(I Died and got Reincarnated) My New Life as a Saltwater Crocodile Begins

CH•17 - "Mating Season"

Author's Note:

Found that pic in google and thought I'd make use of it by editing it up a bit with that arrow and "current location" thingy I just did

≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠

Lucky me. I found a great meatpile to sate my unreasonable hunger. That dead hippopotamus corpse was enough to satisfy my belly. It was a stroke of luck for me to just randomly find it floating along the river. I heartily ate it all. Of course, I left some bits to the baby snake but he didn't eat much. Wonder why. Speaking of which, the peregrine falcon that I saved is currently perched on a tall rock near the riverside and he's just.... staring at me. I thought he would be hungry after that sky battle or something, so I left him some meat, but he didn't even so much as touch it. He's just... staring at me. So intensely. Um... Mr. Falcon. I love you and all, but even I get weirded out if you stare at me like that for too long.

After the hearty meal, I continue traversing the river downstream, with the baby snake crawling back on my head. The falcon flew after us too, gliding slowly in the air, matching our pace and still staring at me. As happy as I am now that I got a falcon friend, if only I still have human hands so I could rub its fluffy feathers in person. But, the only reason why I'm so in love with peregrine falcons is because of their reputation of being the fastest bird in the world. At vertical flight speed, that is. I didn't bother to research about what bird is the fastest in terms of horizontal flight speed. But, I'm sure it won't even reach a peregrine's maximum dive speed of 240 miles per hour.

Anyways, as I head further downstream the river, I noticed a few other animals here and there. There were turtles, rhinos, and I think I even saw a monitor lizard in the distance. There was also that hippo I ate before. The Nile River really is full of wildlife just like our history teacher said. So many new ripples I've never felt before. Even the fishes and plantlife are a sight to behold. Since the deserts in Egypt are vast and wide, I'm sure all the animals, plants, and people here are very thankful to the Nile River.

As I think of that, I sense a ripple and it feels... new, yet also familiar at the same time. There were a lot of them. Following the river as I turn around the bend, I spot more crocodiles just chilling around, basking under the sun, floating in the water, or lying on each other. I... I think I just bumped into a float of Nile Crocodiles. Not only that, but the river splits from here. One side continues straight ahead, and the other way leads inwards to mainland, to the direction of the desert. Right, I'm not going in that direction. Best to just head straight, but then there's this float of other crocs to worry about. Though, I think I'm larger than any of them.

There are crocodiles riding on top of other crocodiles. What are they doing? Some of them have their tails wrapped around each other and that position looks like...... wait, wait, wait, wait..... don't tell me.... I just happened to stumble upon a float of Nile Crocodiles in their mating season?!!

No way, no way, no way! No way in hell do I want to get myself involved with this! Right, I'll just go around them by crawling on land. It might be the long way around, but I'm not risking any potential chance that a female crocodile is gonna approach me and ask me out to pair with her for life. I'm still a human at heart! I'm not into these beastly things! And with that in mind, I change direction and head to shore.

Seeing me crawl out of the water, the falcon perches on a nearby tree. Did he figure out that I intend to go around the crocodile float by traveling on foot, and he judged that it's gonna take a while for me to reach the other side with my flimsy legs so he decides to rest wings for a bit? Perceptive.

But, before my large body was fully out of the water, a crocodile swims towards me. Oh no. It's happening. I mustn't get involved. Is what I thought, but then, the crocodile stopped coming. Huh? Did it change its mind after it saw me try to hurriedly walk away from it?