Hello everyone :D
And here is part two of the chapter 'Foraging' :)
And maybe some of you noticed that this FF has a new cover image. And yes that's Shark X'D You can find the link to the picture on my profile and please read the description to the picture! Thanks. I would appreciate it when you could tell me what you think about the picture of Shark x3
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Well, enjoy the chapter! :'D
Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead isn't mine, but my OCs are
Chapter 5_ Foraging part 2
He took full advantage of his speed and agility during the whole chase – but even though it seemed like he couldn't shake Scarface off his trail.
He was already running for some minutes, during that time he had covered a lot of ground between himself and the bigger hunter. Though Scarface was still chasing him.
With another brief look over his shoulder he could confirm that fact. The fuming giant of a hunter was struggling to keep up with him but he never disappeared from his sight nonetheless. What a stubborn nuisance the bigger hunter was.
Shark snorted irritably as he looked back ahead and tried to think of a good plan to leave Scarface behind. He didn't think that it would take so long to loose the other hunter. He just hoped that Chiara was still there where he left her and that no one had found her yet.
Sudden crying that sounded nearby pulled him out of his thoughts and immediately catched his attention. It seemed like a witch was nearby. He better avoided her – even though he could use her to his advantage. With any luck he could loose Scarface through the crying woman or he would be killed by her. Should he risk it or better not?
Swallowing hard he made a turn and moved towards the sound of sobbing and crying. He just hoped that all would go according to plan.
It didn't take him long to reach his destination where he stopped on one of the many branches and looked down at the sobbing creature who sat on a stump. She hadn't noticed him yet.
Taking a deep nervous breath Shark looked back over his shoulder before a heavy force collided with him and yanked him off the tree. Together with Scarface who held his shoulders in a death grip he flew through the air until the soft body of the witch stopped their fall. The two hunters collided ruggedly with the witch whereupon all three of them rolled over the dirty ground through the fierce collision – even though Shark could have sworn that he bounced against something hard at some point during the whole rough landing process. He guessed that it probably was the stump or some rocks or whatever.
Groaning out of pain Shark looked up to see where he and the other two ended up. The first time in his life he was relieved to see Scarface's face over him. That meant that he didn't land near or even on top of the crying woman. Instead he was lying on his side with Scarface on top of him. That just left the question where the witch was?
The smaller hunter quickly looked around them until he spotted the witch a few meters away who didn't look happy in the slightest. Shark couldn't help himself but to shudder and to gulp loudly by the sight of the furious witch.
After Scarface witnessed his reaction he followed the smaller hunter's line of sight whereupon he spotted the witch the first time for himself. Judging by the bigger hunter's reaction – who immediately tensed up and let a uneasy growl slip – he hadn't known that she was here. He probably had been so blinded by his fury that he had overheard the crying and instead had focused his attention only on the smaller hunter.
Before the two hunters could have acted accordingly to the present danger the witch dived for them with a loud outraged scream – and she was faster than anything that Shark had ever seen.
The furious woman lashed out with her long bloody claws whereupon Scarface shrieked out of pain. The witch clawed furiously at the bigger hunter's back which she shredded a good deal together with the hoodie. Fortunately Shark didn't suffer any damage even though Scarface wasn't that lucky who was acting unwillingly as the smaller one's protective shield by kneeling over Shark so that he suffered the full blow of the witch's attack.
But this didn't last for long as Scarface finally pulled himself together and spun around to the witch with a furious snarl of his own. Growling he lashed out himself whereupon he succeeded in slashing the witch's stomach open – even though that didn't stop the furious woman in her tracks.
Shark who wasn't pinned to the ground anymore made immediately use of the opportunity and hurriedly rolled on all his fours before he jumped on a thick branch. He nearly lost his grip and nearly fell right off the branch again as pain flooded his body. His whole body felt sore – even though his ribs felt the worse. It seemed like the hard landing from before had left some damage.
