Passionate Snowfall

Vesper · 11-24-2011, 10:17 AM

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WC: 1,000+ → Ohmygod I'm so sorry for the length! I hit 950 then I wanted the damn points for more. xD So...have a longass post whose length you don't have to match at all. And Ves is right in that she is a dumbass. <3

In hindsight, it might have been idiotic to try to steal from a mountain lion.

Vesper had not been thinking clearly since this morning, when she had ventured from Infernian lands out into the snowy world of the neutral territories. It was by no means a blizzard, but the sight of the sparkling flakes had made the cold seem so much more real. She wanted to help the clan out by hunting, but she didn’t know the prey routes within the territory as well as she did in the Dampwoods and surrounding neutral lands. After all, a month ago she had expected to be surviving the winter as a loner, not as a coyote in a cozy cave. She’d taken stock of all the best hunting patches here, and so here was where she trotted to when hunger gripped her and thoughts of the snow dazzled her head.

The hunger aspect had become more pressing than she’d thought when she’d missed the first two rabbits she had been stalking. Cursing herself, she loped back along the leaf-covered trail with ears pricked for any other animal sounds. She’d even take a squirrel if she had to, no matter how much she resented those foul, chattering, brush-tailed things.

And so, her judgment compromised, the deer carcass hidden under the weight of the big cat had looked very promising. The coywolf licked her lips and snuck around when it glanced in her direction. Her plan was spotty at best, but she’d stolen kills before—a long time ago, but surely that was when she was less experienced in the risky art.

The Tirones darted forward, grabbed the cougar’s black-tipped tail in her teeth, and pulled.

Immediately, the large tawny feline screamed and whipped around. Ves had released the tail as soon as she’d touched it, knowing just how flexible the creatures could be and not wanting to anchor herself to it. However, even the agile coywolf wasn’t quick enough to avoid one claw to the face; it opened the old scar across her eyebrow where her father’s fang had cut her. Blood immediately welled from the wound and fell into her eye, but she leaped back.

The cougar paused, glowering at her, tail-tip flicking thoughtfully. Did it want to deal with this pest?

Vesper sneered. “Here, kitty!”

And the mountain lion caterwauled when she leaped in range, pouncing for her and missing her haunches by inches. The hybrid darted through the trees, her paws slipping only once on the snow and fallen leaves. She was used to such treacherous footing and practiced obsessively to keep her balance, though she knew that cougars could run across deep snow with their fluffy and large paws. However, her body was smaller, and she weaved as much as she could in hopes of losing it.

There was some theory to the madness. As insane as the goading was, the she-yote was not going to actively steal a kill right out from under a lion’s nose. Her plan had been to piss the creature off and lead it away from the carcass before doubling back once the beast got tired. She knew that cougars were ambush predators, better at hiding then executing insane leaps to grab their prey, while canines had better endurance. She thought she could outlast the beast.

What she hadn’t counted on was the creature’s speed. And while she apparently had an appetence for danger, she was not going to test her luck any more than she already was.

Transforming mid-run was something she had never tried before, but with the cat nipping at her tail, she attempted it. The transformation to optime would have meant instant death, but she focused on changing to secui, a little bit at a time. Muscles bulked and legs lengthened, and the momentary twinge of discomfort caused her to stumble—luckily timed near the bushes she’d been eyeing. She threw herself into the undergrowth, the sheer necessity of the change spurring her on, and by the time the cougar caught back up and attacked the bush, she was able to leap out at its exposed stomach and knock it down.

A heavy paw nearly buffeted her head, but Vesper had already leaped away and started running again. The deer was the furthest thing from her mind at this point along with fun, and right now she was sprinting for her survival. Luckily, the secui form lent her additional speed, and strength if she were to need it. She pulled ahead a little bit at a time.

It was then that she thought she could see something pale against the snow and trees, but with her mind so focused on run, run, run she wasn’t able to discern that it was a wolf. As the cougar hissed, sprinting behind her, she finally managed to hear a splash and see the other canine in the river. The thought of the freezing sting of the water gave her momentary pause, but it was the only chance that she could take—and she hoped the other wolf didn’t absolutely hate her for bringing the mountain lion their way.

“Watch out!” Vesper shouted needlessly. She sprang as the cougar did, landing in the water and hearing the crack of ice as the mountain lion joined them. It broke through and screamed while Ves rode the wave toward the white-blonde female. She pressed her head against the other’s shoulder, urging her to the bank. The words “I’m a fucking idiot I’m so sorry” spilled from her mouth as the cat thrashed in the water, but she did her best to get the random stranger to safety. She was desperately glad for the added bulk of the secui form—both to push the woman and to keep her own body protected against the freezing river.

The mountain lion had other plans, though, and in its thrashing to get to the shore or to the wolves, one heavy paw slammed down on the hybrid’s rump. The impact sent Vesper underwater, her own lanky limbs flailing. She kicked and turned, staring at the cat as it clawed at the ice.

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