Magical Autumn Oasis
Another day another adventure. Dexter is hiking through a dense autumn forest, taking his time observing his surroundings and the various animals scampering about along his path. As well as the vast beautiful blanket of colorful leaves that makes up the thick forest canopy. Every so often a small break in this canopy would create a brilliant pillar of light from the sun's rays beaming through, exposing the flowery forest floor littered with numerous fallen leaves. At one point the lion's ears twitch, picking up a barely audible steady roaring sound in the distance. He dismisses this at first, thinking it was an occasional forest breeze that would blow through the area and rustle the sea of leaves above and around him; but as he continued along he noticed that this low roaring was continuous, getting steadily louder. "What is that?" Dexter thought, his rising curiosity urging him to discover the source of this sound. It's a bit difficult to distinguish the exact location where the sound was coming from, not only with it echoing between the countless tree trunks but also from several birds happily chirping about. Their songs were indeed beautiful but were proving to be quite distracting as the adventurous feline tries to sift through the various forest sounds. Dexter lifts his muzzle, his blue nose twitching with a few slight sniffs before he takes one big deep inhale. "Nothing out of the ordinary" he thought, only picking up nature's rather strong mix of slightly damp soil, decaying leaves, flowers and various other smells of the forest. "Hmmmmm..." Dexter lifts his muzzle again, letting his eyes drift shut before taking a few more deep inhales.
Dexter's eyes drift back open after a short moment, and without thought, he glances to his right before breaking into a fast-paced walk in that direction, away from his original path. "Water?" He whispers, detecting the faint scent of freshwater through the forest aroma. Dexter takes yet another deep inhale, and although the scent was still faint... "Water!" Something that excites him at the prospect of maybe a lake that'd provide for a nice scenic spot to rest out in the sun. As the minutes tick by, Dexter's pace continues to increase, soon finding himself in a steady jog; moving as fast as he could while still being cautious of the uneven ground below him with countless exposed roots, small holes, dips, and other small obstacles. Not too long after, a slight smile forms on his muzzle knowing that he's on the right track as the scent of water strengthens and that low roaring in the distance gets louder. That roaring caused a bit of confusion, wondering why a roaring sound would be coming from any lake with the absence of strong winds, but this just kept up his excitement more wanting to figure out the mystery. Thankfully he wouldn't have to wait too long, for just ahead he could see a rather large break in the canopy with the low lit forest environment giving way to a large area where the sunshine pours through. Dexter's pace slows to a steady stroll again as he approaches this break in the dense forest, but just as he reaches the break he stops. He then places both of his paws to his eyes to rub them gently for a moment, then gradually exposes his eyes to give them time to adjust to this sudden brightness after spending a few hours trekking through the darkened dense forest.
Once Dexter's eyes adjust, he continues walking forward, emerging from the forest cover. But not too many steps later he stops once again, gasping at the sight before him. It wasn't a large lake like he thought originally, but rather a large pond surrounded by small cliffs and steep slopes, almost like a deep fissure in the ground. One of those cliffs Dexter stood upon now. Across from him, a tall waterfall fed this pond, that he figured must've originated from some sort of small river or fast-flowing stream. He wanted to explore this as well but finds himself captured by this gorgeous scenery. It was stunning to say the least. The small cliffs and earth that contained the pond are adorned with patches of orangish moss, a variety of small plants, and autumn colored leaves that draped from the low hanging branches of nearby trees. Dexter was especially intrigued by the water that has a certain sparkle to it, one that he'd never seen in any water. Despite being a small distance away from this sparkling water, it feels as if there was some sort of radiating warmth that soothed him as he gazed upon its glittering surface. Before Dexter could think too much on this sparkling phenomenon, his ears perked with a rapid flick of his tail; briefly catching a glimpse of movement and a flash below the surface. He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes to stare at that spot for a little while, but nothing. "I could've sworn I saw..." Dexter knew he saw something. He looks around for a suitable spot closer to the water, but with so many steep slopes and vertical cliff walls, there weren't many options other than a collection of exposed rocks that he could at least try to climb down. Dexter wastes no time and makes his way over, then cautiously descends towards the water, careful with each and every step to avoid falling in.
