Sköll’s trip to crossing had only solidified and fuelled his appetite for adventure. He’d tried to visit the prairie before, but Gravewolf had always been there in the past to force him back to the herd whenever he got too close to the border. His uncle was kind of a killjoy, which was pretty annoying when Sköll knew that Gravewolf had visited the prairie before – Dreadbite had told him so. That made the spotted yearling a hypocrite in Sköll’s eyes and also made him want to visit the neighbours even more. After all, anything that was forbidden was immediately more enticing. Luckily, Gravewolf was in the lagoon now and Sköll was old enough for his mother not to mind when he went off exploring.
He did not make any excuses or sneak away from his mother’s side, instead, he merely wandered away to do his own thing. For all he knew, she was happy to have some peace and quiet and as long as he had returned by night fall, his she would not need to come looking for him .If she did have to come looking for him, however….. Well, he’d seen the welt she had left on his brother’s skin when he did not do as he was told and Sköll was smarter than that.
He stalked through the forest with purpose, shards of sunlight dancing over his white back between the gaps in the canopy of the trees. While he could not physically see the wide river that separated the two territories, mentally, he focused on where it lay behind the dense forest – the thick trunks beginning to fade into transparency. When he finally reached the water, he blinked away the image and focused on the reality. The current was strong where he emerged, and deep enough to sweep him off his feet if he wasn’t careful. His gaze swept up and down the bank, trying to spot a safer place to cross but he came up with nothing. Sure, he could trek further downstream, but that would erode into the time that could be better spent exploring the prairie.
So he leapt in.
As the steady flow of water battered his side, and knocked his legs out from underneath him, he immediately regretted not entering one step at a time. He could picture how easy it would have been, and took a small moment to do just that as his right side impacted with the rocky bottom of the stream and his head slipped under the ferocious water. Two thoughts occurred to him behind the roar of rushing water in his ears; a, that this hadn’t been the brightest of ideas he’d ever had and b, water really wasn’t his friend – in fact, he was beginning to think it hated him.
After some flailing and rolling, and having no idea which way was up, his right leg suddenly found purchase on the bed of the river, and he forced his head above the surface. His breaths were a mixture of ragged inhales and snorts, and coughs which tickled the back of his throat. He felt weak against the current, but somehow, with shaking limbs, he dragged himself up onto land.
For a few minutes he merely stood there, legs splayed and head down, just trying to recover his breath. As the coughs subsided and his sides heaved in a more regular rhythm, however, his gaze began to travel upwards. He only got as far as the opposite side of the bank before he closed his mismatched eyes and made a silent prayer that he would be on the right side of the river when he opened them.
Success!
He had half expected to still be in the forest but he opened his eyes again, the familiar pines were on the opposite side. He laughed then, a mixture of relief and joy; he would get to see the prairie after all! Although, he made serious note to cross more carefully next time; to make the effort to find the shallow crossing instead of diving into the deepest, most dangerous part.
A gentle stream flowed into the large one from this side and he decided that he could use it as a marker to make his way back to this spot before following the main one up-stream to the shallow crossing. If he timed it just right, he’d be back in the forest by nightfall without anyone being any the wiser. All things considered, he was feeling pretty smug right about now.
Well, until he turned from the bank and began to follow the smaller stream.
His right hip ached like it had been hit by a freight train and a small amount of blood wept from a few shallow abrasions over his rump and thigh. Luckily, these were just superficial but they stung and ached like a bitch. He snorted and gritted his teeth, his mood souring as plodded forward. This trip was not going even half as well as he had hoped but he was loathed to turn back now. He wondered how he would explain the cuts to his mother later, and just how angry she would be.
Splashes in the water ahead caught his attention and the boy hopped behind the trees, only to wince and mutter under his breath about not making rapid movements. To comply with his own mutterings, he dipped his head down and crept closer to the source of the sound with no cleat plan about what he would do when he located it. Mostly, he supposed he planned on sneaking up on whatever it was and then deciding on what to do after that.
As he peered from behind a thick trunk, his odd eyes found the source to be a red and white filly with a spotty rump. Her spots reminded him of Gravewolf but he balked at the thought. He was sure she was much more fun than his uncle and a damn sight prettier too – not that Sköll really took much notice of such things yet. That was an adult’s business and he had more important things to think about
With a sly smirk, the mostly-white boy crept behind the large tree that the filly seemed rather enamoured with. He tried his best to evade her detection, each step slow and calculated (and tinged with a pain which had dulled considerably now that he had something to focus on.) After a few moments of her lying beneath the tree, and him hiding behind it, he finally spoke in a deep, booming voice, ”Who lays beneath the mighty prairie God’s tree?”
XY | Mutt | Black Tobiano | EE/aa/nT | 16.0hh | Felony x Jörmungandr
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