The Bad Kitty

Hooves thundered at full pelt across the plains, leaving clouds of churned ash in the air in a swirling trail behind glowing feathering and tail. Taliesyn was in a race. One for his life if he didn’t play this right. Just behind but beginning to lag was the tawny, thin form of a lioness that had ventured far from Auster, and far from home. He felt sorry for her, he really did, but not enough that he wanted to be her meal.

She was alone, that much he could be thankful for. She’d been so desperate for horse meat that she’d botched her ambush, and he’d bolted like a meteor, a foot ahead of her leap. He could understand why his mother hated big cats, though her hatred had mellowed with years.

He crashed through the stream, sending plumes of water sailing through the air, then dropped his haunches as he gained the far bank, skidding to a spot and performing a practiced, neat rollback on his hocks and diving his front end low, imitating a cutting horse, with the exception that his chin tucked toward his chest, presenting the proud spear that was his horn to the starving predator.

The lioness double-took, plunging to a rolling stop to avoid the scything strike the stallion sent for her face, followed shortly by a pair of forehooves, pummeling the ash-mixed mud. A frustrated roar escaped her as one hoof clipped her shoulder, and she retaliated with a pawful of claws, which he danced out of range of, whirling to deliver a double-barreled kick for the beast before leaping ahead, not keen on letting her have his back end.

He stretched out in a gallop taking advantage of the lioness’s frustration and confusion. His back hooves had missed her, but they’d forced her to dodge away from the attack, and it cost her precious time as the prey she’d hoped to bring down surged ahead, and she lumbered after him, slowly gaining speed, though her real power had been spent already by the ambush’s sprint.

But soon enough, Taliesyn had slid to a stop and spun to face her again, fencing once more wit tat damned horn, and forcing the lone lioness back once more.

As ever in times of stress, Taliesyn was fairly blazing with light, ears flat to his crest and teeth bared, nostrils crinkled and ears narrowed, almost rolling as he plunged at the cat again.

Taliesyn vs Lioness 1/3

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think