A little thing: Kiara is bigger than Kion. I think it makes sense since she's older than him, I think in the series she SHOULD at least be taller or bigger if she was born much before Kion

Simba listened to the orphaned foal's sad tale intently. He particularly asked for any details about the animals that attacked them, but all she could tell him was that they stood on their hind legs, much like baboons and mandrills, but they were almost as tall as a zebra, and they used some kind of enslaved metallic beasts to move around. He was particularly interested in the black branches and tiny stones she claimed had been used against her mother.

Soon after, Thurston's herd arrived. Although neither Zazu nor Ono could find the little one's original herd, Thurston agreed to take the foal into his own, and one of the mare's happily took the orphan in. Simba, however, was worried about the mysterious 'two-legs', as they were being called by the other animals. First the little chick's mother, then the zebra's... And some of the vultures and birds had informed him of said 'metallic beasts' moving near the borders. He considered going to try and reason with them, but first he wanted to learn as much from them as he could, so he asked the vultures to keep an eye on them should they find any.

"What will we do if they come here?" Kiara asked nervously; though she hadn't personally seen any of those 'two-legs', they didn't sound like they should be messed with if they could kill animals that easily.

"If they do come here, we must try and reason with them." Simba told her gently. "Perhaps they are new predators, but if that's the case, they must know they can't just go around killing for sport in the Pride Lands."

"But what kind of predators stands on their high legs?"

"Perhaps they come from faraway lands." Kion stated, but even he was uneasy about these strangers.

"Maybe, but until we can learn more about those 'two-legs', it's best that you both keep your distance. Am I clear?"

Both cubs nodded. "Yes, dad."

Satisfied, Simba recalled there was something else he wanted to ask. "Kion, has Ono been keeping an eye on Makuu and his... son?"

Kion could tell his father felt awkward at referring to Kitwana as Makuu's child, both because he was a different species, and because they never imagined the crocodile would be father material. Though they didn't doubt Makuu was no longer the troublemaker he used to be, there were still certain aspects to his... character they had to be wary of, such as his temper. Because of this, Ono was in charge of looking after Kitwana's progress with the crocodiles.

"He has. Turns out Makuu's a pretty decent dad, even though he doesn't seem fond of it."

"Rather, a decent 'mom'." Kiara said in a small fit of giggles.

Simba was surprised the crocodile was living up to such a task, but then he recalled something. The migratory herds would pass through the river where the crocodiles dwelt soon, and such a sight wouldn't be proper for such a young chick to witness. Kion seemed to guess what he was thinking.

"Hey, dad, don't you think we should do something about the migratory herds?"

"I'm afraid it's an event that cannot be postponed. Most of the crocodiles' feeding comes from those herds, to miss it would bring trouble for them later on. But I do agree that Kitwana should not witness the crocodiles' feeding habits, as much as he may think he is one of them." Simba thought for a moment, and soon after thought of something. "I think I might have an idea..."

"Makuu, can we go to the waterhole?"

"No."

"Whyyyy?"

Muttering under his breath, Makuu replied. "It's a long way from here, and I need my energy today more than ever."

"How come other animals go there all the time?" Kitwana asked. "Ono says there are giraffes, and zebras, and elephants!"

"The other animals are mammals, and they don't need to worry about having to regulate their own body temperature like reptiles do. Besides, they are herbivores."

"Herbivores?"

"You know, plant-eaters."

"Are crocodiles plant-eaters?"

Annoyed, Makuu showed is sharp teeth. "Do these look like they're made to chew leaves?"

Far from being intimidated, Kitwana opened his beak wide, but it lacked any kind of teeth, much to his disappointment. "When will I grow my teeth, Makuu?"

The crocodile look at him in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Everyone else has teeth, why don't I have any?"

"Because... teeth are a crocodile thing, kiddo."

"Exactly, what kind of crocodile would I be if I don't grow any teeth?"

This proclamation genuinely surprised Makuu. The chick thought he was a crocodile? Didn't he notice the differences between them? "Kiddo, in case you haven't noticed, you're not a-"

"There you are!" Akina suddenly approached before he could finish the sentence. "I've been looking for you, Makuu!"

He looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about? I'm in plain sight, and you were a few feet away."

"Yeah, but I need to have a word with you about... today's event."

Oh, right. The herds. He guessed she wanted to know if he had thought about how they'd coordinate. "Very well."

Kitwana saw the two crocodiles walking away, but before he could follow, Hodari called out.

"Hey, Kitwana, I found some frogs! Wanna play 'hop and catch'?"

Kitwana's eyes lit up, and he went to Hodari's spot, temporally forgetting about Makuu.

Meanwhile, once she was certain they were out of earshot, Akina turned to glare at her mate. "What were you thinking?"

Makuu stopped. "What do you mean?"

"You nearly told Kitwana he was not a crocodile!"

"So what? It's the truth. He asked me when he'd grow teeth, what was I supposed to tell him?"

"You could try and be a little more sensitive, you know! He's a chick!"

"That's the point, he should get used to the idea that he IS a bird."

"You seriously don't understand the emotional damage that could do to him?"

Makuu scoffed. "Emotional damage? Surely you exaggerate!"

"Just think about it!" Akina snarled. "How would you feel if you thought you belonged somewhere, and then out of sudden somebody tells you that you really don't because you are a different species?!"

Her mate was unmoved, however. "In the long run, it's better to tell the bitter truth than a sweet lie. You can't seriously expect us to raise him like a croc!"

"No, all I'm asking you is to be more considerate! Don't tell him the truth just like that! He's so young... At the very least you could wait until he's a bit older to process it..."

Makuu could have continued to argue all day, but time was running out. He felt the vibrations of the herds approaching fast, and decided he'd let Akina win this time. "Fine. I just hope you have a believable excuse to send Kitwana away for the day lest you want such a young bird to see how crocodiles feed."

Whatever relief Akina felt when her mate conceded disappeared when she recalled the herds. If Kitwana thought he was a croc, he'd want to take part in it. As they walked back to the edge of the river, however, both crocodiles noted Ono had arrived and was talking with Kitwana. As soon as the chick spotted his surrogate father, he dashed over to him.

"Makuu, Ono says he'll take me to the waterhole! Can I go?"

How convenient. "Why not? I'll pick you up at sundown, but don't move from there until then. Are we clear?"

Kitwana nodded his head eagerly.

"Then go."

Ono lifted Kitwana with his legs and took off. Makuu glanced at Hodari, and was surprised to see he was wrestling with a frog. Well, he'd thank the little guy later, for now he and Akina went into the water just as the herd of wildebeest appeared on top of the hill.

"Ono, why was Makuu acting weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"I asked him when I'd grow my teeth, and he looked at me as if I was mad. Akina came and took him away before he could tell me about my teeth."

Thankfully for the older bird, they arrived to the water hole, giving him an excuse to change the subject. "Look, here we are!"

Kitwana glanced downwards, and his eyes lit up in delight when he saw the place. It was a large body of water, and it was filled with animals of all kinds who were taking a drink, but he saw no crocodiles. Probably because they were all back home with Makuu, basking. Ono flew down and gently place the chick on the ground near the reeds, where some other birds were hanging out, most of them members of his flock.

"Remember, don't go too far into the water since you don't know how to swim yet." Ono told him. "I must go back with the rest of the Lion Guard, don't go anywhere until Makuu comes to pick you up, okay?"

Kitwana nodded. "Okay."

"See the birds who look like me?" Ono pointed at the other egrets.

"Yes."

"Stick close to them until Makuu arrives. My mama is there and she'll look after you meanwhile, alright?"

Kitwana nodded impatiently. He wanted to go play already. "Yes."

As soon as Ono left, Kitwana ran towards the edge of the water, and started splashing around with his little wings, even rolling in the water like Makuu had done once. The other egrets noticed the unbird-like behavior he was showing and stared at him awkwardly; upon noticing those habits were reminiscent of a crocodile's behavior, the older birds guessed this was the chick Makuu the crocodile had taken under his 'wing', which would explain it. The chicks, however, found this ridiculous and amusing.

"What's he doing?"

"Doesn't this remind you of someone?"

"Yeah, of those overgrown lizards!"

