A challenge for the forum Bright Lights.
Putrid. That was how she would describe it. Putrid, deathly, the scent of hate and bloodlust, of fear and malicious intent, of a sharp tang that burned the air. The smell was like none she had felt before, albeit smelled faintly on other's pelts. It was cold yet burning, of death and disease, carrion and crowfood. It seared through her scent glands with a poisonous stench.
A quivering paw raked the ground, its surface gravelly, yet smooth, scorching her soft, forest pad. She licked it clean, shriveling at the taste- the taste of biting tang, of all things unnatural, of burning plastic and glaring eyes that swept the gleaming ground. A roaring bellow curled her ears as she shrunk back from the midnight path, and a beast loomed fast into view. Its eyes were hard, glaring, beaming, searching for its prey. Its surface was smooth, metallic, bullying through the air with sharp cackles that bellowed from deep inside. Paws loomed large, harsh, round, beasts unto themselves that thundered like the sky's stormy soldiers as they beat the obsidian path. As the beast bellowed past, air hissed around, serpents writhing in its wake. They tore at her fur, wreathing around her, silver serpents that glistened on every hair, before bounding away towards the giggling stars as her fur fell flat once more.
She shivered.
She felt cold. Deathly cold, fearfully cold with realization. It was this feeling she didn't like- the feeling of being a predator forced to become prey. The thunderpath was not for her.
The cat pushed her feelings down, rubbing dirt off her whiskers to hide her unease. The cat was black, cold black, a night with no stars, when the moon is covered by draconian clouds. Her nose twitched, her muzzle dark, her hair mangy, long and tangled. She forced herself to stand, and listened for the monster's shriek, her whiskers tingling as they waited for the tremors that threatened to tear the earth. But the world was deathly silent.
She dashed, her heart racing, paws pounding, chest heaving in tides. Her legs pushed her forward, traction surprising on the gritty ground, and fear wafted off her in waves, an acrid, foreboding stench. She trembled, diving in the thistly brambles, bullying her way to the other side, her midnight tail whisking out of view. Her first crossing had gone off without a hitch.
Sometimes life is easier than it seems.
Huh...