(untitled)
by Louis K. Thomas
4-13-95

The night was practically silent. All Serin could hear was an occasional breeze rustle the needles of the tall pine trees. Serin padded quickly but stealthily over the forest floor. It was cold enough out that Serin could have seen his breath, but there was no moon out this night. Only the stars provided their faint illumination. The cold did not bother Serin though. His fur coat kept the frigid air away from his skin. It had snowed lightly the previous morning, and Serin had to tread carefully to keep from crunching the snow. The pale iridescence of the stars made the snow a deep but softly luminous blue. Serin's blue coat rendered him practically invisible, perfect for hunting.

Serin moved along quickly, his nose low to the ground. The scents of the forest added an important time element to the hunt. As his sensitive nose identified a variety of lingering scent trails, Serin could tell what animals had crossed his path and how long ago. He examined the most promising leads, determining their direction and likelihood of success. Occasionally he would come upon a major intersection. Here he would have to stop and find the most promising avenue. His ears kept a sharp lookout for any hint of another creature traveling through the snow. The ruffling of his fur told him which direction the breeze was carrying his scent and which way held the most promise for stealth. His eyes guided him between and around the great trunks that rose up quickly out of the darkness.

Serin also kept an eye out for landmarks so he could find his way back. He was in a section of the forest he'd never traveled yet. Although the trees, gullies, rocks, and snags were all brand new, Serin wasn't particularly worried. This was a pine forest. This was his home. He simply had to be a little more careful.

He hadn't come here before because this section of the forest seemed to be avoided by most of the creatures he liked to eat. Today he had not had much luck in his favorite hunting areas though. He only caught a small mouse, barely enough to whet his appetite. Then the cougar had appeared, and Serin decided he had better move on quickly. Feeling a little adventurous and very hungry, he had decided to try someplace new.

Suddenly, a sharp signal from his nose grabbed Serin's attention. Snow Shoe Hare! His favorite! The trail led straight forward. He stopped and listened. The breeze was brushing his left shoulder. He walked carefully to the right, hoping his quarry hadn't looped back and smelled him already. Serin moved forward carefully, every sense on full alert. He could smell the hare to the left. Finally his keen eyes picked out a moving shape. The hare was sitting on a snow covered log, eating the needles from an overhanging branch of a near by pine tree. It stopped and froze stock still, watching the forest. Serin stood silently in the shadow of a great pine. Finally the hare was satisfied, and went back to munching the aromatic needles. Serin began to creep forward. This was his chance! A nice, juicy hare, the best he could have hoped for. He licked his chops when he discovered he was about to drool. Ever so stealthily he crept forward, eyes locked on his long sought dinner. Left forepaw, right hindpaw, right forepaw, left hindpaw... each step bringing him closer until he was less than six feet away. Serin felt a random forest breeze ruffle his hindquarters. The snow shoe hare turned with a start. Damn! Serin Lept at his quarry but his teeth snapped shut on empty air. Instantly he took off to the right, chasing the rapidly fleeing hare. Serin ran as fast as foxily possible. Through bushes, around trees, over rocks, under logs, Serin ran, headless of any commotion he was making. Over a dry stream, up a snowy hill, faster, faster. He ran with single minded intensity, his only thoughts on the hare and the fastest path to catch it. Left around that trunk right around the next. He was gaining, but getting tired quickly. Across a log spanning the gap between two boulders. Bite! So close, but not yet, Over a ledge - oof. Up! Run! Faster! Serin's lungs were beginning to burn and he was beginning to lose ground. The hare slipped! Bite! Almost - run! Out, into a snowy clearing in the forest.

The local denizens of this section of the forest usually stayed away from this clearing. Some supernatural force had done its work here, ages ago, but traces still remained. Here and there lichen covered stones were embedded in the ground, carved with strange runes, while a few arches and pillars remained standing. Children would scare each other with horror stories fabricated from the strange carvings and distorted figures they had seen when they took illicit expeditions into the clearing. Parents told tales of naughty children who disobeyed their elders and went into the clearing but who were never heard from again.

Serin, being from a much different part of the forest, had never heard any of this, and probably wouldn't have cared at this moment. He was only a few feet behind his hard sought goal and wasn't about to give up now. The pair tore across the snow towards the ruins. Serin made a final desperate lunge as they approached on of the arches. He caught the hare's hind leg in his jaws, but lost his balance. His right shoulder hit the ground hard. The world spun around him, disorienting and painful. As he came to rest with a final thud, the hare wrenched itself free. No! Serin forced himself to his feet. His head throbbed and his shoulder ached, but the hare was limping away across the grass. Painfully, Serin followed after it.

"This is the hardest meal I've ever gotten. I'm not giving up now," Serin thought. He followed the hare into the hardwoods in a slow motion parody of the previous chase. His shoulder began to ache terribly, and his right forepaw tended to drag through the dry leaves.