Hate

There's something I like about bridges. I especially like bridges if they are fragile. If they look like they are made of ropes and blanks which are decades old, then I love them. I just found one of those bridges. One of those I love.

It had the most excellent location, it's weak and long body lied over a long, very long gap. At the bottom of this gap, was a raging stream located.
If someone fell... Death would be certain. And death for me is... lunch. And I was starving! Or at least, it felt so. I've had a meal roughly a week ago when I ate my way through a cemetery. The locals did not like it, neither did I but my hunger... it's unbearable to feel. I must make it stop... Stop it's never ending screams for flesh... For corpses...

I shook my head, tried to make all the thoughts about food go away.
I had found a place where I could wait. Now was only the waiting left.
There is one! One is coming! A Tigren! He crosses it! Fall! Fall! Fall! He... he... he did not fall... Damn it! The bridge is way sturdier than it looks. I have to make... modifications.

By weakening the ropes that made up the bridge's connection to the other side of this gap could I guess that the next person would fall into a terrible but still painless death if he or her weighted more than... a kid. I think if they weigh more than that they will fall.
Math has never been my thing.

A boring wait followed. Long. Boring. But I have patience. I cannot die from aging so I'm not in such a great rush. It was getting somewhat hot, however. Midday it come.
I removed my quite heavy black jacket, so only my red cardigan was on. I might remove it as well if the heat continues like this. Heat is something I don't like. I'm more for damp places, cold places and dark places. Graves and caves, forests and houses.

Finally! Someone came.
It was not someone usual, though. Grey jacket with furred hood. An even darker grey colored baggy pants with some brown belts. Two large braces, black in color with brown belts around them as well. Black striped grey fur, black hair with red details. Yellow glowing eyes... He reminded of a Wulfren, but that race hadn't been seen so often since that little conflict between their hated enemy the Tigren.

A Wulfren... could I let that one die? I mean, what if he was special? His kind would track him down, by following the scent I will get by eating him. Could I risk that? It did not seem... like the best idea, no. But they would... smell me on the ropes, especially on the part where I damaged it. Not good... He'll fall and they will come for me. Wulfren are to be feared. They are very persistent. And unlike their more civilized cousins the Tigren, do not the Wulfren fear anything. They would just gladly attack me, and if they can't kill me then they will go for a berserk after people I know and might care about and attack them.

Let him fall and get a bit fed and be hunted by his race or save him from a certain death or at least an addition to the group of persistent “want-to-kill-me” people?
I think I'll save him.
I could hear a rope snap, then the other one and then the other two that were left.
I could see the Wulfren throw himself backwards to the edge but missed and the claws on his hands did not get a grip in the hard stone on his side of the gap. He fell.

I ran towards the edge of my side of the gap and with a quick look at him, to decide angle and distance, I launched my incredibly long tongue away. A perfect hit, a direct hit. But too my surprise was he heavier than what I suspected so I fell almost face down into the ground. Gliding towards the edge made me a bit... terrified, but even if I did want to retract my tongue so couldn't I do that. The Wulfren had grabbed hold of it, he probably thought it was going to constrict him or strangle him but it's hard to keep a good grip without using force around him with something as slimy as a tongue.

I crawled backwards and got myself behind a tree. It would not bend or break. I used it as help. After several minutes  of struggle with retracting my tongue and it's catch did the Wulfren finally get a hold on the ground and managing climbing up to the edge. I sat and breathed heavily and was tired. Tired enough to not retracting my tongue, which had lost all it's strength and was being removed by the Wulfren from his body. It was nothing else than a bit of slimy piece of meat lying on the ground.

The Wulfren was quick to feet and moved so he stood right in front of me. I could see that his clothing was covered in drool, my yellow and greenish drool. He should be glad that it wasn't my digestive acids, that would have left a permanent mark in the flesh.
A large blade came out of one of his braces and he put it's edge right at my throat.
“...but I... saved you...” I stuttered.
He did not reply but it was some thinking going on in his head, otherwise wouldn't he had stopped the strike. After a few seconds did he retract his blade and decided to sit down at a nearby tree.

I regained some strength and retracted my tongue. I could taste him. He did not taste so bad, but not so good either. He did taste quite similar like a Wulfren, but the Wulfren I had before me did not look exactly like one. I knew how Wulfren tasted, I'd eaten some before.
“Are you a Wulfren?” I asked carefully.
He nodded slowly.
“Sorry about the clothing...” I continued.
He seemed to not care.
I decided to stay quiet for a time. I could see that he was waiting for battle, but his calm almost told the otherwise. Such a calm character, so abnormal. He was constantly looking at me, with those yellow eyes. I could now see, up close, that he had a large “X” shaped scar in his face.  Probably a battle scar.

“Thanks.” That Wulfren finally said when he looked away. He did not like being saved, but he also knew that he would had been killed if I hadn't saved him. Like I had a choice?
“The ropes on that bridge had begun to be a little weak with the yea...” I said.
“Did you see a Tigren?” He interrupted.
“Yes... he came walking past here for some time ago.”
“To where?” He continued.
“Follow the road, there is only one road. Did you want to buy something from him? He looked like a merchant.” I asked.
He remind quiet and got up. He just walked away, no good bye or anything.

This Wulfren, or strange breed of a Wulfren, started to walk quite fast when he got to the road. I decided to follow.
I morphed myself to something that wouldn't be too uncommon. A crow.
I flew up in the sky and felt the wind under my wings. I could see the Wulfren and I could see the Tigren. The Tigren had possibly gotten to his destination and was now heading back.
I flew down, more closely, to the Wulfren as he marched will steady steps in the middle of the road.

When the Tigren came into his sight, did something build up inside him. When they were just a few meters from each other, the Wulfren charged the Tigren and stabbed him down will his blades. He screamed and stabbed the Tigren even when he was dead. He slowed down after a minute of continued stabbing and got a hold of himself. He looked at the corpse and moved on.

I flew down and landed on a branch nearby and watched the Wulfren as he walked away.
That Wulfren must have hated the Tigren for some reason. The most logical reason would be because of their lost battle against them.

I morphed back into my normal form. I went to the corpse, which now didn't look like a Tigren, but as a tasty piece of food.