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Chapter Text

               “Where are we going now?” Nine-year-old Tarzan complained when Kerchak said it was time to get moving.

            “Do not start your whining,” Kerchak scolded as he walked past his son. “It’s time to leave these grounds for a new foraging site. Food runs low after a while. We leave to allow this place to replenish while we seek out new treats.”

            “Ugh, but it’s so tiring,” Tarzan said as he started following his father.

            Tarzan’s three-year-old sister, Kaphi, ran by Tarzan with several giggles, running circles around her brother before running over to her mother.

            “See, Kaphi thinks it’s exciting,” Kerchak said with a smirk.

            “Kaphi thinks anything is exciting,” Tarzan argued, turning to watch his sister climb up on her mother’s back. Tarzan smiled before glancing up at his father’s back. He crouched as he prepared himself to leap, then pounced up on his father’s back, slipping slightly as he had miscalculated his jump.

            Kerchak paused and glanced at his son, making sure he managed to situate himself on his back, then he smiled.

            “You’re that tired already?” he asked as he started leading the family away once more.

            “Well yeah,” Tarzan said, lying down on his father’s back. “Every step you take is like quadruple steps I have to take.”

            “Fair point,” Kerchak said before chuckling.

            “Besides, I have to make up for lost time on all the times you didn’t let me ride on your back.”

            “Is that so?” Kerchak paused for a moment before he added, “You know, you were about Kaphi’s age the very first time you rode my back.

            “Really? You let me on your back when I was that little?”

            “I had no other choice at the time,” Kerchak said. “You were as much trouble as your sister at that age. And while I may not have been entirely accepting of you then, you were still very much a part of the family—especially in your mother’s eyes. I’ll be honest with you, it was a terrifying experience for me.”

            Tarzan rolled on his father’s back as he belly-laughed.

            “Really? No way. Not you.”

            “It was. You were so small and . . . very not good at holding on.”  

            Kala set three-year-old Tarzan by the river while she lowered her head to slurp up a drink. Tarzan copied her at first, leaning down to slurp up the water before he was distracted by a fish that swam by. He laughed and reached into the water as if he might catch another unsuspecting fish.

            “No, Tarzan,” Kala said, pushing her son back until he plopped down on his bottom, sitting in a gorilla fashion. He looked up at his mother curiously before giggling and reaching out for her. Kala smiled at her son before she returned to drinking the river water.

            Tarzan watched her for a moment before he blinked at a butterfly that fluttered by. He laughed and crawled after the butterfly a bit, eyeing it when it landed on a nearby plant.

            Kala looked up to check on her son. At this age, the toddler was always toddling off somewhere. He usually was good about staying close to her though, so she wasn’t too concerned. She was sure one day, Tarzan might be more daring to explore more of the family grounds on his own, but for now, she was okay with him sticking close as he was still a bit clumsy on his feet and struggled with the grip in his hands. She wondered if he’d ever have the kind of ape grip that allowed him to grasp trees and even cling to her back appropriately, but even if he never did, he seemed pretty content with how he managed to get around. As long as he was happy, she was happy.

            Kala returned to drinking the water, enjoying the cold feeling on the hot day.

            Tarzan jumped for the butterfly, but it flapped away before the child could land on it. He grumbled before laughing as he playfully chased after the butterfly, focused on the sparkling blue wings keeping just out of arm’s reach. The butterfly flew into the trees, escaping into the jungle, leading little Tarzan after it.

            Kala finished filling up on water and glanced up to check on Tarzan. She did not see him immediately but didn’t panic right away. She glanced over at the other gorillas just a few feet away from her, everyone either getting a drink or resting near the riverbank. Kala tried to peer through everyone in hopes that Terk may have pulled Tarzan into a game, but she could see the young ape playing with Flynt and Mungo, all three throwing mudballs at each other and laughing while their parents shook their heads in amusement.

            Okay, some panic was starting to form in her chest.

            Kala spun around, checking the foliage and glancing at the trees. She couldn’t see or hear Tarzan anywhere. Had he wandered off without realizing he was going too far away? Kala grunted in worry as she charged the trees, stopping just before them and peering through as if hoping she might catch a glimpse of Tarzan.

            “Tarzan,” she called out. “Tarzan!”

            She didn’t see him at all through the fringe of the jungle, and she was about to explore deeper when a commanding roar made her halt. She froze and shot an annoyed look at her mate as he walked over to her.   

            “What are you doing?” Kerchak asked as he paused in front of Kala.

            “Tarzan’s wandered off,” Kala said, stepping into the trees, “I have to look for him.”

            “I just secured this spot for us,” Kerchak said, stepping in front of Kala once more to keep her from going into the uncharted territory. As much confidence as he had in Kala’s ability to defend herself, Kerchak knew there were nearby gorilla troops waiting their turns to approach the river for a drink. Kala could easily be snatched away or harmed by another silverback in the area if she wandered too far.

            “I need to find my son,” Kala said.

            Kerchak bristled at the word slightly, but he bared his canines in warning. No one was to leave the boundaries he set after he completed his rounds. It was just too risky. However, if Tarzan was still within his boundaries, he might be able to find Tarzan and bring him back to Kala while ensuring other families and predators. As much as he’d rather see the hairless wonder meet his fate in the jungle, he knew Kala would not budge unless someone went looking for him.

            “I will look for Tarzan,” Kerchak said. “Stay here with the family. You will have safety in numbers. Hopefully, Tarzan is still within my boundaries.”

            “You’ll do that?” Kala asked, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping slightly.

            “If it means keeping you safe, then yes,” Kerchak said. “Hopefully, he is still within my boundaries and hasn’t ventured into unmarked territory yet.”

            “Yes, I don’t think he would have gone too far. He must have realized by now and is probably frightened.”

            Kerchak resisted rolling his eyes as he stepped into the trees. Perhaps if Tarzan knew the ways of gorilla life, he wouldn’t have wandered so far to begin with. Foolish, rookie mistake. But then again, his own son had made a similar mistake, and in the dead of night, which cost him his life because Kerchak had been too slow to rescue him. Kerchak huffed. Tarzan was simply a young child who did not know any better. He could hardly blame him for this bout of recklessness. Perhaps he would learn from this and never wander from Kala so far again.

            “Thank you, Kerchak,” Kala said as he walked further into the jungle.

            Kerchak let out a soft grunt in reply as he continued, moving slow so he could listen for any rustles or frolicking. As leader of the family, it was his job to ensure every member of the family stayed together, protecting them if needed, and as much as he loathed it, Tarzan was a member by Kala’s words and honor. And as his mate, he would not let Kala down by failing to find Tarzan. If anything, by doing this, he would continue to prove himself a good mate to her, and she would not abandon the family to raise Tarzan in seclusion. He never wanted Kala to feel left out or as if she was being exiled due to her choice in bringing Tarzan into the family. She was still very much an included and engaged member of his family.

            Tarzan, however, left most of the family with mixed feelings. Some days, the child was almost indistinguishable from the other ape children his age. He ate what everyone else did, shuffled along like everyone else, and clung to Kala while she played with him like the others.

            And sometimes, he did weird things. Like walking on two legs a few times. That had startled some of the other children at first, who then thought it a neat game and started copying Tarzan, upsetting some of the mothers. Sometimes, Tarzan copied other animal noises, which was a very strange trick of his. And he would play with sticks, vines, and rocks with unusual dexterity.  

            Yet, for the most part, the little boy did his best to act like an ape. Kerchak would give him the benefit of the doubt that he might continue to do so.

            Kerchak paused as he sniffed the air, looking for any scent of gorilla, hoping enough of it rubbed off on Tarzan. He wasn’t actually familiar with Tarzan’s scent. Now and then, he would catch a whiff of the child and pick up on the different smell he carried. He noticed that the longer the child lived with them, his scent became more tamed down, covered by a mix of gorilla and jungle smells. It made for an odd tracking experience as Kerchak found the strange scent he was looking for and followed it.

            The scent would come and go as he tried to force himself to focus on it. He hoped this would be the only time he would need to hunt down the child as he did not want to become accustomed to his odd pheromone. Kerchak paused when he lost the scent again and checked his surroundings.

            He was still within the boundaries he had marked. That was good, less chance of running into a contender or predator at this time. He peered through the foliage, looking for any sign of Tarzan.

            Suddenly, something rustled to his right, and he swung his head in the direction of the noise, standing tall as he waited for something to appear.

            A butterfly fluttered past a tree and toward the great ape, who rolled his eyes at his own jumpiness. Then, he startled when Tarzan came barreling around the tree after the butterfly, a big smile on his face as he chased the insect.

            Not even remorseful for the trouble he caused, Kerchak thought as he quickly put an arm out to stop the child. Tarzan didn’t slow down fast enough to avoid running into Kerchak’s arm, and he fell back with an oof. He looked up nervously at the large ape.

            “You are in big trouble,” Kerchak said to him, glaring at the child. “You should not be this far away from the family, especially Kala.”

            Tarzan’s lower lip quivered, and he lowered his head, blinking his eyes up at Kerchak.

            “I sorry,” Tarzan said. He pointed at the butterfly that was disappearing into the jungle. “I chase butterfly.”   

            “And that was wrong of you to do when it went into the jungle,” Kerchak said. “You should have returned to Kala immediately when you saw it leave the family grounds. If you cannot obey my rules, you will find yourself grounded to your mother’s sight until you can, however unlikely that may be.”

            Tarzan sniffled and wiped an eye before he gave a submissive smile, something he must have seen other young apes do in Kerchak’s presence. It was an appropriate apology, and Kerchak sighed and accepted it with a nod.

            “Very well,” Kerchak said, leading the way back through the trees. “Come.”

            After a moment of hesitation, Tarzan shuffled after the silverback, tripping over a few roots. Kerchak moved at his usual swift pace, glancing back belatedly to make sure Tarzan was keeping up, and he realized he was gaining a lot of distance from the hairless ape. Tarzan didn’t seem overly alarmed as he kept leaping after Kerchak, though he did get distracted by a strange looking rock. Kerchak rolled his eyes as Tarzan paused to sniff at it before picking it up to study in his hands.

            “Tarzan, come,” Kerchak snapped.

            Tarzan blinked as he seemed to remember what they were originally doing, and he dropped the rock and ran over to Kerchak, who turned and headed back for his family. A few steps though told him this was going to be a very long trip as Tarzan once again fell behind.

            Kerchak sighed as Tarzan found himself distracted once more by another flying bug. He reminded himself Tarzan was still a young toddler, and most apes his age would be carried on a gorilla’s back. He hesitated as he watched Tarzan chase the bug, then made a decision and reached for the child before he could change his mind.

            Tarzan oofed as he was snatched midjump, and he watched curiously as he was lifted to Kerchak’s back. He cooed softly as he was pushed up to Kerchak’s shoulder, and he climbed up the ape as well as he could, nearly slipping and forcing Kerchak to keep a hand nearby just in case.

            Finally, Tarzan was able to sit himself on Kerchak’s shoulders, and he touched the gorilla’s tuft of hair curiously, babbling softly as he pushed his fingers through the silky hair.

            Kerchak hummed uncomfortably before he jerked his head back just a bit, but it was enough force to send Tarzan sliding down his back. The toddler giggled as if it was a fun ride before stopping mid-back, and Tarzan readjusted himself so he could hold on in the way Kala had been teaching him over the years.

            Slowly, Kerchak made several careful movements, and he could feel Tarzan lean one way and the next as he did so, his grip just threatening to loosen and then the child would fall right off his back. How on earth did Kala walk with this clumsy child on her back? This was not moving them along any faster.

            Tarzan seemed pretty content on his back despite the way he swayed. He was looking at the world from a new height, and he reached out a hand for a fruit hanging just at his level, leaning forward slightly.

            Kerchak felt Tarzan fall before the child actually did, and he was quick to raise a hand and catch the child before he fell too far forward. He pushed Tarzan to the center of his back so the child could find a grip again.

            “No, Tarzan,” Kerchak said. “You can eat when we get back to the family.”

            “Hungry now,” Tarzan said with a pout.

            “That’s what you get for running off,” Kerchak scolded. “Now be still.”

            Tarzan huffed but repositioned himself on Kerchak’s back, his tiny fingers clutching small fistfuls of the gorilla’s fur.

            Kerchak tested a few more steps with Tarzan on his back, not liking this experience one bit. Tarzan still leaned too far to one side or the other as he walked. The child was just asking to fall off. He couldn’t imagine how upset Kala would be if he was the reason Tarzan ended up injured.

            As he practically tiptoed through the jungle, he suddenly felt Tarzan crawling up his back, and he nearly shook himself to stop the child, but he stopped himself as he was sure that would only end up in Tarzan falling off his back.   

            “Tarzan, stay put!” Kerchak scolded.

            Tarzan did not listen of course. He managed to scramble up Kerchak’s back and settled back on his shoulders, where he was able to snag a mango hanging inches above Kerchak’s head. Tarzan swung his feet slightly as he bit into the mango, humming delightfully.

            “Mm, yummy,” Tarzan said.

            Kerchak growled under his breath and decided to ignore the child for now and try walking once more. He found that with Tarzan in this position, the child did not sway as much, and Kerchak was able to resume a normal stride. He hmphed in thought as he glanced up at the child who was very distracted by the fruit at the moment. Perhaps Kala’s smaller size enabled Tarzan to cling to her shoulders a bit when he was on her back, and that allowed them to walk at a normal pace, where here, Tarzan was too small to reach Kerchak’s shoulders from the center of his back. The shoulders would have to do.

            Tarzan ate his fill of the fruit, then seemed to remember gorilla manners and held out the rest to Kerchak, offering another submissive smile.

            Kerchak paused midstep at the gesture, a bit surprised Tarzan would even consider it.

            “Err, you hold on to it for now,” Kerchak said with a frown, “But thank you.”

            Tarzan yawned as he hugged the half-eaten fruit to his chest for safe keeping. He leaned forward enough so he could rest his head on top of his arms, right in Kerchak’s warm turft of hair. Tarzan closed his eyes contently.

            Kerchak frowned but did not try to force Tarzan to stay awake. He walked a bit faster back to the family, hoping to end this strange one-on-one time with the hairless wonder. He finally made it back to his family to see everyone sleeping, and he figured it was time to move back to their usual grounds and allow another family a turn with the river.

            He roared loudly to wake the family and get them moving, startling Tarzan awake, who shot up and nearly slid right off Kerchak’s shoulders, but thankfully, he corrected himself on his own.

            Kala quickly walked over to him, a smile on her face at seeing her son. Kerchak pulled Tarzan down from his back and handed him to Kala, who accepted her son and checked him over.

            “Are you hurt, Tarzan?” Kala asked. “You know better than to run off.”

            “Sorry, mommy,” Tarzan said, giving her his best sad face. Kala melted and hugged him close.

            “I’m glad you are safe.” Kala looked at Kerchak. “Thank you.”

            Kerchak nodded and turned away. He swore he could still feel the child on his back, his fingers running through his hair in curiosity while he swayed left to right. He shook out his fur and called the family to follow his lead. Hopefully, he would never have to experience such a strange thing again.  

            “Wow, I guess I was as much trouble as Kaphi,” Tarzan said, jumping off his father’s back and landing on the ground, checking out the new lands they had arrived at.

            “As much?” Kerchak questioned, frowning at his son. “You were far more trouble than your sister at that age. Chasing every little thing that moved. Becoming obsessed with silly things like rocks. In fact, you’re still as much trouble.”

            “No, I’m not,” Tarzan said. “I can at least hold on now.”

            “I suppose that is one thing you’ve improved at,” Kerchak said.

            “Oh yeah,” Tarzan aimed himself at his father, crouching low to pounce. “I’ll show you what else I’ve improved at.”

            Tarzan jumped and tried to tackle his father, only for Kerchak to fall backwards and catch him. Kerchak rolled over and pinned Tarzan down and tickled him mercilessly. Tarzan squirmed and squealed as he tried to wrestle out of his father’s arms.

            “Dad, I surrender!” Tarzan pleaded.

            “I thought you were showing me what else you’ve improved at?” Kerchak asked as he kept tickling his son. “I must say, you’re not doing a very good job.”

            “I . . . can’t . . . breathe,” Tarzan said in between fits of laughter.

            Kerchak stopped tickling his son and instead, rubbed his nose against Tarzan’s while his son took a minute to catch his breath.

            “I save you, Tarzan!” Kaphi yelled as she tackled her father’s arm. The little ape found herself quickly pinned in her father’s arms while he playfully mouthed her, and she giggled loudly.

            “Shouldn’t you be setting a perimeter around the new land?” Kala asked as she walked over to her mate and children. She grinned at their playful behavior, loving how connected her entire family was.

            “Yes, I should get started on that,” Kerchak said as he set his daughter down next to Tarzan. “We need to make sure everyone knows where the boundary lines end.”

            Kerchak looked at his kids pointedly. Kaphi gave him her best innocent look while Tarzan crossed his arms and gave his father a mock glare. Kerchak snorted at them before saying, “Is that a challenge, little boy?”

            Tarzan quickly changed his frown to smile.

            “Never.”

            “Like I said, you are nothing but trouble.”

            Tarzan laughed, and Kerchak smiled as he went to mark his territory and check for any threats. He really did love his children.

Chapter Text

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.

Chapter Text

            “You must have a sweet tooth, my dear,” Kala said as she moved through the trees collecting a small supply of different fruits. “Another sugar starved little ape for our family. You and Tarzan will get along nicely, I think.”

            At the sound of his name, Tarzan paused in his own search for food and glanced down at his mother. She was munching on a mango, and he frowned as he was sure he had just heard her speaking to someone. He went back to looking for the right fruit when he heard Kala speak again, and he dropped down a branch to look at his mother.

            “Not feeling mangoes today?” Kala said as she crawled through the branches, her half-eaten mango abandoned. “What about pears? Or a banana?”

            Tarzan frowned and swung down another branch as he followed his mother. She grabbed a banana and ate that, and she seemed a bit more content with it. Tarzan ate a banana himself while watching his mother, curious to see if she would start speaking again. She finished a couple bananas before she smiled happily and patted her stomach.

            “There,” she said. “That’s better, isn’t it?”

            Tarzan tilted his head at that.

            Kala began descending from the trees, and Tarzan finished his food before following his mother. Back on the ground, Kala walked toward her nest, and Tarzan shuffled after her.

            “Mom,” Tarzan called out.

            She glanced back and smiled as her six-year-old son caught up to her and gave her a curious look. Once he was at her side, they walked together toward their shared nest.

            “Who are you talking to?” Tarzan asked.

            “To your sibling, of course,” Kala answered with a small chuckle.

            “But . . .” Tarzan frowned at his mother once more. They arrived at the nest and Kala sat down and leaned back against the tree that was directly next to their nest. She smiled at her son as he crawled up next to her. He said, “The baby’s not born yet.”

            “That doesn’t mean the baby can’t hear us,” Kala explained. She took Tarzan’s hands and placed them on her stomach. “You see, the baby responds to us when we talk to him or her. It’s going to help the baby feel comfortable and safe to hear familiar voices when he or she arrives in the big scary world. And it is a good way to bond with the baby while I’m still carrying him or her.”

            “Really?” Tarzan asked, a bit hesitant to move his hands on his mother’s extended stomach. “The baby can hear me right now?”

            “Yes.” Kala nodded her head, then gave a soft, encouraging grunt as she placed her hands over Tarzan’s. “Try talking to your sibling.”

            “Oh, umm . . .” Tarzan tried to think of something to say to his baby brother or sister who was still in his mother’s belly. “Hi, baby brother. Or sister. I don’t know what you’ll be, but I don’t really care either. I’m going to be your big brother no matter what.”

            Tarzan felt a little silly talking to his mother’s stomach, and he glanced up at Kala, who gave him an encouraging nod. Tarzan cleared his throat as he racked his brain for something more to say.

            “Well, I hope you like to play games,” Tarzan said. “We can play lots of games when you’re born. Like ape hunt! And tag. Tag is lots of fun—see, I tag you and then you have to chase me and tag me back. Then I have to chase you and tag you again.”

            There was a movement under Tarzan’s hands, and he gasped and pulled away from his mother.

            “I think the baby moved!” Tarzan exclaimed.

            “She did,” Kala said with a nod of her head. “She gave quite the kick at your words. I think she likes the idea of playing with you.”

            “Really?” Tarzan grinned, then glanced at his mother’s belly. He slowly put his hands on her stomach once more, pushing down a little firmer. “We can play lots of tag! We’ll have so much fun chasing each other, and we’ll be the best of friends, won’t we?”

            Tarzan laughed as he felt the baby kick against his hands, and he pushed down a bit firmer for a better feeling when the baby kicked against him again. Tarzan lifted his hands for a moment, then pushed down a bit on his mother’s stomach again, and he felt the baby kick against his hands again. Tarzan laughed and smiled at his mother.

            “It’s like we’re playing tag now,” he said.

            Kala laughed.

            “Yes, I think the baby likes playing with you already.” Kala watched her son push on her stomach a few more times and she could feel her baby responding to Tarzan’s gentle prodding with small kicks and shifts within her.

            “Did you do this with me when I was in your belly?” Tarzan asked.

            Kala’s smile fell for a brief second, but when Tarzan glanced up at her, she smiled at him warmly.

            “Actually, you and I had our own special game when you were a baby,” Kala said.

            “Really?” Tarzan asked. “What was it?”

            Baby Tarzan squealed with laughter as his mother made another face at him, puckering her lips and scrunching her nose. Tarzan grabbed his toes and rolled around in delight as he stared at his mother. She relaxed her face and smiled at her son.

            Tarzan let go of his toes and made a face of his own, puckering her own lips while sticking his tongue out and squinting his eyes. Kala chuckled, which made Tarzan start laughing again.

            Kala tried a new look. She inflated her cheeks and grabbed her ears and pulled. Tarzan stared wide eyed at first before laughing at her face, then he tried to grab his ears and pulled as best as he could on them while laughing away.

            Kala lowered her hands and tickled her son while blowing a raspberry on his stomach, and her son nearly shrieked in delight.

            Like most days, she spent hours, in between foraging and grooming, playing with her son in the safety of her nest. The infant really had changed her mood since her son had been killed by Sabor. Tarzan was a light in her life, and while there were many challenges to raising him, he really wasn’t so different from the other gorilla children. He met all the right milestones, just a little slower than his peers. He was starting to crawl a little bit, and she always encouraged him to move on his own as much as possible. He still didn’t have the gorilla grip in his hands that most ape infants had, but she was sure that would come with time.  

            He wasn’t too hard to amuse either. He was such a happy baby, and everything amused him for the most part. Sure, he had a few crying spells here and there where she just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, but for the most part, he was happy and carefree. He nursed well and she groomed him often to keep him clean, and she couldn’t be prouder to call him her son.

            Of course, the strange baby still made some members of the family wary, and they kept their distance from her and wherever she made her nests. While there was usually a bit of distance between her and another gorilla mother, Kerchak surprisingly kept close, filling in the small gap. She knew it was to make sure she was safe, not for the wellbeing of her newfound son. He was a good and loyal mate in that regard, she only wished he would learn to accept Tarzan as his son. Perhaps the baby would help return some light to Kerchak’s eyes as he had done for her.

            Tarzan crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out, and Kala chuckled once more, pulled from her thoughts. Tarzan kicked his feet as he laughed with her, amused by his own silly faces.

            Kala covered her eyes for a moment before playing peek-a-boo with Tarzan who startled slightly with every boo but laughed through the entire game. Tarzan raised his hands in a poor attempt to cover his own eyes and play peek-a-boo back with his mother.

            Kala assisted Tarzan in covering his eyes, then would move Tarzan’s arm through the motions of peek-a-boo, acting surprised every time she caught sight of his eyes, and Tarzan giggled through the game.

            After a few moments of peek-a-boo, Kala leaned forward and touched her nose to Tarzan’s affectionately, smiling when Tarzan gently touched her face. She didn’t care what anyone else thought of her new addition, she loved Tarzan dearly.

            Tarzan smiled as he felt the baby kicking against his hand repeatedly.

            “I think the baby likes that story,” Tarzan said. “I liked making faces as a baby, huh?”

            “You liked to make faces and copy faces. And noises. As you started babbling more, he mimicked a lot of the noises you heard in the jungle. You had—have—quite the vocal range.”

            “Want to hear me be a monkey?” Tarzan asked before he jumped around and shrieked like the monkeys often did in the trees above them.

            Kala belly laughed as she watched her son, and she felt her baby shifting in response to her happiness. She was so glad her new baby would have Tarzan as a big brother. She just knew they would get along and that Tarzan would take good care of his sibling.

            Tarzan shuffled back over to his mother and leaned over her stomach, resting his head against her and pushing his hands on her gently.

            “Did you like that, baby sibling?” Tarzan asked, and he was rewarded with a shove against him. “I knew you would.”

            “What are you doing?” Kerchak asked as he walked up to his nest where Kala and Tarzan were resting. He gave his son a curious look.

            “I’m playing with the baby,” Tarzan said. “Mom was showing me how.”

            “I see,” Kerchak said as he sat down next to Kala. “And is the baby playing back?”

            “Yeah, I think the baby likes me.”

            “I would hope so.” Kerchak leaned forward and Tarzan moved away until he sat next to his mother in the nest, and he watched as Kerchak rested his head against Kala’s stomach and let out several gentle chuffs in his deep baritone voice, a soothing sound for some newborn infants Tarzan had seen mothers use, though none could do so quite as deeply as Kerchak. Kala gasped and rested a hand on her stomach.

            “Someone is going to be daddy’s little girl or boy,” Kala joked, smirking at her mate. “That was quite the kick in response.”

            “I think,” Tarzan said as he climbed up in his mother’s lap, resting against her stomach once more, “that we’re just the perfect family for the baby.”

            “I agree,” Kerchak said, touching his nose to Tarzan’s before sitting up and nuzzling Kala.

            Kala smiled at her mate and her son. She rested a hand on her stomach, feeling more bonded with every member of her family than she had ever felt before. They were a perfect family.

Chapter Text

It only took one wrong move for Tarzan to trip over his own feet, which allowed Kerchak to scoop his son under him and pin him down. He leaned over his son to gently play bite his shoulder, and Tarzan turned and twisted every which way to try and get free from his father. Kerchak allowed his son to roll away before he pinned Tarzan down once before his son could even plan his next attack and playfully mouthed him once more. Tarzan growled and tried to pull away from his father, then he felt a small jolt of pain in his shoulder.

            “Ow!” Tarzan yelped.

            Kerchak immediately released his seven-year-old son and sat up.

            “I’m sorry,” Kerchak apologized. “Did I get you?”

            “I think your teeth did,” Tarzan said, rubbing his shoulder. “I’m okay, though.”

            “Let me see,” Kerchak insisted, nudging his son gently.

            “No, really, I’m okay.” Tarzan flashed his teeth at his father in a clear invitation to wrestle, hoping to resume their game. Kerchak shook his head at him, however.

            “Let me see.”

            Tarzan sighed and turned his shoulder enough to reveal a small nick where one of Kerchak’s canines had managed to pierce Tarzan’s skin. A small drop of blood managed to pool enough to drip down Tarzan’s back, but otherwise, the wound was very miniscule.

Kerchak felt a pang of guilt as he licked the small injury on his son’s shoulder. He always tried to use as little pressure as possible behind his play bites with Tarzan, but the child’s hairless skin was often sensitive to every scrap and pinch, and it was rare that Tarzan did not end up with some mild bruising or scratches from their roughhousing, whether from tumbling too hard or Kerchak being just a bit too rough. Tarzan never complained despite it all. In fact, his son only asked for more wrestling.

“I’m okay, Dad,” Tarzan said after a few licks from Kerchak. “Really, it doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“We should take a break,” Kerchak said.

“Do you think I’ll have teeth like yours when I’m all grown up?” Tarzan asked. “I know we’re not exactly the same, but I still want to grow as big as you. I would be unstoppable!”

Tarzan climbed up his father’s back to stand on his father’s shoulders, where he pounded his chest with his palms.

Kerchak chuckled at his son and gave him a proud smile as he said, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Come on, Dad!” Tarzan slid down his father’s back before he jumped around the larger ape with several challenging grunts and flashes of teeth. “You have to show me the best way to pin down an opponent.”

“I think we’ve had enough wrestling for one day,” Kerchak said, though he was more concerned he might hurt Tarzan again and simply wanted to avoid another accident for the day. Though his resolve was waning as he watched his son pout at him.

“Oh, come on, we just started!”

“I know, but maybe we can wrestle tomorrow,” Kerchak said, turning away from his son to potentially start checking up on his family again.

“I’m not done with you,” Tarzan growled before running after his father and climbing up the silverback’s back once more. He sat on his father’s shoulder so he could meet Kerchak’s eyes and give his best pleading face. “You have to show me!”

            “What are you going to do if I don’t?” Kerchak challenged, stopping in his tracks to look up at his son.

            “I don’t know,” Tarzan said honestly, though he smirked as an idea hit him. “Maybe I’ll bite your ear in return!”

            Tarzan gently bit down on Kerchak’s ear, not enough to hurt but enough that the pressure was felt, and he tugged gently. Kerchak sat down and jerked his head while swinging his shoulders forward, and the quick motion was enough to flip Tarzan over his shoulder and knock the child into his lap. Tarzan grunted as he landed on his father’s lap, then looked up expectantly at his father.

            “You want to know how I pin down my opponents?” Kerchak asked his son. “Like so.”

            Kerchak roared playfully as he grabbed Tarzan with his feet and hands and gently mouthed him once more, being very mindful of his teeth as he used them to tickle his son’s sides, applying the lightest pressure he could. Tarzan squealed and squirmed in his hold, fighting between laughing and trying to escape.

            Finally, he managed to slip out of Kerchak’s hold and roll away from his father, but he came running right back to try and tackle him.

            Kerchak fell back and captured Tarzan with his feet. He lifted his son into the air, holding him there for a minute while Tarzan tried to pull free and jump on his father.

Finally, Kerchak lowered Tarzan while simultaneously rolling on to his side. He released his son, but before Tarzan could get too far, Kerchak pulled his son into his arms, wrapping them around Tarzan’s chest, effectively pinning his arms to his sides. Tarzan tried kicking at Kerchak’s arms, but Kerchak grabbed Tarzan’s legs with his feet, completely immobilizing his son.

“Now what are you going to do?” Kerchak growled in his son’s ear before he carefully nipped Tarzan’s ear in retaliation to his own ear being bitten. Tarzan scrunched his neck at the sensation with a giggle.

Wriggling slightly, Tarzan tried to find some give in his father’s restraint, but it was proving futile. How on earth was he supposed to escape from this?

“Dad, no fair!” Tarzan complained. “I can’t even move?”

“That was the plan,” Kerchak said. “Do you give up?”

Tarzan really didn’t want to surrender quite yet. He struggled again, yanking on his arms to try to pull one free, but that wasn’t working. If this was how his father pinned down opponents, it was smart and overpowering. He couldn’t think of any way to break free, so he huffed in frustration.

Kerchak snorted before he offered some sympathy for his son and said, “You can move your hands, can’t you?”

Tarzan flexed his fingers thoughtfully before he grinned and tickled his father’s stomach. Kerchak released his son and pulled away, rewarding the counterattack. He stood up and watched Tarzan jump to his feet and face him off once more. Tarzan made a mental note to use that the next time Terk managed to restrain him in a similar manner when they were wrestling.

Kerchak circled his son, who moved in a similar way, mirroring his father. With a grunt, Kerchak pounded his chest and let out a small snarl. Tarzan copied that as well before charging his father head-on, but when Kerchak lunged forward, Tarzan thought better of his plan and dove off to the side, running around his father and leaping for his side to crawl up his back. Maybe he could get Kerchak into a headlock. How else does one take down a silverback?

            Kerchak began spinning in tight circles though, forcing Tarzan to grab a hold of his father to keep from falling off. After a few spins, Kerchak threw himself down onto his side, which caused Tarzan to tumble off his father from the sudden drop. Kerchak nearly regretted the move though as he reminded himself that his son was a little more fragile than the other ape children, but Tarzan retaliated quickly by jumping on Kerchak’s head while the silverback was still lying on his side.

            Tarzan wrapped his legs around his father’s neck and his arms around his father’s head, squeezing just enough to hold on should Kerchak try anything. All Kerchak did was weakly paw at his son a few times in an attempt to remove him, but Tarzan did not budge.

            Kerchak chuckled as he said, “Not bad. A good way to choke an opponent if you needed to.”

            “Do I win?” Tarzan asked.

            “I’ll let you have this one.”

            “Yes!” Tarzan cheered as he jumped off his father and pounded his chest victoriously, letting out his characteristic yell.

            Kerchak rolled his eyes at the noise as he pushed up into a sitting position.

            “You still need to work on that roar though,” he told his son.

            “It’s not supposed to be a roar, Dad.”

            “I would hope not.” Kerchak lifted his son and settled him in his lap to begin grooming him as he often did after a wrestling match. It cleaned his son, but also gave Kerchak a chance to check for any injuries he may have accidentally caused that Tarzan was being stoic about. He licked the small puncture wound on Tarzan’s shoulder a few times before removing debris from his son’s hair.

            “Don’t start fretting,” Tarzan said, shifting in a way that told Kerchak he better pin his son down before he jumped away.

            “Don’t even think about it,” Kerchak said, using his feet to hold his son in place. “You may run off when your bath is over.”

            Tarzan huffed but allowed his father to groom him while checking him over, earning a few licks over minor scratches. Because he was hairless, any injury he got while tumbling with his father stood out like a leopard in a dead tree in broad daylight. He didn’t really mind the attention his father gave him, regardless of his protests. He loved how affectionate his father was during his grooming sessions, and he soaked up the love readily.

            He heard a small squeal and looked over his shoulder to see his year-old sister shuffling toward them, Kala following behind her. Kaphi was starting to walk more on her own and brave moving further and further away from her mother each day, and Tarzan smiled as she crawled up to him and touched her nose to his in a small greeting.

            “Hi, Kaphi,” Tarzan said.

            “How was wrestling?” Kala asked as she sat across from Kerchak and Tarzan, smiling as she watched her mate groom her son.

            “It was fun,” Tarzan said. “Dad bit me.”

            Kala’s smile dropped and she gave her mate concerned eyes.

            “Accidentally!” Kerchak corrected. “Sheesh, tell the whole story, son.”

            Tarzan laughed and agreed, “Yeah, it was an accident. I’m fine, mom. Dad was more worried about it that I was, but you know he worries about every little scratch I get.”

            For that, Kerchak blew a small raspberry on Tarzan’s neck, making his son shriek and fall over. Tarzan wriggled free from his father and quickly shuffled over to his mother’s arms, and she hugged him while laughing.

            “Yes, I do know,” Kala said, smirking at Kerchak, who rolled his eyes at her.

            Kaphi began crawling up her father’s arms and he turned his attention to amusing his daughter while Kala finished grooming Tarzan by removing a few leaves from his hair. Tarzan watched Kaphi mouth Kerchak’s arm, and he looked up at his mother.

