The crocodile goddess was woken by her plover friend pecking at her. She lay on the riverbank, mouth slightly open, basking in the sun and utterly unconcerned about the world around her. The pesky little bird was not so unconcerned, though. Whatever was going on, the plover wanted her to know about it. When pecking at her nose failed, the bird hopped up her snout and began to peck at her scaley eyelids.
Well, that did it. Mlinzi opened one irritable eye to glare at the bird. There were no herds around, no territorial crocodiles, no lions, nothing. "What--" She began, her words interrupted by a pink flash that rocketed over her snout and took the plover with it in a tiny cloud of feathers.
This was unusual. Both eyes open now, the crocodile goddess raised her head and turned to stare at the pink thing attacking her plover. A ... genet? A colorful genet. Well, whatever the little thing was doing here, what it was doing now was unacceptable. Greatly annoyed that something would dare attack her plover, Mlinzi swatted at it, sending the ball of fur tumbling away.
The baby genet was even more bewildered than the crocodile goddess. She had lost track of her mom and siblings. She was tiny, hungry, and awfully confused. Her mom hadn't had time to teach her where to find food! And everything was so awfully big! When she saw that funny little bird sitting on the crocodile's face it had seemed the perfect size for her to hunt.
The crocodile's paw sent her tumbling nose over tail. She regained her feet some distance away, tears standing out in her eyes. Now the crocodile lady was mad at her, and the crocodile lady was big enough to eat her in one bite. "I'm sorry, crocodile lady!" The genet squeaked. "I din't know that was your bird!"
The dark lioness standing some distance away was shocked into stillness. Gerda was a long way from her usual rounds. She knew she shouldn't have come so far, but sometimes she longed for open spaces, for a sight different than the suffering of her patients. If she had been healthy, she would have dreamed of being a scout, a bard, something that would take her where the air was fresh and she was not surrounded by constant misery.
Such dreams were foolish, however. The most Gerda could hope for was the occasional peaceful stroll. And she might meet her mate, Jozo ... but this was certainly not Jozo. She didn't know what to make of this confrontation. The crocodile ... thing was obviously furious, and seemed about to eat a cowering little genet. Gerda couldn't have said why, but she felt badly for the little pink genet. Maybe it was because she longed for her own children, but something about the plight of the genet in the face of the massive crocodile spoke to her. Without meaning to, without realizing how foolish it was, Gerda spoke up. "Don't eat her," she said softly.
Mlinzi whipped her head around, turning her golden glare on the lioness that stood some distance away. Lions didn't usually get snippy with her, particularly not lions as humble and dreary looking as this one. The plover perched between her ears fluttered madly, shedding loosened feathers onto Mlinzi's face. She blew a feather from her nostril with an angry snort.
"Is this your ball of hair?" Mlinzi growled, using one broad foot to scoop up the genet.
The pink genet, finding itself in mid-air in the grip of the monster, wrapped her paws around one of the crocodile goddess's claws. "Don't eat me, ma'am!" The ground, although only a couple feet below her, seemed terribly far. How had things gone so wrong? Overwhelmed by terror and misery, the genet burst into tears.
Gerda didn't know what to do. The crocodile looked fearsome, bizarre, but she could talk. If she could talk, maybe she would listen, and Gerda could get out of here without being savaged for her insolence. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet the goddess's furious gaze. "It's not my ... ball of hair, miss," the dark lioness said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I'll take care of it. I won't let it bother you. It's just a baby." Heedless of the danger, she took a step forward, wanting to save the poor little animal from its predicament.
The crocodile goddess stared at the lioness, taken aback by her boldness. The dark lioness was hardly ferocious looking. Her voice was quiet and timid, her frame was weak, and her whole bearing suggested that she was weary and downtrodden. But here she was, standing up to a crocodile goddess that could have torn her apart several times over. Mlinzi raised her foot up, staring at the genet now dangling from her claw.
It was only a baby, after all. She supposed she could forgive it for attacking her plover. As though sensing her thoughts, the bird atop her head let out an indignant peep. Mlinzi ignored it, slowly reaching out her foot to the dark lioness. Some of the rage had left her eyes as she looked at the lioness, replaced by curiousity. "You like babies?"
The pink genet, still high in the air, did not release her hold on the crocodile's claw until the dark lioness reached out for her. For a second she thought that the strange lioness was going to eat her, but instead the lioness plucked her away from the crocodile by the scruff of her neck and carefully set her down on the ground between her paws. The genet immediately transferred her grip to one of those paws, hiding her face from the scary crocodile lady.
Gerda couldn't help it. She already felt fond of the little pink scrap clinging to her. "I had babies once," She said softly, blinking at the crocodile. "They died ..." Now, why had she told the crocodile goddess that? She wasn't digging for sympathy, hoping that the strange and fearsome beast would leave her be. Somehow it just came out.
"Many of my babies have died. Many, many." Mlinzi said, dipping her great spiked head slightly in sorrow. Her anger was gone now, fled. With the immediate threat to her bird gone, Mlinzi no longer had interest in the genet ... or the lion, truth to tell. She felt a flash of sympathy, there and gone in an instant. "Good-bye, lion," Mlinzi grunted, turning abruptly and walking to the river, leaving lioness and genet standing on the bank.
Alone with the genet now, Gerda didn't quite know what to do with her. "Where's your family, little one?" She asked softly.
"I dunno," the genet said bleakly, her face still pressed against Gerda's foot.
"What's your name?"
"I dunno."
Gerda didn't know her way around out here at all. A family of genets could have been living not a dozen paces away and she would have had no idea. An idea struck her. Maybe Jozo would know, or one of the other warriors or guards. She couldn't just leave the genet out here, after all, not if she was going to pick fights with crocodiles. "Would you like to come home with me? I can get you some dinner," Gerda said kindly.
The genet's misery seemed to evaporate in an instant and she climed skilfully up Gerda's back, perching between the surprised lioness's shoulderblades. "Yes please, lion lady!" She said brightly. "Let's go!"
Feeling bemused by the whole encounter, Gerda turned and headed for home.
