Fierceleaf ambled along the cold dirt, her brow furrowed in concentration. A particular termite had crossed her one too many times, and it was time for revenge. Nose wrinkling, she bent her head to the ground in fierce concentration.
Expecting to hear the dark mutterings of the scrabbling underground insects, she was surprised when the faint sound of treading paws reached her ears instead. Alert and suddenly wary, the pale female raised her head, ears perked.
A wafting breeze reached her twitching nose, and her hackles rose. It was one of those blood-shadow beasts! They were like her, but not her. Their scents were not the scents of the birds and the beasts, but strangely familiar and terrifyingly alien.
Standing, she paced back and forth anxiously. She was weak from a previous mental battle with the bugs, but she dared not run and show her weakness to this stranger. Finally, she sat down, stock still as she heard the footsteps coming ever nearer.
