Chapter 48:

Night continued to drag on in the Pride Lands and most had already surrendered to sleep. Some stubbornly fought against sleep for their own reasons, such as wanting to stay up past their nest times, or by noises caused by nocturnal inhabitants who weren't considerate of others. Others, such as Timon and Sly, have one too many things on their minds to even think about sleeping. Kito, however, had constructed a hammock within the cavity of the dead tree and was already fast asleep, dreaming of crunchy bugs with creamy centers. Meanwhile Timon was using a stick to draw up plans in the dirt as Sly was staring out into the sky of stars seemingly lost in thought.

"Let's see here…" Timon mumbled to himself as he scribbled in the dirt. "If we got a heavy log and got 'em both at the bottom of a hill- No, wait, there aren't any hills around here. Well, we could still use a log and… and what, run inside it like some wide-loaded hamster wheel and run 'em over? Nah." He used the stick to scratch out the illustration of the plan, and then he smoothed the dirt out into a fresh canvas again. "OK, maybe if we dig a big enough hole- … Wait, they're meerkats; they'd just dig themselves out again." With a frustrated groan Timon broke the stick in half and threw both pieces over his shoulders. "Uncle Max's arthritis keeps him from digging up these days but these guys probably don't have that problem." He ruffled his red hair with both paws, making it extra messy, and then he turned his eyes to his brother's back. "You know, Sly, instead of spacing out on me again you could make yourself useful and help me figure out a plan." Sly's prolonged silence caused Timon to frown and his brow to furrow. "Sly-"

"I heard you, Timon," Sly interrupted, still staring out at the sky. "Would you keep your voice down?" He looked over his shoulder briefly and nodded his head towards Kito. "You don't want to wake up Kito, do ya?"

Timon turned his line of sight over to his sleeping son, and then he rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Y'know, I can't believe he can sleep so good after what we've been through today. Must be all that energy he's been having lately that burns him out."

"If you weren't so distracted about Shani I'm sure you'd sleep just as well, too. Or you'd at least come up with a decent plan to take care of those bosses." Sly shifted his body to face Timon and folded his arms over his chest. "A big enough hole… seriously?"

"I'd love to hear what you'd come up with at this time of night," Timon dryly replied, wearing a deadpan expression. "But you're right; I'd probably think better if Shani was here instead of at the tunnels, then we'd at least talk things out." He then sighed, leaned back against the wall, and looked up at the ceiling. "… We finally find her and I didn't get any time alone with her. She wouldn't even come near me. How am I suppose to make up with her if she keeps on avoiding me?"

Sly turned his eyes back to the outside with a yawn. "You could try to get close enough to the tunnels without being seen, and then hope that she wanders away from the crowd long enough that you can catch her unawares. That's what I'm planning to do anyway."

Timon nodded, and then he wrinkled his brow and blinked in confusion. "Come again? Since when is Shani mad at you? What'd you do to her?"

"I'm not talking about Shani, Timon… it's Yasmin." With a soft sigh Sly softly rubbed his jaw, slightly swelled from being punched twice, both by Nuru and Yasmin. "She's mad at me, too. She told me to leave but she wanted me to stay… she wanted me to come back." He leaned his head back with another sigh and closed his eyes. "Females are so confusing. I mean I don't know if she really meant it or if she was just venting, but I don't want to leave without setting things right with her. She isn't meant to be this way… she's suppose to be happy."

For a moment Timon was silent as he stared at his younger brother. It seemed as though he had seen this look on his face before. And then he realized… he had seen it on his own face. "You're in love with her, aren't ya, Sly?"

Sly felt as if he had just swallowed his tongue, causing him to cough and pound on his chest while Timon grimaced and leaned away from him. Once he had recovered he managed to gasp, "Love?" Timon frowned and put a finger to his lips, making a "shh" sound, and then he nodded his head towards Kito. They both turned to look at the young adult, who merely rolled over onto his back and snored, still peacefully asleep. Sly grimaced at his own outburst, turned back to Timon, and continued, whispering. "Have you been talking to Jina?"

"Jina? What does she have to do with anything?" Timon returned with a whisper.

"The day before we left the oasis she asked me that same question. Why would you be asking me the same thing if you didn't talk to her?"

The red-headed meerkat rolled his eyes with a scoff, "I didn't; you just had a look, that's all."

"… I had a look. What's that suppose to mean?"

"Look, do ya or don't ya?" Timon asked impatiently. "It's a simple yes or no answer. Are you in love with Yasmin?"

"Well… yes and no."

"… I said 'yes or no,' Sly, not 'and.' Yes or no, will you give me a straight answer?"

"I'll do the best I can."

"I'm sorry, that's not one of your choices."

"Will you just shut up and let me talk?" Sly growled at his brother's persistence. Once the silence had settled between them Sly took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the outside. "I'm… not really sure how I feel about Yasmin romantically, because I never gave her a chance. I was still-or at least I thought I was still-in love with Zuri, and for that reason I couldn't be honest with my feelings for Yasmin. I know I love her as a friend and I feel a weird twisting notion in my stomach whenever she's sad." He turned his head back to look at Timon and then hesitantly added, "I guess… I didn't want to love her that way because it was forced on me."

