[SRP]Accidents......happen [Taro x Awakening x Accident]

[krusnik05]

The sound of crashing waves slammed over the rocky edge of the soft sand that stretched from the edge of the shoreline straight towards the beginning of the vegetation of palm trees and exotic flora. Off to the far side at the edge of the beach the rocks formed into a craggy cave dwelling that had over the time weathered into its own separate formation from the natural tropical beach, south of the Water tribe's capital.

With each brush of the waves over the rocks it made them slippery and form small pools where tiny fishes were trapped until the next wave to take them back to the sea or to be trapped in another pool. Sea weed and algae coated parts of the rocky floor with other sea life growing and thriving such as red and blue crabs, spiky sea urchins and the notorious rock fish that hides among its natural environment.

Yet it is in the cave that this story begins for there is another life that took its first breath of air and began to thrive as he slowly awakens from a very long slumber. The sounds were vivid in the echoing cavern that made the fluffy ears twitch with awareness. Every part of his body woke up with that same instinctive awareness, moving and feeling everything from the damp air to the heat to the soft sand that was his bedding to the semi light that filtered through above.

The large male with the white coat adorned with gold and black stripes, with golden orbs and razor sharp saber fangs he slowly moved. Stretching his joints popped and cracked from lack of use as he gained his instinctive bearing to stand up without trouble. Shaking off the sand from his thick coat the male yawned with a deep growl. Looking around the large water male was curious about his surroundings. There was no memory, naturally, of how he got here but he felt a keen sense of home here.

Exploring the shallow cave the male found that there was enough space to move around without feeling closed in. Turning around he saw that the light came from the entrance of the cave. Slowly and carefully the male went towards it and squinted in reaction to the bright glare of the sun standing with his head peeking out to adjust.

Everything around him was just beautiful. The blue sky with the white clouds that seemed impossibly puffy, the brightness of the sun warming the white sand that was soft but darkened where the water left its mark. There were sea gulls flying nearby with their loud cries communicating to one another in search of food or a place to settle until it was time to hunt again. To his far right was the great expanse of the glittering, sapphire ocean with the rippling waves and wind kicking up the fresh fragrance towards him. To his far left was the lush tropical vegetation of palm trees full of coconuts, banana trees and other exotic flora.

In other words, this place was beautiful. It was paradise. It was perhaps the greatest gift to be awoken in this place hand-made* by the Grand Weaver.
There was so much to explore and discover in this gorgeous paradise that the large male carefully padded his way over the smaller and flatter rocks that were partially wet. He moved towards the pools that held the captive fishes learning in that instant that catching food could be easiest by these natural formations. Turning away before a large wave could catch him, the male went to the beach and walked along the warm sands exploring his home with open curiosity.

[*Hand-made is used in a figurative phrase to praise the natural beauty of the world.

Word count: 615]  

[krusnik05]

Taro

Taro

TARO!


The large male woke up from another long sleep during the next midday at the sound of his voice in his mind saying something.

Taro.

That's what his mind said. What did it mean? The male looked around as the sun casted its afternoon light all around him. Sea breeze kicked off the rather calm ocean and the lazy waves reaching up on the shore while wrapping that smooth salty air around him.

Taro.[/i

It was a strong name and it fitted perfectly on him. The lips of his maw stretched into a slight smile as he continued to feel as if he was normal and whole with that name as his own. Getting up, Taro shook out his thick fur to let the sand fly off and stretched out his stiff muscles. With a yawning growl, Taro left his shaded spot from under the palm trees to go towards the ocean. Cold water slipped over Taro's paws making him shudder and grumble a bit at the temperature but soon enough he began to get used it.

Moving further into the calmer surf, he shuddered again when the cold temperature touched his sensitive belly and ears. Yet with the noon sun and moving his body, his body temperature returned and the cool temperatures were simply wonderful and relaxing.

Taro swam with the powerful strides of his legs then dived under with his eyes opened. The world around him was slightly blurry and in motion with the currents. Moving deeper where the coral reef was everything smoothed out to see the colorful fishes, coral and the vibrant life under the sea surrounding around him.

The world below here was absolutely peaceful and incredible. Yet he felt as though his air was becoming low and he kicked his legs out to quickly swim up to the surface, breathing deeply yet he looked down. That was incredible! The fact that he was down there for many minutes....he wanted to do that again!!! Taro went down the water again and this time tried to hunt for the pretty fishes down here, especially the bigger ones he could see. This wonderous day was proving to be enlightening to Taro.

(Word count: 367)  

[krusnik05]

Another day past.

So did another one.

And another.

And another.

The days were morphing into weeks as he learned each day the wonderous things to do....and the things that he could do. He learned that he could retain water in the beautiful orbs that adorned his head and forepaws, just like he learned he could breathe and see much better under water which was a wonderful thing since it helped him hunt delicious fish but also see another world that was much more peaceful. Taro enjoyed life. He enjoyed everything that was around him. That is until another day came.

It was a day unlike the others. Where the sun normally roosted it was blocked away from view with all it's warmth gone by a thick blanket of gray. Everything that had been vibrant by the sun and colorful, were gray as well. The only stark contrast to the gray world was the white sand and the gold from Taro.

The wind picked up like a lash rather than the smoothness of a touch. Even the turquiose and sapphire hues of the ocean turned into a bluish gray shade with white form bursting forth from each crash of the wave against the shoreline and rocks. There was a storm brewing and it was the first that Taro has ever encountered. Furrowing his brows slightly, the large male went to the surf, then moved back each time the waves crashed.

It was time for him to hunt yet with the weather like this he was unable to go into the water to swim. Taro just might have to go to the gathering pools and hope that there would be a trapped fish or crab.