"Hush!" one of the older egrets scolded them. "Leave the little one be! He is being raised by the crocodiles, it's natural he'd behave like one."

Although most of the chicks accepted the explanation, a few were incensed at the idea of having to share their part of the water hole with a 'crocobird', like one of them suggested. A particular, unusually big chick walked towards him, followed by other four chicks who were smaller.

Kitwana had stopped rolling in the water and was just floating in the surface when he noticed the other chicks approaching. He went back on his feet and shook his entire body, making his down look even fluffier. "Hi!" he said cheerfully.

"Wow, he does talk!" one of the egrets whispered.

"I thought he would growl at us."

"Do you have a name?" the 'leader' of the mini-flock inquired.

"I'm Kitwana! Nice to meet you!" he replied. "And yours?"

"My name is Mshale, and I'm the boss around here!" The bigger chick stated. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm basking!" Kitwana explained. "Makuu says we crocodiles have to keep our body temperatures balanced out to have energy!"

"By the ancestors, he really thinks he is one of them!" the other chicks burst out laughing. Kitwana didn't realize they were mocking him.

"So, what's a crocodile doing all the way here?" Mshale snickered. "Where's your 'float'?"

"Makuu said I could come to the waterhole today." Kitwana seemed to notice the hostility in the air, and took some tentative steps back.

"Oh, really? Well, crocobird, I've got news for you! We don't want any crocodiles here! They're monsters!"

That comment did offend Kitwana, so much all his fear was replaced by annoyance. "That's not true!"

"Oh, really? What do you think the rest of your float is doing right now? They're killing innocent animals right now as they cross the river to return to the Pride Lands!"

"You lie!"

"Why do you think no one likes crocodiles? Especially after-!"

"MSHALE!" suddenly one of the adult egrets, a female, landed between Kitwana and Mshale, glaring down at the latter severely. "Hold your tongue! You know that event is part of the Circle of Life, and we have no right to judge predators for having to kill to survive themselves! In fact, allow me to remind you that King Simba and his family are predators, and we eat fish and insects!"

"B-But Bakshi, they...!"

"Go away before I tell your mother you're bullying a younger chick again."

Although the other chicks quickly scattered, Mshale gave Kitwana a resented glare before going back to the flock and getting lost among the other, larger birds. Bakshi glanced down at Kitwana, who had a troubled look on his face.

"Are you okay, little one?" Bakshi asked.

"Yeah, miss..."

"Oh, you don't have to be so formal, sweetie." Bakshi smiled. "You may call me Bakshi. I'm Ono's mom, he told me about you." She noted the look in his eyes, however. "Are you sure you're okay, sweetie?"

"Is it true...?" Kitwana whispered. "What they said about crocodiles eating other animals..."

Bakshi sighed sadly. So his foster father had not yet told him about his species'... eating habits. But she knew it would be best if he was the one to clear this up. "I'm afraid I don't have the right to explain it, sweetie. You should ask your... father when he comes pick you up."

Despite his growing confusion and curiosity, Kitwana nodded and went back to basking on the surface of the water. Suddenly he didn't feel like splashing anymore.

After the float finished feeding, there was quite of a mess in the water, but he didn't want to wait till the current carried it downstream. He made sure there were no traces of their 'feeding' in the water, and that included any discarded leg or body member. Thankfully, crocodiles rarely left any leftovers from their prey, and after making sure the water was devoid of any 'evidence', Makuu made his way towards the water hole.

By the time he got there, the sun was about to set.

Finding where the birds were wasn't too hard, they always gathered at the reeds to look for smaller fish or any water bugs. As he approached, some of the birds took off, alarmed, but the more experienced ones knew he had not come to hunt; they knew he already had fed a few hours ago, and from that meal he could last for about a month before going hungry again.

He found Kitwana floating in the surface of the water, looking thoughtful and... upset? Bakshi was keeping an eye on him, and when she saw the crocodile approaching, she made her way to him.

"Did something happen?" he asked her, sounding surprisingly concerned.

"Some of the other chicks started bothering him, and they told him about your... feeding habits."

