Hawk Attack! 

A predatory tale 

Disclaimer--This one's a little rough, folks. My demise is pretty gory:) 

Dramatis Fursonae: 

Vanguard--A hungry Cooper's hawk 

Klondike--A powerful, but impulsive bull elk 

Skinner--A fat hungry rat 

The Waterhole It is the middle of the dry season, the rains are months away. The hot breeze parches the grasses and shrivels the few scraggly acacias. The herds have found their way to this oasis of green amongst a sea of brown. The waterhole has not yet shrunk much, allowing elephants to submerge completely in the cooling waters while a few hippos float along the shallows. Wildebeest and zebra jostle for space along the edge as they dip their heads to drink the cool water. Gazelles prance nervously and drink hurridly, heads darting up every few seconds to look out across the grasses. The trees have long since been grazed of their leaves by the giraffe. The wind shifts slightly and a zebra stallion sets up a barking alarm...somewhere in the browning grasses there lies a lion, but where.... 

Obvious Exits: Back to the Preserve nexus 

Vanguard arrives at the Waterhole. 

Vanguard has arrived. 

Vanguard glides high over head on a thermal...slowly circling the waterhole far below. 

Klondike is a noble looking bull elk, standing proudly near the water hole. He is very strong, as he is in the prime of his life, but he is prone to take unnecessary chances. He wanders away from his herd often, as he has today, looking for new supplies of food and water... 

Vanguard folds her wings slightly as she drops out of the thermal to spiral down closer to the waterhole 

Klondike laps water from the pool, unaware of the danger from above... ( The few vultures circling overhead cast their scraggly shadows on the grass below ) 

Vanguard glides lower, within a hundred feet overhead...her much larger shadow passing over. 

Klondike starts as he sees the vultures' shadows on the ground! He turns up and looks, seeing a hawk heading his way! He turns and bolts across the grass... 

Vanguard banks and takes a few flaps to turn as she selects the big elk as her target 

Klondike gallops across the plains, his hooves kicking up little clouds of dust. He holds his head back, covering as much of his back as he can with his rack... 

Vanguard tries to overtake the running elk from behind, but she's unused to such large prey on the ground 

( Zebras give barks of alarm and turn and flee the attacking bird ) 

Klondike has never faced an attack from the air before, so he does what comes naturally to him, taking evasive action, changing direction suddenly, his legs pounding at a blistering speed... 

Vanguard checks her dive, loosing air speed. She gives a shriek of frustration as she flaps her wings to gain altitude to try another dive at the elk 

Klondike looks over his shoulder, having trouble keeping you in his view without causing him to slow down. He's used to wolves. Those he can deal with... 

Vanguard levels off about 60 feet up, then folds wings and dives back down... this time trying for a frontal attack 

Klondike looks up and sees you, once more taking evasive action, making a sharp left turn... 

Vanguard comes in with talons outstretched 

Klondike kicks out at you, his hooves missing you by inches... 

Vanguard realizes briefly that she's probably nuts tackling a half ton elk but hey a hawk's gotta eat. Vanguard checks her dive and lashes out with talons hoping to confuse or trip the large deer. 

( a few more vultures circle overhead...they have seen this dance before ) 

Klondike swings around, his antlers brushing your wings... 

Vanguard awks in surprise and beats wings trying to grab some space between her and the antlers. 

Klondike bounds off again, but he is visibly tiring... 

Vanguard screeches, "AAAYYYIIII!! YOu fight good but you can't run forever!" 

Vanguard climbs once again a few tens of feet into the air, following the fleeing elk 

Klondike's lungs feel like they're on fire! The hot dry air chafes his membranes raw. His heart feels like it's about to pop out of his chest... 

( the zebras pause and turn to watch...a stallion barks nervously as the chase passes them by...this time ) 

Vanguard checks her forward speed, hovers, then tucks wings and dives down on the elk. 

Klondike continues taking evasive action, but his corners are not as sharp as they have been, and it takes him longer to respond... 

Vanguard opens her wings and gives a few strong beats as she closes the gap 

Klondike stumbles briefly, which shortens his lead... 

Vanguard lowers her feet with talons open. 

Vanguard lashes out with razor keen talons, slashing for the elk's rump and flanks 

Klondike looks behind him, seeing you attacking the one place he can't protect! He tries for one more burst of speed... 

Vanguard shrieks a loud, long predatory war-yell. 

Klondike's heart nearly stops from fear! Such a sound he has never heard before! 

Vanguard's talons leave deep red gouges across the elk's rump and flanks. She beats her wings quickly as she tries to keep in the air and stay with the elk. 

