It was like being in a swordfight. Or a gunfight. A duel at wandpoint. A battle of life and death, this: watching for the barest fraction of movement, eyes locked and hackles up, being ready to go kamikaze at a second's notice.
Perhaps not so honourable, a battle to the death in this state, but Aubrey had faced down death more times than he could count in the last decade, considered himself a decorated veteran of war. He'd seen down buzzards and kestrels and red kites; fought off his share of cats and owls, the smug bastards; had nearly died from choking on peanuts, the occasionally larger-than-average worm, and eating dairy, too much potato, and some slug pellets once by mistake; once he had even slipped and fallen into the sink, and scuffled at the sides for hours trying to climb out.
So he could take a stupid fifth-year who thought he could manhandle a hedgehog. Don't you want to fuck off, BUDDY? Aubrey sniffed, with the most angelic look he could muster, and then, when the boy's hand closed around him - he launched his attack. He stuck up his spines as sharp as they'd go against the boy's palms, and then gnawed down resolutely on the closest finger in reach of his mouth, sinking his teeth into the finger-flesh and scrabbling onto it with his front claws, because Church Boy wasn't going to get away easy.
Perhaps not so honourable, a battle to the death in this state, but Aubrey had faced down death more times than he could count in the last decade, considered himself a decorated veteran of war. He'd seen down buzzards and kestrels and red kites; fought off his share of cats and owls, the smug bastards; had nearly died from choking on peanuts, the occasionally larger-than-average worm, and eating dairy, too much potato, and some slug pellets once by mistake; once he had even slipped and fallen into the sink, and scuffled at the sides for hours trying to climb out.
So he could take a stupid fifth-year who thought he could manhandle a hedgehog. Don't you want to fuck off, BUDDY? Aubrey sniffed, with the most angelic look he could muster, and then, when the boy's hand closed around him - he launched his attack. He stuck up his spines as sharp as they'd go against the boy's palms, and then gnawed down resolutely on the closest finger in reach of his mouth, sinking his teeth into the finger-flesh and scrabbling onto it with his front claws, because Church Boy wasn't going to get away easy.
Formerly known as Davis, Elijah Urquart's pet hedgehog.