Submission (#187) Approved

The screams of some bold ruin explorers rang out as Minos did some casual moving of some items around and throwing pebbles when they weren't looking directly at him. What sealed the deal was his loud bellow that echoed loudly throughout the Old Capital. Watching from his vantage point, he laughed.

He walked out of the collapsed house as the elkh and a caretaker left his territory, screeching about ghosts living there. Minos snorted, following them to make sure they were gone. With the last of his laughter dying down, he started to cough. Too much fun for one afternoon and with the heat of the day, a drink of fresh water from the stream would be refreshing.

Provided he didn't run into those he just scared off, then he would continue his fun. That depended if he felt like it. For now, hearing the trickling of the stream echoing in the wood attracted him. It sounded a lot louder than it normally did before he remembered the torrential rainfall from the last two days.

The water didn't look palatable until all the dirt and debris settled inside the cavities in the ruins, which made for several trips to the stream a must… but it looked like the tiny stream had transformed into a mighty river overnight. The stream had risen out of its bed and onto the embankment.

Glancing across the stream turned river, he saw what was stone moving around the other side. Shaking his head and blinking hard once, twice, he saw the red eyes of a fawn with wings? He needed to stop eating those leaves he found in the ruins.

Before he could even get a drink from the water, the fawn took one wrong step and their patch of land broke off from the mainland. They screamed as that patch of dirt acted as a boat, drifting down further the stream. Minos watched on as it lodged in the middle on some logs.

The grey fawn notices Minos, yelling at him for help. Her ears flopping and turning around on her patch of dirt, trying to find a way off of it. She shrank back when she tried to put a hoof in the water, realizing she would be pulled under the current.

Minos stepped back and was taking in his surroundings to see what he could do to get her out of it. His eyes fell on some vines that were in the tree branch above her, strong enough for her to hold on while he figured his next step. Using his thaumaturgy magic, he pushed those down and they held firm.

"Grab onto those and don't let go! That earth isn't going to hold up much longer!" Just as he said that, there was a crack as it split into two. The fawn quickly bit down and pleaded with her eyes to hurry. Her legs were wobbling as she tried to stand on the split earth.

Running down the river, Minos regretted what he was about to do. But he couldn't think of anything else to do. Charging into the stream, he threw himself in and let the current carry him; his head was pulled underneath the current a few times until he reached the fawn.

His metallic hooves scraped against a rock or boulder he could feel under the water. Bracing his hind legs, he grabbed a mouthful of the curly mane of the fawn and pushed off the rock. The fawn, in shock, let go of the vine. Swimming for himself and the baby, he swam towards the side of the river he entered from the beginning.

Willing the exposed roots from a tree, he focused much of his energy for them to form steps for him to haul himself and the fawn up in the embankment. Before he got out of the water, he tossed the fawn on the grass. Much of him wet and exhausted from using his budding magic, fell beside the grey elkh.

The fawn, as she turned out to be, wasn't an Aitielkh. Even the wings were made by caretakers. Granted, it was hard to tell when they were young. Regardless, it was the eyes that put him into action. He had seen that look for help when he studied his reflection at her age.

He huffed and stood back up, finally getting his (many) swallows of water from the stream. Dripping from his chin, he noticed the fawn was petrified. Still as stone. Deciding it wasn't worth the effort to scare her off, he gestured towards the water. "Do you want your drink or did almost drowning satisfy it?"

She didn't move. Minos sighs, the setting sun glinted off his metallic antlers. "You're… you're… you're an Aitielkh." She spoke, voice barely audible over the trickling of the water. He snorted, his tail swaying as he walked towards her, "oh yeah? Tell me something I don't know. Anyway, drinking or not?"

She swiftly shook her head while standing up on shaky legs. "I'm okay with water for a while. Thank you for saving me! I'm Stryga." Giving her body a shake, she shook off any excess water. Minos rolled his eyes, going to head back to the Old Capital. "Minos. Better rush back to your mother, predators would love to snack on you." He didn't look back to watch her reaction.

It seemed to have backfired when he felt her press to his side in fear. Her tail entwined with his kinked tail, red eyes pleading to stay with him. His lips curled back, about to pull away, but stopped. Thinking again when he wished his mother would be comforting rather than telling him to rely on Aiti, he let Stryga cuddle into his mane.

"Fine. I hope you like the Old Capital because in the morning, I'm taking you back to whatever village you belong to. Let's get some rest and we'll journey from there." He relaxed and let her tell him about her village until they reached the place he called home.

Word Count - 1,009