A Crocodile's Journey

The Feeding

The crocodile glanced at him in genuine surprise. "What?"

"Everyone else has teeth. Why don't I have any?"

"Because teeth are a crocodile thing, kiddo."

"Exactly, what kind of crocodile would I be if I don't grow any teeth?"

This proclamation genuinely surprised Makuu. The chick thought he was a crocodile?

Now that he thought about it, the chick had been trying to mimic the crocodiles' behavior. He'd lie on his belly, hiss, snap his beak when angry, and go into the water—or rather, he tried to go into the water whenever Makuu went in for a dip. However, Kitwana's long legs and small wings weren't fit for swimming and he ended up splashing and thrashing in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. Hodari's prompt intervention was the only thing that kept Kitwana from sinking. It'd taken Makuu a while to teach him to stay in the riverbank and away from the deeper areas. The chick did lay down on his belly and submerge most of his body in the water to nap.

But he never imagined Kitwana's behavior came from believing he was a crocodile. Makuu had figured he was just engaging in playful mimicry.

 "Kiddo, you're not a–"

"There you are!" Akina suddenly approached. "What are you two up to?"

"I was about to tell the kid–"

"Yes, I know, but we need to talk about... today's event."

Oh, right. The herds. They had to figure out what to do about Kitwana. Knowing the chick, he'd want to partake in it. 

The chick tried coming after them, but Hodari called out to him. "Hey, Kitwana, I found some crickets! Wanna play 'hop and catch'?"

Thankfully, Kitwana took the bait and went with Hodari. 

Once they were out of earshot, Akina frowned at her mate. "What were you going to tell him, Makuu?"

"The truth. He thinks he's a crocodile, Akina. Did you know that?"

That seemed to catch her a bit off guard, but Akina's posture did not change. "But you would just flat out tell it to him?"

"He asked me when he'd grow teeth. What was I supposed to tell him?"

"You do realize he's just a chick, don't you?"

"That's the point. He is a chick, not a hatchling. He must start getting used to that idea."

"I know, but..." Akina sighed. "How is he going to take it? I can't stop thinking about the emotional damage it could do to him."

Makuu scoffed. "Emotional damage? Surely you exaggerate!"

"Exaggerate? How would you feel if you were suddenly told you don't belong with the people you thought were your family?" Akina snapped.

"You can't seriously expect us to raise him like a crocodile!"

"No, all I'm asking is that you wait until he's a bit older."

Makuu would have kept arguing, but they were running out of time. The herds would be here soon.

 "Fine. I hope you have a believable excuse to send Kitwana away for the day lest you want him to see us killing other animals."

Whatever relief Akina felt when her mate conceded vanished when he pointed that out.

As they returned tothe river's edge, they saw Ono talking with Kitwana. The chick ran over to Makuu.

"Makuu, Ono says he'll take me to the watering hole! Can I go?" How convenient.