Momma Chomp Chomp
03-10-2019, 06:38 PM
When he had pictured himself in Boreas preparing to fight a giant Balsam hadn't also pictured himself slogging through places like this. Corpseghoul Swamp was...how to put it nicely...a nasty trash dump. The water was black and fetid, the mud on the bottom stank to the heavens, and the trees overhead? Ugh, don't even get him started on those sad grey things. They were undeserving of the name 'tree' and more akin to skeletal, overgrown weeds. Where were the bright greens and rich browns? Even the lichen that coated their branches was pathetic and drab. Such a miserable place. And he was stuck here. Well, not stuck per se. He did have to travel through it but Balsam's goal was to get through it as quickly as he could and put this sad, gross place behind him. He found himself alternating between swimming and wading fairly frequently. The water was a bit too high for a little guy. Spirits, he was going to stink terribly when he got out of this place. What was that? He squinted into the fog, eying a dark shape that rose promisingly out of the water. He almost couldn't believe his eyes. Dry land! Or, well, dry A peeping drew his attention to his paws. Curiously he lifted one and noted a bit of white where it had been. Balsam flicked at it - eggshell? - and was surprised when a small, scaly head popped out from under it. Some kind of chunky, ugly lizard baby? It gaped at him, exposing lots of sharp little teeth, so naturally he swatted it into the water. A bubbling hiss behind him immediately made him regret the decision. Balsam's ears fell back and he glanced over his shoulder... and then leaped away as the momma alligator jumped out of the water towards him. He tucked his tail and scrambled over a fallen log. With a gurgling roar the alligator followed him. She slithered under the log and popped out on the other side with jaws open wide. The baby's teeth had been impressive, but momma gator's? If she got a hold of him he was a goner for sure. Balsam leaped back up onto the log and began to climb it. His posture was submissive in the hopes that she would recognize that he meant no harm and let him go, but having just flung one of her newborn babies the odds weren't in his favor. She just looked like she wanted to drag him to the bottom and drown him. The log didn't stick out of the water very far but he was hoping that those stumpy little legs of hers would keep her grounded. He was wrong. Using perhaps her tail (he couldn't tell, but his imagination said yes) the alligator propelled herself up onto the log. Her short little claws scraped uselessly against the wood and yet inch by inch she scaled the side of it. After glancing back over his shoulder Balsam inched backwards. He didn't have very far to go, but hopefully the steep incline would keep her from getting too far. Those little webbed feet didn't look like they were made for climbing. And yet...she climbed. Curses. He was going to have to abandon ship. He jumped off just as she lunged for him. Later when he told this story Balsam was going to swear he had felt her breath on his tail. Perhaps even tell how he'd lost a patch of hair to her jaws. Assuming, of course, she didn't get him and tear him into pieces small enough to feed her babies. Balsam landed hard, his front paws sinking into the soft ground and causing him to roll forward. And of course he landed on the alligator's nest, because where else could he go? A chorus of angry peeps told him his presence wasn't welcom- "OW!" he yelped as a pair of tiny jaws (probably the baby he'd flung) latched onto his rump. Quickly he got to his paws and took off away from the nest. There was nothing within reach except one sorry excuse for a tree and if he climbed it, then what? He would be stuck up there forever! A hissy roar from the momma alligator made the decision for him. If he wanted to be safe for now (and boy did he ever) then he was going to have to climb the tree now and figure out an escape plan later. So he did; bolting up the tree as if his life depended on it. |
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