[Trade] An Apple a day, keeps the Zataro away...

Aki yawned as the sunlight shone down on his pelt, if him and his friends didn't have a job to do he might have given into the tempation of dozing off like the sun was trying to persuade him, yet that wouldn't be a good idea. Agnulus, a new friend the two of them had made as they travelled through a small town asking if anyone needed help and discovering that one of the local farms was in need of a few reoseans guarding a flock of sheep as the livestock dog had fallen sick and needed to recover. It was a no brainer for Agnulus, Aki and Amirqu to help out the farmer together as they all had truly started to hit it off and got along well.

Agnulus carried over a few apples he had picked from a nearly tree and shared them with the group before plopping down in the grass and observing the currently grazing sheep. The crisp crunch of the apple they bit into caught Amirqus attention who had been hyperfocused on the job, ear flicking back to face Agnulus direction.

"We shouldn't eat." noted the pink coated runner, cyan mane swaying lightly as they hinted to look over their shoulder at Aki and Agnulus, yet their eyes remained glued on the livestock.

"You might be right." noted Agnulus before adding with a grin. "But these apples are delicious. And we have been watching these sheep for an hour already and nothing has happened." it wasn't that Agnulus didn't care, he had a point. They were supposed to soon round up the sheep however and herd them back into their pen, the keeping watch part was indeed soon over.

Aki glanced between the two Reoseans and trying to find a middle ground they grabbed an apple, got up only to sit down next to Amirqu again and split them.

"A little can go a long way. You should still make sure you eat something. Otherwise you wont be performing at your fullest." Akis words couldn't be argued with and with a small smile Amirqu relented, grabbing one of the two halves of apple before eating them.

The atmosphere was calm and serene the sheep fluffy dots of white amidst the vibrant lush greenery of Warrenfall and the wild flowers growing among this pasture added splashes of color, yet there was something Akis keen eyes noticed before Amirqu did despite how alert they were trying to be, Agnulus had just finished an apple and got up to stretch when they saw it too. There was something else approaching, not wolves as they had anticipated, no. Something more dangerous. Something larger. Something that spelled bad news for everyone in the vicinity, not just the sheep.

Amirqu bit on his lip, trying to think through a plan, yet failing to plan it to the end in the moment he just knew one thing was important, and that was . "Round up the sheep and get them out of here!" he yelled startling Agnus who hadn't expected the sheer volume from the runner.

Slit-pupil eyes focused momentarily on the trio of reoseans before setting their sights on the herd of sheep.

Initially the lumbering shape had blended into the background but as it had gotten closer the red hues of its pelt had started to become less and less hidden by the surrounding vegetation. Its flat paddle like tail swished behind it banded markings seperating it in patches, whereas fur rimmed the edge of the tail. Then it started to sprint. Heavy footfalls, long nails that dug into the dirt, chunks of grass getting tossed up as this beast rushed forward.

The first of the sheep noticed and started to turn heel, bleating as if to alert the others.

They needed to act and fast. 

Agnulus whistled. "Haven't seen a Zataro out here before." he noted, the reality of the scene not fully having set in for him yet.

Aki nodded and was about to respond when Amirqu dashed off toward the herd of sheep that was now running away from the monstrous beast charging at them. "Its whiskers end in stingers!" barked the small chaser in warning, setting after Amirqu.

Agnulus, now fully grasping the severity of the situation, jumped up and dashed after the two. He knew Zataros were best not to mess with—these beasts were a hunter’s nightmare, a death sentence to those who unknowingly wandered into their territory. And now Amirqu, followed by Aki, was running straight toward it. That spelled bad news.

Well—he had to try and help. He just hoped that his help wouldn't backfire like it usually did. Because if it did this time, he or someone else might get seriously injured.

His eyes darted around for anything useful, blades of grass violently brushing against his legs as he made haste. Then he stepped on something solid and smooth the difference to the grass made him glance down in surprise only to spot an apple hiding in the grass. He hesitated for half a second, glancing at the shiny apples surface before grabbing it, picking up more and more as he dashed after the two others. Amirqu rushed over to the beast together with Agnulus in an effort to slow the beast down, whereas Aki set after the herd of sheep, making sure they all stayed together and no sheep straggled behind or got split off.

"Hey, ugly!" Agnulus called out having rushed dangerously close (and closer than he would have liked) to the Zataro, winding his arm back before launching an apple at the beast.

The apple bounced harmlessly off the beast’s thick hide as it bounded after the sheep, jaws snapping at the legs of one of them it was in hot pursuit of. No reaction. Amirqu snarled and barked as he set after the Zataro, yet the beast was quicker than him. Agnulus knew this- no saw this. He needed to buy him time.

Undeterred, he chucked another. This one smacked into its shoulder, barely drawing a flick of its ear barely missing Amirqu who was after the beast.

"Come on," Agnulus muttered. "Work with me here—"

He flung one more, putting everything into it. The apple spun through the air and—by sheer luck or fate—smacked the Zataro right on the side of the face, causing it to flinch and recoil. The beast roared, shaking its head, momentarily disoriented. A rumbling growl followed as the Zataro turned its head to face the Runner almost as a warning for them to not mess further with it. It was moments away from pouncing onto the sheep it had been setting after, the pink runner realising they had but a second to spare. Yet when they reached for another apple he found none there.

