Two Brothers Under the Sun
Chapter – II
Tarzan, the Man-Cub
Many moons had passed since that night. The Drought Season came and went many times, and the rains brought back Bukuvu's green. The sun was shining bright, a mildly strong breeze would pass by to sway the branches — occasionally startling some arboreal critters in the process —, the Dirisha flowed calmly, and the flowers bloomed. To an outsider, the area would surely give a feeling of Peace.
But its denizens knew: in the jungle, one must always be alert.
Running on all fours on the forest floor, a small creature leaned on a tree to catch its breath. The youngling only had a single tuft of brown fur, arranged in long vine-like strands. His tiny body was tanned, his underparts covered by a tattered, brown layer of skin, and his eyes were blue-green in color.
He took a few deep breaths before he heard a sawing roar. Looking around with fear in his eyes, he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction from which he came. He jumped over a fallen tree, slid down a hollow log, and then leaped to the canopy when he heard a rustling from the branches above him. He kept on skipping from tree to tree until he got to one with many stems. He rushed through its trunk (if one could call that confusing entanglement such) and over its branches to get to the next tree...
'SNAP' – but they didn't support him.
"Ouch!" he rolled back to the ground, landing on his butt. Shaking off his daze, he tried to get back up only to get pounced from behind by a black form. The panther bared his teeth at the immobilized small one... only to sigh disappointedly.
"Crossing upwind... breaking from your hiding spot. If you can't learn to run on the treetops... One of these days, you'll be someone's dinner."
"Yeah, but if that branch didn't break, I would've made it." The boy replied, a sheepish smile plastered on his face, despite his current position.
"It was a dead tree." Bagheera deadpanned as he got off his apprentice.
"How was I supposed to know it was dead?" asked said apprentice before getting up.
"It had a fig vine. Any tree girdled by a creeper is either dead or close to it. These are things an Ape must know." his teacher reprimanded.
"Yeah. But if the branch didn't break, I would've made it." he bragged as he walked alongside the slightly exasperated panther.
As the duo made their way up the hills, they walked over a toppled tree. One day there was a big storm, and the wind pulled on the tree until finally, it blew over. After completing the crossing, both sighted the Wakalu (the Green Mother). The strongest tree in the jungle; for it has many trunks, all working together, lifting the leaves toward the sky. Its trunks were all different too: some were thin, some thick, some twisted, and some straight. But they all help make the tree strong, strong enough to weather any storm. Like a Family. Like the Great Troop of Bukuvu.
"Let me hear the Law!" Kerchak commanded from atop the roots of the largest tree, so huge and above the ground that they made him tower over the entire Troop.
"APES ALONE WEAK. APES TOGETHER STRONG!" the troopmates below replied with high energy. From the Silverbacks to the Black Backs, from the mothers to the children sitting on their laps.
"NOW this is the law of the Green Mother, as true as her children surrounding us. The one that keeps it may prosper, but the one that breaks it will die." Every time a new batch of juveniles was ready to join the Warpath, he would climb the roots and give out his speech, to them, and to all who would listen.
"Our ancestors choose this place for our home, not the Tigers." he asserted, earning a few heated yells for mentioning their striped foe. "By the Law of the Jungle and our own, we lived here. In Peace... yet separated." he continued, maintaining his tone firm. "But when invaders threatened us from across the river, our troops joined together to defend our home. We fought for each other. We risked everything for each other, as a Family." Bagheera took Tarzan to a higher point to watch closer. Ever since he could think for himself, the Man-Cub would come to listen to the lecture; he even managed to memorize it eventually. "You fight... for our home, for our Family, for our future. WE FIGHT!" The Black Backs in the front cheered with even more vigor, those around them did so with lower voices. Unknown to Kerchak, Tarzan had recited his words from his spot, before he came back down with the panther.
As always, Kala was in the crowd. She's been holding those words to heart ever since she first became a mother, and especially since she got her second son. When her mate was done, she moved away and saw said son and his teacher walking towards her.
