The Lion Guard: The Northern Crocodile

Chapter 26

"If you all want to know what happened, then do me a great favor and settle down!" Nkiru shouted, and then waited until the crowd silenced themselves. "Good. First off, I'm going to get straight to the point and say that my sister's death was partially my fault. Now, before any of you try jumping to any conclusions, let me explain. Nneka wanted to talk to me in private about something, so we journeyed to a part of the jungle where we could talk without being disturbed. Sometime after we arrived, the jungle caught fire. The flames spread at an alarming rate, and even though I was lucky enough to escape, Nneka was not so fortunate. I honestly wish that I could have done more, but that would have most likely resulted in losing both of us, leaving behind a leaderless float. Neither my sister nor I would want that kind of future for the crocodiles of the Crescent Valley. I may not be as good of a leader as my sister was, but if you all are willing to give me a chance, I will make sure that our float stays strong."

There was a strong mix of reactions that rippled through the crowd regarding everything that Nkiru said. Many crocodiles seemed unsure of the situation, while the remaining few were either supportive or downgrading depending on which sister their loyalties lied with.

Makuu exchanged a nervous glance with Kiburi before turning his attention back to Tuma. The bad-tempered father seemed doubtful about what he was hearing, but it didn't look like he was going to express his thoughts anytime soon.

{Okay, I'm stumped. When I first met Tuma, he was openly pointing out how he wished Nkiru was leader instead of Nneka, but now it doesn't seem like he's agreeing with her. Could he be questioning his judgement? What I wouldn't give to know what he's thinking about right now.}

"Don't believe a word she says!" A voice called out.

"Who said that?" Nkiru asked in a raised voice. "Get your tail out here now!"

"I did."

The crowd gasped when Keyon stepped out of their ranks and into the center of the clearing with Nkiru.

"Although, I honestly think that this shouldn't come to anyone's surprise, especially yours."

"Of course not, Keyon. Mind telling me why the float has more reason to listen to you as compared to me?"

"Save me your fake innocence, Nkiru! I'm not as ignorant as you think I am! I may be more broken than any other float member over Nneka's death, but that's not enough to hide me from the obvious truth. You're not partially responsible for Nneka's death, but rather you're the entire reason she's dead! You left her to die in that fire, Nkiru, and only because you wanted to become leader!"

"That's an awful lot of speculation, Keyon. Now, I suggest that you calm down and back off, or else."

"I'm not scared of you, Nkiru. Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea as a new leader to attack a fellow float member when you're supposed to be working on building up trust and loyalty."

Nkiru snickered, then unexpectedly replied, "Well, Keyon, I do believe that you have a point."

"I...do?" Keyon asked, eyeing Nkiru suspiciously.

"Of course, Keyon. It's just a matter of execution."

At this point in time, Nkiru slowly started circling the rebellious male.

"Care to explain?"

With the scarred female circling him, Keyon had to constantly reposition his head in order to keep eye contact with her.

"As a new leader, building up trust and loyalty within the float is key. You were right about that. Although, as we all know, there are rules to be followed, and anyone who breaks them will most certainly suffer the consequences. Now, there's no doubt that you're a smart and loyal crocodile, Keyon, but I'm afraid that those two traits of yours are making you quite the foolish croc right about now."