Post by Nepeta Leijon on Jul 26, 2011 11:35:50 GMT -10
Nepeta had, after a while, discovered that these woods were the best place to hunt. Although she'd be lying if she said she hadn't got lost in them before, enough trips had left her used to the area's topography, and she was rather proud of her ability to navigate it.
She crouched low underneath the bushes and kept herself as still as she could manage. Unfortunately, prey in the area was becoming scarcer every day; between that and just how complex the forest was, trying to track animals was rarely worth it. Instead, she would usually leave a little bait out and then she would wait.
This time, she had left three apples in a triad on the ground a few feet away from her hiding spot. She hadn't met many woodland creatures that didn't like apples, and she'd even sliced them open with her claws to make the scent stronger. Any minute now, something would come and take the lure. And she was ready.
Unfortunately, Nepeta had been telling herself that for what seemed like the past half-hour.
Patience, she told herself, and tried to think of something other than how crouching for so long really didn't do much more than make her joints ache. Damned if she wasn't leaving without a successful kill, though; she was hungrier than three slowly browning apples could remedy and she had put too much time into this for it to be in vain.
Her ears twitched just as she picked up the slightest little noise, a rustling in the leaves ahead, and every muscle in her body tensed. Something was coming. She was ready.
Nepeta watched as a doe, graceful and long-limbed, emerged from the trees, taking shaky, careful steps towards the apples. Wait for it, she told herself, quietly adjusting her body so she was ready to pounce, Wait for it... The deer slowly bent its neck to sniff at the apples and then gave one of them a tentative lick—
WHAM! Nepeta sprang forward and went to tackle the animal but it had looked up and bolted the second it heard the noise and Nepeta was left on the ground with just a sliver of blood from a small cut she must have made on her claws. Reflexes had already kicked in and she was chasing right after it, claws retracted back into her gloves as she ran across the forest floor like a cat, knuckles scraping the dirt and tail whipping back and forth with each turn. Go, go, go, go, she told herself because she refused to let the animal's long legs give it the upper hand and she absolutely refused to lose this kill, because she was a mighty huntress and this was her prey, and good huntresses never lost their prey.
The doe looked back at her for just a moment to see how much distance it had gained on her but it lost focus just long enough to stagger over a stray root. Now! It had regained its balance fast but it took just a beat too long. Nepeta had jumped, and in the split half-second she was in the air she opened her arms, unsheathed her claws and she went in for the kill.
The tackle was perfect; she had landed right on the beast and immediately Nepeta sank her claws into its neck. It flailed wildly underneath her for only a few seconds before stopping all at once and sinking down, dead. Blood gushed out of its neck but the troll was used to the gore, even as she started to cut into the animal's side with her claws and pull out a chunk of meat. She didn't even hesitate in eating the raw, blood-soaked piece of doe, a delicious reward from her latest hunt.
She took a seat on the corpse as she dug into her meal, breathing hard but staying alert. Overtime, Nepeta had learned that the infected corpses usually didn't manage to make it very far in here, but anything could happen, and she had to be ready. Good huntresses were never caught off-guard.
She crouched low underneath the bushes and kept herself as still as she could manage. Unfortunately, prey in the area was becoming scarcer every day; between that and just how complex the forest was, trying to track animals was rarely worth it. Instead, she would usually leave a little bait out and then she would wait.
This time, she had left three apples in a triad on the ground a few feet away from her hiding spot. She hadn't met many woodland creatures that didn't like apples, and she'd even sliced them open with her claws to make the scent stronger. Any minute now, something would come and take the lure. And she was ready.
Unfortunately, Nepeta had been telling herself that for what seemed like the past half-hour.
Patience, she told herself, and tried to think of something other than how crouching for so long really didn't do much more than make her joints ache. Damned if she wasn't leaving without a successful kill, though; she was hungrier than three slowly browning apples could remedy and she had put too much time into this for it to be in vain.
Her ears twitched just as she picked up the slightest little noise, a rustling in the leaves ahead, and every muscle in her body tensed. Something was coming. She was ready.
Nepeta watched as a doe, graceful and long-limbed, emerged from the trees, taking shaky, careful steps towards the apples. Wait for it, she told herself, quietly adjusting her body so she was ready to pounce, Wait for it... The deer slowly bent its neck to sniff at the apples and then gave one of them a tentative lick—
WHAM! Nepeta sprang forward and went to tackle the animal but it had looked up and bolted the second it heard the noise and Nepeta was left on the ground with just a sliver of blood from a small cut she must have made on her claws. Reflexes had already kicked in and she was chasing right after it, claws retracted back into her gloves as she ran across the forest floor like a cat, knuckles scraping the dirt and tail whipping back and forth with each turn. Go, go, go, go, she told herself because she refused to let the animal's long legs give it the upper hand and she absolutely refused to lose this kill, because she was a mighty huntress and this was her prey, and good huntresses never lost their prey.
The doe looked back at her for just a moment to see how much distance it had gained on her but it lost focus just long enough to stagger over a stray root. Now! It had regained its balance fast but it took just a beat too long. Nepeta had jumped, and in the split half-second she was in the air she opened her arms, unsheathed her claws and she went in for the kill.
The tackle was perfect; she had landed right on the beast and immediately Nepeta sank her claws into its neck. It flailed wildly underneath her for only a few seconds before stopping all at once and sinking down, dead. Blood gushed out of its neck but the troll was used to the gore, even as she started to cut into the animal's side with her claws and pull out a chunk of meat. She didn't even hesitate in eating the raw, blood-soaked piece of doe, a delicious reward from her latest hunt.
She took a seat on the corpse as she dug into her meal, breathing hard but staying alert. Overtime, Nepeta had learned that the infected corpses usually didn't manage to make it very far in here, but anything could happen, and she had to be ready. Good huntresses were never caught off-guard.