Rising With The Dawn

The pleasant rest of the previous evening coupled with the relative safety of the past few days does wonders for the body, it would seem, as you are quick to spring from your perch with a vigor you hadn’t felt in ages. Landing softly upon the plush grass below, you stretch the stiffness from your protesting limbs as you chomp down on the light green berry held between your teeth. The desire to keep up the momentum of the recent days travel, you waste little time in setting off along the charted course once more, glad to be making progress.

Throughout the morning, the trees remain dense enough to allow for safe traversal for much of the path. This is greatly preferred to the usual ground based trudging as the ancient oaks provide a good line of sight far ahead as well as cover from any more aerial pests, feral or otherwise. Still, knowing it's safer to alternate between running through the undergrowth and hopping between the branches, you occasionally switch up elevation as you go. Tiring as the extra effort is, it is reassuring to know that if you'd caught some unwanted attention, the unseen voyeur would have a rough time intercepting your erratic movements. That's what you convince yourself of, anyway. The truth might be closer to the unbridled joy each leap pumped through your veins. These thoughts were for kittens, though, so in your mind tactical maneuvers they remain.

The sun had just about peaked overhead when the combined exhaustion and allure of a midday snack slows your pace to a halt. Chest heaving from the workout, you nearly collapse into a shady nook at the base of the towering oak, thankful for the rather form-fitting tangle of roots. After a few steadying breaths to ease your beating heart, you snuggle into the natural groove provided by the plant flesh and let your muscles unwind.

The cool berry juice from each bite of your lunch is quite refreshing. Despite a few lines running down your chin due to carelessness, the citrus jolt you get from the green and yellow striped fruit is most delightful; Another intriguing experience your kinsmen would never know. Despite everything you'd done to change minds, and in spite of the ridicule they'd rewarded you with… there was still pity in your heart for them. You'd honestly thought there could be some way you might reach them, appeal to them and their sense of self improvement. What that fanatical owl had said was worrying, though. If the clan had begun to move again… If they had somehow found a way to exploit the viral crisis…

You are shaken from your dismal musings by a sharp report, the silence that follows giving weight to the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping. Fur bristles at your nape as keen ears pick up the disturbance. It was close, that much you’re sure of, but how close? And had it spotted you? These questions plague your spinning mind, threatening to **** an unthinking, careless response. Still as a statue you sit, commanding your brain to forget the dread slowly spreading over you, instead focusing on a way to make the unseen entity play its hand. Your eyes lock on you your half eaten lunch as a course of action begins to form. While you are sorry to lose the succulent fruit to the ploy, ultimately, you decide that not being fed was preferable to being food.

With a quick glance about the leafy overgrowth surrounding your little root bungalow, you launch the unfinished berry far from your hiding spot. It plops down upon the ground some 20 feet away from where you sit huddled as you prepare to wait for any fresh sounds in response to the throw. The wait is over before it begins as a flash of purple streaks passed where the fruit had landed. A cold sweat can be felt forming as you stare at the spot the berry had rested but a moment earlier, only a small patch of juice left to mark is passing. You'd barely had time to focus your vision before something had silently blurred by, demolishing the hapless snack.

It's fast..

The thought plagues your mind as you scan the peripheries of your vision, searching for any trace of the one that stalks you now. The seconds tick by as your eyes begin to sting with the instinctive refusal to blink. Your powers of aural perception don't fare much better, detecting only the soft breeze whistling through the undergrowth. Time, whilst seemingly frozen in your nervous state, continues ever onward as you are soon faced with a worrying conclusion.

You could try to hide as you have, but the swift precision of the strike that took the berry made it unlikely that you'd gone unnoticed. The only option left was to stand and get moving. If you had some luck you might outpace the unseen creature and if not…

Then at least I'm on even footing..

With the less undesirable choice made you gently ready your pack for travel, eyes still turned to the shady forest floor beyond. With the satchel tightly secured against your back once more, you took a final, shaky breath before kicking up onto your hindpaws and launching into a sprint. No longer constrained to a corner, your rapid advance sends the forest whizzing by. Eyes and ears craned for any incoming threats, you consider launching up into the branches above as has always been your go-to. The sudden haze of golden fur rocketing in from the left forces you to abandon the thought, instead making you flinch beneath the kicks expected follow-through.

To your surprise, short lived as you’d come to realize, the furred leg comes up short before being pulled back. Still in mid dodge, you are woefully unprepared for a lightning quick overhand cross to catch your cheek from above. Fast as it is, the punch has no real power behind it sparing you the sting of a proper strike. It accomplished the attackers goal, however, causing your torso to over balance and forcing you to drop to a knee, skidding along the earth to avoid falling completely prone. Your escape thwarted for the time being, you growl in frustration as you launch a blind hook as you turn to ward off a follow-up hit.

As the light-headedness from your spin dissipates, you glare up into the toothy smirk of your pursuer, their pale gaze locking you in place as your mind catches up to your instincts. The purple and gold feline stands tall before you. Even at 12 or so paces, your knelt figure is dominated by the violet aura this corrupted pokemon gives off. Though you can’t recall where you’d learned it, you know this species to be a Liepard, an evolved form of another troublesome cat with a penchant for mischief and thievery. Another dark-furred puss with a widely known reputation for making trouble. The irony isn’t lost on you as the feral licks its lips, eyes roaming over your no doubt succulent form.

