Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*:･ﾟ✧
Gaia urges Mando slightly forward yet the man barely makes the effort to budge. "They're not hostile, I promise. They've looked after me when I've been out hunting."
"And how do you know they weren't merely observing you because you'd make a fine meal?" Mando shoots back at her, feeling the inconvenient stiffness of his hunched legs.
Gaia chuckles and scoffs somewhat. An intrigued gleam jumps forth in her eyes, bowed posture becoming more and more refined as she splays her hand upon the tree. "When it comes to wildlife, most animal species don't have the luxury of being intellectuals," she informs in a practical voice. "They depend solely on their instincts and survival skills. Self-taught methods about the cycle of their life, which is passed down from their parents. If these creatures happened to be carnivores, as you said, they would've already made a pretty good meal out of me."
Gaia, Mando, and The Child aims their apt attention forward. The hoove-legged alien animals have taken refuge in a clearing ahead, frolicking about and tending to their eating habits as their coats of silver fur and intertwined harlequin feathers dwell underneath the sunlight. Their four eyes settle here and there, observing the light and any movement while soaking in calm respite.
This is what she wanted to show him.
"See," Gaia motions towards one of them, its muzzle coasting a tree, "they're chewing the roots around here. If I had to guess then I'd say they most likely bear more than "one" stomach as a result, meaning they grind on their food before swallowing it for good, to moisture the fibre and draw the nutritions out. It requires time yet that's all they have."
Gaia turns to face Mando, and she stops up. He's looking directly at her, too much in fact, as he carefully assesses her while she's been previously geeked out about the creatures native to this particular planet. He's never seen her act like this before. She's been totally absorbed with her explanation for a good while now, adopting a tempered expression as she had gazed delicately towards the herd and talked, but even so he couldn't tear his eyes away from her; mesmerised by the passion in her wide, spontaneous gestures. ". . .What?"
Mando falters, nearly forgetting to answer. "You just seem to know a lot about. . .fauna."
A shy yet proud smile forms on her lips. "My mother taught me how to evaluate wild animals from a young age," she reveals, flexing her fingers in a distant memory. "Crenatas living anywhere else than in a town made home in a village, and in a village each family would provide for themselves. They would hunt for food out in the woods or caverns, gather water from the streams, and learn how to treat the wild as a resourceful ally. If not, maybe the neighbours would be kind enough to lend some provisions. We never cared for luxury, but comfortability."
