You're a mean one, Mr.Grinch (Open)

A burning sensation spread across Toruuq’s forehead between his antlers and flashed down his neck where it faded near his shoulders. The bull recognized the feeling of having eyes on him, and his prey characteristics were giving him a heads up that someone else was here and that he should meander his way out of the open. Of course, he didn’t listen to what his ‘victim instincts’. Hell, he was the biggest thing out there, what did he have to fear? So, he ignored the feeling and went on chomping until he heard the tearing of grass as someone moved closer to him. His chest rumbled with a throaty growl, aiming to ward off a predator that was thinking of making him a meal. But as he raised his heavy head, his eyes met a cow elk instead of a beast with sharp teeth. Toruuq sucked in a sharp breath to snap at her, but cut short when she giggled.

Huh? What was so funny? The moose had no interest in games this morning and he turned to face her, his ears flattening. He had no qualms about pummeling someone into the dirt, let alone a female. In fact, he’d most likely enjoy stabbing at her with his tines and watching her run off crying. She continued to move closer, invading his personal space which happened to be a 50 yard radius. The hackles on his back rose, creating a ridge of fur along his spine that tingled and prickled near his haunches. Just as he was about to declare she was pushing her luck, she spoke up in a feminine tone. Toruuq had always heard frightened or kind things from the usual cow or doe, but this one? No, the bull was dumbfounded at her insult. In fact, he was rendered speechless for a few seconds. Never had he had someone talk down to him like that, and he most certainly didn’t like it.

“If that’s an open invitation, Cow, I’ll gladly show you why none have wanted to be laid by me. Most don’t enjoy my style of reproduction.” What a ridiculous term she had used. Laid. Puh! Such nonsensical terms would have gotten him smacked when he was younger. Now, would he actually rape her? No. Would he threaten it? Yes, of course— whatever it took to shoo the pestering elk away. Though he wasn’t one for cross breeding, and today wouldn’t break his streak. He had never done it, and never cared to. Sure he had his bloodlines running around somewhere, which was proof enough that he had bred cows before, but he wasn’t one to use breeding as a threat. Or well, he wasn’t the kind to follow through with that particular threat. Gouge your eyes out? Sure thing! The bull took a few threatening steps toward her, even though it was killing his subconscious to do so. He absolutely despised getting close to others. Physically, and mentally. Her next snide comment broke something deep inside of him that caused a tic to form in his jaw. How dare she! Who did she think she was, talking to him in such a manner?! Why, he definitely had a pair! They were right there— you see? Right there! With his pride somewhat hurt, he growled and thrust himself forward. Now it was time to burst her personal bubble. He shoved his nose right in her face, his antlers just skimming past her head.

“If you think I’m above maiming a female, I’m not. I suggest you watch where you set your tongue, Cow, because the next time you step out of line with a comment like that, I’ll send you running without an eye!” He snarled, standing to his full height. He had her easily by a foot, and he knew he could over power her, though it would be harder than his usual take over. With her being so close to his size, she’d no doubt put up a good fight, but then again, he had weapons protruding from his head, and she didn’t. The bull raked a sneer over the elk, clearly expressing the distaste on his face. “You’re pathetic. You call me childish yet you sit here to throw stones at a giant. Tell me, do you have the gall to back up what you speak? Those with your mindset don’t get too far in life. All bark and no bite. Pitiful.” He rumbled irritably, raising his head and looking down his nose at her. When Toruuq threatened to do something, he would do it. When he snapped at someone like this cow here, he would have his antlers as backup and show that he meant business. Would she have the nerve to have a go at him?

"Castrated?" Toruuq scoffed, flicking his ears forward for a split second and then flattening them to his skull again. “That is the third time you’ve mentioned my unmentionables. Quit coming onto me. I’m not showing you my goods just for your personal satisfaction.” Crazy old bitch. While he didn’t add the spiteful name, he definitely screamed it in his mind. The moose swelled up with testosterone, his chest inflating, and he seemed to stand taller than he already was. No one spoke to him like that. Not only was it disrespectful, it was crude and immature. He thought that way, but it was exactly how he acted in most situations. Toruuq was gathering his thoughts and recomposing himself when the elk yet again belittled him and began to move around him. The bull jerked his head in her direction, aiming to poke at her with his antlers. He grumbled and spun around to face her again, arching his back and flexing his shoulders.

