Post by Jackalstep on Aug 3, 2016 16:15:36 GMT -5
Strange markings dappled the ground and led off into the tall grass. A strong, unidentifiable animal reek hung in the air.
"What is it?" A brown-and-white apprentice asked in hushed tones, his green eyes wide with worry. "Do you think it's dangerous?"
The other cat, a large brown tabby tom, looked uncertain. His tail was bristling slightly as he sniffed at the bizarre marks on the ground, which appeared to be tracks of some sort. "I'm not sure, Thawpaw," he responded quietly. "It doesn't smell like a meat-eater, though."
Thawpaw glanced at the tracks, then back at the tabby tom. "But for tracks that gigantic... There must be an even more enormous animal attached to those feet!" Suddenly, the young tom straightened up and bounced on his paws. "We should try to find it!" All traces of his former concern vanished as he imagined discovering a new type of animal.
"Well..." The brown tabby frowned. "If it does prove to be dangerous, we probably should get a few more cats to come with us. Safety in numbers," he reminded his apprentice.
"Aw, come on, Spiderclaw! This is splendiferous! A whole new animal that no cat has ever laid eyes upon in the history of the Clans!" Thawpaw paused a moment and wrinkled his nose. "Well, recent history, anyways."
Spiderclaw shook his head. "I know you'd like to go see it now, but remember that even plant-eaters can be dangerous if they're big enough. We really should go back and see what Asphaltstar thinks we should do."
The young brown-and-white tom snorted. His mentor was always way too cautious. Here was a great opportunity to explore – to really have something worth reporting – and Spiderclaw wanted to wait for someone else to tell him what to do. "You're the best fighter in all the territories!" Thawpaw exclaimed. "You don't have to worry about a thing! Besides, you're a warrior; make up your own mind about something instead of waiting to be ordered around!"
The apprentice had gone too far. His mentor's eyes sparked with anger, and the brown tabby hissed, "That's enough, Thawpaw! If chasing after a possibly dangerous creature is what you want, then that's what you'll get. You lead us to the creature. And after we've seen it, we'll talk to Asphaltstar and see what he thinks of your impertinence."
Thawpaw's eyes widened in surprise; Spiderclaw rarely lost his temper. Then he nodded and slowly, quietly, turned around and padded off to follow the tracks through the grass.
As the strange beast's stench grew stronger, Thawpaw spotted a bulky brown shape in the grass ahead of them. "Spiderclaw... I think that's it."
As though it knew they were there, the mysterious creature stirred. A slender face rose out of the tall grass on a extremely long neck. The animal's nose twitched as it sniffed the air. Seeming to detect the cats, it stood up and swept the area with liquid brown eyes.
"Is that weird, or what?" Spiderclaw muttered to his apprentice. "I have never seen anything like it before."
Thawpaw nodded, as it was indeed a bizarre creature. Besides the narrow head with long, rabbity ears and the incredible neck, the animal had long, shaggy brown fur and almost no tail to speak of. In a way, it reminded the young cat of sheep, but grossly distorted.
The beast faced the cats and stepped towards them.
Spiderclaw and Thawpaw froze, unsure of what the animal's intentions were. The apprentice then uttered a small squeak, all of his earlier bravado gone.
The fur along Spiderclaw's back and tail bristled, and a low growl rumbled in his throat. "Stay away," he warned the creature, but it probably couldn't understand the words.
The long-necked animal gave the cats a contemptuous glare and lowered its head toward Thawpaw. Petrified, the apprentice tried not to look at it.
Splat!
A big, slimy glob of spit landed in Thawpaw's face; the young tom spluttered in shock as he tried to shake the stuff off.
The strange creature looked satisfied now, and slowly turned and walked away. Meanwhile, Spiderclaw was doing all he could to a stifle a mrrow of amusement at his apprentice's condition.
"This was a mouse-brained idea!" Thawpaw wailed. "Now I'm covered in all this glop, and it's sticky!"
Spiderclaw purred quietly as the two cats headed back toward camp. "But let's not forget whose idea it was..."
~
Author's notes: This is set in BridgeClan, one of the Clans in The Fox and the Pigeon, one of my full-length fanfics. This was a submission for the Tuesday Challenges in June of 2015. The mystery animal, if anyone was wondering, is a llama. I'm planning to slowly repost all of my one-shots that were on the old forums.