The hills rolled, green dotted with a myriad of pastel flowers, with a stream cutting through the foliage here and there. Among the grass hopped a few rabbits, quick creatures that stopped only briefly to graze. Right now, however, any smart creature had stolen away into its burrow; dark clouds rolled across the sky as if mimicking the earth. The dreary snows of winter had abated to allow the sun to reign again, but now it was time for spring showers—and when they came, they came hard.
Skoll had been oblivious to the changes in the heavens, scooting along with his nose to the ground and his tail wagging curled behind him. His energy had gone with the sunlight, however, and he was less excited about exploring when it was so nasty outside. While the neutral territories were far more interesting than the Kingdom to a growing boy, at least the towns by his home offered entertainment inside too.
He was yawning when the first raindrop fell on his tongue. Blinking, he smacked his lips a few times then looked up, only for another drop of water to splash him in the eye. He squinted and backpedaled, his rear end bumping into a bush before thunder pealed, causing him to jump forward again. Determined, he flattened his ears and growled back at the sky; a prince wasn’t afraid of silly old storm clouds!
There wasn’t even a gentle prelude to the spring rain, not a little drizzle of warning. Instead, the sky dropped buckets down on the golden youth, and he gasped as he started to run. A distant patch of sky was still light, but he’d be washed into the ground if he didn’t find shelter soon!
Large paws splashed in mud, claws ripping up the soaked grass as his pelt was slicked against his lean body. He was blinded by the rain as he galloped along, however, not sure where the hell he was going. He’d seen an old badger set an hour ago, but he couldn’t remember where it was or if it had even been large enough for him to squeeze into. Water falling on his head like the blows of a million little wet hammers, the Haskel charged onward to find some sort of solace in shelter.
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