[Northern Wilds] Predator and Prey (Lusa)

by **Shadowfang** on March 26th, 2012, 2:16 pm

19th of Spring 512AV

Flying high above the forest canopy, Shadowfang searched for any sign or scent of his target. He had been hunting the doe since early this morning but now, he'd lost it. This angered him to no end. Not only did it leave him hungry, but he would have stayed awake this late without reason. He hated the daytime, the sun, and everything to do with brightness and noise, but this was when most animals functioned, so it was only natural to hunt at this time.

A gentle breeze brought an inviting smell to his nose. It was the doe! The very same doe that had evaded him all morning. No, the smell was off. A different doe maybe? Shadowfang did not care. Whether it was the same one or not, it was still a doe; it was still food.

Shodowfang flapped his wings once more and began to circle the area that the smell had come from, trying to pinpoint the location of his prey. Mixed in with the wind passing by his ears, he could hear a faint - extremely faint - clomping sound. Still, he could not find the source of the sound and smell but he did not risk descending any further. If he got too close before attacking, the deer would almost certainly pick up his scent.

His front was towards the morning sun, still darkened by the thick clouds. While they offered a small amount of relief from the sun's blinding glare, it was still not enough to keep Shadowfang from squinting to protect his eyes, rendering them almost completely useless for detecting his prey. He could only rely on sound and smell to successfully pull off this hunt. So far, they did not fail him but neither did they lead him to victory.

by **Lusa** on March 29th, 2012, 2:42 am

Lusa was frolicking. It was warm, sunny, and the forest was especially fragrant and crisp smelling today; the heat of the sun had released all the earthy smells the soil and greenery had to offer. She had been spending a lot of time in her two-legged form, and it felt incredibly good to stretch her legs and let her hooves feel the grass and soft, loamy earth for a change.

Happily, she romped in a circle, lifting her dainty deer legs high in what would be called a canter, if she had been a horse. She was feeling invigorated, as if she were siphoning energy from the familiar environment. Although she had enjoyed the humans (and other creatures) she had encountered in Sunberth, she often felt homesick for the woods.

Ending her circular exercise, she located a bush with especially tender young leaves, and set about munching them. Delicious.

by **Shadowfang** on March 30th, 2012, 9:12 pm

He was now directly over his prey, flapping his wings to keep his high altitude constant. It was time. He spread his wings out and began gliding in a large circle around the animal like a vulture around a corpse, descending a little bit more with every passing moment. The thrill of falling upon an unsuspecting catch filled him with a primal joy unlike any other. He lingered on the feeling for a moment before returning to the task at hand. He flew to position himself behind the doe and swooped down, angling his body almost straight down and towards the doe in a fast and deadly dive bomb.

The warm air blew in his face as he shot downwards in his speedy decent. He extended his claws forward in preparation to grab and slice the animal. Then, things began to go wrong. As he broke through the forest canopy, his wings caught on several branches on either side, disrupting his speed and direction. In his excitement, he had spread them too wide to fit in between the treetops. He wobbled in his flight path and spread his wings even wider to try and slow his fall. This was bad. He did not know if the doe had heard the ruckus and run away yet or if it was still eating the bush. He could not see it, anyway. He was too focused on trying to keep from breaking his legs when he landed.

He hit the ground hard. His knees did not have time to bend as he did, for he was immediately running forward to keep his momentum from toppling him over. His steps were long and fast but he could not move fast enough to stay upright. Luckily, he did not have to. Running at full speed, he collided with something furry. The sheer force of the collision caused Shadowfang to wrap his arms around whatever he had crashed into and, out of instinct, he held on tight as he went tumbling to the ground.

by **Lusa** on March 31st, 2012, 12:11 am

Chewing a mouthful of sweet green leaves, Lusa lost herself in thought. This was something that had not happened before she had started living in Sunberth, with Zandelia. Before, she would have simply thought nothing, her mind blissfully blank, running at the lowest possible capacity. Her only thoughts would have been of what she might eat next, where she might find some water, at most a thought about her mother and father.

Living amongst humans had caused something to shift in Lusa, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. She was now frighteningly self-aware; thinking about others, how her actions might affect them. Living with Zandelia, especially, caused her much confusion. Lusa wanted to be with Zandelia often, wanted to make her happy and see her succeed.

These thoughts were interrupted when Lusa heard the sound of snapping branches; her white tail flagged upwards in alarm, and she leapt to avoid what appeared to be a winged beast, but she was too late; there was a collision of wings, fur, and hooves. Lusa wheezed as the air was knocked from her lungs, and her delicious leaves were expelled from her mouth. Struggling wildly, she was unable to disengage herself from the attacker; in her own panic, all she could see of him was gray fur and sharp claws.

In a desperate attempt to escape, she shifted, using up the precious energy her body had just obtained from her leafy meal. Dusty brown fur became smooth skin, and hooves became nails; a fact that she took advantage of by attempting to scratch her assailant to death. Aim for the eyes! She ordered herself. She did so, but missed, grabbing a handful of hair instead. Good enough! She pulled on the silky tresses, but didn't have the strength to pull them out; only to be rather irritating. She also began kicking with her muscular legs, hoping to propel this monster off of her body.

by **Shadowfang** on April 1st, 2012, 3:47 am

Shadowfang clenched his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, and clung tight to the doe he had accidentally tackled as they both tumbled to the ground. A flurry of twinkling lights pierced his eyelids and he felt that he was holding on to something significantly less wide and furry. He felt his hair being grabbed and yanked on viciously. Powerful kicks came flying at him, striking him in his shins, his gut, and his groin. The wind was knocked out of him and the constant kicks did not give him a chance to regain it. The doe, or in this case the Kelvic, that he had grabbed was fighting hard.

He squeezed the girl harder, trying to restrain her wild movements. Another kick hit him in the groin and another in the stomach. These final two blows pushed him off of the girl and he lay on the ground for a split second, regaining his breath. Instantly reacting, he lashed out again, attempting to grab both of the girl's legs in another attempt to restrain her. In spite of himself, he yelled at her, taking the unlikely chance that she would heed his plea. "Stop!" He needed to end their struggle. He would decide whether he wanted to eat her or not after he figured out who she was.

by **Lusa** on April 2nd, 2012, 5:38 am

Lusa's breath squeaked out of her as the predator squeezed her small body harder, causing her to flail even more wildly. She could feel her kicks connecting in tender places, a small triumph. She continued struggling until the Zith was propelled off of her, and then she rolled over to face him. Laying on her stomach, she was about to shift again, even though she was very low on energy, when he yelled at her!

He told her to stop! The nerve!

"N-no YOU STOP! You, you jerk!"

Lusa sniffled, rubbing frustrated tears from her eyes frantically. She couldn't afford not to have a clear view of her attacker!

by **Shadowfang** on April 5th, 2012, 4:23 am

Shadowfang saw his chance. The girl was lying on her stomach, rubbing her eyes vigorously. He crawled forward as fast as he could and lashed out, attempting to grab her by the forearm. "I said STOP!" He quickly realized that screaming a the already frightened girl in his gruff voice was probably not his best option if he wanted to calm her down.

He tried again, at a lower volume and in what he hoped was a soothing voice.
"I don't want to hurt you. It was an accident." The first was a lie, of course. He still had not determined whether he was going to eat the girl or not. The second, was half true. Tackling her had indeed been an accident, but he had been aiming to hunt her. He looked into her watery, dark brown eyes with a piercing stare as he spoke his lie.

An odd thought crossed his mind for an instant. She had called him a jerk. He thought that she could have come up with a better insult to point at someone who had just tried to kill her.