What We Do in the Shallows

He took one more step forward, his tail relaxing a bit to align with his hips, but the sneer on his face did not fade away. In fact, it grew wider as she spoke, distorting into nearly unnatural proportions that displayed his blood-stained fangs. He couldn’t help himself. After she claimed he had no skill or accuracy, that he had made a mess of the fox, he found himself indulging in her revulsion. A derisive bubble of laughter erupted from him, as he meant to ridicule her and get under her skin. No skill? No accuracy?” He found humor in her words; it was a rather bold statement coming from a female he could easily break in two. “Should I show you what skill and accuracy are?” He paused for a moment, to study her. He wanted his words to slice into her skin, to make her feel inferior. That was her place, after all.

And when she questioned him, he found himself starting to become irritated. In his mind, there would never be a logical explanation, as he did not believe the act was wrong. It was quite the opposite for him, as he found it to be pleasurable, euphoric even. He never understood how others didn’t feel the same rush he always did. “The same reason you do anything.” He felt his hackles starting to rise again. “Because I wanted to.” He went to take another step towards her, wanting to close most of what separated them, but a sudden outburst of noise behind him caught his attention. A turkey vulture had already descended upon the fox and was plucking out one of its eyeballs, cawing an annoying tune that drew other vultures to it. He whipped around, lunging back towards the shore, snarling and snapping his jaws as he drove the bird away. Even though he had lost interest in the fox, he would never allow a scavenger to take what was rightfully his. He would bury it in the sand before he let that happen.


”Speech”