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 Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 4:47 am
Every muscle in Kai's body coiled, his eyes eagerly watching the rabbit's darting path. This kid's good, he couldn't help but think -- and, somewhere in the back of his mind, it truly clicked that he was watching a child raised inside of a skilled warrior clan. Surely no one else would teach one so young how to be so quick, and so ruthless. The rabbit darted, predictably panicked, straight for Kai, and he seized the opportunity to lunge forward, bowling the lapine over, jaws aiming for the throat. He missed, unpracticed teeth skimming past the vital mark and clamping instead around a foreleg, shattering it.
The rabbit let out an unholy shriek, a sound like Kai had never heard before in his life, and it startled him. He dropped the now-lame rabbit and flinched.
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 6:22 pm
Kai might not have killed the rabbit outright, leaving it to scream and flop about with a broken leg, but Sudhir knew where to bite. He would never get used to the sound of a usually quiet animal in its death throes, urged faster by the utter terror and pain he heard, and with a great leap he pressed the dying animal to the ground. Tiny teeth flashed as he mercifully tore out the rabbit’s throat, unrelenting until he was sure the last bit of life had been drained, and holding up the carcass he dragged it toward Kai. “Mm!” he grunted, exceedingly proud that they had managed to catch it - usually, it took him and several siblings to stop a fleeing rabbit. He dropped the rabbit at Kai’s feet. “That’s one, then! We should find another!”
He wagged his tail proudly, panting, yet standing tall.
Nothing could be mistaken for the sound of a death scream - shrill, chilling, an echo that pervaded the forest calm and startled Savhir into a standstill. He had heard that sound many times before in his life, and more often than not revelled in the sheer ending terror it meant, but now? Now he heard that sound coming from where he knew Sudhir to be resting, and feeling his blood run cold Savhir broke into a dead run. As a father his job was to ensure that nothing harmed any of his young - nothing - and with a fury that only just masked the terror he barreled with demon’s intent through the forest. If Sudhir had been harmed...
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 8:15 pm
"That was awesome!" Kai said, tail wagging, at the moment every bit as much of a pup as Sudhir. "Sorry I kind of dropped him...but you did great." A thin trickle of blood from the rabbit's leg trailed from his jaws down his throat and chest, and he felt its warmth. For once, it didn't disgust him, but excited him. "Okay...yeah. Yeah, let's get another one. Even two more." He was definitely feeling on top of the world.
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 9:13 pm
“Yes, yes, let’s try for two more! It can be like a feast!” Sudhir cheered, bouncing about and licking his bloody jaws. “I wanna take one home, so I can show my family that I’m a good hunter now. Of course, they’ll think I caught it on my own - I can’t tell them about you, but…”
In Sudhir's family, praise was used sparsely - if used at all - and hearing the blue wolf say he had done a good job prided the little pup further than anything he could have accomplished alone. He felt like a true hunter in that moment, and was ready to catch even a hundred rabbits if it meant continuing the fun.
Savhir didn’t bother with stealth. He didn’t care for tactics or positioning, or planning, or anything that would cause him delay; instead, he let pure instinct guid his paws and tug at his lips, until when he finally did barrel into an occupied glen he was the exact image of a monster. Eyes ablaze and hulking body bristled to massive proportions, he skipped the use of words and instead let his fangs flash in the morning light. He held himself at a half-crouch, tail raised and throat rumbling, and seeing little more than his pup - dripping blood from the mouth - and a strange wolf - dripping blood as well -
It was almost slow motion. Sudhir, mouth open and eyes bright, saw the looming shadow as Savhir leapt - though it wasn’t any form of his father that he recognized. This was a monster who had claws and fangs drawn, who only had blood on his mind, and shrinking to the ground he whimpered. He could make no other noise, horrified as his father went for Kai’s throat.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 7:33 pm
"Yeah! We can -- " but what they could do, Kai never said -- for at that moment, he became aware of massive red form hurtling through the air at him. He screamed, a wholly undignified, terrified scream, and for a split second could only stare in slack-jawed horror.