With a miserably groan he found his balance on the branch again while he looked back at the fighting pair. To his dismay he couldn't help but notice that Scarface's back didn't look that bad. Sure, the bigger hunter was bleeding and his hoodie had some tears on his back but it should have been a lot more worse for Shark's liking.
And if this wasn't already enough, to make matters worse it seemed like Scarface slowly but surely gained the upper hand of the fight. But even though, Shark wouldn't stay to find out for sure.
Snarling a last time in disdain he turned away from the sight and leaped to the next branch while he stubbornly tried to ignore the pain in his ribs. He mustn't let the pain hinder him from going back to his pup.
Halfway back he remembered the corpse of the animal whereupon he changed his direction slightly and followed the faint scent of blood. Even though he wanted to get back to his pup as fast as possible he couldn't come back empty-handed. He had to feed his little girl and the still fresh meat of the deer was perfect for that.
With that in mind he quickened his pace while he grit his teeth out of pain. Every movement hurt like hell – especially in the area of his ribs. But he couldn't let this bother him now. He had a duty to fulfill no matter what.
Panting hard he arrived at his destination in record time. He landed somewhat ungracefully on the ground right next to the dead deer that was luckily still lying there where he left it.
He promptly bent down and bit into a portion of the flesh which wasn't ripped apart yet so he could haul it off the ground and to his pup. As he tasted the blood of the animal he had to force himself to withstand it and to stay strong – even though his stomach protested painfully. He wasn't starving anymore, thanks to his little feeding session earlier, but he was still hungry and his body demanded more food.
He growled quietly to himself as he reminded himself that he had to feed his pup first.
It didn't take him too long to arrive at the location where he had left his little pup. He released the flesh of the dead animal from his teeth as he looked around and sniffed the air. He couldn't see the little girl anywhere even though he could smell her. She had to be here.
"Chrrraaaa?!" He barely called her name in his slurred attempt as Chiara suddenly burst out from under a nearby knocked-down tree that had covered a little hole in the ground and practically threw herself at Shark. She desperately clung to the hunter who instantly slung one arm around her and nuzzled her in the vain attempt to calm her down.
"I was scared! You took so long!", whined the little girl while she hurriedly tried to wipe the proof of tears away and slowly stepped back from Shark as the hunter released her from the hug.
Shark whined lowly as he realized that his little girl had been crying. But before he could have blamed himself for it his pup interrupted all his thoughts as she gasped loudly and reached up.
"What happened?! You're hurt!" The little girl touched carefully his cheek while her face was adorned with a worried expression.
At first Shark was confused about it until he remembered the four scratches on his cheek which he had gotten from Scarface. He nearly forgot about this. The pain in his ribs was so bad that he hadn't even felt the slight pain of the scratches on his cheek anymore.
He hurriedly shook his head before he reached for his pup and swooped the little girl from the ground so he could cradle her in his arms. He grinned reassuringly down at her while he purred lowly in the attempt to tell her that everything was alright.
His pup still didn't look fully convinced but she nodded nonetheless before she snuggled up to him and closed her eyes with a deep sigh.
The lovely moment lasted for some seconds before a quiet growl from Chiara's stomach interrupted the silence. He still had to feed his pup. Slowly Shark put the little girl on the ground again before he stepped aside to give his pup a full view of the dead deer.
But the reaction of his pup worried him. His little girl just stared in horror at the tattered flesh of the dead animal before tears started to flow down her cheeks.
"What... Why... Why did you kill it? It looks... Killing is bad! What shall I do with it?!", stammered Chiara while a choked sob escaped her.
Shark quickly pulled the little girl back into his arms to calm her somewhat down while he tried to understand what was the problem. Was something wrong with the food? But it looked fine to him. Just to make really sure he sniffed at the meat and it even smelled fine. There was nothing wrong with it.
Maybe his little girl just misunderstood him. Determined to get his point across he gently grabbed Chiara's chin and turned her head in the direction of the dead deer. With his other hand he pointed at the meat before he turned Chiara's head to him and pointed at himself this time while he made some exaggerated chewing motions.