Smiling at the pair, she asked: "How was class today?"
Tarzan's mood downcasted. "Caught me again."
Kala's smile turned tender. "You're gonna make it, someday." she patted his head. "I'm sure of it."
His smile came back with a tiny bit of embarrassment while he grabbed his mother's hand. "Not in front of Bagheera."
Both his mother and the panther in question chuckled.
"Why don't you demonstrate to your mother what I just taught you?" his teacher suggested. The 'man-cub' nodded before advancing to one of the trees to climb. Bagheera turned to Kala. "Let's go a little higher, shall we?" The she-ape nodded.
Reaching the top of one of the medium-sized trees, the two adults watched as Tarzan made it to the middle of the branch. "No creepers. I'm safe for crossing." he turned to them before walking on four to the edge of the branch.
Bagheera nodded at his student and then glanced at his mother. "He's fast on his feet, but not enough to outrun the others, and too much to keep his mind focused on where he's going."
"He will learn Bagheera. You're a good teacher," she reassured him.
A hint of pride found itself in Bagheera's smile. "Still, he's the best student I ever had."
"With him, there is one now, right?" she questioned humorously. They both chuckled.
Then they froze.
"Where did he go?" Kala questioned. There was no sign of him on the branch. He vanished!
"Tarzan?" she called worried, searching for him on the next tree.
"Tarzan?" Bagheera called to the lower branches, to no avail.
They're so occupied in their search to notice the one they were looking for was creeping on the branches above them. The Man-Cub was hanging from a vine and then...
"PAWOO!"
"GYAH!"
'THUMP'
The pair let out a collective yelp at the loud sound of an elephant trumpet and Bagheera managed to lose his foot on the tree, falling to the ground on a bed of leaves. Kala turned to see her grinning son, hanging upside down, behind her.
"I sure scared you, Mom." he laughed before letting go of the branch to get on her extended arm.
"You sure did!" she laughed, though her voice was slightly outta breath. "Can't you imitate any quieter animal?" she asked as he moved to her shoulder.
"Oh, Mom, they're no fun. Wanna see me be a leopard?" he kept holding her head and 'tried' to imitate the feline's snarl. "Bagheera taught me," he exclaimed proudly.
"Oh? So I have to thank you for teaching him that?" she said looking down at the panther shaking off the leaves of his body.
"When he said he wanted to learn the sounds of the jungle, that was not what I had in mind!" he declared, getting off the pile and throwing his student a glare.
Kala chuckled when Tarzan tried to hide behind her head. She got hold of him with both hands after she brought them back to the ground. "Why don't you just come up with your own sound?" she suggested, putting him on the floor. Smiling, the youngling went on to do just that.
Like a puppy following his tail, Tarzan spun in circles as he moved through the undergrowth while working on his yell.
As he passed by the nests, the infants tried to imitate his sounds, much to their mothers' annoyance. "Kala!"
The man-cub kept on rolling and yelling until...
'BOMP'
He collided with a muscular, fur-covered arm. Kerchak's to be precise.
"Oops." Tarzan looked down to avoid the Silverback's scowl directed towards him, though he still managed to keep eye contact. When the giant gave a light growl, the Man-Cub started to slowly back away. But then:
"Tarzan!" a young female came from nowhere and hugged him off the ground, making him gasp in surprise. "Thank goodness you're all right! Kala and Baggy have been so worried!" she 'cried' on his shoulder, before shoving his head close to her chest and turning to the leader. "Thank you. Thank you so much for finding him, Kerchak. You are such a wise and caring leader." the grown-up merely rolled his eyes and shook his head at his niece's antics. That's when she whispered in Tarzan's ear: "Run." she left so abruptly that he fell to the ground when she wasn't supporting him anymore. Once he got up, he gave an awkward chuckle to the Silverback before high tailing outta there.
