Chapter 4

At the supermarket, Gosha and Lou were shopping for some ingredients. Whoever they were meeting, the albino alligator wanted to make a meal that was a taste from home. Intrigued, Gosha became his chaperone because he had never met another reptile that was as optimistic as Lou.

"What are we looking for?" he asked, noticing a few animals staring at them. During his youth, he knew albino animals were rare and easy target for poachers. Something about being pure white may lead to some sort of superstitious wealth or something that seemed farfetched.

Then again, Komodo dragons weren't popular because of their corrosive venom and how monster-like they were in appearance.

"Just a few okras, green tomatoes and- hey, yer store ain't got shrimps?" Lou asked, bewildered by the selection of fresh produce, dairy and interesting-looking snacks. Gosha shook his head. "Marine animals are just like us. Eating meat is a sin and could get carnivores into trouble. I'm sure you know that?"

Lou nodded with a smile but his eyes showed his disappointment. He hauled his basket to the spice aisle. "Ah'm surprised y'all still havin' tiffs with the marines. No dolphins or even trouts walkin' about. Now that Ah think 'bout it, this place ain't got water tunnels."

Now this caught his attention. During the Great War, a whale had surfaced to stop both the carnivores and herbivores from killing each other, creating that world peace. Despite tensions between them, both of them agreed that the marine way of life was indeed odd.

How could they not feel remorse and carry on with their lives after devouring each other.

Their government had issued meetings with the governments of the marine world, but that went south. You see, even when marine animals offered the land animals fish sausages to satisfy carnivores' meet cravings, it was not their way of life.

Lou had picked most of the vegetables in his basket along with a banana blossom. An odd choice of ingredient but it does have a lot of nutrients. Sensing his confusion, Lou explained, "These blossoms are good substitutes for fish. Back home, ol' Hersh could make a mean fish and chips. Still don't git why they're called chips instead of fries..."

The more he listened to the albino alligator, the more Gosha wanted to learn more about the world that he so missed after marrying Toki at a young age. He tried to ignore a few disgusted glares from avians and a mother had swept her child close to her.

"Much appreciated, lil lady," Lou tipped his hat at the cashier, who was a female Grevy's zebra. With a flick of her ear, she blushed before nodding thanks with a service smile. However, things got sour when they exited the store.

Gosha was now face-to-face with a few eagles that tried to disrupt the peace. They were the ones that tried to start a fight at the restaurant when he reconnected with his grandson, Legosi. But, he was shocked, yet impressed by his grandson's growth from an innocent pup to a full-grown predator with his inherit strength.

"Look, it's the poisonous monster that tried to kill us," the white sea eagle sneered. His companion was a small goshawk, who was eyeing Lou suspiciously. "Not bringing your loyal dog with you, old geezer?"

He was surprised when Lou stepped forward between them. He hated to fight since he wanted nothing more than peace. However, his past as an uprising Beastar and his reputation as a Komodo dragon was staring to crawl back.

"Have you no shame, boys?" Lou growled, his legs creaked as he took a step forward. When he stood up straight, Gosha was impressed that the albino alligator was almost as tall as him, but those fat/muscles made him bulky. "Ain't yer mamas ever tell ya to respect ya elders?"

The goshawk scoffed and elbowed his companion. "Check it out, Saanzuki! This gator's not local."

"Yeah, and he's an Albi too! How about this, old bag: I won't let any one of my boys kill that gas chamber behind you if you let us have your scales until you go back to where you come from. Whadday say?"

"Cough it up, or we'll tell the police that a white gator's attacking us," the goshawk clicked his beak. Onlookers stopped in their tracks, waiting to see what was going on. It was a crime if carnivores and herbivores argue, but carnivore on carnivore?

It was more of a spectacle than a scene!

To everyone's shock, Lou simply removed his left prosthetic leg and tossed it at the birds' direction. Their eyes widened in shock, unable to comprehend that they were holding a metallic limb with a shoe at the bottom.

It was twitching all by itself.

"Could lend ya the other one," Lou began, leaning close to Gosha to stabilise himself, "but Ah kinda need it. Will that do?"

The two birds immediately screeched in terror, struggling to fly away when they were both grabbed by a familiar figure. Yafya had managed to subdue them while Hershel ran to his friend at a languid pace. "What in the world happened, Lou? Going to the supermarket and now getting scrapped by a few pigeons!"

Beware of the elder in a profession where boys usually die young.

Gosha told the blind cat what transpired, making him swish his tail irritably. It doesn't matter than a few herbivores and carnivores were staring at them. "What unruly boys! No different than the lots back home. In all seriousness, are you all right, Lou?"

He wondered if Hershel could tell that the albino alligator was nodding his head. "Fine, Hersh. Ya know Ah survived worst than a few scraps. Gave 'em quite a scare."

Hershel sighed. "Alright but call me next time! I could scare them by removing my specs. What will Rose think of you getting scrapped in another country?"

"She understands. My darlin' always does," he smiled, tone soft at the thought of what could've been his wife or lover. Curious, Gosha ventured, "Rose is your wife, Lou?"

Lou grinned and took out a photo from his wallet. Yafya had come over to take a look over their shoulder. Gosha eyes widened when he saw that Lou's so called 'Rose' was a female hippopotamus instead of an alligator.

An alligator and a hippopotamus. Two completely different species and yet, they looked so happy in the photo.

"We've been married for twenty years," he sighed wistfully. "Ah wanted her to come with us but she wants to handle the soup kitchens. Kids ain't gonna have supper with her gone."

'So he cares for other species too,' he thought to himself with a smile. His venom threatened to spill out but he swallowed. Yafya had signalled the two foreigners to follow him, making Gosha cover the rear.

If they have time, there were several questions he'd like to ask. One of them would be how he had met such a beautiful creature.


Those birds were the ones that appeared in Manga 12 where Legosi and Gosha were having a meal at a restaurant. If you are wondering, both Lou and Hershel's country allows marine animals to live in the city too

So they have no problem eating fish or seafood due to the coexistence within both land and sea animals