The moose eyed her as she rubbed her nose in the grass. His breath? What the— she was rolling in what he was eating! Why would that make it better? “Oh yes, because rubbing your face in my breakfast will rid your lungs of the smell. I applaud your wits, Cow. Good job.” He sneered sarcastically, shaking his head and sending the tremble past his shoulders to his flanks. The great weight of his antlers rattled his brain from the fast momentum, and he could feel the makings of a headache right then and there. The bull bore holes into the elk as she continued to mock him. Yeesh, who pinched her hoo-ha this morning? He paused, thinking this over. Why was he getting so offended by her antics? He didn’t know her, why did he need her judgment? Why was he defending himself over a stranger’s word? This sparked something in Toruuq’s mind and he almost instantly calmed. This was shown physically when his hackles went flat against his back and his shoulder’s loosened. “And I suppose you know how much intelligence I possess? What cunning character you must have if you can detect my intellects from such a short amount of time.” He said, turning his head away to snag another mouthful of grass. While what she said was true, he refused to admit it. He had never been one to make smart moves and often fell prey to others jeers and antics. At the moment, he was unaware he was doing just what he tried to avoid doing.

While he swallowed, the elk spoke up again and he angled his head to peer at her from between the tines of his antlers. He let out a halfhearted laugh, and followed it with a mocking tone. “Oh trust me when I say I care nothing for you. Nor do I have to prove anything to you. Such energy would be wasted on a character of your… type.” He brushed her off and wandered a bit, keeping his head low and continuing his meal. Why should he give her the time of day by reacting to her insults? She was getting a rise out of him, and it took him longer than it should have for him to recognize what she was doing. That fact alone caused him to be angry with himself for letting someone so low on his scale of respect to get him so upset. Well, no more says he! No, now he’ll do what he came here for. Eat, and then be gone. There was nothing for him here, no other moose, and bothersome elk and crows. Toruuq spoke up without bothering to make eye contact with her or even look in her direction. “Tell me, what do you hope to accomplish by all of this? Fulfill your personal image of the stereotypical bull moose? Or are you perhaps out to pester others due to your high insecurities?”

Thebull let her remark about him eating dung go unnoticed. He turned away and kept his head down, pulling hungry mouthfuls of grass. He had scooped so much in his mouth that when he tried to swallow and chew at the same time a spool of foliage lodged itself in his throat. Unconcerned with this, his body heaved once as he let out a loud huff, sending the saliva drenched wad back into his mouth where he re-chewed and swallowed it back down. His ear swiveled to listen to another comment she spat at him. While his body heated with frustration and the beginnings of anger, Toruuq reminded himself that she was simply trying to push his buttons. Why, take this you doleful hag! “I may be the beast, little bird, but I'm the one who'll survive. The world is cruel and does not pity the weak. Tell me, when has the rodent won against the wolf? When has the fly won against the spider? The bird against the beast?” He turned and looked over his shoulder at her. “When has the outcome ever favored the weaker sex?” He hoped she got it through her thick skull that he was implying that she was weak, and insignificant compared to him. Sure he knew of some creatures that proved that the female of the species was stronger and more capable than the male. Black Widows for instance. Toruuq snorted loudly when a fly strayed near and tickled his nostril.

His ears twitched again as he voice carried and he snapped his head in her direction at her statement. “And you?” His voice almost brimmed with anger. Why? Because she was so cloud-brained! “I have standards that I've met, but you? You’re below them. The standards of your species at least. All you were made for was a vessel to carry the bloodlines of someone else. You are an object, a possession to the opposite sex of your kind. It has never been said, ‘The cow's herd of bulls.’ You will belong to someone, you’ll never be an equal. Someday, some bull is going to come by and claim your body and you’ll be helpless to it. Why? Because you were designed to bear offspring, and act as eye candy to yearlings that would eventually have their way with you. You’re nothing else. You’ll never meet up to anything else.” His voice was not of a distasteful, rude tone. He spoke with an almost Matter-Of-Fact tone. Toruuq had the sudden desire to spit in her face. How could a female, of any species, think themselves better than the males? PFFT! Toruuq was the protector, the child giver, the one other’s looked to in times of need and disaster. He already had successfully spread his genes, and he was still young. Sure males were hotheaded and not the smartest, but he strongly believed they were better than the females in every way. How dare this cow think herself above him? Above any male? By God, if she were of his species, he’d show her who was in control. But, as he previously contemplated, he was not going to break his streak of mating to the same species.

