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Post by Forte on Jun 7, 2012 21:54:14 GMT -5
Oannes strolled the beach leisurely, basking in the warm afternoon sun and enjoying the scent of the ocean air that filled his lungs. This is certainly a fine day to be alive, the wolf thought as he looked upon the lovely green of the forest and the cloudlessness of the sky, heard the pulsing waves rolling over the sand. The immortal world didn't have anything like this. Well, it did if you wanted it to, but being able to control the weather took the fun out of there being weather at all. Oannes much preferred being in the mortal world, where the weather changed to suit itself rather than the gods who controlled it. It made beautiful days like this more precious.
A heap of sun-bleached logs lay in the distance that promised a better view, so Oannes sped up to a lope. His long legs ate up the beach but, since he was so massive, his paws sank into the soft sand and made it difficult to run. He moved closer to the water where the sand was more supportive and sped up still more to a run, grinning with pleasure, tongue lolling. Another thing the immortal world lacked: exertion. There was no traveling there: everything was where one wanted it. Most of the gods liked this. It meant that they could be more accessible to their friends. Oannes had friends, yes, but he was not a social butterfly. Oh, he liked socializing, mingling, meeting women, but it didn't come easy to him. That was part of why he had come to Earth. Perhaps there was a mortal here who he could connect with.
Oannes had chosen to come to earth as opposed to any other planet especially because of its oceans. The world was more than seventy percent ocean; more space for Oannes to be in his element. Most other planets were either so hot that water existed only gas form, or so cold that it was all ice. Come to think of it, he knew Earth had frozen oceans near its poles. He would very like to see those. But for now he would content himself with this sunny strip.
He reached the logs after a couple of minutes. The pile of driftwood was larger than it had appeared: it stretched away for several hundred meters and was tall, at least three meters in most places. Many of the logs were huge. No doubt they had once been the kind of massive tree that inhabited the forest nearby. Delighted by the size of the heap of logs (it would make for great games should another wolf show up), Oannes searched out a smaller log and from atop it, leaped onto a larger, and in this way he climbed to the top of the pile. I was right, he thought. The wolf could see much farther from this vantage point. The beach appeared empty excepting many seabirds, but on this beautiful day, who could resist the charm of the sea? He would wait. Surely another soul would appear and Oannes could really start his vacation. |
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Post by Olivia Hamel on Jun 8, 2012 2:53:43 GMT -5
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Post by Forte on Jun 8, 2012 3:38:08 GMT -5
Oannes watched a seabird as it flew low overhead several times, clearly curious about this strange creature that had claimed for its own what could have been its perch. The one thing the wolf didn't like about the ocean was the presence of gulls. Their harsh cries pierced his ears and they crapped all over the place. And they ate fish, which Oannes loved, so he had to contend with them for his favorite food. He curled his lip as the gull landed several yards away, its head rocking back and forth as it tried to get a good look at him. Slowly it hopped closer. When it was just a few yards away the wolf leaped at it, jaws snapping; the bird reacted with plenty of time to lift from the log before Oannes' teeth reached it, but it disappeared down the beach and the wolf didn't see it again.
After a few minutes of sunning himself, Oannes got bored. There was one thing the mortal and immortal planes had in common: in them, boredom ran rampant. He stood, shook his coat out, and walked along his log, looking down into the jumble of driftwood. Cool air drifted up from the shady maze and he shivered, but his curiosity overcame his fondness for warmth and he dove into the middle of the pile of logs. Inside was...well, not much less boring than outside. Shafts of light glanced between the logs onto other logs and some even reached the sand far below. While this tangle of trees would provide enough shelter from the wind, it would not keep out rain. He doubted any prey would shelter there, and besides, what timid animal would brave the open space of the beach to reach this driftwood?
Oannes climbed back out on top and stretched out in the sun, and after a few minutes began to feel sleepy. But a strange feeling was nagging him. He felt he was being watched. The big wolf looked around curiously and, seeing nothing, wondered if he was just imagining things. Oh well, he thought. If there really was someone watching him, he wasn't worried about it. Any other wolf he could take on, thanks to his great size, and if it were a fiercer predator he could outrun it and make it to the ocean, where he would be safe. He settled back down, enjoying the warmth of the sun. |
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