Phantom Hollow Gaze at me instead

The first thing that Maiken noticed was the silence. The sound of nothing, no life, no rivers, nothing. Every step was loud in the silence. Every breath harsh. Fog lay along her black fur, misty and wet. Growing heavier with each tiny paw step.

She sniffed gently at a few of the dead trees, grasped some of the moss. That she could use. It made her feel eerie here in this dead place. Maiken found solitude in sickness and death, when she could ply her trade or bury what her trade couldn't fix. 

However, even this was more than she could handle. Even where death was, there was always something alive nearby, but here. Nothing. Emptiness. She quickly tugged at some of the moss, and hurried her tiny body towards another place. 

she stalked.

the mist clung to her like a second coat. her statuesque muzzle slid away curtains of moss.

there.

a bobcat. 

likewise on the hunt. 

she stilled.

the feline was searching for something. it found it in the underbrush, ears facing forward. 

the cat crouched, stepped softly, a minute between each.

she struck.

the feline's terrified scream sliced. the deadwood stirred with a moment of sacrilegious noise. it continued as hunter with each second lost the advantage of ambush.

the yowling cat and growling dog fought for life and meal.

Maiken froze at the sound of the terrified scream filled the silence. She stopped dead in her tracks as what followed was nothing less than everything she didn't want to hear. She ran toward the din of battle, anxious with each tiny sprint. 

Would she get there in time? Would she be able to help? The screams continued though they had fast turned from frightened to angry. She could hear the scuffle and it filled her veins with ice. She forced herself onward, and forward, feet as fast as she could go

It was with trepidation and surprise she came across the battle, dog versus bobcat, very strange dog. But Maiken didn't think, she jumped into the fray, she was tiny, could reach the bobcat easier, and it couldn't strike as hard. She was tiny, but mighty and she gave all she got.

the dance was ferocious, cat guided by nature, dog by calculated decision. 

they twirled around one another. swipe of claw. snap of fang. soon the hound was feeling her inner nature surface with each heartbeat, panting, gaze growing wild.

she would've let the Hunt consume her, were it not for another dancer that joined.

night-black wolf, small but fierce, came from the side for the bobcat. the feline was almost as big as they, yet the shade struck with courage.

unwise.

immediately the cat began to swipe for the wolf, and medalina leapt aside to search for angle from which the soft stomach or gentle neck could be reached.

Maiken had believed the dog to have difficulty, but it was clear, that she had been holding her own just fine. And perhaps Maiken had bumbled and caused her to mess up. So far no one was seriously hurt and maiken was fast enough to miss claws and teeth.

Maiken back pedaled and aimed for another spot. Her goal was to make the bobcat angry enough that it would let a weak spot open for the dog to hit. Maiken danced forward with a growl and a snap again and back again.

such ferocity.

вук и рис both.

she stalked the edge, tongue swiping blood from a cut muzzle. vision swayed, everything bright red. growling emanated. the scent was daring, inviting...

but no.

the huntress shut her teeth. pupils swung from side to side, tracking movement. овде. не. овде. не.

овде.

with a loosened arrow's precision, she lunged into a gap in fighting. revealed teeth sought gentle throat.

sharp claws caught flesh beneath silken coat.

As Maiken set up the kill, the dog beast leapt into the fray and she back pedaled.

Maiken stayed near the outskirts, but there seemed to be no more need of her. Though she briefly wondered if she could have the fur. But it felt strange to ask such a thing.

She would wait a few more moments and then leave as quietly as she came, her duty done.

claws reached beneath coat and raked skin. this only made the huntress's grip tighten, as teeth pierced trough the cat's neck.

they grapples with one another for many long minutes.

when all life left the cat, when it was limp and heavy in her grasp, medalina let it slip from her jaws. it fell to the ground with the softest sound.

focus immediately went back to the вук- but it had gone. medalina licked the blood off her muzzle.

back to the bobcat. the hound carefully parted skin from flesh - that was the goal - and revealed lean meat. she took measured bites, chewed long, and slow. swallowed when she was sure nothing would interrupt her.

once bone showed, she was done. medalina raised her head, and looked to the woods. 

a bark.

and then she loped away, leaving the carcass to the other dancer.

last <3