BANG. They lifted their black and white muzzles up from the clovers and glanced around. BANG BANG. They glanced at each others beady, little eyes and broke into a run out of the open, green field. At the edge of the field they stopped and listened for their mother's call. After another BANG they heard her scream. They ran again in the direction of her voice. Their paws thumped against the ground and a gruff breathing came from their throats. They felt the tension building up inside of them. Finally they saw their mother at the entrance of the sett with a frightened expression. She saw them running and she called at them again.
"Aileen! Clyde! Hurry! He's coming!" The two tumbled into the entrance of the sett and the mother backed them into the wall opposite of the entrance. As the two attempted to catch their breath, the mother pulled their warm fuzzy bodies closer to her and her lip went up into a snarl as another bang occurred. They all watched the small entranceway and waited quietly, with only the sound of their breathing. They began to hear a steady rhythmic thumping getting closer and closer. As it got louder and louder and vibrated the sett more and more the mother pulled her children tighter to her. Her muscles were activated in a crouch, ready to defend at any second if necessary. Suddenly they heard the loudest thump as the creature's thick, leather foot stomped right in front of the entrance.
A sniffing occurred. They saw a Rotweiller's muzzle poke around on the ground. As it's nose came to the entrance and it lifted, the mother's previously contained growl rose in her throat. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and she lunged forward, and swiped at the dog's nose with her paw. Her claws sank deep into his flesh and he let out a howl and ran away, which led the thick-footed creature to storm after him. The thumping ceased, and so did the bangs.
The mother's muscles began to loosen, and her snarling lip rested back into place, showing very beautiful striped features. She turned to her children and smiled at them. She led them down the tunnels in the sett and she led them to their soft beds made of deep, green, grass and twirling ivy. She laid the two down and dug up a worm for them to eat as a snack. She sat in between the two cubs, and snuggled gently against them. A gentle purr now rose in her throat, which the children returned sweetly. Once the cubs began to get sleepy, the mother started to gently crawl away.
"Mother," Aileen started, "what was that creature?" As she asked the question, Clyde's head popped up out of the green bed and nodded his snout.
He said," Yeah, what was it doing?"
The mother's face grew hard with emotions. "That, my dear sweet children, was a man. A human being. He was hunting. Perhaps for us."
Aileen became startled. "Why would it be hunting...us? We left him alone. Why would he do that? Nothing hurts badger. No animal eats badgers."
The mother's voice grew very somber. " That animal hungers for more than just a meal. That animal hungers for blood and pain and distress."
"But why?" Clyde asked.
"No animal knows." She replied. "Let me tell you a story". She snuggled back into place between the two, and holding one of their paws in each of hers, she began gravely. "I'm going to tell you how your father died." The children were taken aback and frightened. "I didn't tell you how before because you were too young, but you've grown up a bit, and it's time for you to understand why you should never, ever go near that creature out there ever. They have no mercy. "
She stared at a beetle crawling across the floor. As it flipped into a small pothole in the ground and landed on it's back, legs flailing, she started the story. "It happened when you two were still very young, too young to remember. There were three of you though. You two had a younger sister, named Bridget. She was the smallest of you three."