            “Hey Mom, do you think I’ll get big teeth like Dad someday?”

            “Hmm, I don’t know, Tarzan,” Kala answered honestly.

            “Dad doesn’t seem to think so.”

            “I said we’ll see,” Kerchak quickly defended himself.

            “Which usually means no coming from you,” Tarzan said.

            “When did you become such a smart mouth?” Kerchak asked as he snatched his son away from Kala before Tarzan even had a chance to blink, and Kerchak once again pinned his son down with his feet before he tickled Tarzan mercilessly with one hand while holding his daughter with the other. Kala only shook her head fondly as she watched her children try to escape their father’s tickle attacks.

Chapter Text

            There was a vicious virus going around the gorilla family, and everyone was ending up with sniffles and coughs. While sickness was rare in gorillas, save for the young and elderly, the occasional cough season did show up every few years, affecting almost everyone in the family with upper respiratory symptoms. Even Kerchak ended up with a few days of sneezing and coughing, as did Kala.

            And then, Tarzan caught it.

            However, the five-year-old was not taking it very well. While the other gorilla children suffered some coughing and sneezing like the adults, Tarzan was responding to the sickness more like an infant would, and it worried his parents, who could do nothing but offer their supportive care.

            Kerchak was finishing making his rounds in the family, checking in on the status of the very young. Another infant had succumbed to the illness, which made three infants so far this year, and the grieving mother was beside herself, refusing to eat or drink. Kerchak brought her a small offering of fruit and roots, but he knew from experience that nothing but time would mend her broken heart. An elderly gorilla had also passed that morning, dwindling the numbers in the family slowly but surely.

            This was not the first outbreak Kerchak had experienced in his life, but it was the first since he had become leader of his family. He had to ensure everyone’s swift recovery by leading his family to places that had enough resources of food and water so everyone could rest and recover in their own time, and the little spot he found by the river had an abundance of root vegetables and fruit trees growing around it, and with the river was close everyone could get a drink when they needed.

Illnesses like these could take a week or two to get over completely, and only the healthiest and strongest of the family would be able to pull through. Kerchak did his best every year to provide high nutrient grounds for his family, so he was sure most everyone was in top notch health, save for the newborns and the aging, but there was little to be done about that. It had been a hard week for everyone, but especially the mothers who had lost their babies.

            Kerchak completed his rounds and made his way back to his shared nest. Kala was arriving as well with a small collection of fruits and beans, and she set her pile down in the nest before turning her head away to cough harshly.

            Kerchak waited till she caught her breath before he gently nuzzled her.

            “You shouldn’t stress yourself,” Kerchak told her. “You must rest.”

            Kerchak pulled back to sneeze twice, and Kala gave him a pointed look.

            “As should you,” Kala said. “Now that you’ve checked on everyone, we should all get some rest.”

            Kala adjusted her pile of food before she carefully shook Tarzan’s shoulder to wake her son. Tarzan yawned and stretched as he sat up, then rubbed his eyes blearily as he watched his parents.

            “You must eat some lunch, Tarzan,” Kala said. “Keeping a full belly will help you heal.”

            “I’m not really hungry,” Tarzan said, sniffling a bit.

            “Eating is necessary,” Kerchak added. He pushed the food closer to his son. “You must eat at least a little bit of this.”

            Tarzan frowned but picked up a fruit and bit into it. His parents laid down in the nest with him and watched him eat, making sure Tarzan ate a good amount before they ate the rest and allowed Tarzan to cuddle up with them. Kala touched her lips to Tarzan’s forehead, then frowned in concern.

            “You feel warm,” Kala said.

            “I’m fine,” Tarzan insisted as he curled up next to his father. “I don’t even feel that bad. Just sleepy.”

            “Perhaps you should get a drink of cold water,” Kala said. “Come on, let’s go to the river for a few minutes.”

            “No, I’m fine, really. Can I just go back to bed?”

            “You must stay hydrated,” Kerchak said. He gently pushed his son out of the nest. “Go with your mother to the river and get a drink, then you may rest.”

            Tarzan huffed but climbed on his mother’s back so she could walk them down to the river. Tarzan started coughing violently on the way, nearly falling off Kala, but he managed to recover and correct his hold. Kerchak watched them leave before glancing around the family.

            Everyone looked miserable. No children were playing, and no one was chatting with friends or relatives. The gorillas were all resting in their own nests or somewhere in the trees, everyone sniffling or coughing. Kerchak leaned back in his nest and closed his eyes. They would all recover. They just needed time.

            The next day, some gorillas were feeling better, including Kerchak, but many still were ill. Especially Tarzan. He seemed to have taken a turn for the worse through the night. His coughing was worse, and he complained that his chest was hurting. Kala fretted over him, bringing him more food and carrying him to the river repeatedly through the day to force him to drink, which Tarzan was rather sick of. However, while he still felt warm, his body heat had not worsened, which was a relief for both parents.

            Kerchak checked on the family again. Everyone appeared stable today, though the last two infants did look critical. Their mothers groomed them constantly to help bring down their temperatures as they were very hot to the touch, and one of the infants was refusing to nurse. Kerchak collected food for those two mothers and gave them each a brief grooming session while they continued to tend to their young. It was the least Kerchak could do for them as they worried for their babies. Once he had checked in on the rest of the family, he returned to Kala to see how Tarzan was holding up.

            Kala was trying to force Tarzan to eat more as he had hardly touched his breakfast. Kerchak eyed his son, taking in his shaky demeanor and sunken eyes. A surge of worry washed over him, and he sniffed Tarzan carefully before touching his lips to Tarzan’s forehead to feel for any warmth. Thankfully, Tarzan didn’t feel any warmer than yesterday, nor did he smell like impending death like some of the deceased infants had, so it gave Kerchak a bit of hope.

            “I’m really fine, Dad,” Tarzan said, backing away from his father. “My stomach hurts a bit, that’s all. I really don’t want to eat right now. Can I just go back to sleep?”

            “You must keep food in you,” Kala said but Kerchak shook his head at her.

            “Don’t force it, Kala,” he said. “Take him to the river for a drink and let him rest.”

            Kala opened her mouth to argue, then seemed to consider his words for a moment before she sighed and nodded her head. She pulled her son to her back and carried him to the river for another drink, even as Tarzan said he wasn’t thirsty. Kerchak was sure Kala would be able to convince Tarzan to drink a bit. She could be very insistent.

            Kerchak made a perimeter check to make sure there were no predators or intruding families. The last thing they needed was to encounter another family who could reinfect them with a new virus, or for his own family to infect another troop. It was best to keep illnesses within their own family.

            After circling the family and passing the river, Kerchak noted the darkening clouds in the distance, and the change in air pressure was heavy. Kerchak closed his eyes and focused on the ground and the air around him, and the vibrations he was sensing told him it was going to be a bad storm.

            That was just what his family needed on top of the illness. A storm to make everyone feel even more miserable. He had to relocate the family now to avoid getting caught in severe weather that would surely be the demise of the sickest, especially the two struggling infants. And his own son.

            Kerchak returned to his family and made a headcount. Seeing everyone was accounted for, he went over to his nest where Kala and Tarzan were curled up sleeping. Tarzan appeared to be shivering in his sleep, and Kerchak frowned at that. He gently shook his mate and son awake.

            “There is a storm coming,” Kerchak told them. “We must look for shelter to get out of it now before it catches up to us.”

            “Now?” Kala asked, looking between her mate and her exhausted-looking son.

            “We must.” Kerchak nodded at Kala before leaning forward and touching his lips to Tarzan’s forehead. His son felt warmer, and Kerchak lowered his head to peer into Tarzan’s eyes, which seemed a bit glassy and more sunken in than usual, and his white, hairless skin was even paler. Kerchak nuzzled his son as he said, “I know you are tired, but we have to travel a bit to shelter. When we get there, you may rest.”

            Tarzan nodded numbly, and Kala gave Kerchak a very concerned look. There was nothing Kerchak could do though, and he ignored her look and faced the family to tell them the news. Once everyone was informed, they all lined up behind Kerchak and he began to lead the way. He knew the mountains would give them the best chance at finding a cave, he only hoped that no other families beat him to it.

            On the journey, Kerchak could hear the struggling coughs and breathing of one of the sick infants, and he glanced back now and then to make sure the mothers were keeping up with him. He saw the mother with the crying infant taking up the rear, along with Kala and Tarzan, who was weakly holding on to his mother’s back as she carried him, his eyes closed as he leaned over her back.

            Kerchak grunted softly in concern, but he turned back to keep focused on leading the way. The grey clouds above were starting to swirl with darker colors, and Kerchak eyes the mountains before them, scanning for any overhang or crevice that may indicate a cave.

            “Tarzan!” Kala shouted, and Kerchak stopped and looked back. Several apes had stopped and were circling around his mate, forcing Kerchak to push through everyone to get to Kala to see what the commotion was. He froze once he saw.

            Tarzan had fallen off Kala’s back and collapsed on the ground. His hair was damp from sweating despite his body shivering. His eyes were half lidded, and he coughed a few times as he laid on the cold ground. Kala was attempting to pull Tarzan up to his feet, but he was very limp and would only fall back to the ground.

            Kerchak felt his heart clench at the sight. He felt the first few drops of a sprinkle fall from the sky, and he knew it was just the beginning of something worse to come. A more desperate ape would demand that any weak links be abandoned for the wellbeing of the rest of the family, but Kerchak would not leave his son behind. But he couldn’t let the rest of his family be caught in a storm.

            “Kala,” Kerchak started to say.

            “Just give him a minute,” Kala pleaded, “he’s so exhausted.”

            “We don’t have a minute.”

            “I’m not leaving him!”

            “I never said to.”

            Kala tried to pull Tarzan into her arm, cradling him against her.

            “I can carry him,” Kala said.

            “You’ll fall behind the rest of the family,” Kerchak said with a shake of his head. “And you’re still recovering yourself. I’ll carry him.”

            “Are you sure?” Kala asked him.

            “I’m recovered, and I have longer strides than you.” Kerchak took Tarzan from Kala and cradled his weak son against his chest like a mother ape with a newborn infant. “Focus on keeping up with the family, Kala. I’ll take care of Tarzan.”

            Kala touched her forehead to Kerchak’s.

            “Thank you.”

            Kerchak grunted softly in reply before he hobbled his way back to the front of the family. Walking three-legged wasn’t ideal, but if the mothers could do it for the first few weeks of their babies’ lives, he could do this for a bit while he searched for a cave. The sprinkling turned to a light drizzle, and he tried to keep Tarzan underneath him as much as possible. The wind was starting to pick up around them, and Tarzan coughed and shivered violently against Kerchak.

            “Hold on, son,” Kerchak murmured to him.

            It was a bit difficult to climb up the steep hills with three legs, but Kerchak managed to do so in the end, leading his family up the mountains in search of shelter. The rain was starting to pick up more, as did the wind, and the sky flashed now and then with lightning, and a distant rumble was moving closer and closer, growing louder by the minute.

            Finally, there was a strange shape in the mountain side on the ledge they were walking on, and Kerchak was rewarded with a spacious cave. Kerchak walked inside first with several warning grunts to alert anyone inside of his presence. Thankfully, no silverbacks or predators came charging him, and he called out to his family to enter, and everyone was thankful to get out of the rain, shaking water off their hair once they were inside.

            Kerchak took a spot in the far back of the cave, the furthest away from the elements at the entrance. It gave him a chance to see his entire family with one sweep of his head, as well as keeping Tarzan far away from the storm outside.

            He set Tarzan down and shook himself off, then laid down and pulled Tarzan close to him to use his fur to dry his son off. Kala found him in the back, and she stared down at her son with fear clear in her eyes.

            “How is he?” she asked.

            Kerchak touched his lips to Tarzan’s forehead. It was very hot, hotter than it had been all week.

            “He is very warm,” Kerchak told Kala. “But he did get wet in the rain. He is cold and very sick. I’ll keep him warm. You should rest as well.”

            Kala was clearly frightened, but she nodded her head and settled in next to Kerchak.

            The storm raged for hours outside, but the gorilla family slowly warmed up as they stayed out of the elements. Kerchak groomed his son constantly, trying to keep him cool and sweat-free. Tarzan was in and out of sleep, sometimes opening his eyes and staring blankly at his father before going to sleep again, and sometimes, he woke up crying out from a nightmare. Kala occasionally checked in on Tarzan, managing to pull her son away from Kerchak to cuddle him herself, but she was still healing from illness as well, so once she fell asleep, Kerchak would steal Tarzan back and keep an eye on him, checking his temperature often. He remained very warm.

            At one point, Tarzan woke up with a scream, startling Kerchak awake, who immediately began shushing his crying son.

            “There was a leopard,” Tarzan muttered through haggard breathing as he clutched his father, “It got me . . .”

            “Shh, it did not.” Kerchak nuzzled his son. “You are safe, I am here. It was just a nightmare.”

            Tarzan looked up at his father, looking a bit confused before he leaned into him once more.

            “I don’t feel good at all,” Tarzan said, shaking slightly. “I’m scared.”

            “Don’t be afraid,” Kerchak told his son, even as he felt very defeated in that moment. What could he do? There was honestly nothing he could do. He couldn’t take away Tarzan’s sickness. He couldn’t give him something to make it better. He could only support his son and hope that somehow, Tarzan pulled through.  

            “I have nothing to give you,” Kerchak whispered to Tarzan as he rested his forehead against his son’s. Tarzan blinked up at him hazily. “I cannot protect you from this. You must survive on your own. You must be strong. You can fight this off. I know you will, son.”

            Tarzan said nothing as he fell back into a fitful rest. Kerchak sighed and rested his head next to Tarzan’s.

            A few minutes later, the unmistakable cries of a mournful mother ape echoed through the cave, and Kerchak knew that one of the two critical infants had died. He felt a chill run down his spine as he tightened his hold around his son, praying that Tarzan did not meet the same fate. He could not lose another child so soon after accepting Tarzan as his own.

            By some miracle, Tarzan’s fever broke during the middle of the night.

            The storm passed as well, and Kerchak waited until the last of the grey skies rolled away, revealing a hint of sunshine before he led his family out of the cave and back to the nutrient rich land near the river. Many of the gorillas had finally recovered from the illness after fighting it for the last week or so, and while Tarzan was still a bit weak, he was able to sit on his father’s back without falling over the entire trip back to their temporary home.

            One infant remained, and it took her another two weeks to recover completely from the illness. She would be a strong one, Kerchak thought, a fighter for sure. While more infants would be born before the year was up, she was a beautiful sign of hope for the family. And because of it, her mother named her Taraji, for the hope she would bring in the future.

            Tarzan was back to normal a few days after his fever broke, and he returned to playing with his friends, trying his best to keep up with the other apes. It was a relief for Kerchak and Kala, who were afraid that Tarzan may not have been able to survive the illness. Now that he had, his immunity would be stronger because of it, and hopefully, he would not be hit so hard the next time an illness came around the family.

            “Tarzan!” Kerchak called to his son when he happened to run by their nest. Tarzan shuffled over to his father, who gestured to a pile of food. “You must eat some lunch. It will keep you strong and healthy.”

            “But I had a big breakfast,” Tarzan started to say but stopped at Kerchak’s stern look.

            “You have only just recovered,” Kerchak said. “Eat. You need the nutrients to restore your body to full health.”

            “Fine,” Tarzan relented, and he sat down in the nest and munched on some fruit.

            Kerchak smirked at his son. He was so proud of him for pulling through and surviving the illness, and he was so happy he would continue to enjoy his second chance at being a good father. He would keep Tarzan strong and fit to the best of his capabilities. It was the least he could promise his son.

Chapter Text

Slowly moving through the branches, Tarzan watched Kaphi search every nest and under every bush for him, and he smothered his laughs as the little two-year-old ape kept destroying nests with determination to find him under one. The owner of the nest gave Kaphi a very disgruntled grunt, which made Kaphi shuffle away with an apologetic smile. Once she was a safe distance away from the angry adult ape, she sat down with a pout as she scanned the family.

Tarzan made a loud elephant noise as he hung upside down on the branch of the tree he was in, catching Kaphi's attention. She swung her head and glanced at the tree, spotting her upside-down brother. She giggled as she charged the tree, and Tarzan pulled himself up and started climbing the tree. It did not take long for Kaphi to reach the tree and start climbing herself, and she wasted no time catching up to her brother and grabbing his ankle.

"Kaphi catch Tarzan!" Kaphi declared. "Tag! You it."

Tarzan chuckled as he waited for Kaphi to climb down, allowing his sister a head start. While he would be concerned that Kaphi would excel at tag and hide and seek like all the other ape children his age, Kaphi was still a baby, which meant she was quite predictable. Her hiding spots weren't always well thought out.

After she had vanished somewhere in the family, Tarzan climbed down the tree and started looking for her, scanning each nest along the way, but he mostly headed back for his shared nest with his parents and sister. This is where Kaphi usually liked to run to, thinking it was the safest, most well-hidden place in the entire family. Every time.

Tarzan smirked when he saw a couple of leaves bundled up in the center of the large nest, and the leaves shook as the tiny ape under them tried to keep from laughing. Tarzan slowly crawled in the nest, staring at his sister before casually walking by her wadded up leaf pile.

"Hmm," Tarzan thought aloud, "Where did Kaphi go? I can't find her anywhere."

Kaphi struggled to keep her laughing quiet, and the leaves covering her shook a bit.

"Aha!" Tarzan said, jumping on a corner of the nest and lifting random leaves up. He tsked and dropped the leaves. "Nope, not there. Did Kaphi disappear? She is too good at this game."

The little leaf bundle shook again.

"Maybe she is hiding somewhere else," Tarzan said as he walked out of the nest before jumping on the tree just behind their nest. "Maybe I'll look in a different nest. Here I go."

Tarzan crawled along a branch hanging over the nest and hung upside down, holding on carefully with just his feet as he lowered his upper half down to hover over Kaphi's leaf bundle. He nearly held his breath to keep quiet while he waited, his hands ready to grab his sister.

There was no movement for a minute, then, Kaphi poked her head out, looking off into the family grounds cautiously before she smiled and threw the leaves off her. She was about to go running off to catch her brother by surprise when she squealed as Tarzan snatched her up and tickled her.

"Gotcha!" Tarzan said. "You thought you could hide from me?"

"Mercy for Kaphi!" Kaphi cried in between fits of chuckles as she kicked her feet and tried to grab her brother's arms to stop his hands from tickling her. "Mercy!"

"Okay," Tarzan said, dropping his sister back into the nest. He crossed his arms at her, still hanging upside down. "You've got a ten second head start."

Kaphi screamed as she ran out of the nest, and Tarzan dropped down from the tree, landing in the soft leaves and giving his sister a minute to zigzag between the family nests circling them. After a few seconds, Tarzan ran after her, quickly leaping for a vine to swing over the family and catch up to his sister. He landed just behind her, and she screamed and dodged to the right, and Tarzan ran after her.

"When I catch you," Tarzan threatened, "I'm going to eat you up."

"No!" Kaphi protested. "Kaphi taste bad."

"How do you know?"

"I know, I know. You no like."

"I'll be the judge of that!"

Kaphi scurried around a nest, nearly stumbling over her own feet, but she caught herself and avoided Tarzan's leap to catch her, and she laughed as she ran away again. Tarzan ran for a vine and used it to swing over the family once again and catch up to Kaphi. He grabbed another vine and swung himself forward and dropped down, landing right in front of Kaphi, and she was too slow to skid to a halt and collided into her brother, and they tumbled a bit before Tarzan managed to pin her down and tickle her once more.

"Now I eat you!" Tarzan pretended to munch on Kaphi as he tickled her, and she shrieked and squealed as she tried to escape her brother's attacks. She finally freed herself and crawled away a bit. When she tried running again, she tripped herself and went tumbling down a small hill.

"Kaphi!" Tarzan shouted. He bolted after her, glad to see she hadn't fallen down the hill far, and she sat up and rubbed her head gingerly. He ran up to her and looked her over, running a hand over her head in search of any cuts or injuries. "Are you okay?"

"I okay," Kaphi said, then she froze, her eyes widening before looking down. "Something tickles!"

Tarzan looked down as well and saw that Kaphi was sitting directly on an anthill, and several of the small, black insects were crawling up her. Tarzan snorted as he picked up his sister and moved her off the anthill, then brushed off the majority of the ants he saw.

"They on my head!" Kaphi said, pawing at and shaking her head miserably, flinging small ants this way and that.

"Here, let me see," Tarzan said. He settled behind her and picked through her hair, eating any little ant he came across as he groomed his sister. While it wasn't his favorite thing to do, he had grown used to the taste of most bugs and participated a bit more in social grooming with the family, but especially his immediate family. Kerchak had played a big role in enforcing that behavior with him, and right now, he did not mind it one bit to help his sister. Once he was sure there were no more ants crawling on Kaphi, he ruffled the small tuft of hair on her head.

"There, all clean."

Kaphi laughed and swatted at his hand playfully, then pounced on her brother, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down while mouthing his ear. Tarzan allowed her tackle for a moment before he rolled her over, so she was on top of him, then used his feet to lift his sister up in the air. She still tried to reach for him to wrestle him, so he used a move his father once used on him and pulled her close to turn her over, then wrapped his arms around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides, while he used his feet to keep a hold of her legs.

Kaphi squirmed a bit, then seemed to give up completely and sagged in his hold. She said, "You win, Tarzan."

Tarzan felt a bit of sympathy for his sister at her utter defeat, and he whispered in her ear, "Try moving your hands."

Kaphi frowned, but did what her brother said, wiggling her fingers, then she seemed to get the idea and tickled her brother. Tarzan laughed and let her go, jumping away from his sister as she came running at him to tickle him some more.

"Oh no," Tarzan said, falling over and laughing as Kaphi tickled his abdomen. "Have mercy, sister. I let you go!"

"Okay," Kaphi said, pulling away with a haughty look she could have only learned from Tarzan. She crossed her arms and said, "Kaphi give Tarzan mercy."

"Thanks," Tarzan said with a cockeyed smile. He glanced up the hill they were at the bottom of, then pulled his sister to his back, and she clung to him in a natural fashion. "We should get back to where everyone can see us. Dad will freak out when he can't find us—and we don't want a repeat of when you went missing."

Tarzan ran up the hill and back to the family grounds. Kaphi yawned and rested her head against Tarzan's own head as he carried her through the family nests and back to their own, where Kala was resting. She opened her eyes and smiled at her children as Tarzan climbed into the nest and pulled Kaphi from his back, setting her down next to him.

"What were you two up to?" Kala asked.

"Just playing," Tarzan said. He tilted his head at Kaphi as she plopped down on the soft leaves of the nest and closed her eyes, yawning once more. "I think it's nap time for Kaphi."

"It's naptime," Kerchak said as he walked up to the nest, "for the entire family."

"Aww, but I'm not tired," Tarzan said. He started to yawn but tried very hard to force his mouth shut and then offered an innocent smile to his father.

"So I see," Kerchak said. He picked up his daughter and settled into the nest next to his mate. Kaphi curled up in her father's arms, yawning and stretching briefly. "You managed to tire out your sister, though."

"We had fun," Tarzan said as he curled up against Kala, looking across his mother and over at his sister. He smiled at her small snores and watched her sleep peacefully for a few minutes before his own eyes betrayed him and he fell asleep, dreaming of more games with Kaphi.

Chapter Text

Sixteen-year-old Tarzan stared intently at the trees around them, making sure they stayed predator free while his friends all took a long drink at the river. A storm brewed above them, threatening to drop hundreds of gallons of water on them, but it held off for now, which Tarzan was thankful for. If the winds shifted at all, Kerchak would demand the family to move to higher ground, and Tarzan was getting a bit tired of the constant traveling they’d been doing lately. This rainy season was the worst.

            Tarzan glanced back at his friends, smiling as Terk splashed Mungo for a stupid comment he had said, while Flynt chuckled in amusement. Asha and Kaphi whispered softly among themselves as they sat near the riverbank, and two other teen apes who had followed the group were slurping up water quickly.

            Tarzan moved to the river and used his hand to scoop water into his mouth. Technically, he and the others were not supposed to separate from the gorilla family during flash flood season. It was too risky for someone to get swept away and never be heard from again, and the family would never know it. However, Terk, Flynt and Mungo had discussed needing a drink but not wanting to wake the entire family from their slumber, and Tarzan had decided he would act as leader and keep an eye out for predators or any weather changes while the others got a drink. That had made everyone happy, and a few other apes tagged along as Tarzan snuck his friends out of the family and to the river.

            “We should probably head back,” Terk said, looking up at the darkening clouds. “Hey, Kerchak Jr! Lead the way!”

            Tarzan rolled his eyes at Terk’s nickname as he walked over to her.

            “Alright, guys, let’s go,” he said. “Dad will probably want to start relocating soon if those clouds are anything to go by.”

            “Yeah, after he’s done skinning you,” Terk said.

            Tarzan waited until everyone followed him, glancing back at Kaphi and Asha before proceeding forward.

            “He won’t skin me,” Tarzan said. “I doubt he’s even noticed we left with how busy he’s been with tracking the storms. Besides, he can’t be too mad. I’ve been shadowing his leadership skills since I was a child, I’m practically a pro at it now. I am his successor after all.”

            “Yeah, and you’re so ready for the role,” Flynt sniggered. “We’re really only following you because if Kerchak asks, we can say it was your idea, which it kind of was.”

            Tarzan rolled his eyes as he turned deeper into the trees, hoping to find a small clearing to give him a good view of the family so he could slip back into the group unnoticed with his friends. Honestly, this little adventure couldn’t have gone better. No predators, no hiccups along the way, no storm changes. This job was rather easy.

            “We just went down to the river for a drink, then came back,” Tarzan said, jumping over a log and waiting for the others to clamber over. “It’s nothing different we’d do on a sunny day. And everything went fine.”

            Tarzan could see the family just past a small clearing. He checked his surroundings, then smirked confidently as he turned around and sat before his friends.

            “See? Got us back to the family and Dad’s none the wiser.”

            “Till he asks where we’ve all been and smells the river on us,” Terk said. “Don’t get cocky now, buddy, we’re not out of the clear yet.”

            “We could say we were wrestling,” Tarzan said with a shrug. “The ground smells like the river with all the rain we’ve had. It’s not like he’ll be able to tell the difference. Besides, what Dad doesn’t know won’t kill him.”

            Someone cleared their throat behind him, and Tarzan froze, finally seeing his friends’ wide eyes as they stared at something behind him. He winced, then slowly turned to face Kerchak, who was giving him a very stern look.

            “I suppose,” Kerchak said, “I have no need to ask where you all have been.”

            “You heard?” Tarzan asked.

            “Everything,” Kerchak said, narrowing his eyes at his son.

            “Ah. You know, I was just kidding. We were totally going to tell you what we did. It was just a quick trip down to the river for a drink and we came right back. No problems. Right, guys?” Tarzan glared back at his friends to get their support, and everyone nodded their heads.

            “Yeah, no problems whatsoever!” Flynt said.

            “Tarzan did great leading!” Terk added in. “You’re really teaching him well, Kerchak.”

            “No predators, no floods, all good!” Kaphi added in.

            “None of you were supposed to leave family grounds,” Kerchak snarled at everyone, “especially now with the flash floods happening.”

            Everyone lowered their heads submissively, but Tarzan rolled his eyes and said, “We were fine. I had everything under control.”  

            “Did you? Did you consider the recent drop in temperature? How low the clouds are? How high the river was? The weather is not predictable right now and it is best to heed my warning and follow the rules I instill. There is a storm coming very soon, and the family must relocate to higher, sheltered ground, but we can’t go anywhere because we are missing half the family!”

            “Okay, okay,” Tarzan said, submitting slightly by lowering his head son. He hated when Kerchak raised his voice, especially in front of his friends. “I’m sorry. But we’re back now, so can we just go?”

            Kerchak bared his teeth slightly as he lowered his head so he was eye to eye with Tarzan.

            “Watch yourself,” Kerchak warned. Tarzan met Kerchak’s eyes for a few seconds before caving and looking down. Kerchak pushed up on his knuckles and scanned his eyes over the other apes, checking everyone briefly before gesturing for the group to follow him with a swing of his head. Tarzan huffed and followed his father, feeling slightly annoyed that Kerchak could only see everything wrong that they did, not the good job leading and protecting that Tarzan had done with his friends. Couldn’t Kerchak at least acknowledge that he was trying to follow in his footsteps, just once?

            As they rejoined the family, Kerchak roared softly, signaling the rest of his troop to rise and line up behind him. Tarzan allowed himself to fall behind as they began moving, slowly making his way to the back of the family. Sometimes, bringing up the back meant he could stay lost in his own thoughts without being dragged into conversations with the other apes (or his father) and he avoided the infants and children running around playing their games as they stayed close to the family. It gave him a chance to just be alone and daydream.

            As the family moved uphill through the mountains, following a narrow ledge a young baby slid down the mountain, having lost his footing on some loose stone, and he collided into Tarzan. The baby laughed and reached his hands up toward Tarzan, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the child.

            “Tough climb, isn’t it?” Tarzan said as he scooped up the baby.

            Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the edge of the path the family was walking along, and Tarzan jumped back, holding the crying gorilla to his chest in shock and surprise. The earth beneath him rumbled as it shook and crumbled, and then, it vanished beneath Tarzan’s feet.

            Tarzan fell several feet before he managed to catch a hold of the rocky mountainside, and he hung precariously several hundred feet above the jungle floor, nothing but dark trees waiting below. He looked around and noticed he wasn’t the only one to tumble over the cliff, as a couple of others were clinging to the side and trying to climb up.

            “Tarzan!” Kala cried, appearing at an unbroken section of the path. She reached out a hand toward Tarzan. “Reach for me. I’ll pull you up.”

            Tarzan looked down at the child in his arm, then back up at his mother. Carefully, he tried to maneuver the ape to his back, but the baby was frozen in fear and had a tight pinch of Tarzan’s skin in his ape grip, refusing to let go. Realizing the baby may be able to hold on to his chest without his aid, Tarzan tested letting the child go, and when he stayed clung to him, he reached up to his mother, his fingertips just out of reach of hers.

            The rock he was holding on to caved, and Tarzan gasped as he fell from the cliffside, hearing his mother’s loud cry of “No!”       

            Tarzan wrapped his arms around the baby and kept himself tucked in as he fell through the trees, striking branches as he went down. He felt vines around him and quickly looped his ankles around a few vines, tangling himself in them enough that he was jerked to a halt just before the forest floor. He kicked the vines loose and landed on his feet and hands, the baby gorilla shaking against his chest, though he had managed to hold on to Tarzan through the fall.

            “Are you okay, Dayo?” Tarzan asked the child.

            Dayo nodded, and Tarzan checked him over before pushing the child to sit on his back, and he clung to Tarzan’s shoulder since there was no hair to grab. Tarzan looked up at the trees above him, managing to get a glimpse of the mountains high above.

            “For the love of—” Terk grumbled as she stumbled out of bushes while brushing debris off her arms. She froze at the sight of Tarzan and visibly relaxed. “Oh good, I’m not the only one that fell.”

            “Guess that makes three of us,” Flynt said as he stepped into the clearing. He noticed Dayo and said, “I mean four.”

            “Five,” Asha said as she joined the separated apes. She looked over her shoulder as she said, “And six.”

            Another female ape stepped through the clearing, and Tarzan’s jaw dropped before he rushed to his little sister, checking her over.

            “Kaphi!” he exclaimed, grabbing her arms and looking them over before checking her head. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

            “I’m fine,” Kaphi said as she shoved her brother back, then rubbed her head. “I think I knocked my head up, but I’ll live.”

            “If you’re sure?” Tarzan pushed, not wanting to leave his sister’s side, but when she gave him an annoyed look, he backed off slightly. “Okay. Is this everyone?”

            “I think so,” Terk said, glancing around. Flynt also looked around, making sure there was no struggle or scuffle coming from anywhere in the trees.

            “Tarzan!” Kerchak’s voice sounded like an echo above them. “Are you alright?”

            “Dad!” Tarzan called back. He climbed up a tree to its highest branch, looking up at the mountains where he could see the small specks of his family in the distance. “Dad! I’m okay. I’ve got Dayo, Kaphi, Asha, Flynt, and Terk. We’re all okay.”

            “Good,” Kerchak called back. “You need to get to higher ground, quickly. You’re too low. That storm is fast approaching.”

            “Okay. I think we can get back up the mountain, but we’ll need to go around—”

            “No, that’ll take too long. Focus on keeping who you have with you safe. There may be a safer and faster route up the mountain another way.”

            “Okay. I’ll look for one.”

            “Be careful, son.”  

            “You too, Dad,” Tarzan said softly as he watched the specks he could see move out of sight, disappearing up the ledge. Lightning continued to flash above them, and Tarzan let out a soft sigh before adjusting Dayo on his back so he could carefully swing down to the forest floor. The other gorillas waited patiently for him.

            “Dad says we need to get up high and fast. The storm is close, so floods aren’t far behind. We need to find a path up the mountain that does not require us to go back. Any ideas?”

            The other apes all shared a look, then stared back at Tarzan with frowns.

            “Well?” Tarzan pushed.

            “I’ve got nothing,” Flynt said while Terk gave a sympathetic smile and a shrug.

            “That’s not really our forte,” Asha said. “We’re followers. Not leaders.”

            “Looks like you’ll have to be Dad again,” Kaphi joked lightly.

            Tarzan suddenly realized he would have to be the provider and protector of the small group before him. He would have to once again play Kerchak Junior, and this time Kerchak couldn’t be upset with him for filling in that role.

            “Okay,” Tarzan said. “Follow me.”

            Everyone eagerly followed Tarzan, respecting his newfound confidence. Tarzan led the way through the trees toward the mountain, and he scanned the rocky hillside for any easy path up. He wasn’t sure how long they walked or where exactly he was compared to the rest of the family, but he finally spotted a smooth, albeit slightly steep path that cut into the mountain slightly. He noted that it was fairly close to the top of the trees, and he pointed up.

            “There’s our route,” he said. “Everyone, up the trees. We’ll have to jump for it.”

            Tarzan began climbing a tree closest to the mountain base, and everyone followed his lead. At the top, Tarzan moved off to the side and waited for everyone to join him at the top of the tree. They all stared at the gap between the trees at the steep path.

            “We’ll have to land carefully,” Flynt said. “One wrong move and we’ll slip right off.”

            “There’s boulders just to the right of the path,” Tarzan said, pointing at the natural rock formations. “That should give us something to grab on to when we jump. Aim for it. Flynt, your first.”

            “Why me?” Flynt asked, glaring at Tarzan.

            “Because you’re the biggest and strongest here,” Tarzan said, glaring back. “You can help pull the rest of us to safety.”

