Bright royal purple gaze didn’t catch sight of the leopardess until it was too late. Suddenly there was movement out of the corner of her right eye, and as Twig shifted to get a better look the spotted cat leapt from the underbrush. The Memoire girl felt her heart leap out of her chest as she barely avoided getting a face full of wicked sharp claws. The cat was only a few inches shorter than herself, but Autumn was as quick and agile as they came. The blow from the leopard’s right paw landed aimlessly to the leaf littered ground below.

The sun was at its height, soon summer would fully arrive and the rays would be much more harsh. They filtered through the leaves and splattered over Twig and her opponent as they faced off, her own lilac gaze pitted against the vibrant yellow of the leopard.

Twig couldn’t fathom the reason she was being targeted until the sight of two young cubs greeted her through the shrubbery across the way. The girl had almost walked right into them. She had been exploring, having lived most of her life on an island the rest of Boreas was huge. There had been no end to new sights to see. Today she had been exploring the waterfall when she had so rudely been interrupted.

The leopard didn’t give her much time to let her mind wander and the two of them were at it again. Normally leopard didn’t like to mess with wolves, but Twig was alone and without backup. Plus, there were two adorable cubs to protect. Autumn retreated backwards as the cate swung at her again. Its eyes slits as it watched her with intense focus. The cat lifted its heavy lips and hissed menacingly at the she wolf she she continued to retreat carefully. She knew not to break the leopardess’s stare. Their killing blow was to the back of the neck, turning your back on a cat like this was bad news.

Autumn knew she couldn’t keep retreating though, and felt her body fall into defenses naturally. Her hackles raised and her ears fell to her skull while she distributed her weight evenly between her four paws. Ivory tail lashed out behind her as she curled her own lips up to show off her impressive fangs. She growled deeply, not wanting to tango with the cat today, but knowing the confrontation was far from over.

The Memoire girl coiled her haunches, feeling the power well up in her tiger striped hips as she readied her counter attack. Suddenly the both of them were rocketing towards each other. Twig feigned to the right as the cat veered her attack in the opposite direction. Twig managed to dodge the cat’s claws once again. Now she was feeling a bit more brave, maybe a little over confident in her ability. However the idea still popped up and she kind of loved it.

Autumn was going to take a cub.

They hadn’t retreated back into a den like mommy should have taught them, both stared at the ensuing fight wide eyed. She couldn’t tell if they were frozen stiff in fear or fascination. Now that she had a better view of them she realized one was quite a bit smaller. Probably a female, and likely lucky to still be alive. She was a hunkered lower to the ground than the bigger cub, but Autumn had a good aim on its scruff.

As the leopardess turned around to attack again Twig put her power into speed. Her paws moved swiftly and she ate up the ground before mother or kitten could do anything. The Memoire girl opened her jaws and with incredible aim grasped hold of the loose skin and pulled the cub free of the weeds.

Twig hadn’t anticipated the creature’s weight. It was heavy, and was going to slow her down a whole lot more than intended. However, she already had a decent lead and thought she might try to escape. It was possible the mother cat would grab the other cub and just cut her losses. The girl ran, she wasn’t sure if she had ever moved her legs so fast. To her folly, it was not fast enough.

A sudden pain raced through her spine as she felt the cat’s teeth dig deep into her scruff. Autumn couldn't help but cry out in pain, losing grip on the kitten as she slowed to try and shake her assailant off of her. She could feel her blood start to pour down her shoulder as the leopard’s claws dug deep into her flesh. The Memoire girl tried to keep her head as she barely avoided tripping over the cub she had just dropped.

She shook herself violently as her paws gained traction, her effort combined with the distress calls of the kittens removed the mother leopard from her back. Autumn heaved as the beast ripped its claws from her shoulders. All of the cats disappeared and Twig’s legs gave out from beneath her. She whimpered softly as the vibrant red liquid stained her ivory fur. This was a crummy start to her adventure.

wc: 865

The sun was high within the sky and Allegro was hard at work trailing the herd that normally stayed close to Abaven. He had been keeping careful tabs on the herd hoping to get together with one of the alpha's to plan a pack wide hunt on the herd. Today he was frustrated to find that the herd had moved overnight. He was also frustrated to find not one, but several tracks of puma fallowing the herd's trail. He was going to be really upset if the puma's drove the herd far from the pack because he had put a lot of work into keeping them close by and keeping others away from them right now.

