Crone

He swam slowly towards the surface. He was hungry. He searched for anything that might be eat able. Hoping for a deer or elk or something. Something large.

*Moose*

A yearling moose wondered towards the marsh where some of her favorite aquatic plants lived. Being a good swimmer and capable of diving, the moose headed for deep waters. She grazed around a bit before submerging her head beneath the brackish water, seeking out some vegetation on the bed of the marsh.

Crone

He swam toward the moose and waited for the right time. The time was right she sunk her head into the water and he struck. He lunged at her neck and if he connected it would be all over for the little one.

*Moose*

The moose bellowed as the water rushed up around her in Crone's lundge. She tried to spring back, but his jaws closed around her throat. Not being at adult size or strength, she fell into the water, unable to hold up Crone's weight. But because his jaws had gone around so much of her neck, it would be hard for him to force enough pressure over the area to break her neck crush her windpipe.

The moose struck out with her hooves and tried to pull herself up to the serface. As long as Crone watched out for the hooves, it would be easy to keep her underwater to drown.

Crone

He had just realized his mistake. He had over shot he had grabbed to much of her throat. He had wanted this to be quick, but now there would be a great struggle. He drug her under the surface and held her there then all of a sudden a hoof swung by his face! He dodged most of the blows, but one time the moose connected, but it was minor. He continued to hold her under there should be no escape for the moose now

*Moose* & Galar

The moose struggled a while longer, bringing her muzzle to the serface only once more. After a few minutes, her strugglings stopped.

All the thrashing had caught the attention of Galar. He cruised slowly towards the commotion and watched as Crone drowned the moose. Galar was larger than the 7-year old, but as Crone grew older, he'd eventually surpass the alligator's size. "Who are you?" The gator ventured, watching Crone with a bit of caution. Crocodiles were considerably more violent than gators, so Galar was careful of Crone.

Crone

He ripped a chunk of meat off the moose and swallowed it whole. He didn't turn around when the creature behind spoke. The name is Crone. What is yours? He continued to eat if bigger crocs or gators were to show up then he would either have to share or fight them off.

Galar & Dima

"Galar." He replied, gliding up to the carcass that had now come up to the serface. Taking a hold of part of the moose's haunch, Galar went into a death roll, successfully tearing himself off a hunk of meat, which he swallowed whole. "I haven't seen too many of your kind around here." He pointed out. During feeding, he usually felt friendlier around other larger crocodilians. Its during hunting and feeding that they can be a boon to each other. But if he knew how Crone felt about wolves, Galar might not be so friendly.

Dima soon showed up to the meal, but stayed back. He was half the size of Crone and missing half of his tail, a hind limb, and a few toes. Several livid scars lined his side, in testiment to his encounters with larger alligators. And although Galar was his friend, it was still dangerous to get too close to him while feeding. And missplaced bite, and Dima could be missing more than a few appendages.

Crone

He saw the gator do a death roll and he grinned at his remark. Yes I know there aren't many crocs in these parts. Especially albinos. He grabbed a leg and ripped it off and chowed down.

Galar, Dima, & Akili

Galar had now taken notice of Crone's white pelage. The murky, blood-coated water had obscured his first impression. "Oh... heh, quite unusual!" he remarked, tearing off another hunk of meat before going on, "Unusual indeed."

Dima was soon joined by his sister, Akili. And unlike her brother, Akili was quite intact and carried no scars yet. "How cool!" she piped up, always being very talkative. "You're white!" And always one to point out the obvious. "Where in the word did you come from?" Although her bubbly personality might point otherwise, Akili was very smart.

Crone

He continued to feed until he heard the comment "where in the world did you come from" everything seemed to notice his white coloring and think that he was from another planet. Well I came from a place called Lousiana. He growled coldly this preppy little gator needed to learn to keep her mouth shut.

Galar, Dima, & Akili

Galar narrowed his eyes in a slightly confused way, "Lousiana? Never heard of the place. Sounds interesting though."

