Star Leopard (Paused)

~Chapter 2~

Nightfall crouched low, all her senses focused on her prey. Three more steps. Two more. One more. And.... Pounce!

She charged downhill, racing the ram. The ram was fast, but she was faster. Putting on a burst of speed, the gap between them started to get smaller and smaller. Panting for breath, Nightfall braced herself for the jump.

Kicking up rocks and pebbles as she go, she leaped, strong and high, her legs stretched out in front of her. Her paws hit the ram's spine. Hard.

The prey crashed down, struggling. But Nightfall already bent her head down and closed her jaws firmly around the ram's throat. The blood swirled around her teeth.

Sorry, she thought. I really am. But me and my sister needs food.

She waited until the creature stopped struggling, and lifted her head. The rest of the herd had runned off already, tiny specks in the distance.

The snow leopard sighed, her dark patches on her neck going gently up, then down. The worst part of hunting-carrying the prey home.

She lied beside the still warm body down to take a rest. Taking a glance at the prey, Nightfall thought back to when she last eaten anything. Was it two days ago, or three?

Resting her head on her paws, she let the scent of snow and prey fill up her nose. The first secsessful hunt in days.

Proudly, Nightfall dug her jaws lightly into the ram, dragging it across the ground. At least it's not to far from the den, she thought.

Grunting with the effort, Nightfall got up and looked around. Pebbles scattered along the ground in front and around her, as if trying to build a low barrier around her. The valley sloped upwards gently, creating shadows that make the place look mysterious.

Carrying on dragging her prey, Nightfall slowly headed towards the cave.
 
                      *       *       *

“Nightfall! You're finally back!”

Nightfall was welcomed home by a cheerful voice, even though she can sense Shadowbreeze's pain in it. She grinned, dragged the ram onto the ground in front of Shadowbreeze, and collapsed to the floor.

Shadowbreeze suddenly frowned. “There might be a storm tonight.”

Nightfall immediately sat up, ears pricked. “How do you know?”, She asked quietly. If there is a storm, their shallow cave will not give much shelter.

“I kinda had a vision of some sort.... I think. There was this big group of animals, predator and prey, and they were running away from this huge gray thing that looks like a storm cloud. Then a snow leopard from that group came in front of me and said 'The storm will come tonight'” Shadowbreeze paused to gasp as a strike of pain hit her.

Nightfall felt a shadow creep over her. A snow storm! At the worst time ever! She might be able to escape, but what about her sister. Shadowbreeze can't even walk properly, let alone running away from a storm.

Then Nightfall remembered her own dream. Where two groups of animals clashed together. I wonder if there is any link between them, She thought.

She started explaining her dream to Shadowbreeze, who listened carefully. Nightfall knows she can help her understand this better. While she can read stars, her sister is smarter than her.

When she is finished, Shadowbreeze seems to remember something, then shook her head slightly, as if she doesn't want to talk about it.

“There must be some sort of link between this...” Shadowbreeze said gently. “I wonder if other animals are having dreams like these?”

Nightfall sighed. “Lets think about this later. I'm starving. Plus, our heads will be clearer in the morning.”

Shadowbreeze agreed, and they each crouched down to take a share of the ram. Nightfall enjoyed the feel of meat on her toungue.

Pretty soon the two snow leopards' belly was slightly bulging. Nightfall padded out the den, trying to find anything that the stars might want to tell her. Nothing, she thought. That's strange. They normally tell me something.

Then a thought hit her. The storm! Shadowbreeze said it will be tonight! How can I forget!

She hurried back to the cave, patting moss around Shadowbreeze to keep her warm, and then did that to her own nest. Sleep slowly took her.