Breaking Through Thick Skin

Upon reaching the other side, Makuu instantly saw Simba lying on a large bolder near the water's edge, as the other crocodiles remained in the water looking at him with interest. The moment Simba's eyes locked onto Makuu's, he gave Makuu the most sinister snarl the croc had ever seen. This wasn't like Simba at all. Usually the Lion King was composed when talking to himself or other animal leaders. Seeing Simba now looking at him with such rage on his face made Makuu honestly feel, nervous.

Upon reaching the shallows, he slowly raised his body out of the water so that he could stand in front of the Lion King. Makuu could feel every bruise, and every sore part of his body flare up as he stood on his legs, but he didn't show it. He didn't show that he was annoyed by the lion's presence. He didn't show that he was terrified by Simba's expression. Instead, he looked up at Simba the way he looked up to all animals in his presence, with a confident crocodile grin and yellow narrow eyes.

"Welcome, your majesty." he greeted, "To what do I owe the pleasure of-"

"You know why I'm here, Makuu." Simba cut him off with a growl, "Don't play coy with me." For a moment, Makuu felt his jaw go slack. Even the other crocs had surprised looks on their faces. Did Simba just growl... at him? Makuu quickly composed himself before anyone saw his stutter. Why was Simba so... oh no... That's when Makuu realized that Simba must have heard about what happened. Mentally, Makuu knew he was in trouble, but he dared not show it.

"I think you need to be a bit more specific, Simba." Makuu said in a confident manner, keeping his monovalent, dangerous sounding tone in his voice, "My crocs and I have done a lot of things. To which do you prefer to?" There was a moment of silence as the crocs watched what Simba would do. Suddenly, the Lion King did something no one was expecting. He slowly got up off the bolder and hopped down; he then started to slowly walk away from the pond. Everyone was now watching the king curiously. Was it over? Did he just come to tell Makuu that and leave? Then, after about five steps, Simba turned around and sat down. His face was stone cold and his amber eyes were constantly fixed on Makuu, which internally unsettled the croc leader a bit.

"Come here, Makuu." Makuu's expression faltered when he heard what Simba just told him.

"Excuse me?" was Makuu's reply as he raised an eyebrow towards Simba, but the Lion King's expression only grew sterner.

"I said..." Simba gritted though his white teeth, trying his best to remain composed, "Come... here!" At this point Makuu was too annoyed to even consider what was going on. It was one thing to have his rest interrupted by the king, but now Simba was ordering him like a child to come towards him? That was where Makuu drew the line. No one ordered him around. Not anymore!

"If there is something you wish to tell me then you can do it over here your highness." Makuu spat, "I will not have you calling me over like I'm some lowly servant. I am the leader of the Crocs!"

"Then act like it!" Simba roared back, which caused all of the crocodiles around Makuu to pick their head up in surprise, "Come over here and face me like a leader instead of hiding behind your band of crocs like a coward! Oh I'm sorry. Is that too much to ask? At least your predecessor Pua had thick enough skin to speak to me on matters such as these!"

While Simba spoke, Makuu's face slowly contorted into one of anger as he shut his eyes and let out a low growl. He was furious, both at Simba... as well as himself. What Simba just did was a low blow for Makuu's pride as both a leader as well as a crocodile. Comparing him to Pua, the one who used to lead the crocs before Makuu beat him in a fight and took the float for himself, was bad enough. Saying that he was even worse than the retired old croc was a stain on his pride... and made him look weak if he did not respond. If Makuu stayed in water, his float would never give him the same respect he once had. His only option now was to face Simba, but at this point, Makuu really didn't want to be anywhere near him.