Toruuq let out a staggered breath and furrowed his brows together. He was not angry, but he was not happy or content—more so confused. He had never come across a female of any species that wasn’t willing to submit to him, despite being of a different race. What was wrong with this elk? It clouded his brain and uprooted some thoughts he had in his mind. It was in a female’s nature to submit and take their place below the male of their species. What made her so special? The bull shook his antlers and lifted his head when the cow spoke up again, bits of weeds and various plants hanging from the corners of his mouth. The moose shrugged and turned back to grazing, calming down from his outburst. He spoke around another mouthful of grass. “Like I said before, I care nothing for you. There would be no skin off my nose if you changed your ways or not. I’m not here to be your babysitter and I’m not going to scold you for your actions.” Man, being her father would be terrible. He’d kill himself. Never would he allow a child of his to behave in such a way. While Toruuq had never played a major role in his children’s lives, he made it one of his priorities to visit them while they were with their mother’s, so they’d know who their father was. On two accounts he had returned to find his sons being downright terrible nuisances, and he straightened them out in one visit. Having a kid like his elk? HAH! He’d rather drown.

Toruuq huffed again when she spoke up and he cringed inwardly. “I’ve been traveling nonstop for the past week.” He groaned, thinking about how far he had come. “My sleep was interrupted. You would be pissy too if you were in my situation. Trust me.” The bull paused from his meal and simply hung his head with his eyes closed. Ahh, sleep now would just…be…perfect. While he didn't exactly doze off, he certainly zoned out and became oblivious to the other large being in the meadow.

The cow grew silent as he went on his verbal rampage about her being less than him. That was to be expected and Toruuq thought nothing of it. He meandered his way about, feeling a sense of pride. He had finally gotten her to shut up. The silence was wonderful, his morning hunger was starting to ebb, and the sun finally hefted itself above the tree tops and warmed his chocolate colored fur. The moose had unwillingly grown accustom to the presence of another large being, but he was so absorbed in himself that it was almost like she wasn’t there. If only lightning would strike her and cook her up nice and crispy. Then he could laugh and taunt from a distance as the “little bird” was picked over by scavengers. The thought of her dying actually excited him and adrenaline surged through his legs, as if his body was preparing himself to kill her. The warm feeling spread throughout his body, and it started to become uncomfortable. Yeesh, Toruuq, she’s annoying as hell but you can’t be that eager to kill someone. He thought irritably to himself. The bull, which was completely desensitized to danger, was unaware of the growing threat nearby. He dismissed it as his body becoming enthusiastic over the thought of ending the pestering cow’s life, and while it was a pleasing thought, he’d never go through with it. Sure Toruuq had beaten others up before, but he had never actually killed anyone. Not that he was aware of at least.

The sound of soft roots tearing from the earth captured his mind for a moment, but he convinced himself it was simply him eating. But no, within a few seconds, a low rumbling sound vibrated through the ground and caused his hooves to shiver. Irritated, Toruuq jerked his massive head up to snap at the cow for causing such a ruckus when she suddenly was less than ten yards away, screaming at him. The bull was caught off guard, and he instinctively swung himself around to face her and locked his legs. It was possibly the most stupid thing his body had commanded, for the cow with her built up momentum bashed into his chest with such a force that he stopped breathing. A piercing pain ricocheted through his throat and chest, and he swore he could hear a devastating pop. Thinking his windpipe had been crushed, Toruuq’s legs buckled and he clumsily slipped backward away from the cow, his mouth gaping as he gulped desperately for air. His vision went black and then began to flash vibrant colors as his brain went into overload, trying to process the damage and the outcome of what just happened. The moose’s shoulders heaved and his head dropped between his knees as he gasped again and again, creating a pitiful wheezing sound that ultimately shredded every bit of his pride. Toruuq continued to spin and stagger around, trying to dodge the blows he couldn’t see coming. After a few seconds, he took a panting breath and paused. A burning rage fired up through his body, sending the ridge of hackles on his back to rise and his wounded chest inflate with anger and testosterone. The moose swung his head at her as hard as he possibly could, his antlers angled toward her. Toruuq was still blinded from her attack and was so pumped with adrenaline he couldn’t tell if he was hitting her or not.

The momentum of his head swung him around and when his vision cleared he locked onto the elk and charged her, antlers tipped toward her, ears pinned, and eyes flashing with rage. “You loathsome, crazy BITCH!” He roared as he closed the distance, throwing all of his weight at her. Though he had her by a good 12 inches and outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds, it didn’t necessarily mean that he was going to land many blows. He was large, rather uncoordinated, and sloppy. He wasn’t used to attacking an opponent like this that wasn’t another moose, and so he truthfully wasn’t sure how to approach the situation. All that came to mind was he had to retaliate in every way possible. The bull humped his back when he felt his lungs close up again and he staggered away a few yards, contorting his face in a mixture of pain, confusion, and pure fury. He glanced down to see his chest bleeding. She had scored him, cutting a clean line across his thick muscle. It bled down through his fur, but he ignored it, oblivious to the fact that female elk shouldn't be able to cut him with their bare skull. Toruuq quickly regained composure and swung around to face his attacker when he suddenly locked eyes with her head. “What the..!?” He gasped, eyes wide, shoulders dropping in disbelief. She…She had…Horns. She had horns? She had horns. HORNS!!! Toruuq’s legs suddenly trembled violently and he stumbled backwards, his eyes never leaving the new weapon upon the elks head.

