No, he wasn't hurt, but he was uncertain how to tell her that he was her friend Jigano, and he was dripping wet and growing a bit chilly in the early spring breeze. He shivered, caught between a metaphorical rock and a hard place, but before he could decide on an answer Rexanna spoke again and his ears perked up again, swiveling to find the direction of the thunder. An approaching spring storm?
No... the thunder wasn't quieting any, and besides, his delicate paws detected a growing tremor in the earth. On the alert now he gathered himself and leapt to cross the distance between himself and Rexanna, circling behind her ankles as his wet hackles tried to rise and he growled to the east. Half-crouched, he saw the earth seem to undulate as a hillock of mud approached them, squirming and writing along the edge of the Oasis.
Wait. That wasn't mud...
He yipped in concern, then bounded out in front of Rexanna, snarling protectively as the half dozen Magna Vermis became clear amidst the tangle of wriggling bodies. They ranged from a mere two feet long up to one nearly as large as the one the Abandoned had killed, drawn by the tremors of something heavy falling beside the water - their former brethren - and determined to chase any intruders away from their Great Puddle by whatever means it took.
No... the thunder wasn't quieting any, and besides, his delicate paws detected a growing tremor in the earth. On the alert now he gathered himself and leapt to cross the distance between himself and Rexanna, circling behind her ankles as his wet hackles tried to rise and he growled to the east. Half-crouched, he saw the earth seem to undulate as a hillock of mud approached them, squirming and writing along the edge of the Oasis.
Wait. That wasn't mud...
He yipped in concern, then bounded out in front of Rexanna, snarling protectively as the half dozen Magna Vermis became clear amidst the tangle of wriggling bodies. They ranged from a mere two feet long up to one nearly as large as the one the Abandoned had killed, drawn by the tremors of something heavy falling beside the water - their former brethren - and determined to chase any intruders away from their Great Puddle by whatever means it took.
