Rising Fatality (Ultimate Spider-Man Fanfic)

| Zver

Ava Ayala POV

The ground was soft this morning.

The jungle smelled of the recent rainfall, and she filled her lungs with it. Drinking in the sharp scent of the foliage, the moss-covered branches, and water-saturated low-hanging vines.

The calls of the inhabitants of the jungle as they awoke from their wet slumber and the rustle of the nocturnal animals as they slept for the day, was like a whetstone to her senses. Sharpening them to their brink till to her desire to stalk the grazing okapi just a few meters to her right was so intense, she didn't think she would've been able to resist temptation if her master wasn't there with her.

He'd gone ahead just minutes ago, now hidden with the thickly grown fern bush several yards from her with leaves so dense, she wouldn't have known he was even there if she hadn't seen him slip into it moments before.

She crouched low to the ground, half-hidden behind the high-rise of a tree's roots and a sunken ditch, as she waited for the signal. Despite every instinct in her body telling her to climb the tree and hunt for herself, and the amulet sitting heavy on her neck, warm and glowing and telling her to go somewhere else, she stayed in rapture attention.

For there was something else in the jungle. The okapi was not their prey today.

Farther ahead of her Master, she could hear soft, scuffling footsteps, voices talking in excited hushed whispers that sounded as loud to her it was like they were talking next to her ear. Only a few words stood out to her, though. Site, dig up, and artifact.

The African archeologist, Dr. Emeka, would be their prey today.

Despite her master permitting her to hunt the night before, Ava felt a wild urge to turn around and find something else to wet her claws with. They archeologist group was uninteresting and dismal, and she didn't want to waste her time going for a prey she didn't even care for.

Besides, the tiger inside was impatient. She was impatient. Being so close to this wildlife was like a euphoric drug to her systems. She wanted - needed - to run and hunt and survive. Waiting only made her angry.

But she chided herself, knowing that her Master would not be pleased with such thoughts. He wanted her to stay put until he gave the signal, so that's what she would do. She'll wait, just as he wants her to.

Ava dug her claws into the dirt, grounding herself to the Earth, so she didn't jump anyway.

Within the fern, a figure moved and she saw her master peer out. She instantly perked up, latching onto his movements with fervance. He gestured tightly to the high rising tree to her left and made another slow gesture upward. Ava nodded back at him, orders clear.

Up the tree, follow the prey, stay hidden.

Her limbs buzzed eagerly, but she goes slowly. Maneuvering through the thick foliage of the underbrush until she got to the tree and climbed up it quickly and with ease. Her claws sunk easily into the thick, wet branches as she climbed higher and higher till she was in its lower canopy. If she went up too high the branches wouldn't support her weight.

Properly hidden, she followed the voices as they trekked through the jungle. Jumping silently from tree to tree when necessary.

Her progress isn't picked up by any of the explorers and she preened, thinking of how pleased her Master will be.

As the group slowed, Ava began to descend till she's just above them. From there she can smell them. The stench humans carried with them no matter where they came from.