The Lion Guard: The Northern Crocodile

Chapter 27

Nearly a week after the incident with Nkiru and Keyon, everything seemed to be going back to normal. Things could be a whole lot worse with Nkiru in charge, but everyone thought it best to stay away from her until she has need of them. Everyone, that is, except for Tuma and his sons. Ever since he defied her orders, Nkiru has been keeping an extremely close eye on Tuma at all times. Occasionally, Adisa and Zuberi would be dragged in for the long run.

Then there were the siblings . . .

No one knew what Jaz was feeling, let alone thinking, but it seemed like he was the only one of the three who still held it together.

Unfortunately, Keyon was both a physical and emotional wreck. He was badly wounded in the fight and is still recovering from his injuries, but that wasn't the worst of his pain. He's been quieter and even more bad-tempered than normal, with unusual sensations of laziness and the need to be alone appearing out of the blue. Other crocodiles would try to get him to do something, but he wouldn't listen to any of them. It became clear to everyone that he was still heartbroken over the loss of Nneka.

Aside from her brothers, Zula seemed to be stuck in the middle. On one side of the spectrum, she's used to "following" Nkiru's orders, but on the other side of the spectrum, she has a strong and loyal connection to her brothers. She doesn't want to see them get hurt, which would most likely turn out to be a weekly occurrence with Nkiru completely in charge now. Between dealing with Nkiru, worrying about her brothers, and without Tuma having the time nor space to comfort her, Zula became very stressed. Most of the crocodiles she was closest to were now distant from her.

The only exception to this was Kiburi, who would sneak out at night to be with Zula. Makuu would often wake up to either see them leaving or to see them already gone, but he didn't really care if they out with each other or not. For one thing, Makuu knew it wasn't his business, and for another, he thought it best that Kiburi should at least have some happiness in his life, since he never really had a life to begin with.

As he lied in the night-cloaked cave, Makuu couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt hit him in his stomach as he thought about their entire familial situation.

When they were younger, long before they knew the truth, Makuu and Kiburi were the best of friends, much to Makuu's father's displeasure. Makuu's father never liked having his son hang around with outsiders, and thus acted cold aggressive towards Kiburi. His behavior was scrutinized by the float, but some members were more interested in Makuu's mother's behavior, since she always seemed nervous whenever she was around Kiburi. Of course, no one knew why that was until many years later, when she finally spilled the truth. Their mother's betrayal and leave of the float left a rift between Makuu and Kiburi, one that just kept growing farther and farther apart, until both males developed a deep hatred for each other.

However, the more Makuu thought about the breakage of their bond, he couldn't help thinking that it wasn't just their mother's fault, but their own faults as well, and maybe even more so his than Kiburi's.

"Kiburi? Makuu? Can either of you hear me?"

The voice was raspy, but Makuu could swear that he recognized it.

"Keyon? Jaz? What are you two doing here?" Makuu asked, barely being able to distinguish the visitors in the darkness of the night.

"We're looking for Zula, so I was hoping that you and...wait, where's Kiburi?" Keyon asked.

"Oh...I...uh..."

{Spit it out already! They'll surely find out about them soon enough.}

"Kiburi and Zula are out."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know."

"Are you sure about that?"