Kailani, Prince of Kapu'Moana, had never been threatened in his life. He had been schooled in the art of combat, to be fair...but it was a controlled circumstance, and those seaside wolves were hardly the best teachers. The pack had no natural enemies -- aside from the occasional wolf who begrudged their theft of a female or pup -- and saw very little in the way of war. So when Kai had learned to fight, it had been ritualized, stylized...more like a gentleman's fencing match than anything.
Nothing -- absolutely nothing -- in Kai's life could have prepared him for this.
Luckily, for all his soft upbringing, he was still a wolf, and one thus gifted with reflexes, however poor they may be. Without realizing what he was doing, he did what his body told him to do -- drop to the ground, seconds before the monstrous wolf's jaws would have hit his jugular, and roll out of the way, rolling his body under Savhir's and leaping back to his paws.
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Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 7:29 pm
He had missed. Fangs just clipping off a taste of fur and mass flying over the quick-to-duck wolf, Savhir slammed pinion paws to the forest earth and crunched muscles into a nearly graceful spinabout; so this was an opponent who had instinct on his side, he thought briefly, the very corner of his lip twitching in a way that could have been a grin. Instinct only was not a saviour, not for the weak and the whimpering, and this wolf had given a scream that awoke the deepest pits of wrath Savhir possessed. No weakling wolf would make off with his son - in fact, Savhir was certain now that it had entranced his tremble-hearted son with its display of otherwise uselessness, a cover for whatever else it had lurking in its mind.
Ah, so it was. Split second thinking was fine, if he happened to be formulating a working battle plan, but the blue wolf just didn't seem to be warrior material; a swift once-over assured Savhir that he was much too soft and inexperienced to bother creating anything complicated. It would be an easy slaughter. Savhir’s shoulders rolled, his back legs touched earth, and sliding sideways he lashed forward with a rippling of powerful hind muscles - that first miss would be his last miss, and he would make damn sure of it.
But Sudhir knew his father’s attacks well enough to see the intent. He knew that his father could be incredibly agile, despite his packed muscles and bulky body; he knew that a battle at close range would be the end of his new friend, and while he couldn’t stop his father… perhaps he might be of some help. “R-run!” he squeaked, voice crackling and trembling nearly as powerfully as the little pup’s body. “Run, Kai!”
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:18 pm
Kai didn't need to be told twice, and he was on the run before he could think, before he could consciously react. He nearly tripped over his own paws in his rush to escape, and he felt a horrible, searing pain across his back end -- Savhir's attack had missed its prime mark but suffered a glancing blow across his haunches, laying open a wide gash in Kai's side that knocked him forward so hard he barely retained his footing.
The wolf yelped and struggled with conflicting desires to whirl about and face his attacker, and to run. The desires didn't battle for long, though -- he knew that staying would be suicide.
All conscious thought gone, his mind a screaming blank whiteness, Kailani kicked out desperately with his hindpaws, trying to kick his attacker's face and distract him long enough to get away as he leapt forward with every ounce of strength he could muster, blood pouring from the wound in his side, his limbs trembling with adrenaline and pain and terror.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:50 pm
There would have been more blood if Sudhir hadn’t interrupted. There would have been a more severe crunching of flesh and bone, of blue wolf body, if Savhir hadn’t been so distracted by his errant little son, as his tiny, squeaking voice caused a hesitation that had cost Savhir an instant kill. His fangs still raked a hindquarter, and a wound was still rent wide to the elements, but…
Savhir turned a cold grey eye over his shoulder, a punishing blow to his son, before taking up the chase as the invading wolf fled. It kicked up hind legs, a sorry attempt at attacking, that Savhir avoided with a well-placed turn of the cheek, and stretching each tendon to its fullest he lowered his head into a bullying charge. He knew fear was driving this new prey form to battle the territory’s twisting forest floor with astounding speed, and so long as he doggedly followed… while a straight bursting sprint was not his most comfortable pace, he knew the wolf would tire eventually. He’d be there when the wolf fell, already taking deep snapping lunges at the bouncing tail and heels before him. Oh, he’d be there.