She hid behind a tree, peered around the trunk to see the man-cub, extended her arm to grab him by the torso when he was about to pass by, and pinned promptly him against the tree's base.
"Um- Hello! Are you thick in the head?" she asked out loud while shaking him.
"What?" was all he could say before she let go of him.
"How many times do I have to tell ya? If you want Kerchak to like you, stay away from him!" she threw her arms around and finished by poking his head with her finger for emphasis.
"Come on, Terk! Step on it!" Flynt called as he ran past them.
"Last one there's a dung beetle!" Mungo was following close behind.
"Yeah! And the first one's gotta eat it!" she laughed loudly before moving to join the brothers.
"Terk, can I come?" Tarzan hopefully asked.
She paused and turned. "Well, yeah, you could if you could, but... you have your lessons," she said, taking a while to find an excuse. "Wait up, guys. Wait up! Right behind ya." she hurried after the duo, leaving Tarzan alone.
A downcast look appeared on his face until he heard a familiar voice calling. "Tarzan!" He turned to see Bagheera, standing on a branch. "Come along. We have to check the East Bank."
The downcast look was replaced by a joyful smile.
The eastern Dirisha bank covered the area around the highland waterfalls, including Zulu. It was, by far, the safest place on the border; even when the elephants weren't around, the place would be swarming with hippos and rhinos, all of whom had close ties to the pachyderms and, as such, would uphold the banning of the tigers from the lagoon. Thus, that was the only part of the riverbank where Kerchak would allow the younglings to frolic (and as far as they were allowed to go from the Green Mother).
Bagheera was waiting for the colonel's arrival. He had returned to the jungle yesterday and took off with the Dawn Patrol at Sunrise, while the females, their calves, and a pair of males stayed in the lagoon. The panther was hoping to give him an update on what happened in his absence concerning Shere Khan but since he wasn't there at the moment, he decided to work on his pupil's swimming technique... by having the both of them lounging lazily in the lagoon. Floating on his back, the black leopard went on with the gentle current, allowing whatever distresses he had to simply drift away. Getting back to shore, he shook the water off and let out a satisfied sigh. Glancing aside, he spotted Tarzan.
The man-cub had left the water to climb atop a large rock protruding from the lagoon, his eyes gazing at one of the surrounding cliffs. Curious at whatever it was that got his attention, the panther joined his side and focused his eyes in that direction. Kerchak's niece Terk was playing around with King Sokwe's two sons, Flynt and Mungo. Bagheera looked back at his student and saw a longing look on his face.
Understanding what he wanted and remembering that he had worked the boy extra hard on his lessons, he conceded. "Why don't you take a break while I speak with the colonel?"
Tarzan gasped, he didn't even notice his teacher coming to his side. Realizing what the panther had just said, he responded: "But what about today's lessons?"
Bagheera sighed, yet kept smiling at him. "Yes, well, I thought you deserved a break, and we have been strolling for a while now. You go play with your friends. I'll meet you here later."
When he finished that sentence, another joyful smile found its way to the man-cub's face.
"Okay. I'll meet you." so off he went, leaving behind a happily sighing panther.
"Say, what took you so long?" Flynt asked Terk.
"I had a little pest-control problem but it's all taken care of- Whoa!" 'SPLASH' Tarzan slammed into her from behind before she could finish the sentence.
"Hi guys." he greeted them with leaves on his hair and a smile on his face.
"Terk, what is this, some kind of joke?" Flynt exclaimed indignantly to Terk, who was getting her face off the puddle she fell in.
"Tell me I'm not looking at the hairless wonder." his brother called out from behind them.
"Well, Terk said I could come along if it wasn't for my lessons, so Bagheera gave me some free time." the man-cub explained as he finished picking the leaves off his hair.
"Oh no, Terk!" the Brothers moaned exasperatedly at their friend.
