7. Locke
Locke
U pon entering the den, I looked around for any changes great or small to indicate that my prey had taken to hiding in here. However, at first glance, the only thing different I noticed was that the sweet smell clung to the air.
I sighed as I lumbered around the building and nosed my way along the walls testing each and every board for possible changes. As more and more of the smell invaded my nostrils, my focus blurred.
With my mind unfocused, I was forced to allow my beast’s instincts complete control of my body. It pulled me away from the wall I was currently pointed at and towards the opposite wall, the one that divided the main room from some smaller ones.
It was there that the beast had gotten confused as well. But unlike me, he wasn’t deterred by a lack of clear evidence. Instead, he just kept bumping his nose along the walls with more attention given to the closed doors before moving on to the next one down the line.
The last door along the wall seemed to have caught the animal’s interest and I reined myself in enough to peer through his eyes as we stared at the door that radiated the lushest scent I had ever come across.
Together we raised a paw to bring down the door that blocked us with one halfhearted blow. The flimsy wooden barricade shattered easily as it sprayed its splinters across the inside of the room beyond.
Beneath the splinters, a sharp squeal of terror sounded, nearly as sweet as the scent that flowed from the same source. We pushed our way into the small space, not even concerned with the bits of wood that dug into our paw pads.
Below us, writhed a large smooth-skinned worm that shuddered and shivered as we lumbered over it. With careful snuffling steps, we nudged the worm.
It whimpered as we pushed harder against the flesh.
How bizarre, so this wasn’t some discolored flesh after all. It appeared to be similar to the tasteless cloth coverings humans would wear. Curious, I pulled back so I could better study the creature before me. Now that I thought about it, in more recent years there had been human travelers who carried similar bundles as well. I wondered what the overall purpose of that was.
As I lifted my paw to bear down on the worm, it squirmed again and released a fresh wave of its delicious smell. However, this time its fragrance was tainted with a bitter tang that I would have usually found absolutely tantalizing. This time though, the scent of its fear disgusted me.
How strange. Why did this one’s fear bother me so much? Normally, I would find sustenance in the fear of my prey. But in this case, the terror caused my stomach to curdle.
With infinite care, I dragged my paw down the worm with just enough pressure to split only the upper layers of its flesh.
As the cloth peeled apart, I was graced with the sight of a tiny human female curled into a tight little ball. Interested, I lowered my head to snuffle at her torso.
Yes, she would seem to be the source of the most delectable scent that I had been chasing around these woods all day long. Curiosity still engulfed me, would this creature taste as good as it smelled?
There is only one way to find out.
I pushed out my tongue as I leaned down and ran the appendage along my prey.
She squeaked and tried to huddle deeper into herself as my senses exploded with delight. Her flavor was rich and bright. Far more lush than any I had tasted before. I simply had to have more of it.
So I indulged myself and lapped at the female. As I continued to lick at my treat, her squirming increased and the sounds of her squeals and cries changed.
Where at first fear clung to her, now the scent began to alter as her sounds of terror morphed into peals of laughter.
My delight grew in time with hers as the scent of fear faded to nothingness. Intrigued, I lowered my mass down so I could rest my head on her torso to prevent her from wriggling away.
At the addition of my weight, she squeaked again before her fear returned to the surface.
Again with her fear, her scent soured.
That simply wouldn’t do. Unsure why her fear bothered me so much, I grumbled out a low, soft growl that I hoped would soothe her once more. When her whimpers and shivering made their return, I nuzzled my head into her stomach in hopes that it would aid her.
It took her quite a while of snuggling before she settled enough for her breathing to ease. Sometime after that, I heard her heartbeat slow to a steady rhythm that indicated she had finally fallen asleep.
My lips pulled back in a mockery of a smile, and I raised my head intending to study my little prey closer now that she couldn’t fight back. However, in the instance of my head lifted just enough for the cold night air to sneak between us, she began to stir.
I cursed in my mind and lowered my head again, quickly so as to not allow her to awaken fully.
The moment I settled back over her, she fell back into her restful sleep. I hummed as I shifted my weight so I too could take my nightly rest.
I guess the morning would be soon enough to discover just what was so appealing about this tiny female.