In a rush of fur and fangs, they were gone. Sudhir had been left in the stillness of an upset forest, pinning himself as a coward when he found his legs wouldn’t respond to his attempts at standing; it took a great deal of willpower to get his wobbling knees to function again, his ears pressed back and his tail to his belly. He was a coward. But he had stood up against his father, and feeling some strength from that little victory, he forced himself into a quick little trot. Perhaps, if he were to distract his father again…
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:33 pm
Kai was unaware of his young friend's interference, but if he had known he would have pledged his eternal debt to him -- for, surely, it was the pup that had saved him from certain death.
He ran full-tilt, ears folded back and tail curling tightly between his legs less in a display of submission than in a desire to become as small and aerodynamic as possible. In his defense, Kai was lightly built and in good shape despite his easy life; he had spent most of his time at his old pack in training and running, finding it unseemly for a prince to grow soft.
Sensing that perhaps he could use the terrain to his advantage, Kai dove into the woods, taking the most difficult route he could handle. The red demon at his heels surely knew the territory better, but his greater bulk would likely make him a hair less agile around obstacles -- at least, Kai certainly hoped that was the case.
He wove between trees, taking sharp turns between them, his bleeding flank nearly rubbing against the bark. He dove beneath undergrowth, clawed his way around brambles, not minding that his pelt was torn at by the branches and thorns that he purposely sought out.
The river, he thought desperately -- if he could just make it to the river, he was certain he could escape the monster that pursued him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:21 pm
Perhaps this weakling wolf had a bit of sense; smaller and fighting for its life, it managed to take paths that Savhir’s great shoulders and hefty flanks just couldn’t manage. Savhir knew the twists and the turns, the general layout of the land, but he had yet to memorize each mulberry patch and each thorn tangle. He couldn’t let himself be slowed down in the thickening forest, using his powerful hind legs to clear what he could and dodging about what was completely impassible, his path jagged and twisting while his prey wolf was free to power on through. Frustrated that he wasn’t getting closer, nor was his opponent slowing down, Savhir let out a rumbling snarl; still bottling on, still slamming his paws to the earth in agile twists and turns, he had yet to figure out the blue wolf’s goal.
Following a tail-tucked bottom was not helping the bottling, raging fury that Savhir pushed into his bounding limbs - twisting his body through a tight pair of trees and clearing a short bush with little regard, he decided to twist up his path just a bit. To the left of the blue wolf’s chosen escape route the terrain was a bit clearer, an old deer path perhaps that was just wide enough to accommodate Savhir’s bulk, and just catching the sound of a tumbling river… well, Savhir just had to grin. Let the blue wolf take the roughest path toward water, Savhir had a straight, unblocked path that would most likely get him there first. He snorted, then began to laugh, a sound like deep, rolling thunder that escaped his heaving chest and thrummed with utter malice.
Kai had taken a difficult route, definitely, and Sudhir was still just a pup - but the scent of his father and the sight of Kai’s blood along the trees and bushes was more than enough to keep him tumbling along, little legs churning into a painfully slow gallop as he tried to catch up.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:39 pm
A wheeze rose up in Kai's throat, his chest aching; the adrenaline surged through him still, the only thing keeping him running, but his haunches ached desperately and he knew that if he stopped the loss of momentum would cause him to collapse and he would never get up. Whimpering in response to the snarl, half-blinded by terror, he set all of his focus upon the river ahead of him, its familiar tantalizing odor, the gentle sound of it.
Goddess of the sea, he thought desperately, Patron of the Kapu'Moana...if your protection can reach me here...please, get me there safely....
He became aware of the other wolf's absence at his haunch, but he dared not glance over his shoulder, dared not slow his breakneck pace as he bolted for the water. It didn't occur to him that the other wolf would have chosen a more direct path, and when he came into the open air mere yards from the bank, he became aware of another's presence.
Kai broke into the open from between the trees to realize that the red wolf had beaten him, and it was too late to veer his course. Desperately, Kai did the only thing he could think of -- threw on a higher burst of speed and ran straight for the river. He would barrel right into the other wolf if he had to...perhaps, he thought wildly, his momentum would knock the other off his feet, buy him some time...