"I'll handle this guys, okay? Listen, buddy, c'mere." she brought her cousin close to her side before putting some distance between him and her friends. "We got a tiny little itsy-bitsy problem here, okay? Personally, I'd love to hang out with you. You know I would. But the guys, they need a little convincing." she explained.
"Okay, what do I gotta do?" he asked her.
"Do? What do you gotta do?" she asked mostly to herself as she tried to come up with something "Oh, it's so stupid." she stalled.
"What?" he insisted.
"Well." she thought a little longer, scratching her head so much she managed to snatch a hairstring. That gave her an idea: "You gotta, you gotta go get a hair." she declared.
"A hair?" he asked in confusion.
"Yeah, a hair, uh-huh." she heard a trumpet. That gave her another idea: "An elephant hair."
In the lagoon below, the two males were engaged in a match, a battle drill. They locked their tusks and trunks together, wrestling against each other until one got the upper hand and proceeded to slam his opponent into the water. The victor let out a triumphant trumpet.
'PAWOO'
From atop the cliff edge, Terk and Tarzan watched the fight, the latter with wide eyes. "An elephant hair?" he asked incredulously.
"Like I said, it's stupid, right?" she then guided him away from the edge. "Listen, take it from me, go home, okay? Who needs this aggravation? You know, I'm probably gonna leave soon myself." she shooed him away after they passed the Brothers. "You go, I'll catch up, all right?" once he left, she turned back to Flynt and Mungo. "You see, leave it to me. I told you-Tarzan!" she snapped back when her cousin came back running and jumped off the ledge into the pool. "Tarzan, no!"
As he fell, Tarzan assumed a forward dive posture and let out his still-in-work yell. But he had neglected to consider how tall the drop was. He caught too much speed and lost control, that was when dread took over his yell, he started flailing in mid-air, and then...
'SPLASH' he fell right on his belly.
"Ooh!" The others cringed at that, "That one hurt him!" Mungo commented.
The man-cub's mind became unsteady as he sank deep into the lagoon. Fortunately, he regained his senses before he could drown. When he opened his eyes, he was startled by the sight of a hippo staring directly into his face, he had fallen onto their snout. The hippo, while also startled, paid him no mind after he swam off his nose and galloped away. After coming back to his senses, Tarzan rose to the surface, where the trio on the ledge was searching for him.
"Look, oh, oh, there he is! He's alive!" Terk exclaimed happily upon seeing him resurface.
"Hey, guys!" The Man-Cub called from the pool after taking a breath of air.
"Hi." The Brothers waved back and laughed.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no, come back, come back!" Terk called in vain when her cousin swam to the center of the lagoon.
"This guy's great! Hey, if he lives you should bring him around more often." Flynt nudged her.
"Come on, come on, let's go get a better seat," Mungo said, pushing his brother to move so they could make their way to the other shore.
As for Terk: "Oh." she simply sighed. Bagheera was going to kill her. If her Aunt Kala wasn't.
Bagheera was on the other side of the lagoon. He stayed near the herd as he moved to a rock, from which he heard the bird flocks take flight. From deep within the forest, a deep rumbling sound grew louder and louder, prompting him to move to a high branch to get a better view. Then the ground started shaking rhythmically.
"Hup, two, three, four. Keep it up, two, three, four. Hup, two, three, four. Keep it up, two, three, four. Hup, two, three, four." The Dawn Patrol was orderly marching back to the lagoon. Col. Hathi led in the front as he conducted the others in a military-like song.
"Company... sound off!" he commanded.
"Oh, the aim of our patrol," the others chanted.
"Is a question rather droll." the lieutenant finished.
Elephants: "For to march and drill. Over field and hill."
'PAWOO' they sounded their trumpets.
Hathi: "Is a military goal"
All: "Is a military goal!"
"With a hup, two, three, four. Dress it up, two, three, four. By the ranks or single file. Over every jungle mile. Oh, we stamp and crush. Through the underbrush."
Col. Hathi trumpets. "In the military style!"
