Everything was quiet.... Far too quiet for Bairds liking. There was a tense hum in the air and it felt like the land was holding it's breath in anticipation of something. The silence rang in his ears and made other noises sound muted. The sound of his paw pads hitting the earth barely registered anymore, there was no breeze to rustle the leaves on the trees, and no birds singing. The atmosphere had his hackles up, reminding him of the massive storms back home, the thunderheads pregnant with water and electricity crackling in the purple clouds. There were no clouds that he could see yet, but the feeling was the same, and he knew well the destruction that could be caused by extreme weather, having witnessed the effects all over the world. He had been personally affected by one storm in Australia; his tribe having been caught by flooding. They had lost three pups to the waters that year. So he knew the feeling of an oncoming storm, and knew that he didn't want to risk being out and about on his own when it hit. He had Pan and Gelar to look after.
As he thought of his companions he checked them again, Pan was curled around his neck, her chocolate fur puffed up and her tail tightly wrapped around his throat. Gelar was sitting on his shoulder, as close as he could get to the dingoes face, beak tucked down into his chest feathers, his plumage fluffed out as he reacted to the environment. Baird used a claw to tap on the birds impressive beak, muttering to him under his breath, keeping his voice quiet and calm, attempting to soothe his animals, "Don't you worry mates, we'll get ourselves somewhere safe before it hits." Gelar clattered his beak in response, nibbling the claw affectionately, knowing the dingo wouldn't let any harm come to them.
They had set out from Halifax early that morning, dodging through the city to make their way to the grasslands. He could smell a pack border nearby, mingled with lake water, the scent was unfamiliar so he knew that this was a pack he had yet to come across. He hoped they would appreciate his warning of oncoming danger if they had not sensed it themselves, he didn't know how attuned to nature the canines of Nova Scotia were to major weather dangers. He also hoped that they would take him in.
Photo courtesy of pierre pouliquin
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