Back at the clearing...
After the day's surprise events, everything seemed to be calming down. Makuu watched from his place in the cave as the sun began to sink below the horizon. After all, what else could he do, with him being severely injured and surrounded by an entire float of psychos? When Makuu left this morning with Talib to find out what was going on with Zaire, he never expected that something like this would happen. Makuu could only imagine how the others would have reacted to the news, assuming Talib told them.
"Come on, Zuberi, is that all you got?"
"You're faster than me, Adisa! It's so not fair!"
"Life isn't fair. Cut the chit-chat you two and get back to sparring."
Makuu turned his attention away from the setting sun to watch Tuma train his sons. After showing the boys a few moves, Tuma had them face each other in a practice duel. While Makuu watched the brothers fight, he noticed that despite Zuberi's tougher build, Adisa was able to get the upper claw with his more flexible form.
{I guess being big and strong doesn't matter to Crescent Valley crocodiles when they have speed and stamina on their side.}
"Enjoying yourself much?"
The question startled Makuu. His visitor was Nneka.
"Just trying to pass the time is all," Makuu growled. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"You're certainly a fiesty one," Nneka commented.
Nneka dismissed the guards and Jaz before joining Makuu in the river.
"I hope you don't mind my presence. I did say that we could talk, but only after I got everything that I needed to get settled taken care of. That unfortunately included another talk with my sister, who definitely ignored me the entire time. Speaking of negative blood relations, you and Kiburi wouldn't happen to be related?"
"Why do you want to know?" Makuu questioned.
"I'm just curious is all," Nneka simply answered. "I love trying to figure out why creatures are the way that they are."
Makuu was hesitant about answering before saying anything.
"Yeah, we're related."
"How, exactly? Brothers? Cousins? Half-siblings?"
At the mention of the term "half-siblings", Makuu knew he must have given off some sort of reaction, because all he could hear was silence before Nneka snickered in amusement.
"Half-siblings. I already guessed that, but I really wanted to see what your reaction would be."
"Great. Now that you know that Kiburi and I are related, is there anything else about me that you want to know?"
"Calm down, Makuu. Your life story isn't exactly my top priority at the moment."
"Which would be what, exactly?"
A long silence followed, Makuu's and Nneka's eyes locked onto each other. Nneka broke eye contact and swam further into the cave, away from the outside world. Makuu didn't feel comfortable following her, but he did so anyway. This time, he's not ignoring his curiosity.
"Okay, what do you have to tell me that couldn't even be discussed around your own float?" Makuu asked.
"To tell you why I'm here," Nneka hissed. "And my reason for being here is because I need to eliminate a major threat that could destroy my float, as well as every other living crocodile float in existence."
"And what is this 'major threat' supposed to be?"
"You should be asking 'who' is the major threat."
"Alright, then. Who is it that you're supposed to 'eliminate'?"
"The 'Crocodile of Demons'."
"Who?"
"Oh, right, I forgot. That's what the majority of us refer to him as, but as I've recently learned, you know him as Zaire."
Makuu was speechless for a while, unsure of how to respond to Nneka's claim regarding Zaire.
"'Crocodile of Demons'? Zaire? What are you talking about?" Makuu questioned.
"Of course I wouldn't expect you to understand," Nneka replied. "You don't usually learn about this kind of stuff unless you do some traveling here and there. By any chance, have you ever been outside of the Pridelands before?"
"Only once, but we had no choice. It was either leave and survive, or stay and starve to death."
"'We'?"
"The entire float, as well as every other animal in the Pridelands, except for the lions and the hyenas. There was nothing left for anyone to have even the slightest bit of hope of surviving, so we all agreed to leave until the Pridelands went back to normal."
"Lions and hyenas, huh? Well, I'm not at all surprised that you had to leave. Nothing would be able to survive with those two animal groups in the same area. If it's alright with you, I would love to hear even more about that situation you and the others found yourselves in."
"Stop trying to throw me off topic! I want to know why you call Zaire by that...title."
"I'll explain it all to you after I hear the 'Desolation of the Pridelands' story."
"Fine, but after I'm done, you have to tell me what you know about Zaire."
"Crocodile's honor. So, as you were saying?"
"The King at the time, Mufasa, was killed by a stampeding herd of wildebeest trying to save his son, Simba, who is now our current King. No one knew at the time that Mufasa's brother, Scar, had his hyena lackeys cause the stampede. One thing led to another, and before we knew it, Scar was the new King of the Pridelands. After becoming King, Scar, along with the hyenas whom he allowed to stay in the Pridelands, quickly turned it into a desolate wasteland. With the lack of food, water, and other resources that we needed to stay alive, the other leaders decided that it was best to leave until the lions could get their priorities straight. It was hard for everyone, even us crocodiles."
"I bet. So, tell me, was Kiburi around when all of this happened?"
