Altair's Challenge

NOTE; Altair is not my character. This was an entry for a contest on a roleplay site I used to be on, and the point was to write of your character undertaking his challenge.

PART I
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Laurence was still stuck on the gathering he'd stumbled upon.

He'd been hanging around leisurely in the Orchard, the only place he had been thus far in time, when he suddenly got this... urge to up and head off into the unknown. He'd ended up in several places he'd never even known existed, then finally crossed from a nice, cool forest to this dry, hot desert. It wasn't the most lovely of places. Well, it was quite the pretty sight, but he'd never want to stay there for long. It was too open, too much the same. It was dusty and arid, with nothing growing (well, thriving is a better word) in any direction for as long as his pastel eyes could see.

The hot, gleaming sun battered down over the forlorn landscape, reflecting heavily off his fur. However, the black circles around his eyes seemed to draw the light, which was quite uncomfortable. Every now and again he would stop and raise of paw to his face to rub his eyes. It was an attempt in vain to clear his eyes; he only managed to transfer the sand clinging to the fur around his paws to the fur on his face. After a little while of wandering like this, bothered by the bright sun and hot sand beneath his paw pads, he noticed shapes before him. It looked like some sort of gathering, a riot perhaps? Picking up his pace, Laurence briskly made his way forward to join the ranks.

There were many creatures there. Few he recognized, though most he didn't. Both felines and canines, of a diverse range of colors, patterns, shapes and sizes. Laurence felt small and weak next to most of them. He felt as if his slender form could easily be crushed by their larger features if someone so desired. His ears slicked back against his skull in nervousness, and the tip of his tail twitched anxiously as he waited for whatever was going to happen next.

Unfortunately, a large dog was settled beside him. He didn't look very pleasant, with dark, dirty fur and dark golden eyes. Laurence didn't see his face well, but he was sure he had an ugly scar over one eye, and was missing fur around it. It caused him to shudder involuntarily, which the dog noticed.

He turned to look at the smaller cat beside him, a dangerous scowl on his face. "What're ya lookin' at?" he all but growled. Laurence wrinkled his nose. This dog's breath was dreadful.

"Nothing, sir," he mumbled finally, not knowing why this dog had decided to single him out. For whatever reason, this larger male was rude and crude, and could probably snap bones between his teeth like they were twigs.

A cruel smile twisted up the dog's lips, revealing large, yellow teeth that were probably several times the size of Laurence's own. "Really, buddy? 'Cause I was thinkin' you were lookin' at me. Why? Aren't I pretty enough for ya, pretty boy?" Laurence wished he could make himself shrivel away into nothingness. This dog was mad, and just so happened to be the last person Laurence would want mad at him. And what had he done? He hadn't said anything insulting!

"I-I'm sorry, sir--" he was cut off.

"Tell ya' what, pretty boy," the brute brought his face uncomfortably close to Laurence's, and he could smell the horrid breath much more than he could ever want to, "How's about you just move along, eh? Maybe then I'll be able ta' not wanna pluck those pretty lil' eyes outta your pretty lil' face, hmm? Go on, then. Shoo," a heavy paw struck Laurence on the side of his head, causing him to collapse on his side, but not before skidding a bit in the sand. Scrambling to his paws, Laurence felt dizzy from the blow. His vision was dotted with little sparks, and he wobbled around, shaking his head, trying to clear them. He could hear the raucous laughter of the beast, and still smelled the rank breath in his nostrils. Quickly, Laurence picked his way through the crowd, trying not to bump or shove anyone.

"Sorry, sir. Forgive me, ma'am. Oh, please excuse me."

Finally, he had found a spot, hopefully on the opposite side of the crown from that large, brutish dog. Laurence's head still throbbed where he'd been hit, and he had to sit down to keep from toppling over due to dizziness. His white fur was slicked as flat as he could possibly make it against his lithe form, hoping to not attract any sort of attention to himself. He didn't want to get hit again, or get on anyone's bad side.

