Wintertime in the Kawani is in full swing, and February is no exception! A strong snowstorm and cold front has blown into the lands, blanketing much of the land in white. Some areas have completely been overwhelmed by snow--and places that are typically warmer or never see the stuff have also been covered in the white stuff.
How is your Soquili handling this snowstorm? Were they caught unaware? Are they experiencing snow for the first time, or are they used to it? What do they do now that they're living in a winter wonderland?
How is your Soquili handling this snowstorm? Were they caught unaware? Are they experiencing snow for the first time, or are they used to it? What do they do now that they're living in a winter wonderland?
At first the snow that fell from the sky was merely an inconvenience. Nerezza could live with a mild annoyance at the best of times and the odd flake that peppered her fur or dropped straight into her eyes was brushed off fairly easily. The task at hand was more important than wasting energy scowling at weather that she should be used to by now. Snow happened every year and at the elevation that she was more prone to hideout in saw worse storms than this. But she wasn't in her mountain range anymore. She'd moved to a lower plateau in order to hunt. The weather had been fair and the game that she had chosen to hunt, abundant. Choosing prey and tracking it down was a favourite hobby of hers. Nerezza's camouflage helped her to blend in at the best of times, making it just that much easier to plan ambush assaults. She rarely failed to make a kill but on occasion her prey sometimes managed to elude her. Today's weather was making it easier to track her target but playing a strategic game of "hiding in plain sight" was much more difficult on this day.
Slinking forward with her senses on high alert Nerezza took in the line of hoof prints that indicated that she was still on the right track. Her target was somewhere ahead of her still and while the snow was becoming more problematic the purewalker was just itching to end the hunt. Idly she flexed her claws and registered the cold that chilled the pads on the bottom of her paws. Winter: one either hated it, tolerated it, or loved it. Nerezza tolerated it, to an extent. Anything that made her work harder for a kill was frowned upon. But the snow also provided more chances to bring down something larger than herself. Large drifts often would slow down running prey that would be easier to sink her teeth into if she got close enough. Saliva moistened the recesses of her mouth as she let out a low growl. The hunt had to end. The storm was picking up in its ferocity. Raising her nose to the air the feline scented the air and got more indications that perhaps the hunt should at least be postponed. The air currents spoke of a blinding crispness, a frosty embrace, and a cold snap that could freeze one in their tracks if they were not prepared. Nerezza heeded the signs that the atmosphere spoke of and made the hasty decision to seek out shelter. Hunting would do her no good if she froze to death in a blizzard. Making sure to keep her senses wide open the purewalker began the arduous task of seeking out a place in which she could bed down and wait out the oncoming maelstrom. The first cave that she stumbled across would not suit her purposes. The wide opening would allow no respite from the winds that were picking up. Even if she curled up into the tiniest of balls in the furthest recesses the cold would seep in and cause issues. Nerezza padded by the opening with a disdainful sniff. Her intrinsic inner voice warned her away from spending the night there.
Coming across yet another dark gash in the ground had Nerezza giving the air a cautious whiff. An unusual odour emitted from the narrow opening and she grew intrigued. One hardly ever liked the smell of sulphur and it played havoc on her sense of smell most of the time but if there were sulphur fumes present that could speak of something much more interesting inside. A cave with such a narrow opening, with hints that there could be warmth found inside, sealed the deal for Nerezza. There was hardly enough room to scramble through the opening. But somehow she managed and was rewarded with a sight to behold. A large cavern opened up before her and she gave it careful consideration. Water pooled in a large hole in the ground and without even needing to test the temperature of the contained liquid the walker knew that she had stumbled across a hidden treasure: an underground hot spring. Here was the warmth that she would need to wait out the upcoming storm. There was not anything that she could hunt down here and that would need to be remedied as soon as she could do so. Pacing around the spring she marvelled at the depth of the water before giving a small stretch of contentment. Yes, yes, this cave would serve her well.
But first she needed to at least find something to at least tide her over for however long the storm would bluster. One just could not sleep away a storm on an empty stomach. The idea of at least making a small kill to tide her over while the worst of the weather persisted had Nerezza pushing past the scar in the earth as she emerged once more into a changing world. Snowflakes swirled around her form again but far more sinister than they had before. Snowflakes that had gently peppered her fur before now stung as they did their best to drive her blind. Sharp gusts of wind battered her form and she grimaced as she put her belly as low to the ground as she could. If she were stuck outside in this weather for too long than she would never get back to her cave in one piece. Raising her nose to the air Nerezza tried to tease out the scent of prey. Her gaze took in the snow that was being scoured away making it even harder to track whatever prints from prey had made impressions into the fresh snow. It was not going to be an easy hunt if her if her senses of sight and smell were handicapped. Slowly she inched forward with all of her senses, diminished as they were, on high alert. Food needed to be obtained. Her hunger drove her forward in an unceasingly straight line from the dark gash that marked her new home. Nerezza's gaze tracked back and forth before she put her head down to sniff at a clump of fur that had been blown into her direct path. Giving a low growl the walker realised what it was she was staring at before turning into the direction that the wind had been blowing. If something as fresh as that bit of fur was still out and about then she had a chance. The weather would make her new target just as blind and deaf to her approach as she was being assaulted by the elements. For what seemed like an eternity, but which was only a few minutes, did Nerezza continue to advance on whatever creature it was that she was tracking. Her senses heightened as her keen eyesight caught movement ahead and with an even more caution did she lower herself to the ground. Her target seemed to be a young adolescent fox, barely old enough to have left its dams side only months prior. Its white fur made it blend into the snow that was falling unceasingly now and Nerezza knew without a doubt that she needed to make this hunt count. Slinking forward the walker made the smallest adjustments to her chosen track. The lightest steps were taken to ensure that her weight did not disrupt the snow layers. Howling winds helped to cover her approach until she was too close to be unnoticed. With a surge of energy did the leopard take off after the fleeing fox. Nerezza could respect the fleeing animal for being predatory in nature like herself but it would not stop her from taking the creature's life.
With one last surge of speed Nerezza leaped into the air and came down like a sack of bricks on the now helpless animal. Her claws sunk into the fox's fur, digging into the layer of skin that she knew lay beyond. Without much preamble and ignoring the high pitched yelps of pain that her prey was loosing, as well as the struggles to free itself, did Nerezza feel herself getting bored. The hunt was over and it was time to take her prize back to her new lair. A swift bite to the neck of her prey had the desired effect of the almost immediate cessation of movement beneath her paws. One could almost feel pity but instead Nerezza merely gripped the scruff of fur that connected to the fox's neck and prowled carefully back towards the underground springs that awaited her. The amount of snow that had been falling since her emergence earlier had doubled in its effort to blind her to her surroundings, and it almost would have worked if not for the telling scent of sulphur that once more drifted into her nasal cavity. Checking her directional heading Nerezza caught sight of the cave's entrance before dragging herself through the gash once more. Her impromptu discovery and subsequent catch would mean that she could idly wait out this blizzard in relative comfort. Her mind drifted back to the animal that she had been stalking before the change in weather and only hoped that she could take up the pursuit once the weather cleared. But for now, she would relish in the warmth that the underground cavern bestowed upon her and enjoy the meal that would tide her over. Perhaps she could lay claim to this place for the rest of her life. It certainly would be her own little treasured secret.