Strong. Thick skinned. Able to push its way through near anything and leave a trail of carnage in its wake. There’s plenty of things to be admired about a rhino. One of the largest animals in the whole Sanctuary, they can really pack a punch when the time comes to it.
Yet, they have a few drawbacks as well. Little things that most don’t think. Sure, they got excellent hearing and a great sense of smell. They don’t really make up for their sight though. All they see is a tiny bit in front of them, and everything beyond that is just a blurry guess. So, when they do see movement, it sends them into a rage. The rhino charges forward, horns angled down and just runs over what stands in their way. It used to keep them safe back when they had predators, but now in the Sanctuary?
It hurts them so much more than it helps. Their foes aren’t really even threats, and the rhinos get lodged into things. Walls, gates, the occasional tree. The goal on keeping them safe is to make sure they aren’t goaded into charging into things. A strict set of rules are in place, a guideline that almost seems to be as harmful as the habits they do. Guided times to release that anger that can build up and keep them sharp.
It’s hard not to see the comparisons now. A strong and mighty being, trapped beneath the red tape and even stricter lines of censorship and authority. A built cage to contain something that should never had to be contained. Working under the very thing that it hates, pointed in a direction, and let loose to be set free for just a fleeting moment.
Are these matches that little bit of freedom for you? Where you get that little bit of what you really want to be from the grasps of men, rules and all? Where that thrill gets hold of you, just for a minute? That exhilarating rush, and then forced back in. Trapped back behind those rules, the men you work alongside with, and the walls of restriction.
I know what you really need, what you seek. You want to be free of it all! Free from the choking grasps of the rules, from men, from having anything hold you back as you charge forward into the world. No one can get in your way, the opportunity to make it all yours. I can dig that!
There’s just one thing you want to keep in mind though. You’re used to society. Rules and pathways, walls and restrictions are your definition. Those things that let you take what little hold you have in there, don’t mean a thing out in the wilds. Out here, the dangers are many. Not all come charging forward. Some just lie and wait, striking forward when approached.
All it takes is a single well-placed bite, and even a rhino can come toppling down to the ground.