A Crocodile's Journey

The Promise

Man, I'm nervous! This is my first LK fic! Anyway, I want to announce two things.
First, this story is inspired by the book 'Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who taught Her to Fly'. I loved that book and its portrayal of a predatory cat left to raise a seagull chick, which could have been a potential prey under other circumstances.

Second, I'm portraying predation slightly more accurately than in the show. I mean, come on, predators need meat to survive; to obtain it, they must hunt. TLG doesn't touch this subject, which greatly bothers me; what would Simba and his pride eat? At least the original movie touches on predation, overhunting, and environmental damage because of too many predators. The herbivores would understand that being hunted and eaten is part of the Circle of Life. Besides, when predators die, they turn into the grass they eat, just like Mufasa said in the original movie. So expect to see one or two carnivores feeding in the later chaps.

2024 update: I'll be polishing this particular story because it's one of my favorites. And who knows? It might inspire me to eventually work on the sequel I'd planned.

—OOO—

The Circle of Life is mysterious. It can seem merciless or just depend on the animal, but all are different. There are also times when the slightest disruption or unbalance can lead to catastrophic results in the long run, such as a dry season lasting longer than it should have or a shortage of food due to overhunting or too many herbivores.

There's also the intervention of an... external factor that none had the control of.

Such was the case of the African sacred ibis who called herself Hasnaa. Every year since she learned how to fly, she joined her flock, which in turn joined hundreds of other migratory groups, for the annual migration back to the Southern Lands. Hasnaa was especially excited about this migration, as for the first time, she'd go through the most important stage of the Circle of Life: motherhood.

This would be her first nesting season, and she could already feel the urge to nest and lay her egg, but she needed to retain the unborn chick until they reached their nesting grounds.

As another flock came into view from the right, its flock leader honked loudly, telling the others to prepare to join up. Soon, the two groups with hundreds of birds joined, and it wasn't long before both groups started talking with one another. Hasnaa, in particular, soon started a conversation with a male slightly older than her.

"Hello. Where are you from?" she inquired curiously.

"The Nile river further north." The male replied. "How about you?"

"I come from the Southern Lands. It's not far by flight. I'm returning home from my second migration and I'll have my first clutch!"

"Congratulations on the news!" the male chirped in delight. "Parenthood is a good experience, especially during the Wet Season. It'll make rearing young far easier. My name is Zumberi, by the way."

"I'm Hasnaa."

PAM!

One of the many ibises suddenly cried out in pain and fell to the ground far below, spiraling out of control until he disappeared through the foliage, much to the confusion and fright of the others.

PAM!

A bird would fall every time they heard that sound. It wasn't long before dozens of them were shot out of the sky, prompting them all to disperse in a chaotic mess of honks and screeches.

 In a fit of panic, Hasna tried to get lost amongst the hundreds of birds.

PAM!

The Ibis gasped in pain when something struck her chest, feeling it go right into her body. The pain was like nothing she'd ever felt in her life. It wasn't long before her entire body began to fail, but her maternal instinct somehow gave her the strength to cling to consciousness. Instead of dropping out of the sky, she flapped her wings with considerable effort and managed to keep herself in the air. Unfortunately, she was so focused on trying to stay in the air that she forgot all about which direction she was supposed to go.