Horizon Ridge above the clouds of pompeii

@Dakarai  — and in a few posts, @Arturo!

Consider the rest of the herd NPCs!

Winter was upon them, and it was the season he loathed.  Summer was a time of mirth, activity and procreation; life was so good that the blustery, bone chilling snows were simple memories that crumbled in the wind. When the temperatures dropped and the drifts resumed, dreadful responsibility overtook his life. Lands of plenty transformed into alabasterer wastelands. The burdens of his harem [for which he fought so hard to acquire and maintain] fell heavily onto his withers and it gave Marlowe great anxiety.

He alone controlled their movements and their speed. Their strength and attention was greater in their numbers, but he assumed most of the responsibility out of red blooded gallantry. He was not a young buck anymore, but a man grown — after all, Marlowe had not been ousted from his position as sultan for two years now, successfully safeguarding his estate from those brimming with youthful brimming with bravado. He was big and he was strong; he knew how to survive and knew how to lead his wives and his children through the dark nights. But this did not stop him from worrying, as so much could go so wrong, so easily.

The cold meant that they were constantly on the move. Their flat teeth ground and chewed the frozen leaves, their summer tenderness surrendered to invasive sleeted crystals. A frozen landscape was easily stripped by his herd [a group the size of a perfect baker’s dozen] and their hunger nudged them on, razoring away at the edges of the undergrowth. They created meandering paths [in the snow] that the other creatures often utilized for the ease of movement. It was not uncommon to look back and see a rabbit loping closely behind. Usually a stamp of the hoof was enough to send them scurrying off, as smaller warm-blooded creatures could attract the others… those dark creatures of the night, with the teeth that maimed and killed.

The group of elk silently moved through the woods, seeking both nourishment and protection from the timbers.