The learning curve

POV FlutterShy

What is this thing?

This was not something Fluttershy thought regularly with animals. So far she had established that it was a Male, bipedal mammal. But... This strange thing is... strange. And as she examined it further, she'd found more things that far beyond her knowledge of animals. For instance, it had digits. Five on each of its... What are they? Paws? No, not paws. To large and flat to be paws. The fact it was wearing sock like clothes over them didn't help very much. Fluttershy attempted to remove the clothes attached to 'the things on the end of its arms'. But to no avail. Hooves just where not gonna cut it for removing his clothes. She decided to take a good look at the beings head as it was the only part of it not covered. Removing its hat that looked similar to AppleJacks, except this was less curvy, slightly more flimsy, and its brim was not as wide as AppleJacks. Not to mention the camouflage that was on it. It had a very short but tugged looking dark blonde mane on the top and back of its head. The colour was almost brown, but not quite. Running her hoof through it, she found its mane was surprisingly soft. And the hairs were incredibly fine. Touching its forehead, she noticed the temperature in its skull felt a bit hotter than it should be. But not enough to cause a fever. She gently pulled up its eyelids to reveal a pair of metallic blue irises surrounding deep black pupils. It's eyes where a little bloodshot but nothing to worry to much about, although it would be something to note, just in case. Running her hooves down its cheeks, she could feel every bone in its face. Nothing felt broken.

Thats good to know...[i/]

She noticed that she had attracted a reasonably sized crowd of woodland animals. Looking about she noticed it was every animal she had left in her cottage. They must have followed her out after they finished their food, and found her tending to... Whatever this was.

"Nutty, have you or any of your friends ever seen one of these before?"

She asked the brown squirrel before it conferred with its friend and gave a decisive 'no'.

"Hmm. I do wonder..."

She pulled back the creatures rosy lips, and what she saw brought an expression of worry and a hint of fear in her head. She took a step back and gasped. She took a second look at those small but so important objects in its mouth. She counted four Canine teeth in its gums.

A carnivore? Then what are these molars and incisors for? Maybe its Omnivorous, yes probably Omnivorous. [i/]

That soothed her a little. Knowing that there was less chance of him eating her if it awoke hungry if it was Omnivorous rather than Carnivorous. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tried to focus herself.

Ok, ignore it face for now.

She put her hoof on its chest to feel its Ribcage.

'Bu-dum, bu-dum. Bu-dum, bu-dum.'

It's heart beat in consecutive pairs of thumps, similar to a Ponies heart. She felt a flat piece of bone going from its collar to the bottom of its Ribcage, and each Rib curved outward around its heaving Lungs and connected to a vertebrae on its spine, again similar to a Pony.

Similar to pretty much every vertebrate aswell.

She stepped back from the creature and the tree it was propped up against. She thought hard about how it could have got here. And the blood on it. Blood but no wounds? Maybe it got into a fight and won? No, the woodland creatures would have informed here of such a powerful violent creature if it did. Where did it come from?

What are you?