An Evening Meal

Silence. A deep, suffocating silence. The entire world seemed to melt away; the only two creatures existing being the mountain goat kid and the death that lurks just outside of it's sight range. Morana, at this point, was relying completely on her camoflauge at this point. She's crept up as close as she could to the tiny herd in front of her. Being nearly at the peak of the Zaribar mountains, there weren't any scrubs to hide behind while hunting, though that was no problem for this female. Her coat matched the snow and scattered patches of freezing ground perfectly. She was merely a few feet from the unsuspecting kid; it's mother scraping away frost from the few herbs not too far away, her back to the both of them.

Morana eased a forepaw above the frosted earth, and in response the kid lifted up it's head. Morana froze while the goat's eyes watched warily. She was practically invisile to him; there was no way it could see her at this distance. Her assumptions right, the kid regained it's rhythmatic chewing and lowered it's head, taking a few steps in the opposite direction. Morana's raised paw slowl made it's way back downward, crunching the freezing powder beneath her massive paws. Taking a few more slow, careful steps, she was just in striking range. One more step...

Panic. The mother had seen her. Fleeing quickly, it left the baby on it's own, only hoping that it was following and was quick enough to escape the terror right behind it. The kid's head shot up and it sped away the way its mother had left, the snow leopard right on it's heels. The tiny goat flicked gracefully around sharp turns and glided smoothly off steep cliffs, leaving the big cat to twist her body and swerve her tail to gain balance. Finally, on one last steep cliff. The kid skidded down it easily, but Morana, instead of barreling down after it, stopped, gathered herself, and leapt, catapulting her lithe frame into the frigid air to come cascading down on her target, claws unsheathed and ripping easily into the delicate flesh.

The female bit the struggling goat's neck quickly, and held her firm grip on it until the shallow breathing came to a halt. Opening her jaws, blood spilled out onto the white snow, staining everything it touched a fine crimson. Raising her head to seek out any possible threats of her freshly-caught dinner, she didn't expect to see the mother standing atop the cliff they had just cascaded down, staring down at it's falled offspring with disdain. Morana's lips curled into a snarl, and the goat fled as fast as it had before, disappearing from sight. Scenting nothing but the warm blood of her prize, the female lowered her head again and began her journey back to the small mountainside cave she called home.

Leaving a long trail of crimson behind her as she lugged the heavy cargo from point A to point B, she finally reached the snowline where the real peak of the mountain was. That meant home wasn't very far away. Finally, she thought, releasing her hold momentarily to give her tired jaws a short break.

The air around the slender females seemed to grow more frigid by the minute. Her cave wasn't too far away; she could make it the rest of the way now without any problem. Lowering her head, she opened her powerful jaw, the delicious scents of her prize just begging her to sink her sharp canines in at this very moment and enjoy. But there were other predators up here, much to her displeasure, who don't have it as well as she does with hunting, and who would love the free meal. She snorted. She'd give them something alright, but it wouldn't be her catch.

Her fangs merely inches away from the delectable meat, her sharp ghostly eyes caught movement up ahead. It wasn't the typical snowshoe hare you'd normally find up here in the mountains; and even they were scarce this high up. That's why she had to go so far down to catch anything. But no, this was something much bigger. And she didn't register what exactly it was until he spoke. "Mhmm. Why would a fine lady such as yourself have business here, in these dreaded mountains..? Adventuring, are we?" Came his deep, rumbling tone, dripping with pride, arrogance, and dominance. How did she not scent him beforehand? A small gust of wind answered that question for her; the wind was working against her. It was blowing her scent toward him, instead of vice versa. She grinned to herself before turning on a warning growl that began rumbling deep within her throat. These males were always fun, no matter how annoying each one of them were. She watched him as he finished; "Tell me, what is your name?" He turned to the side, showing off his more muscular build, and flexed his claws. He was so full of himself.

