Duck duck goose

Upon seeing and coveting the woman’s catch, Hyperion had devised a brilliant plan to get himself a piece of it. He was going to lay out a snare, hide it right in her path and when she stepped on it and inevitably got tangled, he was going to pop out of the bushes teary-eyed and so very sorry. In the midst of apologizing he’d let slip how hungry he was, maybe shed a sensitive tear or two if he got the sense she was into that, and just like that he’d get a meal. Easy peasy.

Quickly Hyperion glanced around to get a lay of the land. He ran a hurried eye over the many hollows and dips trying to decide what her route might be. This particular territory was filled with willows and their low hanging limbs combined with close growing quarters made for narrow walkways. If the woman was like him she’d take the easiest, least messy route. He thought he knew just which one that was so he fell on it like a coyote, getting to work as quickly as he could. Snares weren’t really his thing; he only knew a few and he only knew them because at some point someone forced him to learn “for his own good” or whatever.

At first he was going to do the one labeled in his mind as “rabbits” but he decided that the woman was too big for that. He wanted his catch to be dramatic. The rabbit snare was just a simple loop on the ground that would tighten as the prey struggled; a boring catch considering she’d probably just yank her foot around in it. That wasn’t good enough so he opted one that used a branch under tension to yank small game up into the air.

Unfortunately, the place he wanted to put the trap didn’t have any smallish branches. Hyperion pulled down a heavier one and gave it a solid tug. It pulled his forward a bit but, he reasoned, she was a bit bigger than the average small game. It would probably just pull her foot up, maybe yank her off her feet. The branch would do.

Seconds later, the trap laid and hidden, Hyperion retreated into the shadows some distance away to watch and wait for his chance. His mouth was already watering at the prospect of tasting duck.