Yes that would be much easier and safest while the storm build itself up.

Taro moved through the sand, feeling the remaining warmth it held slowly disappear beneath his steps as he came to the edge of where the rocky floor began. Here it was even more dangerous by appearance but only when the waves crashed against the defensive formations. When it receeded it was the prime moments to quickly check for any trapped prey. Yes he just had to make sure that he went over the rocks carefully and at the right moments.

Only he was by himself in this area, more so than ever where if anything were to happen no one would be around to help. Which unfortunately this confident and rather happy male would indeed learn this the hard way.

(Word count: 418 )  

[krusnik05]

Taro had little luck in going to the pools were large fish or even meaty crabs would be trapped before the next roaring wave crashed over them to return them to the sea. It was like that for what seemed like an hour.....Taro was becoming even more hungry. Pacing left and right he debated with himself about whether it was worth getting his meal there or going in-land to hunt for his food. It would take him from this territory and well, he wasn't sure he was ready to see the rest of the world just yet. Plus with this storm on top of him there wouldn't be any prey outside of their homes.

Growling softly he stood facing the rocky pools with the crashing and clawing waves of an angry sea waiting for the right moment to grab a fish, even if it was just one. It was better than nothing.

Taro stood there for several minutes when finally the waves seemed to calm down just a little bit. They clawed over the rocky pools but not nearly as before. This could be much more managable to tread over. Thanking the heavens for a small chance, the Tah moved carefully over the slimey and slippery algae. Looking over the pools quickly he spotted a crab struggling to get out even when the waves were now blanketing over the area up to the ankle of Taro's legs.

Holding still when the water would recede, he continued towards that crab. It was a vibrant reddish crab that broke through the monochrome colors of the stormy world. It was also quite meaty from the looks of it, maybe the same crab as before as he licked his mouth slowly. High stepping through the water he came close enough to lunge for the crab with his mouth open struggling a bit to not slip to have a good hold.

The crab flailed in his mouth with snapping claws as the Tah did his best to hold onto the wet crab with his teeth that couldn't penetrate the hard shell...he couldn't really make a quick feast out of it either when he was standing at a dangerous spot.

(Word Count: 364)  

[krusnik05]

Taro took one step at a time to back track through the same way he had came to catch the crab. He was slow and careful with the waves starting to pick up again, especially when the crash could be heard not far from where he was. Stepping into a pool with the still flailing crab, he felt his back paw sink into the sand making hims stuck. Growling in annoyance he tried to hold onto the crab but decided that it wasn't worth being stuck in this spot especially when he could hear the roaring of the waves coming closer to his area. Looking over his shoulder confirmed that as they gained strength and the world around him was becoming dark from heavier clouds full of rain and thunder.

Dropping the crab into a another pool near him, he placed both fore-paws on rocks and with his muscles flexing, tensing to pull himself out, his back paw out from the sinking sand beneath. As he freed his back paw he finally stood on all rocks that he could and looked around quickly for any fish. Seeing that he was out of luck for food he tried his best to reach the shore, opting to risking a hunt in the jungle until he found himself slammed into the rocks and being pulled by the harsh waves that clawed over the rocks. The clash of thunder sounded all around that could have shaken the world with flashes of lightning that slashed through the skies turning everything white-hot for split seconds.

Taro was clawing his way to hold onto the rocks and get himself to the shore but the waves were coming faster, larger in their velocity that pulled him further towards the sea. Roaring out, fear began to set in. The fear of losing his life when he had enjoyed everything from the scents of flowers, the warmth of the sun, the softness of the sand, the salty sea and just the tranquility that was here. He didn't want to lose what he had been woven into. These rushing thoughts spurred Taro to fight harder.

Though he was fighting harder, he was getting nowhere with his efforts. Finally just when he thought he had a chance to get out of the tangling waves, the water receded taking him with it as a large wave formed. Taro was pulled paralyzed now from the force of nature that he was trapped in. This could be the end. No....

This was the end.

(Word Count: 419)  

[krusnik05]

The cries of the circling seagulls were piercing even though they were safely high above in the calm, grey skies. The sound of the ocean was also calmer, coming forward then retreating back as if exhausted from its wildness. Everywhere hurt; his bones ached, his muscles strained and his skin felt as if it needed to be removed from holding all of the pain within him. Yet the one place that hurt the most on this ragged body that laid sprawled on the shore was his head.

The striped Tah was fortunate to have been given a miracle in breathing, in being alive especially given that the pounding in his head was evidence of that life still within him. Groaning he lifted a paw to touch his head and winced, shuddered and dropped his paw to the sand as more pain struck through him. Several minutes passed as the pain ebbed away enough to be bearable. Taking in several deep breathes the Tah focused on getting up slowly while breathing. It was all he could do as he couldn’t just sat here to rot. Very carefully, he pushed his body to get up. The pain was crippling but he had to get through it to get out of the area and to his cave. Taro finally got to a sitting position then waited before moving again as his body began to shudder in pain and growled sharply in anger at the frustration.

Several more minutes passed and his frustration grew into anger but it was an emotion powerful enough in him to keep the pain away, or at least to ignore it that had him on his unsteady legs. Fur matted from the sea water and sand, it annoyed him that he couldn’t at least shake it off but he turned around to face the direction of where his cave was located and made his way walking there, step by step, slow and steady but stopped every few steps of course to let the pain subside and the dizziness.

Finally, Taro reached the safety and cool haven of his cave and dropped in weakness on to the ground. Taro closed his eyes and allowed himself to give up into the pain completely while within his anger kept growing just as the impact of his head being hit against the rocks would slowly change the once curious and positive Taro into a dark and dangerous creature.

Fin

(Word Count: 405

Word count Total: 2,588 )