Another snap of those jaws and the bug’s legs slapped thickly on the leaf littered ground. Her senses had been over taken by fear. Some wonder why a deer stands silent and still as a car bears down upon it. It is the utter realization that death is near that halts the animal. They stand contemplating their lives and oncoming death.
She felt her head spin, her legs buckle, and she tried to expel her breath. The head began to lower, eyes narrowing, jaws were still clamped shut as the dragon faced her. Nostrils before her. She could see as they drew up and down as they took in her scent. Zeek laughed. Zeek?
She looked down seeing he had left his hold on her sides. He was standing there, with his little paws feeling the scales upon the lizard’s lips. He let out another squeal of amusement as the wind gushed out of the char’s nose.
“Oh Great Lizard! Spare him! I place myself before you! Devour me but, spare the child!” She knelt, tears flowing, anything for Zeek. “Please Great Lizard! He is just a child.”
“A child blind to tuh darkness.... an innocenunt one. Take your child, I huv no heart to devour either one of yuh.” Charlock stared at the smeargle babe. So small and weak yet strong with love and kindness.
“Thank you Great One!” She gathered Zeek slowly. As she lifted her child she saw the glistening trails upon the char’s face. “Does something bother the Great Lizard to move you to tears?”
“Yes, mother smeargle. I lost one of muh young this night. Muh mander lays dead in our cave.” His head raised, she winced as she saw that the massive lizard was growing lean.
“I know the grief of losing a loved one. Was it sickness or a predator? Man?” She placed a paw upon his clawed hand.
“Nuthin’ so easiluh accepted… starvation. I failed muh child.” Zeek watched, wondered why the big orange thing was crying.
“Great Lord Lizard for showing us mercy I shall tell you a secret.” The tribe was no more, what was she risking. “Twenty feet upriver from where the Umbreon fell with the smeargle in her jaws there is a huge tree with mangled roots sticking out of the ground. In that tree high above five Umbereon lay fat and gluttoned with the blood of my tribe.”
“Everuh year tuh Umbereon grow many in number, they keep makun more and more and us? We grow thin smeargle. Tuh more of them the less of your kind. Every year tuh dogs steal more food from muh children. I thank yuh mother smeargle. It is time I thin that pack out.” Charlock began to flap his wings.
She sat relieved. Zeek watched as the huge reptile took to the winds. He wondered if he should let her know that the huge blue thing was crawling toward them. The funny things on it’s snout quivered. Zeek laughed.
“What’s so funny young one?” She turned around. “Brutus!”
She leapt, her feet springing them onward. The river lizard let out a roar of anger as they escaped. Snarling he sank once more below the water’s surface. He would swim waiting to see if that dumb char would drop any dogs to the forest floor.
Days passed and Zeek grew strong enough to hop about a little on his own. Life was not easy on the floor. But, he soon learned what was friend and what was a predator. He sat under a bush glut toning himself on it’s berries. He sniffed the air. She was close, she was marking territory boundaries. The other banished smeargles had tried several times to invade this strip of land. It was perfect, giant mushrooms grew here and water collected in their tops easily and the thicket was dense keeping larger carnivores out.
Spinaraks were still a problem. But, Zeek had taught his Mom a trick! They came after them one night and Zeek swung his tail about as he leapt onto his mother’s back. The fluid from his tail flew in the spinarak’s eyes blinding it. She marveled at the defeat and started using the attack when the spiders tried to attack at night.
She had fended off several males, till Zeek was old enough to be on his own she would chase any male off. By nature she would watch out for her child’s welfare first. She would instinctively guard her chance to pass on her genes to the next generation via her son. She leapt in front of him.
“Mom! Berries?” He held out a huge fistful of blue fruit. He began to understand more words and was able to use a few.
“Zeek, you little rascal! You spoiled yourself now who’s going to eat these bananas with me?” She placed them down.
“Zeek will!” He grasped them eating one peel and all.
She put him in her lap. She was happy, she had Zeek and that was all she needed. He turned to look at her, mouth stuffed with the ripe fruit he chewed.
“Well smeargle! You’ve done well for yourself.” A voice came from behind them.
They turned, an Umbreon sat calmly watching the two. Zeek’s mother raised to her feet. He stared remembering the dogs, how they swifted through the trees tearing his tribe apart. Zeek trembled.
“What do you want!” She backed away.
“I hear from the river lizard that you told ol’ Cajun boy Charlock where to find my pack!” He snarled.
“What complaint can you lodge? Your pack grew fat on the blood of my kin! The charizard did your kind a favor! It is the way of nature! Your pack grew too successful! It was nature’s balance that the char attacked you!”
“My pack! My beautiful pack! We were twenty-seven strong! That damned lizard wasn’t satisfied with four or five! Nineteen perished! I sat watching my children die! I was forced to flee to ensure some survived.”
“Umbreon! It is nature! Go home and mourn your loss! The char has made friends with me! He will defend me.”
“The char is gone! We watched as he found his lair invaded!” Lunis smiled vilely. “He found his manders slaughtered!”
“How could you!” Zeek’s mother felt tears well. “There are only so many of them left!”
“He decided their fate by attacking us! Like you decided your fate by betraying us to him!” As Lunis spoke six other dogs appeared next to him. “Unfortunately his mate came upon us, I lost another of my pack!”
“Monster!” She swung her tail, ooze splattering in their eyes.
On the run again, Zeek wondered when life would become easy again. He wanted those times back, long ago when they lived high in the canopy. Long before he was brought to Sorin, before he was dubbed “The Prophet of Death.”
“Zeek hang tight!” She sprang forward with dazzling speed. She grabbed vines and swung wildly.
Behind her she heard the pack of Umbreon snarling and thundering behind them. She gritted her teeth and leapt to another tree, then she grasped a new vine swinging. Zeek loved the feeling of flying as they zoomed through the forest. He clung to her tightly and shut his eyes imagining he sprouted wings. They flew on and on, far from the dangers of the jungle.
They flew like that huge orange thing named a char. He spread his wings and he flew his mother to safety and they found the perfect place to live where berries grew on everything, even on the rocks! He opened his eyes when she came to a stop. The dogs had them surrounded again.
Tbc...............