The Raki huffed lightly as it climbed the small rockpile, a reminder of the long forgotten quarry that had existed there years before. Now home to one of the forest's most successful predators. A makeshift base of operations for the Raki as it waited for the sun to rise, carefully dropping to all fours and spreading itself flat on the tip of the pile. Eager to shake the cold from it's bones and get started on the day ahead. In the meantime it would take account of it's territories. Eagerly search for any hint of it's favorite prey before it began it's hunt. It wouldn't use any of it's three eyes though, fanned out along the ridge of it's tall bony crest. It could see as well as any other predator, but it left the work to a far more efficient sense. It's sense of smell.
Five long, thin, vertical nostrils ran from just under it's eyes to the end of it's short bulbous snout, eagerly searching for any hint of pheromones. It's powerful sense of smell had evolved not only identify pheromones, but to find their source as well. And when a Raki knew what it was looking for, well, it was safe to say it would find it. A high spot like the rockpile gave it better access to the wind, and more importantly, the information that it carried. With night still fading though, it would be a while before anything distinguished itself.
Flaring it's nostrils lightly, the Raki searched for any sign of it's dinner, all the while soaking up the newly risen sunshine. The stiffness in it's muscles fading and energy washing away it's lethargy. A new day was upon the forest. It shuffled a little along the rock, it's hanging belly dragging under it. It could almost smell something, something exciting, something close, something... delicious. It craned it's long neck back and forth eagerly, eager to find the source. Faeries, two of them by the smell of it, a good number for the Raki. A number that would sate his gurgling gut for a while at least.
A more experienced Raki would have calmed itself, analyzing every bit of the scent to be sure of what was there and quickly find the source. But this one was young and inexperienced, and the prospect of it's first Faerie hunt was too exciting. It had never tasted Faerie, but it knew instinctively that they were it's best prey.
Being the lone survivor of his small clutch had been difficult at first, there was a certain safety to be found in comradery. But it spared him the dangerous process that his kind usually went through. If he had any surviving siblings at this stage of his life, they would be mortal enemies, and they would kill each other on sight. The Raki was a stunningly efficient predator, but they needed to eat a lot, and with that came the risk of exhausting a food supply quickly. So they became territorial out of need, taking vast territories and prowling them periodically to battle encrouching rivals and spread out their hunting. He was coming into his own now, and today would be the start of that.
He finally pinpointed the scent, the trio northwest of him, in the fern groves. His luck couldn't have been better, they would provide all the cover he needed to sneak up on them, quietly and hungrily. He knew the area well, he'd hunted pillbugs there for the past few months, the dim bugs under every stone in the area. He stretched eagerly, his green back rippling as stood up on his back legs, brown belly rumbling with excitement. Carefully but quickly hopping down the rocks, his long stiff tail acting as a rudder, the Raki took off at a run towards the scent. This would be a day to remember, his first Faeries! | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2024 Michael Jackson (UN: gooba11 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Michael Jackson has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author