            Flynt grumbled under his breath but seemed to agree with Tarzan’s logic. He took a deep breath and eyed the gap, then stared at the path he was aiming for. He swung a little in the tree before launching himself through the air, landing and slipping on the slope, but he caught a hold of a crevice in the boulders and pulled himself up to a more secure location. He panted as the adrenaline rush washed over him before staring back at the others and nodding his head.

            Tarzan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

            “Okay, Terk, you go.”

            Terk hesitated for a second before accepting Tarzan’s command and throwing herself over to the mountain, catching a hold of the boulder as she landed and scrambling up the hillside.

            “Asha,” Tarzan said.

            Asha swallowed nervously, glancing down at the ground far below them, then across at where the others waited. Asha took a deep breath, then jumped for the mountain. She landed on the edge of the slope and slipped right off, screaming as she fell, but Flynt and Terk both grabbed an arm and yanked her up. She managed to find footing and scrambled further up the hill, panting heavily and staring back at the edge wide eyed.

            Tarzan had been ready to leap into action to save her should she have fallen, but he was glad Flynt and Terk were quick to jump into action. He tried to calm his nerves as he looked at his sister.

            “Don’t look down and work yourself up,” he told her. “Just jump. If you fall, someone will catch you. But you won’t fall. You can do this.”

            Kaphi nodded. She stared determinedly at the ledge and was about to leap for it when a loud roar met everyone’s ears, and they looked down at the forest below, and collectively gasped.

            The river had flooded, and water was racing right for them, and Tarzan braced himself as water crashed into the tree they were in, rocking the weak trunk slightly as the ground flooded below them, the water rushing by with tons of loose forest debris. Kaphi cried out as she nearly lost her grip, but she thankfully didn’t fall.  

            Tarzan climbed a bit higher up the tree, using all his strength to hold on.

            “Kaphi!” He yelled at his sister. “Jump! Now!”

            Propelled by the panic in her brother’s voice, Kaphi flew for the ledge, landing just on the edge, but she was yanked forward by Flynt, and the four apes watched in horror as the tree Tarzan was on swung to and fro as the trunk snapped partially.

“Hey, catch!” Tarzan grabbed Dayo’s arm and yanked him off his back before throwing him at the others, and they all caught the screaming infant in their arms.

“Tarzan!” Kaphi cried as the tree finally tumbled down.

Tarzan leaped off the tree and bounced off another falling tree before pushing off the branch of a sturdy tree and leaping for the mountainside, and he grabbed onto a protruding rock and held on with dear life as the flood waters shook the earth below. He panted as he forced himself not to look down while praying the rock he held on to did not crumble or break off.

“Tarzan!” Terk’s voice called him.

            He looked up and saw Terk reaching out a hand, along with Flynt, whose longer arms could just touch his hair. Tarzan took Flynt’s hand first, then grabbed Terk’s as he was pulled to safety.

            “We’ve got you,” Terk said.

            Now on sturdy land, Tarzan really took the moment to catch his breath. He gave everyone an appreciative look, his eyes speaking for him. Everyone gave him a submissive smile in return. Dayo crawled over to him and hugged Tarzan, cooing softly. Tarzan ruffled his hair before helping the baby to his back. For the first time, Tarzan finally understood the risks and challenges his father took on every day with protecting the family. He saw the sacrifices that were made with every decision, every action, every choice. He really appreciated all that his father did for him and the family and felt quite awful for all the times he had acted a bit bratty. He looked up at the darkening sky above them and was dismayed when the rain started falling.

            “We have to move,” Tarzan said. “This is just the beginning of this storm. We do not want to end up swept away or out in the cold for too long.”

            “Lead the way,” Flynt said.

            “We’re right behind you, Kerchak Jr.,” Terk said.

            Tarzan swung his head in a similar manner to Kerchak, gesturing for everyone to follow him as he walked up the steep incline, digging his knuckles and toes into the ground beneath him. He was sure this was a mountain Kerchak frequented often when storms struck, and if he remembered correctly, on the other side there was a large cave that would give them the shelter they needed. He just had to find a way to it.  

            The group climbed higher and higher before finally encountering a small tunnel in the side of the mountain. Tarzan walked in first, grunting loudly to alert anyone inside of his presence. When he wasn’t charged by a foe gorilla or predator, he called out for everyone to come inside, and they gladly shook the water off themselves. Dayo slid off Tarzan’s back and shook off his wet fur, puffing out slightly. Tarzan snorted at him before he led the way through the tunnels.

            “Stay close,” Tarzan said softly. “I’m not entirely sure where this cave leads. Hopefully it connects to the one the family is in.”

            Everyone shared a look, but they trusted Tarzan’s judgement at this time, so they carried on through the dark caves. Dayo ran ahead and played on a stalactite rising up from the ground, spinning around it playfully.

            “Dayo!” Tarzan snapped at the young child. “Stay close to us. You’re going to get lost or hurt.”  

            Dayo whimpered and scampered back to the group. He gave Tarzan a submissive smile before climbing up Tarzan’s back and holding on to his shoulders once more. Kaphi shuffled up to her brother, nudging him gently.

            “You sounded an awful lot like Dad just then,” she said.

            “I did?” Tarzan frowned, then shook his head. “Huh. Don’t tell Dad that.”

            “Your secret’s safe with me,” she said with a sly grin.

            Tarzan shouldered his sister playfully. He stared ahead, keeping an eye out for any threats or challenges. The cave was getting darker the further down they went, and at last a little light sparkled through an upper crevice in the mountain—shining down on a pitch-black chasm cutting off their path. Tarzan halted just before the drop, and the others walked around him to see what caught their leader’s attention. They sighed defeatedly.

            “Now what?” Asha asked, looking at Tarzan.

            Tarzan looked over the gauge to the other side. It was too far a gap to jump, and there was no way around it. Looking around the cave, Tarzan did not see anything he could use as a bridge. He ground his teeth in frustration as he racked his brain for an idea. On his back, Dayo was annoyingly reaching up to touch different stalactites pointing downward at them, and Tarzan growled at him softly.

            “Stop playing with everything for a moment,” he said. “I’m trying to think.”

            Dayo hugged himself closer to Tarzan submissively, blinking at him. Tarzan glanced up at the stalactites and was struck with a thought.

            “Actually,” he said, “you’re a genius, Dayo.”

            Dayo perked up with an excited squeal.

            Tarzan carefully climbed up the stalactites, weaving himself between several and feeling for any give. When he found a path that would not crumble or felt too weak, he signaled for another ape to climb up and follow the same path he was taking.

            “Do exactly as I do, guys,” Tarzan said. “These aren’t the most sturdy, so we have to be really careful and move quickly so we don’t put too much weight on them.”

            Soon, everyone was climbing through the stalactites, and Tarzan made sure to weave through in a way that the others would have to squeeze through a little more, so it offered more support, limiting the chance of anyone slipping or falling. It took a while, but eventually, everyone was able to drop down safely on the other side, and they all shared looks of victory. Tarzan smiled proudly at everyone before leading the way once more.

            There was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel before them, then a low grunt had everyone freezing in place. Tarzan recognized the sound however, and he grinned as he gave a small grunt back, then ran ahead, everyone chasing him.

            At last, they had reunited with the family.

            Kerchak was the first to greet them, having heard their walking and was guarding the tunnel exit. He smiled proudly at his son, embracing Tarzan and Kaphi when they collided with him. He touched his lips gently to Tarzan’s temple as he said, “Well done, son. I knew you had it in you.”

            “Thank you,” Tarzan said.

            Dayo squeezed his way out of the hug and ran over to his mother, who came over as soon as she saw who had returned, and she squeezed her son lovingly before walking over to Tarzan, who turned to face her.

            “Thank you, Tarzan, for returning my son to me,” she said, brushing her knuckles against Tarzan’s.

            “Of course,” Tarzan said, smiling at Dayo who was clinging to his mother’s back. “He’s family.”

            Everyone else happily reunited with the family, greeting their mothers and friends happily, grooming each other and cuddling somewhere in the cave to wait out the storm. Kaphi joined her mother in a back corner while Tarzan followed his father to the cave entrance to see what the weather was doing. The dark clouds did not look like they were parting any time soon and the heavy rain continued to bring floods to the jungle.

            “Dad?” Tarzan asked, glancing up at his father.

            Kerchak looked down at his son to give him his full attention.

            “I’m sorry for disobeying you earlier today,” Tarzan said quickly, “I shouldn’t have taken anyone to the river without your okay. And I’m sorry for always being . . . you know, maybe a little difficult—I never realized how much went into protecting everyone and making the choices you do for the safety of the family, and I’ve been messing that up and . . .”

            Kerchak closed his eyes and pushed his head against Tarzan’s, who stopped talking at once and accepted the calming gesture. He closed his own eyes for a moment, letting his thoughts go for a moment.

            “I do not expect you to carry the jungle on your shoulders,” Kerchak said lowly, as he opened his eyes. “Nor to be the jungle’s next greatest leader. You are absolutely perfect the way you are to me.”

            Tarzan felt tears well in his eyes as he smiled at his father. Kerchak returned the smile as he sat down next to his son.

            “You are defiant,” Kerchak said, “more often than not, which is far more often than most silverbacks would ever put up with in any other family. You are stubborn, rebellious, creative, resourceful, courageous, loyal, and very kindhearted.”

            Tarzan sat next to his father and leaned against him, resting his head on Kerchak’s shoulder. His father did acknowledge all the good things about him. It felt good to know that Kerchak did not just see the negative as Tarzan thought at first.

            “I know I can be hard you,” Kerchak continued, “but I only want to make sure you become the best ape you can be. And you are well on your way there. You will make a great leader one day, Tarzan.”

            “Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

            “Love you more.”    

Chapter Text

It was midday, a usual time for the gorillas to settle in for a nap, and everyone was happily returning to their nests to settle in for a while. Kala, heavily pregnant at the moment, was already sleeping in her nest, as she often did for several hours during these last couple months. Kerchak laid down next to her, leaning back slightly against a tree so he could gently rest his head against Kala’s. She smiled and nuzzled into him.

            Kerchak waited until he saw his son arrive at their nest before closing his eyes, though his son didn’t look the least bit tired.

            “Do I have to take a nap?” Tarzan asked as he joined his parents.

            “It is that time of day,” Kerchak said. “You do not have to sleep but do keep quiet and rest.”

            “But I’m not even tired,” Tarzan complained as he crawled up his father’s back to hang loosely to the ape’s shoulder. “And neither was Terk. We could keep playing. We’ll be quiet.”

            “No. Now time to sleep.”

            Tarzan huffed as he slid down his father’s back, plopping back into the nest. Amused by the new game, Tarzan climbed up his father’s back once more and slid back down. Kerchak was being very tolerant of his new game, though Tarzan was sure it was only because it was keeping Tarzan occupied and quiet. Tarzan scrambled up his father’s back once more to slide back down, laughing softly at how quickly he slid back down.

            “That’s not trying to sleep, Tarzan,” Kerchak said without opening his eyes.

            “But it’s fun!” Tarzan said, running up his father’s back again and sliding down. He climbed up his father once more, but before he could slide back down, Kerchak snatched his arm and pulled him to his lap.

            “All right,” Kerchak said, “that’s enough. Settle down and try to sleep.”

            Tarzan grabbed a hold of his father’s arm and tried to wrestle with him, wrapping his arms and legs around him and kicking gently. Kerchak raised his arm, lifting Tarzan as well, who laughed as he hung upside down now, swinging slightly. Kerchak tried grabbing him with his other hand, but Tarzan managed to slip around his arm and climb up his shoulder before sliding down his father’s back cheerfully.

            “If you try falling asleep,” Kerchak said, “I think you’ll realize just how tired you actually are.”

            “But I really don’t feel tired at all.”

            “Honestly, what have you eaten today? Every fruit made up of pure sugar?”

            “I think so.”  

Tarzan spotted a lizard sneaking by the nest and up a nearby tree. He grinned and leaped after it, avoiding his father’s too slow catch to stop him. He climbed up the tree after the reptile, hoping to catch up to it and mimic its silly face and eye movements as best he could. When the lizard turned around the corner of a branch, Tarzan was prepared to jump after it, only to be caught by his father this time.

            “Dad,” Tarzan complained as he was carried back down the tree. “I don’t want a nap.”

            Kerchak settled back in the nest, this time, lying down with his son next to him. He pushed a hand down on Tarzan’s chest, keeping his wriggling son pinned down next to him in hopes that lying down might make the child drowsy enough in a few minutes that he stayed put.

            “Close your eyes and try resting,” Kerchak said.

            Tarzan wriggled and squirmed in his father’s hold, using his hands to push against his father’s fingers. He managed to wiggle himself out of his father’s hold and jumped up on his father’s stomach, bouncing slightly.

            “Maybe if we wrestle,” Tarzan said as he bounced up and down, “I’ll get sleepy.”

            “I doubt it.” Kerchak frowned at his son. “Wrestling gets you far too energized. You’ll sleep when naptime is over, and I would like you to sleep now.”

            “Wrestling would make me sleepy.”

            “Stop jumping on me and come lie down.”

            Tarzan spun in circles until he fell off his father, then continued spinning in circles in the nest, making all sorts of odd noises. Kerchak sighed in annoyance, and Kala stirred in her sleep to glance at her mate.

            “What’s the matter, dear?” Kala asked.        

            “Your son won’t nap,” Kerchak growled softly.

            Kala chuckled gently.

            “Try taking him for a walk,” Kala suggested. “That always worked for me when he was younger.”

            Kerchak sighed, but as tired as he was, he knew he couldn’t force his pregnant mate to walk their son around. He yawned as he stood up, then lifted Tarzan to his back and left the nest, heading to the perimeter of his boundaries to walk around. Might as well as kill two birds with one stone. Kerchak carefully moved through the trees and kept an eye out for any intruders or predators while Tarzan excitedly looked around.

            “Is this what you do when you go on patrol?” Tarzan asked.

            “Yes. This is how I mark the ends of my boundaries,” Kerchak explained as he brushed against a tree. “I create a trodden path I frequent and rub up against a few trees to leave my scent for other gorillas to know who lives here. I can also keep an eye out for predators.”

            Tarzan tried to rub himself against a tree as Kerchak was doing when the ape brushed up another one, but he nearly fell off his father’s back in doing so. Kerchak was quick to catch him, though, and he pushed his son back to his back. Tarzan watched eagerly as Kerchak peered through the trees to make sure no predators were around. Tarzan did the same, looking up above him with narrowed eyes and scrunched nose just in case he saw anyone. Unfortunately, there were no predators to see his “beware me” face. Kerchak snorted at his son when he realized what he was doing.

            “Guarding the family is a very important job for the silverback,” Kerchak continued. “You must be prepared for the unexpected.”

            “Like a leopard?”

            “Yes, like a leopard.”

            “What about a giant eagle?”

            “Yes, them too.”

            “And jackals?”

            “Anything that can harm the family, we must be ready for. Jackals, too.”

            “What about a jackal with leopard spots and giant eagle wings?”

            Kerchak paused as the image created itself in his head, and he hesitated as he really tried to imagine what that creature might look like. Sometimes, Tarzan’s imagination really surprised Kerchak. The child came up with scenarios he never would have even dreamed of.

            “Yes, Tarzan, that too. We wouldn’t want such a triple threat to hurt the family, would we?”

            “Never! But what if it could breathe fire? What would we do then?”

            “Breathe fire?” Kerchak frowned as he turned a bend in his path. “Why on earth would it do that? How would it do that?”

            “I don’t know,” Tarzan said with a shrug. “Maybe it eats lighting sometimes and then can spit it out at its prey. Is it possible to eat lightning?”

            “I don’t think so.”

            “Well maybe it just eats fire created by lightning, then it spits out the fire. Oh, I’ll call it the Jagopardeagle—a terrifying, ape-eating monster that roams the jungle at night, spitting fire at the family to burn its food down.”

            “Uh, Tarzan, that’s a little unnerving.” Kerchak paused to glance at his son. “Are you having nightmares?”

            “No, Dad!” Tarzan laughed, crawling up his father’s back to sit on his shoulders. “It’s just make-believe. Besides, I would defeat the Jagopardeagle and protect the family!”

            “Oh, would you?” Kerchak chuckled as he carried on, keeping an eye out for threats while his son chattered away. “And how would you do that?”

            “Well . . .” Tarzan frowned, leaning into the tuft of his father’s hair as he racked his brain for a solution. “I would lure it into a trap! I would set up bait—maybe termites or something, and it would fly down and then I would pounce on it!”

            “I thought it only ate apes?”

            “Oh, right, it does. Hmmm, oh, I know! I could lure it down with ape cries, act like I’m stuck somewhere, then it would come for me and that’s when I would trick it and tie up its legs with vines.”

            “That’s quite the risky sacrifice.”

            “It would be worth it to protect the family.”

            “I agree. But don’t forget the wings. Are those still flapping around?”

            “Oh, yeah. I would tie up the wings first, then the legs.”

            “And what if it breathes fire and burns the vines away and frees itself?”

            “Right, it breathes fire.” Tarzan scrunched up his face in thought. “I know, I would trap it down by the river! Then I could splash it in the mouth and take out the fire. And when it’s all tied up, I could throw it in the river. And no one will ever see the Jagopardeagle again.”

            “Not bad of a plan,” Kerchak said with a sly smile. “But the sharp rocks of the river cut the vines and freed the Jagopardeagle, and it used its strong legs to swim back to shore, heading straight for the family. Now what are you going to do?”

            Tarzan gasped, then tapped his chin.

            “I would throw rocks at it until I hit its head and knocked it out for good.”

            “But it’s avoiding the rocks!” Kerchak said as he started spinning in circles, making Tarzan laugh as the child held on tightly to avoid falling off. “It’s spinning and ducking away until its wings are dry enough to fly away. He’s in the air!” Kerchak stood on two and swung side to side gently a couple times, earning more laughs from his son. “Now what do you do?”

            “I’ll catch it again!” Tarzan declared. “I’ll use some vines to rope it legs and pull it back down.

            “But its super strong and now it’s pulling you up into the air.” Kerchak charged forward as fast as he could, bucking slightly as he did so, earning more squeals of laughter. “You’re high above the trees.”

            “Oh no!” Tarzan cried. “I’ll climb up the vine until I get to the beast!”

Tarzan scooched up his father’s neck until he was closer to his father’s ears before he said, “Then I grab its ears and control it that way. The ears are really sensitive.”

            Tarzan grabbed his father’s ears and gently tugged one right, and Kerchak chuckled before spinning to the right a couple times before moving forward along his perimeter.

            “Now you’re riding an angry monster,” Kerchak said. “How do you land?”

            “I force it to go down.” Tarzan jerked his father’s ears downward, and Kerchak winched slightly at the rough tugs, but did not reprimand his son for it. Tarzan loosened up and said, “then I would crash land in a tree somewhere.”

            “Crash land?” Kerchak gave his son a bemused look. “You can’t even imagine yourself making a smooth, safe landing?”

            “No, Dad, that’s not realistic!”

            “My apologies. I did not realize realism has entered the picture.”

            “When I land with the beast, I will feed it fish, and it will think fish is so much better than apes, it will love it and only eat fish forever, and I will tame the beast, and the Jagopardeagle will be my best friend and give me rides all over the forest.”

            “What a twist ending,” Kerchak said as he turned back for the family. “I’ll be honest, I did not see that coming.”

            “If only it was real,” Tarzan said wistfully as he slid back down to his father’s back, gripping loosely with his legs as he stretched out with a yawn.

            “I think this Jagopardeagle is better off living in your imagination than roaming the skies and threatening the family.”

            “But I would tame it,” Tarzan insisted. “We would be best friends.”

            “I’m sure you would be. You always manage to surprise me.”

            Kerchak walked carefully through the family, slowing down his pace as he realized Tarzan was finally fading at last. He arrived back to his nest where Kala stirred enough to smile at their return, winking at Kerchak when she saw Tarzan’s eyes drooping. Kerchak gave her a nuzzle as he settled in next to her, allowing his son to slide off his back one last time. Tarzan yawned as he crawled to lie in between his parents, accepting a nuzzle from his mother and then one from Kerchak.

            “Sleep well, my brave warrior,” Kerchak said before resting an arm over his son and closing his own eyes. At last, Tarzan fell asleep for naptime.  

Chapter Text

It was the time of year when the mantamba fruits were ripe for picking, and the most abundant and best trees grew in a very specific location that Kerchak frequented every year with his family. It was a time that thirteen-year-old Tarzan had looked forward to all year, and he leaped ahead of the family, racing his sister to the front where Kerchak led the way. He weaved through his father’s legs as he evaded his sister’s tags, then jumped to his father’s back to dodge a tackle from Kaphi.

Even though most apes would have been too heavy to ride their parents back at his age, Tarzan was pleased that he remained light enough still for piggyback rides from Kerchak, and his father did not seem to mind at all. Kaphi, however, was still small enough as well at seven years old, and she jumped up after him, forcing Tarzan to hop down before she could tag him.

“At this rate,” Kerchak said, glancing down at his son, “you two will be too tired to climb any trees for fruit.”

“We’ll be fine,” Tarzan argued, walking next to his father. “I’m not tired at all.”

“Yeah,” Kaphi agreed before jumping for her brother, who slid under his father, narrowly avoiding his sister’s attack. He stuck his tongue out at her from Kerchak’s other side, and Kaphi stuck out her tongue back. Kaphi smiled up at her father innocently as she added, “I’m never too tired for fruit trees.”

Kerchak chuckled at their antics.

“Perhaps,” he said, “you could save some of that energy for helping the family create a pile. You know it helps the weaker elders and the infants get their fair share.”

“I think we can make that happen,” Tarzan said. He gave his sister a challenging look. “I’ll totally collect more fruit than you.”

“No, you won’t!” Kaphi shot back. “I’ll knock out half the trees before sunset.”

“Oh, sure you will.”

“Just watch me.”

            Kerchak halted suddenly, holding out a hand in front of Kaphi when she nearly walked ahead of him. The family waited patiently behind him as he scanned the trees. There was a loud grunt before another silverback came charging directly at them. Kerchak rose on two with a short roar and pound of his chest while Kaphi and Tarzan backed away behind their father.

            The silverback stopped a few yards away, snorting aggressively at Kerchak and flashing his canines. Kerchak lowered down to all fours and flashed his canines back as he backed up a few paces before turning and walking down a side path, emitting a low grunt now and then.

            The silverback watched Kerchak carefully before mock charging with a roar, backing away when Kerchak roared back. The two stared each other down for several intense moments. Then, Kerchak dipped his head slightly, earning a small nod from the other silverback.

            With a sigh, Kerchak turned away with a commanding roar for his family to follow, and they moved down a new path, away from the mantamba fruit trees he had originally been aiming for.

            Tarzan stared at the new silverback in confusion, having never witnessed such an interaction between his father and another silverback. Sure, he had heard his father mention having to warn off other silverbacks from his territory now and then, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that is what had happened just now. He scurried up to his father.

            “What was that about?” he asked.

            “Another family has already claimed the tree grove we were after,” Kerchak answered. “We’ll have to find a new place to stay for the season.”

            “But we go to the mantamba trees every year,” Tarzan said.

            “I know, but someone managed to finally beat us there. He probably planned on a head start this season as he knew I would try to get there first. He’s established it as his territory already, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”

            “So . . . we just miss out on the mantamba fruit?”

            “Afraid so, son. Perhaps we’ll come across a small group of them elsewhere, I’m sure they grow in other parts of the jungle I’m not familiar with. For now, we can try and see if the berry field is available still. That one has good access to the river so I wouldn’t mind that.”

            “But this isn’t fair!” Tarzan said.

            “Fair?” Kerchak gave his son a curious look. “First come, first serve. That is more than fair, don’t you think? Ejike’s family was first, so they now have a chance to enjoy what you’ve enjoyed for many years.”

“Wait.” It was Tarzan’s turn to give his father a curious look. “You knew who that was?”

“You’ll come to learn of the families who live around the jungle as you encounter them.”

“But if you know each other, maybe he’ll be willing to share with you.”

 “We’re not friends. Even if we were, that is not custom. We will survive one season without. Next year, I’ll make sure we head out extra early, perhaps even before the ripening season begins.”

            “But I wanted it now,” Tarzan muttered with a pout. Kaphi seemed just as disappointed as she walked alongside her brother with a small pout herself. Kerchak snorted at them before focusing on tracking down a berry field he was familiar with.

            They traveled with the setting sun until they arrived in a large clearing surrounded by berry bushes. As it was very late, most of the family began eating their fill of roots and berries while Kerchak began marking his territory, leaving Tarzan and Kaphi to find dinner on their own. While they were disappointed, they accepted that they would not be enjoying mantamba fruit this season and settled with the berries. Once they had their fill of them, they found their mother preparing a nest and settled in with her for the night. Tarzan, however, could not accept missing an abundant fruit season for long however.

            A few days later, Tarzan was staring in the direction of the mantamba trees, a million thoughts running through his head, distracting him from the world around him. He was so lost in his own ideas that he was startled when a noise sounded behind him, and he jumped around to face it.

            “A bit close to the boundary lines, don’t you think?” Kerchak asked as he walked over to his son.

            “Oh,” Tarzan said as he glanced around the trees. “A little, I guess.”

            He turned around to stare off once more, not surprised when Kerchak sat next to him. There was silence between them for a few seconds before he heard Kerchak sigh heavily.

            “Whatever you are thinking,” he said, “I expect you to not act on any foolish ideas.”

            “I just don’t like that we’re missing out,” Tarzan confessed.

            “I see. I believe I’ve spoiled our family a bit by keeping us situated where food was always abundant. It was only a matter of time before another family tried to beat us to a new foraging ground when the season began. Don’t you think they deserve a turn at the mantamba trees?”

            “I guess. I just would also like us to be a part of it.”

            “We will be,” Kerchak said. “Next season.”

            “What’s keeping us from being a part of it now?” Tarzan frowned up at his father. “Maybe even for a day? It could be like during the Truce, we could mingle our families a bit and all share the food, there was always enough of it.”

            “The Truce was a very different situation. There were poachers threatening all gorillas. We had no choice but to help our families out. This is not a threat—this is simply a territorial problem between gorillas. Ejike arrived at the grounds first, so he gets to claim the entire grove, as I would have done if I had gotten there first. And I would not share with anyone else outside the family unless there was a need for it. Or perhaps if they were extended family or very close friends, but not for more than is necessary. That is simply how it must be.”

            “But you know Ejike,” Tarzan said, almost hopefully.

            “I know of him,” Kerchak corrected. “I do not know him, which makes him a dangerous threat to our family. And he made it clear that he has no intention of allowing us near his fruit trees, so we must respect that to avoid confrontation.”

            “Maybe if we asked him . . .”

            “No.” Kerchak shook his head sternly and narrowed his eyes at his son. “He has warned us off once, you would be violating his order and asking for an attack by trying to approach again.”

            “But if he understood why—”

            “Even if he understood why, he may still attack. You are not going to change generations of traditions and law, Tarzan. Get that notion out of your head now before it finds you in trouble.” Kerchak stood up and lifted his son to his back. Tarzan glanced back through the trees but looked back down at his father when he started speaking once more as he walked along his territory lines. “Perhaps you and I can scout out a rogue mantamba tree around our territory while I do border patrol. How does that sound?”

            All Tarzan’s thoughts on the unfairness of the situation vanished as a bit of hope filled his chest on the chance of finding a mantamba tree near their own family. He smiled as he sat up on his father’s back swiveling his head to check the surrounding area.

            “Sounds like a plan, Dad.”

            However, an afternoon on border patrol turned up no mantamba trees within reach, leaving Tarzan very disappointed as he settled into his nest with his parents and sister that night. He could not sleep as he worked his brain for an idea on how he could get his family their share of mantamba fruit. They just couldn’t miss out on an entire season of one of the best treats in the jungle! There were so many trees in the grove, he was sure Ejike couldn’t include every single one of them in his territory. Tarzan would make sure to check all around the silverback’s territory to be sure, but he had to find a way to get some of the fruit for himself and his family. Sharing was caring, wasn’t it?

            All it took was waiting for his father to head out on border patrol for Tarzan to sneak out of the family and head for the edge of Ejike’s territory. Tarzan made sure to keep himself hidden as he approached the silverback’s territory, staying very low to the ground. No one charged him, so Tarzan climbed up a tree decided to stay up high as he advanced forward, swinging from a vine every now and then to hasten his search. If he could get to the fruit trees, he could follow the grove to the very end, and hopefully, the end would be out of Ejike’s range of control. This had to work.

            It did not take long before he could smell the familiar fruit, and his mouth watered in anticipation. However, the trees stopped, and he could see a large clearing through the foliage, and the clearing was filled with gorillas. Tarzan stared down at the family so similar to his own: the young running around and playing, the older gorillas resting comfortably among each other, some grooming, some napping, and still some watching the youngest family members dutifully. Some of the gorillas were enjoying fruit, and Tarzan could see the fruit trees on the other side of the clearing.

            However, there was no sign of Ejike.

            Tarzan swallowed dryly. He had to get to the other side of the clearing without being spotted. Staying in the trees would be his best bet, however, if there was any rustling, it might draw attention. He could retreat a bit and then circle around, but he needed the family in sight so he could make sure he was circling around far enough but not getting too far off track.

            His next best bet would be to go low and stay just out of sight until he was on the other side of the clearing and then climb back up into the trees. If he could succeed at that, then he could see how far the fruit tree grove went.

            Tarzan carefully climbed down to the jungle floor.

No sudden movements.

No sounds.

Slinking from one bush to the next, he slowly moved around the family, glancing behind him every now and then in case he saw Ejike. The worst thing he could do right now was catch the protective silverback’s attention while trespassing in his territory while standing a couple yards away from his family.

It was taking longer than he had hoped making it over to the other side of the clearing. Between watching the family’s movements and checking behind him every five seconds, Tarzan had only managed to make it halfway after what had to be several minutes. He paused once more behind a tree to check for Ejike again. When he did not see him, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a minute, willing himself to move faster so he could finish the task before nightfall—and more importantly, before Kerchak realized he was gone.

Tarzan opened his eyes and moved to glance around the tree, only to come face to face with a young female gorilla.

“Ahh!” Tarzan cried out as he fell backward, then slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Caught ya!” the young ape said, smirking at him. “Wait till Daddy sees you.”

“Please don’t tell him,” Tarzan pleaded. “I’m no threat. I promise! I’m just trying to get to the mantamba trees to—”

“You want to steal our food?” the ape asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she advanced on Tarzan. “Even worse!”

“No!” Tarzan shook his head as he backed away. “Not steal it. I just want to follow the trees back out of Ejike’s territory and into my own. Hopefully, it goes that far.”

“I doubt it,” the female said. “Daddy would have found something like that last season. We checked when your dad warned mine off. You’re from Kerchak’s group, right? You’re that hairless wonder.”

“Wait?” Tarzan froze and tilted his head at her. “You’ve heard of me?”

“Of course,” she said, sitting down. “Almost every gorilla family has. I actually found out about you from my cousin, Mavuto, when his father shared his grounds with Daddy for a night or two. He told me all about how you saved everyone from gorilla killers.”

“Yeah, I remember Mavuto,” Tarzan said. “He was pretty cool. Wait, you shared territory with another family?”

“A related family. Mavuto’s father is my uncle. We cross paths with each other now and then, and Daddy and Mosi never have a problem with each other. Can’t say the same for other families, though.”

“Right. I guess you wouldn’t be open to spending a night with my family then, huh? We just want some fruit. We could share, just for a night.”

“Share our food?” the ape laughed. “That’s silly. Mavuto did say you were full of weird ideas.”

“That sounds like something he would say,” Tarzan said with a roll of his eyes. “You don’t think I could ask your father, do you?”

“Are you trying to get squashed? You have some nerve coming over into our territory and demanding what is for our family. I like you. I’m Nneka.”

“I’m Tarzan. Nice to meet you, Nneka.”

Nneka walked out from behind the tree, jerking her head at Tarzan to follow her. He did so cautiously, moving quickly behind the bushes as he followed her through the trees and over to the fruit trees where she happily picked up a freshly fallen fruit and bit into it, humming in delight. She sat down and watched as Tarzan stared up at the fruit with a smile.

“Help yourself,” she said. “You came all this way for a fruit, you might as well as have one before you go.”

“You really think your father won’t be open to sharing?”

“I know so. He’s a stickler for the law.”

Tarzan frowned in thought, but he took advantage of the opportunity presented to him and climbed up the tree for a fruit. He jumped down when he had one, sitting next to Nneka and biting into the juicy treat. It was a bite of heaven in his mind, and he closed his eyes and savored every chew before swallowing. How he would miss these so much this season. He knew the gorillas had some kind of unspoken law they instinctively followed, but Tarzan wished they would relax some of those instincts and allowed some sharing between families every now and then, not just when there was an emergency.

That one fruit lasted five minutes as Tarzan really took his time enjoying each bite while mulling over what he should do next. He wasn’t sure it was worth trying to convince Ejike to share his food, especially with Nneka’s conviction that her father would not anyway. And if she was being honest, then the fruit trees did not go past her father’s territory. He really was out of luck for the season.

“I’m going to miss this fruit,” Tarzan said once he was finished with his. He looked up at the trees with a sad look. “But I guess it’s fair your family gets to enjoy them.”

“It’s been a couple years since we’ve had the chance to,” Nneka said. “Other families always beat us to it, especially yours. You have a pretty good leader.”

“Thanks. Yours is pretty good too to beat my dad here.”

            “What is the meaning of this?” a deep voice said.

            Tarzan gasped and jumped to his feet as Ejike weaved his way through the fruit trees directly for him. Nneka stood up as well, placing herself between Tarzan and her father, though she lowered herself submissively.

            “Daddy,” she said, “it’s okay. This is Tarzan. He’s my friend.”

            “A friend who has trespassed,” Ejike snarled, though he did slow down as he neared his daughter. His eyes, however, remained pinned on Tarzan, and the silverback bared his teeth at him. “And is stealing our food.”

            “I was just leaving,” Tarzan said with a submissive smile.

            “He only had one fruit,” Nneka said. “I let him. It’s my fault. He meant no harm—he’s the hairless wonder that saved the gorilla families a couple years ago. He deserves a fruit, right?”

            “That’s not how the jungle works,” Ejike snarled. “I’m sure it has already repaid him for his service. No, this is a new offense. And it deserves punishment.”

            “Daddy,” Nneka tried to say.

            “Stand aside,” Ejike demanded.

            Nneka hesitated, glancing back at Tarzan with a concerned look. Tarzan returned the look, and in his head, he was prepared to turn and run as fast as he could back toward his own family. Hopefully he could do so without getting crushed by an angry silverback.

            Before Nneka could obey her father’s order, several low, submissive grunts emitted from the trees, and all eyes turned to see Kerchak step through the clearing of Ejike’s family. Kerchak kept his head low, eyes downcast, and he continued to let out soft grunts as he made his way over toward Ejike, Nneka, and Tarzan. The other gorillas in the family parted slightly for him, some baring teeth while others watched the show curiously. 

