Two Brothers Under the Sun
Chapter – V
No Way Out
As the Dirisha flows west, Its waters spill in waterfalls over strange images, running past faces peering out of nearby rocks. Clear and clean, it burbles over mysterious symbols to the denizens of Bukuvu. Downstream, it sweeps to join a massive canal network—some choked with vines, passing fields, ruins of stone buildings slowly reclaimed by the jungle, and gridded roads left unpreserved against the elements.
The city, half-swallowed by the wildness; was built on blocks of incredible size, turned to misshapen rocks by the passage of time, every bit of infrastructure crumbled to varying degrees: no roofs, rumble and underbrush covering the crackled floors, and trees and roots turning the walls asunder. One could easily miss the carvings depicting the history of a vanished kingdom, virtually erasing any evidence of the society that developed in the deep jungle.
Then, there were the temples. Huge stone edifices, carved with images of Men and other creatures, some seen in the jungle, some not. All stripped of their colors by the rainy season. But there was one structure that stood out from the others. A palace, massive, with towers, decorations, and refinements that, although non-maintained, still gave an air of majestic to the place. Surrounded by a moat, accessed by a single bridge, and protected by two stone tigers so grand and fearsome as to strike terror into any visitor. For they would know...
This is the Tiger Khanate... this is the domain of Khan.
Overlooking the plaza was the central tower, the highest point inside the temple as well as in the lowlands of Bukuvu, and bigger than the ones in the corners of the defensive wall. Both ominous and awe-inspiring, it serves as a symbol of the power, strength, and cunning of Shere Khan. At the tower's entrance, stands a once lavish altar with a sizable amount of plants growing there, especially Venus Flytrap. A small fly flew over a carcass of chital deer and was snatched.
Not by a plant, but a paw.
The Overlord of south Bukuvu was curling in his converted throne. His form hidden by the shade the tower's roof provided from the moon. He extended his hand to one of the plants in his personal Garden, the Flytrap opened its grotesque, tooth-lined mouths and feed on the tiger's treat. Once it swallowed the insect, the Khan shifted his gaze to the Yard, overlooking the vultures' subcommittee.
"What have you to tell me?" he asked firmly in his deep voice.
The Parliament, as usual, had delegated Mzingo—An adult vulture with a smooth, triangular blue crest rising from the back of his head, forming a recurved spike—as the spokesperson.
"My Khan, I bring news from the northern bank." he respectfully directed himself under the tiger's stare.
"About Sabor or the Man-Cub?" the Khan found himself growling as he pronounced the last part.
Even so, Mzingo kept his tone, a trait that had earned him great favor in the Khan's court over the years. "The Man-Cub was sighted downstream, he survived the storm,"
A deep frow now adorned the face of Shere Khan and even as he resigned his inner fury to a single, deep breath, he found out he had given several scratch marks to his seat. "What of Sabor?" he inquired to the scavenger.
"Still tracking him. But I fear he won't be defenseless for long." He informed the Khan, shaking his head at the last part.
"Why's that?" the liege questioned, eyebrow raised.
"He went north, near the territory of the Bandar-Log." Mzingo estated. "The bear is sheltering him."
The tiger muttered under his breath: "Baloo." He scratched his chin as he pondered the News. "King Louie won't stay idle with the Man-Cub this close to his domain. He will arrange a meeting in his ruins." Tranquil rage emanated from him at the thoughts of such meeting's consequences. "Unacceptable." he focused his eyes on the vulture. "How long should it take for Sabor to find him?"
"Tomorrow, I would say. But she follows the panther's trial, between Bagheera and the bear, I don't like her chances." affirmed Mzingo. "And that's not counting the Bandar-log."
"Then it's time that I oversee this little endeavor of hers." The Khan's conclusion was made obsolete by the shaking of a vulture's head.
"I'm afraid this would be unwise, my Khan." replied the committee's spokesperson. "The colonel has returned, his patrols will proceed by morning."
His liege growled. "Beastly luck." he got up and made his way to the side edge, overlooking the jungle to the north. After a moment, he addressed himself back to the vulture. "Find me Hista."
"No need, my Khan." A soft, hissing voice spoke from the shadows. "I'm already here."