Then Laurence noticed what the crowd was gathering around anyway. It was a creature, seeming akin to both canines and felines. He had a dog-like head, but most of his body seemed like it belonged to a cat. It was an exotic mix, really, and quite attractive if he got right down to it. This creature's fur was quite exquisite as well; shades of red an yellow and orange flowed together on his face, ruff and underbelly. These fiery colors were accented with smoky grays, and along the length of his back and shoulders the gray was dappled, looking very much like feathers. The top half of his tail also had this feathery effect, and Laurence couldn't hope but to admiringly wonder if they really were plumes like those of the flying creatures.

"Friends," The beautifully strange creature began, his voice seeming to hush the crowd. Laurence watched transfixed as he turned his striking, gray eyes to the crowd as if scanning the faces. Laurence sat up a bit taller as the male's gaze drifted in his direction. He wished that this male, the center of everyone's attention, had noticed him. "My name is Altair, and I am here to present you with a special opportunity. You have been drawn here, and this will be the first and last time you will see this land. I have for you a challenge. A challenge to find and hunt three of the sand creatures who dwell within this desert. The winner, the one whose effort is evident, will receive a special prize."

Challenge? Hunting? Sand creatures? Laurence nearly missed the message, he was so transfixed on Altair. He almost hoped that this strange male would hang around after the crowds had left to begin this challenge. Maybe Laurence would be able to speak with him, to get to know him.

Suddenly, for some reason, the whole crowd seemed to stand at once, including Laurence. He didn't know what everyone else was standing for, but he was standing for Altair. After surveying the crowd around him, the majestic male stood as well. "The challenge begins."

To Laurence's dismay, the crowd had been so excited to start on this challenge that they all moved at once, like a river flowing toward the ocean. He was swept along with the masses, everyone around him chattering excitedly. No, no! All Laurene wanted to do was meet Altair, oh so magnificent Altair. He didn't want to participate in this silly contest! He didn't even know how to hunt!

Just then, a thought popped into his mind. If Altair is hosting this challenge, them he must be meeting the winner at the end. It was that thought, that sole chance, that spurred him on to take part in this activity. He wanted to win, he wanted to win so bad. He would do whatever it took to win, because he wanted to please Altair. Everyone else was in it for the prize, for the reward, no doubt. Well, he wanted something more than a petty reward.

With determination burning in his paws, Laurence set out to find some of these sand creatures. The only things he had seen on the way here were large flying creatures. They soared high above, blotting out the sun now and again, casting dark shadows over the sandy ground. They had been easy enough to find, so how hard could it be to find and hunt three sand creatures?

Truth be told, he found one almost immediately. It was an ugly old thing, round with bumpy skin. It remained mostly motionless until Laurence all but stepped in the thing since it looked like a sandy rock. Then it croaked in surprise, leaping away on long, powerful legs. It was quick, and Laurence barely had time to register it before it was gone. Luckily, that attraction to movement that had caused him to bat at that one female's, Silva's, tail kicked in. He was bounding after that thing in an instant. Nearly upon it, Laurence felt pride swell in his chest, making him cocky. This isn't that hard, he mused, relaxing quite a bit. However, this cockiness got the better of him, and he wasn't as careful as he should have been. The leaping sand creature quickly changed course, throwing itself to the side.

Surprised at this unprecedented action, Laurence stumbled over his feet and went tumbling head over heels through the sand. He finally landed in a single oof!, belly in the sand. Feeling very put down and embarrassed (he was later thankful no one had been around to see his little mishap), he scrambled to his paws and peered around for the little creature. To his dismay, he couldn't find the thing. It's footprints remained in the sand, shallow, subtle and barely there. He followed them, though they disappeared all of the sudden. Picking his gaze up, the white-furred male squinted his eyes and looked around for any trace of the creature he'd been pursuing. After finding absolutely nothing aside from the footprints he'd already found, he assumed the darned thing had burrowed its way into the sand.