"No, he wasn't. While we were dealing with the destruction of the Pridelands, Kiburi and his followers were off looking for his father. If you want to know anything more on the subject, then I suggest you try talking to Kiburi about it. Now, tell me about this thing with Zaire."
"Hmm...interesting. Hyenas and lions working together? That's a new one on me."
"Nneka."
"Yes, I know, Makuu. You want to know why I referred to your 'friend' as the 'Crocodile of Demons'. Well, in Crescent Valley lore, it is believed that when a crocodile kills another of its kind, then the spirit of the deceased will haunt the soul of their murderer. Think of it as a curse of sorts for breaking one of the most important laws of the wild: only kill to survive."
"Are you saying that Zaire killed other crocodiles for no good reason, and has been infected with the spirits of his victims?"
"Yes, I am, and I know for a fact that he can't be trusted."
"Yeah right! I know Zaire, and despite a few bad habits here and there, he's pretty trustworthy."
"Really? You're willing to trust some mysterious stranger, just because you like his sister? Tell me something, Makuu. When you first met Zaire, what did you think of him? You weren't, you know, suspicious at all of him? Maybe had a strange feeling, something you couldn't put your claw on perhaps?"
Makuu opened his jaws to try and protest, but nothing came out. He knew why he couldn't challenge Nneka's claims, because they were true, and he knew it.
"Exactly as I thought," Nneka coolly chuckled. "You didn't trust him to begin with, so why should you now? You can choose to believe me or not, but you can't deny the fact that I know secrets about Zaire that he obviously doesn't want anyone else to know about."
{I hate to admit it, but Nneka makes a very good point. Well, might as well hear her out.}
"Alright, I'll give," Makuu breathed. "Mind explaining it to me?"
"Oh, so you do believe me?" Nneka questioned, a hint of surprise evident in her voice.
"I guess. I mean, I've seen some pretty unexplainable things happen in life, but seeing it isn't the same as hearing about it."
"True, but of course that won't really happen until Zaire shows his true colors."
"What do you mean?"
"He won't show off his 'monster' side unless he's forced to."
"'Forced to'? Nneka, you're not making any sense."
"Look, Makuu, I don't exactly know how it works, all I know is that what I'm saying is true. Zaire is slowly being taken over by the demon inside of him, and therefore cannot be trusted."
"Don't you mean demons?"
"No. Just a singular demon. Why do ask that, like he killed more than once?"
"Didn't he? I mean, I highly doubt that crocodile from the other day would be the reason you would be up here. Impossible, even, but not if he killed someone long before and that's why you're really up here."
"Whoa, wait a minute, back up! What are you talking about? What crocodile from the other day?"
"What am I...the Crescent Valley crocodile that Zaire killed?"
"What Crescent Valley crocodile?"
"The one that Zaire killed a few days ago. Wasn't that what you were just referring to or talking about or something?"
"No, I wasn't. I was referring to something a bit more personal. And I repeat, Makuu, what Crescent Valley crocodile?"
"You really expect me to believe that you don't know what I'm talking about?"
As the silence that fell stretched on longer than expected, Makuu realized that Nneka was being serious.
"Oh...you don't know, do you?"
"Does it look like I know what you're talking about?!" Nneka snapped. "As far as I'm aware of, all my crocodiles are alive and more or less accounted for. Just out of curiosity, why did you assume that I would know that Zaire presumably killed a Crescent Valley crocodile?"
"Because Nkiru and Tuma were in the clearing where the body was, and I have the sense that they knew what happened there."
"Gr...that two-faced, good for nothing...I should have expected that they would do something like this sooner or later. I'm guessing the body isn't where your 'friend' left it?"
"If you mean that there was no sign of it when I got there, then the answer is yes. Your sister certainly makes your job harder than it has to be, doesn't she?"
"Oh, you have no idea. Trust me, if I could get rid of her, I would."
"Then why don't you? Why keep her around at all?"
Nneka hesitated, but before she could answer Makuu's question, someone interrupted her.
"Hey, Nneka! We found Zula!"
Makuu and Nneka turned around and saw Keyon and Kiburi standing at the entrance to the cave. From his perspective, Makuu could see the body of a third crocodile lying on top of Keyon's back.
"Oh, are we interrupting something?" Keyon asked, switching his gaze between Makuu and Nneka.
"Of course not," Nneka quickly replied. "Makuu and I just finished having a rather informative discussion is all."
"Oh, okay."
"So, should I even ask where your sister was?"
"In a high place, yes, and she had a bit of an accident."
"She fell, didn't she?"
"Yeah. So, what do you want me to do, exactly? I mean, Nkiru will be wanting her back as soon as possible, and..."
"My sister can wait a few days to get Zula back. For now, you and Jaz can look over her until she gets back to normal. After all, family does come first, right?"
"Of course, Nneka, but what about Nkiru?"
"Don't worry about my sister. I'll take care of her. For now, just worry about your own sister."
"Okay. Thanks, Nneka. Maybe see you later, Kiburi?"
