It was the time that Bile hated and feared more than any other. High in the heavens, the sun blazed brightly, its overhead position indicating to those that knew such things that it was midday. To Bile, having no knowledge of such things, it meant that the light was at its brightest and most insidious, driving his beloved shadows into full blown retreat. Midday saw shade at it's weakest, shadows at their smallest, and Bile himself practically immobilized, sticking to the shadowy crevice between two rocks with barely any room to maneuver. To be sure, it was his own fault; in spite of the fact that midday was a daily occurrence, it was beyond Bile's mental capacity to plan for it. Wherever he happened to be when the shadows shrank was where he stayed until they once again expanded, allowing him to move about in his own personal definition of safety.
Light was something that he'd always detested. The shadows had been close and protective, keeping him secure and safe in his darkest hours. They filled the small spaces of his home, holding him close and keeping him from having to face the terror that lurked beyond, a terror of bright days and open plains.
In the crevices and caves, he was king. There he lived happily, moving about in the shadows and playing his little games with whatever he happened to find. Typically it was rats or insects, but occasionally something bigger would stray into his territory. Bigger things were better; they were more fun to play with, because they bled so much longer, so much more...
Too bad that big things didn't come around often.
At that moment, a slight scratching nose caught Bile's attention, causing him to go completely still...then to break out into a wide, terrifyingly white grin. A sudden scrape of hooves, a snap of irregular teeth, one brief frightened squeal of the unfortunate rat, and it was all over, leaving Bile the proud owner of one piece of bloody meat that moments before had been a rat. It was small, but it was blood, it was here, and it was his.
Pleased with this turn of affairs, Bile nosed at the dead rat, feeling the warmth on his nose. It made him happy, that feeling, very happy. His grin broadening, he let out a slow, hissing laugh that quickly escalated in both tone and volume until it became a rolling nose, bouncing off of the surrounding rock faces and beyond. "SSSSSSSSSSS...S-ssss-ssss-ssss"