His pup's watery eyes just grew bigger as she ripped her chin out of his grip and looked with an expression of pure disbelieve between him and the dead animal back and forth before her eyes finally stayed on him.
"Am I supposed to eat that?" Her voice was shaking as she spoke to him even though he still didn't understand a word. He was just about to repeat his actions to make her understand as his pup pointed at the dead deer herself and shook her head wildly.
"I can't! I don't eat that!", exclaimed the little girl while another choked sob escaped her.
No? Why not? Why wouldn't she eat it? The flesh of an animal was better than nothing. He couldn't just find a survivor on the spot.
That was when it finally began to dawn on him. His little pup was a survivor herself. Of course! The prey didn't eat the same things like the infected did.
He growled out of frustration before he cut himself off and bit his bottom lip hard. It seemed like he would have to find something else for his pup – some food that survivors ate. He didn't want to see her so upset anymore.
Besides time was running out. Shark didn't want to risk to meet Scarface again this day. And the risk was higher the longer they would stay in this forest.
No sooner said than done he bent down and bit down on the material of Chiara's hood in the neck area while he purred lowly to calm her down a little bit. He was just about to jump on a nearby branch as he remembered his aching ribs. It wouldn't be such a good idea to use the trees to move on. He didn't want to risk to fall from a tree together with his pup.
So he had to stick to the ground. The way out of the forest and back to his little territory in the city took some time but they arrived at their destination without any incidents nonetheless.
Now he just had to find some food for his pup even though he had no idea where exactly he should look for it. With a frustrated sigh he started to move again. He crawled along one of the many streets in a slow pace while he looked around him and sniffed the air every now and then.
"Let me down! If we don't jump then you can let me down." Shark just glanced at his pup for a short moment before he paid her no more attention and instead focused on the strange hunt with a low mewl.
For some seconds it was silent until his little girl spoke up again.
"Shark! Put me down!" The slightly angry voice and his name which was nearly shouted at him finally catched his entire attention. With an irritated growl he squinted down at Chiara who was pointing wildly to the ground and repeated her prior words like a mantra.
Shark furrowed his brow as he tried to put the words and the gesture together and to give it some meaning. He couldn't see anything special on the ground so that couldn't be it. But the words sounded somewhat familiar. Down... She was pointing down... She wanted down? Was that it? She didn't want to be carried anymore?!
Still somewhat unsure he bent down and released the little girl's hoodie as her feet touched the ground. His pup instantly spun around to him and smiled at him in approval before she petted his uninjured cheek once again. So he was right after all. The hunter couldn't help but to be proud of himself even though he still wondered why Chiara didn't want to be carried anymore.
He watched the little girl as she turned away from him and looked around before she started walking. He quickly followed his pup so that he crawled alongside the little girl.
"I can't see any red doors. Mummy and Daddy always looked for them. There was food and other stuff in there... At least most of the time." Shark paid the words of his pup not that much attention – he didn't understand anything of it anyway – even though he couldn't help himself but to notice the slightly sad tone in her voice.
He was just about to nuzzle her as he heard footsteps and moaning so that he perked up immediately. Not some seconds later he could see how some stupid ones stumbled from an alley on the street they were on.
As Chiara spotted them as well she promptly scooted closer to him and clung to one of his arms while she stared warily at them.
Some of them looked over to the pair before they stumbled in their direction. Shark didn't hesitate to show an aggressive posture and to growl warningly while he bared his bloody teeth. A few of the stupid ones stopped in their tracks as they recognized the warning but the small rest continued on.
Shark snarled loudly as he slashed at one of the stupid ones who had come too close for his liking. The infected slumped down to the dirty ground whereupon it stared up at the pair with its bloody eyes. The small hunter scowled right back before he put his free hand on its head and applied some pressure whereupon its fragile head gave away and blackish blood and some other disgusting stuff splattered on the ground.
With a last look at the mess Shark turned to the rest of the stupid ones and snarled furiously. The stupid ones – all of them – finally got the warning and understood the danger that the hunter posed so that they slowly turned away with wary eyes. Some of them walked away entirely while the other ones stayed where they were but didn't show any interest in the pair anymore.
