"If you all want to know what happened, then do me a great favor and settle down!" Nkiru shouted, and then waited until the crowd silenced themselves. "Good. First off, I'm going to get straight to the point and say that my sister's death was partially my fault. Now, before any of you try jumping to any conclusions, let me explain. Nneka wanted to talk to me in private about something, so we journeyed to a part of the jungle where we could talk without being disturbed. Sometime after we arrived, the jungle caught fire. The flames spread at an alarming rate, and even though I was lucky enough to escape, Nneka was not so fortunate. I honestly wish that I could have done more, but that would have most likely resulted in losing both of us, leaving behind a leaderless float. Neither my sister nor I would want that kind of future for the crocodiles of the Crescent Valley. I may not be as good of a leader as my sister was, but if you all are willing to give me a chance, I will make sure that our float stays strong."
There was a strong mix of reactions that rippled through the crowd regarding everything that Nkiru said. Many crocodiles seemed unsure of the situation, while the remaining few were either supportive or downgrading depending on which sister their loyalties lied with.
Makuu exchanged a nervous glance with Kiburi before turning his attention back to Tuma. The bad-tempered father seemed doubtful about what he was hearing, but it didn't look like he was going to express his thoughts anytime soon.
{Okay, I'm stumped. When I first met Tuma, he was openly pointing out how he wished Nkiru was leader instead of Nneka, but now it doesn't seem like he's agreeing with her. Could he be questioning his judgement? What I wouldn't give to know what he's thinking about right now.}
"Don't believe a word she says!" A voice called out.
"Who said that?" Nkiru asked in a raised voice. "Get your tail out here now!"
"I did."
The crowd gasped when Keyon stepped out of their ranks and into the center of the clearing with Nkiru.
"Although, I honestly think that this shouldn't come to anyone's surprise, especially yours."
"Of course not, Keyon. Mind telling me why the float has more reason to listen to you as compared to me?"
"Save me your fake innocence, Nkiru! I'm not as ignorant as you think I am! I may be more broken than any other float member over Nneka's death, but that's not enough to hide me from the obvious truth. You're not partially responsible for Nneka's death, but rather you're the entire reason she's dead! You left her to die in that fire, Nkiru, and only because you wanted to become leader!"
"That's an awful lot of speculation, Keyon. Now, I suggest that you calm down and back off, or else."
"I'm not scared of you, Nkiru. Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea as a new leader to attack a fellow float member when you're supposed to be working on building up trust and loyalty."
Nkiru snickered, then unexpectedly replied, "Well, Keyon, I do believe that you have a point."
"I...do?" Keyon asked, eyeing Nkiru suspiciously.
"Of course, Keyon. It's just a matter of execution."
At this point in time, Nkiru slowly started circling the rebellious male.
"Care to explain?"
With the scarred female circling him, Keyon had to constantly reposition his head in order to keep eye contact with her.
"As a new leader, building up trust and loyalty within the float is key. You were right about that. Although, as we all know, there are rules to be followed, and anyone who breaks them will most certainly suffer the consequences. Now, there's no doubt that you're a smart and loyal crocodile, Keyon, but I'm afraid that those two traits of yours are making you quite the foolish croc right about now."
"Just get to the point already," Keyon snapped.
"Before I do, I'm going to be considerate for a moment and give you one chance to back off and accept me as your new leader."
"Go to hell, Nkiru! I will never listen to a word you have to say! Nneka is my leader, not you!
The crowd gasped in shock at Keyon's outburst, then began to whisper to each other regarding his bold yet stupid move.
"What the hell is Keyon thinking?" Makuu asked.
"I have absolutely no idea," Kiburi responded. "I may be reckless, but even I'm not that stupid."
"Okay, I'm going to go ahead and say that my brother has officially lost his mind," Zula commented.
Spirits only knows what Jaz was thinking.
"So be it, Keyon," Nkiru spoke coldly, but Makuu could easily sense the feeling of excitement edging her words. "I'll just take this time to show every other crocodile here what happens when someone decides to defy my authority."
Without hesitation, Nkiru charged Keyon, sending him rolling. Keyon got up no problem, and unsurprisingly turned around to face Nkiru as the two crocodiles battled it out head-to-head. Everyone else stayed off to the side, frozen in their places, no one daring to do anything.
"Is that all you got?" Keyon crowed after he managed to pin his opponent to the ground. "Old age is certainly catching up with you, Nkiru."
"I can see my sister has trained you well, Keyon, but it's unfortunately not enough," Nkiru commented, sounding quite amused. "Nneka may have been the smartest croc out of us all, but in case you have forgotten, which it seems that you have, I'm the best fighter in the entire float!"
Before Keyon could react, Nkiru forcefully swung her head out of his grasp. As soon as her head was free, Nkiru opened her jaws and slammed them shut on Keyon's foreleg, causing him to lose his balance. This point of weakness gave Nkiru just enough of an opportunity to drag Keyon off her back and throw him away. Keyon struggled to get up, but he was in no such luck. The moment Nkiru got back on her feet, she charged Keyon, who was barely standing when she tackled him.
Watching the onslaught, Makuu knew that Keyon had no chance against the ruthless leader.
{He may be younger, but Nkiru wasn't bluffing about being the better fighter.}
A loud, pain-filled cry broke Makuu from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality just in time to see Nkiru shut her jaws tightly around Keyon's neck and forcefully pin him to the ground before digging her extremely sharp claws into both his snout and his shoulder.
"Give up yet?" Nkiru said through her teeth.
Keyon struggled to free himself of Nkiru's hold, but it was of no use, and realizing that there was nothing he could do, succumbed to defeat and went limp. Nkiru grinned as she released Keyon from her grip, happy about having made her point.