Soon enough Dexter carefully steps onto a sturdy rock surface that juts out a few feet above the water. He wants to get even closer, but this was as close as he could get without risking an embarrassing slip. He sighs then gets on all fours, poking his head over the rock's edge, and the moment he does... "Ah-hah!" Dexter says excitedly as his tail sways rapidly, having to hold himself back from shouting. There swimming just below the sparkling water's surface is a large fish. Dexter's heart skips a beat, eyes widening as his head tilts in amazement and bewilderment "A koi fish? Or no that's..." Dexter couldn't think of what kind of fish this might be, but he was fascinated immensely by its appearance. "How?" The majority of its scales were a gorgeous bright orange, but what intrigued him most were the large glistening patches of gold scales. A shining gold that resembled what one would see on the finest jewelry. "Is that actual gold?" Dexter sort of laughed to himself, thinking the idea to be rather silly; yet he couldn't help but wonder seeing how those glittering patches of gold glowed under the surface. He then realizes how intently he'd been staring at this one fish, beginning to notice two... no three... no five more fish swimming along. Each of them with differing patterns of gold that complimented their orangish scales, yet still glittering as bright as the first he saw. Dexter wants so much to grab one of them and get a closer look at their scales, but he figures it would be best not to disturb them. Not to mention he has yet to find a safe way down to the water's surface.
Dexter lets out a deep exhale, glancing around himself to take in his surroundings. This place had such a magical feel to it he couldn't describe. He wasn't sure if it was his burst of excitement, but he felt quite a bit warmer here, almost too warm considering the brisk autumn air he was used to along his hike. On top of that, the water's surface is still glistening. At first, he thought it was the reflection of the sun's rays, but as he settles himself down on the rock to a more relaxed position and continues observing, a momentary darkness overtakes this place as a cloud passing overhead casts a shadow. Sure enough, the water's surface continues to sparkle, as well as the waterfall roaring nearby; that amazingly shined an even brighter light at its base where the water fell into this spectacular pond. Even the moist air he breathes seems to rejuvenate and refresh his lungs in an unusual yet soothing manner. Dexter leans back some, then lets out another relaxed sigh as his tail sways about, ejecting any hint of stress from his body that quickly evaporates into the serene environment; allowing his mind to drift in the beauty of this magical, peaceful place while his gaze lazily tracks the fish nearby. There was definitely something special about this place, and he had a feeling that there must be something hidden here or some secret. But with only so many hours in the day he figured he'd just enjoy the beauty for now and return some other day, content that he'd found a new spot for him to relax and feel at ease. Dexter momentarily shuts his eyes, a smile returning to his muzzle as images of friends flash through his mind. He then lets off a soft giggle "Of course I don't have to return here alone" Thinking that experiences like this are best shared with friends, something that could make this wondrous place even more special...
Noooooooo Dexter didn’t jump in the water to catch one of those fish for din din x3 Waaaay to cold for that. Now when spring time rolls around... <.<;;
Wonderful autumn themed YCH done by artist Aurru Original artist post here: [Autumn Feels] Soon as I saw this YCH posted I just had to jump on it and I'm so glad I did. The scenery in Aurru's pieces are always so very well done, purrfect places for Dexy to explore. And I had even more reason to pursue this being a lover of waterfalls.
Fluffhead enjoying this magical place belongs to me DexterLion Accompanying writing from me too! also at [@DexChillViber]! Ok so sorry if this story felt rushed and...idk lacking. It was indeed rushed because it wasn't supposed to be a story at all haha x3 Just had a small idea at first that I just kept building on and it ended up going way beyond what I intended, then didn't want to really mess with it too much more. But there ya go hope it was somewhat enjoyable
Category Artwork (Digital) / Scenery
Species Lion
Gender Male
Size 933 x 1200px
Nice story and nice art dude! Always with a beautiful vision man! 👌👌
Embrace the Autumn. The cool, crisp air, the plentiful harvests, the beautiful colours...all of it.
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