Hijil frowned, briefly, at the marks. She could follow the Oban - he did not know how to cover his tracks in the jungle, and would be easy to trace, even from the trees. From the blood, he had a leg wound and would likely not get far, both because of general mobility and the predatory nature of her jungle home. She knew she probably should follow him and track him down, if only to save his life by taking him prisoner. Or to see what he was up to, this far from Neued.
But the Radaku bothered her. It would become worse, she knew, with every passing day, more and more feral and hateful. She knew it could be someone else's problem - she could let someone else put it out of its misery - but she had been watching it for days. She felt that she knew the beast more than anybody else in Neued. She felt she had a connection with it, a pain they both shared. Perhaps not the same pain exactly - her loss was more broad, amorphous and confused than the definite of losing a friend and a master. But it was the same species of pain, and she felt, odd though it seemed even to her, that she should be the one to kill it.
Besides, the Oban could survive a little longer.
She followed the Radaku back to its battlefield. She made no attempt to hide herself - she knew it knew she was coming. It was waiting for her, teeth bared, eyes insane, its tail filthy and lashing as it crouched, snarling over its master's rotting corpse.
She said nothing and did nothing but approach, her arms tingling with the certainty that she had to kill it. Her pity demanded it.
She knew it hated her. She knew it blamed her as it leapt at her, claws flashing desperately. She guarded, letting them skitter harmlessly on her bracers. It sailed over her, stumbling slightly as it snapped at her. She obligingly moved back, towards its master's corpse.
Her movement made it howl in rage, and it charged - uncoordinated, unintelligent, and ferocious. Hijil ducked and grabbed its legs, throwing it hard into the ground. It wriggled, and she punched it, hard, in the jaw, stunning it.
She only had a moment, she knew, before the fight would resume. She only had a moment before she would have to kill the beast painfully. She struck it at the back of the neck again with a chop that, she hoped, would dispatch it.
She felt it wriggle weakly beneath her, and knew it had not. She knew she could still make it fast and painless. She stuffed its face in the mud, holding it down. It struggled weakly, trying to breathe, and then struggled no more. She waited, then listened for its heartbeat.
Silence.
She felt sorrow and relief, and she stroked its mangy fur. "I'm sorry." she said, hefting the lifeless creature up and laying it beside its master. "Rest, now."
And then she left them there, her duty done.
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