oooh it's a snaaake

Fall Ferocity: solo
word count: 806

The breeze that rolled in from the sea was colder now and Ophie didn't know what to make of the change. Her life in the Armada was a happy one, and she was safe and comfortable surrounded by her loving family. When she wandered from her siblings sides it wasn't because she had a case of itchy paws, or that she grew bored of their company. Rather she'd always gotten the sense that her home was a busy place, full of wolves who were always on the move, rushing this way and that to get things done. So there she was, galloping off into the long grass to do the same. Sort of, she was making an attempt at least. That was better than nothing, right?

Compared to her small puppy frame, the tall grass was like an all encompassing jungle. The blades of grass loomed over her like ancient trees and all she could hear was a loud hiss as the wind blew through  them. The mud beneath her paws was wetter than she expected, it must have rained overnight, and she found herself staring down at her now brown paws as she resisted the urge to drop and roll. She could get mucky any time she pleased, but the sense of urgency and purpose that flowed through her veins wouldn't last long. Probably. Time was of the essence.

And so she pushed on, stumpy tail wagging as she ducked through a heavy cluster of grass-only to freeze at an unwelcoming hiss. She leapt back, light on her mucky paws, and her mouth dropped open in surprise when she realised just how close she'd gotten to stepping on that noodly thing. A snake! It was long and creamish-brown, with a vivid pink tongue that flicked out from between its lips. She expected it to slither off into the grass, as quick as a whip, but it remained where it was coiled tight and sluggish. Bundled up next to an old and worn log. Ophie blinked as her ears twitched with interest, despite herself she inched closer and extended her front paw to give the top of the snake's head a boop. She didn't know what she expected really, that it'd be too sleepy to react? Nope.

Sluggish or not it recoiled from her touch, hissing louder now as it snapped forward in a mock strike. Ophie yelped in alarm and skittered back, hiding behind a long stalk of grass as if that would do her any good. It was difficult to be brave when she was alone, the Fatalis blood that flowed through her veins was cooler than most. As much as she tried to pretend otherwise it was undeniable that she took more after her Mother than her Father, and whilst that was great, she loved her Ma...She felt like-even now- she had a lot of expectations to live up to. That with so many siblings competition was as fierce as could be. There were many words that could be used to describe Ophie, but fierce probably wasn't one of them.

Her claws dug into the mud as she remained "hidden" and waited for her breathing to slow. What was she supposed to do now? A true Fatalis wouldn't back down, any one of her other siblings would have no doubt shown this snake who was boss by now! But there she was, rocking back on her hind paws like she wanted to turn tail and run. She took a hesitant step forward as her brows furrowed, mimicking that oh so serious look she'd seen her Da wear a time or two. She could do this! Surely she was just being a worrywart, getting all worked up over nothing- The snake hissed again, breaking Ophie's line of thought as yet another surprised squeal erupted from her. Eep!

No no no. She wasn't feeling very brave today and surely there was no harm in that. If the snake wanted to be left alone to snooze then...it was only polite that she did just that. Ophie tried to think of it this way-to soften the blow to her ego- that she'd be in a real bad mood if someone woke her up from a nap. She'd probably hiss and growl and kick up such a fuss that her intruder would be sent running for the hills. It was only natural, this was how this sort of situation unfolded. Always.

Having cooked up a decent enough excuse, Ophie turned and left the snake to it's own devices. She'd hadn't been quite as productive as she'd set out to be but....that patch of mud there looked as though it was begging her to have a good roll around in it. She grinned and soon enough was rolling around on her back like a upturned turtle, caked in mud.