The tiger and the present vultures turned their heads in the voice's direction. A giant, red rock python with black markings slithered out from the shadow of the walls towards them. The snake coiled part of its long bulk at the base of the stairs leading to the Khan's altar, resting his head on the folds of its form and looking up to the tiger with mesmerizing yellow eyes.
"Skulking as usual, I see." commented the vulture in a quiet, dry voice accompanied by an eye roll.
"I heard you were joining Berdan's hunt." The khan arched an eyebrow to the python.
"I did, but I hoped to catch the vulturesss' report once they returned by nightfall." Hista answered.
"Indeed, your time is impeccable." Shere Khan commended his Royal Mjuzi. "I take that you already know what I want you to do?"
The python recited in order: "Crosss the Dirisssha, obssserve and gather as much info as I can about the sssituation, make sssure the Apes don't join forces, and, if posssible... kill the Man-Cub." once he stated his last task, he sent a smile to the overlord. "Is there anything elssse?" his tone gave away some expectations.
His Khan nodded. "Should the orangutan intervene, and you deem drastic measures as necessary," he increased the firmness in which he spoke to the python. "Kill him."
"Yesss, my Khan." Hista bowed his head but if one looked closer, they would see the sinister smile on his face.
"Evade the colonel's patrols and, if possible, link-up with Sabor and fill her in." the tiger finished briefing the python, who nodded, before turning to the vultures." I want your Parliament to provide insight for this operation, cover the skies from the Ruins to the Bear's haven." scowling he continued: "No distractions." Mzingo nodded as well, then the tiger waved his paw to his two underlings. "You're both dismissed. Enjoy the spoils of Berdan's hunt, I want you ready for tomorrow." he finished his delivery of commands.
"Yes, my Khan." Mzingo and Hista said in unison before they turned back and left for the gatehouse, awaiting Berdan's return.
###
The sun rises in the jungle. The migrating herds gather around the floodplains of Bukuvu as a new day begins. At this time of the year, a varied array of antelopes traverse the rainforest, following the migration routes agreed by their leaders, in a south-north pattern. As such, one could easily come across a herd grazing in the lowlands or drinking by either the Dirisha or its distributary channel.
Below Hakuna Matata Falls is one of the greatest lagoons in the region, only surpassed by the splendor of Zulu Falls in the highlands. It's one of the last stops for those that leave Bukuvu through the northern path. Among the passerby is a group of topi, savoring the waters of the pond.
Only to be interrupted by a sudden shout:
"COMING THROUGH!"
As expected from antelope, the topi got over their surprise quickly and jolted out of the way, right at the moment that a bear, a man-cub, and a lion cub busted out of the shrubs behind them. The trio ran for their lives from the swarm of bees that chased them until they jumped into the lagoon. The flying insects swarmed above the water for a bit, before deciding to call it quits.
That was when the trio emerged, gasping and wheezing. "Phew!"
Baloo shook his head from the pain before he sighed. "Those honeybees sure are stingy with their honey." he quipped to his two proteges as they came to the shore.
"You said they didn't sting. What do you call this?" Tarzan pointed at his body, now with swollen red marks all over his skin.
"Oh, must have been females!" the bear explained to the man-cub. "They look like males from the ground. But they do sting." he massaged his swollen snout.
"Yeah, we noticed." Simba replied with a dry sense of humor, also with sting marks.
"Don't worry, you two. We just have to put some honey on those." Baloo gestured to the state of the cubs' skin, as well as his nose.
The younglings exchanged skeptical looks. "Honey? Really?"
"Yeah. You put it on, you lick it off. You feel much better."
"It's nature's ointment." Pumbaa's familiar voice came to their ears, they turned their heads and, sure enough, there was the warthog, with a honeycomb-holding meerkat on his head.
The swine came to them and the mongoose offered the comb to the cubs.
"Skin treatment with a sweet freebie." Timon said as he happily munched on a honey-glazed larva. "I use it every time."
Tarzan grabbed the comb and collected the honey to rub it on him and Simba. The lion cub flinched every time his fellow cub would stroke a part where the bees had stung him. "What happened to problem-free philosophy? Ay!" he managed to ask between winces.
Baloo shrugged "Well kids, when you have nothing to do, you come up with something; in this case, loopholes." Timon revealed another honeycomb and handed it to the bear.
