Post by Nova on Feb 21, 2009 11:01:15 GMT -6
Everything was worth something. Everything had a purpose in this world. Everything was put where it was put for a specific reason. Even this wide outstretch of sand was there for one reason or another, even though other animals may not think so. It was actually somewhat pretty, Nova decided as she stared out at the barren landscape; the dunes were tall mountains of earth, majestic in a strange, savage way. She had been born, raised, and roamed the African savanna for the majority of her life, and sure, they had hills and such, but never did they have such odd surmounts with no vegetation on them. The zebra mare paid little attention to the heat, the alternating black and white stripes on her body evening it out.
Unafraid of the sinkholes rumored to be hiding here and there, Nova broke her still-statue reverie and trotted forth. If nothing else, this territory right here was placed here to pique her interest. Exploration, pioneering, and curiosity were her keywords, and even if no one else saw the value of it, she knew it was there somewhere. Someone just had to go find it, had to go venture deeper into the territory to seek it out. Her hooves kicked out tiny clouds of grit and sand as she traveled onward, disturbed for the first time since who-knows-when. It was exciting to her, actually, being the first to venture into unknown territory. Sure, there were stories, but she hardly believed that anyone had gone this far.
Nova purposefully made her way up to the nearest dune, seeking height first thing off. The taller a creature appeared, the more intimidating they were; right? That was what she had been taught since she was young; size meant power. That was the rule of the wild; the elephants got to the waterholes first, and the giraffes got the tastiest leaves at the top of the tree. But she had never been one to conform to the usual, and had never really believed that in her heart of hearts. Size mattered very little, at least outwardly; it was how big one's heart was, after all. She would never have gotten this far had she truly believed that just because she was small, she was weaker than the rest of her fellow creatures.
Upon reaching the top of the dune, Nova paused there, nostrils flaring as she sniffed. At first, there was no other scent other than the hot, burning sand under her hooves. It was the natural smell of warm earth; nothing more, nothing less. No water, no food, no other animals nearby. But she refused to think that there was nothing around, and lifted her head, still scenting the air dutifully. Her efforts were rewarded when a gust of wind brought the sweet smell of fruit to her nose, even though it was accompanied by some sand in her face. She blinked, both in disbelief and in slight pain, and instantly set to work in finding the source of the smell. She trotted down the windswept side of the dune, eyes watery but sharp as ever.
Surprisingly, she did not have to go very far to find the source of the smell. A strange-looking fruit protruded out of the hot sand, bright green and smelling sweet. It was not the thorny cacti she had heard of that grew out of the sand, and she was not sure of its name at all. Never one to be afraid of the unknown, the mare plucked the odd-looking fruit from the ground and crunched it between her teeth. It definitely was not anything she had ever eaten before, but it was almost as sweet as it smelled. It was the clencher in her decision; if no one else was going to take it, she was going to take this land for herself. Swallowing her savory snack and snorting, she reared up on her hind legs and barked out a harsh, challenging cry. Kwea, kwea, kwea!
"This is now my land!"
Unafraid of the sinkholes rumored to be hiding here and there, Nova broke her still-statue reverie and trotted forth. If nothing else, this territory right here was placed here to pique her interest. Exploration, pioneering, and curiosity were her keywords, and even if no one else saw the value of it, she knew it was there somewhere. Someone just had to go find it, had to go venture deeper into the territory to seek it out. Her hooves kicked out tiny clouds of grit and sand as she traveled onward, disturbed for the first time since who-knows-when. It was exciting to her, actually, being the first to venture into unknown territory. Sure, there were stories, but she hardly believed that anyone had gone this far.
Nova purposefully made her way up to the nearest dune, seeking height first thing off. The taller a creature appeared, the more intimidating they were; right? That was what she had been taught since she was young; size meant power. That was the rule of the wild; the elephants got to the waterholes first, and the giraffes got the tastiest leaves at the top of the tree. But she had never been one to conform to the usual, and had never really believed that in her heart of hearts. Size mattered very little, at least outwardly; it was how big one's heart was, after all. She would never have gotten this far had she truly believed that just because she was small, she was weaker than the rest of her fellow creatures.
Upon reaching the top of the dune, Nova paused there, nostrils flaring as she sniffed. At first, there was no other scent other than the hot, burning sand under her hooves. It was the natural smell of warm earth; nothing more, nothing less. No water, no food, no other animals nearby. But she refused to think that there was nothing around, and lifted her head, still scenting the air dutifully. Her efforts were rewarded when a gust of wind brought the sweet smell of fruit to her nose, even though it was accompanied by some sand in her face. She blinked, both in disbelief and in slight pain, and instantly set to work in finding the source of the smell. She trotted down the windswept side of the dune, eyes watery but sharp as ever.
Surprisingly, she did not have to go very far to find the source of the smell. A strange-looking fruit protruded out of the hot sand, bright green and smelling sweet. It was not the thorny cacti she had heard of that grew out of the sand, and she was not sure of its name at all. Never one to be afraid of the unknown, the mare plucked the odd-looking fruit from the ground and crunched it between her teeth. It definitely was not anything she had ever eaten before, but it was almost as sweet as it smelled. It was the clencher in her decision; if no one else was going to take it, she was going to take this land for herself. Swallowing her savory snack and snorting, she reared up on her hind legs and barked out a harsh, challenging cry. Kwea, kwea, kwea!
"This is now my land!"