Feeling rather dejected, the white male picked his way through the sand, then sat down. His shoulders hunched forward in defeat, and a sigh escaped his lips. At this rate, everyone but me has probably already caught at least one sand creature. I'm never going to be able to win. He was still like that, still and staring at his paws, when a croaking noise sounded from behind him. It was honestly rather sickly, as if whatever had made it was going to fall over dead. Wait a second, that was the same noise the leaping sand creature had made when he'd frightened it!

Slowly and smoothly, Laurence turned his head to peer at the thing, which had resurfaced from the ocean of sand. The cat didn't dare move without calculating his exact movements; this time, the leaper was not going to get away. Muscles tensed beneath his alabaster coat, pupils dilating in shadow-rimmed eyes. Yes, he was going to catch the thing this time. And if he didn't? Well, he wasn't even going to think about that, because not catching it was not an option.

Just as the leaping sand creature had made a move to turn and hop back the way it came, Laurence sprang forward, his dainty paws feeling as if they didn't even touch the ground. Unfortunately, his prey saw him coming this time, again. It leaped forward, long legs lashing out behind it. Laurence was ready, though. He chased the thing down, and just as he was nearly on top of it, the leaper leaped to the side again. He had been ready for that, too; he managed to turn quickly without tripping over his own paws. Having completed his successful turn, the leaper had no other tricks to play. The cat lashed out a paw, nails appearing like magic (as had been discovered earlier, back in the Orchard), and catching the bumpy, dry skin of the small creature, tossed it flying over the sand. It landed with a plop and a croak, stunned, and Laurence was on it again before the thing could up and escape.

Laurence finished it off with a quick bite, feeling as if he shouldn't prolong any pain the small beast might have. That would just be cruel, and there was no need for unnecessary cruelty. Gingerly, he picked up the lump of flesh, skin and bones in his teeth. It didn't exactly taste appealing. Well, it sort of did, maybe it was just the odd texture of the skin and overall soft, fatty body that made the sand creature less appetizing. Either way, Laurence had made his first kill, whether he actually would want to eat it or not. And he wasn't required to eat it, right? He just had to catch and kill-- to hunt --them, not eat them. Honestly, he hoped that was the case. Just carrying the repulsive thing in his mouth was enough to make him gag.



PART II
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Feeling elated after his first catch, the male wandered on, not sure exactly where he was going. The worrying thought of getting lost pricked at his mind like the spiky plants, cactus they were called, he'd seen rather frequently in this arid place. Laurence thought it was strange that anything, plant or animal could live here. After all, there was nothing in sight, at first glance at least. Sure, he came across the occasional cactus, flying creature (those ones that soared way above his head and blocked out the sun as they passed) or group of rocks, but everything was primarily dusty sand.

Feeling winded from all the walking, Laurence sat down, dropping the no-longer-leaping sand creature to his paws. He was glad to relieve his mouth of the horrid texture, and he wondered if there was any better way to carry such a repulsive thing. He could try and carry it on his back, but that would risk messing up his pristine, off-white fur. And no, he just couldn't have that.

Sighing, he bent to pick up his kill again. Once he had it secured in his mouth, he stood and headed off again, onward to somewhere he didn't know. Lavender eyes peered around him cautiously, keeping alert for any sort of landmark to show where he was. That way, he would be able to recognize the way back, if the need came. It was just be utterly horrible if he got lost out here, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. He probably wouldn't starve to death, as long as there were other sand-leapers around. He could catch them. No, starvation wasn't his concern. The problem would be lack of water, or even the hot temperature of the sun. He dearly hoped that he wouldn't bake and crumble into the sand that lay all around him.

A thought struck him then. He had no idea how to get to this desert place before he'd come. And he had only gotten there because of this draw, this feeling that he needed to get up and explore. From then on, it was an invisible force that had brought him here, like he was in a trance-like state. What was it that Altair had said? You have been drawn here, and this will be the first and last time you will see this land.

