#up next (possibly): kenge’s backstory

[devilsrecreation]

The Death of Piga

The view was gorgeous. Nothing like Kiburi had ever seen. The water shimmered in the sunlight, only adding to the luscious green trees and rolling hills. He closed his eyes as he felt the wind brush against his snout. He opened his eyes, grinning.

“Wow….”

“You like it?”

The hatchling looked up at the burly crocodile next to him. He was dark-skinned with dark brown eyes and was covered in battle scars, the most notable one being inches away from his left eye. His face remained unchanged since they both left Lake Matope. That was his father, alright. He always had the same sort of annoyed face. Kiburi didn’t really understand why he wasn’t impressed. But he didn’t care at the moment.

“How’d you even find this place?”

The older crocodile, Piga, gave a little smirk. “Your mother brought me here on our first date. Said it was her favorite place to swim. So, that’s what we did.” he sighed somberly. “She was so graceful in the water.”

Kiburi didn’t remember much about his mother due to how young he was when she passed, but what he did know was that his father always got lost in his own thoughts whenever he talked about her. As unreadable as his expression was, he seemed almost sad and he hated it. He nudged Piga’s leg with his snout.

“Hey, I thought we weren’t allowed to show emotion.” he half-joked. “Especially not during a fight.”

It was impossible for Piga not to smile at those words. Words his own father said to him which he had passed down to Kiburi. Only his son could cheer him up like that. He was a gifted boy for sure, unlike his other siblings. He could see right through him and manage to crack a grin on his face, no matter what. He gave Kiburi a single nod.

“Uh-huh. And you know why?”

“Cuz we’re crocodiles! We don’t let emotions get in the way!”

“That’s right.”

“And if we do, then we can’t do this!”

Kiburi lunged forward, biting a spot on his father’s tail. Piga lifted it, making Kiburi lose his grip. He let out an amused scoff.

“So, that’s how it’s going to be?” Piga playfully challenged as he stepped into the water. “Let’s see if you can give your old man a new battle scar.”

“Bring it on.”

Kiburi swung his tail at Piga, causing the older crocodile to let out a playful “oof!”. He retaliated with a snap of his jaws, barely missing the tip of his son’s tail. Kiburi pounced, clawing Piga’s jaw and standing over him. He chuckled smugly before glancing up at the shadow looming over them. His face fell.

Piga frowned upon seeing the younger crocodile become distracted. He rolled his eyes, getting up.

“What did I say about letting your guard down?”

Kiburi’s eyes locked with his father’s. “Sorry, I—it—there—uh-”

“Come on boy, spit it out.”

“Look.”

Piga turned around to see a ginormous bull hippo towering above him. A long scar ran diagonally across his snout, just below his beady red eyes. His long, grotesquely yellow teeth formed an evil, almost psychotic scowl. He snorted.

“What’re you doing here, crocodile?”

His voice was deep and raspy, enough to send a shiver down Kiburi’s spine. His father, however, kept his signature neutral expression.

“Kiburi,” Piga said without taking his eyes off of the hippo. “Stay behind me.”

Kiburi obeyed as his father continued,

“My son and I were spending time together. You want to make something of it?”

“I do.” the hippo replied. “Everyone knows this river is my territory.”

Piga scoffed, “No, it isn’t. You can’t own a river. Rivers are for every animal to drink in the Pridelands.”

“Of course you’d think that. Typical crocodiles. Always disobeying the rules.” the hippo chided.

“We crocodiles live by our own rules,” Piga said matter-of-factly. “And given yours is a stupid ‘rule’, we’re going to ignore it. Aren’t we, son?”

Kiburi smiled, stepping out from behind his father. “Yeah, it’s the crocodile way.”

“Now leave us alone, hippo-”

“The name’s Hatari.”

“Fine. Leave us, Hatari…before one of us gets hurt.”

Hatari got closer to Piga’s face, snorting. “You think I’m gonna let some reptile tell me what to do? You think you get to drive innocent animals out of their territory just because you’re a predator? You crocodiles make me sick. Nothing but big ugly brutes who threaten the circle of life.”

Kiburi stepped forward, glaring. “Hey, no we’re not!”

“Quiet, brat!”

“HEY.” It was Piga’s turn to get in Hatari’s face. “You watch your tone with my son, got it?”

“You crocodiles just love causing problems, don’t you?” Hatari sneered, ignoring the threat. “I’ll give you one more chance. Get. Out.”

“I told you, it’s a public place and we don’t intend to leave.” Piga said, curtly.

“And if you want us to, then you’re gonna have to make us!” Kiburi added.