            “Well, look who it is,” Ejike commented as he watched the submissive display from Kerchak. “That’s rather daring. I wonder what he’s come for.”

            Ejike glared at Tarzan, who offered another submissive smile while cheering for joy on the inside.

            “Kerchak,” Ejike greeted coldly when Kerchak was finally close enough. “Lose something?”

            “Afraid so,” Kerchak said, sending a glare to his son before he turned his attention to Ejike. “My apologies, Ejike. My son is still very much a child. I will make sure this does not happen again.”

            Tarzan blushed at those words, though given the situation, he knew he deserved it. He tried to walk over to Kerchak, only for Ejike to block his path with an outstretched arm and a demanding snarl that made Tarzan shrink back.

            “But old enough to be a hero,” Ejike said to Kerchak. “I’d say that’s old enough to know better and accept punishment for a wrongdoing.”

            “Look at him, he’s not a typical gorilla. You’d kill him.”

            “Perhaps death is what the jungle feels he deserves. If he can’t handle the consequences, perhaps you should have instilled in him a better understanding of the laws of the jungle. As you know, any insubordination is a punishable offense within the family and especially to those outside of the family.” 

            Kerchak bared his teeth for a moment before sighing and lowering his head.

            “You are right. I should have instilled a better understanding of the laws of the jungle in my son. I have failed to do so; therefore, his mistake of trespassing is on me.”

            “Are you saying you will take the burden of your son’s punishment?” Ejike tilted his head curiously at Kerchak. “You, Kerchak?”

            Tarzan gasped, staring at his father in surprise and concern.

            “Dad, no,” he said, moving forward once more, only for Ejike to step in front of him and snarl at him. He froze again, his protests dying on his lips.

            “Stand down, Tarzan,” Kerchak said in a firm tone. “That is an order. Do not disobey.”

            Tarzan could hear the warning loud and clear in his father’s voice: stay put and stay out of the way for once. He lowered himself submissively before Ejike, and the silverback frowned at him before turning his attention back to Kerchak. Ejike bared his teeth at Kerchak as he stepped closer to the other ape.

            “This is all rather unconventional,” Ejike said, circling Kerchak slowly. “Especially coming from you. I suppose I should not be surprised considering the hairless wonder you claim as your heir.”

            Kerchak did not move. He simply waited and listened.

            “You can’t protect him from himself forever. If you expect him to be a good heir, he will have to learn that every action has consequences someday. Since I am being merciful on your behalf, I will make this a good lesson for him.”

            In a flash, Ejike rose on two, and with a roar, he slashed at Kerchak’s face, striking the other silverback as hard as he could, and Kerchak stumbled slightly as he bit back a pained growl. He caught himself before he fell over, though his eyes remained closed for a minute as he took several deep breaths. A couple scratches on his face started to bleed a bit.

            Tarzan stared widely at his father, wincing in sympathy at the wounds. He could only imagine what Ejike had intended to do to him, and whether he would still be standing after like Kerchak was. Nneka had closed her eyes, not wanting to watch whatever would happen, and after hearing silence for a minute, she opened her eyes, sharing a sympathetic wince herself at the sight of Kerchak.

            Finally, Kerchak opened his eyes and met Ejike’s.

“Consider your son’s punishment served,” Ejike said. “Collect him and leave.”

At those words, Tarzan shared one last look with Nneka before he carefully walked past Ejike and over to Kerchak.

“Dad, I didn’t mean for—ahh!”

            It happened so fast, Tarzan felt the wind knocked out of him as Kerchak grabbed his son, flipped him over, and pinned him down on his back before releasing a loud roar. Tarzan closed his eyes with a flinch as his ears rang from the volume.

            “Now your punishment is served,” Kerchak snarled at him.  

            Tarzan was released, and he shakily rolled over and shook himself off, trying to shake off the ringing in his ears. He didn’t have long to do that as Kerchak grabbed his arm and lifted him to his back. Tarzan caught Ejike’s smug look as Kerchak turned to leave the family grounds, and he lowered his head to avoid any other looks, the tips of his ears burning.

            It was a long walk back as Kerchak had to move out of Ejike’s territory and back to his own. Tarzan could feel his father’s tension and anger in hot waves as they traveled, and he felt awful for being the cause of it. The silence did not help his nerves, but he could not think of a single thing to say at the moment. He had been so foolish in thinking that he could secure his family any fruit. And he had been more foolish crossing into another silverback’s territory and nearly getting himself killed. Though having Kerchak take a punishment for him was just as awful, and Tarzan would have preferred a beating from Ejike instead. He hated seeing his father hurt in any way, and he winced each time Kerchak paused to rub a palm at his cut cheek.

            Looking around, Tarzan recognized one of the trees they were walking by, and he quickly snatched a leaf off the tree. He chewed an edge until he could taste the internal sap, then he massaged the leaf, pushing the sap out of it and into his hand. Once he had as much sap as he could milk out of the leaf, he smeared the sap over the leaf, spreading it into an even, thick coat.

            Carefully, he crawled up his father’s back until he could reach Kerchak’s shoulder. Slowly, he reached for the wounds on Kerchak’s cheek and applied the leaf to the scratches, pushing the sap into the wounds.

            Kerchak growled as he yanked his head away, but Tarzan kept the leaf over the wounds. After a few seconds, Kerchak relaxed as the cool sap offered some pain relief and he glanced up at his son briefly before sighing heavily and continuing down the path, allowing his son to hold the leaf to his face as he walked.

            “I am very disappointed in you,” Kerchak said, and Tarzan felt a pang of hurt in his chest at the words. “What were you thinking trespassing into Ejike’s territory? You are very lucky I had some idea of what you might be up to when I couldn’t find you earlier or Ejike would have beat you to death.”

            “I was just trying to help,” Tarzan said, his eyes watering slightly.

            “By getting yourself killed?”

            “No, I thought I could see if there were any fruit trees not in Ejike’s family grounds. I wasn’t planning on getting caught or staying in his territory for long. I was going to follow the fruit trees back out to neutral ground.”

            “You never should have gone near his boundaries, especially after his first warning. We talked about this.”

            “I didn’t think something like this would happen.”

            “Which is why you can’t take these kinds of risks. You are very lucky he didn’t pummel you as soon as he saw you, which would have been well within his rights to do so.”

            “He would have if Nneka didn’t stop him.” Tarzan paused before saying, “You didn’t have to take my punishment for me. I’m sorry you’re hurt because of me.”

            Kerchak’s eyes softened as he glanced up at his son once more.

            “I would do it all again for you,” he said. “Though I do hope something like this does not happen again.”

            “Never,” Tarzan agreed.

            “Good.” Kerchak scanned his surroundings, and Tarzan was happy to see that they were no longer in Ejike’s territory. Kerchak pulled his head away from the leaf Tarzan was holding against his cheek. “Enough with that. Hop down, let me have a look at you.”

            Tarzan tossed the leaf aside and jumped off his father’s back.

            “I’m fine,” he said. “He never got me or anything.”

            Kerchak sniffed his son anyway, making sure there were no injuries on his son. Tarzan waited patiently, his eyes lingering on the two deep scratches on his father’s face. He was sure the wounds would scar, though with the thick fur, no one would see them. At least the wounds were no longer bleeding, and the gel from the plant he had used was good for helping the pain as well as healing.

            “I think we had a misunderstanding,” Kerchak finally said once he was satisfied Tarzan was not harmed. “Ejike’s family was first to the fruit trees, therefore, his territory covers the entirety of those grounds. If you had told me of your foolish plan, I could have told you that. Furthermore, you and your peers have been fortunate enough to have not experienced draught or famine, but it is always a very real possibility for your elders who have. When we come across resources, we use what is available for our family while it remains available. Sharing with families outside our own is not an option. The jungle can only give so much to so many at any given time. It is not viable for the forest to feed everyone all year round without growing exhausted. That will only encourage more draught and famine. That is why we do not share.”

            “I didn’t think of it like that. That makes sense. I still don’t like that we are missing out.”

            “These are the laws of the jungle. They are not always in our favor, but they are more than fair.” Kerchak narrowed his eyes at his son. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like what you did today again. You could have been easily killed.”

            “I won’t. I’m sorry.”

            “You had me so worried,” Kerchak said, leaning forward and touching his forehead to Tarzan’s. “The last thing I want is to lose you. You know I love you very much.”

            “I know,” Tarzan said. “I love you, too, Dad.”

            “You are very much grounded by the way.”

            “Yeah, I thought you’d say that.”

            Kerchak snorted, then nudged his son in the direction of the family.

            “Come. Let’s head home. I’m sure your mother is very worried about you. Kaphi as well.”

            Without so much as a glance back, Tarzan followed his father to his own family grounds, ready for a nice dinner and cozying up in his nest with his family. Kala was all over Kerchak’s wound, grooming and cleaning it before adding a few scolding words herself to Tarzan before pulling him into a hug and stating how glad she was that he was safe. Kaphi tackled her brother and they wrestled for a bit while Kaphi informed her brother how disappointed she was to be left out of his misadventure, though Tarzan was glad she had not followed him. He told her about Nneka during dinner, and he was exhausted by bedtime, falling asleep quickly, snuggled up against his sister and cuddled between his parents. 

Chapter Text

            Like any other day in the dense foliage of the jungle, Tarzan and Kaphi ran around the family grounds in games of tag and hide and seek. As Kaphi grew older, evading her grew harder for Tarzan, but he always found ways to stay ahead of his four-year-old sister. While Tarzan did enjoy breaks from Kaphi now and then to play with his own friends, he really didn’t mind playing with her for a few minutes every day. Even if sometimes it managed to land them in trouble.

            Today was no different, and Tarzan led his sister in a game of chase around their nest, and Kala smiled warmly at them.

“Be careful, you two,” Kala said. “Don’t trample each other.”

“Tell that to Kaphi, Mom,” Tarzan said as he dodged a pounce from his sister, who prepared to jump on him once more. However, she was caught mid leap by Kerchak, who pinned her down and tickled her, and she squealed in laughter.

Intrigued by the new game, Tarzan jumped on Kerchak’s back, distracting his father enough to release Kaphi as Kerchak turned his attention to trying to grab Tarzan off his back, but his son jumped down and avoided his hand. Kaphi and Tarzan ran around their father as he tried to snatch one of them, but they jumped out of reach each time, laughing at the new game.

Kerchak lunged forward and managed to catch Kaphi’s leg, forcing her to a sudden halt, which consequently made Tarzan run into her, and he tripped over her with an oof. Kerchak pinned both children down and tickled them while they kicked and struggled to break free of his grasp.

“Surrender?” Kerchak asked.

            “We surrender!” Tarzan and Kaphi cried.

            Kerchak snorted down heavily on them, causing a rush of air to tickle their necks before he released his kids, and they bolted away, hiding behind Kala playfully.

“Mom, protect us!” Tarzan and Kaphi said.

Their mother chuckled at their antics.

“I’ll protect you from that big, bad, meanie,” Kala said in a teasing voice, staring at her mate with a smirk.

“Meanie?” Kerchak challenged with a smirk back. “They don’t try jumping on your back and strangling you all day.”

“That’s because I’m their mother,” Kala said as she nuzzled her children. “They would never want to strangle me.”

“I see. I suppose everyone wants to overthrow the silverback then, even my own children.”

Tarzan laughed as he jumped away from his mother and walked over to his father.

“I don’t want to overthrow you,” Tarzan said as he sat next to his father. He smiled mischievously. “Just overpower you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Kerchak snarled, then he tried to grab his son for more tickles, but Tarzan leaped away, jumping for a nearby tree and climbing up it. He carefully maneuvered down a branch that hung over his nest, trying to line up with his father who was occupied with wrestling Kaphi, who was creating the perfect distraction for him to leap down and ambush Kerchak.

            He was directly above Kerchak when the branch made a loud snap. The branch shook as it gave slightly at the break, leaves rustling around him. Then, the branch snapped completely, and Tarzan shouted as he fell.

            The fall stopped abruptly as Kerchak was able to catch his leg before he hit the ground, and he set his son down next to Kaphi.

            “Careful,” Kerchak told him, “Dead branches are never for playing on.”

            “I didn’t even know it was dead.” Tarzan righted himself and shook himself out. “It looked fine.”

            “It was completely grey, and its bark was peeling,” Kerchak said, staring down at the pieces of the branch around them before glancing up at the tree. “It’s an old tree. You need to be careful where you put your weight when climbing one of those, if you absolutely must climb it, that is.”

            “Oh. I guess I never really paid attention to the trees I was climbing before.”

            “That explains why you’re always falling out of them.”

            “Hey!” Tarzan pounced on his father, wrapping his arms around Kerchak’s neck and gently biting one of his ears. Kerchak shook his head to dislodge his son, though he didn’t have a chance to do much more as Kaphi ran forward and mouthed her father’s arm before she smiled up at Tarzan, who was sitting on Kerchak’s back watching her.

            “Race you around the grounds!” she challenged.

            “You’re on!” Tarzan said.

            Tarzan jumped down, but Kerchak grabbed him down before he could run after his sister.

            “Do not wander past the family grounds,” Kerchak warned. “And stay where I can at least still hear you.”

            “Yes, Dad,” Tarzan said, and as soon as Kerchak released him, Tarzan bolted through the family as quickly as he could to catch up to his sister, who was enjoying her lead on her brother. They ran in a large circle around the nesting site, with Kaphi staying in the lead for the most part, and Tarzan decided to cheat his way ahead by swinging forward on a vine, dropping down in front of his sister to cut her off and take the lead.

            “Hey, no fair!” Kaphi complained.

            She darted off to the side to try and cut her brother off.

            Tarzan saw her move and had to leap up for another vine when she slid directly in his path. He swung over her, sticking his tongue out at her. Kaphi snarled playfully as she followed him, trying to stay ahead of his vine swinging. After managing to stay ahead of his sister for several swings, Tarzan dropped to the jungle floor and charged through the trees, keeping as much of his lead as possible while Kaphi tried to catch up to him.

            Kaphi managed to catch up a few times to Tarzan, cutting him off, and Tarzan darted around a tree. They blocked each other’s moves around the tree repeatedly, then Tarzan ran deeper into the trees, leading his sister in their games.

            They were unsure of how long they played their game of chase, or of how far away from the family they had strayed until Tarzan nearly fell into the river while dodging an attack from Kaphi.

            “Whoa!” Tarzan cried as he tumbled over the riverbank and nearly fell into the water below. He pulled himself up to safe ground and sat down to catch his breath, looking down at the river then up at his sister as Kaphi walked over to him and looked down at the river as well.

            “If we’re by the river,” Kaphi questioned as she sat next to her brother, “are we too far away from the family?”

            “I mean . . .” Tarzan hesitated as he looked through the thick jungle. “A little. But I know the way back; we’ll be fine. But we better get going before Dad notices us missing.”

            Kaphi nodded in agreement.

            Moving much slower as he was still a bit tired from his game, Tarzan led the way back through the jungle. He was ready for a nap, honestly, and he fought a yawn a couple times as the warm afternoon sun streamed through the trees, beating down on Tarzan’s back. Kaphi was unusually quiet, which clued Tarzan in to how tired she was feeling as well. A nap would be nice when they got back to their nest.

            Shadows from the trees danced on the ground due to the sun streams, but Tarzan frowned at an odd-shaped shadow holding completely still, and he paused to stare at it closer, then looked up into the trees. He didn’t see anything, but that didn’t erase the unease that suddenly filled his chest, and he sniffed the air in hopes he might pick up on something like Kerchak was so good at doing, but he did not catch any whiffs.

            He looked back at the ground but the shadow that had caught his attention was gone.

            “Why did we stop?” Kaphi asked, pouting slightly.

            “Shh,” Tarzan said. “Something doesn’t seem right.”

            Kaphi huffed as she plopped down.

            “Can’t we be home already?” she asked. “I want a nap.”

            Tarzan tried sniffing the air again, taking a few cautious steps forward, his eyes scanning the thick brush. He didn’t see or hear anything, so he looked back at his sister to tell her to stay close, but his eyes widened at the large shape stalking through the trees behind her.

            “Kaphi!” he cried.

            Kaphi glanced over her shoulder and screamed as Sabor the leopardess leaped out of the shadows; claws aimed for the little ape.

            Tarzan jumped for a branch, his heart in his throat as he watched Sabor chase his sister in the small clearing. The leopard cut off her escape each time she tried to move for a tree, and she screamed in terror as Sabor cornered her against a large boulder.

            Thinking fast, Tarzan jumped down to the jungle floor. He picked up the first rock he could find, then threw it as hard as he could at Sabor.

            “Hey!” he shouted.

            The rock struck the cat in the cheek, and Sabor turned furious eyes on Tarzan, her ears flat against her head as she hissed.  

            “Come and get me!” Tarzan dared.

            With a roar, Sabor ran after Tarzan, who climbed up the tree he had originally jumped for. Sabor slashed at him, and he backed up enough to avoid feeling her claws. He slipped around the tree and leaped for another branch, but she was right behind him, forcing him to keep climbing higher up another tree.

He glanced down in the clearing and saw Kaphi frozen against the rock still. He had to get her to safety but how?

Sabor’s teeth suddenly flashed before his eyes and Tarzan nearly fell backward out of the tree he was in as he cried out. He grabbed a vine and swung down to a lower branch in a different tree, and his eyes brightened when he spotted a hollow in a tree. It would be a tight squeeze, but he knew Kaphi would manage to get inside.  

Sabor snarled as she leaped for the branch he was on, and Tarzan jumped way while he shouted to his sister and directed her to the hollow not far from where she was.

            “Kaphi! Go there! Quickly!”

            Kaphi blinked, then ran for the tree Tarzan pointed at, disappearing in the hollow. Tarzan leaped from one branch to another with Sabor at his heels, nipping and slashing in her attempts to catch Tarzan.

            He grabbed a vine and swung away from her just as the big cat leaped for him, and he managed to throw himself into the hollow, disappearing inside with his sister.

            “Kaphi, are you okay?” Tarzan asked. He looked her over for any injuries.

            “I’m fine,” she said.

            Sabor reached into the hollow with a paw, and they both screamed as they backed away, keeping just out of reach of Sabor’s claws.

            After feeling around for a minute, Sabor pulled back and stared into the hollow, her yellow eyes piercing through the dark space and zeroing in on Kaphi and Tarzan. She growled lowly as she paced outside of the tree, then laid down in front of the hollow, her tail flicking lazily. Tarzan swallowed dryly. Sabor was waiting.

            “What do we do now?” Kaphi asked, tears welling in her eyes. “We’re trapped and she’s going to eat us.”

            “She’s not,” Tarzan reassured her. “I’ll make sure of it.”

            “I want Mommy and Daddy,” Kaphi said before she started crying loudly.

            “No, no, don’t cry,” Tarzan pleaded, hugging his sister comfortingly. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get out of here, I promise. I just need a minute to come with an idea.”

            As scared as he was, Tarzan did his best to put on a brave face for his sister. He ignored his shaky body in favor of running a soothing hand over her small tuft of hair, and she returned the hug full force, her own shakiness ebbing away. After a moment, they were both much calmer, and Tarzan released his sister to think of a way to escape Sabor.

            Tarzan looked around the small hollow he was in. The tree appeared to be hollow within as well, and there was a small stream of light above them, so Tarzan climbed up the narrow space, slipping slightly on the smooth surface. When Tarzan was level with the stream of light, he realized there was another hole in the tree, and he pulled pieces of bark loose and broke off more of the opening until he was able to squeeze through.

            He cautiously moved along the branch, inching along until he could see what was below him. He saw Sabor in the clearing, her head on her paws, her eyes closed, and her tail flicking now and then. He started to back away when he heard a small crack, and he froze, the noise eerily familiar.

            He looked down at the branch he was sitting on. It was very grey in color, and the bark was peeling around it. It was a dead branch. In fact, the entire tree they were hiding in was dead, which explained why it was so hollow on the inside and why the bark fell apart easily.

            That gave Tarzan an idea.

            “Here kitty, kitty,” he called to Sabor. “Up here!”

            Sabor’s head snapped up and she bared her fangs at him.

            “Na-na-na-na-na-na!” Tarzan taunted, making faces at the leopard.

            Sabor leaped for the tree, then crawled her way up while Tarzan quickly shuffled back to the small hole he had managed to squeeze out of. He waited until Sabor was just under the branch, then stuck his tongue out at her and blew a loud raspberry. Sabor snarled as she swung herself up onto the branch Tarzan was on.

            Now that she was up on the branch, Tarzan ducked back into the hold, but he wasn’t fast enough in avoiding Sabor’s paw as she swiped at him. He cried out as her claws managed to catch his chest, her paw pinning him against the smooth wood inside the tree.

            “Tarzan!” Kaphi cried up to him.

            Tarzan squirmed against the leopard’s hold. He was glad that this was all she could do since her head was too big to fit through the hollow, but he could hear her other paw digging away at the old wood, and the hollow was widening with each second.

            Not knowing what else to do, Tarzan bit one of Sabor’s toes, and she yowled as she pulled her paw back, and Tarzan slid down the tree some, but he stopped himself halfway.

            Sabor tore at the hollow entrance with fury, tearing the opening apart, and Tarzan heard the creaking of the branch as well, and he smirked.

            “Come on, cat!” he shouted. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

            “Tarzan, stop that!” Kaphi scolded, backing away in fear. “What are you doing?”

            Sabor roared in response as she pushed her head through the hole, along with a paw, widening the hole more. At last, she was able to squeeze a shoulder in, and she had a head and one of her arms reaching for Tarzan, swatting at him.

            Tarzan let himself fall the rest of the way back down the inside of the tree. He stayed close to Kaphi, watching as Sabor tried to push herself down after them, and she managed to break enough wood away to squeeze her other paw in, and she kicked at the branch she was standing on to push herself into the tree more.

            Crack!

            Sabor yelped as she jerked back slightly, using her claws to prevent her from falling out of the hollow after the branch she had been standing on snapped from under her. Her back end was now hanging, and her back paws clawed at the tree for support, but so much of the bark had peeled away that only slippery smoothness was left of the tree, and she struggled to get a grip. She couldn’t really move forward, and she couldn’t move back. For the moment, she was thoroughly stuck.

            “Kaphi, let’s go!” Tarzan said, and he yanked his sister out of the hollow. They paused only for a second to make sure Sabor was really stuck, and Kaphi blew a raspberry at the leopard herself when she saw the cat struggling to free herself from the tree.

            Tarzan urged her forward, and they ran through the jungle as fast as they could back to the family grounds, laughing all the way.

            “You were amazing!” Kaphi said, leaping around her brother. “I was so scared, and you were like—come get me—and then Sabor was right behind you, and, and . . . you were so brave!”

            “Thanks,” Tarzan said. “You were pretty brave too.”

            “No,” Kaphi said shyly, pawing at the dirt. “Not like you.”

            “You’ll get there. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

            Tarzan walked with his head high and his eyes closed, and Kaphi grinned before copying her brother, and they arrived back to the family safely. They grabbed some fruit from a small pile collected by some of the family members, eating with vigor after their small adventure. Kala greeted them when they arrived to their shared nest, though she gasped at the scratches on Tarzan’s chest.

            “What happened to you?” she asked, sniffing her son and licking the wounds a couple times.

            “Mom, I’m okay,” Tarzan said, jumping away from his mother’s ministrations. “We just . . . err . . .”

            “Tarzan saved me from Sabor,” Kaphi answered for him, and Tarzan winced at the honesty before giving his mother an innocent smile.

            “Sabor? Where was this?” Kala frowned at her children.

            “Oh, well . . .” Tarzan started.

            “We accidentally ran all the way down to the river when we were chasing each other,” Kaphi said happily as she snuggled up against her mother. “On the way back home, Sabor attacked us, but Tarzan took care of everything. He got her all trapped in a tree and we got away. He’s a hero!”

            Didn’t little sisters know some things should be left unsaid to their parents? Well, there was no getting out of this now. Kala gave her son a stern look, and Tarzan sighed and nodded.

            “Yeah, that’s all true. It was an accident that we went too far though. We really didn’t mean it. Besides, I’m fine. They don’t even hurt.”

            Tarzan resisted scratching at the injuries just to make a point.

            “Your father’s not going to like that story,” Kala said. “He told you to stay in hearing distance of the family before you ran off, and even if you were busy playing, you two should have checked now and then to be sure you could still hear us. This could have been avoided.”

            “Sorry, Mom,” Tarzan and Kaphi said.

            Kala sighed, then pulled both kids into a hug.

            “I’m just glad you are both safe,” she said, nuzzling them affectionately. “Though one of you will have to tell your father about what happened.”

            “Not it!” Kaphi said, touching a finger to her nose.

            “Aww, how are you so quick at that?” Tarzan complained, glaring at his sister’s smirk.

Chapter Text

            During one of many travels through the jungle, Tarzan always enjoyed games of tag with his sister to keep himself amused while the family searched for new foraging grounds. His five-year-old sister kept the games interesting as she was always looking for ways to outsmart her more experienced brother, and sometimes, she caught him by surprise. And sometimes, in his eyes, she cheated.

            “Hey!” Tarzan growled as he was tackled from the side and pinned down roughly in the dirt, and he could feel a few stones scratching his sides up a bit from the tackle. “You can’t cut around the trees like that, they’re out of bounds. You’re supposed to chase me around the family.”

            “It’s a short cut,” Kaphi said. “And I wasn’t that far away from the family, so it counts.”

            “No, it doesn’t. You came running from behind that tree. That’s off the path and so it is out of bounds. You cheated.”

            “Did not!”

            “Did too.”

            “You’re only upset because I tagged you and you lost.”

            “I wouldn’t care if you hadn’t cheated.”

            “I didn’t cheat.”

            “Then what do you call going out of bounds?”  

“Short cut. I took a short cut and won fair and square.”

            “Tarzan, Kaphi,” Kala called to them as she walked past them, “keep up with us.”

            Tarzan ran after the family that was slowly moving on without them, Kaphi following his lead. He began weaving his way through the gorillas, working his way to the front, though Kaphi was right at his heel, and she was determined to argue her case since Tarzan was not interested in any more games.

            “One more game of tag?” Kaphi asked.

            “No, I don’t play with cheaters.”

            “Come on, I didn’t cheat. Stop being a sore loser.”

            “Stop denying that you were out of bounds, so your tag doesn’t count.”

            “That’s not fair. You always use cheats to escape me, anyway, so I have to do it back to catch you. I don’t get upset when you start swinging from vines.”

            “The vines are on the path, so they count.”

            “But I can’t do that, so it shouldn’t count. You’re not being fair.”

            “I’m always fair.” Tarzan managed to catch up to the front of the family where Kerchak was leading the way forward. “You’re not being fair.”

            “Well, you’re being stupid!” Kaphi fired at her brother.

            “And you’re a brat!” Tarzan shot back, glaring at his sister.

            “Hey,” Kerchak chided as he looked down at his children walking at his side. “What’s all this about?”

            “I tagged Tarzan fair and square in our game and he’s not happy about it,” Kaphi explained.

            “Because she cheated by going out of bounds,” Tarzan added. “And she’s refusing to admit it.”

            “I didn’t cheat!”

            “Liar, liar, fur on fire.”

            “I’ll put your fur on fire,” Kaphi snarled as she lunged for her brother, only for Kerchak to catch her.

            “Alright, that’s enough,” Kerchak said. He lifted his daughter to his back where she plopped down and pouted with her arms crossed. “There will be no maiming of your brother.”

Kerchak gave his son a disapproving look. “Do not taunt your sister. And since you two cannot agree on how to play your game, then I guess your game is over for now.”

            “I didn’t want to play it anymore anyway,” Tarzan said, though he was a bit disappointed he would have to continue following the family with nothing to do now. He hid his disappointment though, especially when Kaphi blew a raspberry at him. He made a face back, only dropping the look when Kerchak turned stern eyes on him. He silently fumed as he walked beside his father, which did not ease the annoyance he felt at all, so by the time they arrived to the new foraging grounds, he wanted nothing to do with Kaphi, who seemed to have mutual feelings.

            “I think I’ll go start with picking some berries,” Tarzan declared, wanting to move away from his sister once everyone seemed settled in the new territory. He began walking in the direction of the thick bushes when he felt Kaphi brush by him.

            “I wanted to pick berries first,” she said.

            “Well, I already started,” Tarzan said, pushing past her and running up to the bushes. He began plucking off as many as he could, not even bothering to eat them, just wanting to grab what he could before Kaphi could take them.

            “There’s enough for everyone,” Kaphi said, plucking berries off the bush as well, dropping them at her feet to grab more as quickly as possible. “We all have to share.”

            “Something you’re not good at,” Tarzan snapped at her.

            “You mean you’re not good at it,” Kaphi corrected, shouldering her brother to push him away from the bushes so she could grab from the side he was plucking from.

            “Keep to your side!” Tarzan yelled, shoving into her shoulder to push her back to her own side.

            “I am on my side!” Kaphi pushed back against him.

            Before Tarzan could come up with a way to topple his sister over, he was suddenly lifted into the air and carried away from the berry bushes by Kerchak.

            “Hey, I was there first,” Tarzan said as he was set down near where Kala was beginning to make a nest.

            “I do not care who was there first,” Kerchak said. “You two are wasting berries in your little disagreement, so I’m separating you two for now. Why don’t you go enjoy some mangoes with Terk?”

            “But Dad . . .”

            “Go eat some dinner.”

            Tarzan grumbled as he climbed up the trees and worked his way over to where Terk was sitting on a branch eating fruit. He joined her, complaining the whole time about Kaphi as he ate his fill, and Terk seemed to agree that little sisters had to be really annoying sometimes. It made Tarzan feel a little better to have someone support him, but it did not erase his irritation, and when it was bedtime, there just was not enough room in the nest for the two kids.

            “You’re hogging the bed,” Tarzan complained as he readjusted in the nest, scooting away from his sister.

            “You’re taking up all the room,” Kaphi said as she stretched herself out next to her mother.

            “Stop kicking me.”

            “I’m not doing it on purpose.”

            Tarzan moved around in the nest once more and plopped down in a different corner away from Kaphi and stretched out.

            “Now you’re kicking me.” Kaphi glared at her brother.

            “You were in my way.”

            “Tarzan, Kaphi,” Kala scolded as she sat up and gave her children an annoyed look. “Please, that is enough. It is bedtime and I do not want to be kept up all night by you two arguing over nest space. Your father certainly won’t put up with any of this when he gets back from his night check.”

            “She started it,” Tarzan said.

            “No, I didn’t, he did!” Kaphi pointed accusingly at her brother.

            “Tarzan, sleep on this side of me,” Kala said, patting the space to the right of her. “Kaphi, you stay where you are.”

            Tarzan sulked as he moved to where Kala directed him to go. Once Kala settled back down, he curled up next to his mother. At least he wasn’t next to Kaphi. That was all that mattered, really, since he still didn’t want anything to do with her tonight.

            The next day came too quickly, and while some sibling disagreements only took a night to sleep on and get over, it was not meant to be for this one, and the siblings woke up with as much irritation for the other as they had yesterday. It started with breakfast, where Kaphi decided some of her food could be used to throw at her brother, who retaliated with some fruit of his own. The impromptu food fight ended abruptly when Kerchak snarled at them in warning, and they went their separate ways to play with their own friends.

            Except each group of friends wanted to play in the same area, and while it was never usually a problem, since Kaphi and Tarzan couldn’t stand to look at each other, it was a major issue that resulted in a huge shouting match between Kaphi’s group of friends and Tarzan’s group of friends. Unfortunately, a couple adult blackbacks decided they wanted the space, and they chased off the children, forcing them to find different places around the family ground to play.

            After some games with his friends, Tarzan felt a bit less angry. After lunch, he started wrestling with Kerchak, who indulged him with some flips and play bites, but halfway through, Kaphi jumped in the game, climbing up her father’s arm.

            “I want to wrestle with Dad,” she said firmly.

            “We were wrestling first,” Tarzan said, glaring at his little sister for daring to interrupt.

            “I can play with both of you at the same time,” Kerchak reminded his children.

            “I don’t want to play with Tarzan,” Kaphi said, glaring at her brother.

            “I don’t want to play with you either,” Tarzan said, turning away with a scowl.

            Kerchak rolled his eyes, then gently removed Kaphi from his arm, setting her down next to her brother.

            “Very well,” he said, “if I can’t play with both of you at the same time, then I will not play with either of you.”

            Kerchak walked away from his kids to check on the family, much to Tarzan’s and Kaphi’s disappointment.

            “Now look what you did,” Tarzan said to his sister.

            “What I did?” Kaphi asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

            “You never do anything,” Tarzan said with a roll of his eyes. He walked off himself, heading through the trees to find somewhere to be that Kaphi was not.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaphi demanded to know as she chased after her brother.

            “You never admit to anything,” Tarzan said. He climbed up a tree and moved through the branches, tree surfing a bit to try and lose Kaphi, but she moved from branch to branch just as swiftly. “You always have to be right about everything.”

            “I do not,” Kaphi said. “You always change the rules on me when something doesn’t go your way.”

            “No, I don’t. Stop following me!” Tarzan climbed up higher branches.

            “Stop running away from me!” Kaphi climbed up the branches after her brother. “I’m not done talking to you.”

            “I’m done talking to you. So go away. Go bug someone else.”

            “I want to bug you.”

            “Stop following me.” Tarzan reached for a vine, his fingertips just out of reach of it. He jumped for it, swinging slightly as he grabbed on to it. However, Kaphi also leaped for the vine, and it jerked beneath him before a loud snap sounded above them.

            They screamed as they fell from the trees, narrowly missing the branches.

            Splat!

            Tarzan looked down at the mud he was halfway buried in. He tried to move his legs, but the mud felt heavy around him, and every little move seemed to make the mud suck him down even more. He looked around for something to grab, but there was nothing in his reach, and the swiveling around he was doing made the mud swallow more of him. Kaphi was struggling in the mud next to him, and she slowly sank more until she was nearly up to her shoulders, and she froze, her eyes wide.

            “Mom! Dad!” they cried simultaneously.

            “Now look what you did!” Tarzan said.

            “What I did? I was copying you. This is your fault.”

            “Well if you had stopped following me . . .”

            “If you had listened to me . . .”

            “None of this would have happened!” They yelled at each other at the same time again. They turned away from each other, crossed their arms, and pouted.

            “What have you managed to get yourselves into?” Kerchak asked as he stepped through the trees and toward the mudhole.

            “It’s Kaphi’s fault; she broke the vine. . .”

            “I was trying to talk to Tarzan, and he wouldn’t . . .”

            “Are you seriously still fighting?” Kerchak growled at them. “Even now?”

            Tarzan blushed and looked away and Kaphi also had the decency to look ashamed. As annoyed as he was with Kaphi, he knew he still loved her very much, and their arguments were getting a little silly. Especially now that they were trapped in mud and were still finding things to argue about. He made a decision that once he was free, he would try to put an end to this silly quarrel. At least Kerchak was here now to pull them out, and with his long arms, he would have no problem reaching them.

