To the Guest Reviewer, your idea will totally be the next chapter! That is such a cute idea.

Terk, Flynt, and Mungo were hanging upside down from a branch and trying to see who could reach and eat the most berries without moving from their spot. Terk was sure she was in the lead as she grabbed more berries from a nearby bush and shoved fistfuls in her mouth, eating some of the leaves and branches as well.

"How ya doing, Terk," Mungo shouted over to her through his mouthful.

"You mush no be doin' great," Terk managed to say through her mouthful, "if you ca' still talk."

"Mmm-mm," Flynt added in, pointing to his cheeks full of berries as he swung on the branch he was hanging from.

Terk ate a few more mouthfuls to fill up her own cheeks and smirked at Flynt, crossing her arms and nodding her head. Mungo managed to pull up an entire bush of berries and ate a few mouthfuls of the plant, catching up quickly with the others. They all had a stare down as they waited for one of the others to swallow their food first.

"Hey guys," Tarzan said as he came running over to the trio hanging upside down. "What are you doing? Can I play, too?"

Terk made a face while Flynt rolled his eyes and Mungo scrunched his nose, but no one caved in. Tarzan watched the trio and smiled, wondering what kind of competition this was.

"You guys don't mind if I join, right?"

"Mmm," Terk tried to say as she waved her hands at Tarzan.

Flynt smirked at her while he waited, hoping she would swallow her mouthful first in order to deal with Tarzan and lose the game. Terk narrowed her eyes at him, then startled when Tarzan started climbing up the tree they were on.

"Are you guys trying to see how much food you can fit in your mouths again?" Tarzan asked as he made his way to the branch they were hanging from. He carefully walked over the branch until he found an empty space, then carefully turned himself over so he was upside down as well, though holding on with all four limbs. He saw the berry bushes and smiled. "Those berries, right?"

"Mm-mmm," Terk tried to say again, shaking her head and waving her hands at Tarzan. She had seen him try to copy their positions before while tree-climbing, and the six-year-old still wasn't that great at some of the basic stunts any ape could usually do.

Flynt was humming as he casually swung back and forth on the branch, and Mungo was trying not to laugh at Terk's desperate look, using a hand to cover his mouth and keep the berries in.

Tarzan slowly let go of the branch he was hanging on with his hands, using just his feet to grip it like the other ape children were doing. He slowly lowered himself until he was hanging like they were, then tried to reach for a berry bush, but his arms were not long enough to touch the one just underneath him. He leaned forward a little more, stretching further and further until he felt his feet slip from the branch.

"Ahh!" Tarzan cried as he fell.

He jerked to a halt as Terk managed to catch him by his ankle, and she spat out the berries to scold him.

"Tarzan! I was trying to tell you to wait!" Terk exclaimed.

"Sorry," Tarzan said.

Mungo burst out laughing, spitting the berries everywhere while Flynt victoriously fist pumped the air and swallowed his mouthful.

"I win!" Flynt said.

Terk sighed before she swung Tarzan forward enough to grab his wrist and flip him over before letting him fall the rest of the way to the ground. Tarzan landed on his feet and Terk let go of the branch and landed next to him. Mungo and Flynt hopped down as well.

"Let's face it, hairless wonder," Flynt said, "you're not good at any of the games we play. That's why we don't include you."

"Well, I'll never be any good if I don't get to practice," Tarzan argued.

"That's just it," Flynt said, gesturing to Tarzan. "You need to practice! We don't."

"Yeah, we can just get right into the games," Mungo added. "You slow us down."

"I'm getting better," Tarzan said.

"Okay, okay," Terk said stepping in between the brother apes and Tarzan. She put an arm around Tarzan as she said, "Look buddy, I know you're a late bloomer and you're getting stronger and all, but some games are just . . . not for you."

"Oh, come on, Terk," Tarzan said. "I can do anything you guys can do."

"True, but it's not always as easy for you," Terk countered. "Besides, last thing I need to be doing is explaining to Kerchak how his son ended up mangled falling out of a tree."

"I wouldn't end up mangled," Tarzan said with a pout at Terk. He gave Terk a hopeful smile as he asked, "Maybe I can just . . . tag along with you guys? I don't have to play your games if you don't want me to."