Timon nodded in agreement, his arms folded over his chest. "Yeah, being a bargaining chip is kind of a romance killer, I can see that. But you're not in love with Zuri anymore… right?"

"No-no, she's your mate, Timon, and you're welcome to her," Sly said with a dismissive wave of his paw. "I don't love her the same way that you do anymore."

"So you're not in love with Zuri anymore," Timon repeated, to which Sly replied with a couple of shakes of his head. "So since you're not hung up on anyone maybe you should consider giving Yasmin a chance now. After all that's been going on she kinda deserves it, don't you think?"

Sly grew silent for a few moments, considering what had been said. He then closed his eyes and sighed, "That depends… if she ever really loved me." Timon wrinkled his face, confused. Sly shook his head with a sigh and stood. "It's something I've been wondering for a while, Timon. How did she really feel about me? Did she love me because of my personality or because of my good looks? Or even just as someone to make the big decisions for her when leadership was to be shifted over to us?" He ran a paw through his dark hair and paced back and forth in front of the exit. "I know she's matured a lot since then, but have her feelings for me?"

"Well, all I can tell is that she seemed a lot more… emotional since last year. She's definitely not as strong as she was either."

The pacing stopped. Sly lowered his eyes with a soft sigh and said, "And how strong were you when our father died, Timon?" The dark-haired meerkat could hear Timon swallowing a very large lump in his throat while his back was turned. "The way I heard it you were outside when you were supposed to be in, and then a hyena came. Pop came up and saved you, but he ended up dying when the hyena's pack overwhelmed him. You felt guilty for a long time, didn't you?" Timon lowered his eyes and held a paw over his chest, feeling a twinge of heartache. "It's the same with Yasmin, only the hyenas were meerkats and the one to sacrifice their life for her was her sister. She just needs help to come to terms and heal… and move on with the life they want us to have, like you did."

"Considering she probably doesn't want you near her it's gonna be pretty tough, Sly," Timon admitted with a sad grin, lowering his paw.

"I know, but you let me worry about that. We can still try to mend our friendship."

The red-headed meerkat gave a faint grin as he folded his arms again and arched a brow. "While we're sorta on the subject, Sly, just when were you planning on telling Ms. Duel Identities the real reason Kito calls you 'uncle'?"

"When things have settled down," Sly replied. "It's not important for her to know that my real name is Titus and that I'm your brother right now. There are plenty of more important things to take care of first."

"Right," Timon nodded with a tired sigh. "I have to come up with a plan to get rid of these two bosses and make up with Shani while you have to make up with Yasmin and her brother-"

"Timon," Sly suddenly interrupted, holding a paw up in a "stop" motion, as if a thought at just occurred to him. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe… Shani might be better off out here?"

"… Come again?" Timon asked in a very dry tone of voice with a face to match.

"Well, OK, maybe she has a lot to learn, but with those meerkat instincts she'll pick 'em up without much problem, right?" Timon's expression did not change, which caused Sly to look away with discomfort. "All I'm saying is I think she's doing some good with this mob. The way Nuru was around her… it was… how do I wanna describe it?"

Timon grimaced with a roll of his eyes and sarcastically asked, "Normal?"

"Yes, normal, exactly, close enough!" Sly grimaced at his mild outburst and put a finger to his lips with an embarrassed smile. Timon nodded, and then he arched a brow and shrugged, urging Sly to continue with his point. "What I'm getting at, is that he didn't show any signs of hostility towards her. When I joined the mob he was aggressive towards me for a week until after he was blinded. He'd growl every time I walked by. He knows Shani for two days and he allowed her to touch his arm without so much as a hiss. Why do you think that is?"

"Maybe it's because he's less aggressive towards females?" Timon asked with a yawn, his eyes drooping.

"I doubt it," Sly shook his head. "Nuru has always hated rogues, especially after he was blinded by them. It could be because of a lot of things: he didn't want to upset Yasmin any further, or he was already feeling weak because of Naysun's death, or maybe even he's softened since I left last year. It could be anything." Sly took a seat again by the exit and looked up at the stars. "But I do know he isn't one to let anyone else see him cry. Khairi put it in his head that males must always be strong and that tears are only for the frail, usually females. In all the years I've known him I never once seen an actual tear on his face… until tonight." He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "He wiped it off quickly, but I saw it. He doesn't show softness in front of people he hardly knows. I'm just wondering if Shani is making a real difference… that she's helping him to heal…" Sly continued to look out at the sky, waiting for Timon's response… to which there was none. Puzzled, he looked back to find his brother propped up against the wall, asleep and snoring. Sly light smirked, "If you didn't want to hear my theory you didn't have to be rude…" He, himself, yawned and got comfortable against the opening of the dead tree. It had been a long day and tomorrow, he imagined, was going to be even longer.

To be continued…