"Loopholes?" Tarzan asked, unintentionally rubbing the lion on a bad spot.
"Ouch!"
"Like what?"
"Well, look at me for example. What do you see?" The bear stood in front of the group, arms stretched and gesturing to his form.
Tarzan and Simba looked at each other, then to Timon and Pumbaa, who didn't say anything.
"A... bear?" Simba finally answered in doubt. He had never even heard of bears before yesterday when his new 'teacher' formally explained to him.
Baloo nodded. "That's right. But what does it mean?" he replied and waited for their response.
"That you're a predator?" It was the man-cub's turn to give a confused answer.
The bear in question raised a finger at that. "Right, again. I should be stalking around the jungle, hunting my next meal, getting into fights with other meat-eaters, and disemboweling my prey. Now, does that sound good to either of you?" he asked the pair.
His students looked around uncertain after hearing that. "Uh, no, not really." again, it was Tarzan who answered.
"Yeah, that's what I thought as well. I'm not what one would call a wild animal. Except at parties." He mused the last part playfully. "I'm more of a honey bear. Give me grubs and honey, and I'm a happy bear." he now gestured to the jungle surrounding them. "I could keep this place all to myself, it's what a predator would do but I didn't like that either. So I opened up the place as a predator-free environment, a Paradise for everyone who wants to forget about the fight for survival."
Timon gave out a happy sigh as he made himself comfortable in Pumbaa's hair tuft. "No matter how many times I hear that, it always gets me right there."
"Yeah, this is our dream home, Timon." The warthog nodded, his statement bringing more bliss to his mongoose companion.
Baloo smiled and pointed to the duo as he looked back to the younglings. "You see them? I taught them everything I know about the good life. And now, I'll teach the both of you. That will take a while, yes. Can you call it work, yes—if you wanna get to the nitty and gritty. So, why am I doing it?" he smiled fondly at his new disciples. "Because you kids are okay, and to me, you guys are worth it."
By the time he finished, both cubs were glowing at him.
"You really think so?" asked little Simba, staring with a joyful smile.
"You better believe it." he didn't even hesitate.
Their smiles grew wider.
He laughed for a bit at that. "Now, don't get all mushy on me, kids. Finish rubbing that honey on your skin. We've got a long walk ahead of us." Once they were done applying the 'ointment,' the group took to walking.
"Where're we going?" Simba asked from Baloo's side.
"On a quest. Once you find it, you'll be able to rest at ease for as much as you want." His teacher proclaimed proudly.
"What's it?" Tarzan asked.
The seniors just beamed.
Soon enough, they were sailing downstream in huge lily pad leaves. "Look for the bare necessities."
"The simple bare necessities." Baloo was in the front, Timon and Pumbaa were sharing a leaf behind him, and the cubs were to the sides. The lazy river current dragged them slowly. "Forget about your worries and your strife."
"I mean the bare necessities, are Mother Nature's recipes, that bring the bare necessities of life." The younglings were paddling and splashing around, while their teachers propelled themselves nonchalantly.
"Wherever I wander. Wherever I roam..." Baloo passed, singing a tune.
"I couldn't be fonder of my big home." Timon and Pumbaa sang in a duet, the meerkat laying in the pig's tummy.
"The bees are buzzing in the tree to make some honey just for me." The trio was back to singing in harmony. "When you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants, then maybe try a few... the bare necessities of life will come to you."
"When?" asked Tarzan from the side.
"They'll come to you," Timon answered vaguely.
Baloo said from his lily. "Cool it. Fall apart in my backyard. 'Cause, let me tell you something, Little Britches. If you act like those bees, uh-uh. You're working too hard. And don't spend your time looking around for something you want, that can't be found." he started singing again. "When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinking about it, I'll tell you something true."
His two companions joined him, looking to the cubs."The bare necessities of life will come to you."
"But how will we know?" Simba asked curiously.
"That's up to you." Pumbaa said as Timon threw two last pieces of honeycomb to the cubs. Simba got the one sent his way and saw it still had a honey-covered larva.
"It's a free-range here, kid. If you want something, take it. If it's too much work, just ask yourself: is it worth it?" Timon said as he stared at the treat in Simba's paw.
