An Un-pheasant Situation

Dead brownish black branches and vines crowded every inch of space the eye could see. Some areas were so thick that snow had accumulated on top of it. Varushka had initially tried climbing over the vast expanse of dense brush, but it easily collapsed under her weight and tangled her beautiful brown fur in stickers and twigs. As she crawled through the undergrowth she could occasionally see through the less plant infested areas where light trickled through between the gaps in the snow above. She could have sworn she was green glowing eyes watching her, but she shrugged them off to be birds or maybe even opossums disturbed by her presence. Her intrusion seemed to be startling some of the birds that had made their winter homes here. When she would sneak too close one would let out a loud alarm call and other birds would thrash about between the brambles. Most would dart out with a cacophony of upset twittering. Frustration bubbled in her belly, but she kept going as quietly as she could. The tall dead grasses tickled her nose and belly as she walked. Occasionally the old seed pods would make her sneeze, which alerted more birds. Goodness, this place was annoyingly difficult to traverse. Everything within several meters would know she was there long before she reached them.

After some time, Varu had reached a small area where the thicket didn’t cover she sky but the grasses were just very tall. She had a small path she had broken down behind her, and she could only barely see in front of her without getting up on her hind legs to peek over. The day light was running out, and she still hadn’t managed to catch the pheasant. It was the task given to her by her leader, she needed pheasant feathers in particular for a craft and it would also give her good hunting experience. However, Varushka’s tracking skills seemed to also leave more to be desired. With a disheartened huff, she sat down. A sharp twig poking her rump as she did so. This resulted in her leaping up with a surprised yelp, that she only managed to stifle half way. But no birds made a noise or even so much as batted a wing. Weird. Varushka sat back down again to rest for a moment before she would continue on her search.

"Speech"