            “We’re sorry,” Tarzan said. He reached his arms up. “We’ll be better. Can you get us out now?”

            To his surprise, Kerchak took a step back.

            “There is a vine above you,” Kerchak said. “You should be able to reach it.”

            Tarzan was pretty sure he had already checked for anything in his reach, but he looked around once more to see where this vine was that his father was seeing. He saw the one in question and realized why he had originally missed it: it was on the other side of Kaphi. Tarzan was pretty sure he would not be able to reach it, and he gave his father an incredulous look before trying to reach for the vine. This meant reaching over Kaphi, who gave her brother an annoyed look but tried not to move or say anything so he could accomplish whatever it was their father was trying to prove.

            “I can’t reach it,” Tarzan said after a minute of struggling to grab it.

            “Kaphi is close to it,” Kerchak said. “Why don’t you try asking her for help?”

            Tarzan shared a look with his sister, and they both huffed and looked away from each other, arms crossing.

            “No? Well, I guess it’ll be a long day for you two.” Kerchak turned away, as if he was about to head back for the family.

            “Wait!” Tarzan and Kaphi cried.

            “You’re just going to leave us like this?” Tarzan asked.

            “I gave you a solution. You didn’t like it. I guess you don’t want my help.”

            “No, we want your help,” Kaphi said. “Don’t leave us.”

            “Kaphi,” Tarzan asked his sister, “Can you grab the vine for me?”

            “Here!” she said, snatching a hold of the vine and handing it to her brother eagerly.

            “Thanks.” Tarzan tried using all his strength to pull himself free of the mud, but he was met with a lot of resistance. It was like trying to pull himself in two, and he gave up with a slight hiss of pain. “Dad, I can’t get free.”

            “Let me try,” Kaphi said, and Tarzan allowed her to try climbing up the vine, but she was also unable to find the strength to get out of the sticky situation.

            “It’s not working.” Kaphi said.

            They looked at their father, and he sat down, still showing no interest in physically helping them escape. Instead, all he said was, “Maybe you should both try doing something.”

            Tarzan sighed at the cryptic help they were getting, then he racked his brain for what his next move should be. He realized that if Kaphi tried climbing up the vine, he could help her by digging some of the mud away. That way, maybe there wouldn’t be as much resistance from the mud.

            “Try climbing up again,” Tarzan told his sister. “I’m going to dig out.”

            “Okay.” Kaphi pulled on the vine once more while Tarzan began digging away at the mud around her. She grunted as fought against the pull. “It’s not working.”

            “Keep trying,” Tarzan said, digging away furiously. “We have to give it a minute to work.”

            Kaphi kept trying to climb, and Tarzan helped by pushing her up toward the vine as well, along with digging away at the mud. Slowly, she managed to inch her way up the vine, escaping the thick mudhole below.

            “I did it!” she cheered. She reached for her brother. “Here, I’ll try pulling you out now.”

            Tarzan took his sister’s hand, and with her ape strength, she managed to slowly yank her brother out of the mud as well. They climbed up the vine together before swinging over to dry land, laughing at their success.

            “Nicely done,” Kerchak praised his kids, standing up once more. “So you can get along long enough to help each other out of some mud.”

            “I think we can get along longer than that,” Tarzan said. He gave his sister an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, sis, I really don’t like fighting with you.”

            “Me neither.” Kaphi hugged her brother. “I’m sorry too.”

            “Race you back to the family?” Tarzan asked

            “You’re on!” Kaphi said.

            Kerchak smiled fondly as he watched his kids race through the trees, following behind them to make sure they made it back safely to the family. He was glad they had finally made up, that had certainly been a long row between the siblings, but he knew they would always find a way to make up going forward. They loved each other far too much to stay mad at each other for long.  

Chapter Text

            It wasn’t until after Kerchak had accepted Tarzan as his son did he really start to see some of the challenges Tarzan faced on the daily in the family, challenges that were not necessarily physical. While he knew Tarzan had always been slower and weaker than his peers, he had always assumed that that was where the majority of his differences were, besides being hairless of course. Tarzan had picked up on speaking gorilla with relative ease, and he picked up on the language of other animals fairly quickly as well.

            Yet it was still communication that Tarzan struggled with.

            How? Body language.

            A lot of gorilla communication was through body language, which included posture, facial expressions, and even chest beating, which the latter was more often done either with the silverback or among the children when they were playing. Every little action had the potential to be scrutinized and misinterpreted by another family member, and poor Tarzan seemed to be a bit clumsy in that department.

            Perhaps it was never a problem before when the family seemed to isolate Tarzan and Kala before Kerchak fully accepted Tarzan. There was little interaction between Tarzan and the other family members save for Terk and occasionally Flynt and Mungo. But since Kerchak took Tarzan under his wing and returned to sharing a nest with Kala, the family followed his lead, and more of the ape children played with Tarzan, and even a few of the blackbacks that played with the children allowed Tarzan in on some of their games. But in doing so, Tarzan was exposed more to the family hierarchy and to gorilla body language, something he had not had a lot of prior experience through save for Kala.

            It kept Kerchak on edge when he observed Tarzan playing among the family, especially when he noticed the missed cues from his peers that then led to annoyance, and then, to violence. Kerchak and Kala did their best to remind Tarzan of appropriate behavior around the other gorillas, especially his elders, but the child often got so caught up in his games that he would forget to be watching for certain body language, and then he found himself in trouble.

            Like today.

            The seven-year-old had been playing with a group of apes his age in a game of wrestle tag, where they would chase each other and wrestle whoever they managed to tag for a few minutes before the new tagger had to chase down the next victim. The game had been going well, and Kerchak was checking in on other family members when he heard angry screaming coming from the children, and he snapped his head in the direction it was coming from.

            Flynt was lunging for Tarzan aggressively, while Tarzan submissively backed away. Terk was trying to place herself in between Tarzan and Flynt while Mungo gave his own angry grunts in support of whatever had angered Flynt. A few other children circled the group, egging on the activity.      

            Kerchak emitted several deep grunts as he walked over to the group, ending the dispute.

            “To your own nests,” Kerchak demanded. “I believe it is time for a nap.”

            The children grumbled but obediently left for their own nests. Tarzan slinked his way over to Kerchak with a pout.

            “I don’t even get what I did wrong,” Tarzan said as he followed Kerchak to their own nests. “We were having fun and then suddenly, Flynt was angry at me.”

            “Too much eye contact,” Kala answered as she waited for them at the nest where she was already lying down with a napping year-old Kaphi on her chest. “I could see what you kids were doing from here, and you kept meeting Flynt’s eyes directly instead of side staring. We’ve talked about that.”

            “I don’t even realize I’m doing it,” Tarzan complained as he collapsed in the nest. “Why does it matter anyway. I don’t mean anything by it.”

            “It’s asking for a challenge,” Kerchak said. “It feels threatening to be stared at directly.”

            “But if I look down all the time, then I’m being too passive,” Tarzan said, quoting what Kerchak had told him yesterday. “Then everyone thinks I don’t actually want to play when I do.”

            “It’ll take some time to learn,” Kerchak said. “You missed out on much of that interaction in the first few years of your life, which admittedly was my fault. You’re going to have a lot of trial and error before you get it right.”

            “It’s not fair,” Tarzan said. “I just want to be like everyone else and I can’t even play right.”

            Kerchak sighed softly.

            “Rest, Tarzan. I’m sure after a nap, everyone will be in a forgiving mood. Then you can apologize to Flynt and try again.”

            “Okay,” Tarzan agreed. He snuggled up next to his mother and closed his eyes.

            Kerchak returned to checking on the family, making sure everyone was accounted for and resting in their nests before he made a boundary check. With no predators or other silverbacks in sight, Kerchak returned to his shared nest and decided a nap was in order, and he settled in next to his son, who subconsciously rolled closer to him, burrowing into his father’s side. Kerchak couldn’t help but smile at him. Hopefully a nap was all everyone needed, and once Tarzan apologized, the children would go back to playing.    

            He should have remembered to remind Tarzan what an apology entailed.

            Kerchak happened to glance over in time to see Flynt’s father Firdous yawning at Tarzan, a subtle warning that Tarzan should tread carefully with his next moves. Flynt sat next to his father with a glare at Tarzan. Kerchak sighed before walking over to the trio.

            “Do we have a problem, Firdous?” Kerchak asked as he neared the blackback.

            “I would say so,” Firdous said. “Your son clearly has no interest in actually apologizing for his behavior.”

            “But I said I was sorry,” Tarzan said, pushing up on his knuckles a bit as he leaned toward Kerchak.

            “You didn’t say it standing like that, I hope,” Kerchak said with a shake of his head.

            Tarzan lowered himself a bit, holding a submissive posture.

            “Apologize to Flynt,” Kerchak said. “And don’t forget to smile.”

            Tarzan huffed but seemed to realize what he had forgotten to do when he had first apologized. However, being made to do it again put him in a foul mood, and he lifted his lips in a way that gave him a minimal smile, almost like baring his teeth.

            “I’m sorry I –”

            “Not like that!” Kerchak scolded, roughly nudging Tarzan in the side, nearly knocking him over. “Again. With an appropriate smile.”

            Tarzan corrected his footing and returned to his submissive pose, giving his father an indignant look before he sighed and side eyed Flynt once more. He relaxed his lips and pulled them outward into a submissive smile, making sure to show only teeth and not his gums.

            “I’m sorry I kept making eye contact with you during our game,” Tarzan said. “I wasn’t trying to make a threat or challenge you in any way. I just wanted to play it right and I was having fun.”

            “Apology accepted,” Flynt said easily, happy with the appropriate display. Honestly, the gorillas were happier to put things in the past and move on from any drama, as long as proper protocol was followed to allow for it.

            Firdous nodded his head in acceptance as well, then walked off in search of a snack, leaving Flynt and Tarzan to work things out from there. Kerchak did the same, stepping away now that things were under control. It would take time, but one day, reading body language and displaying it would become second nature to Tarzan. Kerchak would make sure of it.

            Of course, it was proving difficult teaching Tarzan every little thing that seemed like a natural, obvious conclusion in Kerchak’s mind. When Tarzan was chased away from a group of nests by one of the females, Kerchak had told him not to sit near certain groups in the family as he was not a part of their social dynamic. It was fine if he was playing with other children, but not fine if he was just aimlessly wandering.

            And when another elder female attempted to tell Tarzan to stay away from a certain tree, Tarzan had argued with her as his favorite fruit resided at the very top. Kerchak bit back an annoyed groan as he walked over to his son and the older female, Lina.

            “What is the problem?” he asked, looking between Lina and Tarzan.

            “I was just informing the youngling that this tree should not be climbed,” Lina explained in a croaky voice as she pointed at the tree in question. “It is looking quite compromised.”

            “It looks fine, Dad,” Tarzan argued. “She can’t even see it that well.”

            “Tarzan,” Kerchak scolded. “Respect your elders. Lina has far more experience than you do with knowing which trees are safe and which are not, and she holds a very respectable status among the family.”

            “But Dad,” Tarzan complained.

            Kerchak sniffed the tree, looking up at the fruit above. There certainly wasn’t that many fruit at the top like this tree type would normally produce, and there was something funny about the bark. Kerchak pushed a hand into the tree, and he was able to break a large chunk of bark off, sending several beetles crawling up the tree. Several more beetles burrowed themselves deeper into the tree, eating away at the wood.

            “Seems pretty compromised to me,” Kerchak said, sending his son a glare.

            “Oh,” Tarzan said, blushing slightly as he lowered himself submissively.

            “Pesky little bugs, I tell you,” Lina said, shaking her head.

            “Apologize to Lina,” Kerchak told his son.

            “Sorry,” Tarzan said in an annoyed voice, though he did remember his smile.

            Kerchak’s glare deepened while Lina seemed entirely oblivious to Tarzan’s tone.

            “Oh, no harm done, dearie,” Lina said. “I simply didn’t want you to get hurt climbing up that sickly twig.”

            “Go to our nest,” Kerchak told Tarzan firmly, pushing up on his knuckles. “Now.”

            Tarzan huffed and walked away, slowly moving between nests toward their own vacant one. Kerchak gave Lina one last apology before he followed his son. Kala was sitting in a group of other mother apes, sharing a playdate with their year-old babies. Kaphi seemed to be enjoying herself as she tried new expressions at the other babies sitting next to her. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about Kaphi struggling with communication. Kerchak often felt for his son when he had days where he could not translate the other gorillas. It must be frustrating not immediately picking up on the social cues around him, and it was only expected that Tarzan lost his temper with the other gorillas. That did not mean he would allow his son to be disrespectful to anyone, however.

            Tarzan was lying on his stomach in the thick piles of leaves that made their nest, and he didn’t bother moving or looking up as Kerchak approached.

            “I can’t get anything right,” Tarzan complained. “I bet everyone hates me.”

            “Nobody hates you,” Kerchak said as he stepped into the nest and sat down, giving his son an amused look. “For the most part, everyone understands that you are a child and that you are still learning. Miscommunications happen now and then, even for the adults.”

            “But I’m always messing it up.”

            “You’ve had one bad day. Tomorrow will be a new day and I’m sure you’ll pick up on cues much quicker. It just takes time.”

            “Not for you. Not for Mom. Not for Kaphi. Not for Flynt or Terk, or Mungo, or—”

            “Alright, I get your point,” Kerchak said with a roll of his eyes. “Everyone is different, Tarzan. And you know that you are very different from your adopted family. But you’ve always met all of your milestones we would expect on any of the children. Just at a slower pace. Communication will be no different.”

            “I hate being different,” Tarzan said. “I wish I really was a gorilla and nothing else.”

            “Well, I’m afraid I can’t fix that,” Kerchak said. He scooped his son up and set him in his lap, holding him close. “Know that I wouldn’t have you any other way, Tarzan. I love you just as you are.”

            Tarzan smiled and nuzzled his father.

            “You’ll figure this out. You are very smart, and you catch on quickly. And I will help you until you no longer need it. I promise you that.”

            “Thanks, Dad. I love you, too.”

            Father and son spent the rest of the afternoon playing together in their own nest, with Kerchak putting emphasis on some of his own social cues to help Tarzan recognize what some may be when he was playing with his own friends.  

Chapter Text

            Tarzan sat up in his nest and groaned, doubling over and clutching his stomach. A sharp stabbing pain radiated from his abdomen, and a wave of nausea flushed over his face, and he swallowed dryly. All day now he had felt off, and it had affected his appetite and energy levels. He had not been interested in playing with any of his friends or his two-year-old sister, nor did he want to eat any more than a few bites of his food. Now, his stomach was just twisting in knots, and he couldn’t even sleep. He had tossed and turned most of the night, waking Kerchak, who seemed to be aware that he was struggling with some ailment as he placed himself between Tarzan so that Kala and Kaphi would sleep undisturbed.  

            Tarzan circled a few times before curling up next to his father, into a fetal position, his breathing a bit ragged as he tried to ignore the pain, but it only intensified. With a moan, he sat up once more and sat defeatedly, his face tight and red as he focused on breathing.

            Kerchak sat up as well, tilting his head and giving his son a concerned look.

            “Tarzan,” he said, “are you alright?”

“My stomach is really hurting me,” Tarzan said, not moving the slightest to avoid causing any sharp pains.

“Do you feel sick?” Kerchak asked as he touched his lips to Tarzan’s forehead.

“A little.” Tarzan closed his eyes at the touch, waiting for Kerchak to pull back. “But it mostly hurts.”

“You’re not warm.” Kerchak sniffed the eight-year-old child, tickling Tarzan’s neck a bit unintentionally, and Tarzan winced as he tried not to laugh. “You don’t smell like infection either. Does it hurt too much to try to sleep?”

Tarzan nodded his head miserably.

Kerchak sighed and looked over his shoulder to check on his mate and daughter before he stepped out of the nest.

“Alright, follow me,” he said with a jerk of his head.

Tarzan hesitated, watching his father take a few steps away before he tried moving. His stomach protested, sending sharp pains with each step, but he obediently followed his father in hopes that the older ape knew of a way to cure this awful feeling. Kerchak sniffed the ground and followed a path into the trees that led away from the family grounds, relying more on scent than on sight as it was very dark. The moonlight above them did not have enough strength to cut through the thick foliage of the jungle, so Tarzan stayed close to his father while he followed him.

“You may have a few bugs in your stomach,” Kerchak said as he sniffed a tree for a moment to identify it before passing it.

“You mean the ones I ate during grooming?” Tarzan frowned, thinking back to when he participated in social grooming with a few peers his age for a few minutes where he had eaten a couple bugs he had found in Terk’s hair. Could those bugs still be alive in him and making his stomach hurt?

“No, ones that snuck in, probably in something else you ate,” Kerchak corrected gently. “It happens sometimes. They try to live in your stomach.”

Now that thought really grossed Tarzan out and he made a face while trying not to panic too much.

“Eww.”

“Or your stomach could hurt because of something else,” Kerchak said, sniffing at a few trees intently. “Bad food, toxic plant, another kind of sickness. Either way, we’ll need to do something about it. Ah.”

Kerchak circled a tree, looking up at its high branches while he sniffed the trunk, making sure it was the tree he wanted. When he seemed satisfied, he broke a large chunk of bark off with a bit of digging effort on his part, prying and pulling at a loose piece. He set the bark down in front of Tarzan.

“Here, eat this.”

Kerchak sat and waited for his son to eat the piece of wood, but Tarzan gave it a suspicious sneer as he sniffed it himself, then tilted his head at his father. He had never been much of a bark eater unlike the rest of his family, but he knew which trees they tended to attack when they wanted a treat. This was an odd tree to pull bark from.

“Are you sure?” Tarzan asked. “I don’t see anyone else eating bark off this kind of tree.”

“We do,” Kerchak insisted. “Only sometimes. Eat it anyway.”

Tarzan made a face, his stomach churning at the thought of trying to eat something so dry and gritty.

“You eat it first,” Tarzan said, stalling as much as he could.

Kerchak frowned at his son, knowing that he only requested that Kerchak eat something first when he was being picky about trying a new food, and stalling for time to see if he would be allowed to not eat it. He shook his head at his son.

“We are not playing that game, son. Not tonight. Eat it now so we can both go back to sleep.”

With one last pitiful look to his father, Tarzan picked up the bark hesitantly, holding it in both hands and slowly bringing it to his mouth. He hated it when his father didn’t cave on making him do new silly things. Tarzan opened his mouth and took a small bite of the bark, at first, not biting hard enough and only getting small pieces of wood into his mouth. The dry, bitter pieces got stuck in his teeth, and he used his tongue to push them free before chewing the small splinters as much as possible, trying to mash it down as much as he could before swallowing, feeling the dry pieces scrape down his throat.

“Good.” Kerchak nodded with approval. “Now take a real bite.”

Tarzan gagged slightly before he bravely chomped down on a corner of the bark, and he needed to shake his head a bit to break off a small chunk. His lips curled and he chewed loudly, salivating nauseously as he worked on the tough wood. It required chewing and chewing and chewing, and worse, fibrous pieces broke off and got stuck in his teeth over and over again, and picking them out with his tongue was challenging, so he resorted to using his fingers. His jaws tired quickly, but he kept chewing because he knew there was no way he could swallow the bark yet.

It took him ten minutes to chew that one bite of bark enough that he felt safe enough to swallow without choking on what was in his mouth, and he did so in small amounts until he managed to get all the bark down. He looked up at his father with a pleading look.

“Keep going,” was all Kerchak said, much to Tarzan’s dismay.

With watery eyes and a big sigh, Tarzan took another bite, breaking off as much as he dared before he began the chewing process all over again.

“Why do I have to eat this?” Tarzan said after another ten minutes of working on that one bite of food. “I don’t have teeth like yours; it’s too hard to chew and it tastes awful.”

“It will help you feel better.”

“Well, it’s not,” Tarzan argued. His stomach was really churning now. “It’s actually making me feel . . .”

Tarzan’s eyes widened, his face turning green, and he dropped the bark and ran for a few bushes and vomited violently into them.

“I’ll be honest,” Kerchak said, “with your sensitive stomach, I thought the first bite would do the trick.”

Tarzan realized that this had been the end goal, and he really wasn’t liking his father very much at the moment as he heaved once more, his stomach and chest hurting even more from the effort. It took several minutes to expel everything he had just eaten and then some, and the sensation of the coarse wood coming back up his throat was unpleasant. He was sure his throat was going to be sore for a few days after this experience. Finally, everything was settling down, and while his stomach was still cramping some, it was a little more tolerable than it had been before.     

            “Better?” Kerchak asked.

            “A little,” Tarzan answered honestly.

            “Good. Here, chew on these.” Kerchak handed Tarzan a few leaves he had pulled from a shrub. “Do not swallow them. Just chew them.”

            Tarzan accepted the leaves and made another face as he felt the texture of the rough, prickly-feeling plants. At least they were small, and he popped the leaves into his mouth, moving them around inquisitively before chewing them. Thankfully, unlike the bark, the leaves did not get stuck in his teeth.

            Kerchak lifted his son to his back and began walking back to their nest. Tarzan appreciated the ride this time, as his stomach still has some pains in it that made walking undesirable.

            “What are the leaves for?” Tarzan asked.

            “They will also make you feel better,” Kerchak said.

            “Am I going to sick up again?” Tarzan considered spitting the leaves out.

            “Unlikely. Do not spit those out.” Kerchak gave his son a knowing look over his shoulder and Tarzan smiled innocently, sticking the leaves out between his teeth before pulling them back in to show his father he had not spat them out. Kerchak carried on through the trees. “The leaves should help settle your stomach and stop any pains you are feeling. If you do get sick further, it’ll likely be from the bark you ate.”

            Tarzan made a face as he smacked on the leaves loudly. He had thought he threw up most of the bark, but maybe some of the parts he chewed well was still in him. How repulsive. He never wanted to touch that bark again. But it had helped him feel a little bit better.

            After arriving back to their nest, Kerchak had Tarzan chew the leaves a bit longer, only spitting them out when he felt himself falling asleep. Unfortunately, there must have still been some bark in his system, because Tarzan ended up startling awake twice to vomit again, and then an hour later, he was running from the nest in order to find a private place to potty. Each time he felt the need to leave the nest, Kerchak woke also, offering support and watching over his son as he moved about the family grounds in the dark.

            It was a long night for both Tarzan and Kerchak, but as dawn approached Tarzan’s stomach finally settled down, the pains disappearing with just a dull ache remaining, and he no longer felt like his guts were trying to escape from inside him. He collapsed on top of Kerchak as he crawled back into the nest one last time, closing his eyes and falling asleep quickly.

            Father and son finally slept soundly, sleeping in even as the rest of the family slowly stirred around them. Kala checked in with Kerchak in a whispered conversation before she understandingly left her mate and son to sleep in, taking Kaphi to seek out breakfast with a few other females.

            A few more hours passed, and Tarzan blinked his eyes open blearily, feeling a bit warm in the sun streaming down on him and his father. He realized he was still lying on top of Kerchak, his head on his father’s sternum, and he yawned and looked at his father without sitting up, their eyes meeting.

            “Are you feeling better?” Kerchak asked.

            “Lots actually,” Tarzan answered with a smile. “How did you know that would work?”

            “Observing elder gorillas do the same taught me when I was your age.”

            That made sense. Tarzan was sure he had seen gorillas eat strange things he questioned once or twice but he had never really understood or bothered to ask why.

            “My stomach is feeling a lot better now,” Tarzan said. “I don’t even feel any pain.”

            “Now you know what to do should you experience something like that again.”

            Willingly? Tarzan had not enjoyed eating any of what his father made him eat, but maybe if he was desperate enough, he’d give it another try. He smiled and crawled forward a bit to nuzzle his cheek against his father’s.

            “Thanks, Dad,” Tarzan said.

            “Of course.”

            Tarzan laid back down, resting his head in the crook of his father’s neck, snuggling into him as he made himself comfortable once more, closing his eyes contently. Kerchak chuckled lowly, a rumble vibrating against Tarzan’s ears.

            “It’s time to rise, Tarzan,” Kerchak said. “I think we’ve slept in late enough.”

            “Five more minutes,” Tarzan groaned, not moving off his father or even opening his eyes.

            “Mmm,” Kerchak hummed as he lifted a hand to rest it on Tarzan’s back. “If I gave in to every “five more minutes,” we’d sleep until tomorrow.”

            “That sounds great.”

            “I’m sure it does.” Kerchak gave his son a small shake. “Come on. Up you get.”

            “No.” Tarzan snuggled deeper into his father, trying to ignore the incessant shaking.

            “Am I going to have to resort to meaner methods of waking you?”

            Tarzan refused to say anything or move. He simply waited to see what his father would do next, almost anticipating the attack.

            And it happened, and Tarzan squealed and squirmed as Kerchak tickled his sides. Kerchak rolled Tarzan under him, pinning him down to continue his tickle attack. After a minute or so, he gave Tarzan a breather and stared down at him fondly. Tarzan grinned at his father as he caught his breath.

            “Are you awake now?” Kerchak asked.

            “Yes, meanie.”

            “I warned you,” Kerchak growled playfully. He stepped out of the nest, yawning loudly as he stretched his legs. “I’m going to do a quick border check, then we’ll find some breakfast.”

            “Okay, Dad,” Tarzan said with a yawn and a stretch himself. He watched Kerchak walk out of sight before he plopped back down in the soft leaves of the nest, curling up tightly and closing his eyes. Why did he have to be awake now? He didn’t sleep well at all last night; he deserved a few more minutes of shut eye. He wasn’t sure how long he was asleep for when Kerchak returned to their nest.

            “Tarzan,” his father’s deep voice cut through the peaceful slumber he was falling into, and he stirred in response a bit, readjusting himself.

            “Tarzan,” Kerchak repeated, his voice carrying a bit more annoyance this time.

            Tarzan opened his eyes and looked up at his father standing over him with a frown.

            “I’m never going to get you to sleep tonight if you do not wake up now, get out of the nest, and make use of the daylight.”

            “I’ll sleep,” Tarzan said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I’m really tired.”

            “As am I,” Kerchak said. “You don’t see me complaining about it or sleeping still. You need to eat now. Let’s go.”

            Kerchak gestured Tarzan to follow him with a jerk of his head and started walking away from the nest. Tarzan groaned as he fell back into the soft leaves, staring up through the trees at the clouds moving slowly above him. After everything that happened last night, he really wasn’t interested in food. Why did Kerchak think he’d want to eat breakfast of all meals? This was ridiculous.

            “Tarzan!” Kerchak yelled from a distance away.

            “Okay, okay!” Tarzan rolled over and leaped out of the nest, chasing after his father, who gave him a stern look as he waited for Tarzan to catch up. “I’m here.”

            “Come,” Kerchak said, walking down a path in the trees, leading Tarzan away from the family. Strange, but Tarzan kind of liked all the one-on-one attention he was getting from Kerchak, so he tagged along obediently, wondering where they were headed.

            “Hey, Dad,” Tarzan started, running a bit faster to catch up with Kerchak’s long strides. “How did the bark and leaves make my stomach better in one night?”

            “The jungle has ways of providing for all who live in it with all we’ll need to survive,” Kerchak answered. “Including a bit of quick relief for stomach pains.”

            “How does the jungle know what it needs to provide?”

            “It’s always known. The jungle has been here since the dawn of time and it’ll be here long after you and I are both gone. It takes care of itself through sun and rain, and by creating a perfect balance between all the animals, creatures, and trees that it houses so it can take care of us in return with bountiful foods, some of which provide healing. That is why we must respect the jungle and take care of it in turn if it is needed.”

            “I’ll take care of it,” Tarzan promised. “I’ll protect the jungle, just like its protected me. One day, I’ll be the great Lord of the Jungle, and no one will want to mess with me.”

            Tarzan pounded his chest before charging forward and doing a few spins and grunts.

            “I’ll be just like you, Dad. A big, mighty protector.”

            Kerchak smiled at his son.

            “I know you will be.”

            Tarzan spun a few too many times and fell over, much to his father’s amusement. Kerchak paused near a patch of red, pointy looking fruits growing out and up from the ground.

            “What are these?” Tarzan asked.

            “Aframomum fruit,” Kerchak said. He picked one of the small fruits up and bit it in half, exposing a white center with several black seeds inside the white pulp. He offered the other half to Tarzan. “These fruits are good if you are recovering from sickness. They make you feel . . . reenergized, I suppose.”

            Tarzan took a hesitant bite into the flesh of the fruit, and his mouth was filled with a tangy juiciness that had just a hint of citrus and pepper. It was quite delicious, and he ate the rest of the half he had while Kerchak ate a few for himself, along with the leaves and stems attached to the plant. Tarzan ate a couple more fruits for himself, then ate a few roots at Kerchak’s insistence. They found a few more fruit trees of different kinds nearby and ate a few of everything they could find as they worked their way back to the family. Kerchak even tore at the bark on one tree, revealing several large grubs underneath that he was quick to catch, and for Tarzan, it was a little too soon from the possible “bugs in his stomach” conversation, and he couldn’t help but turn a bit green. Kerchak only gave him an amused snort as he crunched on his find. They finally made it back to the family with full stomachs.

            “Can I nap now?” Tarzan said. “I’m stuffed and its making me want to sleep. I don’t think the fruit reenergized me.”

            “It must digest first,” Kerchak said. “And no, no napping yet. You were up most of the night, if you take a nap now, you’ll sleep all day.”

            “But I feel so tired. What am I supposed to do then?”

            “I’m not sure,” Kerchak said. “But Kaphi may have an idea.”

            Before Tarzan could look over his shoulder, he was tackled to the ground by his baby sister, and he laughed as he tried to wrestle her off him, flipping her over his back and pulling her down in front of him so he could pin her and tickle her. Kerchak watched the siblings play, and he was sure that Kaphi would help keep Tarzan busy and awake so he wouldn’t have to worry about his son being up all night a second night in a row.

Chapter Text

            He knew he was not supposed to be so close to the river without the rest of the family, especially without Kerchak’s presence, but Tarzan was feeling very thirsty, and unfortunately, the latest new location Kerchak had selected was not near any kind of creek or waterhole, so that left wandering down to the river. Generally, drinking from the river involved the entire family moving down to it as there was safety in numbers, yet the gorillas could go a few days before they felt the need to do so, while Tarzan felt like he needed to find a water source at least once a day.

            While Kerchak would not approve, Tarzan was usually capable of sneaking in a quick drink and running back to the family before anyone even noticed he had left, though Terk occasionally followed him down with Tantor and started a few games. Having his friends around gave the perfect excuse of why they were not within the immediate family grounds, but today, Tarzan was alone as Terk was enjoying a sunbath nap. So, he would just have to make the trip quick.

            Tarzan checked the entire surroundings for any signs of predators, watching the water surface intently for any small water break or bubbles. When nothing happened for several minutes, Tarzan walked the rest of the way down to the river and used his hand to take a drink, requiring several handfuls before he felt satisfied. As he slurped up water, his eyes caught sight of a small fig tree standing close to the edge, several figs ripe for the picking.

            Tarzan smiled and walked along the bank to the tree, hoping to collect some of the fruit.

            He was so focused on the tree and spotting a fruit that he missed the movement in the water following him until a large hippo emerged and lunged for him with an open mouth.

            Tarzan darted away as fast as he could, running away from the riverbank and up a nearby tree. The hippo grunted aggressively as he turned away from the tree and headed for the bank, picking up a fallen fig fruit on his way into the water, chewing it as he submerged.

            “Psst,” a voice called to him.

            Tarzan glanced in the direction he heard the voice.

            Another gorilla was sitting on a branch a few trees away from the one Tarzan was in. It was a larger teen gorilla, dark-furred and with just a bit of a tuft that hung forward a bit in a sort of side-swept fringe look. He gestured to the fig tree.

            “Want some?” he whispered.

            Tarzan glanced back at the fig tree, then to the river where he could see the water move, the hippo patrolling just beneath the surface. He really should get back to the family, but a fig did sound really good right now. He looked back at the new ape and smiled while nodding his head.

            “You,” the gorilla said softly, pointing at Tarzan before pointing at the hippo in the water, “distract him. I’ll grab figs. Meet back here.”

            “Okay,” Tarzan agreed, smirking softly.

            He glanced down at the fig tree, then searched for the swimming hippo. Carefully, he moved down the tree he was in, returning to land. He kept his eyes on the water as he inched his way back to the fig tree, moving as slowly as possible, his body tense and ready to bolt at a second’s notice.

            There was a slight break in the water, then stillness.

            Tarzan hesitated, but when nothing happened, he moved closer to the fig tree, finally close enough to touch the trunk of it. He glanced up at the fruit, then back at the water. He stood up as if he might try to reach for a fig.

            The hippo came charging out of the water in a fury of splashing and grunting, and Tarzan bolted down the riverbank, leading the hippo away. He wanted to give the other gorilla enough time to collect some fruit, so Tarzan daringly jumped into the water, leading the hippo back into the river.

            While he was a good swimmer, he was nothing like the hippo that dived into the water, swimming under Tarzan and rising quickly, mouth agape to expose massive tusks. Tarzan quickly backstroked away to avoid the hippo’s chomp as it snapped at empty air.

            Turning sharply, the hippo opened its mouth once more and charged, chasing Tarzan back out of the water.

            Tarzan nimbly leaped for a small tree on the edge of the riverbank, then jumped for another larger tree a few feet away, climbing along the branches while the hippo grunted at him below, following on land for a bit before it seemed to grow bored. It turned and headed back for the river, disappearing under the water.

            With a smile, Tarzan swung back over to the original tree he had been sitting in. He looked around for the other gorilla, spotting him lounging on a branch while smacking his lips. Tarzan frowned as he jumped across a few more branches, stopping in a tree adjacent to the gorilla. Up close, he could tell that this ape, though maybe only a few years older than him, was half the size Kerchak was.

            “Good job, hairless ape,” the gorilla said. “I thought for a minute that the hippo was gonna eat ya, but you showed him.”

            “Did you get any fruit?” Tarzan asked.

            “Oh, about that.” The gorilla picked up a fig fruit and held it above his mouth. “I was only able to grab enough for me.”

            A spark of anger flickered in Tarzan’s eyes at being tricked, and he quickly swung forward and kicked the fig from the gorilla’s hold, and the fruit bounced off branches as it fell to the jungle floor.

            “Hey!” the gorilla snapped. He spared Tarzan one glare before he jumped off the branch, hopping down it quickly in chase of the fig fruit.

            Tarzan slid down a branch himself, tree surfing a bit as he tried to beat the other gorilla to the fig fruit, and he managed to slide across the grass and snatch the fruit before the other gorilla could grab it.

            He didn’t get far though since the gorilla snatched his arm and smacked the fig out of his hand, and it rolled away from them. Tarzan scrambled after it, shoving against the larger ape who was also running after it.

