AlcoAnother day on his own in the savanna, the sole kremling, Rool, ventured through the river banks, hidden from sight.
Perhaps, he wondered, his stash of fish tails had been swiped again by the local scavengers.
Badgers, storks, jackals... much more life than the island ever exposed.
He felt puny before the herds.
All of them fled with ease before the clumsy beast could follow pursuit on two, worn feet.
Gone were the days where others did his bidding.
The vicious and competitive crocodiles ensured that Rool lived in his own corner of a murky lake.
Today though, Rool found a surprise...
There before him under the setting sun, stood four furry creatures, each with wide stances and fish dangling from their jaws.
All four glanced at their early visitor, rising from the waters...
Rool expected mockery from flashing grins, his fearsome status now a relic of the past.
However, with haste in their strides, the felines scrambled away at one of them giving a loud growl..
“Go!”
Some fish heads slid from their jaws as Rool stared down at their muddy paw prints, ignoring his rumbling belly.
‘Lions? The crocodiles had spoken about these critters. Seemed as if they respected them...
They were fast...
And together...
Perhaps… they could use, a leader!’
He turned to the lions' path, grunting as he squished the rubble at his feet and stomped after them.
The paw tracks led Rool into a thickened forest, fresh water trickling around his toes.
Bulky leaves wrapped over the reptilian. He pushed them with slow shoves, until he reached the edge of a grove atop a sturdy flat rock.
A roar erupted across the clearing, but the shadowy trees hid its source. With a thud, a massive lion leapt before the kremling intruder.
No Kaboings, Klaptraps or Kritters of any sort around.
There upon a granite platform, only Rool stood with the enormous grey lion before him.
‘Their leader?’
Rool stepped back, his chest reflecting the faint glow of the sun, hidden behind the dense forest trees.
The grey lion's narrowed eyes locked onto Rool. He approached with a confident stride, giving a glance to an audience.
"Stand down my sons, I'll handle this," The lion claimed, noting the peeking stares above high rock
His voice boomed, "You are trespassing, stranger. You would be wise to leave, especially if what I’ve learned is true. You threaten my pride, you answer to its champion, it’s guardian: King Tungora of the Northern Plains."
Tungora inspired by character of same name in "Everything the Light Touches Part 2" by Mirri and Radix
2021-05-04 04:26:16 +0000