With family matters in claw, Keyon departed with his unconscious sister, leaving Kiburi alone with Makuu and Nneka.
"I take it the search went better than expected?" Nneka asked Kiburi.
"You could say that," Kiburi muttered.
Kiburi entered the cave and walked over to a tall stone that leaned against the wall. While he watched Kiburi settle down in his spot, Makuu felt something strange overcome him. Kiburi looked absolutely exhausted, which was understandable, but Makuu sensed that there was something else.
"Something the matter, Kiburi?" Nneka asked, as if she and Makuu were thinking the exact same thing.
"You mean aside from this entire mess that I've been dragged into? No, nothing at all. I'm completely fine. Why wouldn't I be when a bunch of psychopaths, whom I have absolutely no relation to what-so-ever, threaten my life and force me to help them with who the hell knows what? Is there anything else about my current state that you're curious about? Because, you know, I can go on talking about life for hours on end if you want to listen!"
Makuu and Nneka didn't immediately speak after Kiburi's outburst.
"Well, have a good night you two," Nneka spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.
Nneka nodded at Kiburi, then Makuu, before leaving the cave. With Nneka gone, Makuu felt very uncomfortable, unsure of what to say or do since he's now stuck with Kiburi for who knows how long. The leader looked at Kiburi, who was now lying on the ground next to the tall stone, his back facing Makuu.
{What's wrong, Kiburi? I haven't seen him like this since...that day.}
"Well? You gonna say something or what?" Kiburi asked, snapping Makuu out of his thoughts.
"Just wondering why you're acting the way that you are," Makuu responded.
"I would think the answer to that would be obvious, especially considering the situation that the two of us are now stuck in."
"I'm not talking about that, Kiburi. I'm saying that I've never seen you specifically act this way before, except for one occasion. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
A long silence followed before Kiburi answered.
"Yeah, I know. You don't need to remind me."
"You want to talk about it?" Makuu asked.
"I already talked about it once today, and 'once' was certainly more than enough," Kiburi snapped. "All I want to do is go to sleep and not have to worry about anything else."
"Okay, fine. See you in the morning, I guess."
Makuu turned around and swam over to a flat stone on the opposite side of the cave. He climbed onto the stone and positioned himself comfortably on it so that he could get a good night's sleep. Before closing his eyes, Makuu took one last look at Kiburi, thinking about the last thing he remembered Rafiki telling him, about having to trust those he would never consider trustworthy.
{I wonder if this is what Rafiki meant. Did he know something like this was going to happen? Regardless of whether he did or not, he knew that I would one day have no choice but to trust Kiburi.}
Eventually, Makuu's thoughts began to slow down, and as soon as he fell asleep, stop all together.
***
Hours later, Makuu's peaceful sleep was interrupted by the sound of claws scraping against stone. Makuu grumbled under his breath and opened his eyes to scan the cave to see what was making the noise. He immediately became alert when he realized that it was Kiburi clawing the stone underneath him as he writhed in his sleep.
{What the? What the hell is wrong with him? Well, might as well wake him up, before he hurts himself.}
Makuu climbed off his rock, ducked into the water, and swam over to Kiburi.
"Kiburi. Kiburi, wake up!" Makuu hissed.
Makuu tried pushing Kiburi and prodding him with his claws, but neither attempt was working.
{Jeez. He's not budging a bit. He must be really stuck in that dream or whatever if he's not waking up. If that's the case, then how the hell am I going to get him unstuck?}
As Makuu struggled to figure out a way to arouse Kiburi, the idea hit him.
{I could do to Kiburi what Masika did to me. He won't like it if it works, but it's worth a shot.}
Makuu moved over to Kiburi's tail, grabbed it in his jaws, and bit down as hard as he could.
"Ow!" Kiburi yelled as he jolted awake, and in the process, unknowingly slammed Makuu's head into the side of the cave floor with his tail.
"Hey! Watch it!" Makuu snapped, recoiling from the shock of received head trauma.
"W...what happened? Makuu? What the hell were you doing?"
"What do you think I was doing? I was trying to wake you up!"
"Why?"
"Cause you woke me up with your restless sleeping! Speaking of which, what's wrong with you? Were you having a bad dream or something?"
"None of your business. Besides, you probably wouldn't understand."
"What wouldn't I understand? To be perfectly honest, it sounds to me like you don't even understand whatever you were dreaming about."
"Of course I don't! What makes you think that I do?"
"I don't!"
Makuu took a breath to calm himself down.
"You know what? How about we get some sleep, before we tear each other's throats out? We can talk later when we aren't so damn tired. I mean, that is, if you want to."
"Like I should care about what you have to say."
No longer in the mood to argue, Makuu turned around and headed back to his rock.
"But, I'll think about it."
What Kiburi said surprised Makuu. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, while Kiburi settled back down in his spot, surprisingly, a whole lot more relaxed than he's been in a long time.