            Unfortunately, the ape’s longer arms meant he was able to snatch the fig fruit and lift himself up to a branch in a tree at the same time, leaving Tarzan to slide to a halt before he collided into the trunk of the tree the gorilla was now in. He glared at the ape as he watched him eat the fig.

            “Nice try,” the gorilla said with a smirk as he happily licked his lips. “But you’re just too slow.”

            “You tricked me!” Tarzan accused.

            “At least you learned something, right?” The gorilla winked. “Consider it a valuable life lesson in survival of the fittest. Free of charge.”

            “I’ll get you back for this,” Tarzan threatened, preparing himself to jump up the tree after the gorilla.

            “Oh, uh, heads up, your hippo friend is back.”

            Tarzan spun around, then gasped and leaped out of the way just in time to avoid the stampeding hippo, rolling in the dirt a bit. He scrambled away as the hippo turned on him, grunting and moaning as it followed Tarzan, who struggled to get his feet under him to make a retreat.

The hippo charged once more, and at the last second Tarzan pushed off the ground and grabbed a hold of a higher branch, slipping a bit before he found his footing and managed to get on top of the branch. The hippo struck the tree, causing it to shake violently, then it walked back into the river.

Tarzan panted as he looked himself over, seeing that he was all scratched up from dodging the hippo, and he hissed slightly as he brushed dirt away from a few of the scratches. He looked over in the trees in time to see the gorilla leaving the riverbank, most likely returning to his own family.

“See ya later, hairless wonder!” the gorilla called out.

Tarzan grumbled and pouted the entire way back to his own family grounds, annoyed at the loss of opportunity to eat a fig and because he had been tricked by that annoying gorilla. He should have known better than to trust that miscreant. Tarzan arrived at his family grounds where everyone was chatting away or grooming each other in their own social groups. He was barely halfway through the grounds when Kerchak intercepted him.

“There you are, I’ve been—what happened to you?” Kerchak asked, frowning at all he cuts on his son’s skin.

“Nothing, I just fell,” Tarzan answered, wincing when Kerchak licked at a cut on his back. His father hesitated as he sniffed his son.

            “Were you down by the river?” Kerchak asked with a bit of growl in his voice.

            “Just for a minute.”

            “I told you not to go without—” Kerchak cut himself off with an exasperated huff as he shook his head. “Never mind. Do not go alone again. There is someone here I want you to meet.”

            “Really?” Tarzan made a face as he tried to think of a gorilla Kerchak would allow to trespass into his territory. He followed his father through the family. “Who?”

            “My sister, Teeka,” Kerchak said. “Your aunt.”

            “Really?” Tarzan asked again with more enthusiasm. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

            “She is older, left the family to seek a new one for herself before I had even taken over as head silverback. Oftentimes siblings may never encounter one another again if they leave to new families, but her mate Zutho is neighboring my territory this season.”

            “Cool. Does that mean she’ll visit a lot?”

            “Possibly. It would certainly be nice to catch up with her.”

            Tarzan looked ahead and spotted his sister and Kala sitting next to a female ape that was about Kala’s size but looked a lot like a feminine version of Kerchak with her darker fur and facial structure. She was smiling at something Kaphi was telling her, the little ape throwing her hands all over as she told some elaborate story. Kaphi saw Tarzan and Kerchak approaching out of the corner of her eyes, and she stopped mid-story, grinning widely at her brother.

            “Tarzan! Meet our Aunt Teeka!” Kaphi said.

            Teeka turned her eyes to Tarzan, and at first, Tarzan expected surprise or dislike for his obvious different appearance, as most new gorillas were prone to doing, but he was surprised when all Teeka did was smile warmly.

            “A pleasure to finally meet you, Tarzan,” Teeka said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

            “You have?” Tarzan asked.

            “Many in the jungle have heard of how you chased out those strange creatures with explosive sticks,” Teeka said. “You saved the jungle from their cruel treatment, especially considering they had killed one of our own.”

            Tarzan smiled as he recalled the events of the Truce, where Kerchak had allowed two other gorilla families to share his territory in a rare display of compassion when faced with adversity and life-threatening matters. Tarzan had managed to scare off the poachers that were threatening their families with the help of the silverbacks and a feline friend of his, and ever since, he was slowly becoming more and more aware of how many jungle animals knew of that event. Word traveled fast through the jungle.

            “It was nothing,” Tarzan said, blushing slightly. “I was just protecting my family.”

            “So much like you, Kerchak,” Teeka said, looking at her brother. “You are raising him well. Though I still am trying to wrap my head around you adopting him in the first place.”

            “You can thank my mate for that,” Kerchak said, smirking at Kala, who gave him an amused look. “She made the right choice though. I do not regret it.”

            Tarzan couldn’t help blushing even more at the proud look his father gave him, especially when Teeka awed over him. He sat down next to Kaphi to listen to Teeka explain her family’s return to the southern side of the Jungle, from which they had finished traveling a week over mountains and finding their way down to a spot near the river. They would be staying in that spot for the season while the food is bountiful and the river is calm, as this new place offered a new variety of food and easy access to water for the season. Kerchak agreed with Teeka that this area of the jungle was usually a popular spot, and that her family was lucky to have secured a space for themselves and so close to his own. He told Teeka that she was welcomed to visit as often as she pleased while she was around, and Tarzan hoped that she did come around again as he was really enjoying her presence.

            “And you can come visit my family any time,” Teeka said. “Zutho will have no problem with it when I explain to him who you are.”

            “I’ll pass,” Kerchak said. “We can acknowledge each other from a distance.”

            “Well, the little ones are more than welcome to visit,” Teeka said. “Especially to play with your cousin.”

            “Cousin?” Kaphi asked excitedly.

            “Yeah,” a voice behind Teeka announced loudly. “Cousin.”

            Kaphi and Tarzan curiously looked around Teeka, and Tarzan’s eyes widened as he recognized the ape from earlier strutting his way through the family towards Teeka, a bold smile on his face as paused for a second in front of a few young females to flick his fringe out of his eyes briefly, earning a few swoons, before he continued on his way. The young male walked up to Teeka and sat next to her, which really displayed his size as he was as large as his mother was. The gorilla met Tarzan’s eyes and winked at him.

            “Hi, baby cousins,” he said.   

            “Hi,” Kaphi greeted excitedly while Tarzan merely glowered.

            “You remember Akut, don’t you, Kerchak?” Teeka asked her brother.

            “Last time I saw you,” Kerchak said, “you were still clinging to your mother’s back. How you’ve grown.”

            “Thanks, Uncle Kerchak,” Akut said, holding his head up proudly. “A few more years, and I’ll be as big as you are.”

            “I guarantee it,” Kerchak agreed.

            “Large silverbacks run in the family,” Teeka said fondly. “He might grow to be as large as Dad was. He’ll make a fine successor for Zutho one day.”

            “You are so cool,” Kaphi said, stepping closer to her newfound cousin. “You want to play with Tarzan and me? We were going to wrestle, weren’t we?”

            “Actually, I’m not really feeling up to wrestling,” Tarzan said, still glaring at Akut.

            “That’s okay,” Akut said, lowering himself to Tarzan’s height and smiling kindly, though Tarzan could see the glint in the older ape’s eyes. “We could . . . play tag.” In a softer voice, Akut added: “With a hippo.”

            Feeling the anger from earlier return full force, Tarzan lunged forward. He wasn’t entirely sure what he had been planning to do, maybe tackle or even bite the annoying gorilla, but Akut seemed to have expected his reaction, and he used one hand to hold Tarzan in place.

            “Easy, bud,” Akut said, throwing a smile at the adult gorillas. “It was just an offer.”

            “Tarzan,” Kerchak scolded, lifting his son and setting him back down a few paces away from Akut. “That is no way to treat our guests. Akut made a kind offer to play with you and your sister.”

            “Oh, how nice of him,” Tarzan spat angrily.

            “Tarzan,” Kerchak scolded once again, a bit of disbelief in his tone. He gave Teeka and Akut an apologetic smile. “My apologies, he’s not usually this hostile.”

            Kerchak glared at his son, and Tarzan shrank back a bit, but when he saw Akut’s smirk, his glare only deepened, and he bared his teeth at him, wishing he could wipe that smirk right off his infuriating face.

            “That’s alright,” Teeka said. “Boys will be boys. He’s got the territorial traits of a good silverback. A sign of a good leader. I’m sure he just needs time to warm up to the idea of newcomers hanging around the family.”

            “Right,” Kerchak said in a disbelieving voice. Tarzan was sure Kerchak did not think he was being territorial, but whatever he did think, it was enough for Kerchak to decide to send him away from this small family gathering. “Tarzan, go to our nest.”

            “But Dad, he—” Tarzan started to say.

            “Now.”

            Tarzan sighed, sending one last look at Akut before he walked away, fuming all the way to his shared nest. It would be his luck that that trickster would be his cousin, and of course, Kerchak would expect Tarzan to get along with any extended family. He slumped his shoulders as he arrived at the nest, collapsing into a small corner of it. The nest was fairly large, as it had to be to accommodate Kerchak, Kala, Kaphi and himself, so he was able to find a small corner that he could lounge in while he waited for Kerchak to finish his discussion with his sister and nephew before he surely made his way over to the nest to scold him some more. Tarzan sighed miserably.

            Thankfully, that was the last that Tarzan saw of Akut, though when Kaphi joined him at the nest, she told Tarzan that he missed out on a great game of tag with Akut. Kerchak was a bit less than pleased when he arrived at the nest, though he only told Tarzan to try giving Akut a chance, as the young ape might visit often while he was living next door to them. Tarzan didn’t bother telling Kerchak of his first encounter with Akut, especially since it would mean bringing up his illegal trip down to the river.

            However, the next day, Tarzan was feeling like he could use another trip to the river. No matter how much fruit he ate, it just didn’t quench his thirst as a trip to the river did. However, Kerchak was not around the nest when Tarzan checked for him, so he figured his father was most likely patrolling.

            He laid down in the nest to wait, hopeful that Kerchak would be interested in walking down to the river today.

            “Aww, do you still share a nest with Daddy, baby cuz?” Akut asked as he walked up to the large nest.

            “What are you doing here?” Tarzan snapped as he sat up, baring his teeth at Akut.

            “Relax,” Akut said as he walked around the nest. “I’m not here to start anything. Told Uncle Kerchak that I’d smooth things over with ya.”

            “Oh yeah,” Tarzan challenged. “What makes you think I’m interested.”

            “Everybody likes the Alpha’s son,” Akut said with a smile.

            “Well, I don’t,” Tarzan said, turning away from the smug gorilla.     

            “You could try to. I’m your cousin.”

            “I already have a cousin, and Terk is way better than you.”

            “Really?”

            His words seemed to only encourage Akut more, and the gorilla smirked as he walked around the nest.

            “You know, I heard all about your great heroism from Mom and Dad,” Akut said. “How you saved the jungle from poachers hunting gorillas. That’s pretty cool for a child.”

            “I’m not a child. I’m thirteen.”

            “And I’m fifteen.” Akut sat down in front of the nest. “That means I’m your senior and you’ve got to listen to me.”

            “That’s not how it works. You’re not even apart of this family.”

            “Tarzan!” Kerchak snapped, startling Tarzan, who spun around to see his father approaching the nest. His father glared sternly at him. “Akut is your cousin and very much apart of this family, even if he doesn’t live here. And you will respect him as your guest.”

            “Sorry,” Tarzan mumbled, though not really to Kerchak or Akut. His father could not have worse timing.

            “It’s fine,” Akut said. “I understand all too well, Uncle. New faces can be a bit overwhelming.”

            “I’m not overwhelmed,” Tarzan said to Akut before looking up at Kerchak. He wondered if he could appease his father a bit in order to get him to walk down to the river. “Actually, I’m kind of thirsty, so maybe that’s making me a bit moody. Do you think we could go down to the river?”

            “Not now,” Kerchak said. “I have to check in on a few of the mothers, a couple of the infants seem sickly, so I am needed here at the moment.”

            “I can go alone,” Tarzan pushed. “I’ll be quick.”

            Kerchak gave his son a stern look, but before he could say anything, Akut stepped forward.

            “I could walk him down to the river for you, Uncle,” Akut said. “Mom and Dad trust me to go down there all the time. I mean, look at me. Who’s going to mess with me?”

            Akut put on his best smile, and Kerchak seemed to consider his words before nodding in acceptance.

            “Very well, thank you, Akut.”

            “I’m not going to the river with him!” Tarzan said.

            “No? Then I guess you do not go down to the river at all. Akut made a kind offer, you can either accept it and have him escort you to the river, or you can stay here and wait until I’m ready to do so. And that may not be today, Tarzan.”

            “Come on, Tarzan,” Akut said. “We could really spend some bonding time together.”

            With a grumble, Tarzan reluctantly agreed to go with Akut, and he held his tongue as Akut walked alongside him down to the river. He half expected the other gorilla to throw him into the water when they arrived, and he was prepared to act in self defense should Akut do anything stupid. How did he get stuck putting up with some irritating gorilla?

            “So,” Akut said, “you’re kind of small for thirteen, don’t you think?”

            “No. I stand as tall as the rest of my peers. On two feet anyway.”

            “That doesn’t count. On all fours, you’ve got no bulk, no size to ya. Compared to most thirteen-year-old apes I know, you’re tiny.”

            “That didn’t stop me from being a hero, as you put it. What about you? You’re awfully large for fifteen.”

            “Any descendant with Kerchak’s bloodline is bound to be large,” Akut said proudly. “If only you had been born an ape.”

            “Hey!” Tarzan spun on Akut, pushing on his knuckles in a very confrontational pose.

            “I mean nothing by it. Just that you would have also been a fairly large ape. I see how Kerchak looks at ya. Ape or not, you’re his son, all right.”

            Tarzan grunted at Akut before turning away, walking the rest of the way to the river with Akut following. The riverbank came into view, the familiar rush of the water a welcome sound.  Tarzan kept a wary eye on Akut, still unsure of the other gorilla’s motives.

“So,” Akut said, once they reached the riverbank, “you’re thirsty, right?”

Tarzan nodded, dipping his hand into the cool water and taking a long drink.  He drank deeply, the water refreshing his parched throat.  When he straightened up, he noticed Akut hadn't touched the water.

“Aren’t you thirsty?” Tarzan asked.

Akut shrugged. “Not really. Those figs I ate yesterday really quenched any thirst.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Tarzan said, returning to the riverbank.

“I was being honest. You’ve got to let the fig thing go. We are so past that. You and I, we’re a lot alike. Both kids of the alphas. Both carrying high expectations. We could totally hang.”

“Over my dead body,” Tarzan told Akut firmly.

“Ya sure bout that?” Akut said with a smirk, his eyes flicking up at something.

Before Tarzan could ask what he meant by that, he heard the water slosh behind him, and felt rather than saw a large presence looming over him. His eyes widened as he slowly glanced over his shoulder, recalling the hippo from yesterday. Clearly, he had not moved on from this spot. It was standing in the water glaring at Tarzan.

The hippo, a churning mountain of muscle and rage, erupted from the river with a bellow that vibrated through Tarzan's bones. Its small eyes, usually placid, were now black pits of fury. Tarzan didn't wait to assess the danger; instinct took over. He spun, his bare feet pounding against the earth as he sprinted away from the charging behemoth. Akut vanished quickly, leaving Tarzan to face the raging beast alone.

The ground trembled beneath the hippo's massive weight. Each thundering footfall sent vibrations through Tarzan's legs, urging him to run faster, faster. He risked a glance over his shoulder. The hippo was gaining, its gaping maw a horrifying vision of tusks and pink flesh. A spray of muddy water kicked up by its powerful legs splattered against Tarzan's back.

He veered sharply to the right, hoping to use the dense jungle growth to his advantage.  Vines whipped across his face, thorny bushes snagged at his skin, but he dared not slow down. The hippo, surprisingly agile for its size, mirrored his turn, its bellowing echoing through the trees like a death knell.

Tarzan's breath hitched. He could feel the hot, fetid breath of the hippo on his heels. He stumbled, his foot catching on a root. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought he was going down. He flailed wildly, managing to regain his balance, but the near fall had cost him precious seconds.

He wasn’t sure why the hippo was bothering to chase him further away from the river this time. Perhaps it recognized him and thought Tarzan did not get the message of staying away. He really shouldn’t have helped Akut antagonize it to get fruit, of which he got none. The hippo was almost upon him. Tarzan could smell its musky scent, a mix of mud and damp earth. He could hear the rasping of its breath, feel the rush of air as it closed the distance. He braced for the impact, a wave of despair washing over him. He was going to be trampled.

Suddenly, a blur of dark fur launched itself from the trees, a strong arm wrapping around Tarzan’s chest, yanking him upwards. He could barely catch his breath as he was swung over a shoulder, and he naturally clung to Akut’s back as the larger ape climbed higher up into the tree.

Below, the hippo, its charge thwarted, skidded to a halt, its grunts of frustration shaking the ground while he rammed his jaws into the tree, shaking a few leaves down. It glared up at the tree, its rage momentarily redirected. After a few seconds, it turned away and walked back to the river.

Tarzan, his heart still hammering against his ribs, adjusted his hold on Akut as the ape swung from branch to branch back toward the family, and when they were just outside of Kerchak’s borders, Akut dropped down from the tree and pulled Tarzan off his back. Tarzan took a moment to finish catching his breath before he looked up at Akut.

“You okay?” Akut asked.

“I’m fine,” Tarzan said. “Uh, thanks . . . for saving me.”

Akut grinned, a look of pride in his eyes, a look Tarzan immediately wanted to wipe off the cocky ape’s face, but he kept quiet, wanting his apology to be sincere.

“Sure thing, baby cuz,” Akut said. “And tomorrow, you can pay me back for my heroism.”

“Why do I have to pay you back?”

“You owe me.”

“You mean you owed me for tricking me.”

“Relax, I ain’t gonna ask for your heart and soul.” Akut sat in front of Tarzan and tilted his head at him, an amused look taking over his face. “You’re gonna come to my family and hang with me and some friends.”

Tarzan was too shocked by the idea that he didn’t get a chance to say anything before Akut promised to return the next day.

Chapter Text

            Kerchak had just finished grooming Tarzan when Akut arrived the next day and proposed taking Tarzan to his family for the afternoon. Kerchak had hesitated at the idea, perhaps recalling how the other silverbacks had reacted to Tarzan during the Truce. Akut was quick to pull out his charm, however.

            “I’ll be with him the whole time,” Akut said, his voice smooth and reassuring. "Dad's territory is right through the trees, it's not like we're going over a mountain or anything. Just a little visit. Besides," he added with a playful nudge to Tarzan, "Tarzan asked to go."

Kerchak's gaze shifted to Tarzan, a flicker of concern in his eyes. Tarzan only offered a placative smile, but did not attempt to persuade his father either way. Maybe Kerchak would say no. After all, he was very overprotective at times, and if he couldn’t be in the immediate vicinity to protect Tarzan from a raging silverback, this whole trip might end up canceled.

"I don't know, Akut," Kerchak said thoughtfully. "Zutho . . . he's a good leader, but he can be . . . unpredictable."

"Come on, Uncle," Akut chuckled. "Zutho trusts my judgement, he won’t do anything to Tarzan. And I'd never let anything happen to Tarzan anyway.  We're cousins, after all.  Family looks after family, right?" He winked at Tarzan, a subtle reminder of the recent hippo incident.

Kerchak looked at Tarzan again, searching his face.

"What do you think, Tarzan?" he asked, his voice gentle. "Is this something you want to do?"

Tarzan hesitated.  Part of him was curious.  He'd never really interacted with apes outside of Kerchak's family except for the Truce. The idea of meeting others, especially Akut's friends, was intriguing. But he also remembered the way Akut had tricked him before, the way he'd almost gotten him trampled by the hippo. He wasn't sure he trusted him completely.

Akut, sensing his hesitation, leaned closer, his voice low; "Come on, baby cuz," he whispered, just loud enough for Tarzan to hear. "You owe me one, remember?”

Tarzan's eyes narrowed. He did owe Akut. He couldn't deny that. And Akut was right, it wasn't like they were going far, his family was literally out of Kerchak’s territory, through the small trail that marked neutral territory, and then they would be in Zutho’s territory. It was not a long trek.

He looked back at Kerchak, who was still waiting for his answer. 

"I guess so," Tarzan said finally. "It's okay with me."

Kerchak sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but he could see that Tarzan wanted to go, and he trusted his son's instincts.

"Alright," he said, nodding slowly. "But Tarzan, you stay with Akut at all times. And be respectful to the other members of the family. Mind your smiles.”

Tarzan gave his father his best submissive smile to showcase that he understood. Smiling incorrectly at anyone could spark trouble, and that was the last thing Tarzan wanted.  

"Don't worry, Uncle," Akut said, his smile wide and reassuring. "I'll take good care of him. We'll be back before sunset."

“You better be,” Kerchak said. He nudged his son playfully. “Go on. Have fun.”

“Great!” Akut exclaimed, gesturing for Tarzan to follow him. “You’re gonna love spending time with my family and friends.”

            Even as he followed Akut, Tarzan couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension. He still wasn't sure what to expect from Akut's family. He hoped this visit wouldn't be another trick, another opportunity for Akut to make him look foolish. As they crossed the neutral trail that divided Kerchak and Zutho’s territories, Tarzan also felt a twinge of excitement at exploring a new family’s dynamic. As they moved through the trees, Tarzan could hear the family chatter, and he unconsciously walked closer to Akut as they arrived to a large clearing where several gorillas were gathered, some grooming each other, some chatting, and young ones playing and wrestling. Several paused to stare at Tarzan as he walked by with Akut, who had his head held high with a smile as he paraded Tarzan forward.

            “See here,” Akut said as he came up to a large nest near the center of the group. “This is my nest. I do it up all myself.”

            He puffed out his chest slightly, a hint of pride in his voice. The nest was impressive, a sprawling structure of woven branches and soft moss, clearly the work of a skilled builder.

            “Cool,” Tarzan said, sitting in front of Akut’s nest. “I haven’t really gotten around to making my own nest yet. I get cold at night if I sleep alone . . . you know, hairless.”

            “Right,” Akut said, tilting his head. “I suppose that makes things challenging. Hey, here comes my dad.”

            Tarzan spun around to see the silverback Akut was staring at, and he instinctively backed up a bit so he was standing next to his cousin while a massive silverback walked toward Akut’s nest. The gorilla, Zutho, his fur was an almost black shade that made the silver on his back gleam like polished metal. He moved with a quiet power that radiated authority. He paused in front of the nest, his gaze sweeping over Tarzan with mild curiosity.

            “Dad,” Akut greeted casually, “this is my cousin, Tarzan.”

            “Ah yes, Tarzan,” Zutho said. “I’ve heard tales of your bravery spreading around the jungle. You did the jungle a great service chasing off those poachers.”

            Tarzan shifted uncomfortably under Zutho’s intense stare.

            “It was nothing,” he said, remembering to give a submissive smile while addressing the leader silverback.

            “Ah, you’re just modest,” Akut said. “Take your wins where you get them, cuz, you’re a legend!”

"Akut's right.” Zutho chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. “You deserve the praise, Tarzan. Your courage is admirable."

            Tarzan blushed slightly at Zutho’s words. It felt strange to be praised by this imposing silverback, a leader of another troop. Akut seemed amused by his reaction, and he shouldered him playfully before gesturing for Tarzan to follow him.

            “We’re going to go explore the family, Dad,” Akut said, “while I have him here for the afternoon.”

            Zutho made a small grunt in acknowledgement as he carried on through the family, checking in on the other members. Tarzan shuffled alongside Akut as he was pulled through the family grounds. Akut paused and grinned at something out of Tarzan’s sight, and he was pulled over to a large rock that he climbed up at Akut’s insistence. Lying down, Akut nodded at the teen female apes grooming each other in a semi-circle while talking gossip. Tarzan frowned, unsure what Akut was trying to get at, while his cousin simply snorted at him.

            “Hey ladies,” Akut greeted loudly, and he waited for the females to all turn to look up at him before he flicked his fringe out of his eyes and nodded at Tarzan. “Ever hang with a hero?”

            The female apes turned their attention to Tarzan, their eyes widening with admiration. They giggled and whispered amongst themselves before they crawled up the large rock and sat themselves next to Tarzan and Akut, grooming their hair, a couple of the females taking great interest in Tarzan’s strange dreadlocks.

            “Your hair is so soft but so weird,” one of the girls said. Her eyes widened before she offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I meant no offense. It’s just so different but so cool at the same time.”

            “Thanks,” Tarzan said. “No one’s ever really said anything nice about my hair before.”

            “Well, as a hero,” she said again, batting her eyelashes at him, “I think you deserve all the compliments.”

            Very uncomfortable now, Tarzan gave the female an uneasy smile, and Akut, who was enjoying the grooming from the two females sitting next to him, smirked in amusement before he pulled most of the attention to himself.

            “Ladies, check it out,” Akut said, rolling over to expose his back where a hint of silver was peeking through his dark fur. “Already got my silver coming in. Not bad for fifteen, huh?”

            If it was possible, the females swooned even more as everyone’s attention returned to Akut, even the two females grooming Tarzan’s hair had moved closer to Akut. Tarzan couldn’t resist the small snort that escaped his nose as he watched all the girls fret over Akut. He remembered asking Kerchak why all the girls seemed most interested in silver backs, and at the time, Kerchak had only said that a silver back showed maturity, and it was simply an attractive feature for females. Kerchak had said no more about it and Tarzan did not push the subject after that small tidbit of information.

            After receiving a thorough grooming from the female apes, Akut said his goodbyes to the ladies and led Tarzan away from the family grounds a bit.

            “Where are we going now?” Tarzan asked.

            “To meet some of my pals. You’ll fit right in, I’m sure of it.”

            They were a bit away from the rest of the family now, and that apprehension Tarzan had felt earlier returned, but he kept close to Akut as he ventured deeper into unknown territory. He was starting to wonder if he was about to be tricked into something again when he noticed three teen gorillas wrestling outside of a cave. They weren’t nearly as large as Akut, but still a lot bigger than Tarzan, and they all had darker fur, as seemed to run in the family. Their playful growls and mock snarls died down as Akut approached, bringing their roughhousing to an abrupt halt.

            “Yo guys,” Akut called out, striking a casual pose, “look who I brought. The hero of the jungle.”

            “Oh, we should practice our curtsies,” one of them said.

            “Are we in need of saving guys?” another one chuckled. “I don’t know, I’m feeling a little faint. We need a hero, stat!”

            “Hairless wonder, right?” yet another said. “What’s with the lack of hair anyway, don’t you get cold?”

            “Uhh, well,” Tarzan started to say, keeping his eyes downcast.

            “They’re just messing with ya,” Akut reassured him with a chuckle. “Relax.”

            “Right,” Tarzan agreed with a strained smile. “Funny.”

            “This is Karnath,” Akut said, gesturing to the largest of the three gorillas, who sat down and held his head up high. He had a bit more brown highlights in his fur, giving his body a unique hue.

            “What up, kid?” Karnath greeted.

            “Hi,” Tarzan said.

            “This is Goyad,” Akut introduced the next ape, one who had a brown snout, “known him since we were babies.”

            Goyad nodded his head in greeting, and Akut paused in front of the last ape, one who had a bit of a large forehead, his hair sticking up tall in a similar manner to Kerchak.

            “And this is Taglat,” Akut said.

            “Nice to meet ya,” Taglat said.

            “You as well,” Tarzan said.

            “Is it true that you chased off poachers after they killed a gorilla?” Karnath asked. “How’d you do it?”

            Even Akut sat down to hear this great tale from Tarzan’s mouth, though his amused smile never left his face. So, Tarzan explained the events of the Truce, how two other families shared territory with his own in an attempt to escape poachers that were pursuing them. He went on to share his misadventure of seeking out the poachers, and how he really did not like what he saw. But during his visit, he realized how to get rid of the poachers, and with the help of all the silverbacks and a few other gorillas, they managed to scare off the poachers.

            “You’re crazy,” Karnath said with a shake of his head. “And not the good kind either.”

            “Brave, though,” Akut said. “You’ve got some nerve standing up to your leader like that, even if he is your father.”

            “Again, crazy,” Karnath argued. “You’ve got some death wish.”

            “I don’t,” Tarzan insisted. “I just wanted to help my family.”

            “If you’re so brave,” Taglat said, stepping forward, “and like helping the family, want to help us out?”

            “Uh, sure, with what?”

            “We got a bat problem,” Goyad said. “In this cave. See, this is usually our special cave, but these bats decided to move in. We need them out.”

            “Well . . . if they need a place to stay too . . .”

            “There’s hundreds of caves around here,” Taglat insisted. “They can have any one of those, just not this one.”

            “You gonna help us or what?” Karnath asked.

            Tarzan glanced at Akut, who merely moved his eyebrows questioningly.

            Tarzan hesitated. He wasn't sure about this. The whole situation felt… off.  These gorillas, while outwardly friendly, gave him an uneasy feeling. They were Akut's friends, but this "bat problem" sounded suspiciously like they were trying to trick him into doing something dangerous. Or they were genuinely interested in having their cave back and saw his appearance as an opportunity. It was hard to judge which way this was going.

"Well, how do you usually get rid of bats?" Tarzan asked cautiously.

"We don't," Goyad admitted with a shrug. "That's why we need a hero."

He emphasized the word sarcastically, earning a snicker from Taglat.

Tarzan glanced at Akut again, hoping for some guidance, but Akut was leaning against a rock nonchalantly, a small, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips. He wasn't offering any help, just watching Tarzan with an air of amusement. Tarzan felt a flicker of annoyance. Was this some kind of test? Or did Akut really think he might be able to pull this off.

"So," Karnath pressed, "you gonna help us or what? Or are you just a hero when it's convenient?"

Tarzan bristled at the challenge. He didn't like being pressured, especially when he felt like he was being set up. But he also didn't want to back down, not in front of these apes, and definitely not in front of Akut.

"Alright," he said finally, a hint of steel in his voice. "I'll help."

"Great!" Taglat exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Follow us!"

The three gorillas led Tarzan to the cave entrance, and even just stepping inside, the air grew cooler and damper. The smell of the bats and their droppings hung heavy in the air. Hundreds of bats hung from the ceiling, their leathery wings folded, their small bodies swaying gently.  The sound of their soft squeaking filled the air. Tarzan winced at the number of them, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he was expected to chase them out.

“So, what do you think?” Karnath asked.

“Err, well, I’m not entirely sure . . .”

“You can’t do it, can you?” Karnath sniffed the air. “Figures. Some hero.”

“No, I can do it,” Tarzan insisted. “I just need to think for a minute.”

Tarzan walked out of the cave and frowned in thought. Akut was still sitting outside and he tilted his head at Tarzan.

“You don’t have to do it, you know,” Akut said. “They’ll live without their cave for one day.”

“Easy for you to say,” Karnath said, walking out and sitting next to Akut. “That’s our special hide out. You’ve got every place under the sun to claim, this one spot is all ours.”

“Till I kick you out of it,” Akut challenged.

“But you never do,” Goyad said. “Your threats don’t work on us.”

“So, hairless wonder,” Taglat said, “any ideas?”

“Hmm,” Tarzan thought hard about how to chase the bats out. They were such sensitive little creatures. And maybe that was the clue. He smiled as an idea came to him. “I do have an idea. But I’m going to need your help, Akut.”

“Why me?” Akut asked while his friends snickered.

“Because you’re my cousin, cuz,” Tarzan said with a smirk. “And you were so helpful with the hippo yesterday.”

“Oooh,” the three apes chanted together while Akut’s jaw dropped before he narrowed them at Tarzan.

“You learn fast, baby cuz,” Akut said. “Fine, I’ll help.”

It did not take long to share his plan with Akut, and while he had chosen Akut because he trusted him more than the new gorillas he had just met, Akut was also larger than his friends, so would have a better chance at succeeding the first time. He and Akut snuck into the cave, keeping low and silent so as not to anger anyone and end up getting bit. No, this had to be done in one go and in a way that sent all the bats out of the cave instead of freaking out within it. Once they made it to the back of the cave, Tarzan rolled a large leaf and held it up to Akut’s mouth.

“Go ahead,” Tarzan said, using his free hand to cover at least one ear.

Akut unleashed a loud roar, and the rolled leaf assisted in directing the sound at the bats above them, amplifying the noise in the cave which already produced a mighty echo, and all the bats above shivered and flapped their wings desperately, and they began flying out of the cave as fast as they could, flocking together and heading for the sky to escape the scary noise. Finally, there was not a single bat left, and the other three gorillas cheered as they entered the cave.

A chorus of impressed hoots and grunts filled the cave. Karnath clapped Tarzan on the back, a gesture that felt surprisingly genuine. "Not bad, hairless wonder," he conceded. "Not bad at all."

Goyard nodded in agreement. "You've got guts, I'll give you that."

Even Taglat, the most skeptical of the three, offered a grudging smile. 

"Alright, maybe you're not so bad after all,” Taglat said.  

“Of course he’s not,” Akut said, giving Tarzan a fond smile, “he’s a genius.”    

Tarzan couldn’t help the smile back as he felt warmth spread through his chest. It was good to be acknowledged, to be accepted, even by these rough-and-tumble apes. But the praise felt especially meaningful coming from Akut. After the initial rough encounter, after the subtle jabs and teasing, this felt like a genuine moment of connection.

"Thanks, guys," Tarzan said, returning their smiles.

“I’m parched now,” Akut said, giving Tarzan a playful shoulder nudge. “All that excitement made me thirsty. I’m going to grab a drink from the creek then we should probably head back to Kerchak’s. Need a drink?”

“No,” Tarzan said, for once not feeling overly thirsty. “I’m good.”

“Alright then,” Akut said. “We’ll catch you guys later.”

“See ya,” Karnath said, Goyad and Taglat grunting in reply.

Akut left the cave, telling Tarzan to wait just outside the cave while he headed to the nearby creek. Tarzan was a bit jealous that there was a creek running through Akut’s family. He could really use one of those on Kerchak’s side. As he waited, he heard voices coming from inside the cave.  

"Akut's such a joke," Karnath whispered. "Always showing off, acting like he's so unstoppable."

"Yeah," Goyard agreed. "Just because his dad's the alpha. Cocky little . . ."

"He thinks we actually like him," Taglat snickered. "He's so clueless."

“Hey!” Tarzan snapped, turning back into the cave with a frown. “That’s not very nice. Akut is a good ape.”

Tarzan couldn’t believe he was saying those words, but at the moment, he believed them. While Akut was mischievous and a little annoying sometimes, especially with his smug attitude, Tarzan could see that there was a good and kind heart inside him.  

            The three apes turned, their eyes widening in surprise before an evil glint flickered within them as they smirked, teeth baring slightly at Tarzan.

"Oh, look who's back," Karnath sneered. "Going to run and tell Akut what we said?"

"Yeah," Taglat mocked. "What are you going to do, hairless wonder?”

