Seething

The ocelot bristled from her perch in the oak tree. Her claws flicked in and out of functional positions and her tail twitched back and forth. Her eyes were golden flames of rage. Had she been capable of growling, she would have. As it was, periodically she would emit a low, ominous hiss. Her thoughts swelled within her mind, rising and receding in her anger. It rose to a pinnacle and with a ear-splitting cry she slashed at the trunk of her tree. The area she struck was stripped of much of its bark; it was not the first time she had such an outburst. An insect with white wings flapped past and she snapped at it, barely missing the wing. She only wished that the insect had been the tomcat.

She was not about to ask the tomcat to undo what he had done, for in so doing she would do a discourtesy greater than the disservice he had placed at her feet. She hunched her shoulders and bared her fangs. Just thinking about it made her want to strangle something. Admittedly, some of her frustration arose from the strenuous patrolling of the night, but the majority had directly arisen from the tomcat's thoughlessness. She gnashed her teeth and slowly stripped her tree's limb of its bark. With every inward breath she contemplated revenge, with every outward one she tried to ponder forgiveness.

Then her eyes caught sight of the newly arrived moon-glow. It created a breathtaking halo around the distant mountain range. Awestuck, she gazed at the nearly-full moon as it rose. Her golden eyes reflected the huge silver orb and the irrational anger slowly drained from them. Her mind worked over the day's events and she realized that, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was nothing worth getting this worked up about and it certainly wasn't worth slaughtering one of her best friends. She even abandoned her idea of the perfect revenge. Feeling her tense muscles loosen as her rage leaked out of them, she sighed. She could only hope that it wouldn't happen again. She padded to where her limb met the trunk and curled into a small ball. Taking one last breath of the forest air, she fell promptly to sleep.

Tomcat, if you happen to read this (which it doesn't look like you will if the last post of mine you read was Lifeguard Apathy 1.5), know that I'm really not mad at you anymore. However, had you not been approximately two miles away when I found out what you did, we probably both would have gone through a repeat of the fourth grade, if you catch my meaning. But, as I said, I have realized that it isn't a huge problem and I won't be ready to slice off your head the next time I see you. But I would advise that in the future, preferably the near future, you acquire some common courtesy.