Post by daystar on Aug 21, 2007 22:32:13 GMT -6
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Koi dashed into one of the caves of Shimo. He held his large head low and his large, round ears stood erect atop his crown. Mighty jowls hung open, pushed between his bone crushing teeth was a long pink tongue lolled to the left side of his blackened muzzle. He paused only for a second, determining his next plan of action. He darted his dark brown eyes across the cave walls as far as he could see, black nostrils flared taking in the musty scent of the damp dirt. He was alone.
If he got too deep into the caverns he could easily be trapped. But if he stayed too near the entrance he took the chance of a deadly surprise. He lifted his large left front paw and continued walking more slowly now, taking note of everything he saw and watching for any sign of movement. He turned his hind toward the wall and backed into it. He felt his short black tail touch the rough, cold surface. He attempted to shake the droplets of water from his spotted pelt. Satisfied he had done all he could, he perked his large ears forward listening for a second. He lowered his hind quarters to rest against the wall.
To his left a small entrance leading deeper into the caverns and to his right the entrance he had come from. Both were clearly in his view. He took comfort in knowing that it was dark in the cavern and he should be hidden from sight but not smell. A strike of lightening lit the entrance of the cave and the pouring rainfall left streaks of white across his vision for a moment even after they were gone. It was midday but it was dark like night outside. He sighed roughly, what a waste of daylight.
Koi was pushing five years old, he'd been on his own for two of those. He couldn't think of any task that would be harder then being a lone hyena. Of course he hadn't experienced any other life so surely he didn't know...but it was hard. He was constantly on the alert of other hyenas, mainly the threat of packs. Then the more evident threat of lions. There were very few lions, that if given the chance couldn't over-power a lone hyena. Slinking past a young, inexperienced lion happened on a daily basis and it made him feel like a coward, though approaching them was surely suicide. Something he was not eager to try.
He glanced to his left peering into the darkness as a strike of lightening lit the cavern up again. That entrance was clear of hidden or emerging creatures as far as he could see. Surely it would be wiser to go deeper into the cavern, the farther away from the rain the better but he knew, for the moment he was safe where he was, continuously moving was a waste of energy. It was best to stay where he was even though sitting where he was he was occasionally hit by a harsh wind, bringing the rain with it.
He flared his nostrils in a loud snort. He should be king by now. He was a prince, he was not the oldest of his brothers but he was the biggest and the strongest. And apparently not the smartest. He had thrown that life away, the only thing he could say is that he had grown because of it. He certainly considered himself wiser and not as full of himself. He had learned the hard way to back down when he was clearly the inferior. Now, his only goal was to become the superior, the dominant. More so he longed to fulfill what he considered his destiny, to be King. Another strike of lightening, the problem now was finding a pack.
The lions had come back unexpectedly in a never ending surge. Many powerful hyenas had been killed, their packs unable to recover before being scattered by another pride of lions. Most had moved on, left these lands...he had even heard tales that the lands were tainted. Ruled by demonic forces that had tipped the scales in favor of the lions. Nobody had the right to defy that unnamed god or demon as some put it, once it had scorned the lions and sent their numbers plummeting giving the earth to other creatures and now it had changed it's mind. Lions were back on top, Hyenas and the wild dogs had nothing to do but scramble to get out of their way.
Koi couldn't see it that way. The lions had stabilized their communities and that's why they were flourishing, that's why they had the power to break up packs and send the survivors running. "Organization, that's all we need to flourish again, just like them." So Koi had the vision, the ambition, what now? Lightening lit the cavern again and as the following thunder faded away, Koi echoed it with a deep sigh.
|xP, sorry for all my rambling...I just really like this charrie. |