Satisfied Shark relaxed a little bit before he looked at his pup who was still clinging to him and had her eyes tightly shut. He purred at her as he bent down and nudged her with his nose in an attempt to tell her that everything was alright now.
She hesitantly opened her eyes again and looked up to him whereupon she smiled weakly. The little girl glanced slightly at the mess of the stupid one on the ground but quickly looked away again before she hurriedly spun around and rushed further along the street.
Shark swiftly crawled after her until he crawled alongside her once again. Every now and then he looked worriedly at his little girl who had her head downcast until he couldn't take it anymore. He swiftly bent down and nuzzled his pup's head with a low whine.
"It's okay. Thanks, Shark.", mumbled Chiara quietly while she petted Shark's cheek halfheartedly. They stayed in this position for some seconds before the little girl stepped back from the hunter and resumed walking.
Together they moved down the street in silence until they turned around a corner and Chiara suddenly stopped while she blinked a couple of times.
"That's... That's a supermarket over there! That means there is food!", exclaimed the little girl with an excited voice before she started running.
Shark immediately followed his little girl while he looked at the building in question. He didn't really understand what was so special about that building. But when it could help lift the mood of his pup then he would just go along with it.
As they arrived at the building they stepped through the already destroyed door and entered the building. His little girl laughed happily as she spotted something to her liking and ran up to some shelves.
Shark looked somewhat warily around him while he sniffed the air. To his relief he couldn't smell any infected in the building so that he catched up to his pup and sat down right next to her on his haunches. He watched his little girl how she stretched and tried to grab something from the shelves. But no matter how much she stretched she couldn't reach what she wanted.
Curiously the hunter regarded the things more up closely only to recognize the many metal things as cans. What were these cans good for again?
"Shark? Can you get them?" The voice of his pup catched his attention so that he swiftly looked down at her. The little girl pointed at first at him, then at the cans and finally she made some movements with her hands like she wanted to grab the cans and put them on the ground.
Shark nodded slightly before he reached up and pushed the many cans from the shelves so that they fell loudly on the ground.
His little girl smiled happily as she grabbed some of the cans and regarded them closely.
"Lots of fruits. There is some meat too... That would be something for you, Shark. Oh, that's beans, I think." Chiara licked her lips as she looked at all the small pictures on the cans before she frowned slightly and looked briefly around.
"How do I open it?", she asked herself while Shark just cocked his head in confusion. What was the matter now? And what did she want with these cans anyway?
He was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard a rough cough even though it seemed like it was far away from their location. He strained his ears nonetheless and listened to the noises outside. There it was again. Coughing from a smoker. He was just about to focus his attention on his pup again as suddenly a low growl joined the coughing of the smoker. That was definitely a growl of a hunter even though he was sure that it didn't belong to Scarface. The bigger hunter's growls sounded different. Was it a hunter of Scarface's pack or an entirely other hunter?
Whoever it was he had no right to be here in his hunting grounds!
A choked scream that was abruptly cut off and followed by a quiet snarl catched his full attention again. Wait... Had the hunter just killed the smoker? At least it sounded like that was the case.
Shark was pulled out of his musings once again as a small hand suddenly grabbed his index finger and pulled on it. He quickly looked at his pup who pulled his index finger towards one of the cans on the ground. He cocked one of his eyebrows questioningly but decided to wait to see what the little girl was up to.
Chiara pressed his finger with the claw against the lid of the can before she dragged the appendage along the edges of the can with a look of pure concentration on her face. Shark just cocked his head anew as he could see and feel how his claw tore through the thin metal. He was still confused about all this until a weird smell reached his nose. He needed some seconds to realize that the scent came from the now open can.
His pup released his finger from her grip as the can was open and happily plunged her hand in the sticky stuff in the can. With a happy squeal she took some of the yellowish things and stuffed them in her mouth.
Oh, now he got it. The food was in the cans, so you had to open them somehow. Shark nodded slightly to himself before he watched his little girl eat. He couldn't help himself but to smile at the sight of a happy little girl that ate enthusiastically her food and got herself all dirty with the sticky stuff.