"I live here, actually," she replied, equally matching his tone of dominance. Ignoring his last question, she continued. "Since I've never seen you here before, I presume you must be travelling. If that's the case, I'll spare you and give you the day to get out of my lands." Her colorless eyes narrowed. "If you're not gone by then, I'll personally escort you." Her head seemed to have dropped with her small speech, and so she picked it back up again and turned her attention back on her prize in front of her. She grasped the kid's shoulder and tugged it backwards toward her home. Once she was a few feet more away, she dropped it and looked back up at him. "And if you're trying to intimidate me, I assure you, it isn't working."

Continuing her steady trek across the frozen ground of her self acclaimed land, she scoffed at the male's earlier show of dominance. As if she hadn't seen that before. There had been many other males that had tried that same trick before, and each one was thuroughly chased away, since they seemed to grow more persistant each time one visited. And each time she dealt with them the same way. Warning, hostility, then the chase began. What if this one was just after her catch? She held in a chuckle. As if she'd give this one up. Kids were delicate, tender, and elicious; the delicacy on the entire mountain.

Finally reaching her destination, Morana left the prize outside and delicately lowered her body to the cold stone floor and rested her head on her forepaws, staring out into the bitter cold air outside. A single small, pitiful snowflake dropped to the ground, floating carelessly through the air, before more of its comrades joined in, these being fat, wet white balls of fluff. "Talk about perfect timing," she murmured quietly to herself as she watched the snow swirl gently at a small breeze that blew in.

Morana's ears moved forward at the sight of the male. She had half-expected him to follor her; they always did. Yet for some reason she assumed this one would somehow be different and not follow the pattern the other males had set. She wanted to roll her eyes when he began speaking. Couldn't he see that she wasn't interested? Absentmindedly, she reached out with one paw and hooked the lukewarm flesh of the kid with her long, sharp claws, and pulled it closer to her. Licking a clean spot on it's belly, she brushed away the fur easily with her rough tongue. She was a picky eater, and the fur always annoyed her. She half listened to and half ignored the male as he spoke, nonchalantly removing the hair from her catch.

"I would have suspected that you would want... No matter," she heard his prideful tone, as arrogant as ever, breaking off and starting a new sentence. This made the female wonder, and she paid a bit more attention to what he had to say. "I shall find someone else to take the position." This time she did pick up her head and pay attention, yet that was all he seemed to have to say, and he turned and began walking away from her cave. She very slightly tilted her head to the side, as if a confused dog, until he stopped and said something more. "You're loss, I'm afraid." That was it. Nothing else, just a simple statement to get her to wonder what in the world he was speaking about. She watched him leave then, confused. Position? she wondered. What "position?" Why does he think that I'd want it? She stared out into the white, snowy world for a few more moments, before a fery slight, cold wind blew against her nose, the scent of her kill caressing against it, begging her to finish eating. She snorted to herself for being so foolish. The male was simply trying to get her to follow him; to ask more questions and find out what he was talking about. Then he'd lure her in with gifts and hollow promises.

Lowering her head to her kill, she enjoyed the kid's tenderness and succulent taste. Momentarily forgetting the strange newcomer, she let herself fully enjoy this meal. The herds seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, and soon even with her hunting skills she may have difficulty finding any prey, let alone catching it. But then, when her prize was reduced to nothing but meaty bones, she thought. Inside her warm den, now filled with her body heat, and her belly full, she felt like she could think more clearly, without having to worry about protecting her kill from others. Her curiosity, despite her mest efforts, were beginning to get the best of her, and after a moment she nearly decided to follow him. But what would she care? She'd been up on this mountain nearly her entire life. She'd never been tied to anyone, and with her hunting sklls, she could provide for herself very well. She was content up here. No one bothered her, or else they'd be chased off. Yet... What kind of "position" was the male talking about? And why would it apply to her and not some other poor animal he decided to pester? It wasn't her problem. However... He was still on her mountain. Maybe she could just go down and see if he left. If not, she'd leave. She did give him the day, afterall.

