Snake in the Grass

Boonsong panted, each gasp rattling in her chest as she tried to escape the feeling of breathlessness. Her thin flanks rose and fell violently as she tried to catch her breath, a testament to her unwellness. No matter how much she ate, she had never been able to gain much weight, if she could even keep the meal down. Some days were better than others.

Today was supposed to be one of those better days. She wanted so badly to be able to complete a hunt like others of her age. She wanted to prove not just to herself, but to the rest of the pack - especially her parents, especially her grandfather - that she was capable of contributing. She would not just be a constant sink of resources the entire time she was alive. If she could bring back just one animal, one meal, that would be enough.

Unfortunately, everything she had tried to chase after had been a failure. Birds noticed her as she was stalking them and flew off before she could hunt them down. The few deer, goats, and small mammals that wandered the rocky mountain slopes were too fast and had far greater stamina than her when she tried to chase them over the terrain, leaving her breathless and her legs trembling with the effort of keeping up.

Angrily, uselessly, she snapped her teeth at a lizard which was sunning itself on a rock. The lizard scrambled away before she even got close. It would not have even been a mouthful for her, let alone anything to bring back to the pack, but facing yet another failure was almost too much for the young carno.

She scraped her still-growing horns against the stones, tossing some into the air and sending more scattering down the slope to bounce off of other rocks and trees clinging to the side of the mountain. That felt better, but it wasn’t enough.

Boonsong bared her teeth and roared her frustration to the sky. Even that simple act left her panting, but hearing the bellow echo across the mountains and into the valley below… Well. She had hoped that it would have left her feeling calm so she could continue her failed hunt, but really she just felt more miserable.

With a heavy sigh, Boonsong sat on the rocks. The unfairness of her situation weighed heavily on her chest, making her feel almost as breathless and weak with grief as her sickness did. It wasn’t enough that she was teased for the white marking on her face that so resembled her father’s dimorphism, there just had to be more. Others had gotten sick and recovered from their ailments quickly enough, but she had been like this since she had hatched. Her parents had eventually taken her to Warlock’s cave - the “Midnight Cave” that her flying friend had told her about when she was very small - but even the odd, antisocial carno’s wound cures did nothing to heal her. Whatever was wrong with her was deep inside, and would not budge no matter how many mixtures and concoctions she consumed or was coated with. Something she just had to live with.

She sniffed and huffed for a while, coughing when the irregular breathing agitated her lungs, until eventually she grew too tired to be sad like this anymore. Tiredly, bitterly, she accepted that this was going to be the end of her attempt at hunting for now. She just wanted to make her pack proud. Her family cast long shadows to fill, and instead of making her own shadow, she was going to be swallowed by theirs.

Her walk back towards the meeting place was a slow one, a meandering trudge more than the purposeful stride that she had set out with. After a while, she stopped again, staring at the ground as she simply stood on the sharp stones while the sun shone down on her spotted hide. She was not sure that she could actually face her family again right now, especially not if her mother and aunt were arguing again.

Boonsong started to sigh again, but choked on the exhale when a flash of movement from the corner of her vision caught her by surprise. A snake, a rattler of some kind, had struck at something passing by. It might have just been a shadow that it went for, since she hadn’t noticed any birds or lizards nearby, but the fact remained that she had not even noticed that it was there until it moved... it gave her an idea. And the smallest hope that she would be successful, yet.

She had disturbed the area too much here, so she would have to find the energy to travel somewhere quieter. Theoretically, she would be able to recover some energy when she got to wherever she deemed suitable hunting grounds.

The area she finally settled down in made for poor pursuit if the intent was to chase down her prey. Large rocks, thick tussocks of grass, and uneven terrain made for dangerous tripping hazards. Her plan was not to chase after anything though, her repeated failures from the day were proof enough that she just didn’t have the strength or stamina for that. Rather, like the rattlesnake, she would sit and wait for prey to cross her path.

There were several scent trails that criss-crossed through the area, likely larger game coming to graze on the grass here, with some scents more fresh than others. Food seemed plentiful for the island’s mammalian herbivores here at least, so the odds seemed good that if she just waited long enough, something would come by to graze.

Boonsong was camouflaged quite well amongst the rocks, the dark spots and patches running along her flanks naturally breaking up her form to help her blend in. The problem then was whether or not she could stay awake long enough to notice when something came by. Waiting turned out to be a test of will and patience, as well as testing her constitution as the sun continued to shine overhead on her unprotected hide.

It could have been just a handful of minutes or a number of hours by the time something finally caught her attention. A large rodent of some kind, like a groundhog. Not hearing anything moving around or feeling the vibrations of footsteps for some time had evidently assured it that the coast was clear of predators and that it could come up from its hiding place. It took everything within Boonsong to make herself wait. Even as long as she had been crouching here, waiting, she had to stay still for a little bit longer. The rodent was still too close to its hole and too far from her. If she moved now and it bolted, it would escape before she had even taken a step.

She had to work to keep her breath even and steady, not breathing too loudly and not holding her breath so that she didn’t make herself dizzy and weak before she had the chance to spring. Slowly, painfully slowly, it grew closer to where she lay in wait. Every time it turned towards her, when it seemed to look directly at her, she felt like her heart stopped, and every time it started to wander away she had to try to crush the feelings of dismay that threatened to put her off the hunt entirely. This was as near to catching something as she had ever gotten. She could not give up when she was so close.

Just like the rattlesnake, when her prey was finally within range she lunged forwards with jaws agape. The rodent squealed and tried to scramble across the rocks, but its flight was futile, and brief. Finally she had the savoury taste of victory on her tongue. Finally she had something to show for her efforts. Finally she had something to bring back to the pack.

It was not… much, unfortunately, when she looked at its body laid out on the rocks. An animal this size was not much more than half a meal to some of the larger members of the pack. But it was something. It was proof that she was capable of hunting, she just needed time and practice to refine her technique and find the best places to perch and pounce from before she could hopefully bring back larger prey.

She also needed time to recover. The rush of adrenaline left her feeling light-headed and shaky. Boonsong collected her kill in her jaws, willing the effects of exertion to leave her be for just a little longer. She would need to rest when she got back to the meeting place, but at least she could do so with a feeling of victory. Even a small one.