He hadn’t spent as much time in his foxform as of late, with all the work that needed human thumbs and a voice and other such accessories to civilized life. Which, as he realized now, padding through the Glade on four dainty paws, was a bit of a shame. Priorities shifted sometimes along with shape. His mind remained his own, but seeing the world from so much lower down and with so much more emphasis on scent gave him a different perspective that he’d been lacking.
The scents of Flowerbirth, for instance, were so overwhelming that he could almost forget about the attack on the Spire and the loss of Ronin and the conflict that was brewing between the old people of Caido and the new ones.
Almost.
But it was enough, at least, to give him a little break and try to clear his head before he went back to poring over the histories and books that Safrin had given them. He check on his den to make sure no one else had tried to move in and padded onwards towards the Oasis to get a drink, a little excited to see what new growths looked like around the watering hole.
He’d been expecting flowers and vines and bushes. He hadn’t been expecting the long pink worm that was slithering along the edge of the pond, bigger than anything he’d seen before. Three feet long and a few inches thick, it squirmed along with a mouth that burrowed a trail in the dirt as it went and a slime trail in its wake.
Caught be surprise and fascinated by the monstrous worm, the white fox padded closer, sniffing overtime as he investigated it. It smelled like a worm but also more than a little like food, and his stomach rumbled in response. Tentatively he reached out a paw to tap the creature, wrinkling his nose as his pads came back damp with slime, but the worm twitched in a satisfying way and scrunched away from him. Ears perking forward in curiosity he tapped it again, pleased to see how much like an earthworm it was. Dancing forward he barked at it – a sound it proceeded to ignore, lacking ears – and then gave chase as it started wriggling away at a good clip.
So caught up was he in playing with the little creature that he didn’t notice the much bigger worm that was sliding silently up behind him, easily five feet long and more than capable of squashing the leggy fox flat as it reared up to body slam the little mammal away from its ‘puddle.’
The scents of Flowerbirth, for instance, were so overwhelming that he could almost forget about the attack on the Spire and the loss of Ronin and the conflict that was brewing between the old people of Caido and the new ones.
Almost.
But it was enough, at least, to give him a little break and try to clear his head before he went back to poring over the histories and books that Safrin had given them. He check on his den to make sure no one else had tried to move in and padded onwards towards the Oasis to get a drink, a little excited to see what new growths looked like around the watering hole.
He’d been expecting flowers and vines and bushes. He hadn’t been expecting the long pink worm that was slithering along the edge of the pond, bigger than anything he’d seen before. Three feet long and a few inches thick, it squirmed along with a mouth that burrowed a trail in the dirt as it went and a slime trail in its wake.
Caught be surprise and fascinated by the monstrous worm, the white fox padded closer, sniffing overtime as he investigated it. It smelled like a worm but also more than a little like food, and his stomach rumbled in response. Tentatively he reached out a paw to tap the creature, wrinkling his nose as his pads came back damp with slime, but the worm twitched in a satisfying way and scrunched away from him. Ears perking forward in curiosity he tapped it again, pleased to see how much like an earthworm it was. Dancing forward he barked at it – a sound it proceeded to ignore, lacking ears – and then gave chase as it started wriggling away at a good clip.
So caught up was he in playing with the little creature that he didn’t notice the much bigger worm that was sliding silently up behind him, easily five feet long and more than capable of squashing the leggy fox flat as it reared up to body slam the little mammal away from its ‘puddle.’
