Blackfoot Forest sick cycle carousel

With every delicate footfall, Pied found herself hunkering lower and lower, her pale belly now scraping the cold forest floor as she prepared to pounce. When, at last, she felt the fox must be within striking range—though she didn't yet see it—she sprang from her crouch. Yet instead of tackling a small red fox, she found her paws clouting at the head and neck of an unfamiliar wolf and, alarmed, Pied immediately dropped back.

Nonplussed, she blinked rapidly for a few beats before a loud, "Sorry!" hissed between her teeth. "I thought you were a fox—" she tried to explain even as a small red vixen darted past, flailing away into the dark woodland and leaving the two surprised wolves blinking after it.

Pied turned toward the stranger and swallowed thickly, the loss of the would-be meal hitting her hard and leaving her more than a little crestfallen. "I really am sorry. It looks like we were after the same prey." One corner of her mouth fell, leaving a lopsided frown on her slender white muzzle. "I'm Pied, by the way," she introduced, her voice a little strained and hollow.