Tommy in the Cage

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Tommy watched Sayuri stalk the vole closely. He sniffed the air as well, but all he could smell were the other Dogs and some trash. "How did you know that?" he asked her.

[EmberGlow]

"Don't look for a smell. Look for a taste in the air. Once you tasted vole, or any other kind of prey for that matter, you could taste it whenever there's another one around."
She tilted an ear. "Listen closely, too. You can hear it shuffling about for food. And a small heartbeat. Rushing blood."
She wasn't expecting Tommy to hear right away. Usually it takes long moons of being stuck in eerie silent alleys to develop such ability.

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Tommy tilted his head to the side, trying to catch the sound. He thought he heard something, but couldn't determine if it was a heartbeat. It could've even been his own heartbeat. "Will you teach me?"

[EmberGlow]

"Sure. It's really easy. You just need patience," she mewed. "Empty your head. Don't think of anything. Oh, and point your ears toward the dump. You'll catch the sounds more easily."

[_)Misty-ith(_]

The red tom closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind of all thoughts. It made his wounds hurt a little less. A cleared his brain, or tried to, and pricked his ears in the direction Sayuri had told him. At first, he heard nothing. But then..a small jingle-like sound. Was it mouse feet, or his own imagination. He strained harder to hear.

[EmberGlow]

Sayuri patiently waited. After a while, she poked him. "Any success yet?" she murmured, the eerie silence giving her the feeling she needed to whisper.
She swiftly looked around. Hopefully, with so much time they were taking, no other Dog will pass by and snatch the vole up for their dinner.

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Tommy shrugged. "I dunno." he whispered back. "I think I hear something, but I'm not sure what it is."

[EmberGlow]

Sayuri sighed. "Do you at least know how a vole looks like?" she asked, sounding a little exasperated. She sat down and dipped her head in a predatory kind of way. "It's like a mouse, only slightly bigger. And they swim. Well, some do. So they make noises like a mouse does, only a little bigger, in some ways. Gah!"
She was having trouble even understanding herself now.
"Just, concentrate. Can you hear your pulse? You should, unless you're dead or it's too noisy. Well, it's actually quite quiet here, so you should be able to hear your own heartbeat."

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Tommy winced some. Sayuri seemed to be becoming agiated with him.
"Of course I can hear my heartbeat."

[EmberGlow]

"Good."
She twitched once.
"Okay, well, can you hear mine? Yes, hmm? Well, is you do, you should be able to hear a vole's. It's faster and lower, but you could still hear it!"

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Tommy looked up and frowned at Sayuri, but he tried harder to listen. Was..was that it? It almost sounded like a small tail thumping gently against the ground. He leaned forward to the point of standing on the tips of his claws.

[EmberGlow]

The black Dog smiled. "You can hear it? Yes? Hmm? Okay, well, one thing left to do! Locate where the sound comes from exactly. Your ears should point the direction once you commend them to. After you do so, catch it! You're the predator, the vole's the prey. You're big and strong, it's tiny and puny," she mewed, bouncing up to her paws. "Whenever you're ready, Tommy Tomato!"
Pressure, pressure... xD

[_)Misty-ith(_]

Well, Sayuri sure wasn't helping him. Feeling pressured, he rushed at the spot where he heard the sound from, and heard it thumping away long before he got there. But Tommy dove and knocked over a trash can, which landed in front of the startled vole, which he could now see, and nearly scared it back to his claws, where he took a swipe at it, sending it high in the air.

[EmberGlow]

Sayuri skipped after him, grinning hugely. "Torture it! Torture, torture," she sang. "Kill it just when you feel like eating it."