Thrill of the Hunt

[Nidassasyae]

Fall 55 The sky was still dark when Nidae set out for a bit of hunting. The woods were quiet, the diurnal creatures still fast asleep whilst the nocturnal ones crept silently about, finding a suitable meal. The massive Talderan Snow Leopard wished she could do the same. On the way out of the city, she had already eaten a few strips of dried deer meat, just enough to take the edge off her hunger. There was life in the quiet woods, or else she wouldn't be here. A single pair of hungry, searching eyes moved rapidly through the darkness. Her icy blue slitted eyes contained all the ancient cunning of the predator, for all that she had only seen one winter. It was her birthright, the innate bloodlust and instinct of the hunting cat. There was a longing and hunger in those slitted, semitransparent orbs, and as the Leopard crept forwards, she became even more aware of the shadowed world around her. As the sky slowly began to lighten, Nidae's pace grew even faster, her pupils opening wider to draw in the faint light. She sniffed at the air, opening her mouth slightly, trying to catch the scent of deer. After a few minutes time, she picked up the very faint scent of prey. Her mouth watered and she changed course abruptly, veering to the right. Her prey would not escape her, not when she was caught up in the full thrill of the hunt, the excitement flowing through her veins.

[Nidassasyae]

The leopard barreled through the forest, ducking under low branches and jumping over fallen logs. The feel of the wind through her fur exhilarated her, making her feel more alive than the hustle and bustle of Syliras ever would. In the city, she felt weak, useless. There was nothing she could do in that great stone cage, with the press of the crowds. Everything there was strange, and some of the things frightened her. The water filled wells, the children running through the streets, even the clotheslines that hung from house to house. It was enough to make any animal's head hurt. It would be so easy to vent her anger on a citizen, too easy to take a large chunk out of them, and send the rest of the crowd screaming into their houses. Yet, she would not do this, Nehs would never forgive her. Instead, all the suppressed energy and anger was spent on running through the forest, seeking out her prey. Where in the city she felt useless, it was totally different out here. She felt powerful, strong, not like the weak girl who clung to her bondmate's side in the streets. Out here, in this form, she felt in control once more. Caught up in her thoughts, Nidae hardly noticed where she was going, just following her nose. With a giant leap, she flew over a fallen tree, and landed just on the edge of a meadow. Twenty pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto her, as she had just leaped right into the deer's sleeping place. The prey's eyes widened, and they took off into the woods. With a snarl, both at her own carelessness as well as at the deer, Nidae sprang after them, trying to keep them in sight. They knew these woods better than she, winding about delicately through the underbrush. The leopard simply barreled through the forest, simple hunger taking control of her actions.

[Nidassasyae]

Some of the deer scattered, fearing for their lives, a few ran off into different directions. Nidae spotted one that ran slightly slower than the others, as if tiring quickly. She changed course, letting the bulk of the herd flee into the forest as she chased down the slower one. The tired deer was still quite nimble, and as it glanced back to see how far the leopard was from it, Nidae spotted the greying hide around its face, and noticed how prominent the hipbones were. She was running after an older deer, this should be easy! But the aging doe was trickier than Nidae had given her credit for, and it disappeared into a particularly thick bunch of bushes. The dire leopard barely stopped herself in time, skidding close to the deer's escape route. There was an opening barely the size of a deer, which a doe could slip into, but Nidae could definitely not. The bush was covered in wickedly sharp thorns, so she didn't even bother trying. The leopard snarled, pacing back and forth before the opening. There was a brief rustling, and then silence. Nidae's ears twitched, flicking back and forth. She couldn't hear anything... no that wasn't true. There was the faint sound of hooves? The great cat hissed, racing around the bush. The doe had tricked her! There had to be a small opening on the other side, that it had slipped out of! Nidae sprinted around the bush, but too late, she could see the silhouette of a deer disappearing into the forest before her.