It's the beginning of the new day. The sun has awakened from its slumber and with its yawn, it awakes the bright side of nature itself. The sunflowers turn their heads to gaze upon the beautiful body of the sun, the bees happily prepare their wings to take off for work, and the birds fly off to search for food for their little ones. The wind is also present, too! Not strong, but gives the animals a nice refresher before their long day starts.
Among these creatures, a tiny spiked fluff comes out from under the bushes. Tiny for us maybe, but not much for herself. Mamma Hedge, like many others, has awakened and is preparing to continue her journey with her little ones. Having taken a bush as their resting place for the night, now they are on their way to walk around and explore the world. But first, breakfast. You can't go on a journey on an empty tummy.
Mamma takes a moment to cover her surroundings. Observing for predators before moving forward. However, she should've observed her little ones instead.
Like many infants, these were no different. 4 little baby hedgehogs being mischievous is, as a matter of fact, adorable. Seeing their little bodies moving around whilst playing with one another, running around at the speed of sound when playing tag is a sight to behold. And while that may seem adorable to us, Mamma Hedge doesn't like that. Knowing the dangers of nature, she quickly retreats to her station to discipline her little soldiers. After a brief struggle, she puts them in their place and sets off to go on a hunt, while they wait patiently for her to return. Or do they?
Upon leaving her HQ, she is quickly challenged by a tiny obstacle: a fallen branch. This one must have fallen during a storm that happened not too long ago. Fortunately, this is nothing for her, as she easily overcomes this with ease. Before proceeding further, she turns back to check if everything is alright. And it seems so. The little ones are back watching their mamma, cheering for her.
With a slight sight of relief, she pushes forwards.
A couple of minutes later, after a brief peacefulness, she is yet again challenged by an obstacle, but this is not a plant nor a fallen branch. It's a cat.
Locking eyes directly with the beast, she slowly and carefully backs off, while her predator is slowly walking towards her. As if she knew backing off isn't an option, she quickly turns 180 and makes a run for it. The cat wastes no time and starts the chase. The hot pursuit is on. Mamma Hedge, whilst running away, is technically just running backwards, from the way she came, meaning that if she were to outrun her pursuer, she will eventually return to her original path, thus leading to her knowing her way back to her little ones. But, Justice Tom isn't giving up on her just yet, and decides to use a strategical move to slow down its prey. Taking a huge leap to jump over her, and use his body as a roadblock, he manages to change her traction and force her to take a turn. Smart kitty. In fact, the kitty is so smart, that he forced her into a corner with that move. Now trapped, Mamma Edge, who has nowhere to run, is now facing death itself. Remembering that her kids saw where she was headed, and that the path hasn't been destroyed by the chase, she eventually decides to go head to head and fight the cat. Dying was not an option. Justice Tom slowly approaches her and notices her fierce aura, ready to attack him. But, a plot twist: he was just curious about the animal. He sniffed her quickly and seeing that she's not a threat, left her alone and went on his way. Mamma was confused. She thought she was going to become a meal for the cat, but instead, she was just being tagged. And now she was it.
Few minutes have gone past and she follows the trail and continues back on her path. Or does she?
Sadly, this time around, it's even more serious than before. She is lost. She cannot find her way back, despite making a clearance earlier, now she's lost. Supposedly, the cause of this must be her shock, which is still present after that chase. She starts wandering around and around, until eventually, she finds tiny footsteps. Not just any tiny footsteps, but a baby hedgehog footsteps. Excited, she starts following the trail. She is closing in on the trails. Her curiosity, worry, joy, excitement and fear for her kids grew evermore. And at the end of the journey, she finds out the answer... And that answer was: her kids eating their food.
Sadly, this time around, it's even more serious than before. She is lost. She cannot find her way back, despite making a clearance earlier, now she's lost. Supposedly, the cause of this must be her shock, which is still present after that chase. She starts wandering around and around, until eventually, she finds tiny footsteps. Not just any tiny footsteps, but a baby hedgehog footsteps. Excited, she starts following the trail. She is closing in on the trails. Her curiosity, worry, joy, excitement and fear for her kids grew evermore. And at the end of the journey, she finds out the answer... And that answer was: her kids eating their food.
Yep. Whilst she was fighting Tom, her kids in the background followed the pathway and found the nest of insects that she was going to bring to them. Remember how she focuses too much on her surroundings and not her kids? Well, this was yet another result of such things. That's what happens when you're inexperienced, but still a good parent.
Happy knowing that her kids are safe and sound, she quickly sniffs them to ensure they are 100% okay. Once that is done, she finds what's left of the insects and consumes them.
Now, the family is all fed and too tired to move on. A quick nap should do the trick before moving on with their journey to the west, or to the north, or somewhere else. It is a big world you know?
Lord Slayer
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