It didn't take long before it started to rain. At first it started as raindrops caressing the land, but soon it turned into a heavy downpour. At least he had this to his advantage; if he was right, the human wouldn't be able to move easily with the slippery terrain, something crocodiles could do better.
Still, he better hurry. He knew this canyon often got flooded when it rained like this, forming a raging river that could carry any animals straight to their deaths. Even crocodiles, who thrived in water, had little chances in a flash flood.
Even though he knew the man wouldn't understand anything he said, Makuu called out. "ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO KILL, BEAST?! HERE I AM! COME AND GET ME!"
He wasn't sure if the human heard him 'roaring', or his senses were so inferior to that of animals' that he wouldn't have thanks to the rain. However, the sound of the gun firing and a bullet hitting the ground a few feet away a few seconds later let him know he had. In fact, he noticed the human had somehow come to the bottom of the canyon and was running towards him, but stopped and started to reload his weapon.
Taking advantage of it, Makuu galloped forward and knocked him down; this sent the poacher flying a few feet back, but he didn't wait to give them a chance to recover and he lunged at the human: his jaws would have closed on the human if he hadn't taken his gun and held it out to block the bite.
Makuu had to give the human credit, he was stronger than he looked like. He felt the taste of the metal for the first time; it was cold and bitter.
The human cried out in anger. But he sounded tired; after all, it wasn't easy to get a 300-pound crocodile off.
The terrain was so muddy, however, the poacher took advantage of to slip out from underneath Makuu's weight, but since his weapon was still unloaded and wouldn't risk reloading ammunition with the crocodile so close; he quickly looked around for a higher place to load, and spotted a rock the croc wouldn't be able to climb.
Makuu ran after the human, but he climbed on top of a slippery rock; he stopped in his tracks, realizing what he was going to do. Looking around frantically, he spotted another big rock a few feet away, but instead of climbing on top of it like the human, Makuu rushed to hide behind it just a another bullet flew through the air, barely missing its target.
The poacher stood there, his sharp gaze scanning the area around the rock in case he spotted a speck of green he could shoot at, like a hawk stalking its prey before striking down.
It took him a great effort not to lunge at the man; he was in disadvantage as soon as that human had his weapon. If only he could bring him down somehow.
Makuu narrowly tucked his head back behind the rock when he tried to take a peek, his heart racing. At this rate, he'd be stuck here until the place flooded! He had to think of a distraction of some sort if he wanted to get that human off that rock.
Before he could think of anything, he heard the human yelling and cursing out of sudden. Confused, he managed to take a peek from behind the rock without exposing too much of it, an his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was distracting him.
XXXXX
A few minutes after Makuu was gone, the animals rushed out of the cave and towards the smooth rock path that led up the canyon, but the rain and the mud resulting from it made it difficult for Julisha and Jafari. Eventually, they managed to get to the top of the canyon, and like Makuu said, the way into the Pride Lands was just up ahead.
Kitwana stopped in his tracks when he heard a gunshot in the distance, turning back in fright. What if Makuu had gotten hurt?
"Kitwana, what are you waiting for?!" Kalere cried out to him. "Let's go!"
"Go on ahead without me! I have to help Makuu!" was the answer as Kitwana started to dart towards the canyon.
"Wait, what?!" Umoja quickly ran towards Kitwana and stopped right in front of him, blocking the way with his legs. "You can't! You'll get hurt, and Makuu ordered you to flee!"
"He did, but I'm not leaving him behind after he came to save me!" Kitwana retorted, rushing through Umoja's legs and towards the direction of the gunshot.
"Kitwana!" Usian called out in worry.
"Go fetch the Lion Guard!"
Kitwana didn't turn back, he merely ran along the edge of the cannon, trying to find his adoptive father or the poacher. Another gunshot directed him in the right direction; a few more meters ahead, he looked down into the bottom, spotting Makuu hidden behind a big rock, and the hunter on top of another, trying to get a good aim at him.
He needed to get down, but running back down the slope would take too long, and he wouldn't be able to climb unto the rock with this climate. This left only one option, but it was risky and very reckless.
But Makuu had risked his life to save him too.
Gathering all his courage and remembering all of Bakshi's words regarding gliding, Kitwana took a running head start and rushed towards the edge of the canyon to jump off right at the edge. As he fell down, he managed to balance his body out as he dove down, directing himself to the poacher's head. At the last moment, he spread out his wings and a current of cold air slowed his fall down enough to reach his target.