Elephants: "In the military style!"
"Company... Halt!" they stopped at the colonel's order, right in front of the water hole. "Company... Dismissed!"
Bagheera made his way to the Warden of Zulu after the patrol dispersed. "Col Hathi, sir." he saluted the pachyderm with a bow.
"Bagheera." the elephant, in turn, nodded at the panther. "What News do you bring from my absence?"
"Not much. Just the occasional skirmish with the tigers." responded the black leopard.
The colonel's eyebrow narrowed."Persistent bunch, I say."
"Quite." the panther agreed before hesitating his next words. "Although..."
Now Hathi's eyebrow raised. "What?" he inquired.
"Rumors say that Sabor has returned to these parts," he said, an angry scowl on his face.
"Ha, ha. Sabor. Nonsense, old boy." the colonel chuckled jovially. "That bloodthirsty leopard wouldn't show her muzzle within miles of here. Not if I have anything to say about that."
"Perhaps." a concerned look took his face. "But I worry about what she will do to regain the Khan's favor."
Realization dawned on the colonel's face. "Oh, I see. You fear for the Man-Cub's safety." he patted the panther on the head with his trunk. "Don't worry, old boy. No harm will come to him, or anyone from the Troop, while I am around," he reassured. "Relax, you've got the one and only Jungle Patrol on the job."
As appreciative as he was of the colonel's support, Bagheera couldn't help but worry.
Unaware of his teacher and cousin's worries, Tarzan kept swimming underwater toward the elephant herd. He was also unaware of a skittish elephant calf in the lakeshore, nervously glancing at the shallow water.
"Mom, are you sure this water's sanitary?" the calf asked his mother, who was chatting with the others in the lagoon. "It looks questionable to me," he said, putting a toe in the water before pulling it away.
"It's fine, honey." his mother responded dryly.
"Yech! But what about bacteria?" he argued even as he walked into the lagoon.
"Tantor, can't you see Mommy's talking?" she groaned before turning back to her companions.
Tantor lowered his head before gasping, there was something in the water. "Watch out! There's something swimming! It's coming right at you!" he screamed as he ran to get in front of his mother.
"Honey, Mommy's losing her patience," she warned him.
"But this time I really see something!" he saw Tarzan's face pop out of the water behind one of the males and gasped again. "Piranha! it's a piranha!" he yelled and hugged his mother's front leg.
"Sweetheart, there are no piranhas in Africa," she explained in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Don't tell the kid that." one of the males interjected. "Of course there are piranhas in Africa."
"No, she's right. They're native to South America." another supported her claim.
"Get outta here. No way!" the first one insisted, unaware of the man-cub jumping to reach his tail.
"Come on. Do you think I'd be standing here if there were?" the second one argued back.
Tantor saw the man-cub. "Aah! It's right behind you!" he screamed while letting out a trumpet. "Run!"
"For the last time, honey, there are no piranhas in-"
"My butt!" the first male cried out, cutting off Tantor's mother. He freaked out and run, Tarzan not letting go of his tail.
"I told you!" Tantor called out before his mother moved him out of the way.
"There's something on my butt!" "What is it?" "Are there any more of them?" "Ahh!" the commotion startled the rest of the herd, as well as Col. Hathi and Bagheera on the shore.
"What on earth...?" the panther questioned/exclaimed.
The colonel moved to the water and called out. "What is the meaning of this? What is going on?"
The male jumped with such velocity that Tarzan lost his grip on the tail and the snap launched him high in the air.
"It's a PIRANHA!" Tantor screamed louder than ever, pointing to Tarzan with his trunk.
The herd hurdled up together in a circle in the shallow water, aware of anything around them. Tarzan fell into the water inside the circle, the splash prompted the elephants to turn over, just when he resurfaced to take a breath... showing his teeth...
...then all hell broke loose.