The little lion understood what he meant. Were all the sting marks they got to get this comb really worth it? He hummed in thought before deciding to just figure it out straight away. He crunched the lava in full view of the expecting group. Then he went stiff, his ears perked, eyes widened... and he smiled.
"Timon, I think he's got it!" Pumbaa exclaimed.
"And you, Tarzan? Did that give you a clue?" Baloo asked his other student.
The man-cub was busy, savoring his piece. "Golly, thanks, Baloo!"
"Ha-ha. How 'bout you singing?" the bear gestured to his 'disciples'.
Tarzan and Simba exchanged grins, sharing the same idea once again: "Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities." They sang in unison.
"Forget about your worries and your strife." Their seniors joined in.
"I mean the bare necessities, that's why one can rest at ease. With just the bare necessities of life." Anyone wandering by the riverbank would have seen the unusual sight of a bear, a warthog, a meerkat, a man-cub, and a lion cub floating on leaves down the greasy, green river deep within the jungle, singing without a care in the world.
"Wherever I wander. Wherever I roam. I couldn't be fonder of my big home." They were so enthralled in the song, that they missed the monkeys watching them pass curiously from a tree branch.
"The bees are buzzing in the tree, to make some honey just for me. When you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants. Then maybe try a few..." Tarzan and Simba wavered at a crowd of animals drinking on the shore, making them stop and stare weirdly at the passing group.
The animals suddenly sprinted outta there at the sound of something on the foliage."The bare necessities of life will come to you." The man-cub now looked worryingly at the shore."They will come to you."
Tarzan tried to get the bear's attention. "Baloo, Baloo, Baloo... look." When his mentor looked at him, the man-cub pointed towards the rustling in the shrubs.
The music stopped. The others followed the pink ape's fingers and the sound of a breaking twig sprung them into action. Timon was hiding behind a frightened Pumbaa, the latter looking around fearfully, while Baloo was protectively shielding the cubs behind him.
"Stay low on my back." He told the younglings, who were now holding to the bear's hide, as he moved out of his leaf and slowly made it to the shore. Pumbaa, with Timon now hiding in his head, was following close behind. Baloo got in all fours when he reached solid ground, Tarzan and Simba on top of him. "Come on out and show yourself." He called out as he prepared himself to defend the others.
The sound was getting closer and close. Then, suddenly from behind the plants... jumped a panther with a little gorilla on his back.
"Bagheera? Terk?"
"Tarzan!" "You're alive!"
A sniffling Terk jumped out of Bagheera's back to meet her cousin who jumped off the bear. They meet in a warm embrace, with her trying to stifle her tears of joy. When she pulled back, the man-cub ran to hug his teacher. "Bagheera!"
"It's awfully good to see you, man-cub." The panther hugged him back with a smile.
"I thought you were gone!" Tarzan said looking up to him.
"Are you all right?" Bagheera asked, concerned for the cub's well-being.
"Yeah! I can't believe you found me! I was so worried about you. I was lost, and I didn't know what happened. But then I met-"
"Uncle Baloo!" Baloo glanced at Terk who was running towards him.
"Hey, Terk, come here." Baloo allowed her to tackle him to the ground, launched her in the air, and patted her head. Both of them laughed joyfully. "Ha ha! Look at you."
Realization passed through 'Baggy's eyes. "Of course. I should have known." He groaned in exasperation.
"What a lovely reunion!" Timon called out to grab their attention as he moved to them on Pumbaa's back, Simba joining their side. "I'm so sorry, before we move on, how do you all know each other?"
Tarzan moved in to make introductions. "Guys, this is my teacher Bagheera, and Terk, my cousin."
"Cousin?" Timon glanced between the two, the differences stood out like sore thumbs but he kept that to himself. "Heh. Who am I to judge?" he shrugged.
"All my cousins are pigs." Pumbaa mused.
"Terk, you're gonna love it here! This place is amazing. It's got all the grubs you could ever want." Tarzan explained excitedly to her.
"Ha. Say no more, cuz! I haven't eaten something good ever since we left. Let's go! "
"Hey, Simba, you're coming?"
"Sure."
"And you, guys?" he asked his teachers.
Timon and Pumbaa looked eager to do so until the former looked behind and nudged the latter to do the same. Bagheera was throwing an apprehensive stare to Baloo, the bear in turn looked slightly bashful.
"Actually, why don't you go ahead? We'll catch up." Timon told them.