He was determined to find them and he wasn't stopping even after they had traveled through two territories. Something made him stop though, the cries of an adult puma and kits made him on edge. They were nearby his current location and he knew better then to cross a mother with young ones. This had to be the same family who was trailing the deer herd and something had the family worked up. He stood in his spot listening and sniffing the air to determine what was the whole uproar. He heard a cry out in pain that he could have sworn came from another wolf and his hackles instantly raised. If this cat was attacking another wolf he couldn't let the cat hurt them. He instantly changed his course and headed straight for the danger, not even second guessing his decision.

He had gotten there too late and found a pale form laid out on the ground, bleeding. The cats were gone and Allegro moved over to the female looking over her wounds before looking to her royal purple eyes. He was no healer and with her injuries he needed to get her help, as fast as he could manage. He was bigger then her and he wondered if he could simply carry her on her back.

"Miss I can take you back to my pack for our healers to care for your wounds," he offered.

"Speech"

Surprisingly the she wolf was not left alone to sit in her own blood for very long. She might have eventually recovered on her own, but help would be appreciative. For a moment she felt a sense of fear, she didn’t know if this man meant her ill will. He seemed to take a good long look at her before she found his bright blue gaze at her own. She had coiled as much as was possible, but she was feeling a little woozy now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. ”Miss I can take you back to my pack for our healers to care for your wounds," his words seemed honest enough. She had scented a pack nearby.

”That’s probably my best course.” She managed as she felt the effects of her encounter start to weigh on her. Suddenly realizing she was exhausted. Twig took a few deep breaths, feeling the blood continue to seep down her fur. ”How.. How far away is it?” At the moment she wasn’t even sure if she could pull her feet underneath her. Of course she was going to try, she rearranged her paws and pushed herself from the ground.

She swayed gently as she made it to her feet and looked at the man who had happened upon her. He was mostly pale, with a few creamy markings she could make out. ”I’m Twig. Or that’s my preferred name, you can call me by my birth name Autumn if you want.” She rambled, feeling loose tongued with the loss of blood.

He was worried as his blue gaze looked over the the blood coming from her wounds. Abaven was not far away, but he was worried with the blood he was seeing that even she wouldn't be able to make it that far. She was at least aware enough that she was able to take in what he said and to even reply to him, which was a god sign. She agreed that it would be her best course of action which Allegro felt it was in fact the best option. She would then ask how far away it was.

"It is the next territory over, not very far," he said.

Once she tried to get up he moved to stand beside her good side (the one not injured) To allow her to press into him to help get her to Abaven. He didn't care if blood would get on his pelt, right now she needed help. She introduced herself giving both her birth name and her nickname and allowing him the option of what to call her.

"Allegro, it's a pleasure to meet you, but I wish it was on better circumstances then this," he said with a soft smile. "Please feel free to lean into me to help balance yourself as we move."

"Speech"

Her breaths began to slow, and the adrenaline lost its touch as Twig swayed gently before her savior. He answered her quickly, making note of the distance they had to go. Autumn looked up with half-lidded gaze as her weariness became more noticeable with every moment. This task might be more difficult than her fight turned out to be. The alabaster man was quick to offer himself as support, with their size difference she took heart in knowing if she passed out he would be able to at least drag her the rest of the way.

Twig was a fighter though, and she was determined to make it on her own four feet. She hesitated a moment in taking advantage of his offer, he gave her his own name. Allegro, it rolled of the tongue in a lovely way. Even through the dire situation she was in he gave her an encouraging smile as he coaxed her into utilizing his shoulder.

At this point she was about to fall over anyway, and happily let herself fall gently against him. She let out an involuntary sigh of relief. Suddenly she felt safe, and all at one the pain really started. Twig tried to stifle a soft whine as her wounds began to ache and her face set into a grimace.

”Lead the way,” she told him, her voice conveying urgency. Twig might have added an amusing quip as well, but just standing was taking much of her focus. She would lean against him the whole time, and her determination alone would get her to the border.

-exit Twig?-

He stood strong as she gently fell into him and used him to keep herself up. She let out a soft whine and stifled whine and Allegro could sympathize. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling with those wounds that the cat had inflicted to her. He hoped that they could both move fast, but he wouldn't push her. He would go as fast as she was up to. She then spoke telling him to lead the way with urgency in her voice and he moved forward. Taking it easy at first then increasing their speed until he felt he found a comfortable median.

Abaven wasn't far and he was determined to get her there quick, to get her there before she would pass out. He wanted to get her treated so she could recover and didn't want her to die on him. Abaven was full of experienced healers and she would get better. He was sure of that.

-exit Allegro with Twig-

"Speech"