King Elk Forest don't pretend

he vaguely registers the woof; but regardless his hackles bristle but his pace doesn’t slow. his hunger is consuming and all he knows is the call of the elk means food. even as a full grown, healthy adult he wouldn’t be able to take on one on his own; as a child: injured and malnourished it was desperate and pitiful. he has no real hopes of out running the adult that gives chase to him. he tries, but his energy begins to wane and her longer legs, and health give her a distinct advantage over him.

he ignores her hisses to stop; giving one last desperate push only to let out a yowl of terror as she collides with him. he stumbles and grapples for earth and falls against it. he gets a mouth and noseful dirt and lets out another horrified yowl as if she was hurting him. he thinks she is, at first. his heart beats fast and hard against his chest; straining against its prison of flesh and bone.

ruined mouth twists upward, out of the dirt that smears in it painfully and snaps his teeth uselessly at air, squirming to get out of her grasp until that energy is siphoned from him too and he relents; panting heavily. he lets out a small whimper, not trusting that she won’t hurt him.