And just like that, the three younglings set off in search for the best grub in this side of the Dirisha. Leaving the grownups alone. Bagheera and Baloo were about to take a different route when they noticed the other pair was about to follow them.
"Could you please give us a moment?" The panther asked them.
"Hey, it's fine. They are on the level." Baloo guaranteed while the duo threw smug looks to the exasperated leopard before they all walked off.
"Alright. So what's up, Mr. Panther?" Timon asked from atop Pumbaa as the latter kept up the pace with the two beasts.
"The Man-Cub must go back to the Wakalu." Bagheera responded straight out, mostly to the bear.
"Hey-hey, Baggy. Take it easy, he will be back soon." Baloo responded to reassure him.
"Wait, Tarzan is leaving already?" asked a perplexed Pumbaa.
"He just got here." The meerkat complained.
"Yeah, time sure runs when you're having fun." The bear shifted his glance from his pals to the panther. "You should try that sometime, Baggy." Then he shook himself off. Bagheera flinched as some of the water splashed on him.
"Don't call me that." The panther snidely snarled, not for the first time since he met the bear.
"And we will leave as soon as possible."
"Jeez, that soon? Why don't you just settle down for a minute? It seems you had quite the trip." Baloo lifted a rock and hefted a leaf full of grubs into the air. "So why don't we all just have some grubs?"
"I don't eat grubs." Bagheera remarked slightly disgusted.
"No problem. We'll eat them. Boys?" the bear smiled and offered the leaf to the pair, soon they all were devouring everything on it, much to the panther's revulsion.
"Either way... his mother is looking for him. I'm to meet a search party by the border." Bagheera explained to the munching trio.
"Oh, great!" Timon said between bites. "You can just ask them to come here and pick him up."
"That won't do." The panther shook his head and glanced at Baloo. "Kerchak is leading them."
That made the bear pause. "The Chief?" he now looked lightly alarmed at Bagheera and swallowed. "How's his mood these days?"
The panther sighed and shook his downed head once more. "Not very good."
"Who's the chief?" asked Pumbaa with a half-eaten caterpillar in his mouth.
"Chief Kerchak, he is the leader of all the gorilla troops of the jungle." Baloo explained to the meerkat and the warthog, a bit uneasy. "He doesn't come here often, he likes to stay near the Wakalu, the biggest porch swing in the Bukuvu."
"Um... and what does he eat?" Timon questioned, he and Pumbaa looking quite apprehensive.
"Oh, don't worry guys." The bear now tried to reassure them. "He is like me, big but on a diet of fruits and grubs."
"Oh, good to know." Timon nodded frantically.
"Do you think he will let us use his porch swing when we come to visit the little guy?" Pumbaa asked with eyes lit.
"I think it would be better if you didn't visit him."
Bagheera's statement earned silent looks from the three animals present. Baloo and Timon looked particularly irked.
"Excuse me?" said the meerkat, eyes narrowed and an eyebrow raised. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Yeah, Baggy. Are you implying something?" Baloo had a similar expression.
Bagheera gave a glare of his own. "You don't understand. The boy's in danger. He's gotta focus on his studies."
"Well, duh. What do you think we've been doing all this time? I've been teaching him everything I know." The bear declared as he pointed to himself.
"Heh, in a single day? I'm not surprised." The panther mused and rolled his eyes at Baloo's glare.
Timon slid down from the warthog's leg to the ground, right in front of the panther. "Now, look here, Baggy! There's nothing wrong with taking a break, the kid came here all moody but you saw him just now. He could use a little Hakuna Matata in his life."
"Oh, not that again." Bagheera gave another exasperated groan.
"Relax, Baggy. You can't forbid a cub from having fun." Baloo made himself comfortable beneath a tree and scratched his back against its bark. "We'll just take care of him between your lessons."
"Well, that's another wrinkle." He further narrowed his eyes. "Do you think I didn't notice the sting marks?"
"Oh, come on!" It was the bear's turn to groan. "You know I'd never teach him to mess around with beehives. It was just a miscalculation of mine."
Bagheera kept glaring, this time directly to the bear's swollen snout. "Frankly, you're a disreputable sight."
"Well, you don't look exactly like a bunch of fruits yourself." Baloo responded, eyeing the panther's battle scars.
