Well, to the followers who are going "Finally, she's updated!" to the folks going "I found this on the front page and I don't think I've seen it before," I bid you welcome back and welcome, respectively. I've really been slacking off, but I have many hobbies and real life activities that keep me from doing other hobbies and/or activities, so one has to be patient when it comes to something you work at, and I do work hard on these to make them enjoyable to read.

It's been more than a few years since I began this story, and I do intend to finish it. If nothing else I lack true motivation. I have a life outside of the computer, and Chapter 47 alone took me two months to write, and I spent a good chunk of my free time on it from constant tweaking and making sure everything sounded nice and in-character, mainly during the conversation between Shani and Nuru. And I love how that chapter turned out. So, bear all that in mind in the future and that I still don't have some details worked out, but I'll try to iron them out in due time. If you haven't already skipped ahead to read the chapter, thanks for listening to my rambles, start reading and enjoy.

Chapter 49:

The night can be peaceful when you choose to ignore it through sleep. When one is in a deep enough slumber they tend to overlook things that may be viewed as unimportant. The chirping of a cricket, the rustling of the leaves in the trees above, or distant calls in the night may not be enough to awaken the soundest sleeper. Perhaps that is why some refer to such a sound sleep as being dead to the world. However, for every heavy sleeper there is also a light sleeper; one who may awaken when the smallest thing out of order. Since the death of her sister Yasmin has become such a sleeper; she had become so dependent on Nuru to keep her company while she slumbered that she found difficulty in sleeping alone.

Nuru had left the nest some time ago and his absence had finally been noticed by the younger sister. Yasmin turned onto her side, her paw brushing the bare spot where Nuru would lay, and felt the spot was cold. She wrinkled her brow and opened her eye a crack. When she noticed she was alone Yasmin opened both eyes and raised her head, a little alarmed. "Nuru?" she called out softly, her eyes scanning the dark chamber. No response. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes Yasmin rose from the nest and tiptoed towards the entryway of the chamber. She was about to stick her head out when a figure appeared in front of her, causing her to gasp and stumble backwards. With a soft grunt she landed at the foot of her nest and saw the figure more clearly.

"Naysun?"

Yasmin sighed in relief and brushed a paw up to her weary face. "Nuru… you scared me." She watched as Nuru stepped into the chamber, his hair and the fur on his face showing signs of dampness. He walked over to the nest, laid his staff aside, and climbed back into his spot. "Where were you?"

"I had to use the latrine, that's all," Nuru yawned as he laid back, resting his paws behind his head.

"Oh. … Why is your face wet?"

"I washed it. Is there something wrong with that?" he turned his blind eyes towards her and arched a brow.

"No, not at all," Yasmin softly sighed as she climbed back into the nest to rest beside him. She gazed at his face a moment before settling back down. "What do you think about all this, Nuru?"

Yawning a second time, Nuru turned onto his side facing away from Yasmin and got into a comfortable position. "I think it's better to not think out loud, Naysun. Any thoughts you might have, just keep them to yourself until later, and then we can compare them with the others." Yasmin gave a small sigh as she watched her brother and nodded, grunting in agreement. It was too late to get into a deep discussion anyway. Sleep caught up to her quickly, comfortable and secure with Nuru beside her. Nuru closed his own eyes, but did not fall right to sleep. He just could not let go of the conversation he and Shani had before he returned to the tunnels…

Earlier…

Nuru sat by the river, his feet submerged in the water and his staff by his side. He listened to the splashing Shani was making while she washed the dirt from her fur and found some amusement whenever she whined about how cold the water was. He softly sighed as he leaned over the river, his blind eyes staring at his own reflection. If he could see Nuru would notice the dried tear streaks on his cheeks were wide-spread, dirt smeared and crusted. He brushed a paw along his cheek to feel the outcome of his weakened state and grimaced. Cupping his paws together he scooped up some water and splashed it onto his face. "… Geez, it's cold!" he complained with a shiver.

Shani had begun to wade back towards the shore when Nuru started to wash his face and seemed surprised at his sudden outburst. She then snickered, finding some great amusement from his sudden change of temperament. He acts like he's made of stone, but I don't think stone would complain if it was cold… She continued to chuckle softly, until she noticed Nuru staring at her, which caused her to blush and clear her throat. "Some water went down the wrong tube," Shani stated, trying to make an excuse to the noise she was making. She coughed a few times to make it sound convincing.

"I hate it when that happens," Nuru agreed as he splashed more water onto his face. He wiped around his scarred eyes and cheeks to clean the dried tears away and softly sighed. While wiping the excess off with his paws Nuru's ears followed Shani as she walked past. What's the matter with you, Nuru? You know the pup two days and you allow her to touch you like that? You let a moment of vulnerability get the better of you and… and… Nuru sighed as his thoughts strayed, turning his head to look back at Shani using a leaf to dry herself off. …And you realize you needed it. You realize that you're-

"Feeling better?"

