spiny plays with a leaf

A shallow stone basin rose from the damp grass like an isolated highland lake. The water inside lay mirror-flat until a sudden tremor sent ripples skittering across the surface. Near the center drifted a broad crimson leaf, circling sluggishly like an armored prey animal. I crept onto the rough concrete rim, claws digging deep into the pitted stone. Lowering my snout inches above the waterline, I held dead still while the shadow of my sail stretched across the depths. The instant the target drifted within reach, I struck. My conical teeth clamped through the sodden stalk, wrenching it violently from the pool in a sharp shower of spray. This reservoir bows to me.