Bagheera didn't budge.
Timon walked in with Pumbaa, both making way to the base of the tree. "Stop worrying there, pal. He will be safe with us." he proclaimed.
"Yeah, we'll promise to his mother that we will take good care of him." Pumbaa reassured as he lied down in the shade, Timon on his back, leaning against the trunk.
"I fear that won't be enough."
"Oh, now you're just being overprotective." Baloo called out as leaned against the tree and gestured to the area surrounding them. "This is our jungle, I'm the scariest thing you're gonna find in miles. The kid can take on a few bee stings, he's tougher than he looks." he went back to relaxing under the tree.
The moment he finished saying that, Bagheera's face made a 180. From skeptical to grim.
"You may not be for long."
"Uh?"
A short distance from them, the three younglings had just finished stuffing themselves with grub. Now the cousins wanted a dessert, and Tarzan insisted on catching it.
"Whoa!" the cub raced at top speed to climb up the mango tree but failed. For the third time, he hit the ground. "Uh! Almost got it." he rubbed his bottom to shake away the pain, while his cousin and new friend were watching from a nearby rock.
"You're sure you don't want help there, cuz?" Terk called from beside the lion cub who was still feasting on a honeycomb. "They're primo mangoes, always the hardest to get." She told him, but only got a head shake in response.
"No, I'll get them." He insisted before readying himself for another try. He got a few feet away from the tree, assumed a sprinting stance, narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and off he went. The running gave him momentum, he got on all fours once he reached halfway across the trunk. Setting his eyes on the ripe fruit, he leaped with all his strength... and got it!
"Whoa!" but then, he fell to the ground... again.
"Cuz?" Terk called out to him, grabbing Simba's attention in the process. They both looked cautiously at his downed form until he got himself up and revealed the mango in his grip. The female looked slightly perplexed between the fruit and the silly smile on her cousin's face before she started laughing like a monkey. "You did it, Cuz! You did it!"
Tarzan laughed back a split the mango in two, keeping a piece for himself and offering the other to his cousin. Terk came for her part and they savored the fruit together.
The female gave out a refreshed sigh after taking her first bite. "Ah. Delicious."
The Man-Cub smiled at her as he ate. "Boy, l sure missed you guys."
She laughed in return. "We missed you too, pal. That's why we came to bring you home." Unbeknownst to her, Simba perked his ears at her statement.
Tarzan shook his head with a smile and mango juice splattered on his face. "Not coming home."
Shocked, his cousin asked: "You're not?"
Simba was listening in from the side.
"Nope, Hakuna Matata."
"Hakuna Matata?" Terk raised an eyebrow at that. Uncle Baloo had told her and the other younglings of the Troop about it, but what did it have to do with her cousin not wanting to go back home? "What does that motto have to do with anything?"
"No worries for the rest of my days." He kicked back, laid down his head on a tree root, and rested his arms on his nape. "I'm gonna live here from now on."
"What? But Tarzan, what about Aunt Kala?"
At the mention of his mother, Tarzan hung his head in heartache. "She's better off without me." he said in an afflicted voice before turning to her. "You all are."
Terk's look went aghast. "But Tarzan, everyone is looking for you."
Now, the Man-Cub looked shocked. "They are?"
"Yeah, Kerchak sent an entire platoon to find you." She added, increasing the widening of her cousin's eyes. "I and Baggy went first because he wanted to find you faster."
The man-cub stood perplexed at that and started thinking out loud as he walked. "Wow. The whole Troop, looking for me. I thought they were mad. They must really miss me."
Terk came to him and patted his back. "They do, Cuz. Uncle Sokwe, Aunt Kala, Uncle Baggy, the boys even came clean about what happened." Then she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "And... well, I missed you too."
Tarzan lit up his eyes at that before he gave out a big smile and hugged his cousin warmly. Terk looked quite bashful at first, but she soon returned the gesture. Simba was smiling on the side before he turned away and threw a longing expression towards the horizon. Once they pulled away from the embrace, Tarzan glimpsed at Simba looking away. The Man-Cub realized he had probably listened to everything and was likely sad that he would leave. His face downed a little as he thought of that. He left his cousin's side to join the lion cub.
"Hey." He said to his fellow carefree life apprentice.
