Cream colored paws trekked quietly through the dense forest, barely leaving any sign that they were there. The trees were bare of any leaves and the air left a stale tang in her mouth, making the leopard grimace over her decision to be here. No matter, she would just have to hurry through. Prydet had never been one to venture into places that looked so dead, but for whatever reason, her instincts told her that this was a good idea today.
Her tail twitched uncomfortably behind her as the shy leopard stopped beneath one of the dead husks of the trees, looking up in startlement as a tiny raindrop landed on her nose. Oh great, nature was looking to dull her senses even more. She let out a soft sigh and began scanning the area from somewhere to take shelter. Unfortunately, there really were not very many places to take cover under in such a barren place. The thin branches above would do little to protect her from the weather.
To make matters worse, her stomach grumbled at her for food, though she fought to ignore it. There really wasn’t very much she could do about it now.
Deciding instead to continue walking, Prydet moved forward once more, eyes moving to and fro in search of somewhere to spend the night. Hopefully tomorrow she will find her way out of here. Whatever was leading her in this direction was just ahead, she could feel it… but there was no way she could get there at present.
A few paces later, the sound of something fluttering caught her attention. Ears flicking up, she scanned the treetops for the owner of said sound, and it did not take long for her to spot the emerald green eyes staring sharply back at her.
Her first thought was ‘oh, thank goodness, food!’, but then she felt the fur along the back of her neck rise, a sure warning that there was something… off about this bird. Prydet took an uneasy step back, wondering what could have set off such feelings, but before she could make any other move, the tiny bird chittered in an almost condescending manner.
“A little lost kitty, huh? You’re very far from civilization, did you know that?” The hoopoe ducked her head down to preen at her chest feathers before straightening again, “You must be starved as well. There’s nothing out here now, I can guarantee that.”
It was then that Prydet noticed the spots of… was that blood?!... on the little bird’s snow white feathers, and suddenly alarm bells were ringing in her ears. There was no way this tiny thing had hunted anything larger than a mouse… right? The hoopoe looked almost smug after having said her bit, leaving Prydet feeling that perhaps it had, and wasn’t THAT a terrifying thought?
“I….” Prydet gulped, “No, I’m fine.” A lie, but only partially now, as her appetite was waning at the situation before her. Still, the bird gave her an unimpressed look, as if it didn’t believe her. “I’m just looking to get through the forest.”
“Oh, really?” The hoopoe gave her a long look, making her shuffle a bit uncomfortably in her spot. Prydet wondered if she should just bolt, feeling slightly foolish in thinking the little thing could cause her any significant harm, but also too on edge to ignore it.
Finally, the bird seemed to take pity on her as it turned its gaze away, “Well, you’re going to have a hard time with the rain. It’s going to be a particularly rough one, probably all night too. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Prydet shot a quick glance up at the darkening sky, wondering how the bird could possibly know that. Then again, birds do spend most of their time in the sky. Perhaps they had a better sense of that than land animals did. She considered her options, weighing whether to ignore the warning or find shelter or something.
The bird continued with a scoff, “Oh, don’t look so worried. I’ve clearly already eaten, haven’t I?” That… was a good point, thought Prydet. “No, you just looked so pitifully lost down there, and I’d hate to see another feline die to a storm like this.” Another feline? Perhaps this bird had a soft spot for leopards? That was an odd thing for a bird to do.
The hoopoe fluttered to another branch to the left of it, beak pointing in that direction. “While there are no more animals living here, I can say that there are some abandoned dens to the west of here. Take shelter there; or don’t. I’m not the boss of you either way.” With that, the hoopoe opened her wings and flitted away, out of sight.
Prydet continued to scan the sky uneasily, but when there was nothing but silence left, she let out a sigh and began weighing her options. She could seek shelter in those dens, but was she willing to trust the word of a potentially dangerous animal? Her instincts were telling her to be cautious, but also that it would be fine….
Well, whatever happened, she could handle one little bird, she thought with a shake of her head. She was being silly, she told herself, and she was not looking forward to having her fur wet overnight.
So, with a deep breath in for courage, Prydet tentatively began walking in the direction she’d been guided to go, hoping for the best.
Unbeknownst to her, the bird had not quite left the vicinity. Green eyes watched her from behind a bush, giving a satisfied nod when she finally left. Good, her advice had been heeded. She always liked it when others listened to her… not including her prey, anyway. Speaking of, she had buffalo blood stuck on her feathers, and she wanted nothing more than to clean it off.
Had Prydet been here to see it, she would have been shocked to see something much larger than a bird pull herself out of the bush. Alisaie gave her chest fur a quick lick before opening a pair of large white wings and taking off without a sound.
Word Count: 1029