Duck Lake i never met a jailer that wasn't on the take

AW

the recent thaw meant that prey would soon be abundant, rising from their burrows underground and braving the brisk air. starling had been around long enough to know that spring was time for easy game -- those who were born in the middle of winter had yet to meet a predator's clutch, and many were inexperienced when it came to escaping.

she sat huddled above what appeared to be a rabbit's warren, her body scrunched and black pelt flush against the thin snow. she pressed one ear to the ground and listened, her lovely muzzle supplanted sidelong along the dirt. she heard below chittering, and so held her position as not to betray her location.

Kesik was still walking on air since he and Autumn had become official girlfriend and boyfriend. Today he came across a wolf, and instead of fleeing gave her a smile. "Greetings, Miss. Wolf. Isn't today simply wonderful?" he said, offering her another huge smile.

beneath her she heard the thump of those in the warren, their little claws scrying granules of sand, scraping against pits of rocks. their rapid breathing, their heartbeats. she heard even the twitch of their whiskers -- the pink shock of her tongue broke her blackened muzzle as she imagined their soft plush fur between her jowls.

she was rudely brought back to reality by the chipper greeting of another -- promptly she stood upright and brushed herself of the detritus that clung to her pristine fur. she hadn't expected a visitor, least of all a fox -- but it was better than another gross male come to court her and spew inappropriate things in her ear. "why are you in such a good mood?" the songbird inquired somewhat crossly, licking a stray blade of grass from her angular limb.

Kesik pranced around, humming happily. If he detected the slight coldness in the females voice, he didn't show it. "I'm happy, because I just met the love of my life!" he said happily. He jumped a good 3 tail lengths in the air of joy, landing head first in a mushy snowbank. His back paws scrabbled madly, and soon he was free of the snow again.

starling eyed the fox as it pranced about her, flush with a ridiculous sentiment she had never wholly understood the concept of. love. she refrained from any snide rejoinder, though she remembered quite clearly what beauregard had said to her once. 'love is the death of duty'. she hadn't understood it then -- but a fledgeling's concept of love was a foreign affair indeed.

being that she was incredibly conceited, the natural conclusion to draw from kesik's frenzied flitting about was that he had just met her, and so, had fallen for her ravishing beauty. she smiled an indifferent smile -- the smile she imagined queens smiled -- and spoke: "it's too soon for that, but i'm flattered."

Kesik stopped and looked at her, trying to process her strange words. What did they mean? Oh well. "But you won't eat us, right Miss. Wolf? Right?" he did not want to finally have a girlfriend just to see her being eaten. He shivered at the thought, but held his ground and looked up at the wolf.