The Woods ✔

Dust To Dust

Caden lazily lounged in the sun, the stone under him warming his belly. His tail flicked contently up and down while his ears twitched randomly to pick up any sound.

He felt good.

He had spent the past three years roaming around the woods without wasting a thought about where he was going or what the future might bring and he didn't miss being human one bit. Maybe he was more of an animal than a human.

Living in the forest had made him strong and fast and he had grown a few inches during the last year. Now he was even able to hunt down stags without risking getting trampled to death or gored by their antlers. It seemed he had found his place in the end.

Sluggishly he rolled onto his side and stretched his limbs. Hunger was gnawing at his insides since his last meal had been four days ago. Time to go hunting again.

He huffed in annoyance but nevertheless pushed himself up onto his paws and yawned before hopping down from the perfectly sized stone to the soft forest ground that was covered with needles and twines of wild strawberries. The red fruits weren't ripe yet but the ants didn't mind it and scarfed them down like crazy.

Caden paid them no mind and wandered aimlessly through the trees while he sniffed the air intently to pick up any fresh trails.

Damn, he should have stayed on his rock. It was too exhausting to use his legs. He grumbled displeased but continued to search prey.

The stench of humans made him recoil a few minutes later but there was also the rustling of some rodent in the dry grass ahead of him. Was it worth it?

A two-story house was looming over him like a giant and the humans had left their marks everywhere. His instincts told him to run but the hunger forced him to stay.

No humans were in sight so he assumed it was safe to stay just a little bit longer.

He crouched low and crept forwards. His muscles were tense and the urge to kill nearly overpowering. The tip of his tail flicked back and forth in quick succession. The hunt was always thrilling.

Now he even saw the tops of the blades of grass moving because of the rodent that was hidden somewhere behind it. All his senses were focused on the movement's source. He would sweep in, grab his prey and disappear before any human could realize what just happened.

He took another silent step forward. Rabbit. It had to be a rabbit. Definitely not his best catch but enough to sate the rumbling in his stomach.

The rodent stilled for a moment and Caden froze along with it. Had it scented him? No, it continued rustling recklessly through the grass.

The next step brought him close enough to finally see his prey. It wasn't a wild hare but more of a pet rabbit with black and white spotted fur. He checked his surroundings but still no humans.

If he hadn't been in the middle of hunting his dinner he would have scoffed. Stupid humans. The woods weren't a safe place for their little pets which seemed to be as reckless as their owners.

As soon as the rabbit lowered it's head to nibble at some leaves Caden shot forward. His jaws clamped down around the rabbits neck that squealed and kicked in terror, and broke it neatly. Immediately the rodent went limp and Caden picked it up.

"Daddy!"

The childish scream startled him and he wasted no time to flee the scene, not keen on finding out whose pet he just had killed. Or which gun Daddy kept in his wardrobe.

He took off into the woods, his prey safely locked between his jaws.

The earsplitting wails of the child - he assumed it was a girl - grew more distant and he climbed on a tree when he couldn't hear them anymore.

He settled down comfortably and began plucking out the obstructing fur to reach the warm flesh underneath. Blood was oozing out as soon as his canines broke the skin and he hungrily ripped out a junk of flesh. He gobbled it down and sunk his teeth again into the dead body.

It wasn't much as expected but he was sated and ready to return to his rock. Carelessly he let the remains of the rabbit fall to the ground before jumping down himself and strolling deeper into the woods, cleaning the metallic tasting blood off of his muzzle with his rough tongue.

Was it wrong to take away a child's pet? Perhaps.

Was it necessary to survive? Absolutely.

He didn't feel guilty at all for hunting down pets that had wandered too far out of their territory. It was simply the course of nature that the strongest survived and the weakest died.

Humans seemingly were everywhere, stomping through every acre of forest and claiming it was theirs. They chopped down countless trees and succeeded in taking away the habitat of just as many animals. It was no surprise that Caden had to do anything to stay on top of the food chain with those harsh conditions. There was no time nor place to regret his actions.

Upon arriving back at his rock he jumped up onto the perfectly sized, flat surface which was warmed up by the sun. He plopped down and started to clean his greyish brown fur with his tongue.

He assumed that it was safe to spend the rest of the day napping. As far as he knew there weren't any big carnivores in the area and hunting season wouldn't start at least for another three or four months. He hadn't had any unpleasant encounters with them since Michael's death but he had heard more than once the bang of their guns when they murdered again an animal. It ignited rage in his chest.

Caden extended his claws and cleaned the space between them, occasionally sweeping his tongue over the leathery pads on the underside, too. He may live in the woods but he had no intention to run around dirty. Who knew when and where he would meet a female?

After he was satisfied with his work he flopped down again and inertially watched the ants which devoured a strawberry and carried the chunks back to their formicary where they fed the sweet fruit to their young.

Stepping on one of those ant trails or even on a hill was a pain in the ass because they attacked without asking a single question. Days later Caden had had still the feeling that they were crawling around in his fur.

He shifted onto his other side, a purr rumbling in his chest when the sun warmed another spot of his body.

When the sun began to set he abandoned his rock in favor of searching for a safe sleeping place given that he was not comfortable sleeping out in the open like that.

In the end he settled down on a thick branch of a high oak and contently rubbed his cheek against the rough bark. He didn't know what had happened to Oliver nor did he care. It had been kind of fun while it lasted but nothing more. There wouldn't have been more than perhaps a third encounter because Caden was a shifter and Oliver a human. No way it would have worked out somehow.

Caden yawned and settled his chin on his front paw. He didn't think he was one of those special bees.