The dragon herla's belly rumbled as he crouched low in the long grasses. It had been so long since last he ate, and now he was so close... Bright eyes flashed as he glimpsed his prey through the waves of grass. He would not have even seen the little creature in the first place if it hadn't fluttered into the air, surprised by whatever it had stumbled upon. Mordred edged closer, patient in his movements. It was not the lack of game that had kept his belly empty, quite to the contrary in fact. Here, the game seemed plentiful. But here, the herla seemed to be predominantly herbivorous. He had seen a few others who seemed to be carnivorous like himself, but most.. He recalled one hind who had berated him for it, such a pretty hind... The dragon herla pulled himself back to the present, willing himself to focus on the game at hand.
Nike tossed her head, the little fawn clumsy in her movements. Where had her mothers gone? She cursed her bad eyes, her little rump ploping to the forest floor. Her sisters, they had been born perfect. Marvel was stunningly beautiful, even as a fawn. Echo was completely unique, with Mommy-ba's wonderful tails. Nike got bad eyes, and a blindfold. The little fawn gave a sigh, ears drooping with her thoughts. Now she'd even managed to get herself lost, seperated from her family... The little fawn looked up at the trees, their forms blurred through her blindfold and fogged by those terrible eyes, and desperately puzzled. How was she to get home?
He was close now, he could taste it. The little creature munched delightedly on a bug, completely unaware of the predator but a few lengths behind him. It was hard to stifle the rumble in his empty belly, but somehow the dragon herla succeeded in staying silent. Oh, how his patience was wearing thin. He always grew impatient, antsy so close to the chase. Every step forward was a risk, would he be noticed? Would his next step be one too many, should he bolt now, or edge closer? Mordred edged forward another step. The rabbit creature sat up, ears erect, and the dragon herla serged forward, bursting through the grasses as his hooves dug deep into the earth, and he sped after his prey.
The chibin munched his catch, absolutely delighted with his day. Ever since he had followed the herd to the hartlands, it had been as close to paradise as one could get. His frame had been gaunt from the long journey, so much so that it had shown even through all of his marvelous fluff. Now, he had finally been restored to his wonderful roundness, and he would stay that way, if he had anything to say about it. The chibin froze, mid-chew, with the remains of a beetle still clutched in his little hands. Immediately his ears were up, scanning the meadow for any sound out of the ordinary. What had it been? A suspicious tingle of instinct crawled its way up the chibin's spine, not a breath before the massive herla sprang out of the grasses, its fearful teeth bared. That one moment seemed to last forever, the panic as the herla sprang forward blinding the little creature's mind until he almost forgot to move altogether. In an instant, he dropped the remains of the beetle, his wonderful meal and wonderful day forgotten as he clawed the earth, desperate to escape. Oh, his home had been hard, but at least it had never made him so fat and lazy! In all the wonder of the Hartlands, he had forgotten the tingle of instinct, forgotten to be wary of all things. His lazy muscles burned at his sudden demand, but the chibin could not afford to pay it any attention. In his mad scramble, he had managed to run toward the forest, where he hoped there would be brush enough to hide him, or a tree to scale. The herla was close now, he could almost feel its teeth snapping at his wonderful little tail. Finally, he crossed the threshold into the forest, but with the rabid hart not a step behind him, it offered little consolation. He needed to find safety, now.
The fawn was startled out of her thoughts as something undoubtedly large crashed through the thick forest before her. Fleetingly she caught flashes of yellow and blue, and before she could even wonder what the thing was, a small cream colored ball of fluff darted beneath her, more running into her tiny, seated frame than anything. It was not a moment later that the terribly large hart came rampaging through the bush, teeth bared. Nike gave a frightened squeal, her legs tangling beneath her as she tried to run.
The dragon hart slammed his back hooves into the earth as he burst through the brush, and saw not a rabbit, but a fawn! Sliding in the earth, he did his best to check his course, but only managed to topple head first into the fawn. Sharp little hooves peppered his face and horns as they desperately searched for purchase so that she might run, the blows sharp enough to send the hart staggering backwards, once his own feet were found. With a snarl, he turned to the child, smoke steadily streaming from his nostrils as his blue eyes flashed in frustration. A growl rumbled in his chest, but the hart quieted himself. It was just a child, after all. Mordred glowered down at the fawn, his meal huddled beneath her. ”…I would be happily obliged, child, if you might get off of my meal.” Smoke billowed fourth, punctuating his words in the curves of their wisps and bursts.
Nike was sent rolling, her hooves catching at something, but finding no grip until they somehow had found the ground. The fawn scrambled to her feet, her breath coming in quick gasps as she turned to face the huge hart, and his glowering stare. Certainly he didn’t mean her, did he? Nike gulped, finally looking down at the little creature who seemed to have started all of this trouble. As the fawn looked down, a dark streak along her side caught the attention of her foggy eyes. Along her shoulder, where she had fallen, was a large, dark streak of mud. Her attention turned to the dragon herla, a cold tingle taking the place of fear. Her little ears pinned to her skull with annoyance, and through the sheer blindfold the fawn gave him a vivid glare. He was the one. He had gotten her dirty. Adults weren’t supposed to do that. They weren’t supposed to run over innocent little fawns either. ”You got me dirty.” The little fawn huffed, between her fretting to clean herself. The little creature that the brute had chased still huddled beneath her, its little arms clutching her foreleg. How could he be so mean to something so small and cute? Certainly he was an ugly brute. Nike’s nose wrinkled at the thought. She straightened herself, keeping her proper posture as her Mother taught her. She should be strong, and fierce. The fawn put on her best face, but she couldn’t deny the hart’s huge size, or those teeth… Nike snorted, stepping forward to put herself between him and the tiny…whatever it was… She lifted her chin, in the same mannerism she had seen in her mother so many times. Her little eyes closed as her tail refused to quell its ever slight tremble. ”No.” Her tone was perfectly polite, and almost frank as it were. The little creature huddled beneath her, unable to shake the feeling that something dreadful was about to happen.
A gentle rumble began in the dragon herla’s chest, growing into a warm laugh as it spilled fourth, whisps of smoke turning sound into swirls of white. Such courage for such a tiny thing, Mordred was beside himself. In his childhood, he and his sister had been the only children in years… Now that he had ventured to the Hartlands, they seemed to be everywhere. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t enjoy their company, some were genuinely delightful, and curious. Others.. Well some had frightened him to be honest, but mostly they were refreshing, and new. They were a thing to be protected, and treasured. Still, the child was sitting on his meal. ”…Certainly I wouldn’t keep you from your grass, would I? Why keep me from my food?”
Nike hardly realized she had been holding her breath until the hart laughed, and the air whooshed out of her lungs. She relaxed somewhat, more and more realizing that he wasn’t going to eat her. She looked down at the terrified little creature. ”…He’s so small, it doesn’t seem fair for someone. .” Her little eyes strained to see him clearly, the buck certainly seemed handsome, with such thick, long hair and bright eyes. ..Such as yourself, who’s so much bigger and stronger…” The fawn looked up to the dragon herla, her eyes pleading. Certainly someone like himself would be kind, wouldn’t he? Or was his ugly hidden inside?
Mordred gave a sigh. It seemed he would never eat in the hartlands. If she was still innocent about the ways of things, he hadn’t the heart to tell her otherwise. ”Fine.” The word was drawn out, and tired, but only for Mordred’s still empty belly. He watched as the little fawn’s face lit, a big smile as she ducked down to nuzzle the little creature beneath her. It would have been a tasty meal though… The hart gave a snort, tossing his head to clear the smoke from his face. ”…Now let’s find your parents, shall we?”