No, Mr. Fuzzybits, I Expect You To Die!

Claws dug dutifully into the dirt as Brandr filled in yet another rabbit hole.  Patting the dirt down he grinned at the feeling of the soil between his toes, just slightly damp from a rainstorm a few days past.  The Rock Garden was proving an excellent place to hole up so far.  Now… if he could just managed to catch himself a rabbit.  Brandr had been practicing day in and day out with varied success but with each miss he was learning more and more about his quarry's habits and so he was evening the playing field by filling in a few holes while the rabbit in question, Mr. Fuzzybits, was hiding in the hole roughly 50 ft south of Brandr's favorite napping tree.

Satisfied for the time being Brandr scented the wind.  A light breeze was coming in from the south, bringing with it a stream of warm air that would surely herald the coming of summer, and Brandr's first birthday.  He was determined to catch Mr. Fuzzybits before he became a yearling. It was a matter of pride as the rabbit consistently managed to elude him.  True, there were other rabbits.  But none of them were king of bunny kind like Mr. Fuzzybits and today was the day that fur ball died.

Positioning himself downwind, Brandr went still and waited, nestled in the tall grasses of the garden.  His breathing was slow and even, his limbs bunched up loosely under him.  There was no need to tense he knew, it would be awhile before the rabbit felt safe enough to venture out.  He was playing the long game and that was honestly the hardest part.  How many times had his thoughts drifted while he'd been laying in wait only for his prey to slip past him?  Brandr had worked out a little game, he'd let a story play out in his head but he relied on the world around him for the stories details, it kept him sharp and focused.  His golden gaze was examining a path in the grass when he caught the sounds of shifting dirt.  Brandr's ears flicked forward and his nose quivered in anticipation.  The wind was still in his favor and as a fuzzy little rabbit head emerged out of the den his limbs coiled beneath him, taut and tight.

The rabbit remained right at the opening of its hole, sniffing and gazing about, unaware of the wolf lying in wait.  Slowly, hop by hope it ventured out farther.  Brandr's breathing was low and slow and time seemed to stretch on forever.  Doubt started to creep in, was he waiting to long?  Should he wait longer?  He tried to think back to his parents words, his first hunting lessons as he squashed the anxiety building in his stomach.  The moment was now.

Corded muscle uncoiled sharply as Brandr leapt forward, landing just behind the rabbit hole's entrance.  The creature veered sharply to the right and the chase was on.  Brandr kicked his hind legs behind him, scrambling and weaving to keep up with his prey.  His golden eyes hungrily ate the rabbits every motion but it was starting to make him dizzy.  He had the endurance but speed was another matter.  

Another jig,  Brandr shifted violently to his left, his left forepaw lashing out in a failed attempt to trip up the rabbit.  Dammit!  They barreled west past his favorite napping rock and through a swath of tall grass in which he'd almost lost Mr. Fuzzybits all together.  He was standing there, panting roughly, ears swiveling for sound before his nose caught the scent of the rabbit about 10 feet to his right.  Brandr crouched down, licking absently at his paws for a moment.  He wasn't entirely sure what to do.  He doubted he could creep up on it, it clearly knew he was there and he knew it was there so they were at an impasse of sorts.  Either way it was going to bolt so he needed to make the first move.  Twisting suddenly to right the chase was on again.  Zigging and zagging, Brandr's lungs pulled in great gulps of air as a look of determination set on his face.  He wasn't going to lose that easily!

Suddenly the rabbit was behind him racing toward the rabbit hole to the west of Brandr's favorite sunning rock.  He grinned.  This wasn't exactly as he planned but he could adapt.  The rabbit dove expecting to meet air and instead hit dirt.  Brandr had filled that hole earlier in the morning and in that moment of panicked confusion the wolf pounced, jaws seizing the rabbit's neck and with a few violent shakes the spine snapped and the creature was hanging limp in his mouth.  His heart was still racing and for a few moments he stood there stunned and then let out a muffled victory cry as he pranced back to his den.  Mr. Fuzzybits was vanquished!