03-23-2020, 05:53 PM
As Alaric continued to explore Tanglewood's territory, he became increasingly aware of the vastness of it all. There was the marsh—perhaps the tabby's least favorite part, for it stunk to high heaven—and a labyrinthine forest that remarkably did not stink despite its proximity to the swamp. The territory also boasted its own junkyard, a place full of rusted relics from a bygone era; however, despite the artifacts' intrigue, Alaric found he had no use for them. They were simply interesting to look at.
There was a farm, too, where markedly large animals freely roamed. Alaric could not understand why the swine and bovine and avian creatures simply did not leave. Conversing with them proved useless, too; the animals were evidently too stupid or too hard-headed to communicate. The tabby had always been quite persistent, but even he could not bring himself to converse with animals that were too stubborn to utter a single word. He recalled leaving the farm with a huff and barely a look backwards.
He'd also heard about a crater of sorts somewhere. According to those he'd spoken to, the basin was massive. He envisioned a giant taking a scoop from the earth and leaving behind the aforementioned crater. Evidently the only things there—besides the earthen bowl, of course—were the skeletons of trees mangled and charred by whatever happened, as well as the bodies of humans. At first, Alaric had doubted the claims, but as more and more Tanglers told him of it, his skepticism slowly faded. Nevertheless, Alaric would not venture to it, at least not alone.
Besides the crater, the only place that he'd not traveled to was the shore, mostly because he'd not needed to. For some reason that could not be placed, he found himself traveling there. The salty sea breeze greeted him before the sea itself did. He breathed in its scent deeply, finding some sense of calm in the cool air. He broke through the trees lining the dunes at the beach's edge, and was met with the sight of a small gathering. Among those gathered were the tigon, whose name Alaric remembered to be Aurum. Alaric recognized the other presence as the wolf that expired green gas from his lungs. The tabby could not remember his name, though, and was unsure if he'd ever known what it was. Near to them were two tiny kits, one soaked from head to toe and the other bone-dry. Alaric was sure that he hadn't heard their names, either.
The gathering piqued the tabby's interest. He approached the small group with light footsteps and he took a seat near Aurum. Blue eyes briefly regarded both kittens, who, from the piece of the conversation he'd heard, were apparently brothers, judging by the authoritative way with which the dry one spoke to the wet one, whose name was Simon, evidently. The tabby glanced toward Aurum and the wolf for a moment, and after judging their expressions, he returned his gaze to the kittens. "Child, are you sure that you should be swimming? You appear to be quite young," came Alaric's low voice. He could not feign concern for the child. Adults were too melodramatic for the tabby to deal with, but to Alaric, children were to be protected and cared for.
There was a farm, too, where markedly large animals freely roamed. Alaric could not understand why the swine and bovine and avian creatures simply did not leave. Conversing with them proved useless, too; the animals were evidently too stupid or too hard-headed to communicate. The tabby had always been quite persistent, but even he could not bring himself to converse with animals that were too stubborn to utter a single word. He recalled leaving the farm with a huff and barely a look backwards.
He'd also heard about a crater of sorts somewhere. According to those he'd spoken to, the basin was massive. He envisioned a giant taking a scoop from the earth and leaving behind the aforementioned crater. Evidently the only things there—besides the earthen bowl, of course—were the skeletons of trees mangled and charred by whatever happened, as well as the bodies of humans. At first, Alaric had doubted the claims, but as more and more Tanglers told him of it, his skepticism slowly faded. Nevertheless, Alaric would not venture to it, at least not alone.
Besides the crater, the only place that he'd not traveled to was the shore, mostly because he'd not needed to. For some reason that could not be placed, he found himself traveling there. The salty sea breeze greeted him before the sea itself did. He breathed in its scent deeply, finding some sense of calm in the cool air. He broke through the trees lining the dunes at the beach's edge, and was met with the sight of a small gathering. Among those gathered were the tigon, whose name Alaric remembered to be Aurum. Alaric recognized the other presence as the wolf that expired green gas from his lungs. The tabby could not remember his name, though, and was unsure if he'd ever known what it was. Near to them were two tiny kits, one soaked from head to toe and the other bone-dry. Alaric was sure that he hadn't heard their names, either.
The gathering piqued the tabby's interest. He approached the small group with light footsteps and he took a seat near Aurum. Blue eyes briefly regarded both kittens, who, from the piece of the conversation he'd heard, were apparently brothers, judging by the authoritative way with which the dry one spoke to the wet one, whose name was Simon, evidently. The tabby glanced toward Aurum and the wolf for a moment, and after judging their expressions, he returned his gaze to the kittens. "Child, are you sure that you should be swimming? You appear to be quite young," came Alaric's low voice. He could not feign concern for the child. Adults were too melodramatic for the tabby to deal with, but to Alaric, children were to be protected and cared for.
♔ don't do love, don't do friends