“Cry to your daddy?" Goyad asked.

“No!” Tarzan shouted even as the three gorillas circled him. “But I am telling Akut.”

“Oh no,” Karnath mocked fear in his voice, “anything but that.”

“And here I though you were a hero,” Taglat said “Instead, you’re nothing but a little eavesdropping tattletale!”

“Back off,” Tarzan demanded, a bit of fear starting to creep up his spine. “You don’t want to mess with me.”

“Why?” Goyad questioned, shoving Tarzan roughly, making him stumble a bit. “Gonna send Daddy after us? Kerchak isn’t here to help you.”

“No one here is,” Karnath snarled, then he lunged forward with canines exposed, snapping at Tarzan, who narrowly avoided the bite.

Tarzan tried to scramble away, having to crawl under the larger apes, but he tripped over his feet as he made sharp turns to avoid a bite or grab, and he ended up tangling himself up enough that he fell, and he curled up in a fetal position as fists struck down on him repeatedly while one of the gorillas bit down on his shoulder and dragged him back a bit, trying to force Tarzan to uncurl and expose his vulnerable chest and stomach.

Tarzan cried out in pain but kept himself in a tight ball.

Suddenly, like a bang of thunder, Akut stormed into the cave, rose on two and pounded his chest while unleashing another loud roar.

The display was enough to make the three other gorillas release Tarzan and back away.

Akut dropped down to all four, his fur bristled, and his teeth bared.

“How dare you attack a child,” Akut barked, “are you trying to bring Kerchak’s wrath down on this family?”

The three gorillas lowered their eyes submissively, more out of respect for Akut’s status in the family than out of any guilt.

“If you ever touch my cousin again,” Akut said, “I will ask my father to banish you—all of you! And you know he will listen to me.”

The gorillas lowered their heads more, and after a minute of glaring, Akut snarled loudly and mock charged them, and they backed away.

“Have I made myself clear?” Akut yelled.

“Yes, sir,” the gorillas said, offering submissive smiles.

“Good.” Akut turned to Tarzan, his eyes full of concern as he looked over his cousin, wincing at the bleeding shoulder. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left you.”

“It’s okay,” Tarzan tried to say, fighting back tears as he stood up, wincing as he put weight on his injured shoulder.

“Don’t be such a martyr,” Akut scolded. He carefully lifted Tarzan to his back, then with one last glare at the gorillas behind him, he left the cave quickly.

Akut managed to find a secluded spot just on the edge of his father’s territory, Kerchak’s territory a short walk away, and he quickly tended to Tarzan’s wounds, sniffing him over and grooming Tarzan as best he could, though Tarzan did not help any.

            “Ow, Akut, stop, it’s fine,” Tarzan said, jerking his arm away.

            “I can’t send ya back to Kerchak without having cleaned that,” Akut argued, using a hand to hold his cousin still so he could lick the bite wound.

            “You’re making it hurt,” Tarzan said.

            “It’s gonna hurt a lot more if it doesn’t get cleaned,” Akut said. “Hold still. Are you always like this at grooming times?”

            “No!” Tarzan answered quickly. With a hesitation, he added, “Just don’t ask Dad that.”

            “I see.” Akut licked the shoulder wound a few more times before he sniffed Tarzan once more for any other injuries. Most of the injuries were bruising from the pounding and rough grabbing he had endured. He had a couple of scratches here and there, and Akut managed to get in a couple more licks before Tarzan pulled away from him with an annoyed look and rubbed his shoulder achingly.

            “Are you okay?” Akut asked.

            “I’ll be fine,” Tarzan said. “I’ve had worse. I think.”

            “Sheesh, you’re making me feel bad.”

            Tarzan hesitated, glancing up at Akut, and seeing the true concern in his eyes, he sighed and looked down.

            “They said awful things about you,” Tarzan said. “When you left for a drink. They said . . .”

            “I know,” Akut interrupted.

            “You . . . you know what?”

            “I know what they think of me. I know what many of my peers think of me, save for some of the females, obviously.” Akut sighed and looked through the trees in the direction of his family. “When you’re the alpha’s son, everyone has to be your friend. They have to be nice to you, whether they really like you or not. That’s how it’s always been for me. Everyone was nice to me because everyone’s parents told them they had to be. And really, the guys still hang with me sometimes cause I get all the attention from the females. But that’s all. I know they’d rather not.”

            Akut sighed again as he closed his eyes, lowering his head some.

            “I’ve never really had someone who was a friend to me because I was just me.”

            Tarzan looked at Akut, really looked at him. He saw past the bravado, the easy smiles, the casual confidence. He saw a gorilla who was, in his own way, just as lonely as Tarzan himself.  He understood, perhaps better than anyone, the ache of wanting to belong, to be accepted for who you are, not for who your family is.

"That's . . . that's not true," Tarzan said softly, though even to his own ears, the words sounded hollow. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to comfort Akut, how to fill the void of loneliness that seemed to emanate from him.

Akut opened his eyes, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I suppose, as another alpha’s son, you might get it a bit,” Akut said. “You were actually the first person to not want anything to do with me, despite knowing who I was.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t make a great first impression,” Tarzan said. “To be honest, no one liked me at first because I was different, not because I was Kerchak’s son. In fact, even Kerchak didn’t like me. It took him a while to accept me as a member of the family and as his son. You know, he actually said that he didn’t think I would survive a year in the jungle when Mom first brought me home.”

“Really? He said that?”

“Yeah.”

“To your face?”

“Right to my face.”

            “That’s harsh.”

            “That’s not even the cruelest thing he ever said to me. Dad could be really mean sometimes. But ever since he accepted me, he’s always been kind—and even a little overprotective, if you ask me. But he had to look past what I was and get to know the real me in order to like me for that. Kind of like I had to see past what you were to see the real you. I know we’re cousins first, but I think of you as a friend, too.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah. You’re pretty cool sometimes.”

            “Only sometimes?”

            “You’re not getting any more than that out of me,” Tarzan teased.

            Akut chuckled before he said, “Thanks, baby cuz. That means a lot.”

            A comfortable silence settled between them as the sun slowly lowered more and more in the sky. The sounds of the jungle, the chirping of insects, the rustling of leaves, seemed to amplify the quiet understanding that had passed between them.

"We should get back," Tarzan said finally, breaking the silence. He stood up, brushing some dirt off his injured shoulder. "Dad will be wondering where we are."

Akut sighed but nodded as he stood up. He lifted Tarzan to his back, not wanting Tarzan to walk too far with his fresh injury. It did not take Akut long to arrive in Kerchak’s family grounds, and Akut took Tarzan directly to his shared nest, pausing for only a second at the sight of Kerchak sitting there munching on fruit from a collected pile he had in front of him. Akut gulped nervously before walking the rest of the way there, allowing Tarzan to slide off his back.

“Are you bit?” Kerchak asked, quick to notice the bite mark. He glared at Akut. “What happened? I thought you were going to stay with him at all times!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but—”

“It’s my fault, Dad,” Tarzan interrupted, surprising Akut. “He did stay with me the whole time. I just . . . didn’t mind my smiles. And another gorilla got angry with me.”

“Hmm.” Kerchak looked from his son to Akut. “Is that true, Akut?”

Tarzan looked at his older cousin with a hopeful expression, and Akut slowly nodded his head.

“Yeah, I broke it up quickly, though,” Akut said. “And tried to clean the wound as best I could.”

“Thank you,” Kerchak said. He looked at his son. “And you, I warned you to mind your expressions.”

“I know, I know,” Tarzan said, enduring a few licks to his wound from his father, knowing better than to complain to him. “I won’t let it happen again. So I can hang out with Akut again right?”

Akut sat down in front of the nest, a shocked look taking over his face while Kerchak snorted and said, “I suppose I can allow that, but while you’re arm heals, you’ll stick to my territory.”

            “Yes, sir,” Akut and Tarzan said simultaneously.

            “Eat some dinner,” Kerchak said, gesturing to the small collection of food sitting in the nest. “I’ll collect a few more things for you.”

            Once Kerchak was out of earshot and Tarzan was happily eating a mango, Akut gave Tarzan a grateful look.

            “You didn’t have to do that, ya know,” Akut said.

            “I know. Consider it a valuable life lesson in forgiving and forgetting,” Tarzan said as he threw a mango at Akut, who caught it easily. “Free of charge.”

            Akut laughed at Tarzan’s imitation of himself before he spent some time enjoying the fruit with Tarzan before he needed to head back home, promising to visit again the next day.

Chapter Text

Twelve-year-old Tarzan perched atop a thick, moss-covered branch, his legs dangling loosely, and waited. He could hear the faint rustling in the dense shrubs around him, a telltale sign of Kaphi's clumsy attempts at stealth. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, but he remained utterly still. Patience. It was a virtue he wasn't particularly gifted with, usually preferring action and movement, but when playing with his little sister, he used it to his advantage to the best of his ability. Because sometimes, patience won games.

            The rustling grew louder and closer. Kaphi was never one for subtlety. He could almost picture her, her brow furrowed in concentration, her dark eyes scanning the undergrowth for any sign of him. A twig snapped underfoot, and Tarzan held his breath, suppressing a chuckle. He knew she was right below him.

With a sudden burst of movement, Kaphi emerged from the thicket, her eyes widening as she realized she had been spotted. Before she could react, Tarzan dropped from the branch, landing silently on his feet. He lunged forward, pinning her to the soft earth with a playful grunt.

"Pinned ya!" he exclaimed.

“Hey!” Kaphi complained, her voice muffled by the leaves. Kaphi grumbled, her small body wriggling beneath him. She struggled, her strong little arms pushing against his chest, but Tarzan held firm. "No fair. We were playing hide-and-seek."

"Not anymore," Tarzan said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I'm practicing my stealth." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Besides, you were making way too much noise."

Kaphi's grumbles turned into a huff.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, her eyes narrowing. "Well, I'm practicing my . . . my . . . ambush tactics!"

Tarzan chuckled, releasing her from his hold, allowing her to sit up.

"Ambush tactics? You sound like Dad," he teased.

"Well, someone has to keep you in line," she retorted, puffing out her chest. "You're always running off, getting into trouble."

“Am not!” Tarzan grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Trouble finds me. Besides, it’s more fun that way."

Tarzan turned to leave, a playful swagger in his step.

"Come on, slowpoke," he called over his shoulder. "Unless you're too scared to keep up."

He didn't get far.

With a sudden burst of movement, Kaphi launched herself forward, her small form a surprisingly heavy weight as she landed squarely on his back. Tarzan yelped in surprise, stumbling forward as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Ha, ambush tactics!" Kaphi shrieked in delight, her voice filled with triumphant glee. "Pinned ya!"

Tarzan, momentarily stunned, burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay, you got me!" he gasped, struggling to regain his balance. Kaphi clung to him like a furry backpack, her laughter mingling with his.

"See?" she said, her voice smug. "I told you I was practicing my ambush tactics."

"Alright, alright," Tarzan conceded, carefully maneuvering so they both wouldn't tumble to the ground. "You're the queen of ambush. But . . . can you hold on while I swing?”

“Really?” Kaphi asked, her eyes widening while her grip around her brother’s neck tightened.

"Hold on tight!" Tarzan yelled, grabbing a nearby vine. With a powerful leap, he swung into the air, Kaphi clinging to him for dear life. The jungle whizzed past them in a blur of green, the wind whipping through their hair as Tarzan let go of the vine and swung for another. The little six-year-old squealed with delight on her brother’s back.

As he leaped for another vine, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cheetah burst out of the undergrowth, and it let out a loud roar-like snarl up at the vines. Tarzan recognized the cheetah, a friend who had helped him chase off the poachers that had threatened several gorilla families, including his own, during a time known as the Truce. That had only been a few months back. Cheetah, as he would not give out his name as was cheetah law, had been an unexpected ally during that time, but he lived in the savannah, so Tarzan was curious as to why the big cat was back in the jungle.

Tarzan slowly swung back to the ground, and Kaphi hopped off his back and followed her brother over to Cheetah, pausing just behind him to stare at the cat curiously. Cheetah sat at the top of the hill, staring down at Tarzan with an intense look in his eyes.

“We meet again, son of apes,” Cheetah greeted.

Tarzan felt a shiver crawl down his spine. Something was wrong. Very wrong. 

"Cheetah," he said, "what brings you back to the jungle?"

Cheetah rose to his feet, his movements tense and alert. He paced back and forth, his tail lashing agitatedly. 

“The poachers have returned," Cheetah said in a grave voice.

Tarzan's blood ran cold while Kaphi gasped behind him. The poachers, those ruthless hunters were a menace he had hoped never to encounter again. 

"Where?" he asked.

“They hide in the jungle,” Cheetah said, “and steal from the savannah. I have located their nesting ground and see that they are taking from the jungle as well. They are capturing animals, Tarzan. Many animals. They have traps, cages, nets. I fear they plan to take them away from our lands.”

Tarzan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He would not allow these vile poachers to desecrate his home, to steal away the creatures he had grown up with.

"We have to stop them," he said.

“What’s this ‘we?’” Kaphi asked, turning concerned eyes on her brother. "What if they catch you? Besides, Dad won't be happy if you take off and go near those . . . things again. Remember how upset he was last time?"

"That's why I need you to cover for me," Tarzan explained, his voice taking on a pleading tone. "Tell him I'm . . . I don't know . . . exploring a new part of the jungle? Practicing my swinging skills? Anything!"

Kaphi crossed her arms, a stubborn glint in her eyes.

"No way! Last time, I got in trouble, too.”

"But Cheetah needs my help," Tarzan insisted, his voice rising in frustration. He looked at Cheetah, who nodded in agreement. "He can't fight those poachers alone. And I’ll stay out of sight and make sure no one sees me or catches me. Okay? Cheetah wouldn’t have come to me if he could handle this himself."

Kaphi looked at Cheetah, her expression softening slightly. She had heard about how Cheetah had helped her brother during the Truce, saving his life even, and she figured her brother probably owed the big cat a favor. And the thought of those cruel poachers capturing innocent animals made her stomach churn. She sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Fine," she conceded, "but you owe me big time, Tarzan. And if Dad finds out . . .” she trailed off, leaving the threat hanging in the air.

"You won't regret this, Kaphi," he promised, pulling his sister into a quick hug. “I’ll be really quick, Dad won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“You said that last time.”

“I mean it this time.”

“Just don’t make a habit of this, okay?” Kaphi said.

“Never,” Tarzan said, ruffling his little sister’s hair before walking up to Cheetah. “Lead the way.”

Cheetah led Tarzan through a labyrinth of tangled vines and hidden pathways, their movements silent and swift as they traveled deeper and deeper into the jungle. They finally reached a secluded clearing where the air was thick with metallic scents and burning oil, a disgusting smell Tarzan recognized from the poachers during the Truce. He glanced through the trees into the clearing.

A makeshift camp was nestled amidst the trees. Cages, crudely constructed from bamboo and wire as if they had been a last-minute decision, held a menagerie of terrified creatures: a young antelope, several vibrant parrots, a small troop of monkeys, and even a leopard, who appeared to walk with a limp. The leopard was the only creature in a pure metal cage, and he paced within its confines, hissing and snarling.

“No cheetahs,” Tarzan noted, looking at Cheetah curiously.

“I never said they had any cheetahs,” Cheetah said. “Only that they were stealing from the savannah. They had their go at me, but they missed. I followed them here when they left the savannah for the day. No creature deserves to be stolen from their home.”

Tarzan looked back at the animals in cages. Cheetah was right, even the leopard had his place in the jungle. This was wrong. They needed to put an end to this.

He finally spotted the poachers, rough-looking med with hardened faces, who were gathered around a fire, their voices harsh as they spoke in their foreign language.

“They hide here,” Cheetah growled, his eyes narrowed. “They think the jungle will conceal their evil.”

Tarzan’s anger burned, but he knew he was not big enough to fight off the poachers, not like his father would have been. No, brute force would not work here. He needed a plan, a way to free the animals and drive the poachers from his home.

Tarzan observed the poachers' camp, his eyes scanning the layout. He noticed where they kept their weapons: a collection of rifles, knives, and crude axes, leaning against a rough-hewn table near the fire. He knew that disarming them was crucial to minimizing harm.

“Cheetah,” Tarzan whispered. “I have an idea.”

“I knew you would,” Cheetah said proudly.

After telling Cheetah his plan, Tarzan waited until he was sure all the poachers were gathered around the fire, their backs to him, their attention focused on a pot of stew bubbling over the flames. Moving as swiftly and silently as he could, he slipped into the camp. He moved from weapon to weapon, gathering them into a large bundle. He then carefully dragged the bundle away from the camp, hiding it deep within a dense thicket.

Satisfied that the poachers were now weaponless, he signaled to Cheetah, who was waiting patiently in the shadows. With a nod, Cheetah launched his attack.

He burst into the camp from the opposite side, a whirlwind of tawny fur and snarling ferocity. He darted in and out of the trees, nipping at the poachers' heels, hissing and snarling, creating a scene of utter pandemonium.

The poachers, caught completely off guard, scrambled to their feet, their eyes wide with fear.

"What is that?!" one of them yelled, his voice trembling.

“Must be leopard, it’s the only cat out here, ain’t it?”

“Shoot it, whatever it is!”

“Are there several of them?”

They reached for their weapons, only to find them gone. Panic set in. They were unarmed, at the mercy of a wild predator. Several derogatory words went flying as the men searched for their weapons, only pausing when the bushes shook around them, loud snarling and half snarl-roars echoed through the trees, the predator remaining hidden.

One of the men must have had a knife on his person as he pulled it out and bravely stepped out into the bushes, disappearing into the jungle in pursuit of this predator. There was a loud scream as bushes shook, then silence, and this truly sent the men into a panic as they searched for their weapons.

While the poachers were distracted, Tarzan moved through the camp to free the animals. He approached the nearest cage, which held a group of terrified monkeys. He examined the latch, a simple loop of wire, and quickly used his fingers to manipulate it. The cage door swung open, and the monkeys, their eyes wide with fear, scurried out and disappeared into the surrounding trees.

Tarzan moved to the next cage, which held a young antelope. He repeated the process, quickly releasing the frightened animal. The antelope, its legs trembling, bolted into the jungle, forcing Tarzan to duck as it leaped over him, its hooves barely making a sound on the soft earth.

He continued his work, moving from cage to cage, releasing the captured animals. The vibrant parrots took to the air, their colorful plumage flashing through the trees, their songs loud about their hero and freedom. The smaller animals, rodents of some kind, scurried into the undergrowth, their tiny paws barely disturbing the leaves.

As he worked, Tarzan kept a watchful eye on the poachers, who were still frantically searching for Cheetah. He could hear their panicked shouts and the occasional gunshot from a weapon he must have missed in his collection, but they were too disoriented to notice his presence, and Cheetah seemed to be handling himself well.

He reached the metal cage holding the leopard. This one was different. The lock was a heavy padlock, and the cage itself was made of sturdy metal bars. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was around before he jumped up to where the padlock was.

“Roar!”

“Ah!” Tarzan shouted in surprise, jumping off the cage as the leopard charged forward and swatted a massive paw at him. He quickly covered his mouth, realizing he had made a loud noise.

“What’s all this?” he heard a poacher snap, then heavy footfalls were stamping in his direction.

Tarzan gasped and slid under the metal cage, crouching low and trying to keep his frightened panting quiet. He saw thick black boots stomp alongside the cage, he heard the leopard snarl as it paced above him, and the boots paused in front of the cage. Tarzan watched, waiting for the poacher to find him. He wasn’t sure what he would do then, but he would need a plan. Did he act now? Did he make a run for it? Did he abandon the leopard? It didn’t seem to want his help anyway.

“Patience, Tarzan,” Kerchak had once told him when Tarzan had been concerned about a storm getting too close to their cave that they had found shelter in. “A hasty decision often misses its mark, while a patient leader allows the jungle to assist. And it will when needed most.”

Patience was something he always struggled with. Tarzan took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He was tempted to bolt, to escape the poacher's watchful gaze, but he knew that his father’s words were true. The flood words had been diverted away by a mudslide before they could flood the cave, proving Kerchak’s words and lack of action at the time to be true. Haste would only lead to mistakes, and mistakes could be deadly for everyone. What if Kerchak had led the family out of the cave? They would have been swept away in the mudslide instead. And what if Tarzan bolted too soon? He might be snatched by a poacher.

He remained still; his body pressed against the cool earth beneath the cage. He could hear the poacher's heavy breathing, the rustle of his clothing as he shifted his weight. The leopard paced restlessly above him, its claws clicking against the metal floor of the cage.

The poacher's boots shifted again, moving closer to the front of the cage.

“Something’s let the animals go!” the poacher snapped, as if he had just seen the state of the other cages.

Tarzan held his breath, his muscles tense, ready to spring into action. He could see the poacher's shadow lengthen as he leaned closer to the ground.

Then, swift paws rounded the cage and leaped on to the poacher, and he heard screams and hissing as the poacher stumbled away from the cage, fighting against the big cat clawing and biting at him. He collapsed into the bushes several feet away, disappearing from sight, only Cheetah’s tail visible for a moment before even he vanished from sight.

Tarzan exhaled slowly, relief washing over him. He had waited, he had been patient, and now he had his chance. He carefully slid out from under the cage.

He glanced around the camp. The poachers were still in a state of chaos, their attention focused on Cheetah's elusive attacks. Currently, several were checking the state of the poacher who had just been mauled by Cheetah, confusion and fear in their eyes. Tarzan turned his attention back to the leopard's cage. He had to free this last creature.

He slowly glanced through the bars, meeting the leopard’s eyes. It was lying down in the cage, and it hissed at him.

“I’m here to free you,” Tarzan said.

The leopard glared at him, but his ears did perk up slightly. Tarzan carefully reached for the padlock, watching the leopard to make sure it did not charge him again. When the leopard did not move, Tarzan focused on the lock, studying its structure.

He found a small gap between the shackle and the body of the lock. Using a sharp rock he found nearby, he carefully wedged it into the gap and applied pressure. The lock creaked and groaned, but it held. He tried again, this time using more force. With a loud snap, the shackle broke, and the padlock fell to the ground.

The leopard jumped to its feet, staring at the cage door intently.

Tarzan jerked the door, and it creaked as it swung open. Tarzan did not immediately let go of the door, wanting to keep some metal between himself and the leopard.

The large cat stepped forward slowly, sniffing the air for a moment at the cage entrance before it looked directly at Tarzan. Its eyes held something akin to respect, and Tarzan bowed his head slightly, something he knew all animals responded to well. A sign of respect.

The leopard dipped his head in return, then snarled as he turned his attention to the defenseless poachers, who were all walking back to camp with a defeated look in their eyes, clearly not having found their weapons. They all froze at the sight of the leopard.

The big cat roared loudly, a more ferocious sound even Cheetah was not capable of producing, and the poachers screamed as they fled the campsite, the leopard chasing after them.

Tarzan laughed at their predicament, not feeling the least bit sympathetic. He released the cage and ran into the jungle, happy to have accomplished his mission easily. He nearly ran into Cheetah, who had been grooming the blood off his paws, though his jaws were still red-tinged.

“Well done, Tarzan,” Cheetah said. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Anytime, Cheetah,” Tarzan said. He glanced around the jungle, then chuckled nervously before asking, “you wouldn’t know the way home, would you?”

Cheetah snorted in amusement before he gestured for Tarzan to follow him, and Tarzan ran after Cheetah as he led the way back to Kerchak’s territory.

Back home now, Tarzan moved slowly through the family grounds, hoping that his father had not noticed his absence. It was nearing evening now, but he had not been gone nearly as long as he had been when he sought out the poachers out of curiosity during the Truce. He might just get away with this.

“Where have you been?” Kerchak asked, his voice directly behind him.

Tarzan winced. Or not.

“Dad,” Tarzan greeted as he turned to smile submissively at his father. “I haven’t been anywhere, I was just . . .”

“Ambush tactics!” Kaphi’s voice cried loudly from somewhere above him, and Tarzan grunted as his sister crashed into his back, knocking him to the ground and pinning him down. “Pinned ya!”

Kaphi looked up at her father and grinned.

“Hi, Daddy,” she greeted. “Tarzan and I have been playing all day. He’s been practicing his stealth and hiding from me, and I’ve been practicing my ambush tactics.”

Tarzan was impressed with his sister for quickly coming to his rescue, and he smiled up at her before glancing at his father to see if he would buy the story. Kerchak's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting from Kaphi's triumphant grin to Tarzan's sheepish expression. He let out a low rumble, a sound that usually sent shivers down Tarzan's spine.

"Ambush tactics, you say?" Kerchak asked, his voice heavy with skepticism. "And you, Tarzan, were practicing your . . . stealth?"

Tarzan swallowed hard, shifting slightly under his sister’s weight. He knew Kerchak wasn't easily fooled.

"Yes, Dad," he said, trying to sound convincing. "We've been playing all day. Kaphi's been getting quite good at her ambushes.”

Kerchak's gaze lingered on Tarzan, his expression unreadable. He seemed to weigh their words, searching for any hint of deception. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well," he said, his voice laced with a hint of resignation. "But remember, Kaphi, ambush tactics require more than just brute force. You must learn to anticipate your opponent's movements, to use the terrain to your advantage. A better ambush would be from somewhere your opponent might be most comfortable, say their nest or favorite fruit tree. Stay hidden and strike silently when you are ready.”

Kaphi's eyes lit up, her chest puffing out with pride.

"Yes, Dad!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with enthusiasm. "I'll practice even harder!"

Tarzan groaned inwardly. He knew what this meant. He would be subjected to Kaphi's "improved" ambush tactics for weeks to come. He shook his sister off him and sat up at last, only for Kerchak to turn his eyes on him.

"And you," Kerchak continued, "remember that stealth is not just about hiding. It's about moving unseen, unheard. Even the keenest eyes can be deceived by stillness. But the jungle itself has eyes, ears, and a memory. It remembers every broken branch, every misplaced stone. And it shares these memories with those who know how to listen. Perhaps you should spend more time listening, and less time . . . elsewhere.”

Tarzan felt his face flush slightly as he gave his father a submissive smile. He wondered how much the jungle could actually share and how much his father actually knew. So much for a good cover story.

“Right. I’ll remember that,” Tarzan said.

Kerchak's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of approval in his gaze.

"Good. Then let us be clear," he said firmly. "Do not practice your “stealth” in such a manner again. The risks are too great.”

“Yes, Dad,” Tarzan agreed, looking down at the ground. Kaphi gave her brother a sympathetic look.

Kerchak snorted softly, then said, “Now, before dinner, who wants to practice their “stealth and ambush” on me?”

Kaphi’s eyes lit up and she jumped up and down.

“Oh, I do, I do!” Kaphi said enthusiastically.

Tarzan slowly looked up and smiled at his father, briefly wondering if that was really the end of this discussion. Whatever the jungle had shared with Kerchak, his father clearly wasn’t too angry about it.

“Really?” he asked.

Kerchak nodded, and Tarzan could see the pride in his father's eyes. 

“You both have a ten second head start,” he told them.

Tarzan grinned as he quickly ran after Kaphi to find somewhere they could ambush their father from when he came looking for them.

Chapter Text

            The afternoon sun dappled through the thick canopy, only disturbed by four young gorillas chasing each other through the intertwining branches. Eight-year-old Tarzan leaped off a branch and tree surfed after his friends, lowering himself as he neared one of them before he pounced and tagged Mungo with a playful swipe. He was already bounding ahead as Mungo cried, “No fair, you’re cheating!”

            “"Cheating? Nonsense, Mungo! It's called advanced maneuvering!" He punctuated his remark with a series of exaggerated swings from vines, leaving the others jumping from branch to branch.

            Now, Terk and Flynt joined Tarzan in running away from Mungo, who lumbered after them with as much speed as he could muster and, with a well-aimed tackle, sent Terk tumbling onto a thick bed of leaves.

            "Gotcha!" Mungo exclaimed, puffing out his chest.

            Terk, momentarily surprised, quickly regained her footing. Her attention immediately locked onto the fleeing Tarzan.

            "Oh, you think you're so clever, vine-swinger?" she growled playfully, charging after her friend.

            Tarzan, seeing Terk barreling towards him with a determined glint in her eyes, bolted away, letting out a mock groan.

            "Oh, come on, Terk! I was just 'it'! You're supposed to chase Flynt!" he complained, scrambling up a particularly slick branch.

            The chase continued, a chaotic mess of swinging limbs and playful growls. They weaved through the familiar pathways of their family's territory, their laughter and calls echoing through the dense foliage. They swung across gaps and climbed tall trees, tumbled over moss-covered logs and ducked under hanging vines, all to avoid being tagged.

            Then, as Tarzan swung onto a familiar, broad branch that overlooked their main nesting area, his playful momentum faltered. His eyes landed on his shared nest with Kerchak, Kala, and Kaphi, a large nest built in sturdily in the intertwining branches of large trees. Curled into a tight, uncharacteristic ball of brown fur lay two-year-old Kaphi. Her usual bright-eyed curiosity was absent, replaced by a stillness that immediately struck Tarzan as wrong. The boisterous energy of the chase seemed to drain away as a knot of concern tightened in his young chest. He skidded to an abrupt halt, his friends bumping into him from behind.

            “Hey, what’s the big idea?” Flynt asked, frowning at Tarzan.

            “Uh, you’re it, by the way,” Terk said, using a single finger to tap Tarzan’s shoulder.

            “Something’s wrong,” Tarzan said, walking over to his nest, the others following him curiously. They arrived at the edge of the nest and everyone peered down at the small, huddled form curled up against the back of the nest.

            "Kaphi?" Tarzan called out, crawling up to sit on top of a pile of leaves. "What's wrong?"

            Kaphi whined slightly as she curled further into herself.

            "Huh," Terk grunted, scratching her head. "What's she doing?"

            Flynt squinted at her.

            "Maybe she's sleeping?" he offered uncertainly, even though it was the middle of their prime playtime.

            Terk nudged Kaphi gently with her foot.

            "Hey, pipsqueak,” she said, “You alright?"

            Kaphi flinched slightly but didn't uncurl or respond. Terk frowned.

            "Maybe . . . maybe she's broken?" she joked, a nervous chuckle escaping her.

            "She's not broken!" Tarzan said sharply, his brow furrowing with worry. He dropped down into the nest.

            "Come on, Kaphi," he coaxed, using gentle nuzzles against her back. "What's the matter?"

            Kaphi remained stubbornly silent, her small form trembling slightly.

            Terk huffed, rolling her eyes.

            "Honestly, what's the big deal? She probably just wants attention." Flynt said, then he turned to Terk and Mungo. "Come on, let's go. The juicy grubs are probably out after the sun shower."

            Terk hesitated, glancing back at Kaphi's still form.

            "Yeah, I'm sure she's fine," she said halfheartedly. "Aunt Kala will take care of her."

            Mungo grunted in agreement as he followed Flynt into the nearby trees. Terk looked at Tarzan as she turned away, but seeing his hesitation, she tapped his shoulder, and when he looked at her, she smiled and gestured for him to follow.

            "Come on, Tarzan," Terk said. "Leave the baby to your parents. She’ll be fine."

            Tarzan looked from his retreating friends to the small, trembling form of Kaphi. A deep furrow creased his brow.

            "But . . . but she doesn't usually stay this still," he said. "She always wants to play. Something's really wrong." He looked back at Terk, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I just . . . I want to make sure she's alright."

            Terk sighed, a puff of air escaping her lips. A flicker of disappointment crossed her face; she had hoped their game would continue. But seeing the genuine worry etched on Tarzan's face, she offered a small, somewhat reluctant nod.

            "Alright, Tarzan," she said. "But don't take too long. We'll find the best mud wallow without you."

            With a final, slightly exasperated look at the huddled Kaphi, Terk turned to catch up with the boys, and she quickly disappeared after Flynt and Mungo into the green depths of the jungle.

            Tarzan watched them go for a moment, then his attention returned fully to his little sister. The lure of the game, the thrill of the chase, faded completely in the face of Kaphi's unusual stillness and quiet distress. He knew, deep down, that he couldn't just leave her like this. He had to figure out what was wrong.

            Tarzan settled closer to Kaphi, his movements slow and deliberate. He sat beside her, the pile of soft leaves rustling slightly beneath him. His brow was furrowed with concentration as he began to groom her fur, his long fingers carefully parting the short, brown strands.

            He started at the top of her head, his touch feather-light. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, his eyes scanning her scalp for any sign of irritation. He knew how bothersome the tiny biting insects could be, especially during the warmer parts of the day. Sometimes, they would burrow into the thick fur, causing restless twitching and whimpers. He gently massaged her scalp, hoping to dislodge any unwelcome guests.

            As he moved down her back, his fingers meticulously checked each section of her fur. He looked for any tell-tale signs of insect bites – small red bumps or irritated patches of skin. He even sniffed her fur lightly, trying to detect the faint, musky odor that sometimes accompanied certain types of jungle mites. He remembered Kala spending extra time grooming them after they had been playing near the muddy watering hole, a prime breeding ground for such pests.

            However, Kaphi seemed fairly clean, as if she had been recently groomed, so he gave up searching for bugs and looked at Kaphi’s face. She didn’t react to him at all, just stayed put with a miserably expression.

            “Kaphi, tell me what’s wrong,” Tarzan said, but his sister only whimpered sadly before she tucked into herself more, closing her eyes. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

            Kaphi remained silent, and Tarzan sighed softly, racking his brain for ideas. Her eyes always widened with fascination at bright colors. He remembered a vibrant blue flower he'd seen earlier. Carefully, he climbed the short distance to the branch where it grew, crawling up a tree and moving along a thin branch carefully. He plucked the delicate bloom, its petals a striking contrast to the surrounding green. Returning to Kaphi, he held it out to her, presenting it teasingly.

            "Look, Kaphi. Pretty flower." He wiggled it gently, trying to catch her eye. Kaphi didn't even twitch.

            “Don’t you want it, little sis?” Tarzan asked. Kaphi’s eyes opened for a second, then they squeezed shut once more.

            Tarzan sighed and tossed the flower aside. So much for that. With the way Kaphi was clutching herself and curling up, Tarzan wondered if perhaps she was hungry. Sometimes, stomach pains were awful, he could relate to that.

            He recalled Kala sharing a particularly plump, dark purple cluster with her that morning, and how Kaphi had gurgled with delight, her tiny hands reaching eagerly. He scurried to their shared food stash, carefully selecting the juiciest, most fragrant berries. He returned to Kaphi, holding them close to her nose.

            "Are you hungry?" He asked. “I brought you something.”

            When Kaphi didn’t sit up or turn around, he pushed the berries closer to his sister.

            “Sweet, yummy berries,” he coaxed. "Want some?" He even gently nudged her arm with the offering. But Kaphi just hmphed, turning her face further into her arms.

            “Come on, Kaphi,” Tarzan pleaded, leaning over his sister and trying to pull her out of the tight little ball she was rolled into. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’re making me nervous.”

