Author's Note: Yeah, I know, I have not continued Desolation or Out of the Shadows in quite some time. I am experiencing writer's block for those stories. I will try to continue them soon. In the meantime I decided to type up a new story. I'm not sure how often this one will be updated, but it was fun to write.
Clever Girl
I slowly opened my eyes. My surroundings...they are unfamiliar to me. And the smells invading my nostrils, they were unpleasant, and no odor that entered my snout was recognizable. I look around, my lazy eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness that enveloped me. Where was I? I searched my vast collection of memories, but the answer remained blank, distant, unreachable. What is this cold feeling? I am laying on something...hard, cold, and strangely smooth. How could that be? Nothing in my homeland ever felt like this. No...I am wrong. The weapon of a powerful adversary was like this. A rounded hard surface, capable of crushing my own ribs if I ever got caught in its path. Was I on such a worthy weapon?
...No, I could not be. I look up, and my view was blocked by what appeared to be a large, flat material, cold and smooth. It was then I finally realize I am not standing up. My legs were sprawled to the side, my long tail laying limply on the ground. My beautiful curve claws looked weak and useless when they were not being held up with pride. I place my paw on the cold surface, and pushed upward. But I quickly fall down again. The inside of my head felt like it was spinning out of control. It was like I ingested a plant of toxicity, and it was playing with my thoughts and my coordination. I shake my long snout rapidly, and try again. But still my head spins like it was caught in the dreaded twister winds, and I slip onto the unfamiliar ground again.
Why am I here? And what exactly was this place? I saw no large opening as I lifted my strangely weak head and gaze at my surroundings. I saw a few rays of pale brightness shine through, but I could not find a hole big enough to squeeze my body through. This...this could not be a cave I am in. And yet there could not be any other explanation. What other structure on this mysterious world could shelter me like this? Maybe there were rolling rocks. Yes, that had to be it! All I have to do is stand up, and when I find those rocks, I could easily move them out of the way with my strong, slender arms.
I am rather stubborn I will admit that. Despite the agonizing dizziness gnawing at my brain, I finally manage to stand on my two feet. I tried to take a step forward, but wobbled quickly to and fro. Striking out my tail, I caught my self before I fell to the ground once more. I take a few uneasy steps towards the size of this...odd and peculiar structure. My snout presses against the surface, and I wince at the chilling coldness that I felt. I had thought I would full bumpiness, but instead all I felt was a flat surface, as flat as the floor beneath my feet. Impossible! It..it just wasn't natural! I snarled a bit, and turned my long head away. Maybe if I were to try one of the other walls of this...dark and cold cave.
I struggled to keep my poisoned body from tilting to the side, and fought to keep my tail up in the air. I push my nose against the other walls, but only found smooth surfaces. I felt my heart race. Something was not right here. Forgetting about my condition, I frantically swerved around, my breaths racing and racing, my heart pounding in my chest so loudly I could imagine another being may have heard them. I was trapped! No! I slam my head against a surface, and snapped my head back, extreme pain traveling through my cranium. I let out a screech of distress. I am hoping to contact a member of my own kind. I need help to get out of this trap!
As I screeched, I pressed my body towards one of the cold walls, and frantically slashed away. I winced as I heard a loud...sound emitting from when my claws travel down on the side of this trap. I...I cannot describe it. It was like the screech of a crested glider, and yet was not. It was like the call of the venom spitter, and at the same time sounded not like it. The sound was hurting my hearing, chills sent down my spine. The sound..so aggravating I had to scream, the call echoing through this strange sealed cave. I look around again. There must be a way out.
Then, a shadow passes by. Then another and another, their shadows were being emitted through such small openings, the same openings that allowed so little bright in here. Could they be from another of my kind? I screech again, a call of distress. I expected to here a return call, but met with silence I was. Desperate and pleading, I let out another distress call, tapping my curve claws to applify my urgency. But all I heard in return was strange calls I could not recognize. They sounded..frantic, and urgent. I reared my head back. What were this things? The shadows were vertical like the trunks of the leaf-bearing plants. These were not my species. What are they doing here? I did not call them!
I see one approaching my sealed off cave. Suddenly I got an idea. Maybe all I have to do is wait until this creature creates an opening for me. If I could not find a way out from the inside, maybe these creatures know a way out from the outside. I walk towards the back, my eyes ever focusing on the shadow. Just in a few minutes, and I will be free! My nostrils flair as the creature's scent finally reaches me. Ugh, what a horrible smell it is... I can feel myself becoming dizzy once more. No, I must remain focused!
I hear more calls, each one a slightly different pitch and tone. There must be more than one. These creatures, they must be quite intelligent, they seem to be communicating with each other, somehow. One sounded big and gruff, and it seemed to be commanding another of these odd beings. My eyes narrow. What could they be planning?
Just then, I see one in the corner of my eye. It was peering inside. I could see the glint of light in its eyes. Curiosity was getting my better judgment. Strange creatures should be avoided and observed. I must not be thinking straight. I found myself walking towards this being. I did not imagine ever having to come across something like this. I almost could not believe it. I felt like I was dreaming. A creature that was standing straight up not on four legs, but only on a mere two. I could see no tail. How was it standing up and not wobbling all over the place. I could not think of how I could get anywhere without my tail.
