Predatory Instincts

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There was a loud thud as a rabbit fell to the ground. A panting wolf with thick chocolate and gray colored fur panted and settled down next to her meal. The rabbit had given her quite some trouble as she had chased it and managed to corner it against some rocks before it escaped. Lyana licked her lips and dug into her meal with gusto as she lounged by her den while ribbing apart her prey with her sharp teeth. She paused to check the surrounding area, licking her muzzle while one paw rested on the half eaten meal. She thought she had heard something, but resumed eating the small prey hungrily.

Lyana sprinted across the springy earth. Her paws hit the ground as she ran faster and faster to get away from the humans. Her paws finally hit the long grass of the fields again as she pushed her way through. She felt relieved at the fact she had made it into the natural looking part of the fields again and made her way to the edge of the river.

Slit panted as he slowed to a stop. He looked over to see if they followed. No one. He went at a slowish pace and followed behind.

The rushing sound of the river was the sweet sound of relief to Lyana. She padded along the shoreline, making sure to keep away from the mud. The feeling of mud between her toes was not a pleasant one from what she remembered. "Come on." She said. "We're almost there." She looked out over the river. She knew nearby there would be a beaver dam where the slow creatures made their home.

"Right behind you." Slit assured. He payed little attention to the river but did spot the dam.

Lyana caught sight of two of the beavers. The creatures had a nasty bite that could seriously injure an animal, but being bigger she wasn't entirely afraid. Still though, she stayed a respectful distance from them. She had never had a liking for beaver. Their oily pelts made them less appetizing to eat.

Trailing away from the river, she picked a grassy spot to settle down in. By then it was midday and the sun hovered above them. Lyana licked her chops and blinked slowly. The area around them was calm. Only the sound of the water rushing by could be heard as she placed her paws in a comfortable position.

Slit followed behind. He preffered this terrain over the others. He sat for a second breathing in the unpolluted air, then streched as he got up.

Lyana gave him a quizzical look. "Getting up so soon? Aren't you even going to sit down and mention what we just saw?" She asked while she remained in her sitting down position.

"We both saw it right? Why talk bout it?" He was only really pacing around, not continuing.

Lyana narrowed her eyes. His comment was certainly blunt enough. "Yes we both saw it, but if you'd explain what you meant earlier that would be great. Fantastic even." She said with a hint of annoyance to her voice.

He sat down again, "Yeah that was a little...long story short..." He addmitted. "I don't really know..it seems like it fires something. It pops on one end, and I guess it somehow makes the thing fly fast enough to kill." He tried going into deeper depth.

Lyana's ear twitched. She remembered how the humans had easily killed her pack. They had charged in hastily. The sounds were similar to that of a crack, like a tree falling down suddenly. It would make any wolf's ears ring and would maybe even make a bear jump. "Do you know if they always have them?" She asked after snapping out of her thoughts.

"Not sure...but they could use other things. Like whatever that roaring I heard was." The humas obviously had advanced and strange ways to hunt. But more effective than anything he's seen.

Lyana sighed. These humans ravaged the land and killed off multiple animals. Surely their appetite wasn't that big? And why would they alter the land as well? She didn't understand but she could feel her fur stand on end, they would eventually get close to her den, closer and closer until they took over. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment as a scene replayed in her head. It was vivid memory. Full of wolves crying out in pain and fleeing from danger. "They need to be stopped in their tracks... They are not natural." Lyana finally said.

"I don't think they made those dens and hunting tools by themselves eaither. But...what else could they even be?" The thought just hurt his brain. What else COULD there be?

"I don't know..." Lyana said. She opened her eyes, bold with color and emotion. "What I do know is that they are destroying the land. And eventually they will kill us all. Wolves, bears, rabbits, beavers. Everything." She said. The river was the only thing that penetrated the silence that followed her words, truthful words.

"Your right." He admitted. Humans were animals of destruction and overflow. They don't stop taking until there is nothing left to take. They kill off animals to make sure they don't run out of food for the many off spring that will eventually do what they did. They'll never stop destroying.
Until they destroy themselves.

Lyana lifted herself off the ground. No longer in her sitting position she stretched, working her muscles slightly. She could feel energy building up and the need to sprint after something, that something being prey. Her eyes burned with anger and a sudden will to live despite the odds against them. "So tell me... Are you going to lay down and die, or fight for your life the best you can?"

"Lyana...its going to take more than us to scare those things away." He reasoned. Two wolves were probably more of a hunting trophy then a threat.

She narrowed her eyes. Her ear twitched at his comment. "I never said we would be working alone. As much I hate to admit it. We'd need help. If we could get several animals to work together.. Then perhaps." She realized she was saying "we", a weird thing to say. It was definitely an unfamiliar thing after being a loner for a while. "You're telling me you haven't socialized with any animals?" She asked. She would be surprised, considering how open he was to trusting an animal.

"None that I've seen in quite while. I could only consider the worst." He explained out and open. "But without there hunting tools they seem pretty defensless, and did you notice their pelts?" He got an idea.

"What about their pelts?" Lyana asked. Whatever Slit was thinking, he had some sort of idea he was holding back on telling. She had barely noticed them, as she had been watching what they were doing, and their den, and also trying to find the monster. Her tail flicked idly as she waited. "Come on now, I can't wait all day."

"That wasn't there own fur." He continued. "They seem to hide behind the stuff they make... So what if we got some things to get that out of the way. Racoonns and rabbits can nibble through other dens, they should be able to get through that." He elabortated. "And Im sure it won't be too hard to convince them."

Lyana thought for a moment, tilting her head slightly. "And what if they retaliate? They won't just take kindly to a bunch of pre- Er.. Raccoons and rabbits chewing off their fake pelts." She said bluntly. It was a well thought out plan, but Lyana though it needed some tweaking. "There should probably be a distraction. A more.. Threatening distraction at that."

"Hm....we could use us and some other wolves so they can't hit us with the...stick things...If we're all moving they probably can't decide which one.." The plan could work if enough were helping.

Lyana shook her head. "No, we'll need something more threatening than that. Perhaps.." She paused for a moment. "A bear. Not even a human would bravely face a bear. Or maybe a mountain lion...." She said trailing off as she thought on different tactics.