Down the Rabbit Hole

The Dance

Playing catch-up from the weekend...

30 Day Blogging Challenge
PROMPT May 11th
Write your entry today from the perspective of an animal. You could choose a pet, a lioness on the hunt, a rhino being pursued by poachers, or any other animal of your choice.

The hunger was a thing now, alive and demanding in her tiny stomach. It was nature's greatest joke to pair a creature with a seemingly insatiable appetite with such a tiny stomach. The days she woke ravenous and never seemed to be able to satisfy herself no matter how much she gorged on seeds and berries. Even here, where they seemed to fill the feeders as quickly as they were emptied, she struggled to eat her way to that full bellied euphoria of her youth. Now, as she watched from her vantage point high above, she could see the feeder had been replenished with the rich black seeds she knew and her stomach rumbled and rolled with anticipation.

Squirrel was wary though. This lovely shaded yard with its rich bounty was not without its dangers. There was lots of competition for one thing. There was the usual variety of the delicate birds, the finches and chickadees but also several pairs of mating cardinals. She found the bright red males easy to navigate but the females, slightly smaller with more subdued plumage, harder to spot and much more difficult to drive off. She'd taken a particularly aggressive peck to her posterior a few days ago that was still sore and red. There was a bigger threat in this place though, one that could deliver a lot more damage than an angry bird.

Squirrel crept a few branches lower to get a better look at the large window. It looked vacant and dark in the early morning light. The feeder swung back and forth with the breeze and her aching tummy urged her closer still. She made her way onto the narrow branch that would deposit her all the way to the deck. She moved quicker now, keeping her eyes on the window, making her way down on her nimble claws. At last she landing softly on the solid wood and clambered over the railing and onto the swinging feeder. Her sudden weight sent it rocking, fleeing black seeds out in all directions. The black seeds smelled wonderful and she shoved them into her mouth greedily in great claw fulls. They made a satisfying crunch under her sharp teeth.

Suddenly there was a chaotic burst of noise, a frenzied barking and scraping. Her dark eyes flicked to the window and she froze. The lights inside the house were dark but she could still make out the smooth head, the flicking ears and those flashing teeth. The dog keened and pawed at the glass, glaring ribbons of hate through the pane at her stuffed cheeks and flicking tail. She waited, staring back, terrified but refusing to give up her meal. The lights did not come on. The dog was confined, for now. She went back to eating, taking care to pack the extra folds of her jaws with seeds. She ignored the dog, who's protests were growing more and more angry and insistent. Soon the dog would wake the humans that lived in the house and they would let t her out and she would come for her with rage and of hunger all her own.

Then, the dim world around her erupted with light. The humans were up. The window pane illuminated and she could see the dog in all her snarling glory, black and tan with flashing eyes. In a flash she heard the door slide open and she knew she only had seconds to escape. She bounded off the feeder and onto the deck railing as the dog came, her nails snapping against the wood and her teeth flashing. Squirrel pulled her tail up short and the dog dove, she smelled the rotten sweetness of her breath as her jaws snapped shut just inches of her hind end.
Still too far from her branch, she made a desperate leap, stretching her body and reaching for the tree. The dog was right behind her. Squirrel realized with great dismay that dog had been getting faster and faster, soon she would need a better exit plan or this feeder would cease to be an option for her.

Her claws found purchase and she quickly raced up and away from the protesting dog. Squirrel managed to get a safe distance before she turned and chattered angrily back, frustrated that her meal had once again been interrupted. The dog, seeing Squirrel had moved out of range, quickly lost interest. She turned tail and began to contentedly roam about the yard. Squirrel continued to scold the big animal for a few more seconds before turning away and heading for her nest. Soon the dog would go back inside and she could make the trip down again until she was again driven off...it was a dance that was a familiar to her now as the coming of the snows and the grumbling of her tummy.