[b][i][u][color=00a651]Nelos Oakleaf[/color][/u][/i][/b]

	It took nearly a week of travel, not including the frequent breaks to eat and sleep, but Streak and the boy found their way to the end of the scent's trail. The adventure hadn't been very exciting, but it had been nice. They had crossed hilly country side, hunting rabbits, sleeping curled up next to one another for warmth. After a solid week of calm travel, they were both shocked to find what awaited them.

	They could smell most of the creatures before they could see them, the ones they couldn't smell they could feel, or sense. There were many unnatural things just over the last hill. Streak began to turn back. The boy couldn't blame her, he was just as uncomfortable about it as she was. However, he was much more curious. [color=00a651]"Do not be like that, Streak. Think of all the things we could learn from this! We wanted to see what was outside our forest, did we not? We have seen hills and rabbits. We have seen rocks and rivers filled with fish. But we have seen those things before! Beyond that hill are things we have never seen, nor even smelled! Things we can not even imagine!"[/color] Even if Streak could understand him, she'd have still turned away. Whatever was beyond that hill was not something she wanted anything to do with.

	Streak did eventually climb up over the hill and into the valley below, though it was not due to the boy's coaxing. No, she ran over the hill to get herself and the boy as far away from the stampede of strange animals that had suddenly arrived. They were all very loud and very strange, one of them being as large as a tree, with a nose like a serpent! All the while, the boy clutched Streak's mane, simultaneously fearful and ecstatic.

	The boy's excitement left him, however, when one of the animals knocked over a small girl. The girl cowered as the stampede raged around her. One of the larger animals was headed straight toward her, and the boy knew she would be crushed if no one helped her. He leapt from Streak's back, causing her to yelp in surprise. The boy landed on all fours, his arms turning into a pair of legs, like Streaks. He sprinted toward the girl, his mouth widening into a large maw. Reaching the girl, he bit down onto the back of her clothes, pulling her out of the way of the stampede. He dragged her along in his mouth until he was sure they were well out of harm's way.

	Streak watched all this in horror, far to smart to dash into a stampede, but worried for the boy none the less. She howled anxiously, calling out to him to make sure he was okay.

	[color=00a651]"Awh ooh ahwight?"[/color] The boy asked, his mouth and limbs slowly returning to their previous forms.