Dust Motes

Taiga · 02-03-2022, 02:05 PM

The flinch was obvious and Taiga did her best to slow her movements. Yes, he was flighty, but he had reason to be. The cat didn't have to ask him if he'd been hunted. She knew. If an herbivore hadn't been hunted, then they had more luck on their side than most. Perhaps they were born with a natural wariness just like cubs were born with a natural wariness. She was older than the elk, but not by much. Taiga had been run out of her pride very early in her life and she still had some of that wariness, but size and experience had worn it down. Would Rannoch ever be less nervous?

As they spoke of future plans, the elk agreed that he could never be alone again. "Stay with the others and you never will be." At least Oscar and reindeer boy would care for Rannoch in a way that the lesser elk herd hadn't. They would protect him like one of their own.

The red elk knew the dangers of the world, he admitted, and it was just as Taiga expected. He was glad to have the smaller herbivores as his herd and Taiga nodded. "That's good. Stay with them. Protect them and they'll protect you." There was a niggling feeling in the back of Taiga's mind. They could protect one another, but not forever. The predators of the world were tenacious and at some point, one of the three would be picked off. Taiga didn't like that thought at all. In the short time that she'd been with the trio, they had become her pride. It was strange, but not entirely unwelcome.

"Maybe I'll stay around a little while longer," she offered. "Teach you three about predators. Make sure you're more prepared for when I leave." Part of Taiga hoped that the trio would ask her to stay, but she imagined that they wouldn't. Why would three leaf eaters want a predator like her to stick around? Surely she made them uncomfortable. Rannoch's flinching proved that.

"Speech"

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