Creatures Of Sonaria: Sands Of Time

Part 2: Journey

       Dune was running for the plains. Her pointed back legs dug into the sand like pointed sticks, and when she took another running step, the sand filled the hole back up. SandSwept knarlikies were great at hiding their tracks because of this. Her tail would smooth the sand her front claws made, and the wind would do the rest. Dune had never left the Carrion desert before. The sand, the hot sun, the heat. She loved it. And she was about to leave it all behind to save Aire.

       Leaving behind her home to save Aire. She'd leave anything behind for her. At this point, secretly, Aire meant more to her than just a best friend. But she also knew that ghiblies usually mate for life, so they stay with whoever they choose, even when one of them dies. That's how it had to be, and Dune felt terrible for that, but she didn't want to cut the line of love that Aire and her dead mate had and replace it with hers.

       Knarlikies, however, could mate with anyone at anytime. They usually believed in total population. Males mated with as many females they could, and the females would lay as many eggs as they could before they either died of age or killed by a predator. 

       SandSwept knarlikies were a bit different. They didn't live solitarily like the boring normal ones. They stayed in packs, and had one egg whenever one pack member died. Too many mouths to feed could lead to chaos, and so the SandSwept knarlikies were smarter. Of course SandSwept knarlikies were more superiors to the averege ones. SandSwept ones were smart, clean, sneaky and naturally beautiful and graceful. Regular ones, however, were dumb, messy, and trailed their scales and footprints everywhere. They looked ugly and gross and looked like floppy tails with legs. 

       Although knowing this, Dune had never met a normal knarliki, so she just imagined those things to make her sound better than them. Maybe I'll meet one and find out if I'm right, Dune thought. 

       Her thoughts stopped when she arrived at the riverland boarder. Looking across the thin river, she could see so, so many different plants and flora. And it was so green! Aire always thought it would look a lot less pretty. A lot less. But it looked like a paradise only a small walk across the water away. She stared into the water, and realized that it was dusk. The moon's reflection was rippling from the wind. 

       Dune stepped into the water. It was a lot colder than she was prepared for. She flinched back, shaking the droplets of water off her sandy claws. She didn't like the cold one bit. But this is for Aire's safety, she thought with worry. She harnessed her fear and threw it away, and began to cross the water. She tried her best to suck in her underbelly as she crossed, but the water just barely licked at the smooth scales.

       Once she crossed, Aire rested on the grass, which felt a lot softer than it looked, but also a lit itchier too. She rolled around in the grass for a few moments, letting the ground soak the water off her legs, but also because she wanted to feel what it was like for other creatures. 

       Coming back to her main mission was difficult until she finally stood up and stretched. Something moved in her peripheral vision. Something skipping on two legs that blended in with the grass. Dune was glancing around until she saw it. A green, bird like creature with a pink frill. It's legs were a bright yellow. Dune had no clue how she hadn't seen this creature yet, even at night.

       Swifly, without a sound, Dune lunged at the creature and instantly crushed it's mere skeleton under her claws. She longed to eat, so Dune ate it, and decided to keep going. It was night though, and she was tired from running for hours across the desert. She needed to rest. Luckily, there was a pond with a small cave across it. 

       Dune went into the cave and looked around. It was small, but comforting. She went to the end of the cave and curled up, letting sleep wrap around her head and lower her eyes.