Kiburi’s brave face quickly turned fearful as the scarred hippo lifted his foot, wearing an evil grin.

“Gladly.”

Kiburi gasped, causing Piga to lunge in front of him and clench his jaws around Hatari’s leg. The pachyderm roared in pain and slammed Piga to the ground in an attempt for him to let go. The crocodile immediately jumped back up, able to latch onto Hatari’s body. His grip unfortunately didn’t last long, as Hatari was able to throw him off with his snout.

Kiburi, who thankfully had rushed out of the water the second his father stepped in, just watched the fight from afar. His eyes focused on Piga as he snapped and clawed his psychotic opponent with all his might. He could count all the fighting techniques his father was using: There was the Tail Whip….and the Leg Chomp….and his father’s favorite, the Super Jump. Kiburi smiled as Piga clenched his jaws on Hatari’s left ear, tearing half of it off and causing another roar of pain from the hippo. That was one of Kiburi’s favorite things about him: his bravery. Bravery beyond what was expected of any crocodile, but that of a honey badger. However, that hippo seemed just as brave and strong as he was. But no, that wasn’t possible. No hippo was stronger than his dad.

Or was there?

Kiburi’s eyes were glued to his father, swimming around and diving to avoid Hatari’s snaps and stomps. Piga was no longer attacking as often, but focusing on his defense…at least that’s what Kiburi saw. It was difficult to tell from this distance and Hatari’s constant splashing, but it seemed as though the older crocodile was almost trying to escape; especially after he watched him being thrown from the tail.

“Come on, Dad,” Kiburi thought aloud, “you can take him.”

As soon as Piga had opened his eyes, he found himself being lifted in the air. He squirmed, only to feel a sharp force digging into his rough skin. He hissed in pain before finding himself thrown back into shallow water. He began to rise back up but was held down by Hatari’s foot. He grunted, locking eyes with Kiburi.

“Kiburi, get the rest of the float!” Piga ordered, struggling to move under the weight. “And make it quick!”

“No! I’m not leaving without you!” Kiburi shot back.

“Don’t worry about me, son! Just go!”

“But-”

“NOW!”

Kiburi nodded as he turned around and made his way back to Lake Matope as fast as he could. He was stopped short when he heard his father’s roar behind him. He glanced back to see Hatari crushing Piga’s back with his foot. His eyes widened.

“NO!”

Kiburi knew that was a bad idea the moment he said it. The hippo’s head shot up, causing him to frantically jump behind the first bush he saw. His heart racing, he stood perfectly still. He no longer knew what exactly was happening with his father nor did he want to. He didn’t dare sneak a peek out of fear that the monster would notice and go after him. A series of crocodile roars and hisses echoed through the air. First it was hissing, then a roar followed by a hard thud. Then another roar immediately after. The cycle kept repeating until it became a pattern. Hiss. Roar. Thud. Roar. Hiss. Roar. Thud. Roar. Hiss. Roar. Thud. Roar. It eventually became too much, as Kiburi squeezed his eyes shut hoping the noises would stop any minute. A roar louder than the previous ones snapped his eyes open.

Then silence.

Hatari held his head up high, scanning what was for sure his territory for any more intruders, particularly the small disgusting little crocodile that accompanied his opponent. The second he’d see that little brat, he would certainly teach him a lesson. Fortunately for him, it was nowhere to be found as far as he knew. Whatever. That thing was as good as dead anyway, so it was good riddance. He gave a single victorious nod and turned around, sinking into the water while mumbling something about how those crocs deserved it.

Kiburi peered his head out of the bush, checking to see if that hippo was still out there. Once he learned the coast was clear, he slowly stepped out.

“Dad?”

No answer.

Kiburi walked towards the river again, eyeing his surroundings.

“You okay, dad?…..Dad?”

Then he saw him. His father was lying motionless on the ground, his upper half on land and his lower half in the water. His body was oozing with blood thanks to several deep wounds caused by Hatari’s sharp teeth. All four of his legs were horribly bent, laying there uselessly. Kiburi gasped.

“Dad!”

Piga slightly lifted his head at the sound of his son’s voice. “Kiburi…”

“Your legs.” was all Kiburi could say at the moment.

“Yeah,” Piga gave half a nod. “that hippo busted me up pretty bad…”

“But you can get up, right?”

Piga sighed in defeat, “I don’t think so, kid…”

“We gotta go get Pua. He’ll know what to do.” Kiburi said, lowering his head down to one of his father’s front legs. “Here, I’ll help you!”