...Whatever it took. He just needed to get into the river, and quickly.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:22 pm
Savhir had been successful in his goal to reach the riverside first; and there he stood, a bristling barrier to the little blue wolf as it finally burst through the treelines, back toes dug in and morbid grin breaking across his face. He huffed heavily, though more from sheer excitement than from exhaustion, and shuddered with anticipation as he saw the blue wolf pick up speed - so this was to be a game of who stands firmest, then? He was such a fan of games, and now that things were looking up for him… all he had to do was wait, as the blue wolf made it quite clear he was coming on his own. "Come on, then!" he barked, ready to make any side leaps necessary to keep the wolf from entering the water.
And so he braced himself firmly for a grand collision, rocking back on his hindpaws and snapping out with the full force of his fangs. He would grab some part of the wolf, even if it was just the ruff or an ear, already an immovable rock ready for whatever fight his opponent could give. The wolf may have had a bit of an advantage while running, but close-up combat was Savhir's reigning strength.
Sudhir was slow to arrive, but surprisingly not that far behind; he had found the deer trail much sooner than his father, and arrived at the riverbank to see an awful clash of colours. What to do? What to do!?
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:45 pm
Kai considered stopping, but realized it was too late -- his momentum was quickly closing the gap between them, he would never be able to halt himself in time. Head down, the blue wolf-shaped bullet sped forward, veering at the last second to direct his aim at the red wolf's haunches, slamming the uninjured side of his body into Savhir's hindquarters, hoping that the action would spin him about or knock him unsteady enough to allow him to pass.
If nothing else, Kai would be further from the other wolf's teeth...
His eyes on the water before him, he took a deep breath and pressed forward, hoping desperately that his plan worked.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:16 pm
Ah, the impact! Savhir barely felt the slam of his blue rival, taking the bump to the hindquarters as an aid in swinging about for his own bullet-fast attack; fangs sunk into tender flesh, though not the neck or belly he would have preferred, dragging along with momentum and opening yet another back-end wound. To match the other, of course, Savhir reasoned, as he swung about almost full-circle. He could have continued his attack, most likely, could have taken hold of the wolf’s spine and thrown him down before he could leap into the river - where, as it happened, Savhir refused to follow - if it weren’t for a tiny shuffling of paws. Still gripping a mouthful dislodged fur and blood, one silver eye rotated over his shoulder to regard the little shadow of his son… his foolish, stupid, pitying son…
He didn’t need to see the wolf as it finally escaped, a new kind of anger flaring with his nostrils as blood dribbled down his chin. A scowl, then a deep, burning glower affixed a flaming visage upon the little pup, his muzzle still wrinkled and fangs still quite visible. He only gazed at his son for a fraction of a second, head swiveling to see if the wolf had, indeed, reached the river… he was a bit unhappy with his failure to kill but content enough to know that Sudhir had seen the twin wounds. He understood now. He knew Sudhir hadn’t been attacked, and for that he’d let the blue one escape with his life. “You would do best,” he boomed over the water, “to stay clear of these lands! Go on, swim away - but, you’ve been warned. Heed it.”
There was a warning to Sudhir in his words, as well; he could feel it in the way his father spoke, a hidden intonation that suggested he would be punished later. But for now Sudhir was thrilled to see that Kai hadn’t been slaughtered, running almost to the very edge of the water and trying to ignore the utter look of disapproval on his father’s face.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:38 pm
Kai fell face-first into the bank, his haunches giving out behind him, his body trembling as he rolled unceremoniously into the water. He bobbed below it, and resurfaced sputtering -- but he was alive.
He relished the coolness of the water, though it stung his wounds, and he floated downstream with aid only of his forepaws, the bloody trail following behind him. Just before he disappeared around a bend, vanishing from sight, he managed to catch Sudhir's eye...and though his own expression was largely unreadable, it at least did not contain any anger at the pup.
Ah well, his eyes said. At least we got the rabbit.
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