Rana
Female
/Trainwreck/
A New Reign
A crisp gust of wind channeled through the forest, shaking colorful and dying leaves off the trees and any loose branches from their entanglement. Frost gripped to the ground, clinging tightly onto each individual blade of grass and climbing its way up the barks of the trees. Leaves and sticks laying on the ground were trapped in this icy prison, the transition of autumn into winter. Creeks that once ran swift in the summer were now slowing down and freezing over. Low hanging, grey clouds covered the sky with the scent of rain on the way. Two squirrels sniffed about the frozen ground, striving to pick out the scent of any buried leftover acorns. Nothing about the forest felt lively anymore, but rather cold and dying. Winter had never came in so disruptive before, but rather gracefully and a welcomed change to the hot summers. This time it was different, and Rana couldn't quite seem to figure out why.
The lithe Bull Sharrier stalked through the undergrowth, letting the scent of the forest flood in through her nose and mouth, tickling back out through her gills. Rana was aware she stood out too much against the icy blue landscape thanks to her bright pink, purple, and blue fur. In the summer she could blend in to the colorful plants that grew on the ground, but all of those plants were now dead. Sniffing a fern that normally grows a brilliant violet color in the warm weather caused her nose to coil back in disgust. The fern was beyond dead and reeked of the smell of decay. Pinning her ears back, she carried on. Her colorful eyes scanned the forest, searching for the slightest bit of movement. To her right were the two squirrels still looking for any sign of food. Steadying her gaze on the small creatures, she lowered herself down, tail out to balance her. Rana began to calculate the distance, realizing she was much too far away to be able to pounce. The squirrels were thin and measly looking, obviously emaciated and sluggish. With sight hesitation, Rana contemplated whether or not this was a meal she wanted to pursue.
No, I need these squirrels. There's hardly been any food, she thought bitterly to herself. Rana crept forward slowly, making sure her tail wouldn't brush the ground. With her ears flattened back and her fins as smooth as she could along her spine, there was no way the squirrels would notice her. Her claws gripped tightly to the frost ground and gave her extra footing. This kill would be easy. She waited patiently until something inside of her told her it was time. Bunching up her muscles, Rana shot out and forward from underneath the underbrush in a flash of pink. The squirrels jumped up in alarm, trying to scatter just as one of Rana's paws landed on the tail of one of the two squirrels. Quickly as possible, Rana bent down and bit the squirrel's neck, snapping it and killing it instantly and painlessly. Turning on her heels, she spun around to go after the second as it bounded toward a lard oak tree. Holding her breath, Rana forced herself to go even faster, her hind legs pumping like pistons underneath her. Her front legs stretched out as far as they could possibly go. The squirrel made it to the base of the tree, but was just simply too slow. As Rana neared the trunk, she pounced forward once more, landing squarely on the squirrel's back before finishing it wit a single blow. She let out a deep breath, the chase was over.
Rana picked up her kills and began to drag them along by their tails. These would hardly sustain her. Her belly growled with hunger, but she continued on. She wasn't aware of just how much the forest was dying until she headed out today for her first hunt in a long, long time. She never felt the need to. Her subordinates fed her and sustained her, spending each second of their waking lives serving her and tending to every single one of her needs. Hunting was just simply a fun pastime she once shared with her father, or at least that's what she felt it should be. Ever since the army of another Bull Sharrier kingdom came in and decimated her kingdom, nothing has been the same. Her father was slain like the hero the forest saw he was. With his falling, her mother gave in. Rana snorted at the thought of her. She was always the weakest link in our family...She wasn't fit for the throne.
As for Rana herself, she was forced to stay inside the shelter of her abode as per her father's orders. She would have rather been in combat, defending her land and standing her ground, but her father forbid her from doing so. It wasn't being inside that bothered her as much as it was the reason why he kept her inside and it wasn't for her safety. Her father told her it was because he could feel a darkness in her heart, one that was ever growing and ever so cold. The words never left her head and seemed to echo through her ears every single day...
