Sticks and Stones [Xarkla]

[ricochet]

Crunch, crunch, crack. Amphire's face was twisted into a grimace, as her paws came into contact with foreign material. Sure, she had been on grass, twigs, and other forestry things, but never surrounded by it. Amphire was trotting forward, her head swaying to and fro as she peered up at the vegetation and birds singing in the humid afternoon. Before she knew it, she barely missed stepping into a small, rotten animal. Amphire turned her head up in disgust, before briskly jumping over it and bounding towards a log. Soft moss and colorful fungi sprouted from the decaying object, giving off a magical aura.

Interested, Amphire scrutinized the log before extending her neck sniffing it. Seeing that it held no obvious markings from any other animal, she sprung herself into the hole. In the short time Amphire had looked over the wooden log spruced in vegetation she hadn't realized how narrow or short it was. Grinding her teeth together, she yowled with frustration, before her limbs flailed in every direction, and clawed at the wooden thing. Ultimately, she was released from the splintery encasement. And in her attempt to get free, her momentum had not decreased when she was out of the log, and found herself sprawled face first in a sticky pile of...dirt?

Breathing deeply, the tabby violently swiped her tongue over her paws before giving herself a brisk rubdown. Still quite brown with dirt, Amphire's lower lip quivered. She definitely didn't want to lick the dirt off, but the thought of rolling in water seemed worse. Much worse. Letting out a dramatic, shaky breath, the orange tabby stood, before barreling forward and lashing at the log, whom she blamed for this dire predicament. After a few seconds of heaving her claws at the wood, she conceded and felt there was no need to fight with an inanimate object. Pfft, she would win.

Sighing deeply, the cat adjusted herself onto her paws, before loping deeper into the woods. Seeing she was just surrounded by trees..why not climb one? She had tried, once, but failed by letting go too soon on the climb down, and hadn't come close to climbing one yet. There was always a ..second time for everything right? Stopping in front of a frail, thin tree, Amphire pouted at it. It looked so weak and lifeless. Maybe it would be easier to climb then one of those, sturdy hard ones? Well, she wouldn't know without trying.

Scooching herself into a crouching position, Amphire wriggled her hindquarters, with her face distorted into something of pure concentration, her tail lashed lamely on the ground. Hearing nothing but soft whistles of birds, the rustling of a squirrel, and her own breathing, she sprung forward, her limbs involuntarily spread and wrapped around the thin frame of the tree, a mere two feet above the ground. Sadly, her head had no where to go in this brilliant action, and hit the tree spot on, Amphire blinked a few times before a numb pain gradually started to crawl its way over her face. Trying to sustain her breathing, Amphire slumped down the tree slowly, like molasses dripping from a spoon.

The tabby found herself in an awkward heap at the base of the feeble tree. Her shoulders and head were laying on the ground, while her back, posterior, and hind legs were sprawled at base of the little tree. Flicking her ears to and fro, Amphire stayed in that position for a couple of moments while looking at her hind paws dangle in front of her face. Flicking her tail around languidly, Amphire batted at it, before quickly losing interest, and looked off to the side where a bird had perched itself on a nearby tree's branch and tweeting an annoying, but sweet melody.

[xarkla]

Astrid placed the rabbit that hung limp from her jaws, within a pile of grass next to the base of the tree to her side. The ebony bitch narrowed her eyes as she watched the feline that was a couple hundred feet across from her. Patches of fur was missing from the base of her chest down and across her left leg. She had been attacked as a puppy by a Doberman who had serious mental issues. Astrid could remember but recalling the memory brought shivers down her spine.

Her life had been hard. Her mother had been known as the whore of the Tempest Pack. It had been an accident that her three brothers and she had been born. Growing up with boys had made her into a tough, little cookie. Though in the end, her mother had fallen in love with her father Surge. Then she had become an orphan. Her mother and father passed away, though Astrid couldn't remember what exactly the cause of their deaths was.

Ears pricked forward as she watched this cat fall down the tree and land on the ground with a thump. Astrid had to a giggle that threatened to slip past her lips. It didn't seem like this creature would be in a hurry to leave. Or that she was aware that she was in danger.

She slipped back into her past as a butterfly floated past her ear. She had waited to fall in love with. A Wild African Dog. She had given birth to two puppies. A boy and girl. Now her mate had seemed to disappear, shortly before the birth and it had broken her heart. She hoped he would come back. Now she had two jobs. One as a mother and one as a hunter for her pack. She would get enough food for her growing babies and then come back to feed her pack as well. Though maybe she could even bring back a prisoner for them to play with. Though she wanted to have some fun first.

Crouching low, she held her breath as she watched the feline for movements that she had been detected. Astrid watched. One, two, three, now! Letting out a loud bark, she jumped out from her hiding spot and charged towards the feline. Tongue hanging out, she kept barking, waiting for the cat to take off running. She knew that the feline couldn't climb after she had fallen down the tree. This would be easy.

OOC: I’m sorry for the long wait >.< and I had some trouble posting this because it keeps sending me to another website I click on the box to type. My bad.