Spiderweb Night

Caiaphas' spine arched in a primordial bristle, the fur rough and straight as her hackles flared. She adopted a protective stance, arcing her tail over her hips in aggression. Her blackened gums curled back and she continued to circle, pacing with predatory prowess around the clearing.

She lifted her muzzle to the chilly air and she could smell the fox -- but her eyes failed her. She pried into logs and fallen boughs, ripped apart piles of leaves with her furious claws -- and even shoved her snarling muzzle down several abandoned holes in the attempt to find her assailant.

When she withdrew her head from the earth an acorn struck her -- with a yowl she flew backwards in a flurry of pewter and silver. Her white teeth grazed the air in a rabid snap and she turned towards the sound of more acorns falling. "Show yourself, you orange menace!" She bellowed into the empty October air -- her voice echoing down the forest and into the swallowing gloom.

"I'm going to show you what the afterlife really is," She snarled, her voice seething with outrage.