A Crocodile's Journey

Chapter 1

Man, I'm nervous! This is my first LK fic! Anyway, I want to announce two things.
First, this story is inspired on the book 'Story of a Seagull and the Cat who taught her to fly'. I loved that book and the portrayal of how a cat, a predator, is left to raise a seagull chick, which could have been a potential prey under other circumstances.

Second, I'm portraying predation in a slightly-more accurate version than in the show. I mean, come on, predators need meat to survive, and to obtain it they have to hunt. TLG doesn't touch this subject, which bothers me a lot; what would Simba and his pride eat? At least the original movie DID touch the topic or predation, over-hunting and environmental damage because of too many predators. I think the herbivores would actually understand being hunted and eaten it's part of the Circle of Life, besides when predators die they turn into the grass they eat, just like Mufasa said in the original movie. So expect to see one or two carnivorous feeding in the later chaps.

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The Circle of Life was mysterious. Sometimes it could be merciless, other times it was just, but all the circles were different. However, there were also times where it could be externally disrupted and unbalanced, either by a dry season that lasts more than it should have, or overhunting which led to shortage of food, or by the intervention of something, an external factor that none had the control of.

Such was the case of the African sacred ibis named Hasnaa. Like every year, she along with hundreds of other ibises gathered together to migrate during the beginning of the Wet Season, back to their original birthplace, back towards the Southern Lands. They flew during the day and took breaks during the night, but no matter where they landed, they always knew in which direction to go.

She was especially excited about this migration. She could not wait to arrive to their homeland, in part because her own journey through the Circle of Life had reached one of its most important stages: motherhood. She'd make a nest on top of the might Baobab or in the banks of the river, and she'd lay her precious egg. She'd take care of it and would hatch a little chick, raise it, love it, and eventually teach it how to fly.

And so she had no time to waste! She was already feeling the urge to nest and lay, but she had been retaining her unborn chick until they arrived at their nesting grounds.

Soon another flock came into view, coming from the right, and the leader of Hasnaa's flock soon called over the honks, telling the others to prepare to join up.

Soon the two groups with hundreds of birds joined, and it wasn't long before both groups started to talk with one another. Hasnaa, in particular, soon started a conversation with a slightly-older male.

"Hello." She said with a friendly smile. "Where are you from?"

"I come from the Nile river further north." The male replied in an equally-amiable tone. "And you?"

"I come from the Southern Lands, it's not far by flight. I'm returning home from my second migration, and when I get there I'll have my first clutch!"

"Well, congratulations on the news!" the male chirped in delight. "Parenthood is a good experience, especially during the Wet Season. It'll make rearing young easier than the Dry Season. My name is Zumberi, by the way."

"I'm Hasnaa."

The flock continued on their way through the sky, when suddenly a sound they heard a sound they had never heard before. It was quick and loud, followed by a whistling-like sound. One of the hundreds of ibises suddenly shrieked in pain, and it went spiraling down the ground, much to the horror and confusion of the other birds. The sound repeated on various times, and a few of the ibises saw tiny black objects flying upwards towards them and striking some of their brethren, causing them to fall out of the sky.