Precipitation

By Perry McDaid

The wren crept through the briar, keeping an eye on the prowling Ragdoll as it tested the nest-boundary defences. There was a bare patch, but it looked too small for the cat to exploit.

The wren spotted the pink glint of a worm surfacing in the rain and pounced, tugging at it, easing its remaining mass from the burrow. The downpour increased, but the clever little bird had kept in shelter and so was not battered by the increasingly large drops.

The cat retreated beneath a laurel bush and waited while the briar distorted under the deluge.

The patch widened unnoticed.