"We ain't babysitters," Flynt said.

"I'm not a baby," Tarzan said. "I can take care of myself just fine."

"Right," Mungo said with a roll of his eyes. "Doesn't Daddy have to help you climb up mountains and trees still?"

Tarzan glared at Mungo despite feeling his cheeks heat up as it was technically true, especially on slippery trees or very steep mountains. He would have to make sure he tried climbing more on his own from now on whenever his peers were around. He was about to say something in his defense when there was a rustle in the trees above them and a few feathers came fluttering down in between everyone.

"Whoa!" Flynt said in amazement as he watched the feathers fall to the ground. "Check out these feathers!"

The feathers were a shiny olive in color, and they landed lightly on the ground. Flynt picked one of them up and studied it while Mungo sniffed the other that landed.

"I bet they're from one of those wood tapper birds," Mungo said as he picked up the other feather. The boys intently studied the feathers while Terk gave Tarzan an annoyed look.

"This is what I get hanging out with these dorks," Terk said. "They're obsessed with their silly feather collection."

"It's not silly," Flynt said. "It's cool. Between Mungo and I, we have like a hundred different kinds of feathers. Even predator birds."

"We need one from an owl and we might have a feather from all the birds in the forest," Mungo said.

"Good luck with that," Terk said, "those things only come out a night. And they rarely leave feathers behind."

"True," Flynt said. "And they probably wouldn't come near the family nesting site. We'd have to look outside the family boundaries if we had any hope of finding one."

Tarzan frowned at that, then smiled and said, "I could probably find one."

"No!" Terk said quickly, turning to glare at Tarzan. "Kerchak's rules are no one leaves the nesting grounds at night."

"Hey, if you find an owl feather," Flynt said, "you could totally join us in more of our games."

"Really?" Tarzan said. "I could do it."

"It would mean braving the dark night and all its predators."

"I'm not scared."

"It would also mean sneaking past Kerchak," Terk added. "And let's not have a repeat of Elephant Falls, please. Tarzan, you don't have to do this. Flynt and Mungo can keep searching for their own owl feathers."

"Just saying," Flynt said with a shrug. "If you do happen to go out and find us one, you would totally prove to us that you're not a baby. We'd let you hang out with us more."

Terk glared at Flynt while Tarzan grinned.

That night, Tarzan snuggled up against his mother, who fell asleep quickly, but Kerchak was still performing his nightly check on the family. He would have to wait until his father returned to the nest before he could sneak out to check for an owl feather. He fought against a few yawns that escaped his lips, trying hard to keep himself awake to wait for Kerchak to return. It was a losing battle, however, and he curled into his mother's fur to close his eyes for just a minute.

A loud screech from somewhere in the jungle startled Tarzan awake, and he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness. It was still late at night, so he had a chance to find an owl feather. Tarzan slowly slid out from between his mother's arms, careful to move slowly so he didn't wake her.

Kerchak had curled up next to Kala, which ended up sandwiching Tarzan in between his parents. They were both still sound asleep, and if Tarzan was careful and kept himself light, he might be able to climb out of the nest without disturbing anyone. He carefully moved between his parents, trying not to touch either as he worked his way forward, careful not to make a sound either. He was almost out of the nest when Kerchak shifted, and Tarzan froze.

With a yawn, Kerchak blinked his eyes open and stared at his son tiredly.

"What are you doing, Tarzan?" he asked.

"Oh, just stretching," Tarzan said as he faked a big stretch, trying to hide his disappointment. Of course, Kerchak would wake. He had become quite a light sleeper according to Kala. "Something woke me, so I was just getting comfortable again."

"Hmm," Kerchak hummed as he readjusted in the nest and settled back down. He gestured for Tarzan to move closer to him, and Tarzan bit back a sigh while he crawled up toward his father. He accepted a nuzzle from Kerchak, smiling at the affectionate touch before he curled up against his father. He supposed he could always try another night.

"Go back to sleep, son," Kerchak said, closing his own eyes. "It is far too late to be awake."

