It should have gone without question that she did not know what an alligator was, but it surprised him when she asked all the same. Peyote had spent the entirety of his life not only inhabiting the Lagoon, but traveling from island to island, at first learning the layout, and then in his attempts to disrupt happy herd lives. The idea of not ever having seen all of the things he had was foreign to him.

Why did it make him feel almost joyful that he could teach her something she did not know?

Peyote set aside the excitement stirring inside him, expressing it with a lazy swish of his tail before grunting in thought under his breath. How to explain an alligator to someone who had never seen one before?

“Big lizards.” He said, but that wasn’t very scary as a description on its own, and he added, “sharp teeth; find horses appetizing.”

Peyote squinted as he glanced away from her and surveyed the swamp waters all around them. It took some time but, being a seasoned spotter of the aquatic reptiles, he eventually spotted the shape of one dangerously lurking beneath the surface. “There,” he said, and gestured to where he was looking (would she have let him, he might’ve gently pushed her cheek in the direction) “Look close.”

He gave her a few moments before he explained, “The swamp hides them until it’s too late for you.”