Had Altair drawn that mass to this place? Was it possible that the strange canine-feline mix, hybrid if you will, was not only enchantingly beautiful, but he possessed some strange sort of magic? Laurence had hear rumors of a higher species of feline and canine being able to teleport in the blink of an eye, but he'd never seen it for himself. And besides things like teleportation, was being able to draw such crowds to an area with nothing more than an invisible force even possible? The thought boggled the poor cat's mind.

He must have traveled quite some distance, his mind lost in his thoughts of mystical powers, because when he resurfaced to the real world, he noticed he was nearly completely out of breath. He also found himself in an eerie sort of forest, composed exclusively of those strange, spiky plants. They towered over him, though not quite as tall as the trees in the forest he had passed previously on his journey to this strange world. They had spines instead of leaves, and had large, bulky arms that spread out to their sides. As Laurence peered up at them, his black-rimmed eyes narrowed against the sun and light which they attracted, he felt an odd sense of something. Dread? Not quite. It was much like being afraid, petrifying. But, it was more like a suspicion, as if something or someone was watching him but he couldn't see them.

Laurence glanced around, just to be safe. His tail flicked anxiously behind him, a physical sign of how nervous this feeling was making him. No, no, he didn't like it. It gave him this feeling of not being in control, though he really wasn't anyway. Still, he was supposed to be hunting whatever sand creatures were out here, not the other way around. And this intense feeling of being watched was exactly what he imagined prey in the process of being stalked felt like.

Laurence figured he was just being ridiculous. All this heat and direct sunlight was probably playing trick on his mind, plus the fact that he was in a completely strange new part of the world, a part he ad never even imagined existed. Anyone, in their right mind and perhaps not, would be nervous, he reasoned. It just made sense.

Carefully, he picked his way in between the prickly cactus trunks, which rose up on either side of him. It seemed almost unnatural how perfectly they seemed to line up with each other. It was a perfect diagonal from the cactus on the left to the cactus on the right which was slightly further ahead. They went on like that for many yards yet, casting their long shadows along the ground and over Laurence as well.

Wait, shadows? If they were casting such shadows, that means it must not be noon anymore. The hottest part of the day had passed, at least, and Laurence felt a pleasurable purr rise in his throat. Maybe then this sweltering heat would die away, and the searing grains of sand beneath his paws would cool to be much, much more bearable. Those conditions would be much more favorable to hunt in, especially since Laurence was just a rookie to the activity. He'd hunted bugs and small mice-like things back in the Orchard, but they had been easy enough to catch. It was almost like they'd been there for the sole purpose of being easily caught by the newborns. Even though he was immensely proud of his first kill, he honestly had to attribute it to luck. After all, he had blindly stumbled upon the dumb thing, which had just been lying there like a rock. And he'd nearly lost it when it had hidden in the sand! Sure enough, if it hadn't returned to the bare surface so quickly, Laurence would have moved on and not caught the atrocious little thing.

These thoughts put a damper on the young feline's mood. It was that, or the fact that he was just so hot, and tired, and exhausted that he wanted nothing other than to just curl up in the shade of one of these immense cactus and take a nap. Just a short one, to replenish his energy. After all, how would he be able to catch anything if his tail was drooping so low because of his tiredness that he was tripping over it?

He gladly deposited his catch in the sand, scraping some of loose, grainy earth over it. After he had hidden his kill to his satisfaction (just well enough that if something leisurely passed by, it wouldn't notice the kill right off the bat and scurry over and make off with it), he made his way to the base of the cactus on his right. He curled up with a contented sigh, the tip of his white tail resting gently on his dark nose. It wasn't long before the young cat was breathing in a rhythmic manner, his mind left to the mercy his dreams.

It was a fluttering noise that had finally woken Laurence from his "nap". He blinked his eyes open, still blurry from sleep, in an attempt to register what that strange sound had been. At first he saw nothing, but heard the fluttering again this time accompanied by the sound of sand being displaced. He turned his head to look in the direction of where he'd hidden his kill, and sure enough there was another creature there, unearthing it.