Kiburi then proceeded to grab Piga’s leg and pulled it as hard as he could, attempting to drag the older crocodile out of the water to no avail. Piga didn’t budge, instead looking down at the ground and closing his eyes for a moment.

“Forget it, son.”

Kiburi stopped. “What?”

“It’s no use.” Piga continued, taking in slow shaky breaths. “You’ll have to go on without me. Heh…didn’t think my journey would end so soon.”

Kiburi’s eyes widened. He knew full well what that meant. Granted, death was no stranger to him. He had experienced it as a toddler when his mother passed, then again with other crocodiles for various reasons. But this was different. He wasn’t as close to the others as he was to his father. He was more important than the rest.

He mattered.

“No…” Kiburi kept shaking his head. “No, don’t say that. You’re gonna be okay! You’ve been through worse, right? You’ll live just like you always said so!”

Piga frowned, “Not this time, kid.”

“No!” Kiburi repeated, feeling a lump form in his throat. “You’re gonna make it no matter what! You have to…”

“Kiburi, listen to me.” Piga started, “I know I’ve been tough on you and your siblings, but that was only because I love you. I wanted to push you to be the best version of yourselves, I hope you realize that—Don’t you dare start crying. It won’t do you any good. You gotta be strong, especially in front of your siblings. You’re the oldest, after all. You need to watch over ‘em, you got that?”

Kiburi did his best to keep a brave face, yet his eyes still began to tear up. “Dad, I…I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you.” he bewailed.

Piga gave a weak smile. “You’ll manage. You’re very smart for your age, son. It’s one of the things that makes you better than all the other hatchlings.”

Kiburi smiled tearfully as Piga went on.

“You’ve got so much potential, you just have to live up to it. You keep making me proud, okay?”

“I will, dad.” Kiburi nodded, “I’ll be the best and the strongest and the bravest crocodile in the Pridelands! Just you wait!”

“That’s my boy.”

Piga finally let his head rest on the ground, his eyes closing and his warm, but weak smile fading away. His injuries had finally caught up with him. If it wasn’t the many broken bones in his body preventing him from moving, it was the massive blood loss he had sustained. This was it. He had completed his journey in the Circle of Life.

Kiburi could do nothing but stare at his now deceased paternal figure. The entire ordeal felt like a bad dream, yet it was all too real. The scarred, once a hardcore and stone faced warrior of a reptile was gone. The crocodile whom he respected more than the current leader, Pua. The crocodile whom he cared about the most. His father—his hero was no longer a part of his life. He felt his eyes getting misty again, but quickly blinked. There was no way he would cry in front of his father, not even in death. He had to be brave. He walked up and gently lay his neck over Piga’s head.

“I’ll make you proud. dad. I promise.”

The walk back to Lake Matope seemed much less cheerful alone. Kiburi didn’t even pay attention to the life surrounding him. He no longer cared. He just wanted to go home without anyone to bother him. It wasn’t until a familiar voice snapped him out of his trance-like state.

“Hey, Kiburi! You’re back!”

It was his little sister, Ucheshi. A sweet, light green crocodile with aquamarine eyes whom Kiburi cared about more than anything. Oh heavens, he didn’t even want to think about her reaction to the news. She most likely wouldn’t get over it for years.

“How was your trip? Did you have fun?”

Other young crocodiles in his float followed his sister.

“Where’d you go again?”

“What did you see?”

“What’d you do?”

Kiburi’s best friend, Makuu, grew a concerned look. “Kiburi, are you okay?”

Kiburi could only shake his head in reply, followed by an “mm-mm”.

“That’s enough, kids.”

Pua moved forward in between the little crowd forming around Kiburi. The other crocodiles obediently stepped aside to let their leader through.

“Come now, give him some air.” he turned to Kiburi. “Now Kiburi, tell everyone about your trip to Jua River.”

Kiburi merely looked down. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“What do you mean ‘you don’t want to talk about it’? You seemed so excited when your dad invited you to go.”

The word “dad” only made Kiburi shut his eyes, unable to look at anyone right now. Though he was not the only one with a reaction to the word. Makuu had immediately started looking around. After a moment, he finally spoke,

“Hey….where is your dad?”

Ucheshi perked up, “He-he’s not here?”

“He’s comin’ back with ya, right?” Tamka asked.

“Yeah, is he okay?” Nduli added.

“Kiburi…” Pua said softly, causing Kiburi to look up at his leader, “Where’s your father?”

That did it. Kiburi’s lip formed a deep frown, his legs starting to shake. Tears started to trickle down as a sob escaped from his lips. Before he knew it, he was nuzzled into Pua’s neck as all he could do was weep.

The End