Sometimes Celia wondered if she was brave. If she, if the situation called for it, would face whatever dangers the world might throw at her were she some sort of archetypal heroine. Just walking out her little cave and into the tunnels beyond had given her an answer.
Definitely not. As she was tempted to turn around and run back with every step forward she took. She was tempted even moreso whenever she heard something that could have been another potential monster. Which was just about everything. The sound of stones rolling, or dirt falling from the ceiling, to even the sound of air blowing in from somewhere beyond sight. All of it nearly set her off and sent her running back screaming.
Hunger, however, made for an extremely strong motivator. Especially when it felt her stomach was trying to cannibalize her from the inside out. Thanks in partial part to her senses having apparently been enhanced during her transformation. Enabling her to smell something that practically tasted like fresh, succulent meat to her senses.
She deliberately chose not to think on the matter of her transformation all too much, and instead focused on the scent she was now tracking.
Following it up and down the tunnels, slowly discovering that the cave she had fallen into was part of a whole system. One made of forking pathways that almost seemed to duplicate infinitely. Each one leading into greater unknowns.
It was maze like in all honesty, and she should’ve been lost several times over. But, thanks to some strange part of her new biology, she could smell the exact way she had come from. Which was weird but useful. Not that she was complaining. Though she definitely considered complaining when she finally found the cavern her prey had decided to hide in.
Though, calling the expanse of space she walked into a cavern was a step beyond disingenuous. No, it was like stepping into an entirely separate world. A sprawling mass of open space intermingled with towers and bridges of spiraling stone. Grand roots spearing through the ceiling worming all the way down to the floor. And casting themselves across all the alien architecture of the cavern were more beasts she had never seen before.
Things with ten legs that crawled up and down the walls. Eyeless giants that soared through the open air, flying without wind. Then there were the smaller things moving in between.
It was breathtaking in a way few things were, and mixed in with her awe was a spot of terror. Terror because half the things she saw were definitely predators, sporting fangs and claws that looked more than sharp enough to cut flesh. And she would’ve turned back at just the mere sight of them if it wasn’t for the hunger gnawing at her from the inside.
A hunger that drew her eyes to the ground level, where she very quickly spotted something more her speed. A creature that superficially resembled a harmless rabbit. If said rabbit had horns in place of its ears, and it’s gif looked like it was made out of bits of rock.
But it was still small, and didn’t really seem like it was paying its surroundings any attention.
Which made it absolutely perfect. So, after a short prep talk to herself, she set about climbing down to get her "meal". Slowly but surely making her way down one of the giant roots descending from the ceiling using her new claws and all the way to the ground floor. Where she immediately did her best to appear as sneaky as possible. Crouching low as she approached the rabbit lookalike.
Up until she accidentally kicked a rock, and the rabbit snapped it’s head in her direction. Neck twisting about like that of an owls, offering her the briefest of glances before it bolted off in the opposite direction. And Celia chased right after it.
"No wait!" She screamed, breaking into a full on sprint. Legs carrying her with more speed and power than they ever had before. It was almost like she was gliding over the ground. Which felt as amazing as it sounded.
Unfortunately that didn’t make the, not, rabbit any slower. The little critter was in a category of its own. It’s stride carrying it like a gazelle, legs slowly elongated the longer it kept running. Which in turn only made it faster. And it wasn’t long after, that it had managed to completely outpace her. Vanishing into a little hole in the wall that Celia had zero chance of fitting through. She could, at best, maybe shove her arm in and grope around in the hopes of catching the rabbit. Though she doubted that.
Wouldn’t be much of a hiding spot if that were the case, after all.
Her stomach, however, didn’t much care for her logic, and began to grumble incessantly. Hunger turning into a physical pain that stabbed at her insides.
"Need food. Must eat." Came the parasites thoughts immediately afterward.
Which was all the encouragement Celia needed to restart her hunt anew.
But it didn’t go much better the second time, or the third, or even the fourth. Everything that she set her sights on it seemed was more than prepared to deal with her, whether that be by speeding away to a hiding spot she couldn’t reach, or ascending to terrain she had no way of accessing. All of them were more than apt at avoiding her clutches. Forcing her to suffer demoralizing defeat after demoralizing defeat. Made all the worse by the sight of the real predators that stalked the cavern succeeding where she failed.
All the while her hunger grew worse. Her stomach practically felt like a black hole now. An all consuming vortex that was very much threatening to tear her apart from within if she didn’t get something in her soon.
Rushing, though, wouldn’t help her. No, if Celia wanted to be successful she needed an actual strategy. And what better place to get one than from watching the professionals ply their trade. So, after a moment of searching, she found herself a nice little rock to hide behind and turned her gaze away from all the potential prey and instead towards the true predators that stalked the cavern.
And she slowly started to rule out which monsters to watch and which ones to ignore.
The eel with a crown of eye stalks around its head, ignore. The same went for the stone colored feline with a body low to the ground and paws covered in a thick layer of armor. As well as fish that seeming just shot a beam of pressurized water out it’s mouth. All of which were very effective, just not in any way that she could emulate.
All save for one. An octopus that had the faces of its last few victims poking out the sides of its body. Which was creepy and disturbing, like really creepy and disturbing. But it was at least showcasing a tactic that Celia could try and copy.
An ambush.
The octopus, once it had acquired a "new" face, would find a target of the same species of its last victim and lie in wait somewhere nearby. And over the course of the next thirty minutes, the prey it had chosen would approach it without fail. Sometimes without ever having seen the octopus at all. The only realization of its imminent doom being the sound of the octopus springing out its hiding place to grab its newest victim and devour them.
A display that, while more than a little brutal, Celia felt an odd sense of kinship with. A thought she pushed into the same recess she had put all the other too disturbing to deal with right now thoughts in.
And with that thought tucked away, she went and found somewhere that seemed like as good a spot as any to launch an ambush. Hiding between a small group of rocks that some of the smaller creatures in the cavern liked to visit, for whatever reason. And as she set herself up there, instincts she didn’t know she had began to take hold of her. Changing her uncomfortable crouch into the disciplined positioning of a true hunter. Scales practically blending in with the rock, and her hair coming to life of its own accord and dressing itself up as a bed of multicolored flowers.
In fact, if Celia didn’t know any better, she’d say she looked like an actual plant at the moment. Not any that she knew, but more than convincing for anything with only animal level intelligence.
Her disguise in full effect, she began the next part of the plan, waiting. Entire body going still as she did so. Breath sinking to an undetectable point. Stomach going quiet for the first time in what felt like hours. And at the same time, she began to prepare to launch out and strike. Muscles tightening like that of a snakes. Hair flowers suddenly releasing a scent that smelled uncomfortably close to the way blood smelled. Which she did her best not to pay attention to.
Something that came to her with far too much ease.
Thanks for the chapter!
Hair flowers suddenly releasing a scent that smelled uncomfortably close to his blood smelled.
Seems like there is a typo here? Should it be "close to the way blood smelled"?
Thanks for the comment, and yes it should be. My mistake.