And how could this creature defend itself? I see no sharp claws, and as it opened its mouth to call out to another, its teeth were just pitiful. The teeth...they were flat..like a plant-eaters. These beings must be prey I've never seen before. But their eyes..only a meat-eater like myself has eyes set to the front. What could a leaf-eater possibly need front-eyes for? They do not need to land an attack on their food, for their food remains still, no legs or arms to move. Yet here is an animal, flat teeth, and front-eyes. Nothing is making sense today. That toxic plant must be playing games with my brain now. Yes, that had to be it. There was no other explanation.
It could not hurt to try and communicate with this..thing. After all, I had successfully communicated with beings outside my own race. These things, whatever they are, should know my tongue. My jaws open up, and before I could emit a sound, the creature's eyes started to widen. I know that look..the look of fear. Oh how many times I have seen that look in my prey, as I jump on their backs, my claws slashing away the delicious food... I shall try to calm this thing down by emitting a call I often use to trick my prey.
The sound did not change the situation. Instead the creature I had my eyes on backs away. My head snaps back. Why did it do that? Had it not heard that call before? Did its mother not teach it how to recognize different calls? More urgently and louder, I call at it again, and it responded with what I interpreted as distress. Did it think I was threatening it? The animal runs, but not far. I heard it communicate with another, and then two shadows appeared, one to my right, and the other to my left. I turn my head from side to side, and I could not tell what they were going to do.
I heard a crackle, and quickly looked around. I must be recovering from that toxicity faster than I had anticipated. I did not feel a strange wave of unbalance attack my mind. But I found I would not feel better for long. I sensed something on my right flank, and I snap my head toward it. Long, black, slender, it did not appear threatening. There was not even a cutting point. Is this the pathetic creature's weapon? It was a joke! I gave a small hiss of amusement. Then I heard another crackle, and it was then I discover the spark was emitting from this object. That could not be, could it? I only hear such a spark during the cloud rage times, when white fire streaked across the skies.
BZZZAAAAP! Pain, the pain, so unbearable it was, it shot along my flank and I screeched loudly and slammed against the other side. My eyes snapped open as something long and sharp stabbed me. Instinct took over. I pulled away. I must defend myself. I snapped a warning at the creature, hoping it would back away. BZZZAAAAP! Another one! I want this pain to stop! But when I try to move, my body was not taking my commands. My legs were twitching, my tail flailing out of control, my arms and neck moving without my consent. I fall to the ground.
I screech another cry of despair. I felt that...spark weapon press against my left flank. I close my eyes, anticipating another blow. These creatures were not trying to kill me. If they were, they would be going for my neck. They were only doing this for pleasure. They enjoyed seeing me in pain. Those...those monsters! I could not worry about that right now. I must get out of this trap. I heard the creatures calling to each other, their weapons withdrawn. They must be the ones who trapped me in here... As I try to get up, that dizziness returned. But how could that be? I was so sure I had healed. Then I had remembered that sharp pain.
Quickly, I look, and I see a tiny opening. No red liquid leaked out, but when I press my paw against it, there was a mild pain and discomfort. That thing..those things.. they must have somehow coated a thorn with poison and pricked my skin! That was..clever, as regretfully as it is for me to admit this fact. They were thinking like a predator would. Or maybe it was just dumb luck. I started to feel drowsy, and my body slumped back to the ground. My better judgment told me I must stay awake, but my eyelids were too heavy. They closed, and darkness enveloped me once more...
How long was I out? It could not have been no more than one circle setting. But why is it that it felt much longer? My mind was shallow, and I could not remember where I was. Was I out on a late night hunt? Was I injured and healing in the safety of a cave? My eyes slowly opened, and as I looked at myself laying down, I could see a puncture wound on my side. How did this happen? I shake my head, trying to clear my mind.
Then as my mind started to clear up, I began to have memories. My mind was reeling, ever so slowly, bit by bit, memory by memory. I could see in my mind images of myself, here, this same place. I could see a flash at my flank, I could envision the pain and the frustration I had been in. My mind was still foggy, and I was lost to some details, but I must not concern myself with that. The most important thing I must do is find a way out of this horrid place.
I struggle to my feet once more, and found I was able to stand. My body was adapting to this strange poison. I felt a wave of relief. I snap my head up as I heard a strange sound. It was not unpleasant on my hearing this time, but it was still foreign, strange, something I had never heard before, or thought I would. I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet. And a shadow covered me. I raise my head further up. What was this thing? It was...like a giant, a long neck bent down, but in place of its head was... I could not believe it. It looked like the curve claw of my species!
