The Scarlet Plague

The heaviness to her own being was something she was beginning to despise. In the first few weeks of her life, she watched her brother romp around their family's den with energy- an exuberance that she lacked. As much as she wanted to interact with the world, it seemed that she bore a heavier weight on her shoulders than Malico did- and it was difficult for her to not resent him for it. Not that she didn't love Mal, but her jealousy was felt much more easily. But now that they were allowed to explore a little bit on their own, Mariah slinked out on a solo adventure so she didn't have to continuously try to quell her competitive nature.

As she absorbed herself in her exploration, complicated thoughts subsided and she was actually able to satisfy some of her curiosity about the world. There was a certain kind of beauty to the forest of the territory, and the distant echos of the ocean only added to the ambiance. As she wove her way in and out of trees, a small fortress of undergrowth caught her attention. It seemed to be untouched- why would someone force their way into the briars after all? But the brush quickly lost her interest when she discovered a small limp form when she circled around the side of the thicket. Immediately, she identified the animal as a rabbit which caused an involuntary wrinkle to her nose. She didn't much care for rabbits. It was one of the many things that made her feel sick to her stomach. However, the curious thing about the scene, was she couldn't tell exactly how it had died. It seemed to be healthy, other than being dead of course. Mariah touched it with a paw, and gently rolled it over to look for a wound or a puncture .... but nothing. She noted that it wasn't yet stiff, so that must have meant it only died recently. Interesting.

It was then she noticed what was beneath the rabbit, and what was hanging out of its mouth as she flipped it to its back. Little sprigs of evergreen-looking needles- yet they appeared to be softer- scattered the ground in clumps. She noticed a red berry lodged in the rabbit's mouth, a similar color stained around its lips. Perhaps it had eaten multiple. Looking up from the rabbit and into the brush, she noticed a fallen limb that sported similar needles and the same berries, but left intact. Glancing up to the tree canopy above, she recognized a lot of the same red spots of color. Well, obviously that was where the branch had come from. Returning her attention to the rabbit that lay at her paws, she retreated to her thoughts. Could this tree have really killed the rabbit? While not impossible, it seemed improbable to her. Wolves killed rabbits. Not trees. But she couldn't shake the possibility from her mind. Casting a quick glance around, her hueless gaze eventually recognized the hole that the rabbit had likely come from. It seemed young ... there were probably more. She wondered if she could test the theory.  

As the gears began to turn, she looked through the thicket in front of her. If the tree was a potential killer, she certainly didn't want to touch the limb directly. But how was she to transport the branch to the rabbit warren without touching it? Then the idea struck her. Examining the thorn bushes for the best hold, she gingerly took the base in her mouth, grinding her teeth together to sever a stalk of it. Once free, Mariah pulled it away. She took both ends in her mouth to form a loop and raked the thorns across the branch until they took hold enough for her to tow the branch out of the thicket. With the potentially lethal branch free, she released her hold on her thorny handle and reclined to her haunches in order to catch her breath.

When Mariah was ready, she picked up the string of thorns once again, hooked the branch, and hauled it back in the direction of the warren. As she grew closer, she heard the scamper of startled prey animals as they hurried back to their shelter. Once she finally closed the distance and was positioned outside one of the rabbit holes, she unhooked her thorns from the branch and tossed them aside. Satisfied with her positioning, she retreated to a hiding spot to see if a victim would take the bait. Mariah actually didn't have to spend all that long in cover. When she finally did see movement at the warren, her muscles tensed, and her breath caught in the back of her throat. She nearly couldn't stand the excitement as she witnessed the wretched creature hop over to the branch and begin to nibble on the cursed offering.

The next series of events happened remarkably fast. After what seemed to be only a half dozen slow breaths, the rabbit suddenly collapsed into a fit of violent convulsions. The movements seemed almost unnatural and non-intentional. It almost seemed as if a new host had taken over and was forcing the creature into painful contortions. At this sign, she couldn't hold herself back. Mariah darted from her hiding spot to her victim's side so she could witness the reaction from a better view. But by the time she got to where she wanted to be, the convulsions had ceased. All she could see was what had been expelled from the rabbit's mouth, and the vile smell of its incontinence. She couldn't help reaching out to jab it in its hind quarters to see if it would respond. But as expected, it did not. Her silver gaze remained fixed on her victim, blinking in surprise at the death that she had indirectly caused. It happened shockingly fast. When she was finally able to withdraw her attention, she glanced over to the deadly tree decorated in the alluring scarlet berries that just so happened to be a death sentence. One day, she would have to bring an adult to the tree to help her identify it.

After a little bit longer, she finally turned on her paws to return to the den. Mariah had certainly been given a lot to think about in the shadows of her mind.


1059 / 800 Words