You are a cat demon

You stare at the wild rabbit in front of you, itching to make a move.

Your fangs crave the scent of blood, your claws eager to tear your prey to shreds. You suppress your excitement; as a qualified hunter, your motto is speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

You're hiding downwind, and the rabbit can't smell you. It's still listlessly munching on the grass, perhaps because the grass near your hiding place is fresher. It's slowly moving closer to you. The situation is very favorable for you now; it seems this feast is within your grasp.

You secretly adjusted your posture, preparing to strike a fatal blow when the hare got close enough.

"Snap!"

A little sparrow landed on a dead branch, which broke under its weight with a soft thud.

The sound was very soft, but it seemed to be amplified infinitely in the silent jungle.

The rabbit, with its keen hearing, immediately jumped up in fright. You had no choice but to take the initiative and pounce, but the rabbit had already escaped your effective attack range, and you didn't even catch a hair. The little sparrow that caused the trouble had also long since flown away and disappeared without a trace.

A failed hunt is inevitable.

You comfort yourself that it's almost springtime, and the whole jungle will become a bountiful feast, with prey everywhere. You don't have to put all your eggs in one basket; maybe you can catch a pheasant taking a stroll just a few more steps away.

You are a one-year-old male kitten demon.

You have jet-black fur, golden eyes, and are twice the size of an ordinary cat. Aside from that, you look no different from a normal cat. But a cat demon is all about the demon aspect.

You're still a novice, and a 20% success rate on each hunt is already pretty good. After all, cat demons aren't the only kind of monsters living here. Small monsters like you can only stand in the middle of the food chain. You're more than capable of bullying weak herbivores and other small monsters, but if you encounter a big monster or even some carnivores, whether you can survive is another matter entirely.

Just last month, the day after you left your mother to live on your own, you found a wild pheasant with an injured wing by a small pond. Before you could even enjoy it, it was snatched away by a pack of jackals. Jackals are intelligent animals and are good at fighting in groups. Outnumbered, you climbed up a tree and jumped to another tree to avoid becoming their prey.

In this world, the strong prey on the weak, and as a cat demon, your survival will certainly not be smooth sailing.

Your hearing is also exceptional. As you cautiously grope your way forward, you hear a rustling sound above you, and at the same time, you smell a scent that also belongs to your cat demon clan.

Those are your kind.

This guy is very clever; he hides completely in the dense canopy of trees, so you can't see him at all.

Cat demons are all loners and very exclusive. Except for occasional brief interactions with members of the opposite sex, they never associate with each other. If they encounter each other, they will even fight without saying a word.

You're not sure when this creature started following you, but you suspect that if you had successfully caught the rabbit earlier, it would have revealed its true form long ago. Now it's constantly on your heels, making it impossible to concentrate on the hunt. You need to find a way to shake it off, or, if possible…

As darkness fell, birds and beasts began to return to their nests.

The jungle is almost completely dark, which is an advantage for you. Your excellent night vision makes you a born killer in the dark. But this battle may be evenly matched, because the one hiding in the darkness is also one.