Grouse Thicket a fresh new grave, a corpse i crave

Many creatures perished within the month. Some big, others small. Most of the bodies were buried deep within the mud, but not the doe’s.

Her body had yet to be touched. She may very well have died within the hour. The cause of her demise is unimportant; what’s done is done. The carcass would either end up at the bottom of the earth or the belly of a beast.

Parasite had a morbid attraction to death. It was nearly impossible to ignore its sickly scent.

When he came across the fallen doe, he did not dig in like any other predator would. He sat patiently as if he were waiting for the hors d'euvre at a dinner party.

Awful post as I attempt to get used to a new character

This land the creature had stumbled upon was fertile and ripe. There was life all about, even in the rain, though the wraith cared for it naught; rabbits, squirrels, all manner of inferior creatures scurried about the sopping wet habitat, avoiding the predator that walked among them. No hunger clawed at her stomach for the moment as it so often did, though there was a spiteful, violent urge to grab something that crossed her path and eat it simply because she could.

The urge was stayed with a calculated thought, conserving energy for when she would need it. What she traveled towards, the fate herself was unsure, having been on the move for so long that finding somewhere to stay crossed her mind infrequently. Long legs moved in an effortless gate, adjusting course as she felt the desire to, and eventually found herself following the scent of decay, the smell of something dead and wet sitting in the sun.

The scent did not match the wolf that lingered at the source, but the doe beneath him. Were he absent the area, Atropos would have scavenged what she could but the fates denied her such a feast this day, spurning the odd colored wolf to skirt towards the right of the carcass and its keeper, disinterested in keeping company of another.

Aha! A guest arrives! A crooked smile spreads across his face, and his tail snaps from left to right. It's an attempt at a greeting. He looked more like a crazed jester than a welcoming host.

'Ello, miss! I'm- Ah.. and there she goes. Not a very polite guest, was she?

Parasite moved from the carcas and took a few steps towards her. Leaving so soon? A giggle bubbled in his throat. Don't you want some food for the road?

His movement gave the fate pause, carmine eye rotating to focus on him, her head following in a sharp, almost bird-like movement. An ear twitched as he spoke, tail lashing once behind her as her stony gaze cut from him to the rotting heap behind him, flies buzzing about so loudly that she could hear them from a distance. The circle of life, she mused, as one death gave so many others life, insignificant though they may be.

No, The wriath rasped, her attention upon him once more. She did not eat under the gaze of others, especially when the meal was offered so freely. There was little to trust and the male's eagerness gave away the game he was playing at. Find another to prey upon. And the red wraith was certainly not prey.

She didn’t appreciate his presence in the slightest. Ear twitched, tail whipped, her gaze was cold and unamused. Parasite took note of all these little movements. Silent warnings amused him.

He laughed and took another step forward. No, I don’t think I will. How far could he push her?

Atropos needed no pushing, paws constantly toeing the edge of the proverbial precipice with little care towards the fate of others or even herself. The moment the declination slipped off of his tongue, the scarred creature stepped forward to snap her teeth at him, the movement akin to a snake making a single, pointed warning. Coiling into herself again, Atropos regarded him with that same cold gaze, her intent clear: If he did not leave her alone, he would meet her teeth.

She’s not a tolerant woman. Teeth clicked near his nose. He swore he felt a puff of hot air rush past his cheeks. Dragon’s breath. The firey ones were always the most satisfying to slay.

Enough toying around. It’s time to feast. Parasite leaped forward, jaws agape. The face, the shoulder, any part of her would do. It all tastes the same.

He was not the type to back down, it seemed. In a way, the creature could appreciate this. In another, she most certainly could not. The snake uncoiled to strike again, meeting him head on instead of trying to avoid the yellow teeth. Another scar would not phase her, after all. A guttural snarl accompanied her attack, mirroring his teeth on her shoulder to apply hers to his. Biting down, applying exponential pressure, Atropos made to whip her head to and fro in an attempt to rip out a chunk of his flesh.

Blood, glorious blood! Oh, how it gets his heart racing! It’s the hors d'euvre before the main course. He’d tear her flesh and swallow it whole, but not quite yet.

She may not want to feed on him, but she did want to rip a chunk out of him. She’d get what she desired. His tender skin was no match against her bear trap of a jaw. Parasite was flung to the side, and a part of him was left between her teeth.

How rude! he thought. Well, now he had to return the favor. Parasite lashed out towards her shoulder again.

Her intent saw fruition, her teeth ripped flesh, her tongue swam in blood. His body tumbled to the side seconds before he came at her again. Flesh and fur was spat to the ground, his blood dirty and unclean, unworthy of her stomach. Again, she met him, his teeth sinking into already tender and damaged flesh, producing another snarl while pain razed through her nerves, her remaining eye prickling with heat. Not tears, no, but more the feeling of needles agitating the socket.

This bout, the red one aimed a strike at his neck, lunging forward even with his teeth attached. Depending on his balance and weight, it might be enough to shove him back, the moment in which opportunity lay. If not, she would at least have grabbed him again, as no wolf worth their salt could miss another's body when already gripped so close.

He latched onto the shoulder once more. It was much easier to dig his fangs in the second time around. A good shake would get some meat off her. Sadly for him, he wouldn’t get the chance.

She lashed out at his neck. The shock was enough to send him stumbling back.

Back he went and forward she moved after him, blood still hot from heir veins wetting her already dampened coat. She would give him no quarter, no chance, form streaking to close their sudden distance so that the wraith could bear down on the other. The world fell away to leave only the very ground beneath them, her single purpose in life now to show him why he should not have fucked with her. Why he should have heeded her warning.

Teeth snapped and spittle flew under the roaring current of her growls. Or, perhaps, it was the roar of the storm above that threatened to open fire down upon them. Atropos took no notice, letting her teeth fall where they may, a blind fury having possessed the creature in such a way that what intelligence had lurked in her eyes had given way to something cold and reptilian.

He was weak and open. The dragon would show no mercy. She was on him in an instant; biting, growling, tearing. New scars would litter his face and side if he slipped away. No, not if, when.

Parasite snapped and kicked at her. He’d certainly bitten off more than he could chew with this one.

A flailed paw somehow caught her in the chin, slamming her jaws closed in such a way that dazed the wraith for a long enough moment that he was allowed the ability slip out from beneath her. Shaking off her sudden headache, or attempting to rather, Atropos lunged after him, teeth snapping at whatever she could reach before he escaped. Too slow, was she, and her mouth closed on empty air, fruitless in her final attack.