"… Huh?" Nuru blinked a few times and straightened up, forgetting where he was for a moment. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Shani gave a small smile as she dried her hair, "I asked if you're feeling any better. You know, after that whole… uh… rain business." Shani gave an uneasy chuckle as she finished drying herself and walked back over to Nuru with a spare leaf. She felt that if he did not want to refer to it as crying, as he did while she hugged him from behind, then she would not either, at least when around him. "I know how it can take a lot out of someone."

"Yeah, well, it's good for it to rain once in a while." Nuru shook the water out of his paws with a soft sigh. "I'm far from where I want to be, but I guess I'm better than I was earlier."

"Oh. Well, any improvement is better than none, right?" After a moment of silence Nuru gave a half-shrug and a hesitant nod in return. Shani, a little disappointed, softly exhaled as she tapped the spare leaf on his shoulder, offering it to him to dry his face. He accepted it, after taking a moment to feel what it was. She watched him, uncertain of how she should feel about him. She wasn't used to someone being so distant from her; nearly everyone she knew was very outgoing and sociable. Nuru was not quite either, but the more Shani knew of him the less he seemed unapproachable. Maybe what he needs is to have some fun. With a rub of her chin Shani glanced at Nuru's staff and grinned. Just before Nuru began to reach for his staff Shani spoke up, "Wait a second, you missed a spot. It's right over- oh, wait, let me-" As soon as Shani began offering assistance Nuru had already begun to scoop up and splash more water onto his face. With its bearer distracted Shani planted her foot on Nuru's staff and rolled it towards her, away from him, with a playful smile.

The moment he heard dirt shifting beside him Nuru paused and lowered his paw to the ground where he had left his staff. He narrowed his eyes and frowned as he felt around, only to hear the soil move again. He glanced up at the suspicious giggling coming from Shani and arched a brow, not amused by her teasing. "Give it back, pup." She replied with more giggles and more shifting dirt. Nuru lightly furrowed his brow as he turned around and made a couple of grabs for his staff, only to come up with some stray grass blades. "Shani… you don't take a blind meerkat's staff without asking first. Now give it back."

Shani lightly frowned as she held Nuru's staff across her shoulders and looked down at him. "You could at least say 'please.'" Nuru maintained his frown and stare, causing her to make a face. "Gyah… OK, OK, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you have a little fun," she admitted as she passed the staff back to him. Nuru merely grunted in reply and used the staff to stand upright. Folding her arms over her chest and tilting her head Shani watched Nuru and said, "Gee, the way you act I'd almost think you didn't like to play around."

"Actually it's more like, I don't get the time or opportunity to," he responded, using the leaf again to dry his face.

His statement caused Shani to widen her eyes and gasp, stunned. Being a meerkat born into what seemed like a never ending recess the idea of never having the time to play is incomprehensible. "You're kidding. … Not even a little? I mean, I guess I can understand you haven't with Kano and Kali here, but not even before they came along?"

"… Nope, nothing comes to mind." Nuru looked over towards her as he continued, "Those times are not important to me right now, considering everything that's going on with the bosses, you, and your family. Besides, most of my life has been in the darkness… it's hard to play most of the time when you can't see the game in front of you."

Nuru's words caused Shani to wince. He had a good reason why he couldn't have fun even if he wanted to. Most physical games are best done with sight, as are most things. And after being told how strict Khairi was with Nuru Shani assumed he probably did not get many chances to properly play as a sighted pup either. "You've got a point… but that's no reason to be a stick in the mud all the time." Nuru softly growled and turned his blind sight away from her. "Something as simple as a smile can change a lot."

"That's what I've heard." Nuru turned his body to face her and folded his arms across his chest. "Look, I know you're trying to make me feel better, and while I appreciate the effort I'd rather you didn't. My problems are my own, alright? Just let it go and get some sleep."

He started to walk forward, back towards the tunnels, until he heard Shani trot ahead of him and stand in his path, causing him to stop. "Nuru, I know we're not exactly friends or anything, but I think we both agree that we care enough to worry about each other… right?" she asked, a little uncertain if he felt the same way. She felt at ease when, after a moment, he nodded. "Well, then, you understand why I can't let it go. You don't deserve everything that's happened to you… you should be happy."

The blind meerkat lowered his eyes and softly sighed as he started to walk past her. "I know I'd be happier if I didn't have to pretend to be sighted all the time. Do you know how often I've tripped over stones and had to make an excuse about it being caused by getting my toes caught in the dirt? I guess I should be lucky that I have that scar on my ankle so I can blame it on 'lameness.'"