Chiara finished the contents of the can in record time whereupon she licked her lips and fingers clean – even though they were still somewhat sticky afterwards.
"That was yummy." Even though Shark didn't understand a word he could hear that his little girl was content and that was all that mattered.
His pup stood up slowly before she looked around her and started to walk along the different shelves. What was she looking for?
"Chrrraa?", Shark called his pup's name as he crawled after her only to find her standing in front of another shelve. But other than the shelves before he couldn't spot any cans on this one. Instead there were three weird things which he often had seen on the backs of the prey.
"Shark! Get it for me!", demanded the little girl while she pointed meaningfully at the three objects. The hunter obediently reached up and grabbed one of the objects whereupon he stared at it in the attempt to figure out what it was.
"That's a backpack." He looked up from the object in his hands to look at his little girl instead who pointed at the thing in his hands.
"Backpack.", she said very slowly while she still pointed at the object. So, that thing was called a backpack. Even though he now had a definition for it he still didn't know for what it was any good.
"Wwaachaaack.", he grumbled halfheartedly before Chiara took the backpack from his hands with a amused grin on her lips. She hurriedly ran past him and back to the cans on the floor.
Shark followed her once again and sat down beside her on his haunches. He watched how his pup grabbed the cans and stuffed them into the backpack whereupon he also finally understood for what the backpack was used. At least he thought that he got it.
After she got all the cans in that would fit in she closed the backpack and pulled it on her back. But as she tried to walk she promptly lost her balance and fell back on the floor.
"It's too heavy.. and the straps are too big.", whined the little girl with a big pout before she looked between the backpack and the hunter back and forth. It seemed like she got an idea.
"You can carry it!" Chiara turned with a grin on her lips to Shark who just looked confused at her. He had no idea what she wanted from him.
His pup's face fell somewhat as she didn't get the reaction she probably had wanted from him before she furrowed her brow. Shark stared at his pup for some seconds but quickly had enough. They should be going already. It wasn't entirely safe in here or out there. They could come back here tomorrow when his pup would be hungry again.
Without any warning he bit down on Chiara's hoodie and lifted her from the ground whereupon the little girl squealed out of surprise. Shark quickly sniffed the air to make sure that there were no brethren of his anywhere near. He could smell some of them but they weren't near the building.
Satisfied he crawled to the destroyed door of the supermarket as his little girl started to struggle.
"Wait! We can't leave the food!" Shark just ignored her shout as he crawled out on the street and briefly looked around him before he jumped on a rooftop of a small house nearby. As he landed he promptly tumbled to the ground while he hissed in pain. Shit, he totally forgot about his ribs.
"Shark?! What's wrong?", asked his pup worried who tried to look at him but failed due to her limited freedom of movement.
Shark was just about to purr reassuringly at his little girl as he heard the same low growl from before. It sounded nearer this time. He couldn't fight another hunter in his state.
Gritting his teeth he slowly propped himself up before he leaped to another rooftop and then to the next. Through all of it he desperately tried to ignore the pain and pushed his body to its limit. He had to get his pup to the safety of their nest.
He held the short way out even though he instantly collapsed as he barely climbed through the window and into the apartment. He panted hard while a quiet whimper escaped him. He just needed some good sleep and then anything would be better.
"Shark? Shark! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Shark?!" Panting the hunter looked up at his frantic pup who seemed more than just worried about him.
A strained growl left his lips as he tried to prop himself up again. He even succeeded whereupon he grabbed his little girl and carried her in one arm in the bedroom where the nest was located. He quickly jumped on the bed and lay down on the nest with his pup.
He briefly looked out of the big window out of the corner of his eye only to notice that it was slowly getting dark outside. That definitely had been an eventful day.
He purred lowly to comfort his little girl while he closed his one remaining eye and relaxed. He could feel how his pup snuggled up to him before he slowly but surely drifted off to sleep.
He just hoped that tomorrow everything would be mostly healed.