Yes, I am participating in another blogfest! This one sounded pretty cool, so I signed up and here is my entry for the
Animal Writes Blogfest. The challenge for this one is to write a piece from a viewpoint of any animal, (less than 1000 words!) so long as their minds aren't like humans'--mermaids, apparently, are out.
I'm not going to tell which animal this happens to be until the end, but see if you can guess!
I felt the cold current wash over me while I sensed my prey nearby. It was only a small change in temperature, but I could feel the colder waters behind me, beckoning me back into their embrace.
My prey loomed closer.
I changed my skin, feeling less than seeing my skin ripple and morph into something entirely different from what it had been just a few seconds ago. A passing sea creature didn’t even spare me a glance as it went on its way—I felt almost invincible.
But I couldn’t dwell on my success for long.
The subject of my hunt paused as if to look around, its eyes swiveling and moving about. It began to inch sideways toward a shallow, cave-like formation in the nearby coral.
What it didn’t know was that I had no intentions of letting it disappear out my sight.
I inched closer, raising a long row of ridges along my back, moving my tentacles like the seaweed nearby. My prey was oblivious, and it moved slowly, unaware it was being expertly stalked.
Striking out before it could dive away, my feelers latched on with their surprising strength. The little crab thrashed and tried to snap at me, but before it could inflict any harm, I had already swallowed it whole.
Satisfied now with this particular outcrop, I pulled away from the coral and started to slide over the seabed, the cool sand brushing my underside. My tentacles waved almost lazily in the currents, flowing back and forth. I changed my appearance yet again, sensing the color change.
I saw one of my cousins nearby, moving relatively quickly, chasing after its own meal. I didn’t spare it a glance, instead deciding that perusing an attractively varied mound of coral over yonder held more interest.
I pumped my way over, send little puffs of water backwards as I moved. I didn’t go very fast—my little body couldn’t do much in the way of speed, unless it was to catch a crab or fish.
The other animals around me paid me no attention. The sharks, too busy with their own activities—fighting over food, hunting, looking for mates—didn’t bother with me, all by my lonesome, creeping across the floor below them.
When I reached it, the coral seemed beautiful, even to my eyes. My W-shaped pupils shifted as the light filtered from above hit me, and I hooked myself onto a particularly wavy piece of growth. I tried to blend in with it, mold myself into the green, but it didn’t work.
So I tried something else—a dark red, mottled surface greeted me as I swam around the coral and I settled into that, raising bumps along my skin and looking perfectly like my surroundings.
It was peaceful here, I decided, not moving an inch. I stayed as silent and as still as the coral I was resting on. The waters were nice. One of the nearby sharks lazily arced above, making a shadow on the sea floor. It was closer than it had been before, but I didn’t worry unduly—I was much too far away to be seen clearly enough, and much too small to fill up that behemoth.
Yes, right here, this place was peaceful, serene . . .
A fish innocently swam past.
I shot my long feelers out again, hitting the fish’s side and drawing it in quickly. I had broken my cover, but the delicacy I was now digesting more than paid off.
I swam away again, and if smiling had been in my repertoire, believe me, I would have been.
If you guessed octopus, you'd be wrong. If you guessed cuttlefish, then you'd be right!
I had considered doing an eagle or something like that, but that would have been much too obvious. So, I settled on what's practically the opposite of my name--a squid.
If you're doing this blogfest, comment and tell me so I can check out your entry!
-----The Golden Eagle
