(Ack! Now I have to write that all again from scratch. Oh well, I guess I can add more detail and whatnot.)
~Creature Pack~
The seething mass of some twenty odd individuals swarmed the small room that held them captive. Soon, they would be free, they could sense it. The creatures were felines with long legs and big ears, like the long ago Servals of the African Plains, but these were much bigger, the size of a large dog. With their big ears they had excellent hearing and their eyes were made for hunting at night, they didn't have much in the way of smell though having had to lose something to gain something. They were carnivores though and though and had the teeth and claws to match. They were the perfect counterpart to the night terror of the bats and one of the only creatures that can effectively fight off one.
They snapped and snarled at one another in their impatience to be on the hunt. They went deathly still and silent as the gates that held them opened. Yowling their freedom into the night air, the pack surged forward and out of the small opening. The hunt was on, they surged toward the cornucopia knowing that was were food was. They'd been trained that way. Their long legs carried them easily over the sandy terrain, silence followed in their wake. Nothing dared move when the cats were hunting.
The youngest of the group didn't have as long legs as the adults had and couldn't keep up. These animals lacked a motherly instant, giving birth and then forgetting her young. Only the strong survive in the pack and only those who instants were sharp from the moment of birth. The pack would share with the young but they wouldn't feed them and they were expected to keep up. This young one wasn't up to par and was quickly left in the dust. As the pack left sight and hearing range, the young cat was left on its own.
It's keening was loud and eerie, as it sought it pack in the expansive desert heading in the wrong direction. The cat's vocals bordered on what the bats can hear and it attracted one of the outlying bats.
Breaking away from its group, the bat flow silently through the air seeking what it could hear. It also was young and didn't know that the crying of that specific creature didn't mean food. The rest of the bats merely ignored it, there was much easier prey to be had. The bat found the young cat quite easily and readied itself for the kill.
~Fawna Ala Tau~
-Female- Southern Desert- Dusk- Items; Blowgun, Darts, Plastic Trash Bag, 1 10-square Blanket, 1 Small Canteen, Water Purification Supplies, Sword, Water Bottle- Injuries; Deep Cut to Left Shoulder (Bandaged), Sun Burn- Companion; Bengli-
Fawna had been dowsing as the sun had dropped, catching sleep where she thought she could. She had always been a light sleeper, something she though would serve her well now. You didn't need to be a light sleeper though to hear the young creature crying in the distance, growing steadily closer. She reached for her sword and drew herself in a kneeling position, hoping the rock disguised her outline. She waited.
Suddenly, when the creature had just come into the farther part of Fawna's vision, having her eyes finally become accustom to the deep dark of the night, she heard the one sound she had feared since she was little. The sudden whooshing sound that bats make as they drop out of the sky. It was a sound no other creature made, nothing else was as big as a bat. Her ranch had been attack once when she had been about five years old. They had killed several head of cattle and make dozen others. Her father had rounded up the workers and went hunting them in the daylight when the creatures slept. They had killed every last one of them and then returned to put the cattle that had been mark down so they didn't attract more. A couple of the men had been marked as well, they'd been granted a merciful death or at least it was merciful for the rest of ranch. Her father had shown her a weak soft, the only one that the bats had, at the base of its spine where the armor met.
She'd wished she'd paid more attention to his lecture about it. She'd been afraid at the time and hadn't even wanted to look at it, let alone touch it. She knew she'd have to kill the bat and probably the other creature. If the bat saw her she'd be dead, if not tonight then the next or the next. She didn't even know what the other creature was. She assumed it was dangerous. She assumed it was one of the Game Master's little experiments. It wasn't uncommon for them to release such things.
She crept forward, as quietly as she could. The fight between the bat and other creature was making a lot of noise. She worried about it attracting the attention of something else. Aiming her sword carefully, she was only going to get one shot at this and that was only because it was otherwise occupied. Its weak point wasn't usually an issue for it, normally it was on top of you when you saw it. Silent as an assassin, Fawna slide her sword into the bat's spine, severing it with one blow. It flopped lifeless to the ground and Fawna yanked her sword out.
She turned her attention to the other creature. It yowled and spat at her, unsure of what she was or if she meant it harm. It wasn't even sure she was food. Fawna studied it, it looked like one of the barn cats back on the ranch, only this one was the size of a large dog or a foal. It didn't look injured at all from its fight with the bat but that seemed impossible. She didn't know of anything that could survive a bat attack unscathed but then she wasn't even sure of what the cat was. Would it be worth trying to befriend it? It was obviously young, terrified and alone, would it be open to a mutual partnership?
Fawna lowered her sword and held out of hand to the small creature. It darted away, but Fawna waited motionlessly for it to return, which it did a few moments later. Its amber eyes were full of suspicion as it sniffed her hand and seemed to study her. Fawna smiled at the cat and turned to walk back to her campsite. The creature followed at a safe distance. As Fawna sat back down on her garbage bag, she wrapped herself in her blanket and laid her sword in her lap. The creature laid down and watched her at five meters from her, out of arms reach but close enough for companionship. Fawna smiled, "Goodnight.... Bengli." Bengli was the name of her favorite barn cat, it was nice to have some connection to home.