Klondike screams! Muscles rip and blood flows down his haunches! He stumbles, but manages to stay on his hooves, for now. He tries to run, but the pain is overwhelming, and he stumbles along... 

Vanguard hovers over the elk 

Klondike gasps noisily, painfully trying to run... 

Vanguard drops down again, blood-streaked talons lashing out at the elk's back. 

Klondike is too weak to do more than make a feeble cry as you gouge more gullies in his flesh...

Vanguard gives a startled awck! as she looses her lift and winds up on the ground facing her wounded prey. 

Klondike lowers his head, preparing for his last stand against his foe... 

Vanguard spreads her wings and extends her head forward as she faces the elk. 

Vanguard hops before the huge elk, looking for an opening to strike with her talons 

Klondike swings his head back and forth, trying to protect as much of himself with his rack as he can... 

Vanguard barely evades the antlers as she hops to the side. 

Vanguard gives another blood-curdling shriek that echos across the grasses. 

Klondike goes crazy when he hears your shriek! He panics and darts off again, rather dazed and feeble... 

Vanguard hops and flaps a few feet into the air, talons outstretched. 

Klondike has lost quite a bit of blood and is losing strength rapidly... 

Vanguard drops onto the elk's back, her talons gouging red streaks down his flanks as she tries to avoid the antlers. 

Klondike throws his head back, but can;t quite reach you! He bucks and kicks in his agony, but you are safe from his hooves as well... 

Vanguard awks in surprise and flails her wings for balance. 

Klondike tries his damndest, but can't seem to shake you. He loses his balance and falls over on his left side with a thud... 

Vanguard yeeks and barely manages to avoid being fallen on. 

Vanguard ruffles her feathers and hackles as she regains her composure. 

Klondike's legs kick ineffectively. He manages to almost get back to his hooves, but he is now too weak to stand, and collapses again... 

Vanguard's instincts take over, she spreads her wings and hops onto the fallen elk. 

Vanguard whispers, "this behavior is called mantling...I've seen redtails do this once they've caught something" to you. 

Klondike is still kicking a little but you are hardly in any danger. This is one more dance of death you have won... 

Vanguard digs her talons in deeply as she spreads her wings over the quivering elk...she throws her head back and gives a long loud call...the hunting call of her hawk ancestors. 

Klondike no longer responds to your calls with panic, only a bit of fear mixed with resignation. He is on the edge of going into shock... 

l vanguard Vanguard is your typical anthro-ized Cooper's Hawk. She stands 5 feet tall and has an impressive wingspan to match, allowing her to fly. At the bend of each wing, there is a strong but dextrous 2 fingered hand with an opposable thumb, thumb and fingers each ending in a short but sharped curved claw. The wing-hands are easy to miss as she usually folds them down out of the way when she isn't needing them. As with her accipter ancestors, Van is 

Vanguard hops down off the elk and goes over to his belly. 

Vanguard braces a foot on the elk's warm belly, then digs a talon in deep. 

Klondike twitches reflexively... 

Vanguard takes a step back, her talon neatly slicing the elk's belly open. 

( more vultures begin to circle overhead but none have sailed down to land so far ) 

Klondike's warm entrails spill out over the ground. He hardly even feels the pain now... 

Vanguard settles down to feed on the steaming entrails 

Vanguard reaches down and tugs on a length of intestines to draw the rest of the 'godies' out of the belly. 

Klondike feebly raises his head and watches you as you eat his viscera... 

Vanguard holds the slippery mess down with one foot while she tears with her beak. 

Klondike can barely hold his head up, but he watches calmly... 

Vanguard lifts her head up to look around, a slick piece of liver dangling from her bill. 

Vanguard tosses her head back and swallows the bloody gobbet then reaches down to tear off another hunk. 

( a few vultures have circled down to land...one haggard old bird is even so bold as to approach the carcase ) 

Vanguard swallows the rest of the liver then glowers at the vulture....she lowers her head and hisses. 

Klondike's eyes begin to glaze over. He loses consciousness, his last sight your belly starting to bulge with his flesh. He goes into shock, his pulse shallow and rapid as his heart tries to make up for the lost blood... 

Vanguard gives her wings a flap, which discourages the vulture. She turns her attention back to the elk's belly. 

Vanguard tears a large hunk of meat from the flank and slowly swallows it. She leans her head back as she gulps to swallow...the hunk of meat bulging her throat as it travels to her crop. 

Klondike's breathing is shallow and rapid. Soon his breathing becomes halting. His heart finally stops and he expires. Ants begin to explore his parched mouth and nostrils... 

Vanguard's crop bulges out with rich meat. 

Vanguard tugs at a length of ropy, glistening intestine and begins to swallow it. 

Klondike starts to draw flies... 

