She'd tracked the beast from the edge of the Armada's territory. Dunkan had been sent back to alert Sirius that she would be away, but she could waste no time. The tiger had dropped its prey when she confronted it. Had it simply run off, that would have been fine and she would have let it be. However, it's prey was the half consumed body of a young wolf. A big cat with a taste for wolf couldn't be left alive. Not so close to her family.

She set off after the creature, blue nose working on high alert. Fighting a tiger one on one wasn't ideal, but if she could inflict a deep enough wound...

The trail led her to a stretch of swampy land. The footing wouldn't be the greatest, but there was no choice. The cat needed to be culled. Sense working at their max, the giantess began slowly and carefully picking her way forward into the mire. The heavy pawprints of the cat were a clear trail, but she couldn't see the beast just yet.

"World-breaker..."

Coding-Alice. Art-Resin.

Lúta worked her way south, the heat of summer was impressive here but it was still far cooler than it ought to have been. There was still a smokey stain in the sky to the north where the volcano still stirred. She'd been sure to give it a wide berth. She did not now where Ragna had gotten to or why the macaque had been delayed but hopefully she could catch up with her companion at a later time.

The noon sun beamed down, it's light greenish as it filtered down through the trees and moss to the swampy ground below. She froze. It was quieter here than it should have been and her ears stood erect, her head twisting around. She had the distinct feeling of being watched.

A growl alerted her to the presence of a tiger just a moment before it lashed out at her. Lúta dove to the side, avoiding the brunt of the beasts attack but it's claws still grazed her shoulder leaving light lacerations. There was something in the beasts scent, something about its mannerisms… there was something definitely not right with this cat and she knew it had every intention of killing her.

She heard the commotion before she saw it. The low, reverberating growl. Then a low roar. The woman threw her weight into her paws, splashing through the swampy land until the beast came into view. Fighting the cat by herself wasn't ideal, but perhaps fighting it with another wolf...

Wasting no time, Resin used the cats fixation upon the other woman to luge forward and sink her teeth into it's haunches. Serrated teeth would slice through flesh like claws through leaves. The big cat screamed and spun, one paw swiping out towards her, but the silver fae was already backpedaling. With the cat in the middle of the pair of wolves, it seemed a little thrown off and couldn't quite decide which way to face, so it circled between them like a shark on land.

Her gravelly tones low, the one-eyed woman spoke. "A wolf eater. If you catch its attention, I'll take out its legs." Easily done with teeth like hers, but also a very dangerous tactic.

"World-breaker..."

Coding-Alice. Art-Resin.

The cat was about to leap again but then another wolf dove onto the scene, seizing hold of the beasts hindquarters. It spun around to face the other woman but then flipped to stare at Lúta. Around and around it eyed the wolves, daring one of them to make a move. Lúta's ears flicked up as the other woman spoke, stating that it was a wolf eater. Now that was unusual and confirmed her suspicions that something was wrong with the cat. That was not normal behavior, even if prey was scarce due to the volcanic eruption.

She nodded then dove forward as the tiger shifted to look at Resin. Lúta's fangs seized the cats scruff as her own claws slipped loose from their sheaths. Her front claws digging into the cats shoulders while her hind claws dug into it's sides. It immediately writhed and flailed, screeching in fury.

A nod of agreement was given and that was all that Resin needed. As the other fae dove forward, sinking its teeth into the beast, the giantess did the same. Bending low, she slid her abnormally sharp teeth through the tendon at the back of the tigers right heel. If the creature wasn't screaming before, it definitely was now.

Spinning, the enraged cat swiped outwards. This time, she wasn't quite quick enough. Claws caught the side of the ashen woman's thick neck. The thick fur of her ruff saved her from most of the damage, but she felt the sting of wounds and knew that the cat had gotten her. No matter. Since the beast now faced her, Resin circled the partially crippled cat. If she could take out the other hind leg, the rest of the kill would be a cinch.

Lúta held on for dear life as the cat whirled around after the other wolf but after a particularly sharp turn she lost her hold and went flying off the tiger, landing with a thud on the soft, swampy ground. Wincing she quickly got to her feet. She saw the blood pouring from the tiger's hind leg that now sat strangely upon the ground. Ok, she saw what the other woman was getting at. Lúta dove forward toward the cat's face, catching it's attention as her claws raked down the left side of the cat's face. It dove towards her as she slipped to the side, doing her best to avoid obtaining another injury.

