The light in the sky was in his eyes. It was early for him, ordinarily he would have waited just a bit longer but this was no ordinary time. The light in the sky had not yet sunk out of view, and where he sat was still illuminated by her glow. That was bad for hunting because that meant all could still see. He was undaunted. Of course he was. It just meant that he would just have to work all the harder. He was crouched as low as it was possible for him to be under the long darkness created by the tall green. This long darkness had thankfully only gotten longer as he had waited, as was its habit. Ahead, an open patch not covered by the tall green and with a patch of iridescent life. He reflected that once he was done here, he would imbibe some of this before leaving, as all rightly should. The light was in his eyes, but he dared not move. He could, even at this very moment, be being looked at. Just as he was looking at the clear patch. As he crouched, it got darker, the shadows grew longer. He hadn’t moved since the light in the sky had been above him. He could smell something. Movement. His sight, unburdened by the dark as others were, snapped to it. A lone green-eater, larger than himself, four limbed and strong, his usual choice, emerged from the tall green. He assessed. Big for its kind, and old from its smell and look. That was good, when looking for food you never wanted a fight. Quick, quiet was what you wanted and the duller senses of an older male green-eater made them easier to sneak up too. However they didn’t get to be that big and that old by being easy to eat. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t take the risk. It was too strong, too experienced. He was alone. The light in the sky was in his eyes. However… This was no ordinary time.

  He slunk, silent despite his bulk through the long green. His nose told him everything he needed to know, old male, alone, uninjured and for the most part fighting fit but it also told him that this was the only food of the size he needed around. He would need to move far to get anything like an opportunity like this again. He moved closer and closer, sticking to the boundary of the tall green. He knew that these green-eaters could not see well, or directly ahead of them, but they could strike hard with the rearmost length of their bodies. He would have to approach from the front, strong and fast just as he had done many times before. He settled as it stopped to drink. He let every sense fill his focus, he could hear the life being consumed by the green-eater, hear the forest around them, every movement of everything. He could see the clear-patch, and though he could not see through the tall green on the far side, he did not need to. He was quite sure he would not be disturbed. He focused in every sense on the green-eater, saw its eye close, tensed himself and sprang!

  It was not quick and was not clean, far from his best. He hadn’t been able to come from the front, as the pool of life had blocked him, so he had sprung from the green-eaters' side. This meant that despite its blink it saw him coming and pulled back its front quarters from his jaws, which cut through where they would have been with an audible SNAP. The green-eater, bigger than him, tried to hit him with its bulk, to smash him over onto his side. He side-stepped but overbalanced and ended up on top of the green-eater, his considerable weight forcing even its large forequarters to the floor. Faster than the those-who-are-small-and-eat-others, its beak caught his right leg in an effort to make him stand. This pain only infuriated him, and he slammed his jaws down around its forequarters and shook. That put an end to it. That had been unwise. He had felt pain, and in his long experience pain often led to more pain. In others, it had many times been a prelude to the-long-sleep-from-which-you-did-not-wake-up. He rested there, not for long, but for a time. He ate a small amount, but did not indulge himself the way he wanted to. He hadn’t eaten before this for a long time but this was no ordinary time. He stood, and smelt… and did not like what he smelt. It was a foul odor, the smell of something far into the-long-sleep-from-which-you-did-not-wake-up. The smell of that-which-it-was-no-good-to-eat. The fact that is what produced this distinctive odor however, was not what spurred him into motion. It was that such an odor was moving around, coming closer in fact. That caused him to stand, drink, pick up the green-eater in his jaws with a colossal effort, and begin to drag it away.

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  Later, the light in the sky had finally fled from him. He moved through the tall green, not caring how much noise he made, but taking care not to destroy the tall green. His three-toed footprints were rapidly smushed away by the drag mark of the green-eater. He still did not like what he could smell. The oder had become overpowering, following him. He could even smell it over the smell of the green-eater that was inches from his snout. Finally, when he could take it no longer, he let the green-eater drop, then he stood and surveyed. He could see nothing, he could hear nothing. Just that same smell, he was having trouble pinning it down as it mixed with the smells of the forest. Then he smelled another smell, strong and distinct. Just for one second. It smelled just like him. He held perfectly still… The attack came from the right. The tall green next to him exploded and another of his kind, larger but older, surged forth and clamped its jaws onto his tail. On instinct he moved forward, away from his attacker, and swung his tail. This sent his opponent sprawling, overbalanced, and him with a deep wound to the tail. He swung round and their heads collided in a bone-crunching crash, before he got his jaws around the top of his attackers skull, just where the neck met it and bit down. Bones crunched but did not break and his attacker broke free and spun away. The two of them stood looking at one another, panting with barely contained rage and exhaustion. Then the larger, older male simply left. As the form of his attacker disappeared into the darkness, he relaxed partially but all the same, he did not move on until the foul smell had dissipated.

  A little further on, he smelled a smell that was altogether more pleasant to his nostrils. Emerging out into yet another clear patch, he dragged the green-eater to the middle and let it drop. From the opposite boundary of the green, came yet another one like him, larger and altogether more imposing. She was followed by several tiny, striped forms. His young ones, as he assumed they must be, ran up to the food and, using where his own bites had broken the green-eaters tough skin, began to eat. She approached him and their heads touched, a brief but important reunion before the important business of dinner could begin. After this, they would rest and then she would hunt and it would be his turn to mind the young ones. He was able to tell they would hatch today from the moment he had awoken. This was no ordinary time.

  Later, he awoke. It was still dark. She was nudging him. He wasn’t quite sure why. He opened his eyes, yawned, and got to his feet. She was agitated, and wanted to move. He followed, she was wise. They moved through the tall green together, toddlers in tow. The young ones were incredibly curious, and stopped what seemed like every few steps to sniff at the green, and almost everything else the five passed. His senses were alert, but there was nothing dangerous in evidence. They moved through several valleys, through areas where water seemed to encompass the land in places, as they did this the light in the sky made its appearance and began to move in its way across the sky. They reached yet another clear place, backed up against the sheer face of a cliff, in which a small cave was set. Not large enough for him or her, but large enough for the young ones to run around inside. This spot would be perfect. They set about making the immediate area safe for the young ones, a relatively simple affair. There was nothing in the immediate area that could give the two of them any real trouble, he knew. Soon all was well, and the young ones were playing around the two of them.

  He lay down, and rested. He would yet again need to hunt in the morning.