"PIRANHA!"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Tarzan tried to move around the frenzied pachyderms. Hathi tried to regain control of the situation only to be slammed by one of his soldiers. Tantor's mother called for him. Tarzan tried to escape being trampled by an elephant's foot but was dragged underwater by the current it created. Horrified upon catching a glimpse of his student in the commotion, Bagheera moved along the shore, circling the herd but maintaining his distance. Terk, beside the Brothers on the shore, gasped at the scene.
"He's dead!" Flynt declared with dread in his voice.
Then the amuck herd ran towards them!
"We're dead!" the Brothers yelled at the same time.
The panther's eyes widened as he moved between the giants to get out of trampling range. He tried to make it to the younglings, only to be caught between the tusks of the colonel. The gorilla trio hurried to pass the narrow corridor so they could evade the stampede. Terk saw one incoming towards her and quickly jumped to a vine. She swang, avoiding the herd, but hitting her torso right on a branch.
The Troop was hanging around the termite nests, 'fishing' the grub with sticks when Kerchak heard Col. Hathi call out:
"INCOMING!"
Next came Flynt and Mungo, bursting out of the foliage, rolling and toppling each other.
"Whoa! Oof! We didn't do it! They're the ones!" they cried out as they ran.
The Silverback, along with the others, was already looking in the direction from which they
came when the ground began to shake. The next one to burst out of the foliage was Bagheera... hanging to the colonel's face, in front of a trumpeting stampede!
"Run, Kerchak! Run!"
The gorillas scattered, the mothers taking their babies in their arms and jumping out of the way. The pachyderms destroyed everything in front of them; the hillocks were stomped and the termite mounds were eradicated. Bagheera managed to climb up the colonel's face and leap from one elephant to the other until he was able to get to the familiar solid branches of the jungle and, from there, run back to the lagoon. Kerchak rolled behind a mound when a pair of males came too close for his comfort.
That was when he heard an infant's shriek.
A yearling was caught in the middle of the stampede, It was only a matter of time until he was splattered on the jungle floor. Kerchak instantly leaped to action, evading a wall of trunks, snatching the baby off the ground before he was crushed, and rolling out of harm's way.
The giants crossed the mounds, uprooting the smaller trees and disappearing into the deep jungle.
The Troop reassembled in the elephant's trail, and Kerchak handed the infant to his mother. "Oh, thank you, Kerchak."
As the Family celebrated their reunion with a hug, the Silverback shifted his attention to the lagoon's direction. He narrowed his eyes in preparation to find the responsible for this.
Terk was waiting restlessly on the lakeshore. Bagheera had plunged into the watering hole and she lost sight of him. She bit her fingernails and her heart was beating so fast one could assume it was going to burst her chest, as she imagined the worst could have happened.
Finally, they emerged... 'SPLASH'
Bagheera was carrying the man-cub by the scalp, once they got to the lower levels he used his paw to bring him to the riverbank. Terk gave a small sigh of relief, although worry was still present on her face, then ran to meet them. She helped the panther bring the boy to solid ground.
"Tarzan, buddy! Buddy, come on. Tarzan, don't die on me. Don't die on me. You weren't supposed to do it!" she cried out, only to be dragged away by a small trunk.
"Get away from there!" Tantor shouted, bringing her close to him. "Don't you know a piranha can strip your flesh in seconds?" he questioned even as she fought her way out of his grasp.
"What?" she shouted, forcing him behind her. "He's not a piranha! He's-"
'COUGH'
She snapped her eyes back to the downed form of her cousin. The panther desperately applied a Heimlich maneuver on the man-cub, making him cough water and bringing back his consciousness.
"He's alive!" she cried again, this time with happiness. "He's alive!" she snatched his still limp body from Bagheera. "He's alive!" she showed him to Tantor.
"He's alive!" he followed suit.
"He's alive." the panther sighed, exhausted but happy.
"He's alive- You idiot!" she hugged her cousin only to then shove him to the ground.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack." she snapped angrily at him. "Ya happy?"
