Seaside Moors So I've gotten used to coffee sweats

wc:412

--------------------------------------------------

There was something about sand that Niamh disliked, but at the same time, it was better than snow...But having both was definitely not pleasant. Here, though, the wind had been high enough to push the snow away so that there was only sand left to walk on, and Niamh could clearly see the set of coyote tracks as they meandered along the beach. She couldn’t help herself; Niamh was the sort of wolf whose bedtime stories as a youngster had almost always included some sort of vermin being chased away by a wolf. Foxes, coyotes, bobcats, weasels, badgers- anything that was a meat-eater but not a wolf- and no larger than a wolf, of course- was vermin. So it had long since been instilled in Niamh a sort of righteousness that made her feel superior to their smaller canine cousins rather than feeling a sort of kinship. A pity, really; considering she could have totally enjoyed the dogs versus cats argument and joined sides with coyotes and foxes to pick on bobcats and lynx. The only issue there, of course, was the issue of cougars. Those weren’t vermin. Those were terrors.

Still, she looked forward to tracking the coyote down so she hastened her step. In her opinion, a coyote could never beat a wolf in a fight. Nor could a fox, so this was the sort of thing she could do- like the heroes in her bedtime stories- for fun. It was a twisted sort of entertainment, but Niamh had never told anyone she was perfect or without some pretty wrong flaws. She saw vermin as prey, but the kind of prey that didn’t taste as good as herbivores. Therefore, they were to be killed and only eaten if absolutely necessary. Some days, like today though, she simply wanted to terrorize, rather than to kill.

When she caught sight of something greyish moving along the horizon, she dodged behind the sand dunes and pushed her speed a bit. She didn’t want to tire herself, but she needed to catch up to the coyote. Niamh was made for speed and endurance, with her garishly long legs and small body, so it didn’t take long until she felt she was able to make a bold dash, cresting the top of a sand dune and breaking into a mad run directly toward the coyote. ”Varmint!” She yelled almost gleefully as she barrelled toward the poor creature, her eyes glittering with anticipation.

--------------------------------------------------