The poacher cried out in surprise when suddenly a small weight crash against his head, but it didn't end there: Kitwana clawed at his hide and started pecking his face.
The poacher yelled in anger, but in his struggle to grab Kitwana's neck his foot slipped from the wet rock, and he fell down with a painful thud, hitting his head hard against the ground. The rifle flew and landed a few feet away.
Kitwana was sent flying as soon as the man's body hit the ground, but thankfully he didn't break a wing this time.
"Kitwana!" Makuu rushed out of his hiding place, and like Kitwana expected, he was not happy. "What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to go back to the Pride Lands!"
Despite the situation, Kitwana smirked. "Yeah, but given that technically I'm not part of your float anymore, and Bakshi is not around, I took it as a suggestion."
For some reason, he saw his own smirk reflected back at him. It was something he would have done too. "Touché, kiddo." He chuckled.
Both turned towards the human, but he hadn't moved since his fall. He had seemingly hit his head too hard and lost consciousness. A few feet away, they spotted the famous weapon dirtied with mud.
"What do we do with them?" Kitwana said silently.
"I cannot finish him off while unconscious, it wouldn't be fair," Makuu sighed in disappointment, but then glared at the gun. "That thing, on the other paw..." Without a second thought, he walked up to the riffle, picked it up in his mouth and closed his jaws shut with all the strength he could muster.
The weapon was snapped in two like a piece of wood, and all its contents spilled to the ground.
"PUAJ!" Makuu spat the metal pieces and remaining gunpowder from his mouth. The bitter taste remained in his mouth, however. "And I thought bird feathers tasted horribly..."
Kitwana was about to reply when he heard something apart from the rain. It sounded like a great amount of water approaching at high speed. He wasn't the only one who heard it; Makuu turned his head in alarm towards the other side of the canyon in time to see his worst fear come true.
A flash flood turned just around the corner, and the raging waters were coming closer at high speeds.
Makuu was the first to react. "Quick, we must look for higher ground!" He looked around frenetically, and noticed a ledge in the canyon wall, hopefully high enough to get them out of the water's way. "Up there!"
"But what about him?!" Kitwana asked, glancing at the human.
"Who cares?! Let's go!"
They ran towards the wall of the canyon, but the downpour made it hard for Makuu to climb. The water was coming closer to them, if he wasn't wrong it was bringing lots of debris along with it. Kitwana had to cling to his back the whole time, trembling in fear. After a few seconds of struggling, he managed to get a grip on the edge, but the waves of water were one meter away.
"Hang on, Kitwana!" he cried out, digging his claws and tightening his grip on the rock as much as he could.
But the strength of the flooding was too much for him, and he was sent flying into the raging river's current.
Both Makuu and Kitwana were momentarily submerged underwater for a few seconds until the former recovered from the stunning caused by the wave crashing, and started swimming towards the surface. His head broke through the surface of the water, and both took a bit gasp of air.
If nearly drowning at the lake was a scary experience for Kitwana, this would give him nightmares for weeks afterwards if they made it alive out of this. Even Makuu, who lived in the water most of the time, was having trouble in keeping his body above the surface when the current and waves tried to pull him back down. He could hold his breath, but Kitwana couldn't.
He couldn't swim against the current, it would wear him out and they'd be done for, so he let it carry him until he could find somewhere above the level of the water. Still, the rain and wind wasn't making it any easier for him.
"Don't let of my back no matter what happens!" he told the fledgling on his back.
"It's not like I would want to!" Kitwana cried out, coughing up water that had gotten into his throat. "Try to swim to the wall!"
"What does it look like I'm doing?!"
Makuu saw a long, torn tree being dragged by the current towards them. "Kitwana, hold your breath!" Without giving the fledgling a chance to reply, he quickly submerged, narrowly avoiding being struck by the log, and then re-emerged to the surface. "Kitwana, are you okay?!"
No reply.
"Kitwana?!" he glanced back, but to his horror found Kitwana was not on his back anymore. He heard his voice calling out for him in terror, and he realized the water was dragging Kitwana away, and he was struggling to stay afloat.
The log must have struck him off his back.
"MAKUU!" the ibis cried, desperately flapping his wings in a futile attempt to stay up, but he was submerged every few seconds and it took him great effort and stamina to emerge again.
