Fire and the flood
Scout
06-23-2019, 07:41 PM
Sota had been sleeping for a good portion of the afternoon. It was a dry, hot sort of day - the kind that made even wolves like him, who were somewhat averse to water, wish they had somewhere close by to take a quick dip. He'd sought refuge in one of the larger trees near the base of the ravine, after a rather challenging climb downhill. Occasionally he made his way to solid ground, when he deemed it safe, but mostly the minuscule wolf kept to the treetops, leaping from one branch to the next with alarming grace.. at least for a canine. When he'd found a close cluster of branches he carefully arranged himself in a comfortable position, and slowly begin to drift off into a peaceful slumber, glad to have found a portion of shade in the tree all for himself. But something, eventually, caused him to stir. The smell of fire touched his nose, and at first he wondered if he was dreaming. He tried to keep his eyes closed and fall back asleep, but quickly he realized he wasn't imagining it at all - no, it smelled distinctly of fire, and he quickly jolted upright, head snapping up as he tried to get a good view of his surroundings. He couldn't see anything, at least not immediately, but he knew that didn't mean he wasn't in any danger. From his position he couldn't see the sky overhead to see if there was any smoke nearby, so perhaps he was in an even worse position, not knowing where the fire was coming from, let alone the source of it. As badly as he wanted to continue to climb his beloved trees, he knew doing so was unwise. Carefully he leaned to peer down below, trying to judge the distance of the drop. If the fire something crept up from the ground below, it was a leap he likely couldn't survive... and the threat of breaking his limbs wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Despite waking up from a nap just moments ago, he found that the rush of adrenaline that surged through him did a wonderful job of snapping him awake, and his eyes were wide as he scoped out his immediate surroundings. Carefully he leapt toward a lower-hanging branch, and then another, until he was finally on the ground - when he realized with a start that the fire was much closer than he'd expected. Just a few yards out, he saw a pillar of smoke rising up from between the trees, and quickly he turned around and started to run, the scent of the fire now assaulting him without remorse. |