Starring role

As winter fully engulfed Boreas, Mæva started sticking more to the south and west. It wasn't that she hated snow necessarily but she didn't care to deal with cold temperatures on long trips for one thing. For another she found herself wishing to carve out a territory that felt more like home. Her favorite spot was quickly becoming the Algoma Prairie where she could practice her hunting. She'd be a yearling in the spring and the milestone was so close she could almost taste it.

Curiosity drew her farther south as she sought to get a better feel for the surrounding lands, right into a tangled mess of briars and undergrowth. Mæva snorted. This had to be where those rabbits fled to when they just slipped past her jaws. Mæva moved slowly and carefully, grumbling every so often when the thorns grabbed at her fur. She pulled herself free just in time to see a series of burs stuck to her coat. Aw crap…

Double crap! She pulled herself from one sticky situation into another as she found herself caught in raspberry brambles. To make matters worse she heard a snarl nearby. Mæva coiled her legs beneath her and leapt just a black panther backed right into her. The cat jumped and yowled in surprise as Mæva whipped around, hackles raised and equally startled. Something was off with it, it didn't smell right and it looked right at her then leapt. Mæva squeaked and dove to the side, diving under the brush as the cat's claws nicked the top of her hips.