Chapter Text
I had to run faster. Faster than my wobbly legs wanted to carry me. Having long legs didn’t necessarily translate into more speed. My head, neck, and feet were all in different paintings. Oil paintings seemed to slow me down, dragging my neck backwards. It’s too viscous of a medium. My dark tufted tail flopped lazily behind me.
I galloped through to a larger painting of an African savanna. Finally, somewhere to hide. Being well over five meters tall and brightly spotted, blending in can be a bit difficult in some of the scenery. I could never hide in the lush green landscapes of the Rococo period. However, in the paintings of the brush of the African savannas, my camouflage was nearly perfect.
My heart slamming loudly in my chest would give me away. He’ll hear it for sure.
I am a tree. Be one with the trees.
I held my breath, listening for signs of danger. I heard it. The shrill scream of a woman, possibly the same Spanish woman six paintings down that screamed and tried to smack me when I galloped through her portrait.
“Where is Daniel? One of his bloody lions is chasing the giraffe again!” A human physician five paintings down shouted into the hallway.
I stretched my neck taller in glee.
“Honestly, they play hide and seek every single day. Can’t we get some rest around here?” The whine of the annoying Spanish woman echoed.
He’d be here any second now.
I gasped for air. My narrow trachea meant I breathe less air in than other mammals. Running was nearly torture for me and I could only do so for brief bursts.
Of course he already knew that.
Real giraffes, not ones stuck on glorified paper, have herds to protect them. My artist painted me alone in captivity, dooming me to a life of panic and exhaustion.
Twigs crunched in the corner of the canvas. I sucked in the remaining air I needed.
He was here.
My heartbeat hammered incessantly despite the pleas from my brain to quell it.
The leaves rustled. I couldn’t outrun him. I closed my eyes, as if that would help. He leapt out of the bushes, golden mane gently blowing in wind that could not be felt. His piercing eyes danced playfully along the trees, searching for me. I tried to hush every cell in my body.
He peeled his mouth open, releasing a penetrating roar that echoed through the canvas. Every bit of the paint seemed to reverberate with the raw power of the top predator.
His tail sent the opposite message. It frolicked to and fro like a kitten about to pounce.
With a mischievous glint in his amber eyes, he leapt into the next painting, continuing the hunt.
I sighed in relief. Tension I didn’t know I was holding in my elongated neck dissolved.
I scampered to the opposite end of the canvas and went back the way I came. That’ll gain me some time to think out my strategy for today.
“Will someone do something about the animals?” The Spanish woman sitting in front of a blurry mirror hissed as I slowly sauntered through her portrait. I enjoy infuriating her almost as much as she enjoyed staring at her reflection listlessly.
I settled for an unoccupied painting of an exotic and strange forest. My belly grumbling, I paused to graze on the leaves in the canopy. I’d need more energy if I’d have to keep running today. The quiet munching and crunching of foliage between my teeth was just rhythmic enough to steady my heartbeat. I’d have hours before he’d find me again.
I stretched my long, violet tongue out to reach a particularly delectable green leaf when suddenly my body was collapsing in on itself.
He’d dropped down from the painting above!
I tried to swing my long neck at him, but he expertly dodged it. I nudged my ossicones at his face, but he swatted them away. He pounced once more, this time on my face. I struggled momentarily, but ultimately couldn’t free myself from his grasp. I gave up, collapsing my body entirely to the ground. His razor sharp teeth glimmered in the patches of sunlight streaming through the canopy. He let out a paralyzing roar, signalling to the entire corridor that he had won for the day.