The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.
—Zeno of Citium
Yeti
Yeti stared at her saucer, disgusted. Misty had left her with a meal of salmon pâté. How dare she! Misty had proffered the same cuisine the preceding evening. Sure, the fare tasted fine yesterday, but Yeti could not be expected to eat the same meal two nights in a row. She wasn’t an undiscerning dog.
Leaving the food uneaten, she hopped up onto the window ledge and stared out through the glass. A faint shadow swept across the rocky ledge behind the lodge, a mere wisp or suggestion of shape that seemed to be floating in the sky. A skuttling cloud, perhaps? Maybe an errant leaf falling? A moment later, the wisp darkened into a wide, winged shadow as the creature forming it descended as if to see whether the cat in the window might make a suitable snack.
HAWK! Instinct seized control. Yeti sprang from the sill and skittered under the bed. What is this horrid place Misty has dragged me to?