writhing, wriggly, glowing worms

Rannoch had finally begun to come into his own, as he reached maturity he had distanced himself from the herd who had raised him. Partly because that was the natural way of things, young stags went off to create their own herds. Partly because the whole group had slowly drifted apart in general. He was saddened by the loss of his family, but with the growth came development. Rannoch was a right prince of the forest now, there was no other stag that could compete with the massive deer. He was the biggest of them, with the largest antlers, and had access to all of the best hinds. Yet he still felt like something was missing, he would never be with his own kind again. He hoped that some of the calves he had sired with the local moose population might come to challenge him some day, but there was no telling if any of them would even survive their first year. They were so different from either parent.

The giant Elk couldn’t dwell on these bits though, he had to follow the laws of nature and watch out for himself. He didn’t have any hoof in raising his offspring. Right now as spring was upon them Rannoch had lost his massive antlers and his head was nearly bare except for the nubs that were beginning to grow. His form remained massive, though the swelling of his neck for breeding season had subsided if only slightly. This caused a shake of flesh as he swayed through the forests of the north.

Bright flowers were blooming, birds were singing, fawns were dropping, and the ;and took on new life with the change of season. Without procreation being the forefront of his mind Rannoch was out exploring. He had taken the time to get to know his home, the northern reaches were where he was most comfortable. They were the most like his home land. However well he knew the forests and grasslands he wasn’t so familiar with some of the lands. Like this place.

The massive deer rounded a corner to find the gaping mouth of an unnatural cave. The huge cervine was least comfortable beneath the earth but he was feeling overly curious and explorative today. He cautiously entered, his soft eyes taking in the dark recesses around him. His nostrils flared at the strange scents that greeted him, and he very nearly stopped and turned around when the scent of wolf hit him.

However as he looked ahead into the tunnel he could see her. The she wolf was not paying him any attention, instead her gaze was firmly fixed on the ground.. That was moving. His eyes widened in surprise and he took an uncertain step forward. Finding that he couldn’t stray from such a mystery. He felt like he could hold his own against one, though rather tall, she wolf.

"What have you found here, wolf?” He asked as a wave of boldness took him and his cloven hooves brought him closer to where she peered at the strange finding. The worms wiggled and crawled beneath detritus beneath some strange vegetation. He had never beheld anything quite like it before.

"Speech"