Leaping to his feet, Laurence let loose a furious hiss, a hiss that almost startled him from it's viciousness. He sized up his opponent, which was a rather strange creature indeed.

The first thing that he noticed about it were these two, very large, very round, yellow eyes staring back at him. They even dared to blink at him, seeming almost relaxed, as if the offense the creature had been caught doing wasn't an offense at all. Like this, this... this... sand creature had the right to just take and eat Laurence's first catch.

Upon closer scrutinization, this sand creature was very unlike the first. It stood on two legs, two thin, knobby, scaly legs. Its feet had four, long, bare toes that were dressed simply with small, hooked claws. The thing's body was covered in feathers, except the legs. It's face was rounded and flat, and it had the strangest, hooked, hard nose Laurence had ever seen. Well, maybe it was a mouth. Or both. It was colored mainly in dusty brown colors, with dapples and streaks of a lighter color, white or cream, along it's belly, face and... wings? Is that what those strange, fore-appendages were? They definitely weren't legs, that was for sure. It stood straight, and looked like it was scowling at the cat, thanks to a white stripe above its eyes, much like eyebrows. In any case, the thing wasn't flustered by the cat's awakening, even though it stood at maybe slightly over half his height.

The creature, which held a resemblance with those flying creatures that soared high in the sky, swiveled its head in ways that if the cat tried to reciprocate he would surely break his neck. Up, down, left, right, around 'til its head seemed to be upside down. Those yellow eyes didn't leave him for a moment, as they looked him over, picked him apart. When they were locked on him, they gave him a feeling of nervousness, insecurity. The same feeling that had come over him when he'd first found this strange sort of forest. Laurence remembered the sense of being watched. Could this strange creature be what had been watching him?

The smaller creature fluffed out it's feathers, making it grow in size significantly. It was no longer this slim little being, but now looked to be lager, heavier, and more imposing. Laurence narrowed his eyes at the thing, and it spread its wings and flew rather noisily to the top of one of a cactus. It perched there, not even being bothered by those prickly spines.

Looking up now, Laurence noticed that the bright blue sky from earlier was beginning to fade into an inky purple color, much darker than before. A bright, orange glow still crept over the horizon, providing enough light to be able to see well enough. Everything seemed cast with a blue tint, though, from the sand (which had indeed cooled) to his own white pelt to the strange creature above him now. The only thing that seemed untouched by the blue shadows was the creatures eyes, which still burned yellow as they peered down, watching him cautiously.

How to catch this strange little creature was the question at hand, er, paw. He knew he needed three sand creatures, and it was already getting dark. He wondered if he would even be able to catch three. After all, the first one had been hard enough, and it didn't seem nearly as intelligent as this new sand creature. His whiskers twitched in irritation as he realized just how difficult this could prove to be.

I could always just climb up the spiky plant, grab the thing by the feathers and come jump back down, Laurence thought. No, that wouldn't work, the voice of reason whispered. The spikes would poke him and make it nearly impossible, and that flying sand creature would be gone before he knew it. No, somehow he would have to lure it down to his playing field. But how? The sand-leaper.

Slowly, calmly, Laurence looked to the now uncovered kill of his. Yes, if it had lured that flying sand creature down before, it could certainly to it again. Standing, he made his way over to the dead sand-leaper (which, by now, was starting to give of a putrid odor that caused the young male to wrinkle his nose in disgust), moving in the same slow movement as when he'd looked over. He didn't want to frighten his prey or scare it off just by moving around.

He hooked the thing by the skin with his claws, then tossed it toward the cactus which served as the perch for his prey. He hoped the strange sand creature would take the hint, that it could have the catch for its own. Well, that is until it became the second catch.

When the yellow-eyed beast didn't make a move to go toward what would obviously be an easy meal, Laurence turned and walked away. Hopefully, giving the creature some space would taunt the thing to come down faster. A yard or two away, Laurence curled up, his tail covering his nose. He kept one eye slit to watch the carcass of the dead sand-leaper, but tried to appear asleep in every way possible. This setup must have worked, because slowly but surely, the little feathered sand creature became more and more interested, to the point where it flew down and settled itself beside the kill. It was still cautious, however, throwing careful glances over its shoulder.