Akili's eyes grew wider, "I'd like to see such a place! Wow... such a pretty name, too. By the way, I'm Akili." The young gator offered, oblivious to Crone's growls.

Dima, on the other hand, had sufficient reasons to heed another's warnings. Namely all his scars and missing parts. "Akili, I think you should watch it.." he warned his sister in a low, whispering voice.

Galar paused in his feeding, eyeing the crocodile with suspiscion. Although Akili and Dima were not even his young, he still protected them. It was a long story, but it all tied back with wolves. And he had gotten made fun of plenty of times by other gators for doing it, but Galar didn't mind. A deep, low growl was issued to warn Crone.

Crone

He grinned a crocadile grin and continued feeding speaking in between bites. Yes Lousinia is way down south in a place called the United States. I was transported froma bayou there and was supposed to be in a place called a zoo. Luckily there was a wreck not far from here and I mananged to escape. He tore a chunk of meat off from the carcass and turned to the female Akili. It is a very interesting place. A low growl erupted from his trhoat when Galar growled at him were they his sisters or something?

Galar, Dima, & Akili

Galar listened carefully, trying to understand all of what Crone was explaining. Several words were new to him; but he did no the meaning of 'zoo'. His friends had told him of the Wolf 'Zoo', and from what he knew, it was a horrible place. "Well, I guess you're pretty lucky to be here then. A zoo is a very bad place, from what my friends have told me." The gator pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. "But if you're going to live here, watch yourself." He added on a more serious note, growling more. He arched his back and puffed out his throat to make himself look large.

Akili paused, now knowing she had to be careful. "Didn't mean to offend." She piped up softly, not taking her eyes off his strangely colored hide, "You're just so... different!"

Dima rolled his eyes a bit, drifting in the water by his sister, "Nice one." He muttered.

Crone

He listened to Galar and watched as he puffed up to make him look bigger. Hey I don't want to fight I am outnumbered. Oh yah I'm not that different Akili I am the same as you just I'm white and I'm a croc. He turned to swim away or to talk with the onr that was beaten up badly or he would talk to the femme but he had eaten his fill.

Galar, Dima, & Akili

"Me neither." He replied, calming down a bit, "But I'm a... well.. guardian of sorts. Over those two." He pointed out, "It's a long story." The gator added quickly, implying he didn't want to talk about it. For him, it was always a bit embarrassing to be doing a 'females' work, protecting the young.

Akili laughed a bit, "Well hey! Those are two pretty big differences!"

Dima spoke up next, trying to cut off his sister so she couldn't go on to possibly anger Crone, "I'd be careful about humans. From what I hear, the are particularly interested in... unique creatures."

Crone

He grinned at Dima's statement. Let them come and try to get me. He turned to Galar. I'm in a mood for stories let me hear why you became their Guardian. He swished his tail and crawled on the shore and sun basked.

Galar, Dima, & Akili

Galar followed Crone onto the shore, spreading out his short little legs and basking in the rays as well. "I suppose, but... don't laugh." He eyed the crocodile before going on, "It all started a few years ago. A group of wolves found a nest of hatching alligators... but the mother was no where in site. She was killed by humans, no doubt. But anyway, most of the gators had died from predators and stuff." Galar paused as Dima and Akili crawled towards him, eager to hear the stroy again.

"Well, I normally stay clear from the hatching nests, cause the females are so protective, you know. But the wolves called for me, so I came. And... they asked me to watch over them." Galar shook his head, "That was the last thing I wanted to do. It was hard to control myself... I wanted to eat them. But the wolves insisted, so I eventually became the guardian of the gators. Don't remember how many there originally were... just a handful. Three of them survived the first year before one disappeared. Leaving these two" He snorted, but it was all in good nature. "I guess.... I just got attatched to them." He looked to Crone, seeing how he'd react. Quickly, Galar added on a bit more, "Of course, they really helped by drawing in little predators. The cranes, herons, raccoons, and all those. Used them as bait really, to draw in prey."

Akili laughed, "Yeah, yeah, you're just trying to sound cool. You didn't use us as bait." Galar grunted, but didn't say anything else.