Hunting and Territory

    The deer stood in the field, peacefully grazing on the green grass
at its feet.  Its head rose, the mouth still chewing.  The small tail
rose with it. The deer peared around, its ears twitching, its nostrils
sniffing.  It sensed something, an unknown danger.
    A huge shadow passed over the deer as it looked up into the sky.
The sunlight was blocked out as a huge creature swooped down.  The deer
jumped up, springing away at full speed towards the safety of the woods.
But the deer was not fast enough.  Huge talons, three feet long, speared
the deer as it ran.  The creature swooped up, carrying the stuggling deer
with it.  With a swift bite it ended the animal's torment, and flew to
its nest to feed on its kill.
    The large red dragon landed gracefully near its cave.  She lumbered
in to its lair, the deer's limp carcass hanging from her maw.  The
dragon passed through the outer cave, and into her nest.  She laughed
silently in satisfaction as she saw her huge piles of wealth.  Millions
of gold, platinum, silver, and electrum coins were piled throughout the
lair.  Gems of every size and stone, golden goblets and suits of armor,
and magnificent magical weapons were strewn throughout the coins.  The
dragon dropped her kill at the foot of her nest.  She peered in and
saw that the eggs had still not hatched.  Anyday now, the eggs would
split open, and the hatchlings would begin their lives as the most
feared creatures in the world.
    The great dragon set herself down on a pile of coins, and began
crunching on the carcass.  Suddenly, her ears pricked up.  She looked
to the mouth of the cave, her nostrils flaring as she smelled a young
male in the area.  With fury she rose, stomping to the mouth of her lair.
A blast of searing fire slammed into her head as she looked out.  With
rage she took off, flying straight at the younger red.  She blew a huge
column of fire into his chest, knocking him back.  She immediatly flew
into him, slamming him again with her claws.  The young dragon beat his
wings furiously, trying to remain airborn. He bit at her neck, but she
knocked his head away with another breath of flames.  The male realized
he had ventured too far, and tried to escape.  The female, however, was
not very forgiving.  She swipped at him, her talons sinking into his chest
and ripping the leathery wings, and then her hind legs scraped his stomach
like a cat.  He bit into her shoulder, trying to break the deadly hold.
It was no use, and soon the female had ripped out his intestines, and
broken his neck with a fierce bite.  She hauled his body to her cave.
Now she would have two dinners, she thought, and grinned evilly.

Creeping Death [CHAOS CT] '93