Heron Lake Plateau And sing your stupid head off

Niamh had been tracking a rabbit in the late afernoon, not enjoying the muggy, humid heat, when it crossed her path. Hardly thicker than a thumb, the striped creature wove this way and that, sliding across the ground like the way water would flow. It passed in front of her so silently and suddenly that Niamh let out a surprised shriek and leapt a few feet ino the air and backwards. It was nothing more than a harmless garter snake- but she honestly couldn’t say she’d ever been that close to one before.

Cursing softly, she watched its tail disappear into the grass and set off following it, determined to catch the creature that had given her such a fright. It was fast, and seemed to whip through the grass as though pulled along by some invisible string. Just when she thought she had it, it would slip past her jaws, until she realized she’d need to go for its head. Naturally, she missed- but caught it around its thin middle and to her surprise, it wasn’t slimy. The creature writhed bt she held it firmly but still gently enough so that she didn’t kill it. It’d make for a great learning tool for the pups.

The snake snapped harmlessly at her legs or at her face as she carried it- but its mouth had no teeth and posed absolutely no threat to her- or anything, really, larger than a bug. Still- she felt pretty badass as she trotted off toward the heart of the packlands with a writhing snake in her jaws.