I lay still, gazing at my mothers face. She has beautiful white feathers and beady blue eyes. I am new to this world and I understand so very little of it. I recognise my mother and fathers faces of course but whenever we are out walking with their friends I struggle to make out who is who. On the ground there are lots of leaves and grass. I stroke it gently, feeling it tickle my hands as the move closer to me. I smile at my parents and begin to laugh. The other animals say look weird compared to us. We are dodos. We are small birds but unlike the other birds we can't fly. They mock us at times but we know that they are just silly. A cloud of thick dust sweeps the land, plunging us into a city of fog and falling rock. I sit still, inhaling the sharp and misty air. I can hear my parents coughing gently. A toxic gas was weaving its way through every corner of the forest, touching lake where my family drank from. The gas sinks into the lake. My parents faces fading into darkness. Meticulously, I rise to my feet. I use my small feet to drag my parents into the woods. The distance between us and the woods was minuscule although, pulling them made it feel like I was dragging them and myself into oblivion. We safely lie, the forest floor beneath us. Many venomous and repulsive creatures bypass us. I go out looking for food. Being alive for two years has taught me a lot of what I need to know. I see an opulent shelter filled with soft brown decaying leaves and fresh mud. I stand, a sense of brazen animals gazing at me like I am food fills the air. Breathe I tell myself. My eyes squint, sunlight beaming in my eyes. I had never experienced sunrise without my mum and dad. We did everything together. My first sunrise on my own. I feel proud. I have went hunting for berries and fruits on my own. My white coat now covered in straw and dirt. I smell disgusting. Inhaling the forest air a tiger cub paces in front of me. I see myself now completely as food. No chance of escape. Snarling, the tiger cub growls at me. As I step backward the cub pounces, sending me flying on my back, landing in a puddle of dirty water. My breathing is now panicked and my facial expressions mixed. Being scared of a tiger or a tiger cub is very common. But I don't think that he is bad at all. He stops growling and allows me to stand on my feet again. My breathing is normal now. He didn't kill me. Is that a good thing I wonder? Maybe he is awaiting adult tigers and more cubs to completely finish me off. "Hello, my name is..." Ive began to stammer. I know my name but I physically cannot say it. I exhale a deep and long breath. "My name is Gray." After I end the sentence I slowly begin to slowly walk backwards. The tiger cub glares at me, viciously licking his lips. "Gray?" I've never heard that name. Im not so sure about you. I was just thinking that I was going to eat you. Hi, sweet little dodo, I'm Trek." He enclosed the gap between us. I swallowed the air that was residing in my mouth. My eyes squint and widen. Pacing towards Trek I see his hind legs shaking. When I talk to him now, I don't stammer. I am clearly heard. I'm completely befuddled. A tiger would never talk to an animal so low in the food chain. My eyes twitch and begin to swell slightly. Mini teardrops leak from my eyes. "So, you aren't going to eat me?" I gaze at him. I see his eyes full of shame. "My parents had always wanted me to kill an animal. I couldn't ever kill an animal. I was scared I'd run into lions and be killed like the way they were killed. The lion had a burnt white mane and a brown coat of fur. His left eye had been torn out by my parents just before they died." He lowered his head. A small drop of water trickled down the side of his cheek and then faded away into his fur. His eyes glinted and the light sweetened his dark eyes. Branches fell from high up in the trees. It was a fire. The fire began to maul the forest, sparks flying off of trees, which were igniting other trees. A black mist began to deep through the trees in the forest, turning into a dark cloud. The cloud raised into the sky and spread across the forest floor. Behind the cloud was a number of trees set on fire. A plethora of animals passed us in an attempt to escape the jaws of death. Soon the tranquility of the forest had vanished and turned into panic. The lavish sheltered cavern I discovered was not affected by the blaze. My friend stood mainly on his hind legs and as he turned around to run the fire struck his tail. The fire began to chide away at his fur. There was no way to coerce with the temper of the heat and flames. Both of us sprinted to the direction I faintly remembered as the way home. I passed birch trees which I recognised but in front of us was a large oak tree. The large oak tree must have sprouted insanely fast as it was definitely not there. I think to myself feeling confused. We begin to stride slower and slower before we begin to pace. A subtle taste of air fills the air surrounding us. The anger of the fire and the heat of the fire could have either poisoned the air or roasted us into very tiny, tiny pieces.