"Hey," Simba responded with the same word. "So, you're leaving, huh?"
"Yeah." He admitted, a somber silence came between them for a while, until he broke it. "Hey." He continued after getting the kitten's attention. "Thanks, for everything." He said before continuing. "...you saved my skin back at the river, it was fun living together with you and the others, and..." he stammered to find the words he was looking for.
"Thanks for being my first friend." He finally said.
Now, that shocked the lion cub.
Simba choked on air and finally turned to face the man-cub. "Y-you mean it?" he said with a faint, strange tremble in his voice.
Tarzan nodded. "Yeah. And back in the Troop, we're taught to always stick together." he smiled at him. "I'll visit you guys soon, promise."
Simba felt his lip quiver slightly before he smiled, and so they clasped and embraced. The little lion nuzzled in their tight, brotherly grip. Terk was watching with a warm smile, though she would get the full story later.
After they pulled back, Tarzan looked between his two fellow younglings. "Well... guess it's time to say goodbye to the others." He sighed.
"Yeah, you should." Simba said as he covered his face with his forearms to hide whatever emotions were passing through his face. Terk nodded from behind.
"See you guys later." He said as he made his way to bid farewell to the newest mentors in his life.
Tarzan made his way back to the riverbank, the last spot where he had seen his teachers, but they weren't there anymore. He turned to the ground and saw their tracks following the river's flow, thus he followed the trail, but then suddenly stopped when he picked up a distinct sound. That was Bagheera's voice, there was no mistaking it. Once he got closer, the man-cub could also hear Baloo:
"The Assassin?" the bear's voice sounded shaky. "How did she get past the patrols?"
Tarzan moved atop of a rock and, sure enough, there they were. He perked up his ears to hear their conversation.
"There was a breach at the North Bank." Bagheera explained. "She passed to this side and the Troop has been searching for her ever since."
The North Bank? Tarzan flinched at his last memories of that place. Accepting the elephant's hair dare, accidentally causing that stampede, putting himself and his family in danger... and hearing from an outraged Kerchak that he would never be a member of the Troop. He's been suppressing these thoughts ever since he got here.
"Who's that?" Timon asked, slightly startled by the moniker. "Why do you call her Assassin?" his tone indicated that he wasn't that eager to hear an answer.
Baloo swallowed before answering. "Cause she's Bad News."
"That's putting it lightly." The panther barged in. "Sabor's a monster. Doesn't kill for food but for the thrill of it. If she was soaked in all the blood she spilled in her lifetime, she would be redder than the Khan."
By the time he finished explaining, Timon dashed to a burrow beneath a tree root for protection, Pumbaa had the same idea but he only managed to put his snout inside. From the rock, Tarzan wasn't doing much better, the cub was shaking like a leaf.
"But why would she come here?" a trembling meerkat questioned as he peeked from the burrow, past the terrified warthog's muzzle.
"Because Shere Khan swore he would kill the man-cub, Tarzan." Bagheera continued, oblivious that got said man-cub's attention. "He hates man with a vengeance, he fears man's gun and the red flower."
"But, little Tarzan doesn't have those things." Baloo argued distraughtly.
"Shere Khan won't wait until he does." Was the panther's reply. "He'll get him while he's young and helpless." He imitated a paw strike. "Just one swipe-"
"No!" The bear cut him off before he could finish. "Well, what about the Troop? She can't take on all of us together." He reasoned.
Bagheera shook his head. "The Khan's been waiting years for the chance to kill Tarzan; he's never been this close to succeeding. I doubt Sabor is here alone, he probably sent an entire hunting party just to assist her." He closed his eyes and turned away. "He will stop at nothing until he has the boy." He turned back to them, Timon and Pumbaa had gotten out of the burrow, all of them had troubled looks. "The only way we can save him... Is if he goes back to the Wakalu and stays there."
Once he finished, Tarzan left the rock and ran.
Not for the first time in the last few days, the man-cub squatted in the shallow water of a river's downstream shore, except this time he was hugging his legs. Nor were his thoughts any more recomforting than before. That monster that almost got him and had hurt Bagheera was still around. Worse still, she might not be alone. She could be right here, just waiting to pounce at him.
Or worse, at the others.
