[ P ] New Beginnings

At last... it was beginning to get dark. Curled up beneath one of the trees of Redwood, Ferox lifted her head, squinting lightly at the gentle, fading light that shone between the foliage. The sun had almost set completely, and the heat of the day was finally beginning to subside. Rising to her paws, she gave a quick stretch, deciding this would be a good time to resume her search. It wasn't long ago that she had arrived in these new lands, but she was still yet to find anything to eat, and her hunger was becoming difficult to ignore. Hunting had never been her forte, but scavenging... now that was easy. The only hard part was finding the leftovers, though she was no stranger to seeking them out; surely the fact she hadn't found any recently was simply bad luck.

As she made her way through the forest, the dry, fallen leaves crunched beneath her paws. 'There has to be something around here somewhere,' she thought to herself. 'Do the locals not abandon their food when they're done with it?' This place seemed so strange, though she didn't dare interact with anyone. For all she knew, she could be breaking some mysterious law and be driven out for trespassing. Such ideas usually wouldn't concern her, but right now, all she wanted to do was focus on her survival.

Fortunately, it seemed today would be her lucky day. After a while longer of wandering through the underbrush, she came to an abrupt halt, noticing a familiar scent drifting by. Her eyes widened with a sudden spark of hope, realising that it was exactly what she had been looking for; the scent of fallen prey. She quickly began to follow the trail, going as fast as she could whilst taking care not to lose track of it. As she got a little closer, the scent seemed to change a bit, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. It seemed she would just have to wait and see.

Nudging her way past a bush, she came to a small clearing, noticing the carcass of a deer at its centre. However, that was not all there was... Eating from the carcass was a bear, happily tearing into the remaining meat. It appeared to be a juvenile, but it was larger than her nonetheless. Ferox hesitated for a moment, trying to work out what to do. She wouldn't stand a chance against it in a fight, but perhaps she could pester it enough to make it leave. Taking a few steps closer, she bared her teeth a little, giving a threatening growl. Once she had the bear's attention, she quickly darted off to one side, moving in unpredictable ways to try and overwhelm the creature. It seemed a little unsettled, but not enough so to consider giving up its meal. It was clear she would have to work a bit harder if she wanted to win.

Ferox decided to aim for the bear's ankles, quickly nipping at it before running away and continuing to circle it. At last, the bear was beginning to react. It tried to swing around and attack, but she was faster than it, swiftly dodging its moves. She actually found it pretty fun, giving a mischievous laugh as it tried hopelessly to put an end to her teasing. Surely it was only a matter of time before it gave in. She took one more lunge towards it, when suddenly, a massive paw slammed into her side, its claws digging in as she was knocked to the ground with a thud. A little dazed, she was now vulnerable to its attacks, quickly scrambling to her paws in an attempt to get away as quickly as she could. Just before the bear could strike again, she made a run for the edge of the clearing, only stopping when she was sure it wasn't following her.

This was risky. Too risky. Yet... she was too hungry to simply walk away. Panting a little, she glared at the bear from a distance, quietly muttering something to herself before turning to check on the scratch she had received. Giving it a quick lick, she could tell it was bleeding a little, but it was nothing she couldn't ignore. What bothered her most was that, if it left a scar, it would either become a reminder of a glorious victory or a terrible defeat, and she did NOT want it to be the latter. Perhaps if she attacked the bear just once more... then it would leave. It had to. She took a couple of steps closer, poking her head back through the bush. This seemed like such a bad idea... but did she really have a choice?


(@Victorian)