The woman seemed to understand Resin's plan and, though she had been flung hard, she soon launched another attack. Just as before, the ash and onyx dame dove headlong into the fray, teeth catching the other heel after three attempts due to the cats thrashing. The tendons gave way and the cat was successfully hobbled.

Pulling back to regroup and plan the next course of action, Resin asked the woman "Could you jump it? Draw its attention upwards?" If she could, they could end this quickly and with minimal pain to the now suffering cat. And with minimal injury to themselves. Though the tiger couldn't walk, the front end was still loaded with teeth and claws.

Lúta was forced to dive out of the way again as the tigers claws just clipped her side. Sheesh the cat was fast! She nodded quickly in response to the other woman's call. Lúta leapt toward a tree and swiftly established herself on a lower branch above the tiger's head. From there she reached down, claws raking the top of the cat's head. With a snarl the tiger turned it's head up and stared at her. She snarled back hoping Resin moved quickly for the cat's throat before it decided to take a mighty leap and drag her out of the tree.

The other woman understood yet again and made her way to a low hanging branch that would draw the wolf-killers attention upwards. The situation couldn't have been more perfect. As the cat lowered is arm after swiping up at the tree bound fae, Resins teeth were already piercing its throat. The beast, taken by surprise, struggled and sank its claws into either side of the ashen fae's body. The sharp points poked through, but there wasn't much strength left behind them. With its airway and and arteries severed, the cat struggled it's last and lay dead upon the swampy ground.

Resin released the dead animal and moved back a pace to sit and catch her breath. Adrenaline had kept her from feeling pain, but now it was tapering off. With a grimace, she shot that lone yellow eye towards the female in the tree. "Resin," was all that she could muster.

In a moment the stranger seized the throat and brought an end to the fight. Lúta gazed down somberly at the tiger for a moment. It was a rather sad thing in her eyes but it had been necessary. They were just defending themselves and it was clear that there had been something wrong with the great cat anyway.

Lúta leapt down from her perch in the tree as the other woman gave her name. "I'm Lúta. Thanks for the help. Would you like some help with your injuries? I'm a healer." She didn't have her supplies with her but she figured she could find enough in the swamplands this time of year to be able to help Resin out a little and pay her back for her timely intervention.

A name was given to go with the body and Resin nodded. "Good to meet you, Lúta, and glad to help and have help." She motioned towards the dead cat. "It had killed a young wolf near the borders of my pack. It couldn't be left alive." The giantess also didn't like killing unless it was necessary, but this had definitely been necessary.

Aid with her injuries was offered and the one-eyed woman nodded. "If you would at least look at them, I'd be appreciative." She couldn't see the ones on the side of her neck, but they burned the most. She also couldn't tell just how much she was bleeding since she was covered in so much of the cats blood. Her silver coat ran red down the front and her maw was black with gore. Righting her appearance hadn't even come to mind.

Lúta nodded somberly at the news that the tiger had killed a young wolf near the borders of Resin's pack. That was truly an unfortunate occurrence but now the tiger had been dealt with so hopefully it would not happen again. She wondered how much of the volcanic eruption had disturbed the normal hunting patterns of the large predators in Boreas.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Was the young wolf a member of your pack?"

Lúta moved closer to examine the wounds. The gashes along the woman's neck looked painful but thankfully they didn't seem terribly deep. The thick fur had helped to protect her as well as encourage the blood to clot. The punctures on Resin's side were also not terribly deep but Lúta was always wary of puncture wounds and the risk of infection.

"Let me see if I can find something here to help with the pain and bleeding, and maybe something to guard against infection. One moment." Lúta took off on her hunt for helpful herbs. She was fairly certain she could find meadowsweet here which could help with the pain and slow the bleeding. Meadowsweet was typically gathered in the height of summer so this was a good time to go looking.

As the other woman expressed her sadness at the death of the young wolf and questioned whether or not it belonged to her pack, Resin shot a one eyed glance at the dead cat. "Thankfully no. I came across the tiger carrying the wolf as I was performing patrols of the Armada's perimeter." She was always busy. Everything was business. There was very little pleasure in the large wolf's life. There would be time for pleasure when she was dead, she supposed. Being in control of things was just something that kept her on her toes.

