One of the four beasts raised its great head to stare at the building forest fire, its slitted pupils widening in alarm. It groaned to the other members of the herd and soon enough every one was restless and uncertain. Worried that her living shields would bolt, Amelia clambered on to a coupe-sized male. On closer inspection, they weren’t much uglier than say your average snake, the smooth maple-colored scales smooth and glittery. They seemed to have the calm demeanor of an herbivore and were not immediately hostile.
The male she had sat on, however, was not keen on staying in the situation he was in. He fled, knocking the student into the mud and ran straight past Preston, barely even registering that he was there. His action made his group even more anxious, they obviously not knowing what to do. Amelia picked herself up in disgust seeing the mud caked on her uniform. Being so close to the water unnerved her. She wasn’t sure if he could conjure lightning from afar. Now that she looked for him among the trees, she couldn’t spot him.
She could barely reach the animal’s skulls, much less kill them. On some of the larger creatures lines of missing scales were easily recognized to be battle scars won from predators like the late Gloria. The animals that were nearly the size of a truck bore the most. Picking at a loose one, she attempted to scratch it, to no avail. It did fall off easily, though. Those farthest from the water began sniffing the air with their short snouts and tilting their heads this way and that, curious about something, but wary. Knowing whatever alarmed them should alarm her, she tried again at climbing, successfully sitting upon a slightly smaller female. It was uncomfortable, the edges of the scales digging into her hands and legs.
