illusion of himself, when he was a human child. And, to his amazement, a door appeared in front of him in the image. Then, trying to wipe away his tears, the boy slowly used a small object and opened the door in front of him, only to be stopped by the hand of another human: a tall one, with a selfish and cruel face... one that Dan believed he had forgotten.
Seeing him, Geno felt sorry for the human boy, but also afraid at seeing the other human (although it was just an illusion). Improvising, the fawn stepped on Dan's tail, making him meow in pain and waking him up from the impact of that vision.
"Dan, let's get out of here" Geno told him.
Dan did not hesitate to do so, because he did not want to continue seeing that illusion. Turning his gaze, he followed Geno in a quick run back with the others. However, when they were finally able to get out of it, their head collided with another.
"Ouch!" he repeated who he had bumped into, "Dan? Geno? So here they were!"
"Shany, Gurri," Geno acknowledged them, "Why are you here?"
"We could ask you the same thing, brother," his sister replied, "I thought it was only Shany who liked to run away and get into trouble."
"Hey!" Shany exclaimed, "You don't have to remind me. What were you doing anyway?"
"Well we found..." Geno started to say, but then a few voices silenced him.
They all hid behind some bushes and, when they looked out, they managed to see two human figures that passed very close to them. Both carried hunting rifles.
"...I'm already tired of searching..." said one, "Those animals have hidden themselves too well. By the way, what are we going to do with the deer we already have?"
"I think they will kill him in the morning," said the other, "We'll decide who gets the trophy head. The demolitionists will also come in the morning, the animals will escape or die, either way, we finish the job"
The two figures walked away while letting the young animals breathe easy, but Geno was worried about only one thing:
"I have to rescue my dad, immediately"
Author's Notes: If you want 2 chapters for tomorrow or tonight, I need to know if you're really liking it, in reviews. At least 3 to continue.