Tarzan closed his eyes, but a minute later, he heard another loud screech, followed by a very chilling moan. Kerchak and Tarzan lifted their heads at the noise, peering into the dark jungle around them.

"That's what I heard," Tarzan said. "What do you think it is?"

"Nothing good," Kerchak said. He pushed up to his feet. "I'm going to do a perimeter check. Go back to sleep. I'll be right back."

Tarzan nodded, then watched his father circle around a few nearby nests. When he was out of sight, Tarzan quickly crawled out of the nest and began checking the ground for any owl feathers. It was now or never, he thought. Surely owls would fly over their nesting site and leave a feather or two? According to Mungo, owl feathers were fuzzier and softer than other bird feathers, which was why you never hear them when they fly. If the feather looked fuzzy and was really soft, it was most likely an owl feather.

So far, there were none near the family, so Tarzan bravely moved closer to the boundary of their grounds. It was dark, so he had to get close to different objects on the ground to see what they were. He thought he may have found a feather, but it turned out to be a large leaf. Disappointed, Tarzan moved a little further away from the family, keeping an eye on the ground for any feathers.

He glanced back every now and then to make sure he could still see the family through the trees, and he could just make out the edges of a nest where he was, which gave him enough courage to keep looking for that feather. If he needed to retreat, at least he was still close. Tarzan peered at the ground once more, feeling around for anything soft.

His hand brushed against something fuzzy, and Tarzan grabbed it and held it up.

A small, fuzzy, grayish feather.

Tarzan smiled. Finally, an owl feather. It had to be.

Tarzan was about to turn back when he caught sight of another feather just a bit ahead of him. He ran over to it and grabbed it. Another owl feather. It was a bit larger than his first one, so he dropped that one and kept the larger.

Then he saw another feather, and he shuffled forward and grabbed that one. Who knew owls dropped so many feathers at a time. Maybe one had landed nearby not that long ago. This feather was a bit larger, so he kept that one instead.

There was a fallen tree in front of him, and sticking up from it was an even larger owl feather, the biggest one yet, with a clear fuzziness to the outer edges of the feather. Tarzan smiled and jumped up on the trunk of the tree, pulling the feather free and admiring his newest find. This one was perfect.

A snarl made Tarzan jump and he dropped down from the tree and peered over it. He gasped at the sight.

A jackal was ripping into the flesh of a freshly killed eagle owl just a few feet away from him. It didn't appear to have seen him, so Tarzan gulped and slowly backed away from the log. Jackals did not move through this part of the jungle often. Tarzan recalled his father mentioning something about them once . . . what was it that he said? It was something very important.

Suddenly, a jackal leaped out of the jungle and landed right in front of Tarzan.

"Ahh!" Tarzan cried out, falling back into the fallen tree.

Another growl made him look up, and he saw two jackals standing on the tree snarling down at him.

That's what it was—jackals often traveled in packs.

Tarzan leaped away as a jackal tried to pounce on him. He dodged another that lunged for him and spun around as yet another tried to bite him. Nearly tripping over his own feet, Tarzan scrambled away, zigzagging to avoid the jackals chasing him and lunging for him. There were four of them chasing after him, the owl meal long forgotten as they pursued new meat, and Tarzan ran as fast as he could to make it back to the nesting grounds.

The family site was just a few feet ahead of him, he could see the edges of a nest coming into view.

"Mom!" Tarzan screamed. "Dad!"

Before he could reach the grounds, a fifth jackal slid into his path with open jaws, forcing Tarzan to stop dead in his tracks. He didn't hesitate for long though as the others behind him were sure to pounce, and he made a sharp turn left. He managed to get a few feet before one of the jackals cut him off.

He turned around, only for another to stop him once more.

Tarzan panted as he backed away, spinning this way and that while trying to think of a way out of the circle that the jackals had him trapped in. The canines snarled at him as they narrowed their kill circle, several of them preparing to deliver a final bite, snapping their teeth at Tarzan.

One of the jackals made the decision to pounce first, and it leaped for Tarzan, who cowered and covered his face, closing his eyes tightly in preparation for a painful bite.

