Experiment

eighteen

A low rumble fills the air just before me as a large Fox walks through the trees. I watch in complete silence as he weaves through a patch of bushes making his thick red nearly orange fur brush across the leaves not only putting his scent on them, but also putting the bushes scent on himself. This technique is one of many that children of any species is taught when they wish to hide from their enemies, not only to hide their scent but to also lure the enemy into their territory, the place where they either attack or run after catching the enemy in said trap. Because I am still on the team that is to be prey, I do not move to attack as my coiled muscles beg for me to do, instead I silently watch the Fox as he lowers his body into the bushes listening to the woods around him before he darts to the trees across from him. The moment his fluffy tail has disappeared into the dark shadows that the trees create my ears twist on the top of my head and I listen to that of what is around me. I can hear each of them moving through the thick trees searching the forest for those they are able to claim as their own, but only four of us remain and it seems as if they are quickly closing in on two of them.

A sharp snap to my left pulls me back to where I rest deep within the bushes around a thick base of an old yet tall sycamore. Because of the thick bushes that I lay in my fur is not a bright snow white but a deep shade of gray that allows me to blend in with the rest of the shadows around me, and even though it is an amazing place to remain I do not take the chances of getting caught and instead, I jump from the bushes and into the tree that I rest under. I can feel eyes on me the very second that I move but I ignore them as my very strong legs throw me from one tree to the next. My movements are silent, not even a rustle of a leaf as I go but it does nothing to throw him off of my tail. I round a few trees allowing my large claws to rip into the bark before I throw my large body towards a thick pile of bushes at the base of a large oak tree.

It is less than a moment that passes before he appears before me. His sleek jet black fur is just as dark as it is in his Human form not a single change other than the fact that he is now a large feline. His fur seems to shine a deep blue hue as the sun hits it through the leaves  that are resting just above him casting shadows along his muscles as he slowly lowers his head to the ground before him. I watch his large black nose twitch as he sniffs at the ground only to come up empty with anything other than the smell of the forest around him, and the smell of old tracks left behind from each of the other students. With each slow step that he takes he gets closer to where I rest, but I pay attention to the way his large muscles move as he does so. Not a single one seems to be out of tune, it would be hard for anyone to find a weak point in his large body, but not impossible. The moment I find it I do nothing to take my eyes off of it, and the second that he steps before me I jump on him deeply sinking my teeth into his left shoulder with a low rumble as I do so. His scream of pain makes something within me cringe, but I push it away as I jump off of his large back only to run even deeper into the trees once more jumping into their thick as well as very sturdy branches as I go.

I burst through the trees only to face a large cliff leading to the deep waters below. For a moment I do nothing more than look around me taking in each of the trees as I try to realize where it is that I am, but just before I am able to decide on if I should go towards the center of our camp or if I should do the opposite, a low rumble fills the air making my ears flatten on my large head but I do nothing to turn around and face him. Instead I listen to each step that he takes as he slowly walks to me, his large black paws may seem as if they would give him away but they are just a soft brush away from being as silent as my own. He is a few yards away when he lets out a small roar so soft that it could be listed as a low hum. It is a sound that has my long tail swishing behind me as I slowly turn to face him. I watch his large muscles go tense as he sees me face to face for the first time since we had shifted, as he sees the color of my eyes for what they truly are without the contacts or a hood to hide them for the first time, and I watch as his own silver eyes go wide in shock. His jaw slightly drops as his eyes stare into my own making the pink of his tongue pop compared to the deep black of his fur, but the moment he steps closer to me I grow tense and lower my body closer to the ground prepared to run if need be. I watch his jaw snap shut as he slowly shakes his head at me as if to tell me to wait, but he steps closer to me and the moment he does I am turned around and flying through the air. I can hear his roar fill the air behind me as I fall over the side of the cliff towards the deep water that rests below but I ignore the fear filled sound and instead shift my body so that when it hits the water it will be a more gentle hit, and just after I do so I feel the cool water rush up to meet me.