Dawn of Decay: A Trail (Wooden Teeth origins, part 2)
Previous: https://www.tumblr.com/residents-of-the-darkforest/723931452035710976/dawn-of-decay-wooden-teeth-origins-part-1?source=share
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Graveldusk’s fur stood on end, spiking so tall in every direction, one might think that a bolt of lightning had just struck him. A growl rose from deep within his throat. He lashed his tail. “I told Snowwhisker that brute was still here!” he growled to himself, sniffing at a tuft of Houndtooth’s fur that had caught on a branch a few tail-lengths inside the border.
That’s when Graveldusk noticed the scattered fur on a flattened rock buried mostly in the ground not too far away, and beyond that, claw marks with Houndtooth’s scent on an oak’s roots.
Graveldusk didn’t know what possibility angered him more, that Houndtooth was sticking around to deliberately rile up his former Clanmates and the families of his victims, or that Graveldusk’s friends had been killed by someone stupid enough or pitiful enough to remain close to the only home he knew. Whatever the case, Graveldusk wasn’t as willing as others to let Houndtooth go so easily. That monster killed his brother! There was no proof, but after Nettleseed’s murder, how could he believe anything else?
He lowered into a crouch, following the trail Houndtooth was foolish enough to leave so that Graveldusk could follow without needing to pause or check direction. It led out of the border, but that didn’t stop him. He wasn’t going to let a scent marker prevent him from taking revenge. Not just for Kiterubble, but for Nettleseed, and anyone else that fell at Houndtooth’s claws, too. He kept going, slinking through the trees and keeping well into the shadows. He didn’t know how far he was getting, didn’t care enough to pay attention to the time it was taking him to track. All he cared about was catching that monster.
So busy searching the forest floor and surrounding undergrowth for fur and markings, so overwhelmed with fury and memories of his brother and the thought of sinking his teeth into that murderer, it never crossed his mind that the trail could have been a trap. It also never crossed his mind to look up.
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Houndtooth leaped. He landed with enough force to knock the wind out of Graveldusk. He rolled him over onto his back so that his stomach was exposed and held him down before the sandy-grey tom could blink.
“You!” Graveldusk yowled. He kicked out with his legs, but Houndtooth was well out of the way of them.
When he was exiled, Houndtooth had to hold his fury so that he didn’t make things worse for himself. He had to let Hailstar send him away without a fight, had to let Firespark hold him down like a misbehaving apprentice, and let his Clanmates throw spit and insults at him while Nettleseed’s family raked his still-wounded side. Sure, he made a few comments that they won’t soon forget, but not being able to see their faces beyond the initial shock wasn’t a huge compensation.
That is where Graveldusk comes in. If it had to be stated again, Houndtooth was no fool. He knew that someone would want to follow him beyond the border and follow any trail he left behind. Graveldusk was the lucky one that decided to do just that, and now he was going to be the tool that Houndtooth let all of his anger and rage out on.
Oh no, this was not going to be pretty.
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@ambitiousauthor