Completely and totally disgusted with herself, Morana pushed herself to her paws, grumbling to herself all the way. If I wasn't so darn curious I wouldn't care less what happened to him, she thought stubbornly. Stepping out of her shelter, she flinched slightly as she was pelted with snow from above. She was used to this, though getting it in her eye was something new. Swiping a paw across her eyes to rid herself of the cold liquid, and blinking the rest away, she hesitated before moving off in search of the male. The snow had erased his tracks, and had dampened his scent; the only thing that remained was her memory of which way he had gone. She'd remembered him take a right turn once the end of her well-worn path ended, and so she followed suit and turned. Peering though the haze of snow, she could make out a figure, and nearly growled to herself. He had been waiting for her. He knew she'd follow him. Flicking her tail in annoyance, and snorted. Turning once again, she started walking back up the trail she'd gone. He can freeze there then, if he thinks that I'm actually going to go down there and ask what he meant earlier, she thought, and yet... Her paws stopped. Just why they stopped escaped her, but they did. Her curiosity simply wouldn't let her walk away from him. Her tail still flicking from side to side, she thought yet again. Fine. I'll simply go see what that whole thing meant earlier, then turn around and leave. I'll never talk to him again. Sighing to herself in defeat, Morana slowly turned and, carefully placing one paw in front of the other,she headed back to where the male lay.

Morana stopped a good distance away, glad to see that the snow had given up a bit, yet still cascaded down at an even, although slower, rate. Shaking her head to rid herself of the white fluff that rested atop it, she looked down at the male evenly. "What... Position?" she asked, in a less than friendly tone. "And why does it apply to me? Why can't you go find some other poor creature to annoy?" The entire time she spoke, her tail, showing her annoyance, kept jumping from side to side, the tip of it flicking every now and then. She couldn't believe she was doing this. When had she ever before followed a male just to know what he was talking about? She had never cared before. Why did it matter now? She should just chanse him off now. End the curiosity once and for all, making sure he wouldn't come back again and bother her. Flicking her colorless gaze away, she stared out at the view of the avlleys below her instead of his yellow, sneering eyes.

One ear swiveling back as the male's deep, rumbling voice sounded again, she raised a lip at his tone. How dare he? This was her lands. He was lucky she hadn't chased him out by now. She'd certainly shown the others that had enough stupidity to near her, chasing them off easily from her hostile mountain peak. Yet here he was, lounging about like he owned this place, speaking to her as if he was the dominant one instead of her. Morana growled to herself, wondering why she hadn't rid herself of such a pest in the first place. Her head rotating now to face the male, she stayed completely silent as he spoke. "Why? My dear, I was merely passing through these... Lands, when I stumbled across you. You seemed right for the job, so I figured that you would be happy to take the place as royalty," she heard him speak, that dominant tone of his seeping back into his voice with each word. That alone annoyed her so much that he was pushing his stay, and her patience. Royalty? she asked herself. What is this male talking about? Is he crazy? She didn't have long to dwell on that, before he spoke once again. "Which brings me back to your first question. The "position" is of royalty standards. You would be a queen, my dear."

A queen, huh? she aksed herself. That certainly sounded fun. Minions under her rule, hers to command... But... Who would be king? Right as she thought that, she felt entirely too stupid. He would be king. Duh. He's wanting me to come with him. Her eyes narrowed, looking at his golden orbs, yet not completely focused on them. It was as if she were staring through him, to something past his body. Well he can forget that. There's no way I'd go with him. He's so arrogant and self-centered... She snorted audibly and flicked her gaze away again, realizing she was practically staring at him. "However," he said, and she turned her attention back toward him again. His tone was more... Formal, now. Much more dominant that it was earlier. Her cloudy eyes narrowed once again, yet this time her ears fell back. "I just wish for you to answer me one, measly question first. If you cannot answer it, then you could always ask of the answer if you feel interested enough. There would be no hard feelings. If you do get it, though, the same result would happen if you asked of the answer. If you just decide to go away, though, I can go and find someone else for the position." That completely stumped Morana. What in the world is this guy talking about? It confused her so much that her hardened exterior faded away and she simply stared at the male with a blank face. She hadn't understood any of that. Everything he said had simply rushed past her, in a flurry of words she couldn't make any sence of.