Tarzan's response: "Uh-huh." he said, showing her a hairstring. An elephant hairstring.
"You... I don't believe it. You got the hair?" she incredulously asked with a smile gracing her face.
Bagheera raised an eyebrow and Tantor came between the cousins. "Is that what this is all about? I got a whole tail of them." he declared, showing said tail and making the pair laugh at how easily this mess could have been avoided in the first place.
However, the funny moment was interrupted by a cough from Bagheera, making the trio turn to him.
"Um..." Tarzan and Terk were at a loss for words and both looked to the ground when the panther glared at them in a scolding manner. They were in for it.
Tantor, only now realizing a black leopard was in front of him, stiffened and went to hide behind Terk. "Who is he?" he asked with a trembling voice.
"My teacher," Tarzan responded, still embarrassed by the look directed at him.
"Tarzan!" "Terkina!" was heard from the end of the corridor left by the elephants' tread.
"Oh, no!" the cousins groaned, now they were in for it. Soon enough most of the Troop was there.
"Who are they?" Tantor whispered to Tarzan whom he shielded with his trunk, now with more curiosity than fear in his voice.
"My mom." the cousins repeated each other's words again.
"Tarzan!" Kala moved to her son.
"Hi, Aunt Kala." Terk gave a nervous passing wave to her aunt.
"Hi." Tantor followed suit, again.
"Oh, you scared me!" she came to Tarzan and held him in her arms."What happened?"
"Well, I-"
Terk came between them, forcing Kala to let go. "It's sort of a long... It's involved because what happened..." she struggled to find a story... but, unfortunately...
"What happened?"
Kerchak was standing in front of the Troop. At his demand for an answer, Terk couldn't come up with anything. In Troop society, locking eyes with one is perceived as soliciting their attention; it's essentially a way of saying 'Can we talk?' If you can't meet the other eyes, you're implying that you have nothing to say, that you are yielding to the other's word. Terk knew her uncle could be pretty harsh with his lectures, yet her panic kept her quiet. And she only got more horrified when Tarzan moved forward.
"It was my fault, Kerchak," he responded.
"Tarzan!" Kala said with a shocked tone, while Bagheera looked worryingly.
Tarzan was now standing between his paren- his mother and the Silverback. "We were playing and well... I'm... I'm sorry, Kerchak." his apology was drenched in sorrow.
"You almost killed someone!" the Silverback exclaimed, harshly.
"But it was an accident." the man-cub swore.
"He's only a child." Kala interfered, bringing her son onto her lap.
"That's no excuse, Kala!" Kerchak pointed in anger. "You can't keep defending him!"
"Kerchak, sir. Please." Bagheera stepped in. "The fault is mine. I shouldn't have left him alone."
The Silverback glared intensely at the panther. "Don't think for a moment that I forgot our deal. You are gonna respond for it as much as he is."
"Kerchak, please it won't happen again. He'll learn!" Kala affirmed, trying to calm her mate down.
"He will never learn!" he shouted. "One can't learn to be one of us."
"Because you never give him a chance!" Kala shouted back.
"Give him a chance?" he questioned disbelievingly, not caring that Tarzan could hear him.
"Kala, look at him. He will never be one of us."
"Kerchak!"
That was too much for the man-cub. Feeling a mixture of sadness and hurt, he freed himself from his mother's embrace and ran.
"Tarzan!" Kala called but it was no use. Tarzan was already gone. At that, a forlorn look took over her face as she sighed.
Bagheera glanced at her and then in the direction Tarzan went. "I will go check on him," he announced before following the man-cub's trial. But then he stopped and turned to Kala. "I will bring him back." he swore to her, sighed in Kerchak's direction but the Silverback snorted in response, then moved on.
A/N: For those who don't know: Wakalu literally means "Green Mother" (Wa-Green; Kalu-Mother) in Mangani, the language and breed name of Tarzan's ape family in the original novels.