Oh, wonderful! All that trouble to keep Kitwana from finding out about it only for some snob egret chicks to ruin it. He'd be lucky if his surrogate son wished to go back with him at all. Last year he would have tried to gobble those chicks up, but he refrained himself from showing any hostility. Their flock leader would deal with them, and that was not his business. What was his business was the down-looking chick on the surface of the water.

"Kitwana." He called out gently. "It's time to go."

Much to his surprise, Kitwana was on his feet in less than a second and ran towards him with lit up eyes. "Makuu!" He chirped, hugging him, or at least he tried to do so.

Makuu expected Bakshi to laugh, but she merely stared at them with understanding eyes. She understood why the crocodile didn't like Kitwana's way of showing affection; after all, their ways of raising their young were very different.

"Well, thank you for looking after my... son." He said, picking Kitwana up as gently as he could with his jaws, and then placing him on his back. It was much better than carrying him in his throat pouch, and getting his down feathers stuck in his teeth.

Bakshi nodded. "Your welcome."

Makuu started heading back home. Much to his surprise, his charge was silent half of the way; though he was partly delighted he wasn't playing another session of 'meaningless questions and answers', he was starting to worry. Was Kitwana afraid to speak his mind? Surely he was upset about the information he had just learned, but he had no idea of how they had told him about it. If they did so while bullying him, it would make sense as to his current state.

After a few more moments of silence, he finally spoke up. "What's on your mind, boy?"

It took Kitwana a few more seconds to answer him. "Mshale said crocodiles are monsters because we eat other animals. Is it true?"

Great, how would he explain this to the chick? "First of all, crocodiles are not monsters. Birds think we are because were are larger and they know we can eat them. As for the eating other animals issue..." he sighed. "I'm afraid they aren't wrong about that."

"Why do we have to eat other animals?"

"Remember when I showed you my teeth earlier?" He continued when he received a nod. "They're that sharp because we are carnivores. We need meat to survive, and unlike the grass and leaves herbivores eat, it doesn't grow on trees or on the ground. We have to obtain it from the other animals."

"It sounds cruel."

Makuu sighed. "Perhaps it is, but it's necessary for the Circle of Life."

Kitwana tilted his head. "What's the Circle of Life?"

Now it took Makuu a moment to reply, thinking carefully of a way to explain it when he still was getting a hold of it himself. "It's a sort of... balance. All animals are part of it, and to respect that balance we have to respect it too." Great, now he sounded like Pua.

"What kind of balance?"

"For example, what I just said about crocodiles having to resort to killing to survive. There's a limit as to how many animals we may take, because we are not the only predators living in the Pride Lands, they need those animals too. If we killed too many, there wouldn't be any food left for the other carnivores."

Kitwana recalled something Hodari had said the previous day. "Hodari said something similar about the blue flowers..."

"Those flowers are also a source of food for certain other animals, and like I just said, if you take them all even though you don't intend to eat them it would be unfair for those who depend on them to survive."

"If crocodiles eat other animals why didn't you try to eat the birds?"

Now he grunted in annoyance. He already had been finding it weird Kitwana hadn't asked the irritating question of the day. "I already ate, Kitwana. We fed while you were in the water hole."

"Is that why you let me come to the watering hole?"

"I'm afraid the way crocodiles feed is not something you're ready to see..." he replied, feeling a little guilty for the lie.

Kitwana opened his beak wide and licked the edges sadly. "Is it because I don't have teeth yet?"

He sighed again, but recalled he wasn't supposed to tell him the truth yet. He' have to find something to tell him. "Well, it partly has to do with that. Sides, you would have been trampled on, anyway. Don't worry, though, I saved some food for you."

Kitwana chirped in delight. "Yaaay!"

For the first time in a long while, Makuu found himself smiling a little. It wasn't the type of smiles he often gave to the other animals, it was the type only Akina would see every now and then.

He quickly went back to his serious expression again, though, reminding himself not to get attached to the chick. He was only doing this because he was a crocodile of his word... at least when it benefitted him or his float.

Yet, some of Kitwana's antics reminded him of-

"Stop thinking about it, Makuu." The crocodile thought to himself, again shutting away those memories. What had happened, happened. He had no time for useless regrets or 'what could have been' stuff. He had to look forward, not backwards.

At least that was one of the good things Pua taught him that he actually practiced.