( more vultures arrive, forming a loose circle around the feeding hawk ) 

Vanguard swallows several feet before stopping for air. 

Klondike's death wound is starting to dry out around the edges... 

Vanguard braces the last few feet of intestine with her talons and tears it off. She gulps down the last bit of meat then looks at the rest of the carcase wistfully. 

Vanguard regains her senses and burps "Awhk...what was I thinking! I couldn't eat all this in a month" 

( hyenas have gathered as well...alerted by the descending vultures that there is a meal to be had ) 

Skinner has arrived. 

Skinner trundles in. 

Skinner arrives, with chocolate all over his face. 

Vanguard looks at Skinner and grins 

Vanguard screeches, "Heya fat rat!" 

Skinner shakes his head. "Van.. .van... this place is too damn good." 

Vanguard glares at the vultures and hyenas and flares her wings at them,her crop bulging with all it can hold. 

Klondike's carcase lies on the ground, his eviscerated belly open to the world... 

Skinner clutches his stuffed belly. "All this food is too good for me." 

Vanguard screeches, "Don't suppose you'd...*hissss* ...be interested in some fresh elk, Skinner?" 

Skinner sniffsniffs the elk carcass. 

Vanguard lashes out at a bold hyena with her talons. 

Skinner smacks his lips. "Um.. I'm plenty stuffed already.. but...""I'd hate to be rude," 

Vanguard grins "I hate to see all this meat go to waste...rather see it go to yer waist :> 

Skinner nodnods. 

Skinner tears into all that fresh meat, gnawing and slurping like a ravenous rodent. 

Skinner whispers, "Gruesome! But who am *I* to refuse a dinner invite, hmm? ;)" to you. 

Skinner cracks bones in with his powerful incisors and sucks out the marrow, then crunches them into small chunks and swallows them. 

( the vultures watch in sullen silence...and you can hear a couple of hyenas whine as they watch their meal disappear ) 

Skinner takes generous, deep bites .. and then it's just elk-haunches left. He rears back, and with some desperate tweaks of his jaw, he bolts the remaining half of former-Klondike whole. His hooves dangle out of the rat's muzzle before they're slurped inside. 

Vanguard suppresses a giggle as she watches the rat eat. 

Skinner coos warmly at all that fresh meat in his tummy. He licks chocolate and elk-blood from his lips. 

Vanguard whispers, "I really enjoyed this hunt...first one I've had here" to you. 

"I *love* what you've done with this place, Vanguard," Skinner sez. 

Vanguard screeches, "Karloon's the one who came up with the tech to allow all this" 

Skinner whispers, "Sorry if that was too quick.. .I'm not used to devouring unlive prey. ;)" to you. 

Vanguard screeches, "This isn't a recreated waterhole...this is a real one...sort of dimensional tech or something" 

Klondike 's ghost appears before you as a diaphenous cloud. 

Skinner nods. "Mm-hmm." 

Vanguard screeches, "Same with the other hunting areas...real not recreated.. 

Skinner burps. "Erf. Excuse me." 

( the vultures slowly take back to the to the sky...maybe there's some lions with leftovers ) 

Vanguard hiccups slightly 

You murmur faintly, "Van, you will find I'm quite digestable and will nourish you well." 

Vanguard pats her bulging crop "mmmmm always did have a taste for venison, never had to work so hard for it tho...awh I'm getting slow :> 

Klondike's ghost decides to go ahead and reincarnate. 

Klondike concentrates, and is enveloped in a shiny golden cloud. When the cloud dissipates, he has returned to his bipedal form. 

Skinner ruffles Vanguard's crop-feathers. "You'd better be careful .. elks are high in carbos." 

Klondike sez, "You should know, Skinner:)" 

Skinner nips you! 

Klondike sez, "Oh hell, here we go again!:)" 

Klondike strokes Skinner's big tummy, making lazy circles with his hand... 

Skinner groans... "Elks and chocolate... erf."Skinner sez, "Yeah but. a whole *room* of chocolate... ooogg.." 

Skinner grinds his teeth. 

Vanguard grins "Well Skinner...you got room for some ice cream? 

Skinner blinkblinks."Of *course* I do, Van!" Skinner sez. 

Skinner shakes his head at a silly question. 

Vanguard whispers, "Vanguard snugs ya...great rp! Now lets see if this rat might want some dessert... 

You whisper, "Thanks for a really great scene!" to Vanguard. 

Vanguard screeches, "Lets head back to the Atrium...I'll buy ya a sundae, 

Skinner :>" 

Skinner nodnods. 

Klondike sez, "See you all later!" 

-- 

Story copyright (C) by  it's authors- 1998: All rights Reserved. Story is not to be reposted without the express written permission by the authors.