A large blue and white bull sharrier stood boldly atop his his hill, his deep colored eyes scanning the horizon as he watched the front lines of another troop begin to flood in. He raised his muzzle toward the sky and let out a raspy, threatening howl. His own troops returned the call before dashing out into the clearing dressed in their bark armor and sharpened fangs. Rana bounded after her father's troops, following closely behind in her own suit. Her heart raced with excitement and her mouth began to drool with the anticipation of a fight. With a sudden pain sinking into her tail, she turned around to find her father grabbing a hold of her. She let out a yipe and instinctively went after him. It was too late for her to stop herself by the time she realized that is was her father as the one to stop her. He let go as she barreled toward him, her teeth slashing his cheek. He barked in shock and took a step back, putting some distance between himself and his daughter.
"You need to go back home, Rana. This fight isn't for you." He growled. Rana pinned her ears back and bared her teeth.
"If I want to defend my kingdom, my territory, - my home- I will. This is my fight just as much as it is yours."She retorted with a snort. Her father didn't budge. She could see where she injured him was now missing patches of fur form where her fangs had made contact. He simply shook his head.
"Rana, you need to go back. Your mother will need protection." His voiced bellowed deeply. Rana growled, crouching down to take off into battle. "If you fight this battle, I can guarantee you that all will end in destruction and devastation. This is not your fight. You are not ready."
Rana rolled her eyes and leaped away from her father, springing forward to only have him grab her by the tail and stop her once more. She spun around and looked at him, eyes blazing with fury.
"What do you mean, I'm not ready? I practice every single day at becoming your best warrior and that's not good enough for you? You want to hide me away and lock me up from the rest of your world! I'm not a little pup anymore, father. I'm grown and I can make my own decisions. If I want put myself into danger, that's my choice to do so!"Rana snapped harshly, lashing out her tail in frustration. Her father hung his head low, clearly disappointed.
"Rana, it isn't because I'm trying to protect you... It's that I'm trying to protect the forest. You see, I have failed you and turned you into something you never should have been... Your mother and I.... You see, I can sense a darkness in your heart that will only keep growing. You are nothing but a cold, and battle hungry being. Devastation and destruction cloak your paws like a bad cloud and will go with you wherever you go. Your heart will only grow colder as you grow older. I didn't want to accept it, but I knew this darkness followed you since the day you were born. You weren't supposed to lead this forest and you weren't supposed to fight for it, either. Keeping you in the safety of our home is the best thing I can do to continue to keep this forest safe from the demolition you will cause. I know this wasn't something you wanted to hear, but I don't want you to have blood stained forever on your paws..."
Rana shook her head, snapping out of it and back into reality. She was alone now, very few of the subordinates survived, let alone return to her kingdom. Rana ran and hid from the battle, picking a spot in a crag along the beginning stretch of mountainous land where she could watch the battle from below. Once it was over, she made it her goal to reclaim this land as her own and to prove her father wrong. She could and would lead the kingdom back to its glory, the glory it had before her parents, who were weak, had taken over. Any of the remaining subordinated continued her duties, rebuilding destroyed dens and helping her set the border. None of them wanted to stay, but did so out of fear for their own lives. It had been two full moons since the battle and she felt herself sliding into powerful royalty easily. She had power over her subordinates in a way that even her father couldn't. They cowered whenever she walked past, lowering their heads and bowing down on their knees any time they were addressed. They wouldn't dare question her.
None of her subordinates were bringing back food that she considered fit for a queen, much less edible. She couldn't banish anymore or else she wouldn't have other Bull Sharriers there to tend to her and her kingdom. Sick of being brought back worthless and pitiful amounts of food, she decided it was time to take it upon herself to show her subordinates how to hunt and what her expectations were. However, after seeing how dull and grey the forest was and how many of the plants were now rotting and reeked of the stench of death, she began to realize why they never brought back anything decent. There was nothing left. It was all gone. She decided to find a place comfortable to sit down and eat her squirrels, not wanting to admit her failure when she would return back home in front of all of her subordinates. Anxiety prickled her pelt as she ate slowly.
Her father was right.
She would bring nothing but destruction.
She swallowed.
Rana felt content with her certain fate.
She would rule the forest, no matter how cruel.
This was her new reign.
