Hattori was aware of black tigers, noted they tended to be larger and more vicious than most he had met, but this creature seemed to be in its own entire tier. It had been decimating the local deer population, often dragging prey back to the Wraith's Woods whilst they were still alive. Their pained bleats and cries carrying through the usually still and quiet night air. Hattori usually did not care what other predators did outside of his realm, but he felt as though now was the time to act. And what better companion to bring than the newcomer Hage.

Hattori paused, scenting the air as his nostrils flared. It was nearby, but where?

"Be cautious, this tiger is not like most you have seen."

And then as if responding to his words, the beast rushed out of the blackness, teeth bared and claws at the ready.

Hattori had an air of certainty around him as they made their way through the woods that also appeared to be some sort of maze. It seemed these lands were just one natural maze after another, and Hage found himself sticking as close to Hattori's side as he could without actually physically touching the larger man. His steps were quick - three or four to one long stride - as he kept pace, his ears, nose, and eyes searching around almost haphazardly, waiting for something to strike out of the darkness. Hage planted his toes in the dirt as Hattori paused, silvery eyes squinting into the darkness as the larger man spoke. He nodded, a soft hum of acknowledgement rumbling in his throat. There were barely a few seconds between when Hattori spoke and the tiger exploded from the darkness ahead, and Hage found himself skittering backwards, a silent snarl plastered on his maw. His ears flattened upon his skull as he arched his back, almost catlike, in an attempt to appear larger and more formidable. Likely it didn't do much, but he was trying dammit. Hage then rushed forward, making his body as low as possible to the ground as he could, and tried to grab at one of the tiger's forelegs with his jaws. He was too short to reach anywhere vital, but if he could distract the tiger enough perhaps Hattori could get a good strike or two in. Fighting 1/3

Hattori's gaze snapped to his subordinate, ready to shove the beast off of him if he had to, but thankfully the little koi was remarkably light and swift on his paws. And even already on the offensive, jaws snapping as he made to grab onto a forelimb, anything to slow the beast down and chip away at its defences. Hattori had no intention of letting the little warrior do all the heavy lifting, he dashed in and shoulder checked the tiger as hard as he could, the thud of their bones meeting one another audible in the silence of the Wraith's Woods. The tiger stumbled with a snarl and whipped around to slash at the Kaicho, only to stumble again as it realised it didn't have use of all four of its paws.

Hage was pulled forward as the beast stumbled, and he had to put all his weight back onto his hind paws just to keep upright. A quick glance out the corner of his eye assured him that Hattori had reacted just as quickly, presumably using his weight to their advantage in this fight. A low snarl finally escaped his clenched jaws as the tiger stumbled once again after attempting to slash at Hattori but falling short due to Hage's hold on a foreleg. And he wasn't about to let go now. Making sure his bite was steady, the small koi moved to shove the tiger's foreleg under its chest towards its hind end, wanting to tip its centre of balance forward so it either fell on its face or had to take a moment to re-adjust which would give Hattori enough time to get a strike in. Of course it was just as likely Hage would get squished beneath the tiger, but he was used to getting stepped on. Fighting 2/3

The black tiger rushed to readjust its position, snarling in frustration as it quickly realised what was going on, what they were trying to do. It was as cunning as it was dangerous, and instead of slashing and slicing at the air it launched itself around, spinning on its paws as it attempted to shift the tide of battle. This time, hoping to capture the small koi wolf in its grasp and maul it. Hattori's pale eyes widened a little as he realised the tiger's intent and made to grab at it's tail, but the beast was faster than he'd anticipated, and his lunge missed by a hairs' breadth.


"Speech"