Giraffe Grazing Hazards
The idea to do a giraffe was suggested by Facelessbuster.
As Jeffery grazed from the lower branches of the tree, he couldn't help but feel relief at his ability to finally reach them for himself. Though he hadn't reached the same size as the other giraffes, at least he could feed himself and not have to rely on the help of his mother to eat.
As he grazed calmly, he couldn't help but notice two calves running around giggling. The were Savannah and Cordy, his older sister's young, his niece and nephew. They were chasing eachother through the grass and through legs of other giraffes, laughing all the way. The other giraffes seemed slightly annoyed, but they just passed it off. He couldn't help but chuckle at seeing them having such fun.
He turned his attention back to his grazing, reaching for a leaf...
But no sooner did he do so than he noticed his niece and nephew heading straight for him.
No wait, no no no, I'm not as big as the other giraffes! Jeffery thought to himself, but it was too late, Cordy had run right through his legs, front to back. He was still small, so he glided through without a problem.
But then there was Savannah, a few inches taller and only a few feet behind. She sailed through his front legs right behind Cordy. At first, it seem like all would end well, she was just the right height to pass by right under, then she passed through his back legs, and her horns came right in contact with his body.
Jeffery gave a gasp, his head folding downward as he wheezed in pain. Okay, it wasn't so bad, just a little bump. But wow, that was one intense little bump. Taking a few seconds, he was able to straighten back up again. Okay, he was all okay, it just a momentary shock.
But before he could go back to grazing, he noticed Cordy and Savannah coming in for another lap.
Oh no no no!
But it was too late.
This time, Jeffery folded completely over, allowing himself to slump to the ground.
He waited their a few moments until the pain completely passed. Wow, it wasn't even that hard, and right now, it had still taken him down.
He watched his young niece and nephew run around a few minutes more. They passed by him multiple times, looking at him slightly, but oblivious to his plight. He would just wait here til they were done. The pain was gone, had really only lasted a little more than the initial shock, but he didn't feel in the mood for getting hit a third time anyway.
After a little while, Savannah and Cordy disappeared, probably off somewhere else causing more mischief. But right now, it looked like the coast was clear for him to eat.
Cautiously, he raised himself onto all four legs. He looked up at the branches of the tree. Ooh, that looked like a tasty one. He began to reach for it... It was a little beyond his reach. He strained his neck...
Giggling in the distance. Oh no, they were coming back.
But he was almost there.
He hooked his jaw.
And here they came running.
He yanked on the branch, but the leaves wouldn't come loose.
Closer...
No, he wasn't going to let go.
As Cordy and Savannah approached, he made a quick decision. Right before they passed through his legs, he did a quick sidestep.
And then he lost his footing.
And he tripped and fell.
His jaw was still locked onto that stubborn branch, and as he fell, it bent downwards with him.
Building tension... Building tension...
And just as he landed on his back on the ground-
The branch catapulted upward.
Taking Jeffery with it.
As he shot up through the air, his lower half started to curve out from under him, until his neck and his body began to form a sort of upside-down arch.
And then BAM!
Jeffery's body came to an abrupt halt. It took him a moment to realize what had happened.
His lower half of his body had hit another branch on his upward swing, his back legs hooked firmly on opposite sides of it.
And then the pain hit him, way worse than what Savannah's horns had did to him. _This_was intense pain in its fullest!
All the momentum from the swing gone, gravity took over, and Jeffery fell to the ground, teeth no longer clamped on that dumb branch.
Unfortunately, the branch had snapped from the force of its encounter, and it followed him down, passing right through his back legs on its collision course with his body.
BAM!
Jeffery gave out a cry as he writhed on the ground moaning. Cordy and Savannah stopped what they were doing, finally noticing him. The other giraffes stared at him in shock, but decided to go on with their eating, pretending they saw nothing. (Though one girl giraffe about his age couldn't help but giggle to herself as she saw this from the sidelines. This guy was cute.)
"Hey, uh uncle," Cordy asked, "are you okay?"
"Oh, don't worry about him," Savannah said, "he's just doing some weird thing that males sometimes do."
She started walking away, and Cordy followed her. "Hey wait, I'm male."
"Then you'll probably do it someday too." Savannah replied.
"I don't want to do that," Cordy replied, "It looks weird."
"Well, I don't know why guys do that, they just do. Maybe when you figure it out, you can tell me." Savannah said, "Now let's go play."
So the two of them ran off leaving Jeffery alone in his suffering.
When the pain finally receded to a dull ache, Jeffery decided just to lay there. This was fine. He would attempt to eat again later, but right now, it was more peaceful just to lay here, without the risk of calves running through his legs or him slamming into branches. Yeah, this was kinda the life.