It was dawn, and the crocodile continued dragging Lerod by his feet for four whole hours without pause or rest, occasionally humming small rhymes to lighten the mood. The dense outland terrain slowly disappeared behind the two as they trailed further out. Eventually the crocodile stopped, and dropped Lerod's foot to observe his surroundings.
He took in a deep breath. "Absolutely beautiful scenery here, mister," he said, staring into the blue, cloudy sky. "Too bad you're not conscious to see this."
The crocodile crouched down near a small patch of flowers, and sniffed at them delightedly. "It's great stuff like this out here that makes it all worth while."
The sun's light blended in with the blue glow of the atmosphere and the whiteness of the clouds perfectly. Gentle winds breezed past the two and filled the air with the scent of flowers. This was a hugely vivid contrast from the mysterious, dark, treacherous outlands they had been in just a while earlier. Canyons, lakes, rivers, and whole mountain ranges could be seen in the grassy horizon, land that had never been touched or seen by any Chima resident.
"You know, maybe when Chima gets technologically advanced enough, you could all go out and explore the world," He sat down next to Lerod, rested his claws on the grass, and gazed out into the sky. "This whole continent is great. There's stuff out here you could never even imagine, like enormous, huge bodies of water."
His arms slid behind his back as he let himself fall and lay on the grass. Then he picked up a small pebble, and started throwing it up and down in his hand. "I guess we could take a break here, mister lion. I really don't feel like missing this."
They stayed there for minutes. The crocodile stared at the scenery around him nonstop, absolutely cherishing the moment.
"Well, we should get going." he said to himself, and looked down at Lerod. "You look kind of cute when you're not awake. But you're a lion anyway, so that makes since."
The leg dragging continued once more. They were on the move towards a strange, flat, and empty void of land two miles further ahead.
"It feels weird doing this to an actual mammal after such a long time." he thought, maneuvering around large boulders with Lerod in his arms. "I never thought I'd actually have to carry him for once."
To avoid the constant nuisance of Lerod's head hitting something near the ground, the crocodile took it upon himself to hold and carry the lion above him like an infant. He actually liked carrying Lerod, too, but just a little bit. His brown, tan fur and dark chocolate mane made the croc's arms feel comfortable.
They reached their destination in half an hour, and in front of them was a deep, steep crater strangely filled with cabins, fences, trees, small buildings, and walkways. Even more odd, there were people inside the fences grabbing onto them and screaming for help. You wouldn't be able to tell if they were former Chimans because of the distance, but their shadows were moving around behind the fence chaotically, almost as if they were desperately trying to escape even.
"There goes our livestock. Well, not livestock. But they are our workers, you see." The crocodile cleared his throat, and gently placed Lerod back on the ground. He walked down the steep slope of the crater's rim, occasionally glancing at the panicked, incarcerated figures behind the main fence.
He grinned devilishly. "They look so fun when new guys arrive. Too bad since they won't ever get help."