LIKE A WALK IN THE PARK, LIKE A HOLE IN YOUR HEAD

Ehiyeh ascended the rocks to join Alcmene, her gaze falling from her supposed teacher to the pool below them. She kept herself still, and quiet- the shadow cast upon the pool had made most of the fish flee, but if she kept her shadow still then they would return. But certainly they were not hunting the fish in the tidal pool. The woman's question made her look closer, past the colorful fish and the coral and the clear and gentle water. There was a slight stirring in the sand, enough to shift the grains and make something appear for just a second. "Yes." she replied, and when Alcmene spoke again, Ehiyeh already knew what they were hunting. A ray in the sand, hidden to all but those with the keenest of eyes.

"I wouldn't say challenging, but I've never hunted one before." Her voice was low and smooth, hardly varying in pitch or tone. Ehiyeh had not thought a ray to be a valuable prize, after all, she cared little for the slippery and limp bodies of fish. And they stunk, too. But if this was what would test her skills, if this was what would prove to her father and the rest of the pack that she was worthy, then she would do it. Her eyes only briefly flashed towards Alcmene as the other woman settled into her position, before her violet gaze returned to the tidal pool and the ray.

She moved fluidly and gracefully to situate herself on the rock. Not quite a hunting crouch, but perfectly poised to leap and attack. Ehiyeh studied the water. She knew that the ray would be slippery, slippery and fast, and if it escaped out into the ocean they would have no chance of catching it. Her claws were dull, but they were meant for gripping- perhaps she would do no damage with them but they might be enough to hold the ray in place for a moment until she could kill it. She was satisfied enough with that. The odds against her had been stacked far higher before.

Her plan in place, she glanced towards Alcmene. Her violet eyes met the emerald of her teacher's, and for a brief second, Ehiyeh was apprehensive. But she had no time to wait around. Her tail flagged, and in one swift and fluid motion, the girl had lept. Her claws were splayed and angled downwards, and her head was angled so she would be able to snake it through the water to deal a killing blow. Wait- shit! Did this thing even HAVE a throat?

There was no time to hesitate, though, if she hesitated that meant that she would fail. Ehiyeh was silent and smooth until the was a sound almost like the twinkle of bells as her paws slammed into the water. She felt a slippery, thrashing mass below her paws, but it wasn't budging. The creature had stirred up the sand below so the tidal pool was clouded- there could be no careful planning, and her time was running out. Her head ducked down and into the water, her jaws opened wide as she grasped the ray's head and bit down. Something hit her back leg and it began to sting and smart almost immediately; but she stayed underwater until the creature had stopped it's thrashing.

Her lungs were burning by the time she lifted the creature out of the water, seawater dripping off of her face and lower body. She limped forward and flung the ray to land next to Alcmene, breathing heavily. A grin spread across her maw as she made her way upwards, though there was a nasty cut on her hind leg that had begun to swell and bruise. She stopped next to Alcmene, looking down curiously at her catch. "It didn't go without a fight, certainly." She remarked, with barely concealed pain in her voice. She had been hurt by many of her quarries, but never by something so small and strange.

ehiyeh