Hmm, I'm starting this chapter right after I posted the last one, but I don't think it'll matter in the long run. Oh, well.
07 barely contained itself in time to not barrel down the slope to scan the newly discovered lifeforms. It would have to go about this a different way. The droid opened a compartment in it's chest and scraped out a scuttler.
The small spherical drone had four limbs and one central eye, a yellow color. it would sense movement and paint a picture of what it "saw" in 07's head. The droid activated the scuttler, it's yellow eye turning green to match 07's.
While the connection was still new, it took 07 a while to get used to having a separate entity inside its head. It felt a lot like multitasking, but to the extreme. 07 was both in its body and the scuttler's. Scuttler-07 stretched its new limbs, testing how exactly the joints moved. This would serve as a good test run. If anything out there would kill on sight, 07 would know.
07 sensed that usually, scuttlers were relatively slow. But it instinctively knew how to get past that problem. Retracting its limbs and head into its round hull took some getting used to, but then came the easy part. Rolling. By shifting its weight, Scuttler-07 could safely travel down the hill at high speed.
The drone crashed into an exposed rock halfway down the slope that catapulted it into the air. 07 hit the ground hard enough to feel the impact in its original body. Safety is often relative.
Rolling to a stop, Scuttler-07 righted itself and began to walk towards the lake. It seemed as good a place to start as any. The ground started to shake as the drone got closer to the water. It was aware of something passing over it. Then the shaking subsided.
Turning its head towards the movement, Scuttler-07 recognized one of the lumberers from before, walking the opposite direction. The gargantuan creature had almost stepped on it! The drone suddenly stopped, lost in thought. Didn't these animals travel in herds?
Suddenly the ground shook again as seven more Scutadracus (a name that would be determined at a later date) trampled along after the leader of the herd. Scuttler-07's concentration broke, and it darted off to the side to avoid the crushing weight of the four-legged reptiles. Diving for safety, the drone rolled away from the herd towards the lake. Scuttler-07 inspected the surface of the water, but found nothing out-of-the-ordinary. Just regular old water. A little green, but that was the result of the planet's sun.
The drone decided to go investigate the treeline on the opposite side of the clearing. Scuttler-07 crawled across the yellow-green grass to the forest of groveroots. It heard unseen trunk-chippers scraping away at the tree bark in the canopy. Around the bases of the trunks grew that strange lichen-like plant. Scuttler-07 was more interested in what appeared to be eating the lichen.
Five or so slender, long-legged animals covered in blueish-purplish fur stood spaced apart under the boughs of the groveroots. Scuttler-07 crawled over to the low brush a little ways off and waited. The creatures had their heads to the ground, apparently grazing on the lichen and moss covering stones. Every so often one would flick a tail or an ear. The view allowed a perfect scan of the creatures.
Suddenly, somewhere, a twig snapped. One of the creatures lifted its head and took a step back.
It whinnied, and the others looked up as well. The herd started to move in the opposite direction of the sound, looking skittish. Almost on an impulse, Scuttler-07 followed.
*Crack*
The one-horned creatures wasted absolutely no time in bolting. Unfortunately for one member of the group, three four-legged carnivores burst from the undergrowth and pursued the fleet-footed herd. They had vicious-looking teeth and claws, and quills on the end of their long tails. Quickly, they separated a straggler from the herd and surrounded it. The animal bleated, and turned to run. One of the pack-hunters leapt and locked its jaws around its leg.
The straggler kicked and bucked, but another one of the carnivores circled around and bit into the throat of the creature. Its bright blue eyes seemed to glaze over, and it was done. The ambush predators began to tear into the new carcass even as it sank to the ground. 07 noticed that now would be an opportune time to move closer and scan them, as they were preoccupied with the fresh kill.
It was wrong.
As the scuttler crawled closer, one of the creatures flicked an ear and turned towards it. Lips lifted to reveal dagger-sharp canines as a pink tongue swept over them, and the fur on the back of the animal's neck lifted in agitation. The other two in the group seemed to notice that something was amiss, and turned their attention to their packmate.
Who had now begun to move closer to the drone.
The carnivore barked, hackles raising, tail whipping suddenly in agitation. It approached, hesitant, and backed up a few steps. Scuttler-07 froze, vainly hoping it would be overlooked. The creature's nostrils flared for a second, and its ears pulled back.
Slowly, as if drawn to the drone, it stalked forwards. The other two had finished all but a few leftover portions of the carcass and their gazes had shifted towards the novel object.
The third pack-hunter was close enough for Scuttler-07 to touch- not that it wanted to. It did have a great view of the animal's iridescent green eyes.
A paw lifted, set back down, and lifted again. The drone sensed something was wrong.
CLANG
Scuttler-07 was knocked backwards a few feet. The camera was cracked, allowing only for a blurry view of the creature leaping towards the drone, claws outstretched.
Feed End.