It was cold, the kind of cold that crept under your skin and refused to leave. The moonbeams shone with an eerie glow as they passed through the blanket of mist shrouding the countryside. A single creature sat perched in a tree. It’s chest gently moving up and down. His eyes looked wearily at the ploughed land below him. There he saw something moving steadily over the crumbled earth. He narrowed his small, hazel eyes guardedly. The creature seemed large. A predator? It seemed too large to be one that he was familiar with. As the shape drew closer he could just make out the figure of a person through the darkness. It was, in fact, the old farmer making his way home. He was relieved. The weathered old man was no threat to him, he could rest at ease. He adjusted himself on his perch and his eyelids began to droop. He couldn't sleep though, it was too dangerous here and there wasn't enough leaf cover to hide him properly. His eyes lifted up to the horizon, where the black night had long ago swallowed up the blood red sunset.
It was then that he heard a branch snap behind him. He turned is head and was met with his worst fear of all; a pair fierce, golden eyes. The huge black figure lunged at him. He cried out in terror as he tried to escape. In the commotion he was thrown from the branch. He somersaulted through the air, flapping desperately. He managed to turn in time to soften his fall, but he still crashed into the dry soil below with force. He took in a sharp breath as he felt pain shoot up his tiny frame. He got to his feet and frantically looked for cover. Out of the corner of his eye saw the enormous monster leap down from the tree. It started to move sleekly towards him. It’s lip curled up showing two rows of razor sharp teeth. Most would think he was snarling, but the small creature knew better. He knew the monster was not snarling, it was in fact smirking slyly at the him, knowing that it would soon have his prey. The monster stepped forward purposely causing the tiny creature to step back as he shuddered uncontrollably.
Time seemed to slow down as he gazed at the huge crouching figure, fear-stricken. Its smooth black fur glowed in the moon light and the pointed silver knives on its paws pierced the ground beneath them. Its tail twitched from side to side eagerly as it shifted its weight to its hind legs. Finally regaining his senses, the tiny creature began to turn and try to take flight, despite his pain. The monster bounded around him, blocking his exit. This time it didn’t give him time to think about escaping. With one long stride it reached him. It lifted up its massive paw and roughly pinned its prey to the ground. The small creature could feel the warm breath of the monster on his face. He looked hesitantly up and once again was met with bright eyes and a toothy grin. The monster started to slowly dig its claws into the creature’s chest, causing him to flinch in pain. Blood spilled from the newly inflicted wound turning his usually bright red breast into a dark maroon. He began to squirm desperately trying to ignore the sharp stinging. When that didn't work he frantically started to peck at the predators paw. The monster dug its claws even further into his body, giving him no choice but to stop. He took one last look at the sky above the monster’s head, knowing it would be the last time he ever saw the open space he had come to love so much. He then closed his eyes and awaited his fate.
After a few long insufferable moments the creature began to wonder why it was the monster hadn't struck the finale blow yet. He opened one eye. He was no longer met with the cruel golden eyes he feared. What he saw instead was the monster not looking at him but looking up. Its ears were pricked and its expression was apprehensive. He followed the monsters gaze to the long grass beside them. There something was moving slowly but purposely. The monster let at a long hiss. There was no reply. It released its injured prey and faced the grass. Said prey tried to scramble away but was brought to a stop by the searing pain in his chest. The monster furrowed its eyebrows and bared its teeth again but not in a sneer, in genuine aggression. The rustling in the grass stopped, much to the small creatures sorrow. The monster slowly and wearily turned his attention back to him.
Just as the monster’s signature smirk returned to its features, what appeared to be blazing ball of fire leapt from the grass tackling the monster to the ground. There was a loud screech as the fire ball knocked the monster clean off its feet. The small creature looked up in astonishment at the beast that stood in front of him. It was tall and slender. Its fiery coat was such a dark orange it appeared red, except for the tip of its tail, which was as white as snow and its paws, which were a black as night. The tail was a huge tangled, sweeping, brush that appeared rough and wiry. The orange beast lowered its head and a deep growl came from the back of its throat. The black monster got to its feet hastily. It arched its back and hissed at its opponent. They seemed to size each other up for a moment before the black monster launched himself at the other beast, claws out ready to fight for his meal. The bright orange beast also leapt into the air, prepared for battle. They seemed to be suspended in air for a while before they met but when they did the air was filled muffled screeches as they began to tare each other apart. The black monster wrapped his paws around the fiery beast’s neck, driving its claws into the tangerine fur. The orange beast shrieked and trashed around wildly. It twisted its head and managed to sink its teeth into the black monster’s shoulder. The beast wrenched the monster from its hold and flung it against the tree. The black figure hit the tree with a loud thud. It lay there silently for a few seconds as the flaming beast stood nearby. Slowly the monster lifted its head and limply picked itself up. It took a shaky step before looking up to meet the other beasts gaze. Its eyes surveyed the scene. They looked at the injured creature and then moved to the snarling beast. It let out one frustrated hiss before scampering past the tree and down the field.
The injured creature let out a sigh of relief, drawing the attention of the beast that was only a few steps away. He pushed himself up of the ground and slowly got to his feet. He looked defiantly at the beast. He was not going to simply accept his fate as he had done before. The beast looked back at him, its eyes burned the same colour as his fur. It took a stepped forward. The injured creature’s confidence wavered. He had slipped from one predator’s jaws into another’s. As the beast came closer the creature stood his ground, what had he to loose? He was already injured and flightless. The beast came so close that the creature couldn't take in its whole face at once. Its eyes weren't as cruel as the black monster’s, they held a sort of wild intensity. Unlike the monster, who was worshipped by the humans, this beast was independent. It did what it needed to survive. That scared the creature. However, there was something else in the beast’s eyes, something that resembled respect. Respect for the fact that the injured creature was also just trying to survive. It wasn't smirking either. Its face was cold, de thatched and held a hint of pity for the creature’s experience. Just as the beast lifted his paw towards the creature there was a crack somewhere in the distance. The beast looked up and then back at the creature. Its mouth twitched up into to a smile. With that last action it silently leapt back into the grass.
The small creature stared after it, confused and exhausted. His legs gave out from under him and he collapsed helplessly to the ground. He stared up at the sky lovingly, wondering what on earth he would do next. He most certainly couldn't fly and he couldn't survive walking everywhere. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Without warning another large creature loomed over him. He became fear stricken for the third time that night. When the blurred figure came into focus the reason the fox had fled became apparent. Standing over him was the old farmer.
“My, oh, my! A robin red breast! Why it’s been a while since I've seen one of you up close,” he thought aloud. He bent down with a great effort and gently picked the trembling bird up. His hands were course from years of farming but were never the less warm. His comforting tone relaxed the bird. “Has that cat been after you little birdies again? I really must get her a bell. Come on! Let’s see if we can fix you up. A few days rest and some porridge should do the trick” he said as he stroked the bird’s feathers. With that he lay down the last of his last fox traps and turned to leave. “Foxes, they’re such cold, vicious creatures. Lucky you met Boots and not one of them.”
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