"KITWANA, HANG ON! I'M COMING!" the crocodile cried out, and swam as fast as he could, avoiding any more logs and debris in the process. This time, going with the current and not against it really helped him.
Kitwana fought to stay afloat, but he was getting tired. He grew alarmed when he managed to hear the sound of water falling; looking back, he realized it was falling up ahead.
A waterfall.
Makuu seemed to notice it too. He sped up as much as he could despite his exhaustion, and nearly reached Kitwana just as the chick finally ran out of energy and was pulled underwater by the current. Makuu dove down, swam towards Kitwana's sinking body, then carefully but quickly took him into his throat pouch before swimming back up to the surface.
However, as much as he tried he couldn't swim against the current even to get to the wall of the canyon, especially this close to the waterfall. Realizing there was no other choice, Makuu braced himself for what was to come, and closed his mouth shut to keep Kitwana safe from the impact.
He fell down the cascade.
XXXXX
The storm eventually ended, but the water wouldn't dry for a long time. The river had calmed down considerably, but the current was still flowing.
The sensation of his body striking against the surface of the water was perhaps the most painful thing he had ever experienced; it felt almost as if he had fell on a hard, rocky ground. His whole body was sore, and he had some bruises from being battered by the rocks on the bottom, but somehow he managed to finally drag himself out of the water and unto the shore of the river.
Every step Makuu took was a torture, it made his muscles ache with excruciating pain, but he never stopped.
Once he found a suitable spot, he finally collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily from both exhaustion and soreness. Still, he had not forgotten he was carrying someone in his throat pouch. Carefully, he placed Kitwana on the ground.
"Kiddo, are you okay?" he asked with a hoarse voice.
Kitwana didn't reply, however. He merely lay on the ground, unmoving.
"Kitwana?" he nudged at him with his nose, but there was no response. He initially thought he was unconscious, until he noticed his chest wasn't rising from breathing. "Kitwana?!" he nudged him again, more desperately this time, but again there was no answer. "Kitwana, wake up! Don't you dare die on me, boy!"
But his desperate words fell on deaf ears.
No... No, no, no! It couldn't be! This couldn't be happening to him! Not again! Even as he continued to try and nudge him awake, Kitwana didn't react. As time passed and nothing changed, Makuu stopped, realizing it was no use. He just stared at him in shock, pain and... guilt.
This was his fault.
One might have thought that now that he understood how he couldn't have done anything for his mother and siblings, he'd have learned from the experience and never blame himself for something. But he did. He had driven Kitwana away, let him be put with birds who only ostracized him, and this caused him to eventually get taken by humans.
None of this would have ever happened If only he had accepted what he knew from the beginning.
He loved Kitwana.
He wasn't a burden. He was his son.
And he had failed him.
Again.
That reality crashed down unto him like the raging waters of the river. His eyes stung, and his chest ached like never before, but he didn't bother to push it away this time. What was the point? He merely lay down, cradling Kitwana's unmoving figure closer in his paws.
"I'm sorry, Kitwana..." he whispered almost inaudibly, closing his eyes shut in despair. "I'm so sorry..."
He felt something wet in his eyelids, and a small drop of water running down his scaly cheek even though it wasn't raining. He realized what it was, but this time he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.
One tear became many, and soon he found himself weeping silently, something he had sworn never to do again. It wasn't just the pain over Kitwana's loss; all the pain and sorrow he had accumulated over the years finally came out the longer it lasted.
He never moved from that spot, he didn't want to leave Kitwana ever again.
He stayed there for what seemed to be hours, cradling his adoptive son's body, sharing whatever warmth he had left with him.
His eyes snapped open when he heard coughing,; he looked down to see Kitwana coughing water out of his lungs, trembling from being soaked to the bone. Still, when he managed to open his eyes he glanced up at Makuu, exhausted.
"Makuu, are you crying?" he asked weakly.
Despite the mood, he was too relieved and happy to get embarrassed of someone seeing him weeping. He merely chuckled lightly. "Just don't tell anyone about it, okay?"
"Your secret's safe with me." Kitwana said with a weak smile.
They shared a small, but long and gentle head rub as the storm clouds finally started clearing, revealing the starry night sky and the full moon whose gentle beams caressed the rocky canyon walls.
For the first time in his life, perhaps, Makuu felt... at peace.