Its smug expression never wavers, arms crossed and violet orbs following your every motion, allowing you to rise to meet its challenge. Even on equal ground the lithe pokemon, it’s athletic body built for speed rather than strength, has a solid foot on you. You never like your chances when dealing with one of the infected, preferring to out run or avoid these encounters all together. Its earlier display, however, makes it clear that the spritely pokemon could easily run you down should you take to your usual method of survival. Knowing there was no other choice, you set your jaw, slip your satchel to the ground, and match its fierce scrutiny.

“You’ll have to work for your meal, friend…”

Your opposition doesn’t seem to faze the feral one bit, rather it seems even more eager than ever to match claws with its grin widening all the more in light of your defiance. It would seem this one prefers the hunt over the conquest itself. Another steadying breath eases from your nostrils as your arms come up before you, taking up a defensive posture. Following your example, the Liepard uncrosses its arms to let them hang easily at the side. Both sets of eyes narrow, focused scowl to predatory smile, as the pair of you tense for the coming clash.

Clearly eager to claim its prize, the infected cat launches itself toward you with a savage yowl. Forcing yourself to maintain composure, your keen eyes catch its right claw dropping low for a swipe. Immediately your arms come up to defend and counter the cross, your mind already concocting a proper retort for the strike. This leaves you completely unprepared for the near-imperceptible swipe from your left, your shocked eyes catching the feint far too late to correct your posture. The knuckled blow takes you hard under the ribs, forcing saliva and hot air from your maw and causing an involuntary back step to maintain balance. Despite the hit, you know a follow-up will be coming and fire off a wild swing of your leading arm to fend off your pursuer.

The swipe catches only air as the Liepard easily reads the attack and hops back a few paces, observing your discomfort with a gleeful grin smeared across its face. Only given a couple brief seconds to replace the wind that had been knocked out of you, your purple assailant drops in line with your torso and propels itself into a shoulder charge, looking to take advantage of your unstable stance. Again you ready yourself to blunt its advance, preparing to drive a knee into the lowered face of the feral. Again, you are blind to the true intent behind your crafty opponents movements, as just after you begin your strike, you see the infected pokemon grin. The slim feline pulls back its head, deftly avoiding your knee and allowing the lower half of its body to continue on into a slide.

The feral’s first strike stole your breath, but this subsequent kick nearly breaks your resolve all together. You can almost feel your lungs being flattened by the heel of the Liepards hindpaw as you stumble back to clutch at your sides. Through the daze, you can make out the cat pulling off a spritely reverse somersault to return itself to a stand, arms crossed confidently and smirk glaringly obvious upon its cruel visage. Despite the display of utter disrespect, you are none-the-less thankful for the few moments of reprieve, gulping down fresh air in full view of your cocky ‘friend’. As your ragged intakes slow and you’re able to right your shaken stance, a quick assessment of the injuries let you know that aside from a few bruises tomorrow, the feral has only inflicted superficial wounds as of yet.

That is IF I see tomorrow at all based on how this fight is going.

Your dreary thoughts are **** to the wayside as, once more, the speedy pokemon surges forth into a sprint, low and fast. Your arms remain at your side, however, left to dangle leaving your dirtied form wide open. Another shallow breath is **** into your lungs as you wobble back a step from the oncoming cat. Nervous glances from left to right, desperation clear on your face as you search for the true angle of attack. With only seconds left, you try to buy a bit more time as you turn your right side from the cat barreling toward you and take another half-hearted step back. Sensing that it has its prey well and truly distraught, the Liepard foregoes the game it had been playing and, just a three paces from you, leaps into the air, a sadistic smile plastered upon its face for the coming capture.

Quick as it is, the feline is able to see its mistake just after its paws leave the earth, watching as your panicked expression becomes one of grim satisfaction. As the airborne feral flies onward, you plant that stumbling back hind to shore up your stance, and bring out your ice encased right fist from behind your obscured side. With no way to alter course mid-flight, the Liepard can only attempt to draw its arms inward to cushion the blow. An inspired thought in spite of its fraction of a second to react, though it ultimately proves futile. Frozen fist drives deep into the feral’s stomach as the **** of your ice punch folds the man, as the pair of fluffy nuts briefly slapping against your arm might suggest, and sends him flying back to land in a heap a fair few meters away.

To the guy’s credit, he still has the sense to turn the back skidding momentum into a backward roll, bringing the Liepard to a defensive crouch, eyes staring hatefully up at you. Knowing his game and beating him at it felt almost good enough to numb the ache in your side. With a bit of distance between the both of you, it becomes clear that your counterattack took the corrupted feline completely by surprise and despite those angry hisses directed at you, that punch had rattled him nicely. You don’t go congratulating yourself just yet, though, as this was one of the virus spawn; never to be underestimated or shown weakness.

As if to confirm your inner thoughts, the Liepard releases a furious snarl, leaping to his paws and extending both arms outward, fingers curled and claws extended. It would appear he was done harassing his food. You respond in the only way you can; raising your hands in front of you before balling them into fists, replying to his hiss by baring your own fangs. Options seem as limited as your timeframe so you had to be quick. You could continue to wait him out, allowing him to make another mistake before capitalizing on it like before, or perhaps you could press the attack and deny him the chance to set the pace of battle? Time to make a decision because that pissed off pussy’s expression could only mean one thing..

Playtime was over.