My first thought: A christmas story and a... hunt? :blink:
Well, let's dig into the snow, shall we?
On the one side, we have a herd of (I didn't quite get what kind of species they are supposed to be but the descriptions around it are making up for the lack of imagination on that regard) Ugrunaaluks (that sounds like a finnish word to me, lol) who are facing off against the harsh conditions of the cold time on their way to their winter residence. Laak seems to be the typical herd leader, strong-minded, careful and experienced, also being a father to Uam who seemed to be your typical playful and carefree young child
However, they are preyed upon by a small family of Cryos (fastbiters of sorts as it seems, I'm not too familiar with unpopular species
), consisting of Acris who seems to be quite reasonable for a sharptooth (not the stereotypical bad guy
), trying to teach his children Bren and Lopus the principles of hunting under harsh conditions.
However, a blizzard makes a dangerous situation for both parties, turning a, so far, pretty peaceful phase of character introduction into an action-packed scene! Too unfortunate that Bren is as hardheaded as Cera in some regards
I shall read on...
I think the hunt was written in the most exciting way I can imagine right now. A challenge, seeming almost impossible to master, is taken on by young Bren. She soon realises that she has overestamated herself and underestimated the enemy, respectively. As she gets caught in the herd (why not bite a few of them? they'll love it
), chances are low that her hunt will be successful, but then... just then there's a spark of hope: A youngling, easy to hunt under these conditions if you're not counting the constant threat of being trampled or kicked/bumped into. Bren tries, gains on it but then, oh no, she fails after all as she takes a bad hit from somewhere, being catapulted out of the herd (at least!) and tumbles down a hill where she loses conscience (oh no :unsure: ) Brilliant! But what now, things aren't over? What about the youngling? What about the flat-faces, what about the remaining Cryos? Oh god I have to read on, enough typing for now
...and it is beginning to dawn on me why this is a christmas-themed story
sounds like something Littlefoot would do there
Body language... confusing as it is, it does the trick here. This story is great!
Ancient snow-shovveling... love it!
Almost a happy end at this point, Uam didn't get eaten and Bren is back with her folks
Ah, happy end now! Whoa, Fyn, what should I say? If this is something you write in two days without much planning and post-editing, without rereading things at least three times and stuff like that... honestly, I'm almost scared to read your big stories!
I regret not reading this sooner, I really do...
And, knowing that there's now a fanfiction challenge, I can only hope - no, expect to see more of these short masterpieces soon!