The Man-Cub felt ashamed of himself, again. She was here because of him. He caused the stampede. He was the reason why she came to their side of the river. And he was the reason why the others would get hurt by her. For a while, he thought that he could actually live here, happy and safe from the dangers of the jungle. Now he knew... as long as he was around, danger would follow and those he cared about would get hurt. That was the last thing he ever wanted to happen. Even worse: there was nothing he could do about it. He's not as strong as Baloo, nor as agile as Bagheera, or even had a 'secret weapon' like Pumbaa.
There wasn't a thing he could do and no way out of this.
"Tarzan! Hey, Tarzan!" he didn't even notice the lion cub sliding down a rock to get to him.
"Oh, it's you." He responded nonchalantly as Simba came to his side, before turning back to the river.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "The others didn't know where you went."
"Did they?" he said in a dry, somber tone. There he was again, worrying sick the ones he cared about.
The lion cub now looked concerned. "Did something happen?" he inquired, getting closer.
"Nah, nothing happened." Tarzan averted his head. He didn't dare to look him in the eyes, for he wasn't in the mood to talk about his torments.
Simba raised an eyebrow. "So, what's wrong?"
The man-cub sighed heavily. The lion cub grew in concern, but before he could say anything his friend finally turned to him, for the first time during their conversation, the kitten got a clear view of his fellow youngling's face. Eyes puffed, with some tears flowing down his eyes.
Tears such as lions use.
"I don't wanna talk about it, just leave me alone." After telling him that, he got up and started walking aimlessly by the shore.
Simba watched aghast as the man-cub took a turn in the riverbank, disappearing from view.
'Alone.'
Suddenly, he remembered how they met by a similar river shore. The lion cub had gone through some terrible days. Almost dying of lack of nourishment in the Great Wastes; following a herd of royal sables to the jungle, only to be chased off when he came to drink in the river; wandering off in this unfamiliar land, without any idea of where he was going; scruffling off against some of the local denizens; his first nights alone in there being a disaster because of the rain; the loneliness.
By yesterday, his sheer will was the only thing that kept him going forward.
Then, he met Tarzan.
The first one that helped him since he got to Bukuvu. Who worried for his safety; went out of his way to save his life from the crocodiles; the first one with whom he had a normal conversation in a VERY long time; who stood by him when they met the others; and who became his fellow carefree life apprentice.
His first true friend in this new life.
Now, their situation reversed from when they met. It was time for him to extend his paw.
With newfound determination, the lion cub raced to the turn, set on helping his new friend. Once he took the curve, he looked around for any signs of his fellow cub...
He quickly found him... in the trees, in the grasp of a gibbon that was covering his mouth!
"Hey!" he exclaimed when two pairs of furry arms snatched him from the ground. "BALOO!" he cried out as the langurs held him above the branches.
The searching bear perked his ears at the cry of the lion cub, his fellow slackers heard it too. They looked up to the trees and saw the movement in the branches. "The Bandar-log!" he shouted and rushed after them, Timon and Pumbaa following behind. Terk gasped and jumped to Baloo's shoulder.
Bagheera was also searching around when he heard the commotion. From atop a tree, he saw a bunch of monkeys carrying off not one, but two familiar forms. "Tarzan!" he cried out before pursuing the tribe of primates.
The Bandar-log carried the man-cub in a file, passing him from one monkey to another ahead of them, despite his protests. The lion cub, on the other end, was being hurled from one end of the line to the other as primates swung in the vines, while Simba screamed all the way.
"Don't worry, kids. We're coming!" Pumbaa yelled to the cubs that he was close to missing in the jungle canopy.
"Where are they taking them?" Timon asked from the warthog's head to Baloo, who was running ahead of them.
"The Ancient Ruins. This way!" the bear responded as he led them to the monkeys' domain.
Bagheera came this close to catching the younglings as he leaped through the trees but lost them when the monkeys jumped over a rapid river, the branches above it wouldn't support his weight long enough for him to jump over. Baloo launched himself to the water the exact moment that the panther came down. "Come on, jump! And watch the claws." He said, with the last part directed to the panther; not that changed much: "Gah!" Enduring the pain, the biggest animal of the group served as a crossing rock to the others.
By the time they reached the other side, they couldn't see the monkeys or the cubs... but they knew where they would find both.
A/N: Yeah, I have different plans for Kaa.