Laurence remained patient, however. He waited until his prey latched it's clawed feet onto the sand-leaper's body and tried to take off with it, probably back up to the top of the cactus. That's when the young cat got silently to his paws and crept forward, to the back of the creature. Fortunately, the sand-leaper was just a bit too heavy for the feathered thing to fly easily with, and it struggled to get it even slightly off the ground.

Laurence leaped, paws outstretched. By the time his prey noticed him, he already had his paws above it. While trying to escape, it dropped the carcass and flew upwards, though only to get caught in his paws. Slamming it to the ground, Laurence managed to break its neck, killing the thing.

Now he had a small pile of two to show for his efforts; a toad and an owl, though he didn't know that's what they were called, not at the time at least. He purred audibly in his glee, lavender eyes sparkling.

"Two down and one to go," he told himself happily, finally feeling as if he had a chance to win this challenge.


PART III
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Laurence had buried his two kills more thoroughly this time, to avoid something coming by and stealing them. Once fully satisfied with his work, he set off again, heading down the cactus rows. His ears were perked up, straining to catch any sound they could. He needed to find just one more sand creature, and he wanted to do it quickly. The sun had just left the sky, slipping behind the far off dunes of sand, leaving the desert in an inky darkness. The sky was clear, however, leaving room for a bright, full moon and lots of little, twinkling stars.

Laurence's eyes could easily see in this light that seemed to bathe everything in blue, so the darkness wasn't much of a hindrance. In fact, this wasn't too bad. It wasn't hot anymore, and the sun wasn't blinding him.

It didn't take him long to find something else to hunt. In fact, it seemed the desert came alive with life after the sun set. There were little creatures scurrying everywhere; toads, rodents, more of those owls. What Laurence had set his sights on was this big-type thing. It had lets of legs, its front ones raised into sharp-looking pincers. It had a tail that curved up over it and ended in a malicious stinger.

It probably wasn't the smartest idea to try and kill this bug, but he tried anyway. It was actually pretty easy; he just walked up to the thing and hit it a couple times with a paw, crushing it. He did get pinched with those claws, though, which caused him to yowl in pain, and hope around on three feet, all the while peering at his paw like it had grown a head. The pain subsided soon, though, because he'd only been pinched and not stung with the wicked stinger that equipped the end of its tail.

Laurence picked the dead bug up in his teeth, careful to avoid poking himself with the stinger or the claws, and carried it over to his pile of dead-things. Digging the sand-leaper and the feathered sand creature up, Laurence dumped the stingtail-bug down on top, before sitting back and admiring his work.

Too busy wondering how he was going to get back to where the gathering had once been, to proudly show Altair his catch, he barely noticed the heavy paw steps behind him, and the rasping breaths of a much larger creature. It wasn't until the rank stench of bad breath wafted over him that Laurence noticed he wasn't alone. Tail fluffed out in fear, the young cat whipped around, hoping and praying he wouldn't see what he feared he would.

"Heh heh, seems I've found ya, doesn't it, pretty boy?" The same dark furred dog that had harassed him earlier, in the gathering stood over him, an ugly sneer plastered on his marred face. Intense golden eyes bore down on him, and Laurence couldn't help but to take a step backwards in fear.

"W-what do you want?" Laurence stammered, ears slicked back against his skull. The larger dog laughed a horrible, raspy laugh, like the feeble cat amused him. Laurence just found it unnerving.

"I wanna win this here challenge, just like you do," the dog said after his bout of laughter. Then he took a few steps closer, lowering his head to look Laurence in the eyes. It took everything Laurence had not to flinch away, but he was sure this ragged canine would be able to pick up the fear scent.

