the circle of life

Rannoch ran. He was made to run and flee, his incredibly long legs and cloven hooves carried him gracefully despite his racing gait. The elk had no room to think about his appearance, he was majestic naturally. Even racing for his life. He turned to flee, knowing he could only really take on one safely at a time. A whole pack of them would very nearly doom him if he couldn’t keep ahead of them. His not quite fully formed antlers were heavy though, and his endurance wouldn’t last forever. Canines were known to lope all day without losing their breath. Rannoch didn’t know if he was going to make it.

As he ran he saw the sight that would save him, though any other moment of his life he would have accepted his doom. Taiga proved that she would repay them for saving her from the snow, and she kept her word. Rannoch raced past her, the hyenas hot on his heels. He couldn’t look back but his ears swiveled and he heard the sound of punishment coming from the lion. The hyenas bit at his heels and he knew the sounds wouldn’t deter them. Rannock kicked his powerful hind legs, kicking one square in the chest as Taiga roared.

He tried not to let the sounds disrupt him, because the sound should have terrorized him to the very core. Taiga was different, she was on his side. He repeated those words in his mind as he ran, he just had to make it a little longer.

"Rannoch"