Torianna settled in nicely to the roots that lingered beneath the massive tree. It was not far from the main den, where she had decided to make her camp with a rabbit from the caches, her teeth gnashing as she dug into it, eager to consume its soft flesh in order to sustain herself. She had big plans for the day. She’d been working on her stalking skills, and she planned to put them to her test by harassing her brothers, demanding to know what it was that they got onto when they were out of her presence. She would finally get to the bottom of it and demand the answers that were deserved to her.

It didn’t take long to consume the rabbit, leaving the bones tucked in the little hollow, a few licks to her paws to clean off some of the blood before she rose to bound out of the den… it was then that her plans were put on delay, a painful rip felt in her paw as one of her front claws tore against the roots at the base of the tree, causing her to howl with pain in an almost uncharacteristic manner, a flash of pain in her eyes as she removed the paw from the ground to nurse it, shaking it about with a soft whine.

Thank goodness her brothers were not allowed to see such weakness… or really anyone was… or so she thought.

The adults had a habit of ruining her fun, as if she was doing something wrong! As a result, she did whatever she could to get away from them. She was certain that she was successful as well, not yet aware enough to know when she was being watched from a distance or spot the way that an adult could lurk out of sight of her gaze. She rolled her shoulders back, stiffening her upper lip as she sought to reign in the pain that was radiating from her paw when her mother appeared, causing a sneer of disdain on her features.

What was she doing here? Her mother gave her space but followed up to ask if she was okay. Tori set her paw down, a stubborn look on her face as the pain showed through the corners of her mouth and the way it twitched. “M’fine.” It was stubborn, but her tone implied otherwise. She was simply being the obstinate child that her mother knew her to be. She hated the fact that her mother had seen such weakness from her. Perhaps she’d tell her brothers and make them laugh about it when she was not looking… not that Clover would ever really do that, but Tori needed to consider all avenues.

“Go away!” The plans she had for the day were wholly dependent on her mother not cordoning her off with her stinky herbs, and that meant she needed to get away from her as soon as possible. Blood slowly trickled from her claw where she tore it, but the flow was not too bad to think it would not stop on it’s own with time.