"I thought so. Now, does anyone else have any other concerns that they would like to voice?"
No one bothered to dignify Nkiru with a response. All of the crocodiles were quiet, and many of them had the unmistakable scent of fear about them.
"Guess I'll take that as a 'no'. Well, Keyon, is there anything else that you would like to say?"
"If you're expecting an apology or some pledge of loyalty from me, then you are sadly mistaken, Nkiru," Keyon rasped, still lying on the ground, as well as in his own blood. "You're better dead to me than you are alive. The world can do better without your existence. If you want to kill me, then that's fine by me. Go ahead! Show the float what you really are!"
"You ignorant little twit! You're supposed to treat your leader with respect, not like a worthless, lowlife creature!"
"You mean like you?"
Everyone, including Nkiru, fell silent.
{And . . . that was the last straw. Keyon is most certainly dead.}
"That's it! You're dead, you lowlife traitor!" Nkiru yelled.
"No! Don't! Nkiru, please!" Zula cried as she rushed forward, but was quickly stopped by Jaz.
Zula's attempts wouldn't have mattered anyway, since it was abundantly clear that Nkiru wasn't going to listen to anyone. The leader raised her head and opened her jaws, getting ready to deliver the killing blow to end Keyon's life, when she was suddenly shoved out of the way. Makuu was a surprised yet relieved at the same time that someone finally decided to step in, even if it was at the last minute. However, every single crocodile in the clearing, including Nkiru, wasn't prepared for when they realized who pushed her away.
"Tuma?!" Nkiru snarled as she glared in disbelief at the male. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Get out of my way! That's an order!"
"Sorry, Nkiru, but it's an order that I'm going to have to refuse," Tuma responded defiantly.
Both crocodiles - leader and follower - grandmother and grandson - stared at each other in silence for what seemed like forever before one of them - Nkiru - decided to speak.
"You better give me one hell of a damn good reason for why you just did that."
"You've already done enough damage as is, Nkiru. Everybody saw what you did to Keyon. I don't think they want to see another partial execution performed. Should I even bother mentioning the fact that they just got news of Nneka's death, and yet you think it's a good idea to appoint yourself as our new leader faster than a lightning strike? Plus, if you continue hurting and possibly killing crocodiles, then there won't really be a float left to lead. Need I go any further?"
"No, you've proved your point, Tuma. Just be lucky that you're my grandson. Now, as for you..."
Nkiru walked back over to Keyon, and without anyone being able to stop her, lifted up her claws and slashed them across Keyon's left eye, causing him to cry out in agony at the sudden surprise of a final blow.
"I hope that this has taught you a lesson."
Leaving everyone completely shocked, as well as terrified, Nkiru turned away from Keyon and stalked out of the clearing. Once she was out of sight, everyone else broke up into their own little groups to discuss everything that just happened. Tuma's sons, Adisa and Zuberi, anxiously approached their father, uncertainty and a clear vision of terror clouding their gazes. Makuu understood how they felt, but he can't imagine what they must be thinking about regarding the actions of Nkiru.
"Come on, guys, let's go!" Zula hurriedly said. "And yes, that includes the two of you."
At this, Makuu and Kiburi exchanged uncertain glances with each other.
"You want us to go out there with you?" Makuu asked.
"Zula, are you sure that's such a good idea?" Kiburi added.
"Oh, will you two stop being such big babies?" Zula snapped. "Nothing's gonna happen to you guys while we're around. Trust me when I say that no one is going to want to try anything after what just happened."
Both Makuu and Kiburi knew that they weren't going to change Zula's mind, and that one way or another, they were going to leave the cave to check on Keyon. Grumbling under his breath out of annoyance, Makuu climbed out of the water and, with Jaz by his side, made his way over to Keyon. He looked back to see if Kiburi was following, and he was, with Zula walking alongside him.
{I will admit, those two certainly seem to be happier with the other around. I wouldn't be too surprised if they ended up together after this entire ordeal is taken care of, assuming we are all alive by the end of it.}
Makuu was snapped out of his thoughts by raised voices, and when he came back to reality, noticed that Keyon was having a conversation with Tuma that wasn't going over so well.
"If I hadn't stepped in when I did, you would be dead instead of alive arguing with me!" Tuma snapped, then forced himself to calm down. "You should be thankful that I risked my life, and not to mention my status, to save yours. Nkiru might not trust me with anything ever again after this little incident, which could have been avoided if only you kept your jaws shut."
"You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have kept quiet about this, Tuma," Keyon snarled. "I wasn't about to let Nkiru get away with something like this. I know that she was lying about her entire role in Nneka's death. I know that you suspect it as well, so don't bother trying to deny it."
"That's enough, Keyon!" Zula snapped, placing herself between her brother and Tuma. "Out of all the stupid things you could have or ever have done, this has to be the most idiotic one by far. I mean, have you gone crazy or something? You could have been killed! No, wait, you were almost killed! If it wasn't for Tuma coming in at the last second, you wouldn't be here right now!"
"Calm down, sis."
"Wait, so now you want me to calm down? I won't calm down until you actually start using your brain for once!"
"Both of you, shut up!" Tuma yelled, silencing both of the arguing crocodiles. He took a breath to calm down before he continued to talk. "Listen, Keyon, I didn't have to jump in and risk my tail to save your life, but I did so for Zula's sake, as well as my sons. I know that Zula cherishes family more than anything else. She would hate to see any harm come to you or Jaz, since you two are kind of the only true family she has left. As for Adisa and Zuberi, I didn't want them to see Nkiru kill another crocodile, especially when it wouldn't have been considered a 'just' killing by anyone's standards other than her own. Speaking of Nkiru, I will agree with you on your earlier point. She certainly was lying."