mx. sinister
Rhian
Wasting absolutely no time, the youngster abandoned the area around the barn in search of greener pastures. Quite literally. Gangly legs carried him at a slow pace over the unfamiliar terrain, head carried low between his shoulders as he relied on his long whiskers to warn of anything that he might bump into. Tall auds flickered constantly to drink in the new sounds that came to him over the susurration of the dew laden grasses. He could hear some exceptionally large bodies moving somewhere, and he was determined to figure out exactly where. He kept to the low lying areas initially, but when the first steep incline reared up before him, the dark furred boy decided to make the climb. It was surprisingly difficult work, forcing his short little legs to make each stride. The incline was much steeper than the gentle rolling hills around the barn, where he'd spent all of his time so far. By the time he reached the summit of the hill, his flanks heaved with exertion. Tongue lolling from his jaws, panting heavily, he flopped down on his side at the crest of the slope. While he waited for his breathing to even out, he decided to try and sort through the smells that were coming to him. Each lungful of air came with a fresh aroma to dissect. The musky, heady smell that he typically associated with the sheep in the barn was just as heavy around here. It was a little different though, not necessarily stronger, but it had a few different notes to it. It smelled more tangy, and less like wet straw than the sheep and goats did. Did they have other herds grazing around here? The little Saxe child knew about the goats and the sheep, and they knew about him. However, he hadn't heard about any large animals. Had his dad said something about some big animals? He was drawing a decisive blank on that one. Shaking his head, he cleared up that boring train of thought. The most prominent smell was of the animals and the lush grasses that surrounded him. The thick fog that blanketed the lands were hiding a great deal of the scents he might have picked up, even those of the wolves that lived around here. He flexed his paws in the grass, pinching some grass between his toes and tearing them from the dirt. Lifting the uprooted strands to his nose, he breathed in the sweet, tangy scent. A quick pass of his tongue over the fronds revealed that they were mostly smooth to the touch, though on a second pass of the other side he met with some prickly sensations along the flat portion of each blade. How weird! Snorting softly, he dropped the grass back down onto the ground. With his breathing mostly evened out, more of the sounds around him were noticeable. All of the sudden, he could hear the lowing of the animals all around him. Their voices were impossibly deep, and he could almost feel the rumble of their calling in his very bones. Punctuating their occasional calls, he could hear the thudding of incredibly heavy hooves against the ground as they moved. How had no one mentioned the massive creatures that lived so close to them? He rolled to his paws, making a slow descent part of the way down the slope. The youngster was following the loudest calls, trying to get a better grasp of what he was dealing with. He definitely hadn't come up the hill this way, but he wasn't too concerned about that yet. Most important to him was figuring out what the hell was down there in the valleys! Sightless gaze trained on something in the middle distance, he kept his head tipped on an angle to let in the most sounds possible. He had no idea this was how his dad's owls had their ears arranged for the exact same reason, all he knew was that having his ears offset had been getting him the best results. He was fairly certain he was nearing the bottom of the slope, because the animals' calls were much louder now. A thunderous snort somewhere to his right stopped the boy in his tracks. The air ruffled over his cheek, a distinct wetness had splattered over his face. He'd gotten pretty dang close, that's for sure. A bellow from the animal served as all the warning he needed not to keep going forward. He turned his head towards the source of the deafening roar, which had fallen silent and left his ears ringing. He could hear the animal breathing, and counted the seconds between each exhale. Oh, this thing was massive. It stamped a hoof against the damp earth, and the impact rattled his skull. He stamped a paw right back, but it clearly wasn't much of a display, and all he got in return was another wet snort from somewhere in front of him and well above his head. "Alright, alright, I get it.." the blind pup muttered before he turned slowly until his forepaws filled the indents in the grass where his hind paws had been. Before the giant animal could yell at him again, the boy ambled back up the hill to listen in on their grazing from a safe distance. ((FINAL WC: 889)) "" |