Meadowlark Prairie Tsukareta

The skies were bleak. The lands were washed in a shade of before-winter grey. There were no glimpses of sunlight through the skies, nothing in the distant horizon.

The lean figure of the coyote traveled through the area with the fur around his neck and shoulders bristled irritably. Haru hadn’t eaten in several days. His stomach ached so fiercely that he could feel his ribs jabbing against his sides, trying to escape him. The chill on the air only made him sourer. If the sun would at least break through the clouds and sprinkle the meadowlands in light, it might not be as bad.

Ahead, a lone rabbit jetted across the flatland and burrowed itself into a hole in the ground. Haru watched it with cool eyes, saliva forming in waves upon his tongue. The thief trotted to where the rabbit had disappeared in the earth and sniffed at the entrance. It smelled like it could have been a warren, not that he needed more than one of the long-eared animals to pop their head out.

Haru dug at the entrance and then looked at the immediate surroundings to see if any rabbits tried to flee.