Horns ✖

Memories [Pt. 4]

I found myself alone for the first time in decades.

The ground beneath me was filled with the richness of yellow grass, dry and flaky, yet soothing to the touch. It stroked against my blood-soaked flesh as I wandered through it's forests, carelessly minding the direction I took. The mud beneath me squished and curled with each step taken, despite no rainstorm having come through in the last week. I was alone out here, underneath the bright blue sky and the whitened sun that stared down at me.

I was at peace. Though, it didn't actually feel like peace.

My flesh, despite it's yellow façade, wasn't enough to camouflage everything, not even the horns upon my skull still reeking with sharptooth blood. I paced around out here, walking to and fro, trying to summarize the last few days into a couple of seconds. But even I couldn't manage to process everything. This world of mine had fallen apart, and I finally lost the pieces that made it whole again.

Now that I thought about it, my actions alone were severe enough. I couldn't even imagine the horror written on my herd's faces when they noticed that I left them to die, or the anger in Livia's eyes if she was still alive. All my actions, all my decisions, they were all for selfish means. They all led to the deaths of so many.

All of this was my fault.

The eggs, Livia, the herd... I abandoned them all. I left them all to die...

Eventually I collapsed onto my underbelly, bowed my horned head, and began to weep. I let all those held back tears flow freely down my scales, and I choked upon the warmth of this anguish for minutes on end.

Until a ground-shaking stomp behind me startled me enough to stop. 

My eyes widened, and I spun around, greeted by the last thing I wanted to see.

"Tooth... Tooth, I..."

I trailed off, already seeing the anger and pain glowing in the sharptooth's eyes, and closed my eyes in shame. The massive rex slowly walked toward me, hearing my snivels and whimpers growing louder by the second, and stared down at me. But his eyes weren't all that sad for himself... there was a part of his being that felt pity for me.

He curled around my body, drawing his tail against my flank, then sat beside me. All I could do was follow his example and lean against him. But I didn't dare look into his eyes. I couldn't, not after what I've done. We sat in silence for the time being, listening to my sniffles and whimpers cease, then fall into steady breaths. Tooth then looked down upon me, his eyes slightly peeking toward my blood-stained horns, then toward my eyes.

"Why?" he asked softly. I exhaled weakly, and closed my eyes.

"You wouldn't understand..."

Tooth snorted slightly, his eyes flashing toward me. "Any normal rex would kill you where you stand. Frankly my instincts are begging me to, even now."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I'm not that kind of killer," he growled. "I refuse to lead by instinct and pleasures. You taught me that when you befriended me long ago."

I flared my nostrils, not bothering to look up at him, and tilted my head away.

"Back then... When things made sense. When nothing else mattered but each other. I prayed this day would never come... but we're not the same. We lived two different lives and now... now we're enemies."

Tooth's chest convulsed with anger and pain, and he whirled his head away, getting a grip on his emotions, then snarled at me.

"Why did you do it?!"