He heard the jackal yelp at the same time as a loud roar sounded above him, and Tarzan looked up in time to see Kerchak standing over him, his canines bared. The jackal landed harshly on the ground with a whimper, and he realized Kerchak must have thrown it back. The other jackals snarled at Kerchak as they circled the larger ape now, and Kerchak rose and struck his chest with his palms repeatedly while snarling back.

One of the jackals lowered himself to pounce on Kerchak, but Kala grabbed the canine and threw him into a tree before he could, and he yelped and limped away. Kala let out a roar herself at the jackal as she came to stand next to Kerchak.

Deciding they were outmatched, the jackals huffed and turned away, following their injured friend back into the jungle. Tarzan breathed a sigh of relief, then gave Kerchak an apologetic look when his father turned stern eyes on him.

"How many times have I told you to never leave the family nests at night?" Kerchak asked.

"I'm sorry, I was just . . ."

"That is the only law I have on nighttime safety; is that too much for you to follow?"

"No, but I . . ."

"You put yourself in harm's way by deliberately disobeying me—this is exactly how we lost your brother!"

Tarzan gasped at that, and Kala stepped forward and put an arm around Tarzan.

"Kerchak," Kala chided gently.

Kerchak sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Tarzan watched his father for a moment before looking up at his mother.

"Is that really how you lost my brother?" he asked. "You only told me that Sabor killed him."

"Yes," Kala said. "He wandered off from the nest one night, and he went beyond the family boundaries. When Sabor found him, he tried to run back to us, and we tried to get to him, but we were too late. This is why your father now instills a night curfew for everyone, and no one is to go beyond the nesting site at night."

"I didn't know," Tarzan said.

"Be that as it may," Kerchak said in a softer tone. "You did know the rule. And you disobeyed. I hope you have a good reason for it."

Tarzan blushed and pulled out the feather he had managed to keep a hold of.

"Flynt and Mungo wanted an owl feather for their collection. I told them I could get one for them. Terk didn't want me to, but Flynt and Mungo said they'd let me play in their games more often if I did it. I just wanted to show them I wasn't a baby."

"For once, you should have listened to Terkina," Kerchak said. "And risking your life does not prove to anyone that you are not a baby, as you put it. If anything, it does quite the opposite in my eyes."

Tarzan pouted at that.

"If you want to play in their games more, you need to prove to them that you are someone worth playing with. It doesn't matter how well you play the game or if you play it correctly. As long as everyone is having fun, that's all that really matters."

Tarzan thought about that, and it did make sense. He smiled at his father and nodded his head.

"I can try that," he said.

Kerchak smiled back at his son and nuzzled him gently, glad he was safe. Kala pushed Tarzan to her back, and they headed back for their nest.

The next day, Tarzan ran off to find his friends, and he found them in a similar position as yesterday, hanging upside down from a tree branch and trying to shove as many berries in their mouth as possible. It was clearly a rematch from the game he had interrupted yesterday. Tarzan paused underneath them and held up the owl feather.

"I got the feather, guys," Tarzan said.

"No way," Mungo said. "You actually went outside the nesting grounds?"

"Yep," Tarzan said.

"And you're still alive?" Terk asked.

"Good for you," Flynt said, crossing his arms and frowning at Tarzan. "Look, we would love to include you in our games, but this one has already started. Why don't you come back later and see what we're up to then?"

"Or," Tarzan said as he pulled a bush of berries closer to himself. "I could make your game a little more challenging. Try catching these!"

Tarzan started throwing the berries up at his upside-down friends, who held up their arms to avoid getting hit in the face.

"Hey, stop that!" Flynt said.

"What are you doing?" Mungo said, swatting at a few berries.

Terk opened her mouth to shout at Tarzan when she managed to catch a few berries. Her eyes sparkled as she realized what Tarzan was attempting to do, and she purposely held her mouth open to catch a few more.

"I bet I can catch more berries that you can," she challenged.

"No way!" Mungo said, and he opened his mouth and swung this way and that to catch a few himself.

"Oh, it's on!" Flynt said, and he opened his mouth to try to catch a few.

Tarzan laughed as he tossed more berries up in the air for the three apes to catch. This was actually kind of fun. He didn't need to be hanging upside down with them to enjoy this game after all.