Grey fur rocked over its saggy skin, with powdery ice covering it. Two large curled horns sprouted from its head, and in one look they almost looked like elephant tusks.
Warm breath rolled out through its black wet nostrils, as its grey tongue crawled up and licked them.
"Hug the ground, Colby," the boy said to himself. "Hug the ground and don't let it see you."
Not all beasts of the forest are violent. Aurochs, creatures that almost looked like cows are rather docile, but when it comes to their territory and children – none wants to mess with them without a plate of steel over their skins.
One time in Colby's village, an auroch became loose from the wild, and it tore down fields and broke pens and sheds. Finally, when they killed it, it nearly took a dozen men, and Colby could still remember its size. It was twice as large as a bull, with two long twisted horns.
This thing was double the auroch's size.
