The day had grown long and night was coming on strong. Although he hadn't touched base with Valkyrie yet, the market was in full swing. He'd already sold a good deal, and soon he'd be dipping into his own reserves. Ah well, if it made his band leader smile, he'd whittle away at his own supply. It wouldn't be the first winter he'd been sober, that was for sure. Something about the bitter cold begged for a sharp, unfettered mind. Come winter, he'd feel alive again. Wolves milled to and fro, still examining wares. Dag sidled off to the side, heading towards his cache deeper in the forest. It was carefully disguised and out of the way, nearby where they kept the slaves before taking them to auction. He spotted a white and brown male sniffing about the now empty slave pens and pits. "Oi, oi, fuck off!" He shouted, jogging towards the stranger. A few yards away, unseen in the shadows, a scrawny lynx froze and slipped behind a tree. wc 186 cumulative wc 186/1500 "dagfinn bellows!"

Oxide hadn’t spent a minute not looking for Eris, and he finally felt like he found a clue. He felt oddly lost since she failed to show up at their designated meeting area and time. He wasn’t one to ask for help, but already he’d been spending time trying to find her family. He debated about seeking out Riva’s help even. He hadn’t heard from his sister since he’d apologized to her. He hadn’t been able to find a trace of Kesali, and he wondered where she went too.

He managed to trace her scent close by, not the exact location but bits and pieces. Now as he stood over the newly emptied pens he knew that she had to be close. The Vikings were likely keeping her. The rust marked boy hadn’t missed the odd frayed bits of leather and rope that could be used to tie a wolf up. His heart plummetted, he couldn’t allow Eris to be taken into slavery. "Oi, oi, fuck off!" Ox raised his head while his hackles raised and he pulled up his lip. Ears to his skull as the inebriated Hjarrandi member told him off.

”Hey, no, you fuck off.” The Nightingale boy growled and lashed his tail in annoyance. He was about to launch into an attack when he was attacked himself. Suddenly the desperate lynx was on his back. Thankfully he’d already set himself into his defenses when he’d been blindsided. ”Bastard! Call off your cat!” He yelled out as he swiveled his head, trying to get his teeth into the lynx’s shoulder to pull it from his back. Oxide would remain unsuccessful as the cat bit deeply into the scruff of his neck. He was lucky his skin was so loose there else he might have permanently lost control of a couple limbs.

WC:312

Oh, great. This was the perfect end to his day. It was just his luck that this idiot had come along and gotten himself mauled by a lone cat, although he understood that the vikings had been trying their luck by offering so much food and drink in one place. Stragglers were bound to be attracted to such a tempting aroma. All in all, he could hardly blame the cat. But Valkyrie would have his head if someone died on market day. It would be impossible to put together another event like this. No one would attend. Grumbling to himself, Dag jogged towards where Oxide was tangoing with the cat. The other male was a fair sight taller than him, making it difficult to get a hold on the cat. Like a fool, he pranced in circles around the two of them while the cat rode Oxide like a bull. He occasionally tried to get a good grip on one of its paws, but it would struggle easily out of its grasp. Finally, he got a good, solid grip on the cat's hind leg and sunk his teeth in deep. There was one thing Dag was good at: digging his heels in and shaking. Like a raging dog, he set his paws firmly and shook the cats back leg to and fro like a rope toy. He could feel the small bones in its paw crunch in his mouth. The lynx yowled and lost its grip on Oxide's back, toppling off to the side. Dag didn't lose his grip, biting harder down on its paw. Through his jaws, muffled by fur and sinew, he grumbled: "Grab hold!" Between the two of them, he was sure they could make quick work of this scrawny cat. wc 293 cumulative wc 791/1500 "dagfinn bellows!"

Ox was still sure the man sent his cat after him as he struggled with the creature on its back. He’d swivel his neck and snapped at the creature’s toes as it clung to Oxide’s shoulders. He should have figured something like this was going to happen. Whenever he saved Eris he had to pay some kind of price. This big of a clue to her whereabouts had a steep price of blood. He hoped it wasn’t an omen of what was to come to get her back in his arms.

He snarled and growled as he struggled with the cat. His rust marked tail waved madly behind him as he nearly forgot about the lynx’s owner until he was beside him. Oxide nearly turned his attacks on the other man before he realized he was trying just as much to get the lynx off him. He knew when teeth hit bone, in addition to the sickening crack the cat plunged its claws deeper into his flesh. As Dagfinn ripped the lynx from him so the cat drug its claws through Ox’s flesh. The Nightingale boy furrowed his brows and hissed through grit teeth as he shifted his body to turn back around to his foe turned friend.

Oxide didn’t appreciate being told what to do, but he didn’t hesitate to follow the viking’s request as he commanded him to grab hold of what was becoming prey. However, easier said than done. Oxide snapped eagerly at the cat’s front, the creature’s claws waving like mad as it focused on him instead of the wolf at its leg. It could only focus on one at a time. As Dagfinn continued to crush its paw the lynx turned back to the viking and aimed its claws at his face.

The rust marked wolf took his chance and aimed his own attack at the cat’s turned head. He aimed to land a killing blow at the base of its skull. Oxide widened his jaws and snapped at his target, feeling his teeth connect with flesh. Ox bit down and didn’t aim to let go as he put pressure on the cat’s vertebrae. It reacted violently, flipping its body around and aiming to land its huge paws on any target.

wc: 376

Dag was slammed in the face by the cat's paw as it swung around, but luckily with the back side of it. He was dazed for a moment, but reaffirmed his hold on the cat's leg as Oxide gripped the poor thing's neck. With another crunch, he felt the fight drain out of the cat along with its blood. Breathing heavily, he let the cat's paw drop from his mouth. All he could taste was blood. It was a fine flavor, sure, but it lacked a certain complexity. Pondering if he could effectively add blood to one of his wines, he spat out a glob of the stuff and turned to Oxide. "Dagfinn ofláti Flindt. Well met, and I swear on my leader's skull that thing wasn't employed by us. All the feasting and such... attracts leeches, you see?" Employed. Snerk. If only they could get a big cat on the viking payroll, but he supposed that he never would feel quite comfortable raiding alongside a feline. They were untrustworthy and flighty at the best of times. "Seein' as it's beat now, would you like to settle in for a drink? I feel obliged after you went through such a hell-raising ordeal. I've got the finest meads, wines, and ciders in all of... wherever the hell we are." Dag cocked an eyebrow. "What are ya doing snifferin' around back here, anyway? Got lost? The main event is that way," he gestured roughly with his muzzle. Noises from the stragglers that attended the feast could be heard whispering through the forest in the opposite direction. Plenty were hanging around looking for a slave or some other interesting bauble come market time. He was having trouble pinning Oxide with the "customer" label  - there was something a little too wild and desperate in his eyes. What could he be looking for back here? He had been a little inebriated when Valkyrie brought most of the captives over, so he didn't immediately make the connection. Truthfully, they had done so well trading in captives this year that Valk had stashed them all over the bleeding place. Dag could hardly keep track of them all. wc 361 cumulative wc 1528/1500 "dagfinn bellows!"