it never had a chance

The ever-growing pup was sitting in a small clearing surrounded by new growth trees. Blossoming flowers fluttered down to the ground around him every time the breeze decided to come through. Watching as the delicate petals touched upon the fresh dirt, Ghoul wondered what it would be like to fly. Not that he cared much to actually fly, but he was more curious how birds did it. He knew so much as that they had feathers and wings that helped, but surely that wasn't the complete reason. Tilting his chin up to the sky, a wistful sigh left his pallid lips as his stomach began to grumble. Not feeling quite in the mood to stalk some prey, he glanced around the trees that stood closely knitted together. Birds weren't really his favorite snack, they also weren't super easy to catch either.

What if he could make something to catch them? At least a few turkeys? His ear flicked to the sound of some not far off, squabbling about as they did. Would snares be easier or rounding them up in a pen? Scrunching his bow slightly, he stood up from his spot and began looking around for something useful. Vines, large sticks, anything pliable that would be easy for him to manipulate. Entranced in thought, the pup began collecting materials so he could start brainstorming a way to craft something useful for easier hunting.

He needed a better plan if he was going to figure out what exactly he was looking for. Pausing in his rummage through the foliage, the pale pup lifted his head to look around. If he could find a narrow path to lead an animal down and trap them somewhere, it would make this so much easier. His brow scrunched in thought as an ear flicked to the noise of the turkeys. Nearby, but not close enough to smell him yet, they garbled loudly and rustled through the brush. What stupid creatures to be so noisy. Surely, they would be his target. Pulling their feathers would be a pain, but at least they'd be a decent enough size to get the meat off of. Deciding on his plan, Ghoul glanced back around until he noticed a tree wrapped in somewhat thick vines. The perfect sort to tie into leg snares.

Moving over to the tree, the burly pup began to pull and yank at the vines curled around the trunk. As the hot sun overhead beat down upon his spine, he could feel the sweat begin to coat his skin. Slowly, but surely, the vines began to unwind with each tug he gave. Snapping them off with his sharp teeth at the ends, he laid a few out on the ground around him. Quite a few feet in length, he continued his cultivating until he had roughly ten strips on the grass near him. Long enough to tie into loops and attach to something. He would need that too. Panting quietly, already wanting to get a drink of water, he figured it would be best to try and find some sticks on the ground instead of attempting to grab a branch from higher up.

Nosing around in the bushes, as quiet as he could to not alert the feathered prey's attention, he gathered ten sticks thick and long enough to use for his snares. Sitting down on the soft dirt, he tried to make quick work of tying the vines around the sticks and the other end into loops. It was awkward at first since he only had paws and no thumbs, but he was able to manage after a while. He could hear the turkeys still squabbling away as if nothing mattered to them other than screeching at each other. Flicking his ears back, Ghoul gathered up his snares and went to find a good spot to dig them in. Not far off, at the end of a branching path, he found a small clearing where the grass was taller enough to hide the snares from their sight. Anyone taller would clearly be able to see what he had devised.

Pleased with his rudimentary trapping system, Ghoul began to make a sweeping path around the garble of noise. His ruby eyes peered into the shaded areas where the bunch of brown feathered birds gathered. His stomach growled quietly at him to get a move on. Lowering himself slightly as his tail raised over his haunches, he moved in from behind them so that they would face the direction of the path he wanted them to go down. Peeling his lips up into a cruel smirk, he flicked his ears back and launched into an attack. Pouncing from the bushes as his large paws splayed out with dirt scattering around him, the birds ruffled their feathers and took off without a second thought.

Chasing after them so they wouldn't diverge from the path, he grew frustrated. While they couldn't exactly fly, they weren't necessarily idiots either. Some tried to turn back to peck at him and others flapped away into the brush. A loud growl rumbled in his throat as he snapped at the few left who continued to run straight for his target area. Ignoring the stragglers, Ghoul kept on their heels until they burst from the shade into the dappled clearing. Letting them scatter wildly, he watched in a pleased manner as at least two of them fell, victim. Wings and feathers flapped around in balls of panic as their garbling screamed into the afternoon air. Poor things, the pup thought to himself as he prowled over to them.

Agilely swiping his muzzle in the direction of the two turkey's throats, he let the blood splatter over his legs and paws. Watching the life drain from their eyes made something in his belly squeeze. His panting eventually grew quiet as his sweat-soaked body loomed over his catch. Feeling proud, he let out a loose howl filled with joy. Ripping into them for a quick taste, Ghoul was more than pleased with the day's adventure. Making time to remove the snares from the ground, he began dragging them home to show his mother what he'd done.


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