            Kaphi resisted his tug, then suddenly cried out angrily and jerked out of her brother’s hands, curling up into a tighter ball once more.

            Frustration began to bubble in Tarzan's chest, mixed with a growing unease. Nothing was making his sister feel any better. Why wasn’t anything working? He sat back on his haunches, observing her more closely. He noticed how she kept her left hand tucked tightly against her chest, her right hand occasionally rubbing at it. That was unusual; Kaphi used both hands for everything.

            A thought sparked in his young mind. Had she hurt her hand?

            Gently, Tarzan reached for Kaphi's tucked-away hand. She flinched slightly when he touched it, letting out a small, pained whimper. Carefully, Tarzan unfolded her fingers. There, embedded in the soft skin of her palm, was a small, sharp splinter of wood. The area around it was slightly red and swollen.

            Understanding washed over Tarzan. That's why she was so upset! It wasn't just sadness; it was pain.

            He remembered seeing Kala carefully remove thorns and splinters from many others, including himself once. He took a deep breath, trying to emulate her calm demeanor. Using his own nimble fingers, he gently wiggled the splinter, trying to find the best angle to pull it out. Kaphi whimpered again, but she didn't pull her hand away, instead, she kept her eyes squeezed shut and hidden away in her other arm. With a slow, steady pull, Tarzan extracted the tiny piece of wood.

            Kaphi immediately let out a relieved sigh, and she peeked up at her big brother to watch him study the small injury in her palm. Tarzan looked around for something to soothe the irritated skin. He spotted a small patch of a plant that oozed a clear, sticky sap when its leaves were broken, a natural remedy Kala often used for minor cuts and scrapes. He carefully broke off a leaf and squeezed a drop of the cool sap onto Kaphi's injured palm.

            Kaphi watched him with wide, trusting eyes. After a moment, when Tarzan released her hand and gave her a small nuzzle, she tentatively flexed her fingers, a small smile finally gracing her lips.

            "All better," she mumbled. She grinned at Tarzan, then leaped up into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging her brother. “Tarzan fix Kaphi!”

            Tarzan chuckled as he returned the hug. Relief flooded through him, and he was feeling a lightness he hadn't felt since he first saw her curled up and sad.

            “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Tarzan said, nuzzling his sister once more. “Anything for my Kaphi.”

            After a long embrace, he set his sister down and picked up the berries he had brought.

            “Want some, now?” Tarzan asked.

            “Kaphi love berries,” Kaphi said, taking a fistful in her uninjured hand and smushing the fruit into her mouth, making a quick mess everywhere. Tarzan laughed at his sister’s enthusiasm as he ate a mouthful of berries himself. They sat side-by-side, contentedly munching on the sweet fruit.

            “Pretty flower,” Kaphi said when she spotted the flower Tarzan had tried giving her earlier. She picked up the plant and smelled it, emitting a small, “Ahh.” Then, she promptly ate the flower, not to Tarzan’s surprise. Kaphi, her small belly pleasantly full of sweet berries and even sweeter flower petals, began to grow quiet. The earlier distress had completely vanished, replaced by a sleepy contentment. She leaned against Tarzan, her small body warm and soft against his side.

            "Tarzan," she mumbled, her voice thick with drowsiness.

            "Hmm?" Tarzan replied, his own eyelids feeling a little heavy from the warmth of the sun and the satisfying resolution of Kaphi's discomfort.

            "Berry was yummy," she said, a small sigh escaping her lips.

            "They were good, weren't they?" Tarzan agreed, gently stroking her fur.

            "Flower too," Kaphi added. "Crunchy."

            Tarzan chuckled softly. "Yes, a little crunchy."

            A comfortable silence settled between them, punctuated only by the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze. Then, Kaphi spoke again, her voice barely a whisper.

            "Tarzan good big brother."

            A warm feeling spread through Tarzan's chest. He nuzzled the top of her head.

            "You're a good little sister, Kaphi."

            She shifted slightly, her small hand finding his and gripping it loosely.

            "Hand doesn't hurt now," she murmured, her words becoming more spaced out. "Tarzan make Kaphi all better."

            "I'm glad," Tarzan whispered back, tightening his grip on her tiny hand.

            Soon, Kaphi's breathing deepened, becoming slow and even. Her weight shifted as she snuggled closer, her head resting heavily on Tarzan's chest, an arm draping over him. He could feel the soft rise and fall of her small body with each breath. A wave of tenderness washed over him. He gently wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

            Just then, the familiar rustling of larger branches announced Kala's return to the nest. She climbed gracefully onto their platform, her eyes immediately landing on the adorable scene: Kaphi sprawled out on top of a seemingly pinned-down Tarzan, both of them looking incredibly peaceful. A soft laugh rumbled in her chest.

            "Well, well," Kala said, her voice gentle. "Looks like someone has claimed her big brother for a nap."

            She approached them, her gaze affectionate as she brushed a gentle hand over Kaphi, then nuzzled her son.

            "Kaphi seems quite content. Are you okay, Tarzan? Would you like me to rearrange things?"

            Tarzan, his eyes half-closed, shook his head slightly, a small, sleepy smile on his face.

            "No, Mom," he mumbled. "I'm good."

            He adjusted his arms around Kaphi, pulling her closer. How he loved his little sister.

            Kala's heart swelled with warmth at the sight of her two young ones. She curled up beside them, her large, comforting presence enveloping them both. She gently nuzzled Tarzan's head once more, then Kaphi's back. Soon, the gentle rhythm of their breathing filled the nest. Tarzan cuddled his sister closer, the earlier worry completely forgotten, and he drifted off to sleep, nestled safely beside his mother and with the weight of his beloved Kaphi on his chest. The afternoon sun continued to dapple through the leaves, now casting a golden glow over their peaceful slumber.

Chapter Text

            The jungle canopy stretched above, a maze of green and gold as Kerchak, with his powerful limbs, effortlessly began to climb a large tree, Tarzan perched comfortably on his back.

            "Higher," Tarzan directed, pointing to a cluster of particularly vibrant fruit. "Those look ripe."

            Kerchak grunted, his muscles flexing as he ascended. He climbed steadily, reaching a point where the branches began to thin. His large frame made it difficult to go any further.

            "This is as far as I can go," he said. "Those branches will not support my weight."

            Tarzan nodded, his eyes already assessing the thinner branches ahead.

            "I'll get them," he said, and carefully crawled off Kerchak's back onto the slender limb.

            "Be careful," Kerchak cautioned, his gaze following Tarzan's every move.

            Tarzan moved with agility and grace, his smaller size allowing him to navigate the precarious branches. He reached the cluster of fruit and plucked them, gathering as much as he could carry, then carefully made his way back to Kerchak.

            Kerchak had lowered himself onto a large, sturdy branch, providing a platform for Tarzan to rejoin him. Tarzan deposited the fruit, and they sat side-by-side, enjoying the bounty of their labor. Below them, the family moved about, foraging and playing.

            As they ate, Tarzan began to speak, his tone thoughtful.

            "I was thinking about Akut. After I went with him to visit his family yesterday."

            Kerchak paused in his eating, his gaze fixed on Tarzan.

            "What about him?" he asked his son.

            "He doesn’t really have friends in his own family," Tarzan said, his brow furrowed slightly. "All his peers, they don't really like him. That they were only pretending to be his friends because he's the leader's son."

            Kerchak was silent for a moment, then let out a low grunt.

            “I’m not surprised,” he said.

            “Really?” Tarzan asked, frowning up at his father.

            Kerchak resumed eating, his movements deliberate. "When a young gorilla is destined to lead, when the silver hairs begin to show on his back . . . things change. Others see him differently. They may seek his favor, but their hearts are not true."

            He paused, and a shadow seemed to pass over his face.

            “I went through it myself. When my silver hairs began to appear, those I had called friends were quick to turn on me. They saw me as a rival, not a companion."

            Tarzan's eyes widened with understanding.

            "It must be hard," he said, his voice filled with empathy, "to know that those closest to you aren't really your friends. That they only care about your position."

            Kerchak nodded slowly.

            "It is a burden many young leaders must bear," he acknowledged. "The loneliness, the distrust. It can weigh heavily."

            Tarzan finished eating and leaned against Kerchak, his gaze fixed on the family below.

            "That's awful." Tarzan yawned as he watched a group of young gorillas wrestling below.

            "Yes. But he’ll overcome it. He’s a smart young ape. This does not have to define him."

            "What can he do?" Tarzan asked, looking up at his father.

            "He must learn to value those who are true. And to be a leader who earns respect, not demands it." He paused, then his gaze softened. "He is lucky to have found a friend in you, Tarzan. You see him for who he is, not for who he will become. That is a rare and precious gift. Make the most of your time with him. It will be good for Akut to enjoy true friendship and it will help him learn to look for it in the future."

            “I can do that,” Tarzan agreed. “He’s really not so bad.”

            Later that same day, Tarzan swung through the trees with Terk hot on his heels. Tantor trumpeted with delight as he lumbered below, his large ears flapping. They were deep in a game of make-believe, a complex story involving Tarzan as a brave warrior, Terk as a fearsome monster, and Tantor as their noble steed.

            Suddenly, a voice broke through their imaginative world. "What in the jungle are you doing?"

            Akut stood watching them with a skeptical expression. Despite being only a couple years older than Tarzan and Terk, he was twice their size, and he towered over them from where he sat on a tree branch watching their odd game.

            Terk landed beside Tarzan, puffing out her chest.

            "We're playing, obviously,” she said. “Can't you see the incredibly dangerous monster before you?" She roared, then tripped over a root, nearly falling.

            “I’m terrified,” Akut said dully with a roll of his eyes. "Playing what? And with a half-grown elephant. It looks . . . different. Mind if I join?”

            Tarzan, Terk, and Tantor exchanged glances, then they huddled together. Terk wrinkled her nose. "Absolutely not. He's going to ruin everything. This is our social group, not his."

            Tantor tilted his head, considering.

            "Well, I don't mind, as long as Tarzan is okay with it."

            Tarzan hesitated. He remembered what Kerchak had said about how important it was to offer him true friendship.

            "I think we should let him play," Tarzan said quietly. "It might be good for him."

            "Are you serious?" Terk protested. "That cocky troublemaker? He'll just make fun of us the whole time!"

            "Maybe," Tarzan conceded. "But maybe not. He might make the game more fun.”

            Terk grumbled, crossing her arms.

            "Fine," she said finally, but with clear reluctance. "But if he messes up my swamp monster attack, I'm blaming you."

            Tarzan grinned.

            “Deal.” He turned to Akut, only to find Akut standing right behind him, having moved closer during their discussion. Tarzan startled, falling backwards in surprise.

            "So," Akut said with a grin, "I can play?"

            “Yes,” Tarzan said, brushing his hair back and glaring at Akut with an annoyed expression. “You can play. But you have to try and . . . you know, go with the flow.”

            “I think I can manage that,” Akut said with a shrug, trying to maintain his air of nonchalance, despite the small smile playing on his lips.    

            So, Akut joined their game. At first, he was awkward and stiff, more inclined to actual wrestling than pretending. He struggled to grasp the nuances of their made-up world, where a vine could be a raging river and a fallen log a monster's lair. Terk, especially, enjoyed making him stumble through the imaginary scenarios. But as the game went on, Akut slowly began to loosen up. He even managed a half-hearted roar when Terk chased him, pretending to be a particularly ferocious beast, and that had startled Terk enough that she stumbled over several uplifted roots before falling face first in mud.

            Suddenly, Tantor's stomach let out a loud rumble that echoed through the jungle.

            "Lunchtime!" Tantor exclaimed excitedly, his trunk twitching.

            Terk rolled her eyes and said, "Of course it is. Your stomach is like a black hole, always demanding to be fed. I'm surprised you haven't swallowed us all whole by now."

            They settled down to share some fruit and roots. Tarzan looked at Akut after he had finished his fill.

            "So, did you have fun?" he asked his cousin.

            Akut considered this, a thoughtful frown on his face.

            "It was . . . interesting. Different from how I usually play."

            “It’s called using the brain instead of the brawn,” Terk said. “You should try it more often.”

            Akut made a face at Terk, which she returned, and Tarzan laughed at their antics before he asked curiously.

            "What do you usually play?" Tarzan asked, genuinely curious.

            "Mostly Tag Wrestle," Akut said. "When I was younger, it was all the rage. Of course, now, my peers don't play much. I only play with the little ones, now and then, you know, if the ladies are watching. They love it."

            "Tag Wrestle?" Tarzan's ears perked up. "How do you play?"

            "Well," Akut said, a grin spreading across his face. "I tag someone . . ." He reached out and tapped Tarzan on the arm. ". . . like that. Then you chase me, and when you catch me, you try to wrestle me. Whoever gets pinned first is the next tagger."

            "That sounds fun," Tarzan said, a competitive glint in his eye.

            "Eh, it sounds okay," Terk said, stretching her arms and legs dramatically. "Let me get some stretching done, real quick. Don't want to pull a muscle during this 'Tag Wrestle'."

            Tantor, munching on some leaves, shook his head. "I'm not quite game for that. Too much potential for accidental flattening. Besides, I should start heading back for my herd.”

            Terk and Tarzan said goodbye to Tantor while Akut watched the elephant leave with a smile, then looked back at Tarzan slyly when he seemed ready to start the game.

            "So, who starts?" Tarzan asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

            Akut's grin widened.

            "Oh, I already tagged you, baby cuz."

            And with that, Akut and Terk took off, sprinting into the jungle.

            "Hey!" Tarzan yelled, a mix of surprise and determination in his voice. He chased after them, determined to catch Akut first and show the older gorilla a thing or two.

            Akut was surprisingly evasive. He darted behind trees, leaped over roots, and even paused to taunt Tarzan, sticking his tongue out and making faces before dashing off again. Terk, meanwhile, ran past Tarzan, giggling and sticking her tongue out teasingly as he lunged for her and missed.

            “I will get you Akut!” Tarzan shouted as they ran around the family grounds, weaving between nests and other members of the family, who casually moved their babies or fruit out of the line of fire as if this kind of play was a regular occurrence.

            "With those little strides and tiny arms?” Akut glanced back, a smirk on his face. “I'll be surprised if you can even reach me!"

            Terk, swinging through the trees above, chimed in with a laugh.

            "Yeah, Tarzan, you're gonna have to go full cheetah if you wanna keep up with us two!"

            "Hey!" Tarzan yelled playfully up at Terk, his voice a mix of annoyance and amusement. "At least I don't trip over my own feet every time I try to show off!"

            Terk scoffed.

            "Please! I have perfect coordination. Unlike some gorillas," she added, with a pointed look in Tarzan's direction. As she said this, her foot caught on a vine, and with a yelp of surprise, she tumbled forward, disappearing into the dense foliage below. A moment later, they heard a crash and a muffled, "I'm okay!"           

            Akut chuckled and shook his head, then circled a large, empty nest and paused, eyeing Tarzan who stopped on the other side, judging which way Akut might try to dart. Akut glanced over at the trees, then back at Tarzan.

            “Looks like it’s just you and me now, baby cuz,” Akut said, his eyes gleaming with challenge.

            "Finally," he retorted, his voice low and playful. "Ready to see who's the real king of the jungle?"

They circled the nest, the tension building with each step. Akut, feinted to the left, then lunged right, darting under a low-hanging branch in a daring escape attempt, but Tarzan was right on his heels.

            The chase ended abruptly as Tarzan, fueled by adrenaline and a desire to prove himself, tackled Akut near another nest. They landed with a thud, a cloud of dust and leaves swirling around them. For a moment, they were a tangle of limbs, each gorilla trying to gain an advantage.

            Akut, being older and heavier, initially tried to use his size and strength to overpower Tarzan. He pushed down on Tarzan's shoulders, attempting to flatten him. But Tarzan used his flexibility to his advantage. He twisted his body, slipping out from under Akut's direct pressure.

Tarzan then went for Akut's legs, a move he'd adapted from watching how Terk sometimes playfully tangled up Tantor. He hooked his leg around Akut's, trying to destabilize him. Akut grunted, surprised by the unorthodox move. He tried to shake Tarzan off, kicking his legs before reaching for Tarzan.

            The two grappled, each testing the other's strength and technique. Akut tried a classic wrestling move, a sort of modified headlock, pulling Tarzan in close and attempting to wear him down. Tarzan, remembering Kerchak's lessons on leverage and using an opponent's weight against them, didn't panic. He kept his core tight and looked for an opening.

            He found it when Akut shifted his weight slightly. Tarzan used that tiny shift to his advantage. He twisted his body again, using his momentum to roll them both. For a moment, they were reversed, Tarzan on top.

            “Hey!” Akut shouted, momentarily taken aback. Before he could fully react, Tarzan, drawing on a swift maneuver Kerchak had shown him—a move that involved a surprising shift of balance and a quick application of pressure—shifted again. It was a move that combined a bit of grappling with a subtle twist, focusing on control rather than brute force.

            With a final, decisive move, Tarzan maneuvered Akut's arm and shoulder, applying pressure until Akut was effectively pinned.

            “Ow,” Akut complained, glaring up at his cousin.

            "Gotcha!" Tarzan exclaimed, his chest heaving with exertion. He held the position for a moment, ensuring Akut couldn't easily escape.

            Terk, watching from a nearby branch, hooted and pointed down at them.

            "You got beat by a hairless runt!" she teased Akut mercilessly, swinging from her branch in amusement.

            Akut, pinned but not defeated, grunted.

            "I was caught off guard," he said. He pushed himself up, yanking his arm free from Tarzan’s hold, swinging his cousin around and dropping him in front of him. Then, he shook off the leaves and dirt, a grudging respect in his eyes. "Not bad, baby cuz. You've got some skill."

            Tarzan stood, brushing leaves off his chest, a flush of pride warming him.

            "I've learned a few things from Dad," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

            “Thanks for letting me play in your games. It was a lot of fun playing with some friends again, instead of just the younger ones of the troop. You and your group, you’re a lot of fun."

            "I had fun wrestling with you too, even if we did destroy this nest," he said, glancing at the ruined nest with a wince.

            "Yeah, hopefully, whoever it belongs to won't be too mad." Akut chuckled as he surveyed the damage.

            Tarzan looked around, a sudden realization dawning on him. His eyes widened slightly. "Oh, no."

            A deep voice rumbled from behind them. "Ahem."

            Akut and Tarzan winced, then slowly turned, offering submissive smiles to Kerchak, who was staring at them both sternly.

            "Who," Kerchak asked, "is responsible for this mess?"

            Akut's eyes darted around, and he suddenly seemed to remember something very important as he slowly backed out of the nest.

            "Oh, would you look at the time! I think I hear Mom calling me. Uh, bye, Uncle Kerchak! Bye, Tarzan!" And with that, Akut quickly scampered off into the jungle. Even Terk, who had been watching from the trees, smiled apologetically at Tarzan before running off herself.

            Tarzan rolled his eyes at Akut's hasty retreat. He should have expected as much from his older cousin. Then he realized his father was now solely focused on him, his expression unwavering. He offered a sheepish, apologetic smile.

            "I can fix this," he said.

            Kerhcak sighed heavily, closing his eyes for a moment.

            “Perhaps next time, you could find a . . . less fragile arena for your games." He paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "Though that was surprisingly skillful, Tarzan. You held your own against a much larger opponent, who was actually trying to win. I am very impressed."

            Tarzan beamed up at his father, puffing out his chest proudly.

            “I did learn from the best,” he said, earning a snort from his father.

            “You are also showing Akut true friendship, as we’ve discussed. I see he is benefiting from it already.”

            Tarzan perked up at that, then added with a cheeky grin, "It's not hard, Dad. He's a good ape, under all that . . . err, cool attitude he tries to put off. Besides, someone had to teach him how to lose gracefully."

            Kerchak's lips twitched slightly.

            "Indeed," he said, then gestured towards the nest with a heavy sigh. "Come on, then. Let's get this repaired before your mother sees it.”

            Kerchak picked up a large branch that had several leaves attacked to it, examining it with a critical eye. He broke off smaller pieces of the leaves, and then, with surprising gentleness, began to weave them back into the structure of the nest. Tarzan watched him for a moment, and then started to mimic his movements, carefully fitting broken twigs and leaves into the gaps while removing loose debris. In no time, the nest was repaired and father and son could relax in the sun in the comfort of their fixed nest, Tarzan sharing with Kerchak all the games he had played today with his friends, including Akut.

Chapter Text

            Tarzan and Kaphi sat side by side as they watched the weather outside, a raging fury of rain and thunder. Flood waters swirled at the bottom of the mountain, and several critters were still scurrying for shelter. Tarzan and his sister were both dry and warm, thanks to Kerchak having moved the family to a safe location before the storm could even begin. Kaphi pressed her nose against the cool, damp cave wall, her brow furrowed.

            "Why does it always rain?” she asked. “I wish I lived somewhere that didn't rain all the time."

            Tarzan turned his gaze from the grey downpour to his sister. "Where would that be?"

Kaphi sighed dramatically. "I don't know. Somewhere that's not the jungle."

            Tarzan considered this for a moment, frowning in thought.

            "I think the only other place there is is the savanna and the ocean. And the savanna is always super hot."

            Kaphi's frown deepened, and she shook her head. "Fine. I guess here is fine."

            “It’s going to have to be,” Tarzan said. “It’s our home.”

            Suddenly, a brilliant, jagged bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, followed almost instantly by a deafening crack of thunder that reverberated through the cave. Tarzan flinched, his eyes wide, but Kaphi let out a piercing scream, scrambling away from the entrance and darting through the shadowed cave, leaping over other sleeping gorillas. She didn't stop until she reached the far back where Kala and Kerchak were sleeping.

            Tarzan, still a bit startled himself, slowly followed her, finding her worming her way in between her parents, trembling. Kala was already sitting up, wrapping an arm around her shaking daughter, while Kerchak lifted his head with a rumbling yawn.

            "What's wrong, Kaphi?" Kerchak asked.

            "The storm outside scared her," Tarzan answered for Kaphi, who remained buried in Kala's fur. Tarzan crawled into his father’s lap to steal some warmth from the silverback.

            "The storm?" Kerchak gave Kaphi a curious look. "It's nothing we haven't seen before."

            "It nearly got me," Kaphi whined, her voice muffled, still hiding her face in her mother's hair.

            "Oh, well, we can't have that," Kerchak joked lightly, nuzzling her gently. “You are more than safe here.”

            “Plenty safe,” Kala said. She paused, looking at the driving rain outside the cave entrance, then back at her children. "I remember one storm, when I was very young, not much older than you, Kaphi. It was a true monster – the rain was so thick, you could barely see a tree's length in front of you, and the thunder . . . it sounded like the mountain itself was grumbling. The jungle howled, and the trees thrashed like angry giants. It was the kind of storm that made your fur stand on end, even if you were safely hidden."    

            Young Kala huddled close to her mother's side, her small body trembling slightly as the wind whipped through the towering trees. Her family was moving, not quite panicked, but with a definite urgency, their usual calm stride replaced by a hurried scramble. The air itself felt heavy, charged with the storm's power. The familiar jungle, usually so welcoming, seemed to shrink and become a place of intimidating shadows and roaring wind. The smaller rock overhangs and thickets they usually used felt too open, too vulnerable to this storm's raw might. Her father, strong and steady despite the chaos, led them deeper into a particularly dense part of the jungle, sniffing the air, searching for something protective.

            "We need a strong place," her mother murmured, pulling Kala closer. A particularly loud clap of thunder, shaking the very ground, boomed overhead.

            "Mama!" Kala cried out, burrowing her face into her mother's fur, her small body shaking uncontrollably.

            "Shhh, Kala, shhh," her mother crooned, gently stroking Kala's head. "We'll find a place. A safe place, away from the thunder. We'll be out of this storm soon, I promise."

            They moved past a thick, hanging curtain of vines, her father pushing them aside to reveal a hidden opening. And there it was – a massive, ancient tree, its trunk impossibly wide, hollowed out by time and perhaps a long-forgotten fire. It wasn't just a hollow; it was a perfect, snug chamber, surprisingly dry and completely sheltered from the whipping wind. Her family carefully moved inside, one by one, their large forms filling the space but leaving enough room for everyone to settle.

            Inside, the furious roar of the storm was transformed into a distant, rhythmic drumming. The air was cool but not damp, and the rich, earthy scent of ancient wood filled her nostrils, a comforting aroma. Kala watched the entrance, a thin sheet of rain visible across the opening, but inside, it was like a peaceful den. Her father settled first, his large form creating a reassuring barrier, then her mother, who drew Kala into the warm curve of her body. Other family members pressed in, their fur soft against hers, building a comfortable warmth that fought off the chill from the wind.

            The outside world raged with terrifying energy, but within that ancient tree, a profound calm settled. Kala listened to the drumming rain, no longer frightening, but a strange, steady lullaby. She felt the warmth of her family, the slow, steady beat of their hearts, the gentle brush of their fur, and knew that no matter how wild the outside became, they were safe, together. Her mother hummed a soft, soothing melody that mingled with the muffled drumming of the rain:

            "Sleep, little one, though winds may blow. Safe in our circle, warm and low. The thunder grumbles, far away. We'll greet the sun, another day. Close your eyes, my forest bloom. Safe with us, within this room."

            In that small, quiet space, with the storm roaring just beyond their protective walls, Kala felt a closeness to her family she hadn't experienced before. The fear hadn't vanished entirely, but it was overshadowed by a powerful sense of belonging, a deep, unwavering security that radiated from the warmth and presence of her loved ones.

            "And inside that tree," Kala continued, touching a finger to Kaphi’s nose as she adjusted her daughter against her, "the storm was just a song. We listened. And we knew, as long as we had each other, we were safe. We weren't just sheltering from the rain; we were finding warmth in our own shared space, feeling the strength of our family against anything the world could throw at us."

            She looked at Kaphi, then at Tarzan, her eyes full of warmth.

            "Sometimes,” she added, “the scariest storms can bring you closest to those you love the most, because they remind you just how important it is to have them by your side."

            Kaphi smiled and leaned her head against Kala, closing her eyes contentedly as she snuggled against her mother. Her fear of the storm outside seemed momentarily forgotten.

            Thank you, Mom," Kaphi murmured, her voice soft with contentment.

            Tarzan shifted, imagining the scene. "It must have been really snug in that tree."

            Kala chuckled.

            "Oh, very snug,” she agreed. “But that was the best part; it brought everyone closer."

            "That sounds really nice." Tarzan said with a nod, a thoughtful look on his face.

            Kerchak adjusted Tarzan in his lap as he repositioned himself against the back wall of the cave.

            "I, for one, much prefer not having the entire family smother me. Two kids are quite enough." He looked down at Tarzan with a playful glint in his eye. “That is why I much prefer caves over tree hollows.”

            Tarzan grinned up at him.

            "Dad, do you have any stories about storms from when you were little?"

            "Oh, yes,” Kala chimed in with a gentle nudge to Kerchak. “Your father has seen far more storms than any of us, haven't you, dear?"

            Kerchak grumbled good-naturedly, but a hint of a smile touched his lips.

            "Storms are just rain and noise." But then, seeing the expectant faces of his children, he sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright. I remember one storm. I was, hmm, a bit younger than you . . . " he looked down at his son in thought as he began his story.

            Young Kerchak, all gangly limbs and boundless energy, was lagging behind his family, his attention captivated by the iridescent sheen of a beetle scuttling across a wet rock.

            "Wait up, Mom!" he called out, already distracted, letting the gap between him and the others widen. He pounced, the beetle darting away, leading him further from the familiar scents of his mother and father. With a triumphant roar, he lunged again, but his feet slipped on the slick, muddy earth.

            “Ahh!” he cried as he tumbled over the ledge.

            He fell, not far, but enough to land him on a lower ledge, out of sight of his family.

            "Mom! Dad!" he cried, scrambling to get a foothold on the muddy incline. His small hands slipped, mud oozing between his fingers. The wind, already picking up, whipped his cries away, and the first heavy drops of rain began to fall. He watched, helpless, as the last of his family's dark shapes disappeared around a bend in the path above. A chilling wave of panic began to claw at his small chest.

            He tried scrambling up the muddy wall again, his small body slipping and sliding, getting nowhere fast. Frustration welled up, hot and bitter. This wasn't working. He backed away from the treacherous slope, his sharp eyes scanning the bewildering terrain. He sniffed along the ledge he was on, walking back in the direction his family had come from, being very careful not to slip off the narrow ledge. Finally, he made it to a section where he could hop up to the original path his family had been on.

            Now all he had to do was catch up.

            He started running, his small legs pumping, ignoring the protests of his tired muscles. The rain was coming down harder now, soaking his fur and making the ground very slippery. He rushed up the mountain, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. But as he rounded a sharp bend, his feet slid on the slick, damp earth, sending him tumbling down a steep, narrow path.

            He landed with a jolt near a rough-hewn ledge where a bird's nest clung precariously. Instantly, two large birds of prey, their feathers dark and slick with rain, rose from the nest, their sharp eyes fixed on him. They let out harsh, guttural caws that sent a shiver down young Kerchak's spine. They circled overhead, their shadows briefly darkening the already gloomy landscape, their hooked beaks looking menacing.

            Kerchak froze, fear gripping him. He was small and alone, and they looked enormous and hungry. One of the birds swooped lower, its talons extended slightly. Instinctively, Kerchak let out a shaky snarl. He puffed out his chest, trying to appear bigger than he was, and pounded his small fists against it. He even took a hesitant step forward, letting out a louder, more defiant snarl.

            The birds seemed more amused than intimidated. They let out a series of sharp caws, then one of them swooped down again, this time pecking sharply at his head.

            "Ow!" Kerchak yelped, clutching his head. He stumbled backward; his footing lost on the slippery edge of the path. With another yelp, he tumbled sideways, rolling down a small, hidden crevice. He slid down a dark, slick tunnel, picking up speed until he saw a glimpse of the churning, muddy floods below and knew he was about to fall off the cliff. He clawed desperately, his nails scraping the sides of the small cave he was in, creating a high-pitched screech.

            He managed to stop himself just as his feet slid over the edge of the cliff, and he was given a clear view of the floods below him. A narrow, almost invisible path veered away from the edge, and he rolled over and shook himself off, spraying water everywhere.

            Gasping for breath, his heart hammering against his ribs, he pulled himself onto the precarious ledge. He followed it, sniffing the air, desperate for the familiar scent of his family.           Rounding another sharp turn, he skidded to a halt, nearly pitching forward into a chasm. There was a sizable gap in the path ahead, a dark fissure carved into the rock face. A full-grown gorilla would step over it with ease, but to young Kerchak, it looked like an impassable abyss. He whimpered, fear clenching his stomach. He looked back, then at the gap. He really had no other choice. He had to get across.

            "I can do this," he mumbled to himself, trying to sound brave, his voice barely audible over the storm. Taking a deep breath, he backed up a few steps, then launched himself forward with all his might.

            He sailed through the air for a terrifying moment, screaming as he did so, landing with a jarring thud on the other side. His feet slipped on the wet, mossy rock, and for a heart-stopping second, he thought he would tumble back into the void. But he managed to dig his nails into the earth, and he scrabbled for footing, quickly regaining his balance.

            "Almost!" he grunted, pushing himself up. Adrenaline surging, he sprinted up the trail, sniffing the air, desperate for the familiar scent of his family.

            He reached the opening of a large cave and paused. Was his family inside here? With the fog and the rain, it was very hard to see into the cave to be sure, and suddenly a large shadow was moving towards him. He couldn’t help but bare his teeth and snarl once more, his hair bristling. Was it another danger?

            "Kerchak?" a deep, familiar voice rumbled from the darkness.

            Relief washed over Kerchak so powerfully his knees almost buckled. It was his father. He rushed forward, his father greeting him with a proud smile.

            "My son! You found your way!" his father exclaimed, his voice filled with relief.

            His mother, hearing the commotion, rushed forward and pulled him into a fierce, loving embrace, burying her face in his wet fur.

            "Oh, Kerchak, I was so worried!" she whispered, nuzzling him. He was safe. He was home.

            "I was so small," Kerchak ended his tale, looking from Kaphi to Tarzan, "and the mountain was so big, and so muddy. I slid more than I climbed, and the wind tried to pull me right off the cliff." He paused, a faraway look in his eyes. "But I kept going. I had to. And I managed to get home."

            Tarzan's eyes were wide. "Wow, even as a kid, you were so brave!"

            Kerchak snorted at his son.

            "Bravery had little to do with it. It was just . . . trying to get back to where I belonged." He looked at Kaphi, who was now listening intently. "And I did."

            Kala chuckled softly, nuzzling Kerchak's shoulder.

            "All your little adventures,” she said, “doesn't it remind you of someone?"

            "Oh, doesn't it," Kerchak rumbled, his gaze shifting to Tarzan. A fond, amused smile touched his lips as his son returned the look.

            "Yeah," Tarzan piped up, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Sounds like you were just practicing for when you had to chase me around all day!"

            "Oh, you think so, do you?" Kerchak growled playfully at his son before pinning him with his feet, then tickling him, making Tarzan laugh and squirm in his arms.

            Just then, a tremendous bolt of lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the cave entrance in a stark, blinding white, followed instantly by a thunderclap that vibrated through the very rock beneath them.

            Kaphi instinctively flinched, pressing closer to Kala for a moment. But then, a soft, almost triumphant smile touched her lips. She looked from her mother to her father, her eyes wide not with fear, but with a newfound understanding.

            "I can be brave," she whispered, her voice full of awe, "Dad was brave, and Mom found the song in the storm! I can do it, too.”

            Kala nuzzled her daughter.

            "We all find our own ways to be brave,” she said, “And sometimes, it's just about remembering you're safe with those who love you."

            Kerchak, releasing a still-giggling Tarzan, grunted in agreement. "That's why we have these caves. And each other. No storm can truly touch us in here." He glanced at the still-raging downpour outside, and with a sweep of his head, he checked on the rest of his family, a deep contentment settling in his chest. He turned back to his mate and children. "Now, who wants to tell the next story?"

            Tarzan, still buzzing from the tickle-fight and newfound inspiration, wasted no time. He practically bounced out of Kerchak's lap.

            "Me! Me! I want to tell a story!" He hopped around the cave. "My story is about . . . about defeating the monster storm!"

            Kala and Kerchak exchanged amused glances, a shared warmth in their eyes as they watched their enthusiastic son. Tarzan spun around, his arms sweeping dramatically through the air.

            "Once upon a time," he began, his voice rising with excitement, "there was a terrible storm, bigger than any storm ever! And it had giant, angry eyes, and roared like a beast! But then . . ." He leaned in conspiratorially, his eyes gleaming. "I flew through the trees, faster than the wind, and I wrestled the storm monster!"

            Kaphi listened, her eyes wide with fascination as she watched her older brother, while Kala and Kerchak merely chuckled, content to watch Tarzan's vivid imagination unfold in the flickering shadows of their safe, storm-sheltered cave.