writing prompt: I am the highway
This really has nothing to do with a highway. It is what was inspired by reading the prompt that garlicsalter posted earlier today.
~*~
Silently she crept along the fern-carpeted forest floor -- nightblack, sleek, feral. Pausing to gauge the prey by the light of the yellow autumn moon, her ears pricked forward, nose and tail twitching in tandem in anticipation of the hunt.
Shifting back into human form briefly in order to confuse the Hounds, she continued her forward motion towards her quarry, keeping constant vigil on the ne’re link that was a constant hum at the back of her mind. The ne’re link... the ninth sense that linked her mind with the rest of the Pride. As a ranking pridemember of the ne’re Felis Concolure Pride, Coryid was tasked with hunting for the Naming Feast to be held the next evening.
The problem was that the Hounds were out in force and had been more bothersome than usual to lose. Remembering how persistent they had been made Coryid’s leg muscles spasm reflexively. Damn human form didn’t have a tail to twitch when one was vexed. And what about these short fragile nails? How was one expected to shred through flesh with these puny things? She huffed in derision. And lets not even mention the practically worthless senses... why, it was like seeing and smelling from inside a burlap sack!
A small movement off to her left halted her mental tirade. There... a spindly tree limb swayed slightly as if a weight had just been lifted from it. Coryid shifted back to her natural feline form and stilled her breath. Her feline senses sharpened. The hum of the ne’re link swelled… something Significant was happening.
Suddenly the tri-horned gazelle she’d been tracking raised its head up in alarm and bolted towards the Deep, directly into the maws of the very thing that had frightened it. Unleashing an unearthly cry, the hellbeast skewered the tri-horn which screamed and fought while the shadow slowly devoured it.
Coryid fought to keep her breathing slow and quiet as the deepshadow moved across the clearing. There was no way she could outrun the demon. But as it was a rather stupid variety of demon, she had a very good chance of outsmarting it.
~*~
Silently she crept along the fern-carpeted forest floor -- nightblack, sleek, feral. Pausing to gauge the prey by the light of the yellow autumn moon, her ears pricked forward, nose and tail twitching in tandem in anticipation of the hunt.
Shifting back into human form briefly in order to confuse the Hounds, she continued her forward motion towards her quarry, keeping constant vigil on the ne’re link that was a constant hum at the back of her mind. The ne’re link... the ninth sense that linked her mind with the rest of the Pride. As a ranking pridemember of the ne’re Felis Concolure Pride, Coryid was tasked with hunting for the Naming Feast to be held the next evening.
The problem was that the Hounds were out in force and had been more bothersome than usual to lose. Remembering how persistent they had been made Coryid’s leg muscles spasm reflexively. Damn human form didn’t have a tail to twitch when one was vexed. And what about these short fragile nails? How was one expected to shred through flesh with these puny things? She huffed in derision. And lets not even mention the practically worthless senses... why, it was like seeing and smelling from inside a burlap sack!
A small movement off to her left halted her mental tirade. There... a spindly tree limb swayed slightly as if a weight had just been lifted from it. Coryid shifted back to her natural feline form and stilled her breath. Her feline senses sharpened. The hum of the ne’re link swelled… something Significant was happening.
Suddenly the tri-horned gazelle she’d been tracking raised its head up in alarm and bolted towards the Deep, directly into the maws of the very thing that had frightened it. Unleashing an unearthly cry, the hellbeast skewered the tri-horn which screamed and fought while the shadow slowly devoured it.
Coryid fought to keep her breathing slow and quiet as the deepshadow moved across the clearing. There was no way she could outrun the demon. But as it was a rather stupid variety of demon, she had a very good chance of outsmarting it.