EZITAL
The sweet, echoing call of a river beckons to Ezital a full mile away.
He snorted happily, and picked up a brisk trot in the direction of the sound. It’s been ages since he’s seen something bigger than a mud puddle, and his time in the desert has left the hair over his back and neck in salty, crispy whorls. A river promised cool soothing water and a flush of green things to stuff his face with. Perhaps followed by a well earned nap in the sun.
Perfect.
He picked up speed as the air grew slightly humid and misty, filling his lungs with moisture. The forest parted and the river finally came into view.
”Cannonball!” he screamed as he streaked past a big brown blur on the bank. Nothing would have stopped him, not even a hungry grizzly perched on the shoreline.
The surface of the water slapped the flat of his belly, but he could do little more than gasp before the current churned and pulled him below the surface. He struggled, briefly, for footing, but he found nothing but more water pulling at his limbs.
He was abruptly crashed into a rock, jarring his left foreleg as he kicked and fought to the surface. Clambering out of the foam and froth, he perched delicately on the top of the rock and shook the excess water from his fur.
Aware of the eyes on him, he arched his neck and tossed his soaked mane, hiding his slightly swollen foreleg and ignoring the warm trickle just above his knee.
”Well?” He called to the stranger, ”are you coming?”
@Willfur <3