He raised one of his forepaws nonchalantly, as if he were bored, and that set her off again. Her exterior features hardening yet again, she lowered her ears and narrowed her eyes, regaining her "usual" stance around him, if you will. Though this time her tail swung from side to side quickly out of agitation. Trying to confuse me? Or does he think I understand what he's talking about? she wondered, still completely and utterly confused. "Well," he continued again, and she mentally sighed. This guy liked to talk, that much was for certain. He thought he could use his apperance and dominant tone to get what he wanted. Well, that won't work here, she decided, keeping her external features the same. "Do you know my name? Take as much time as you need to figure it out, I have all the time in the world. But, for a couple of hints, I am actually well-known, and control a few terras in the North." She snorten mentally again. Now he's just bragging, she huffed. I have no idea who this guy is, nor do I really have any interest anymore. He's all talk. He can't fight. I should just chase him off now and be done with it.

About to carry out that action, she was almost surprised when he turned. Is he leaving? she asked, almost happily. To her dismay, and agitation, he didn't leave, but instead turned to jump onto a nearby ledge and lie down. This time she did raise her lips and growl at him, revealing all of her teeth housed in her powerful jaw. It wouldn't take much for her to chase him off now. Yet she didn't move. She was thinking. And his twitching tail told her that he was willing to wait for an answer. Looking up at him with her ghostly grey, colorless eyes, she had that same look within them as she had had before. It appeared that she was staring past him, through him, instead of looking directly into his eyes. It was a simple thing that had eventually grown into a habit with her; if she was ever thinking about something intently, she never looked at anything in particular, and instead lost herself in her mind, coming up with thoughts, while her eyes appeared out of focus.

Before I really chase him off... Do I actually want this position? she asked herself. I'd be happy to be queen, not that whoever has to serve me wouldn't like me, but I'd definately enjoy it. It was the simple fact of him being her king that she couldn't get over. He'd be dominant over her, instead of vice versa, like it is now. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand much more of his mouth. His arrogant stance. His self-assertiveness. But was it possible that there was something more to him that he wasn't showing her? He was an older male, much older than the younder ones that had come up here. That much she could see. It was almost odd to have such an older male up here. Before she'd expected him to be one of the stupid younger ones who thought that they could throw themselves around and get what they want. Well... Maybe he's not far from that, she thought with a hidden smirk to herself. Shaking her head, she finally focused her eyes on him, up above her on the ledge he was lounging on. He looked almost anxious, waiting for her responce. Her frozen snarl melted, just as the soft rain started, almost seeming to wash it away. Her laid-back ears returned to normal; not pointed, more at a relaxed state. Her pale eyes met his gaze, and she finally decided. Turning, she took a few slow steps back before turning her head over her shoulder. She spoke just as soft as she needed to, just enough to where the gentle wind would be able to carry her words across the open space to where he lay:

"No."

And with that simple rejection, she turned her head back at the path ahead of her and began walking back up the slope toward her small home. Just the simple fact that he hadn't chased him off prooved something; she just didn't know what that was yet. Maybe he'd leave now. Maybe he'd understand that she wasn't willing to follow him to wherever he was from. But maybe he would come after her. Maybe he wasn't simply asking her to come with him, but that he really needed her. Was that the case? She didn't know. All she could care about right now was her warm and familiar cave that was just a little ways ahead of her. With the warmer rain soaking into her pelt, she felt... Fluffy. And that wasn't something she liked. She couldn't wait to lie in her small yet humble crevasse in the rocks and drift off to sleep with the sound of the soft, gentle warming rain hitting the snow, muffling it's sound.