"Uh-oh." said Agnulus, Aki and Amirqu watching closely, yet the chaser was preoccupied with herding the sheep. Realising what was happening Aki split off, leaving the herding to Amirqu and dashed toward Agnulus. Following in the Runners footsteps he picked up one of the apples Agnulus had thrown before and hurled it with all his might at the beast, hitting one of its whiskers, netting himself a growl by this ferrocious creature in response.

Then, it happened. The Zataro shifted its weight in irritation, but the apple had pushed its whisker in the way. As it planted a clawed foot down, the whisker bent at just the wrong angle, causing the beast to stumble forward, momentarily thrown off balance.

Agnulus blinked in surprise as the beast hit the ground near to him, buying the sheep that had tried to escape the Zataros pursuit all this time to finally build up enough distance where the Zataro would see little point in trying to catch up to it again.

"That was not supposed to work." Agnulus laughed, a short celebration of his fruits of labour.

The Zataro, now thoroughly annoyed, let out a guttural snarl, its eyes piercing like daggers as its gaze lay on Agnulus.

It started to bound toward him. 

Before he could react, a massive clawed paw swiped in his direction, forcing him to throw himself low to the ground to avoid being swatted like an insect.

"Alright, alright, I get it! No more apples!" Agnulus yelped, scrambling to his feet. "Message received!"

Agnulus barely had time to fully rise to his feet before the Zataro lunged again, its heavy footfalls shaking the ground beneath him. He yelped, dodging just in time to avoid being pinned under a massive claw.

"Oh I don't like the turn this plan has taken! Alright, change of plan—running seems good!" Agnulus decided aloud, turning on his heel and bolting away from the flock.

The Zataro, its patience worn thin, let out a sharp snarl and took the bait, abandoning its pursuit of the sheep to charge after him instead. Agnulus pumped his legs faster, ears pinned back as he felt the beast gaining on him its heavy footfalls gaining in intensity as it shook the ground behind him.

"Hope you two are making good use of this distraction!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Aki and Amirqu wasted no time. With the Zataro no longer a direct threat to the flock, Amirqu barked quick commands, nudging and steering the frightened sheep back toward the farm’s pens. Aki ran alongside them, ensuring no stragglers veered off, yet they knew Agnulus was doing the most dangerous part of the job and as such, they were giving it their all to reunite with him as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Agnulus zigzagged through the field, trying to avoid becoming the Zataro’s next meal. It swiped at him again, claws tearing through the earth just inches away.

"Okay, okay—maybe I should’ve thought this through a little more," he panted, legs starting to turn sore from all the exertion.

He knew hee couldn't outrun the beast forever. "Ouh, Agnulus think!" he started before turning into a fullblown conversation with himself as he tried to formulate a plan. The beasts jaws slammed shut just mere inches away from his tail, startling him into taking action.

"Alright you overgrown lizard-cat thing." he stopped running and turned around, standing his ground.

"I think. You should go on a vegetarian diet." he barked, emphasis put on every word, fighting his instincts to remain standing there instead of sprinting away. He collected his strength, the adrenaline in his body making things feel like as if they were happening in slowmotion.

He took a deep breath, muscles tensed, then with a leap he jumped to the side. The Zataro, not being able to react quick enough as it had already been in mid launch, instead of sinking its fangs into runner hide, found itself getting a facefull of treebark. 

*Thunk* The beast roared, staggering on its paws before it fell to the floor unmoving. Agnulus must have really gotten under its thick hide if it meant it had put enough power into its pounce to knock itself out with.

"Agnulus!" the voice that rang out to the runenr was Aki. The sheep were safely back in their pens, and Amirqu stood beside him, both watching the scene unfold, with sheer stunned surprise on their faces.

"You knocked it out!" said Aki, doing a little celebratory dance.

"It kind of knocked itself out on its own." added Agnulus, basking in his victory. Amirqu however knew they still werent out of danger. Not whilst they hung around the beast.

"Good job indeed Agnulus. I didn't know that you could use apples as a weapon." a smile made its way onto the runners face. "We should make sure we aren't anywhere near when that beast wakes up however. Come on. Lets go. We have to tell the farmer the story of the Zataro wrangler."

The three of them ran together, hearts pounding still from when the Zataro had caused them to run for their lifes. 

The three stood in the field, watching as the Zataro awoke, clearly sporting a massive headache as it drowsily shook its head, deciding to head back into the wilderness, leaving behind a trampled pasture but no lasting damage. Agnulus plopped down in the grass, finally letting exhaustion catch up to him.

"Well, that was fun," he said with a chuckle. "Anyone up for round two?"

Amirqu groaned and smiled lightly at their new friends joke. Aki just laughed, shaking his head.

"I sure hope there wont ever be a round two like that." noted Amirqu.

And with that, they made their way back to the farm, to tell the farmer the story of how apples and a tree saved the life of his flock of sheep from the fangs of a fearsome Zataro.