Horns ✖

Memories [Pt. 1]

At least that's what I thought.

It was night when I awoke. The starless sky shrouded the landscape in pure darkness, turning the many beauties of mother Nature into shadowed silhouettes. I noticed there was a warm presence to the left of me, pressing against my scales with a soft, pleasant coo. Even in the shallows of the night I could see her pink hide glimmer like moondust in my eyes, and the salty scent she offered made my nostrils widen between every inhale and exhale.

Strangely enough, as soon as my neck raised, her eyes opened, and she turned to me with a soft whimper of worry.

"Another nightmare?"

I looked down at her, gaping my beak as if bound to speak, then sighed in defeat. It wasn't just my past that felt this worry, I did as well. The memory had control of itself, but I could feel every emotion surge inside me like a broken vessel of sorts. Livia looked over to the herd from afar, turned to the forest to the right where a smoking mountain stood, then turned back to me.

"Is it about the herd?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes, "I don't know what it is, Livia."

"You haven't been sleeping well," she sighed, licking my chin, "Ever since the tournament months ago, you've been stressed. And you haven't said a word."

"Maybe that's what I am. Stressed."

"Ah... There's nothing to stress over, I promise you," Livia urged quietly, "Look... we're going to be okay. We all will. Don't ponder what has yet to come, sillyhorns. You're doing great."

I bowed my head, looking down at her underbelly and swallowed. She carried my clutch now, six wonderful eggs in her swollen chest, but rather than give me the joy any father needed, it brought me fear. I didn't want to lose her, now and more than ever. And, now that I was herd leader, I didn't want to make a mistake that could cost her life. Livia followed my gaze, looking at her belly and purred.

"It won't be long now," she purred softly, "Just a couple moons, that's all."

I smiled, nuzzling her cheek briefly and sighed, "I think that's what worries me."

"The eggs?"

I nodded, "I still think I'm not good enough. I promised Thistlehorn this position, and yet I took it from him. I feel guilty for... leading him astray. Lying even."

"Well, what do you think you should do about it?"

"I don't know..." I trailed off suddenly, feeling a strange feeling sink over my mind. An instinct, if you will, a primal warning. Livia sensed it too, her claws flexing out wide and flesh rippling against me, like goosebumps. The two of us began to whirl our heads about, expecting a predator to be hiding in the shadows.

Never did we consider looking down at the ground.

A strange growl began to rise around us, almost similar to the gurgles of an empty stomach. The earth began to crack and shiver around us, and like that of an ocean small waves began to show in the distance, pushing the land up, and down. I didn't feel it at first, thinking that the horizon was merely shaping form from a heatwave, as always. But as soon as the wave passed by, a sharp tremor shot through my underbelly, making my stomach writhe as our bodies were rocked.

"Livia-?!"

Livia's eyes bulged, "I feel it too..."

"Everybody get up, get up now!" I growled loudly as the ground began to bulk beneath us, all until the whole entire land mass slammed down, throwing me to the earth hard. I shakily stood back up, the earth now twisted jelly beneath my claws, and in fear let out a huge roar, alerting the others. The whole herd scrambled to their feet, perplexed by the madness occurring beneath them and screeched in fear. The land bulked again, tossing me to the earth with another violent crash, and I groaned, unable to process what was happening. I found Livia nudging me to my feet, growling in concern at my fall only to fall silent as her face went stone cold.