Through Smoke and Ashes

Nineteen||Invaders Part 1

Prints in the snow indicate the direction of my prey. But I knew I wasn't alone. There was a snowcat also following the trail of the deer. I had seen the flicker of movement from the corner of my eye as white moved against the snow. Its pelt was perfect for this weather, acting as camouflage with the snow-ridden world. It blended in and made not a sound. I was jealous of its movements, such a big creature and yet the snow didn't even creak under its weight.

I kept pace with the snowcat, making sure to keep an eye on it as I maneuvered between the trees and large snowbanks. I knew the cat could sense me near it, its head went in my direction whenever I made too loud of a noise. Sometimes it even growled in my direction. It was almost like the cat was telling me to be quiet, just like how Naxan does in the condescending tone he uses towards me. I knew he was only teasing though, so it didn't bug me.

The dragon had ventured off again to hunt his own meal instead of sitting around and waiting for me. We were both stubborn that way, not wanting the other to provide a meal for each other when we were perfectly capable of hunting for ourselves. It was a vicious cycle between us, but Naxan was normally happy when I brought back something larger because then he could eat what I didn't. But I did smoke some of the meat so I was able to have meat strips on me at all times. Alec was quite handy in the ways of survival, I've learned a lot from him with my time spent with him.

He was getting larger as the months passed on. It was incredible to witness. He would be a couple of months over a year now, the colder season should be coming to an end even though it didn't look like it. The ground was frozen with the cold that crept into it and the snow had stayed steadily on the ground the whole season. The only useful thing about the snow is that I could track an animal far better, it was almost like a cheat to survival.

Ahead of me, I saw a patch of snow that was yellow. It was still steaming so the deer was extremely close. I got my bow and arrow ready, continuing to follow the tracks. And that's when I saw it, scuffling its hooves through the snow to find some sort of vegetation to munch on.

I was quick with my actions as I aimed my arrow at the deer. My target was the eyeball which would lead into the brain, instantly killing it. I released the arrow and watched as it sailed towards the deer, but instead of making contact with the brown creature, a white figure emerged from hiding and lunged in the air.

My arrow sunk into the hide of the snowcat and the deer ran off at the threatening scene. I kicked the snow in frustration, what an idiotic creature that cat was. The cat was limping on its three, uninjured legs, the arrow being in its left shoulder. Seeing the injury sparked a current through me that instantly reached my fingertips. I pushed through the snow and made my way towards the cat. Its head turned towards me and a threatening snarl pushed through its throat. I didn't doubt its capability of hurting me even though it was injured, so I remained cautious as I approached the cat.

The cat swiped a large, white paw in my direction, but stumbled as it lost its balance.

I put my hands out. "I'm not going to hurt you," I said, laughing at myself sarcastically. It couldn't understand me. It probably felt threatened as I came towards it, especially being injured.

I was meters away from the cat, it sat on its haunches with its ears flat on the top of its head and mouth wide open. Its teeth were incredibly large. Even though the cat looked pitiful, it was still intimidating.

"I'm going to help you, even though you got yourself into this mess." I glared as the cat snarled at me.

I must be losing my sense of fear, dealing with dragons five times this cat's size and all. But the dragons actually listened to me, this cat had no idea what my intentions were. Especially since it blamed me for the current injury inflicted on it.