A flash of brown raced through the trees. Nothing could be heard except its panting breath and the crunch of leaves under its pounding paws. In one fluid movement, the feline figure soared over a log obstructing it's path. The cat landed heavily on its paws making it stumble slightly, a soft gasp of surprise escaped the creature before it quickly regained it's balance and raced off into the bushes.
A snapping of twigs and the crunching of leaves suddenly grew louder as a swift, sly-looking red creature raced after the first. It's paws gently thrummed against the soft earth as leaves flew up in the wake of its hindpaws. It quickly cleared the fallen log with ease and with a flick of its bushy tail, vanished into the bushes as it pursued it's fleeing prey.
Owlpaw pressed his ears flat to his head as the forest flashed by him in an indisginushable gray mass of trees. Twigs and leaves whipped his face as he crashed through the undergrowth, leaving small scratches on his nose that stung. But Owlpaw kept running, he had too. His legs burned, and he struggled to keep his breath steady. The tips of the dried bracken behind him swayed and twitched as a large creature paitently stalked him in the undergrowth. It's foul, heavy breathing came out in slow, steady breaths and it's enormous paws carelessly snapped twigs and fallen branches that littered the ground.
Owlpaw halted panting in a clearing ringed by bracken and bushes. He looked wildly around expecting whatever it was to appear out of nowhere. His fur raised along his spine as he gazed madly around at the clumps of undergrowth. He pricked his ears, but he could not hear anything but his ragged breathing and the sound of his heart roaring in his ears. Suddenly, red flashed in the corner of his eye and his head instinctively snapped around to look at the spot. But all he caught was the slight rustling movement of the bushes.
His ears pricked as the bracken suddenly started to rattle furiously. He could barely make out the shadowed figured that slowly stalked around the clearing, concealed by the bushes. Then it stopped and the undergrowth stopped rustling. He could hear it sniffing among the leaves.
Owlpaw's chest tightened painfully as a rank odor was becoming more potent, it wreathed and engulfed his senses making his eyes water. His nose scrunched up involuntarily at the horrible smell. He froze, a long, narrow muzzle was sticking out of the bushes. The corners of its mouth lifted into a cruel sneer, revealing dozens of broken yellow teeth. A low growl erupted from the bushes and in a quick motion, it sprang from the bushes and landed on Owlpaw.
It was on him in a flurry of claws and teeth, snarling as Owlpaw felt the fox viciously tearing his pelt apart. The tom yowled in pure agony as he was being mauled, Owlpaw vainly scratched and bit at the larger creature but the fox had managed to hook onto his scruff and was now shaking him violently.
Owlpaw screeched and hissed but the fox flung him right into a nearby tree. Owlpaw hit the trunk hard and slipped to the ground in a hazy stupor. His vision slowly began fading in and out, the last thing he saw was the fox's horrible yellow teeth bared close to his face.