The awe in the other's voice, complimenting his own, made Hemming feel buoyant. Finding someone to share wonder with was perhaps the most magnificent feeling that existed, and the gray male sat in silence and absorbed it. His smile was wide as he, too, stared at the markings in the stone. Looking up for just a second as the other offered him his name, the gray wolf replied, "I'm Hemming."
After a few more moments of admiring the finely defined sworls, Hemming said softly, "I wonder what kind of creatures they lived with. Giant fish, maybe? I wonder if they're squashed in the rocks, as well." He looked towards the caves at their side, fantasizing about what sorts of fossils might be hidden in there, like the finest treasure. The bookworm vaguely remembered reading that certain types of tissues fossilized differently or not at all. Conditions had to be just right, as well, but the presence of the fossil that laid before them suggested that the odds were good.
He felt as if he had opened up a secret world, where the past had folded over to relapse upon the present. How many of these secret worlds existed here on Earth? Sometimes Hemming was worried that he would die before he could find them all. Worries like that, though, were far from his mind on this splendid day. |