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 Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:00 pm
 Xanti awoke to the morning’s glow. Pre-dawn. Light blue tones suffused the sky with a tinge of yellow at the east edge. The sun had yet to make his appearance but his sister, still in her first quarter, was hanging low in the sky. The day was mild, autumn was on its way but it was slow coming. No snow, no winds, no extreme heat and no rain. Even this early in the morning the day was looking promising.
Xan was situated in a burrow, on the face of a small ridge. It was at ground level and opened up to the forest floor, but if you turned around to look you’d see that the ridge rose straight up about twenty feet before levelling off. It was the kind of cliff that signified a drastic increase in elevation, probably due to the mountains that weren’t too far off. The burrow itself was little more than a hole in the ground, dug out in between two solid rocks. Probably a bear den that was no longer occupied. Or it wasn’t when Xan had found it the night before. Maybe, if he was lucky, the owner would come back and Xan would have a morning snack delivered.
Ahh...now wouldn’t that be nice?
Pleased with the stray thought, Xan rose and clambered his way out of the hovel. It was large enough for him to stand in, and proved easy footing with only a few stones to avoid. Looking out of his newly acquired den, Xan surveyed the scene before him. Ferns and trunks of trees greeted him. Nothing too exciting.
Disinterested, he stretched; popping bones, pulling sinews, and generally warming up his muscular body for the days activities. He shook his mane out, loosening all the dust and rubble that had gotten lodged in it while he slept and then gave a huge yawn. He was still tired but he’d have to wake up soon if he wanted to catch breakfast, whatever it turned out to be.
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 1:55 pm
It was Tabitha's full belly that allowed her the restraint to keep from feeding on her prey before it was completely dead; instead she toyed with the victim, removing her paws to give the rabbit a small ray of hope, feebly dragging itself away, but it had barely moved an inch before the feline was on it again. Finally, the rabbit resigned itself to its fate -- when Tabitha tried to allow the rabbit to escape again, it no longer moved, spirits crushed even more so than its body.
The game was no longer fun.
Despite the skinwalker's stomach being so full it nearly ached, Tabitha still scooped the rabbit up into her jaws, tearing into its body and eating greedily as if she were starved. This was how she had spent the entire morning -- chasing small prey, toying with their lives until she lost interest and swallowed the bodies into her gullet. She only ate half of the rabbit before moving on, slipping through the forest in search of something new to play with.
The unusual scent that met her nose was something new, unlike anything she had smelled before -- yet held an underlying smell of familiarity. It... smelled like a horse, but different. It was strange, something foreign... and Tabitha felt herself drawn to it with curiosity. She prowled onward, deeper into the forest in the body of a cougar, piercing blue eyes darting in every direction, keeping her senses alert. She moved swiftly and with the confidence of a predator who has participated in more than her fair share of successful hunts.
And in her speedy confidence, she burst right through the bushes to come nearly face-to-face with a large hound-like equine beast, and Tabitha quickly halted in her tracks. Her claws extended and legs spread slightly to hold her ground, she curled her lips back to bare her teeth as she hissed at the creature, ears pressed back on her head. In this body she was smaller than the beast before her, but she was also faster -- but he was something Tabitha had never encountered before, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:43 pm
Xanti was taken aback. He had heard the swift approach of the creature. Had heard it rush though the ferns, had smelt the scent of blood and fur, yet he hadn’t been expecting this. A wolf. A wolf was plausible, so was a fox, or even a cougar. But a catwalker was another thing entirely. If he hadn’t met a catwalker before, he probably would have been confused at the mixing of scents. As it was, he was amazed.
The other one had been a small cat, a kitten almost. This was a cougar. A large feline, with sharper claws and a louder hiss. But not as loud as his. He peeled back his lips and felt the rumble build up in the back of his throat. It continued to build until he released it as roar. It was the type of roar that sent the nearby birds out of their trees in fright and the rodents back to their burrows. It was the type of roar that spoke of ferocity and viciousness. It was the type of roar that demonstrated capability. And that was exactly what it was, a demonstration.
In the silence that came after, Xan just stood there and eyed the feline with his pupil-less orbs. His teeth were once more hidden behind grey lips and his whole demeanor was relaxed. Calm even. He showed no aggression, nor submission. Just a steady regard backed by curiosity.
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