DISCLAIMER;We do not own Naruto or anything connected with it, except for a few copies of the manga.
-:Tail 3:-
The world was a place full of bright colors, and wonderful scents, and new places to explore, and very nearly without limits or boundaries. She loved the feel of the sun on her fur, and the teeth of her litter-mates as they tumbled and fought and played. It was a good way to live; a meal when she needed one (their dam was very good at telling when they were hungry), always someone to play with; just about everything she needed or could ever want.
There were a number of different places that she could hide; places that were excellent for ambushing her litter-mates and tumbling them over to nip at their ears. Her favorite out of all of them was the clearing between the stream and the big rock.
The clearing was filled with stumps and piles of logs that were perfect for mock-hunting; it was where she played most often with her litter-mates. On this particular day, the sun was shining so brightly that she had to squint to see at all. Her eyes narrowed to thin slits, and to look at her, one wouldn't think she could see at all. She might have looked menacing if she were bigger, or if the corners of her mouth weren't turned up in a vulpine version of a grin.
Yes, the clearing was a good place to play, but today she was here for another reason; the clearing was also the location of her favorite sunning spot. She had managed to escape her dam and litter-mates long enough today to scamper off to the clearing where her favorite sunbeam touched down. Today she was here to relax.
She clambered up the middle pile of logs, not quite to the top, just between two of the longest ones. The logs below her and to her sides were longer than the ones above her, creating a tiny, open-topped den, flooded with golden warmth.
It was not difficult to fall asleep.
When she awoke, it was to the sensation that something was very wrong. The scent of the clearing had changed. It was no longer the clear coolness of the forest; now there was a heavy, pervasive smell, reminiscent of… something, something that both was and was not familiar. She jumped up in fright – in terror – and stood in her little den, trembling.
This scent… Why was it so frightening to her? What was it?
She peeked over the side of her temporary den, and shivered at the sight of the strange, hairless creatures, covered in strange leaves, shouting and tumbling in the clearing. The way that they played reminded her of her own games with her litter-mates…
She started as one of them made a sudden, loud noise and gestured in her direction.
She pressed herself back against the logs as the creatures moved forward, reaching at her with big, fleshy paws! She bit the nearest one, and experienced a moment of satisfaction at the startled yelp and the metallic taste of blood that her sharp little teeth drew.
And then, even as those clammy paws withdrew, another pair was reaching for her, and this time, they smelled oddly – of dead things and strange compounds – this time, her teeth had no effect, and she was pulled out of the safety of her den by those strange, shiny, terrifying appendages.
The next thing she knew, she was enclosed in darkness. Clinging material enfolded her, along with the raucous sound of the frightening-smelling creatures.
Suddenly, she found she couldn't breathe! The icy hands of the river's water laced her fur, its wet fingers swirled around her and invaded her lungs as she struggled frantically!
She felt herself begin to slip away, and she remembered…A dark den, smelling of death, starvation, and…something…A metal trap, with the same smell, biting into her leg, as she starved and bled…
She was dying again.
-:A/N:-
Lovely. Well, we're sorry for the lack of update for…good lord, a year and a half now! Anyway, there have been issues (see bio), and now we have a question.
Should this story be continued?
If there's no interest, we'd just as soon not continue, because it'd be a whole lot more work now (see bio for details), so let us know! Also, if you'd like to see this continue, have you any ideas for more deaths?
-- Ja!