It seemed Tomyris didn't have long to wait for the Grandfather Tree to answer. One moment she stood, gazing up at the heights of the spectral oak, then the next her awareness was a blur of flurried motion. It almost felt like she was falling. When her world did still, she was no longer on that lone lush plateau out in the barrens. This was a forest the likes of which she had never seen. This wasn't Homewood. She'd visited a time or two on occasion and this didn't...feel right. This place was unknown to her. It was cooler here with thick fog lazily drifting through the area. The trees, towering, spindly things with high branches heavy with dark green needles or scaled leaves, were numerous. Further pondering over her surroundings stopped when a high, clear howl cut through the air. First one, then another, and another, and more. Some were nearer than others, but of one thing she was certain: they were answering each other and they were too close for comfort!
She needed to go! So, off she went, mind racing as she propelled herself forward with bounding leaps and long strides. They were predators. Social ones. So either wherever she had ended up was experiencing a time of plentiful prey to allow otherwise solitary hunters comfort in coordination, or this place was home to a breed of cooperative predators that hunted, lived, and acted as a unit. Regardless, both choices were not ideal. More eyes, more ears, more minds were working towards the singular goal of making a meal out of her.
Well, not if she had a say in the matter. The doe made a point to run an erratic path, lashing her long tail against any tree or shrub she passed, even briefly. Double back, take a big leap in a different direction! Saturate the area with her scent, don't leave any one clear path. Being that she was unfamiliar with this forest, Tomyris wasn't terribly confident with the idea of attempting to hide, though her dark hide and the fog would probably be useful in the dim of this forested interior. This place was home to those howling predators. They'd probably be able to find her eventually unless an easier target came along to distract them. What she was wanting to do was to get to higher ground. She'd be able to see them coming, perhaps be able to defend herself if worse came to worst.
Tomyris could hear their barking amongst each other behind her. The cooler temperature of the air helped a lot more than the hot, dry desert air that she was used to, but she knew that she couldn't keep running forever. The seal bay doe was following her instincts to try to get to higher ground. The ground was growing rockier, with light gray stone outcroppings jutting out of the upwardly inclined terrain. Good.
The wind rushed through the trees and the fog was thinning as the chase went uphill. Tomyris hazarded a glance back. One of the predators had fallen into pace a few yards behind her and to her left. This wasn't a feline, so she wasn't needing to worry about sudden forward leaps and snagging claws. They'd have to actually catch her if they wanted to catch her...or wear her down. Her muscles burned and her heart hammered wildly in her chest. It was a possibility that this was how these predators worked. Exhaust their quarry, then finish them off when they were too physically drained to escape or fight back. The sound of the wind still rushed past her...
Then a thought occurred to her. That wasn't just the wind. That was rush of a nearby river. That could be the break she needed! The source was off the the left and in front of her. Tomyris angled herself appropriately to head directly to the sound of the water. This deciding and slight change of orientation let the one canid close more distance between. She could hear the huff, huff, huff of its breath with every intent stride it took. It made a snap for her tail or her haunch, which it missed. Tomyris dug deep and kicked out with her pointed rear hoof. She connected her kick. The predator yelped sharply, falling back away from her, closer to the rest of the pack.
The extra wiggle room was needed! The path seemed to drop off ahead, but the sound of a rushing river roared. She skidded to a stop as the edge came to meet her. There was a drop of a few yards, but the water looked fast and deep. The opposite edge had a similar outcropping to the one she was standing on. She could potentially make the leap...If she missed, she'd just end up in the river anyway. Better that that clamped in several toothy maws. A snap of a stick behind her drew her focus. The pack had slowed greatly as they stalked towards her, fanned out around the base of the outcropping she had come to stand upon. They thought they had her. Not today! If the river killed her...Well, these beasts could find her body and help expedite her return to the planet that nurtured her.
Tomyris surged toward the creeping predators, catching them by surprise with her seeming attack. But she was simply needing a little head start for the leap she was needing to do. She whipped around at the last second and raced toward the edge of the precipice, then jumped. One tried to snap for her tail or something. She had heard the clash of teeth, but felt no pain, no pull of hair or tail. Missed her! Tomyris held her breath as made the leap, bracing herself for whatever landing she may get. She landed hard on the opposite outcropping, staggering into a slide. The landing knocked her held breath from her. Her lungs complained mightily. She coughed and panted as she staggered to her feet and shook off the dust that clung to her coat.
Across from her the pack had gathered on the top of the outcropping she had just be occupying. A couple barked, one or two paced back and forth along the edge, unwilling to make the leap as she did. Her legs were longer than theirs, their bodies were stockier and shorter than she was. It would be less likely that they'd make the same leap. The one that had tried to take a bite out of her, the one she had kicked, stood back from the edge, just watching her for a few moments before turning back down their hill. Gradually, the others followed suit. Tomyris made some mental notes of the general look of her canid pursuers, how they seemed to hunt, how they communicated. She would live to see another day, and now she had some knowledge that she could share with any other nomads that she may encounter. Notes could be compared if anyone else had previously encountered these creatures. Tomyris felt good knowing that she could contribute to the shared knowledge of her kith and kin.
There was another swirling, spinning, falling sensation. Tomyris dropped to sit on the ground, blinking as she once more found herself on the grassy hill of the grandfather tree.
[WC: 1222 ]
