From somewhere comes a sense of urgency. At first I don't understand. But as my fur begins to crawl and then rise to stand on end, and my ears lay back almost instinctively, without any conscious command for them to do so, then I understand. Suddenly I'm running, running faster than I ever have before. A chill creeps up my spine, and my eyes narrow so that all I can see is the straight path away from the feeling.

Viper. She's close.

My claws dig into the ground with every step, throwing me forward with more force than I've ever used to run. Shadows and colors and shapes whip past me, too fast to see, so I don't look. It's just me, the ground, and the sense that Viper is closing in.

And then I hear her, behind me. Far away—far enough away that she couldn't hear me, or see me, most likely—I hear her paws crashing through the grass and leaves. For all her smallness, she doesn't have much control or stealth. Even in my panicked sprinting I'm still silent.

I glance, just once, over my shoulder. There, in the distance, is a tiny dark form. She's too far away to catch up to me anytime soon, especially with my speed, but I can't stop running. If I do, then she'll catch up to me too quickly for me to recover myself.

Then I veer away from my path, not quite to my right but somewhere between that and the direct path I was running, somewhere diagonally away from it. I'm off the straight clear path I was running and blundering blind through the undergrowth. It doesn't slow me down much, and hopefully it'll be enough to get her off my tail long enough for me to be prepared.

Because this isn't going to end with me forever running. She isn't going to give up, and I can't hide forever.

This is only going to end with a fight.

A fight between her and me.

A fight to the death.

And I'm going to win it.

I run, through bushes, through thorns, around trees. I run, run, run, until I can't anymore, until I have to stop and be ready.

So I climb a tree, and find a wide branch, one big enough to hold me, and I sleep. With one eye open, with my claws unsheathed, I sleep, and wait for her to arrive.

A/N: hey y'all! it's been a royal eternity since i've updated this for you all here and i'm super sorry about that ): i went through a REALLY rough time a little while after i stopped updating and then once i got out of that, i got a job and was in college, and basically forgot that the phrase "free time" even existed. but hey! i started managing my time better and my once-understaffed job got some new hires so i should have some time now, and i'm gonna finish posting chapters for y'all at last. not too many left now!

this story is quite old though—i finished it years ago on another site that no longer exists now—and my writing style has been through quite the metamorphosis. on that note...i'll have a lil announcement once i finish updating this fic, so keep your eyes open ;D

love y'all! i hope at least some of you didn't forget about this lil fic 3