“That’s impossible. That’s— it doesn’t— How can that—“ The bull’s sentences ran over one another as he continued to sputter in disbelief. Never had he been a believer of magic or witchcraft…but… If Toruuq hadn’t been so stunned by the demon in front of him, he was sure he’d be battling it out with her. It. He tried to lock his legs to keep him from toppling over, but his hind legs buckled and he tumbled back onto his rump. He stretched his front legs and refused to let them bend, so he saw awkwardly and painfully on his hind legs, gasping for breath that seemed to escape him. He was not hyperventilating because of the pain that was growing in his chest from the tear in his flesh her horn had caused, but because he was frightened. It processed through his mind that he was now fearing the elk, and it was like salt to the wound. He was scared of an elk. A girl. Or, more so of what she had become. Hot testosterone and adrenaline coursed through his body with such force that he felt everything pulsate. It was enough to get him back on his feet so he could defend himself. His body shaking with mixed emotions, he stared at her, bracing himself for her next attack. And this time, he wasn’t so sure he’d remain conscious until the end.

The cow’s blood and bits of fur clinging to the tines of his antlers, and from the corners of his eyes, he could see the crimson liquid. It filled him with a sense of smugness and triumph. He snorted loudly; pleased that he had scored a good hit on her. Toruuq took a moment to assess the damage he had done to her. His rack had scraped against her side drawing thin lines that would hardly bleed, and then a few good marks on her back. The bull swelled with pride and his stature increased overall. That was until the pain in his chest began to sink in and he tucked his head in to peer at his wounds. He had trouble seeing over his velvety nose but when he angled his head he saw the gash she gave him bleeding, sinking through his fur and trickling down his leg. Upon following the blood with his eyes, he saw that on her second time around, she had torn through the skin on his leg. She must have jerked her head because the 4” flap of skin and fur was practically detached, it only stuck to him by a few thin strands of skin. It wasn’t bad, and her horn had only skimmed his muscle, but he’d have to monitor both his wounds for signs of infection.

While his leg now started to quiver as his adrenaline fought the pain off, his mind was still foggy and shocked. As he was processing the fact that the stubborn bitchy cow had magically grown a pair of horns and destroyed every bit of his dignity, something started to happen. He stared at the elk, confused as her head started to lower. Oh jeez, was she going to have another go at him? The thought caused him to lift his mighty head and tilt his hard weapons toward her, glaring at her through his red tipped tines. She suddenly collapsed, which startled the bull. Did he kill her?! His heart started to beat rapidly and he eagerly stepped forward to see his work. But then he realized her rump was swinging around in the air. Feeling very bold and no longer threatened, he bucked up and trotted closer, snickering. “Oh yeah, you definitely got me good.” He mocked, lowering his head and rounding in front of her, staying a good 10 yards away, should she be faking it. Toruuq noticed her head tilted to the side, and he scrunched up his face, analyzing the situation. “How did that happen?” He snorted, grinding his wide teeth together. She responded with telling him it was magic, to which he replied, “Impossible.” His ears flattened and he jerked his head up, flexing the muscles in his neck and shoulders. His big ol’ bull brain ignored her comment. Magic wasn’t contagious because it wasn’t real. But for good measure, he sidestepped a few feet further from her. “It wasn’t magic. Mother Nature’s just tired of your shit.” He said, reaching down and giving his bloodied leg a lick.

An ache was forming in his front half as his adrenaline calmed and his nervous system set hard at work to torture his brain. Toruuq coughed hard suddenly, his throat clenching. It confused him as to why he was suddenly fearful of her. The horns on her head were obviously a disease, or a stick attached to her head from mud. It wasn’t real; therefore he didn’t need to be afraid anymore. This new realization brought the moose to walk up to the disabled elk. He literally towered over her and he felt in control and dominant. He could destroy her, trample her with his dinner plate sized hooves. Hell, if he leaned a fraction of his weight on her body at this angle, he was sure he could snap the majority of her ribs, if not break her spine. Toruuq let a smug grin cross his face and he crept even closer. He let his muzzle hover just above her ear. “Looks like you’ve been grounded, little bird.” He growled throatily. Toruuq lifted his massive hoof and set it on her horns, putting just enough pressure to keep her from whipping up and cutting his legs again. “The Beast. Always. Wins.” He punctuated each word, making his deep voice as hostile and threatening as possible. With that, he straightened up and turned to leave. His job was done, his point had been made, and now he had no reason to stay.