Lúta inspected the wounds. The ones on her neck burned the worst, but long grazes usually did. As indicated by her vast array of scars, Resin was no stranger to wounds. The punctures could get infected as there was no end to the grime beneath a creatures claws.

The blue woman went off to collect whatever she could in the area and Resin waited for her return. She could go home and have Iolaire tend to her wounds, but the less she could make her daughter worry, the better.

Lúta worked quickly to find what she was looking for. Thankfully meadowsweet was a fragrant plant particularly in the summer when it was flowering. She followed her nose a stand of of meadowsweet. She quickly began to strip the leaves from the plant until she felt she had a good amount. The next plant she also used her nose to find. Wild garlic could help guard against infection even if the smell wasn't terribly pleasant. It was getting late enough in the summer that she'd be able to find some smaller bulbs.

Relying on her sense of smell she soon found a small patch of wild garlic. From there she dug up one of the bulbs and seized hold of it. Carefully positioning her jaws so that she had everything she trotted back to Resin. In the tiger fight she'd forgotten about her deer hide bundle.

Luta used her paws to unroll the bundle and set her plants down. "I'm going to make this into a paste and then apply it. This combination of plants will help ease pain, slow bleeding and prevent infection." She felt it important to explain what she was doing. The paste would stick into the fur well enough she shouldn't need to apply extra bandages. Lúta worked the plants into a paste with her fangs. When she felt it was the right consistency and mixture of both she moved to Resin and applied it to the woman's wounds. The taste was terrible but the benefits would be worth it.

Resin sat patiently, waiting for the other woman to return with the herbs to tend to her wounds. If she was able, she would drag the cat back towards her home. The pelt would serve as a nice gift for her daughter. The two women hadn't interacted that much since their paths had merged once more. It would be a kind gesture.

Soon Luta returned and got to work. As she made the paste, she explained it. Resin merely nodded. She understood basic healing. Every warrior needed to. The plants in this place were a little different than what she was used to, and so she was glad to have the help of someone who claimed healing as a skill. "Thank you for your time. If you make extra, I can put some on your wounds as well." She pointed out the shoulder scrape with a gesture of her bluish nose.

Lúta worked carefully to accurately place the right amount of the paste over Resin's wounds. When she was satisfied she nodded at Resin's kind gesture.  "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." She turned so that her own wounds were in easy access. The paste would help ease her pain until she found a good place to settle in for the night. From there she could see what else she could find but Lúta felt that would do for now. She didn't think she'd need bandages or anything more serious for her own wounds. It was an inconvenience certainly but it was something she could endure. She would leave the big cat to Resin. Being a nomad she would only take with her that which was most useful and there were few things from a tiger carcass she could really put to use. Though perhaps… perhaps she might take one of the claws.

"Resin? Would it bother you terribly if I took a claw from the tiger?"

Once the paste was placed on her wounds, Resin did her best to return the favor, spreading the paste on Luta's wounds. Just having something blocking the open wounds from the wind was soothing enough. She didn't doubt that the wounds would heal thanks to the woman's skill.

Once finished, Resin sat once more. The other female asked for a claw almost hesitantly. The scarred fae chuckled deeply, her damaged voicebox making the sound akin to gravel shaking. "You may have them all if you wish. I'll give the skin to my daughter and take the skull for the Armada border. All else is free game." It would take time and effort to remove the skin, but the claws shouldn't take much time.

After the claws were removed, the one-eyed woman offered the barest of smiles to the healer. "Thank you again. Should you ever be in need, call at the Ashen Armada border." With one final nod, the giantess latched her teeth into the dead cat and began to pull it back towards home.

Lúta did her best to hold still while Resin applied the healing concoction to her wounds. She was pleased that Resin had no qualms about sharing and she nodded. "A tiger skin would be quite the gift!" She didn't know for sure what the other planned to do with the skull but if it was to be placed on a pack border she assumed it would serve as a warning of the packs fighting prowess.

Lúta moved to the great cat, whispering a soft prayer of gratitude before she moved to retrieve the claws. She worked swiftly, taking the claws from the front paws. She could use these in crafting projects although she didn't quite know what. "It was good to meet you Resin. Safe travels." She dipped her head and gathered up her bundle, setting off to find a good place to den for the evening.

-exit-