the circle of life

He never strayed very far from the herd, they were also his eyes and ears and much as he was to them. When you lost your herd you died, or so the saying went. Rannoch felt the constant pressure, the eyes of predators as they were on the constant search to fill their bellies with the souls of his kin. They would do the same for him, and the young stag very well knew it. Most beasts left him be, he was young and strong, he was not the weak link predators usually went after. The weak link fell easiest and predators were nothing if not lazy.

Still, Rannoch was the odd one out, he was with the elk he was with every herd previously aside from that of the other great elk. Even not as he traveled with caribou and donkey he knew the bears, the cats, the wolves… they were all peering at him. He heeded Taiga’s warning, he was always alert and vigilant, but that didn’t always stop an attack.

Rannoch was grazing on the sparse beach grasses away from his herd mates. There was a soft breeze and the air was warm. The deer had his head down as he grazed, the branches of his velvet covered antlers waving in the grass with the wind. Rannoch lifted his head as he took in a mouthful to scan while he chewed, and if he hadn’t maybe he would have been dead a moment later.

Emerald eyes widened as he locked eyes with the hyena a few deer lengths away. They were not normally ambush hunters, but the look in her eye revealed the intelligence beneath. Rannoch stomped his hoof threateningly and swung his antlers in small hoped he’d ward them off. At the least his friends would be put on alert. The hyena knew she had been spotted, but she’d held his attention long enough for her underlings to flank him.

Panic welled up within the stag and he bellowed with defiance and leap over the spotted wolf like creature. It jumped and snapped at his belly, only barely missing the tender flesh there. Rannoch’s mind went blank and his only thought was to flee.

soul sand cove / afternoon / warm
"Rannoch"