Irvanus

A hunger grips this one.

He just wanted to bite something. Bite down into something. Something that would crack and crackle and pop and run with juices. Salty juices. His gums just itched with the desire to bite down, and he had to resist the temptation to sate his urges on the twigs and branches in front of him.

But he knew with certainty that the desire could only be resisted for a few more moments. The twig in the center of his vision was particularly tempting, and he was sure it would yield the most satisfying of crunches.

He yawned widely and flicked his tongue over his teeth and then delicately arched it to touch his nose.

At that very moment, his nose twitched as it caught a scent. A reek. A musk. Some scent of the ultimate in crackly, crunchable things.

"Oh Yes!" The thought raced through his mind and up his spine, tufting his fur and making his tail lift up in aggressive stance.

"Prey comes! Prey Comes!" Now, he had a new urge. To howl. To acknowledge the hunt and to dash forward in mad rush to gnash and rend.

He raised his pointed snout to the yellowed orb in the sky and let loose an endless howl. It was answered by another. Hungrier, louder but equally eager. The howl was joined by yet another. And then one more. In moments the entire glade shook with the fierce cries of the Wolf Clade.

And with that, Irvanus sprang forward, his four-legged lope turning into a blur of limbs. His tail streamed behind him and his ears flattened to his skull. He crossed the ground with the surety of familiarity. Streams, he sprang across, fallen trees he dodged to the side. He slipped through tangles of leaves and vines without notice. The foliage gave him no pause. And his nose guided him unerringly.

Within a minute of his maddened hungered dash, Irvanus came upon the prey. His panting was short, powerful, anticipatory. Saliva flowed and Irvanus howled again. The prey, alone and defenseless, shook at that promised rending of flesh. Its wet and muscled body quivered as it raised a bovine head then lowed a cry as it backed away from its feast of short and sweet grass. Backed away from the apparition of hunger that loomed over it. Then Irvanus leapt.