 |
The night air was crisp and the moon rose full over the sandy dunes. Deep inside a darkened cavern two odd eyes opened in the dark, one was a solid snaky yellow and the other a soft blue with a round pupil. They blinked a few times, then a great yawn split the maw below it. The soquili it belonged to rose up to his feet, feeling his muscles stretch and the tendons popping and creaking. After a little warm up his snake like tongue slipped from between his lips and tasted the air, the scents of the world revealed to him through it. He scented blood as a small desert fox ate a recently caught mouse, he scented faded trails of prey, he scented his brother who still lay sleeping nearby.
"Lazy bonesss..." He said affectionately before padding over to nose him awake so the two could hunt down some food to fill aching bellies. Soon they would be off like a shot across the sands, big padded feet allowing them to run almost silently on the sands. "Come on now Sssahara, if you want to eat tonight you have to wake up and help me hunt."
Sahara groaned and thought about rolling over but the promise of food woke the pale white twin and he mimicked the first stretching and yawning before finally rising to his feet. The two left the cavern, ears up and on a swivel listening to any hint of prey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she first set out on her journey, Zosime would never have guessed how big the world was and how much variety it contained. So much variety passed beneath her hooves and wings as she walked or flew. How would she be able to see a spot and know it was perfect for her and her kin? Some habitats were much like the one where she grew up, slightly forested with meadows, lakes, and rivers. Others were so vastly different.
First coming to a place filled endlessly with sand, etched into small or large hills by the blowing wind, her jaw had dropped open. It boggled her mind, and took her several days to figure out that she shouldn’t try traveling across it during the day. The soft grains of sand shifted under her hooves when she tried to walk, making it difficult. Her body also seemed to revel in the heat. She enjoyed basking in the early mornings and late afternoons.
But where would the herd live? It got way too hot on these sand dunes. Zo looked at her hawk familiar. Without his help, she would be hungry all the time. There did not seem to be a whole lot of game here. The hawk fluttered down to her shoulder as night settled in and a full moon rose while she watched from the top of a dune.
“What are you thinking?” Kalril tilted his head and ruffled his feathers. “It’s going to get cold again tonight.” From his talons he grabbed a lizard he’d caught and killed, offering it to the mare. He hadn’t spent too much time in his travels before meeting Zo and didn’t know much about this place other than that it was called a desert.
(WC: 230 for Zosime)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The boys watched from the shadows of a large dune, their partial transparent bodies allowing them to hide better against the sands as the hawk glided down and snatched a small lizard off a rock before taking wing again. "Hmmm not a common sssight that." Mojave remarked. His pale twin looked a bit confused before asking, "What isssn't? The hawk?" Mojave nodded at Sahara and the pale twin looked pleased at getting it right.
Carefully the tan twin lifted his head up, his tongue slipped from between his lips and he scented the night air. He tasted an odd scent then. Female definitely but he couldn't get a peg on what type of female. Was the scent coming from the feathered one or from somewhere else? He lifted a paw and dug a hole in the dune with a swipe of his it before deciding. Their turf was being encroached on that was for certain but did they find food or find the intruder first.... A hard choice made harder by aching bellies. Food. Food made more sense. Maybe by then the intruder would be gone....
Quickly they rushed off, keeping at eye on the sky for the feathered scout. Some hours alter just as the moon was nearing the middle of the sky they returned, bellies filled with small game and scavenged meat from various carcasses that died in the heat. Once again the tan twin lifted his head and scented with his tongue, the world revealing itself to him and still the intruder was here. They'd moved about here and there but they were distressingly close to their home den.
Finally they moved toward the intruder and Mojave feeling his fur stand on end to make himself look a bit bigger began rattling his tail, the sound a cacophony in the silence of the desert night, then his voice boomed out over the sands, "Who are you and why are you here?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How will I know when I've found the right place?" She asked the hawk, worriedly. So much rested upon her shoulders. What if she picked wrong? Zosime reassured herself she could ask the others their opinions on a location too before they finally decided on a place. Picking out a herd territory was Hard. Gratefully she accepted the lizard and swallowed it down in a quick gulp. "I don't think there's a lot of prey easily here. The herd would have to spend most of its time hunting. And what about the one who can't eat meat but fish? She'd have a hard time with that with no or very little water."
A suddenly loud sound from the quiet night startled her. Zo's head feathers went straight up as she looked towards the sound. She flared her wings to appear bigger than she was, and to be ready for a quick take off if needed. It wouldn't be the first time she'd encountered hostile soquili. Her tail whipped back and forth. The sands could be so deceiving.
"I'm a traveler, looking for a home," Zo responded warily. "Do you live here? Show yourself." If there was already a herd here, she'd rather not try to take territory from them. Part of her acknowledged that in the end it may very well come to that. Once they found a location, they would certainly have to defend it.
Kalril watched fondly as the mare gulped her food down. Some might be bothered by the process, but not him when his own eating was far messier. The rattling sound coming from the night had the hawk scream a warning and take swiftly to the air. He circled above, safely out of reach and watching to relay information to the mare on the ground. Who was that?
(WC: 236)
|
 |
Reply
