STARVED

It was a late evening, sheets of deep bronze lights settling over the tall, jade grass.The air was warm and heavy, the scent of wildlife and nature owning the forest.Insects chittered and fluttered over the water, singing high-pitched melodies as they whizzed by.The watering hole was always active, frogs leaping from lily pad and into the murky water, owls shifting in the branches of the clusters of trees.But the elk owned the watering hole.They visited it every now and then on migrations.It was a risky trip, thanks to the occasional smilodons that hunted in vicious packs.

Luckily for them, they were under the protection of Old Antler.He was the herd's bull elk.He was called 'Old Antler.'Not because of his age, in fact, he was quite young for a dominant bull elk.He'd been called that because of his magnificent antlers.They curved out from either side of his head in pale, smooth twists and curves.At the base they were mottled faint marks from where his opponents had struck them, failing to shatter the strong handles.Sunlight struck over them as he lumbered through the grass, walking slowly and intimidatingly.Old Antler had no need to be careful; he knew that no one would dare to to challenge him.Neither fellow bull elk nor human had tried to hunt him.The ones who had, the...Unfortunate ones, had ended up flung high into the air, their chests split open from being rammed so harshly their intestines had slid straight out of their abdomen.

The bull strayed boldly from his herd, leaving them to graze in harmony on the lush grass.Something had caught his eye.Not any animal, but a simple bush.Now Old Antler was just an animal, but even he could recognise something off.He had been the bull of his herd for 3 winters, and seen many lands throughout migrations.He thought that he had seen all plants, but it seemed that he was wrong.

Unlike the others, this plant emitted a sour, almost pungent smell.Any other animal would stray far from it, warn their herd perhaps.But Old Antler? He was different.He stood in front of the ferns, his snout lowering close to them, and sniffing carefully.It looked like any other plant he'd torn from the earth and chewed- apart from the dark orange..Spots? At least, that's what they looked like.Old Antler could've sworn that they were moving, that they had tiny legs and even wings..But after a moment of staring, something came over the elk.Whether it was curiosity, or the urge to prove to this plant that he could eat anything, he didn't know.Instead of thinking, he bit down on one of the strange leaves, tugging it from the other plants and chewing it slowly.His ears twitched lazily, and then..Piqued.

He stumbled back, a shiver wracking through his quadrupedal body.All four of his strong legs actually shook at the taste of the plant.It tasted disgusting- like a blend of frog and mammoth dung, he thought.He wanted to spit it out.He could feel what he had imagined was tiny creatures crawling around his throat.But he'd already swallowed.All sense of pride was lost, and he galloped straight back to the watering hole, at a speed that he only ever saved for sprinting from big groups of humans when they had spears.Consequently, his herd all snapped their heads up, looking over to their boastful bull, who had just sprinted back to them like a calf.

Old Antler halted at the water, his hooves shaking as he hurriedly dipped his dry mouth into the lake.He drank, and drank, and drank and drank.And yet..The feeling would not fade.Slowly, he lifted his head.And gagged.He hadn't gagged in what felt like years.Normally he could swallow a squirrel if he was really hungry.And yet, this leaf was making him choke.

He stared down his own reflection in confusion.The bull didn't know what was going on.He didn't know that he had just swallowed a dozen poisonous parasites.

Old Antler felt dizzy.He stumbled, and then sank slowly onto the ground, still shaking.His herd began to gather around him, the cow elk all watching as their leader- their protector- helplessly writhing on the ground and snorting like a wolf.After a moment, Old Antler stilled.His large body raised and lowered rapidly with each scarce breath, his eyes searching for help that he would never get.