Scout hopped along in front of you, leading the way through the forest.
“Dis way nyu fwuffy!”
Hab namie, you thought, but kept yourself silent. Scout was the herd’s nummie findah, and Smarty had sent you with him to prove yourself. Yet all you could think about was your babbeh, back at the herd without you. For his sake you hoped to succeed.
“Huwwy up nyu fwuffy!” Scout yelled.
He was going faster than you, and in the process making noises. Stepping on dried leaves and twigs, calling out in his high pitched voice, a walking munstah target. You kept to a slower pace, carefully placing your hooves to make the least amount of noise, keeping your head low, your white mane was easy to spot after all.
“Scowt gon’ weave yu if nu huwwy!”
Maybe he was doing you a favor. If a monster jumped out and attacked, Scout would buy you plenty of time to run the other way.
“Aha!” Scout said, running forward and just out of sight.
When you found him, he was reaching upwards, to a ripe fruit hanging from a branch.
“Awmost…” Scout stood on his hind legs, biting up at the hanging nummie.
You rolled your eyes, strolling to the trunk of the tree. You found where the branch met the body, and pulled it down with your front hooves, enough for Scout to grab it.
“Yay! Fwuity nummie!”
Immediately, he took a bite from it. You walked to him, bending down and sniffing it.
“Mummie findah’s get won bite ob nummie,” Scout said, “den take west back to hewd.”
You nodded, taking a bite from the fruit. It was sweet, enough to make you slightly less miserable for a minute. When you were done, Scout took the stem of the fruit in his mouth, lifting it up.
“Scowt wiww cawwy nummie, nu twust yu enouf yet.”
Annoying, but fair. Trust was something not given easily out here, as you had learned.
You kept going, past trees and through grass and bushes, searching for anything else to bring back to the herd. Then you heard a noise.
“Munstah!” Scout dropped the nummie and ran. You froze, lowering yourself near to the ground.
Crunch!
Something was out there.
Snap!
It was getting closer.
Tap… tap… tap…
Footsteps, small ones, what were they from?
The bushes in front of you were disturbed by something. What came out was something you’d never seen. It looked like the body of a fluffy, with four legs, but with no head. Almost like a blob, completely red except for its face: two dots and a smile.
You kept still, it stepped closer. Your heart was racing, but you kept eye contact. Its dark eyes giving you a feeling. Nausea? Pain? Terror? Death? All at once?
It was unnatural, whatever it was. It stepped closer towards you, you began to hear whispers.
Death. Pain. Blood. Death. Pain…
Two black circles, simple things, yet piercing into you, probing your very soul.
Fear. Does he? Fear. Fear. Fear. Pain. Mistake. Balance. Nature…
From far away, Scout looked back, watching the standoff.
Mistake. Balance. Nature… Dream…
…Chance.
It turned around, running away back into the bushes. When you were sure it was gone, you sighed, and breathed until your heart was back to normal.
Scout strolled from the bushes, his mouth open. You picked up the fruit.
“Nu wan be hewe.” You said.
wow he sense “balance, nature” to Dream