*
Once again, the scent had been lost; though the grey ocelot had no idea what the scent had belonged to. She knew it was prey, however, and that was all that mattered to her. Kalina had tried so hard to keep her nose close to the ground, and keep close to the scent of the prey. Since her fist sighting of a deer back in the Wildlands, when she and the rest of her party were travelling from Ravok to Nyka, she had been desperate to spy another, and possibly even catch one, and this new scent smelt somewhat similar to the scent she recalled for the buck. Fully grown now, it was pride which drove her to the almost obsessional desire to bring down a larger prey animal now. Her previous kills had only consisted of rodents and suchlike, which was respectable, sure, particularly for one of the smallest species of wild cats.
But it wasn't good enough for the ocelot who had half a human mind. The ocelot glanced up, and craned her neck around to look behind her. There, in the distance, she could see Riverfall, half a bell's walk away for a human pace. The new city was different, too different. Where her expectations of normal had been a pale yellow for skin colour, here, Kalina saw mostly blues and greens. The woman who actually cared for her, Lynx, her name was, was normal looking, if a little too white. But all that ceased to matter when the ocelot Kelvic realised how well she was treated in this strange city.
"I haven't gone that far..." the ocelot internally reasoned with the memory of Lynx warning her not to stray too far from the city. A stubborn streak, that had appeared when the girl was much younger, was only exacerbated by the hormonal upheaval that was occurring within her body. "I'm an adult now anyway," and this was almost true - as a human, the Kelvic appeared to be a young teen, her slight form giving her an even younger appearance. But, at ten seasons old, as an ocelot, Kalina was now fully grown, considered an adult by her ocelot kin. Physically, she was more than capable of handling herself, though some of that might have been the over-confidence forcing its way through.
The young Kelvic doubled back on herself, intent of finding the scent she had previously been following. Nose to the ground, she made no effort to limit the sound of each of her footfalls; the scent had been masked by a number of other smells, so Kalina knew that the animal was long gone and would not hear her. Mere chimes later, she returned to a stretch of land that had been damaged by... something travelling thought it. Broken twigs and flattened grass and dead leaves signalled to Kalina that it was a well trodden path, perhaps because it was so close to the city, and she knew that she would find no animals so close to ground that reeked so strongly of man. Crossing the path, she continued on, and that was where she met with the scent once again.
Predatory instinct took over the Kelvic, stripping the humanity away from the girl and leaving behind a lethal feline. This time, she would not fail. The scent was still relatively strong, not like some of the others she had followed in the Wildlands. That told her that the deer had recently been here, and couldn't be too much farther ahead. Her stomach dropped to the ground as she traces it, her slit pupils dilating in the sudden desire for her prey. It was this position that gave the small feline an advantage over other wild cats; they could not hide on the ground as easily as she could, and her ability, if she could stay silent for long enough, would mean that she could execute the perfect ambush.
As she sneaked forward, keeping low amongst the undergrowth, her paw steps remained slow, deliberate and silent. "Remember last time, remember when you jumped too soon." Her better-than-perfect-eyesight could see something in the near distance, something that looked out of place amongst the bushes and foliage. A low, feral growl escaped her as she continued to creep forward, using the almost leafless bushes as cover; her spotted fur was random, making it the perfect camouflage. Kalina was silent enough that her prey still had no idea of the approaching enemy. She began to salivate; an unconscious reaction to the desire for fresh meat.
*
21st Day of Winter, 514AV
Once again, the scent had been lost; though the grey ocelot had no idea what the scent had belonged to. She knew it was prey, however, and that was all that mattered to her. Kalina had tried so hard to keep her nose close to the ground, and keep close to the scent of the prey. Since her fist sighting of a deer back in the Wildlands, when she and the rest of her party were travelling from Ravok to Nyka, she had been desperate to spy another, and possibly even catch one, and this new scent smelt somewhat similar to the scent she recalled for the buck. Fully grown now, it was pride which drove her to the almost obsessional desire to bring down a larger prey animal now. Her previous kills had only consisted of rodents and suchlike, which was respectable, sure, particularly for one of the smallest species of wild cats.
But it wasn't good enough for the ocelot who had half a human mind. The ocelot glanced up, and craned her neck around to look behind her. There, in the distance, she could see Riverfall, half a bell's walk away for a human pace. The new city was different, too different. Where her expectations of normal had been a pale yellow for skin colour, here, Kalina saw mostly blues and greens. The woman who actually cared for her, Lynx, her name was, was normal looking, if a little too white. But all that ceased to matter when the ocelot Kelvic realised how well she was treated in this strange city.
"I haven't gone that far..." the ocelot internally reasoned with the memory of Lynx warning her not to stray too far from the city. A stubborn streak, that had appeared when the girl was much younger, was only exacerbated by the hormonal upheaval that was occurring within her body. "I'm an adult now anyway," and this was almost true - as a human, the Kelvic appeared to be a young teen, her slight form giving her an even younger appearance. But, at ten seasons old, as an ocelot, Kalina was now fully grown, considered an adult by her ocelot kin. Physically, she was more than capable of handling herself, though some of that might have been the over-confidence forcing its way through.
The young Kelvic doubled back on herself, intent of finding the scent she had previously been following. Nose to the ground, she made no effort to limit the sound of each of her footfalls; the scent had been masked by a number of other smells, so Kalina knew that the animal was long gone and would not hear her. Mere chimes later, she returned to a stretch of land that had been damaged by... something travelling thought it. Broken twigs and flattened grass and dead leaves signalled to Kalina that it was a well trodden path, perhaps because it was so close to the city, and she knew that she would find no animals so close to ground that reeked so strongly of man. Crossing the path, she continued on, and that was where she met with the scent once again.
Predatory instinct took over the Kelvic, stripping the humanity away from the girl and leaving behind a lethal feline. This time, she would not fail. The scent was still relatively strong, not like some of the others she had followed in the Wildlands. That told her that the deer had recently been here, and couldn't be too much farther ahead. Her stomach dropped to the ground as she traces it, her slit pupils dilating in the sudden desire for her prey. It was this position that gave the small feline an advantage over other wild cats; they could not hide on the ground as easily as she could, and her ability, if she could stay silent for long enough, would mean that she could execute the perfect ambush.
As she sneaked forward, keeping low amongst the undergrowth, her paw steps remained slow, deliberate and silent. "Remember last time, remember when you jumped too soon." Her better-than-perfect-eyesight could see something in the near distance, something that looked out of place amongst the bushes and foliage. A low, feral growl escaped her as she continued to creep forward, using the almost leafless bushes as cover; her spotted fur was random, making it the perfect camouflage. Kalina was silent enough that her prey still had no idea of the approaching enemy. She began to salivate; an unconscious reaction to the desire for fresh meat.
*
