My, What Long Ears You Have!

Oscar’s eyebrows shoot up at the pup’s words, a rumbling chuckle rolling past his pale lips as he allows the dark-hued pup to walk around him. Once he is back in front of the donkey, Nico comments about his ears being funny looking and Oscar dips his heads in a short mock bow. He goes on to ask about the kid’s parents and immediately regrets it when Nico’s ear flatten against his skull. The ass watches as the curiosity that had burned bright in the pup’s golden eyes flickers to a pain so intense that it drives a knife through the donkey’s heart. His own long ears swivel backward, laying against his board skull in a sign of guilt for having asked such a sensitive question.

Nico’s demeanor changes as the pain suddenly gives way to guilt and Oscar knows what the kid is going say before he opens his mouth. The pup has great inner strength as he does not turn away, instead turning so he is facing the ass and stating what the donkey had suspected. The silence that falls after Nico’s statement is tense as Oscar isn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Hooves shift slightly as he shuffles his weight around in another show of uncertainty. The boy takes a deep breath before continuing on and the donkey offers him a strained smile. Oscar’s features soften as the pup speaks of his mother and the donkey learns another key fact, that Nico is not some lone wolf pup but a coyote.

Light blue eyes look down at the lean pup as Oscar takes in everything Nico has said and the donkey quietly contemplating something. After a moment, one side of his mouth ticks up and he leans toward the orphaned pup, lowering his voice to a whisper as he says, “Want to know a secret? I am far more scared of coyotes than of wolves.” Lifting his head up, the donkey looks down at Nico with a gentle smile on his lips as he says, “Hey Nico, I have an idea! There are a lot of scary predators out here who want eat a donkey and a rooster. My herd and I could use a predator, like you, to protect us. What do ya say?”

Truthfully, with Taiga as part of their herd, the prey animals don’t need any protection but Oscar will be damned if he is going to leave to Nico alone out here alone.


"Oscar Monaghan"