A Crocodile's Journey

Epilogue

One Year Later

Life in the Pride Lands was peaceful. 

It was a good day sunny day though it was also very hot, so it was a good time to go take a long, relaxing dip in the water. 

Silently, Makuu walked into the comfortingly cool lake and gave a low but satisfied grumble as he felt the refreshing water in his scales. He swam a bit more into the reeds to get some peace and quiet. Thankfully, most females were still looking after their last year clutches so this year there wouldn't be any...

*Call* 

Well, almost any.

Makuu grunted in annoyance when small hatchlings started climbing on top of him, and most of them went to lie down on his head. He should have known the peaceful atmosphere couldn't last long. 

"What did your mother and I tell you about bothering me when I'm trying to nap?" he said, glancing up at his offspring, irritated.

They didn't understand what that was supposed to mean, of course, since they were but a few days old. Instead, they continued to make those insistent calls that were driving him nuts. However, he couldn't say it was all bad, he did find it... cute that they sought him for protection and comfort.

 Besides, they could feed by themselves whenever they were hungry and he didn't have to catch crickets every five minutes...

Makuu sighed sadly. It had been a whole year and still no news from Kitwana. He wondered what he was doing right then, surely he was having a good time, right? Who knew what kind of crazy tales he'd have when he finally returned. 

Makuu certainly had a lot of stories to tell.

The most notable thing was that the Lion Guard had left on a sort of self-discovery journey about two months ago not long after young Kion had started to grow his mane. It seemingly was a sort of tradition, or so he had heard, but didn't know when they'd be back. Frankly, he was glad they were not around to poke their noses into everyone's business. 

The hyenas had, for some reason, stopped causing trouble. Many Pride Landers were relieved by this, though many wondered why they left if those animals were always hungry and sough to hunt in the Pride Lands especially now that the Lion Guard was gone. Had they left the Outlands and to the lands beyond? Guess they'd never know.

Speaking of intruders, poachers didn't show their faces around that much anymore, thanks the Great Spirit. Guess they got tired of losing against a bunch of young animals and decided to take their activities elsewhere. He almost felt sorry for the poor animals who would have to deal with them. 

They had seen more humans, but in a way they were different. They didn't chase after animals, but rather observed them from a distance while some of the people inside the vehicles would make flashy lights with some rectangular objects. The braver ones dared to take a closer look much to the fascination of both parties. Guess Kitwana was right when he said not all humans sought to kill for sport or cause trouble. 

As for the float, they were faring well. Makuu's wound had healed but it left a scar. He didn't really care about the mark, it would serve as a reminder of his experience with the humans and maybe warn other young crocs about trying to face them should they ever return. 

Kiburi was... getting by. Though most of the crocodiles had finally warmed up to him, the majority still avoided him whenever they could. They just couldn't forget what he had tried to do. The only ones who showed any genuine kindness to him were Hodari-the little gecko was very forgiving- and Akina, and sometimes Makuu himself when he wasn't driven nuts by Kiburi's sarcasm and tendency to spite him out of amusement. 

Despite this, he was impressed by how well-behaved he had been since he returned. He didn't cause any trouble for anyone, and while he did argue with Makuu on his decisions sometimes, he'd reluctantly give in instead of plotting another coup d'état. 

However, he could tell Kiburi was still deeply scarred about what he experienced with the poachers. He said he was okay, but given his apparent lack of sleep he was having nightmares, and he'd cry out his deceased float members' names in his sleep sometimes. He just hoped he'd want to talk about it eventually and accept help. 

The biggest change? Makuu had finally granted Akina her wish, and this year they had a clutch of 46 eggs. He bet Kitwana would be delighted to learn he was a 'big brother' now. 

One of the hatchlings was pushed off from her father's head and she fell back into the water, but it didn't stop her and she climbed unto his snout. Unlike the rest of her nestmates, or any crocodile in the Pride Lands, her scales were a milky white with no marks whatsoever.

"Hey, there, Nyota," Makuu whispered as he looked at his daughter, named after his mother. "Your brothers don't want to share again, I guess."

Nyota didn't reply, she merely curled up on her father's snout and fell asleep. Seems like she too wanted some peace and quiet. Smiling a bit, Makuu fell asleep shortly after as the calls quieted down for the time being. 

A few moments later he was awakened by the sound of wing flapping. Makuu raised his head and looked up in alarm; herons and birds of prey were of the main predators of hatchlings. He made a guttural sound that made the water vibrate, and instantly the little crocodiles hopped into the water and swam towards the reeds to hide until the bird was gone. All but one. Nyota stayed on his snout, looking for the source of danger.

To his surprise an entire flock of sacred ibises, the same species as Kitwana, flew above him and landed a few feet away. They looked exhausted. Makuu spotted a few fledglings that reminded him of Kitwana in his younger days. 

One of the ibises, an male that would be slightly older than his adoptive son, approached, stepping into the water with his long, dark legs. "Excuse me, are you Makuu?"

Makuu nodded. "Yes." Who was this guy?

"It's nice to meet you! My name is Zumberi, I'm the leader of the flock over there."

"I can see that, ibis. But I'd like to know how you know my name."

"Well, you see, before coming here I stopped by that giant rock formation over there," Zumberi pointed in the direction of Pride Rock with his wing. "We were thinking of moving her, but first we were told we had to ask the lion king for permission. He said we could come to Lake Matope, but suggested that I talk to you before."

He surely liked the sound of his voice. "Keep your flock away from the hatchlings and I'll have no problem with it." Nyota was staring up at Zumberi curiously. 

"Aww, it's a cutie!" Zumberi chirped, leaning in a bit closer only to retreat when the white hatchling tried to snap at his beak. "And she has quite the character."

Tell me about it. "Is that all of your flock?"

"Almost, there's one more member who's yet to arrive. He's kind of our protector asset, he flies a bit more in the back to- oh, here he comes! Over here, lad!"  

Soon yet another ibis landed near the edge of the water. It was tall and white, much like the rest of the flock, lacking plumage in its dark head and legs. The closer the ibis came, however, the more familiar it became. Then Makuu noticed it had... three black feathers sticking out from the top of his head.

Could it be...? 

Both animals stared at each other in silence for a few moments and then their eyes met. 

After a brief moment, the young ibis smiled. "Hello, Makuu."