Shani sighed as she watched Nuru move past her and began to follow him back towards the tunnels. She wished there was some way she could help him. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, causing her to reach out and touch Nuru on the shoulder to stop him again. "Nuru… have you ever gone to Rafiki?"

"… Rafiki?" Nuru wrinkled his brow and turned his blind sight back towards Shani. "Why would I want to go to the shaman for?"

"Because he's a mystic; he can do all kinds of magical… stuff. Kito told me about how he went to him and was lead to your colony when he was looking for our uncle, so maybe he can find a way to cure your blindness, and then you won't have to pretend anymore."

Nuru scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Shani, Rafiki is all-knowing, mystical, and from what I've heard a great healer, but to restore sight to the blind, especially after so many years? No shaman is that good."

"W-Well, maybe not," Shani admitted with a grimace and a shrug, "but maybe he can find a way to work around it. You never know unless you try…" She sped up her pace to get in front of him again and stood before him. "I mean… what could it hurt?" Nuru looked down at her, his brow arched questionably at her suggestion. "Humor me just this once."

"… Let me sleep on it." With that Nuru once again walked around Shani to take the lead back towards the tunnels. "If I decide to humor you I'll be waiting by your chamber when you wake up, and then we'll make the trip. We can't be gone more than half a day without being noticed by Kano and Kali." He turned his blind eyes towards the young female meerkat following close behind. "Shani… you're not just trying to talk me into this so you can avoid talking to your father, are you?"

Shani fell silent for a moment. "No- I mean yes- I mean, the thought had occurred to me, but it was more of an afterthought, honest." Nuru's gaze remained on her and unchanged as he walked, not quite sure he believed her. This caused her to feel a little uneasy. "… I am going to talk to him, Nuru; my Dad is pretty hard-headed when he gets his mind on something, but I want to help you first. You've done so much for me already, now I wanna give something back." Nuru softly sighed and continued to walk on, while Shani stopped and stared at him. "… I want a chance to at least see you smile." Nuru paused in his tracks. "I'm sure I'm not the only one, either."

"… If I decide to go to Rafiki," Nuru began, looking straight ahead, "and if we come across your father on the way, you will stop and talk to him. If I don't, we'll cover for you and you'll seek him out yourself. Understand?"

"… Alright, Nuru… I promise…" Shani sighed, suddenly having an ill feeling in her stomach. "Can we go back now?" Nuru nodded with a soft grunt, and lead the way back to the tunnels, where they then separated to go to their respected sleeping chambers.

Present…

Nuru's sightless eyes stared at the ceiling as Yasmin laid asleep beside him. In his mind he knew he should reject the idea of Rafiki performing miracles on the blind and should not bother taking the trip. He knew he should let Timon and Shani finally have their talk and repair their relationship. He knew he should not be dwelling on the idea at all. And yet…

"You never know unless you try. I mean… what could it hurt?"

The meerkat sighed and shook his head briefly, and then closed his eyes to sleep.

Soon enough the sun was nearing its approach on the distant mountains, a new day waiting to arrive. Shani remained asleep on the ground beside Hafiz's nest, laying on a bed of leaves. When she returned to the chamber during the night Hafiz was sprawled out in the nest they were sharing, leaving no room for her to sleep, so Shani made her own bed. She softly grumbled as she heard some footsteps approaching her and turned away from them. "… Don't want a wake-up call…" She yawned and then wrinkled her brow as she felt someone grab her by the foot and dragged her away from her warm spot. With a growl she opened her eyes and glared up at the intruder, who released her foot once they were in the hallway. "You need a snooze button."

Nuru dusted his paws off as Shani complained and turned his gaze towards her. "On your feet, Shani, we need to get going before everyone wakes up."

"Going where?" Shani yawned as she rubbed her eyes, half-asleep.

"To Rafiki's, of course." He leaned down to help her up to her feet. "I know I said I would wait for you to wake up, but if we go early we won't risk being caught by the bosses."

"Oh… yeah, they'd- they'd try to stop us, wouldn't they?" Shani chuckled with a nervous smile and rubbed her throat.

Nuru nodded, "It's better we not draw attention. Now come on… they'll be waking up soon." He gestured Shani to follow as he lead the way, the young meerkat close behind. They arrived above ground, still dark with only a hint of the day coming, and continued on their way. Shani was silently relieved; it was less likely they would run into her father this early, and they were walking away from where he was staying…

"… Will we have to roll around in the dirt on our way back?"

"Only if you don't want to smell like a baboon."

To be continued…