"Well, then," Laurence began shakily, hoping that this encounter could just consist of a civil conversation, "What have you caught?" It was a simple, innocent question. Of course the dog would be able to respond and scare Laurence out of his wits.

"You," Laurence nearly died then and there, which amused the dog greatly. Great, bellowing laughs erupted from him. If Laurence hadn't been to terrified, he would have thought it sounded like choking, not laughed.

"But, b-but, I'm not a sand creature!" he squeaked in protest. How the dog even heard him over the raucous laughter he was creating was beyond Laurence.

"Pretty boy's gotta point," the dog admitted, his voice tinged with a growl. "So how's about I just take your catch instead?" Laurence waited tensely for the laughter to erupt again, but it didn't. That only meant one thing.

The dog was serious.

It all happened so fast. The dog had lunged and scooped Laurence up in his jaws before tossing him away. Laurence landed heavily in the sand, throwing up dust around him. With a drawn out hiss, Laurence leaped to his paws. This beast was not going to steal his prey that he caught fair and square! The young cat was ready to fight for it, claw some eyes out maybe. Well, no, he probably wouldn't do that. In fact, his chances of coming out successful were slim.

Still, Laurence was so angry that this dog thought he could just walk up and help himself to Laurence's catch that he just had to do something. So, when in doubt, what did he do? He leaped and landed on the dog's back, claws digging into his flanks. This only made the brute angry, very angry, and he easily shook Laurence off. Rounding on the much smaller cat, he bared his yellowed teeth.

"How dare you attack me like that, you little f**k," he snarled, spit dropping from his fangs. "Now I'mma return to that damn hybrid you were ogling over with four sand creatures, not three. I'm guessing you got enough sand in your pretty pelt to count." Then the brown-furred mass was barreling at Laurence, snapping like a wild beast.

Laurence quickly realized that he was more agile than this larger, lumbering beast that was after him. He quickly darted out the way, almost right between the larger creatures legs. He found it easy to keep ahead of this crazy dog. While Laurence swerved easily around the cactus, his pursuer crashed into the thing, spitting and cursing as he got spikes in his side. Twirling around, Laurence scooped a pawful of sand and tossed it in the dog's eyes. The beast stumbled to a stop, shaking his head and pawing at his eyes to get the sand out of them. Quick like a white flash, Laurence collected his three catches and bolted, streaking back the way he thought he'd come. He was too much in a blind, panicked, rush to carefully make sure he was even going the right way. He just wanted to put as much distance between himself and that dog.

Laurence ran and ran, not daring to look over his shoulder. He just wanted to get back, back to safety. Surely, once there were other felines and canines around, the big, brown brute wouldn't hurt him, right? Eventually, though, he had to slow down and stop. Gasping for air, Laurence collapsed on his side. Tiredness swept over him, and his eyes began to feel heavy, oh so heavy. All he wanted to do was just close his eyes and... go to sleep. Fear of the dog still pricked his mind, but he couldn't get his legs to pick him up again and take him back. They felt like water, like they had no form, and just wouldn't work. Plus, the numbing sensation of sleep quickly overtook him, quieting his fear.



Laurence woke to a familiar feeling, the urge to walk to somewhere he didn't know. The draw was back, the same one that had brought him to such a forlorn area. Altair was calling him back, away from this hostile landscape. The sky was growing lighter, almost a pinky hue, and Laurence realized he must have slept for the rest of the night. Another thing he noticed was his thirst. His tongue felt like sand had crawled into his mouth and had babies, and their babies had babies until all the moisture had been sucked up. He needed water, but there was no water in the desert!

Getting up on achy legs, Laurence picked up his three catches. They were really beginning to smell now, and he didn't want to think how bad the smell would get once the sun was up and beating down on everything again.

Hopefully, he'd be back to Altair before then. Before his catch started smelling unbearable, and before he collapsed due to dehydration.

Author's Note

This was a three-post (if you're familiar with forum roleplays), so that's why it's in three parts. There may be a few grammar or spelling errors, of which I will fix upon finding.