Minnow
|36 Moons|
A slender form banked and turned between the surrounding trees, careful to keep its silver fur close to camouflaging grey rocks that littered the surroundings. Most of the area around him consisted of useless mounds of earth, and wood that was a light or dark brown hue.
It's a good thing I already managed to snag some prey, this terrain will do me no favors. His dark green eyes squinted smugly as he noticed a secluded spot pinned between two grey sheets of rock. A rabbit hung limply from his mouth.
I suppose that will have to do. Normally he would have preferred a spot with three sides of natural cover, but he took solace in the fact that their were not many cats as small as he was. He slipped neatly and carefully between the opening provided by the two wedged walls, dropping his catch in front of his paws. Minnow took a careful whiff of the air, and noticed the fresh scent of another loner on the air.
Mousedung! How did I not notice earlier? Must've been the rabbit...
He looked down at his kill disdainfully as if had just risen up from the dead and nipped his paws. The tom tilted his head upward to look at a small crevice above. It wasn't much but he knew a cat could attack him from above given the right circumstances.
"Tchhh.." Air slid between his teeth in displeasure, but Minnow was careful to keep it near silent. How was he supposed to eat if he knew another cat was skulking around. The same scent was intermingling quite often, with some trails being fresher than others. That likely meant one thing...
They must have a den nearby, that would explain what I'm smelling. Darn and I was hungry too. How was he supposed to eat now? He couldn't not while knowing he was so close to another loner who could jump him at any moment. He stood alertly on all fours, an idea suddenly striking him.
I'll leave some of the prey in a visible spot to draw them out, and find out what their intentions are.
Minnow began rapidly digging with his forepaws until he had a hole that was just big enough for his rabbit. Once that was done he tore a decent chunk out from its flank. He slipped out from between the two rocks and placed the piece of flank in the center of the clearing, being very mindful not to lead a trail of blood back to his hiding spot. He snipped bits of fur off the bait, and scattered it around the meat, mixing in smatterings of blood to make it more believable that the hare had been hunted there. Minnow carefully cleaned his own paws then shuffled them through the dirt in the opposite direction of his hiding place to make it seem as if he had been scared off from his catch. He walked back towards his safe haven and dragged his tail behind him purposefully wiping away anything that might lead this loner to him. Soon the lithe silver tom had slid back into the covering of the two grey walls, where he shoved the remainder of the rabbit in the hole quickly covering it with dirt.
Finally he pressed his back into the cover of the wall on the right, and peered through the small opening that allowed him to see where he had dropped the bait. He'd rather not fight any unnecessary battles, and with this plan he could observe if this unknown feline was a foe or not. If it turned out to be unsafe he would simply slink away, and retrieve the majority of his food later. It was too bad about the piece of flank he'd used, but sacrifices sometimes needed to be made.
@
GreenTheGreat
~[The Quietest Sanctuary]~ (OPEN)
