Desire for blood
Juggernaut
12-13-2020, 10:44 PM
Kichi had been in a peaceful state of sleep for a time but his awareness was kicking in, letting him know it was colder now. The pup raised his head glancing to the left and right as he noticed that both Al and Lurid had disappeared. Kichi felt a moment of frustration then a bit of fear sinking in at being alone. It wasn’t the first time had been alone and most of the time it didn’t bother him. Kichi stood up and walked out of the den, ears straining for sounds. The problem was that no one had warned him. Where had they gone? How long would they be gone? Was it something dangerous that being alone could be permanent? The fear faded as Kichi let out a sigh then took another look around. He could hear Ilyn’s death snoozing breaths and a bunch of crickets singing or conversing or whatever. No one to stop him from a bit of exploring. Kichi stretched, letting out a silent yawn to help wake up more. He’d never been exploring alone at night, maybe this would be a good thing after all. He decided to let his deer also remain sleeping soundly as he didn’t trust it to walk as silently as needed. Kichi was about six months old now and felt confident he could handle himself if any threat were to show up. He quietly left the den sight, making sure to not wake Ilyn. Mom’s bird was likely dead asleep also – would it wake up enough to follow? Right now Kichi didn’t care and spitefully hoped it was dead asleep and Lurid and Al got a taste of what it was like for someone to slip away without warning. They wanted to make him worry? Let them be worried if they got back first. Kichi moved calmly through the silent forest. The grey and white pup let his own steps be as quiet as the forest so that the chirping crickets were louder than his steps. After a time he caught a scent he knew well. Elk, the more horrid and evil prey animals to exist. The monster that had killed his parents was an elk after all. That one was dead so he would never get revenge on it but perhaps another elk would feel satisfying. The thought of hunting an elk put the fear back in his stomach. Hunting had terrified him for a long time but right now he would prove himself with the ultimate hunt. Kichi followed the scent, feeling the fear gripping his stomach and the following anger that he fostered to fight the fear. Hate was a powerful tool to counter fear, it was a lesson he had learned months ago and now he stoked that anger. Kichi had always fought the memories of what had happened that terrible day but now for the first time the pup let himself remember, there was no way not to. He remembered the smell of blood, the look of his parent's flesh on the dead elk’s antlers. Kichi recalled how giant the elk’s eye had seemed to him back then and he recalled the fear. The fear had choked his heart and filled his mind back then so that no other thought could get past. Now the fear was there but not as strong as the hate that pumped with every beat of his heart. Finally, he spotted a stag. It wasn’t the only one, he could smell others around but this one would never see its family again. The hate was making it hard to think but it didn’t matter. Kichi could see the enemy, smell it and he would soon feel its blood in his jaws. It didn’t matter his lack of hunting experience right now. It didn’t matter that Kichi still wasn’t fully grown nor had all the bulk as he would one day have as an adult. It had to die. Now. Kichi ran towards the elk with the expectation it would run but instead saw it turning to face him and showing off those dangerous antlers. Evil stabbing and slashing antlers that could kill a wolf. Kichi tried to circle around and was forced to back off as the buck charged towards him. When the buck quit charging Kichi quit running and the two had a stare-down. Kichi couldn’t wait and charged in again only to find a pair of antlers chasing him away. The standoff lasted a few seconds before the elk turned to lope off. The bold prey didn’t appear scared, it was simply done playing with a pup. Kichi charged after it, finally seeing a chance to attack something other than antlers. He was catching up and just needed a few more strides to sink teeth into the leg. His mind was focused on that and had forgotten to be ready for a counter-attack. The elk suddenly turned around, its antlers turning to face the overconfident young wolf. Kichi saw the attack coming and leaped sideways to avoid the antlers. They would have torn off half his face had he not turned, as it was he felt a sharp tine slash a bit under the eye and up halfway to the ear. Kichi shrieked with the sudden pain unlike any he had felt before and the realization of how close he was to being killed. Kichi still wanted it dead but found himself fleeing with his tail between his legs. The horrible elk chased him! He felt a tine slash at his leg, hardly more than a scratch but it was more than enough that Kichi was imagining his own death. He howled in terror for Al or Lurid. Kichi ran faster and didn’t bother looking back. At some point, he realized the elk had quit following. Panting heavily he walked a short distance further before lying down. Help would come, right? It depended on how far away they had gone and if they were in trouble or not. Kichi keened a soft whine. He didn’t want to feel independent and brave right now. He wanted Lurid or Al to tell him he would be ok. How bad were the injuries? Mom and dad had died to one of those things after all. He wanted them to watch over him so he could sleep, or walk back with him just for companionship. "Speech" Think |