The thing hit on top of the trap that encased me, and it remained still. I shake my paws with anxiety. I think it is going to open up this dreaded area for me. Then I am wrong, again, as the creature lifted upwards. Suddenly I find myself slipping across this floor. I feel myself being lifted higher and higher into the air. Where was I being taken? Maybe this animal is a meat eater like myself. And maybe I was the main course. My trap swayed back and forth a little as we hit something. Hard, yet snapped easily, I saw flashes of green. Had we hit a plant? Yet the being moved forward as if these branches were nothing but a pathetic joke. What a powerful creature it must be...
I hear voices, and I instinctively snarled. While they sounded different than then the ones I had heard before, they were communicating with the same code. More of these animals around? Just my luck. I slipped on the cold floor again as I felt the thing stop moving. Slowly I felt myself being lowered to the soft dirt. I see shadows again, the two-leggers were ganging up on me. I see one, too close to me. I screech loudly. My warning was successful. The two legged animal looked at me with a face filled with...what could be considered horror, and it backed away.
But the creature came closer again, being commanded by another. I growled my disapproval, but still they came, more than one. Under the commands of their leader, they grip the sides of my trap. I could hear them straining as they push me towards something..something big. My head cranes up. A bigger trap? This one had a large opening though, at the top. I could escape!
CLANK! Oh does that sound ever irritate me! I felt myself fall forward, my jaws hitting the hard surface. I shake it off as I notice a two-legger climbing up. My eyes narrow as I recognize this thing somehow, somewhere. Why is it it looks so famililar? It stands above me. I try to look, but my vision is obscured, blocked by this...flat surface. I perked my head up as I heard an order and the thing gripped something. On my feet once more, I stare at that one particular portion of the trap. A sound emitted, irritating me, and I could see bright, so much brightness filling the room. For the first time, I could see the details of my trap. Gray it was, not brown like I had expected.
I caught a whiff of something. Familiar scent, a member of my own kind. I could see plants, and other plant-eater treats all around. Could this still be a trap? Or were these creatures letting me go? I could not hesitate any longer. My longing of being free were getting my better judgment. I have a feeling I should wait. But my desire...the bright. It was inviting me. I charge forward, emitting a squeal of delight and happiness. I slammed against something hard and cold, and I nearly fall down again. Suddenly I felt the entire trap reeling backwards, but now there was a large opening for me to get through.
I felt a loud thud, and a groan. I saw something just outside the trap. It looked like the leg of one of these creatures. I had a split second to decide what I should do with it. I could attack it...yes...make it suffer for making me suffer. But would it be right, to act just like they had? On second thought, I was getting hungry. How long as it been since I've eaten? My mind is made up. I ignore the frantic yells from the other two-leggers as I slowly move towards this weakened animal on the ground.
The two-legger struggles onto its back, and I make my move. I quickly lung forward, and snapped my jaws around its foot. What was this? Armor? A thick covering was protecting this things foot. Nevertheless, it was alive, and if it was alive, it could be killed. I pulled it back, pulling it into the trap with me. It screamed, and it gripped the side of the trap with its paws..or were they paws? I could not tell. The creature's trip is strong, I will give it that much credit. I pull it violently upwards, but it did not release its grip. I could see another creature try to help it. But even with two pulling against me, these creatures are a lot weaker than I initially believed. How pathetic...
But still, they were strong enough to keep me from pulling the being in all the way, and they did manage to pull it down towards the ground once more. I felt something slip. I think I was tearing off its armor. If I lost grip, they could escape. I did not have time to think as I felt pain, more pain. The other two-leggers were furiously attacking me with those sparkly sticks, but I did not care this time. I fought against screeching as my eyes remained focused on my prey. All I could think about getting this two-legger's heart to stop beating. As a meat-eater, my mind becomes so one-sided when my teeth are in a victim. It was the way we learned. If we focused on too many things at once, our prey would escape.
The armor slipped even more, and the creatures' relentless attacks on me were slowly getting the better of me. No! I would not go down until this creature was mine! I have claimed it as my prey! I opened my maw and bit higher up on the creature's leg, looking for a weak spot. I knew I hit the mark as I heard the creature scream in pain, and I could taste a salty liquid in my mouth. My sharp-tip teeth easily sliced this two-legged animal's limb, but screeched as a powerful jolt struck me in my leg. I let go, and looked at the creature in the eyes. The wide eyes, fear-filled...I loved it. It meant it was vulnerable. I hesitate only a second before launching my assault again.
I heard a loud command, being repeated over and over. I could feel my sides burning in pain as the animals continued to attack me. I could hear my prey screaming as my teeth dig into its leg. The command repeats again. The prey slips loose, and I fall backward. The thing scrambles to its feet, but I place my foot on it, my curve claw slicing across its belly. The smell of its insides filled the air, and I bend down to tear at my meal.
Then a sound, louder than anything I ever heard, rang through me, and I felt a horrible pain in my side. Another weapon..more powerful, more devastating. I could see my own red liquid dripping from my right flank. I quickly stare at the source. A long stick with two openings, and that thing..I shall never forget it, aiming the weapon at me. I let out one last screech before I fall to the ground, and for the second time in one circle setting, I was overwhelmed with darkness. And this time I welcomed it as the pain evaporated, and my mind entered a state of bliss. But one thing remained on my mind. I will get even...