Walking beneath a cloudless sky, Clove is nearly melting beneath the heat of the Auster summer sun. The sand beneath her paws is warm, an expanse of golden, towering dunes stretching out as far as the eye could see. Vultures circled in the sky above her, and for several miles, they followed her. Waiting to see if she would make it across the desert. But Clove wasn’t a beginner navigator anymore; she knew how to conserve her energy, to stop and rest in the shade of the mangroves, and to take slow drinks from the canister of water she’d brought along. And despite the harshness of the desert, it was teeming with life; small creatures scurrying near the roots of the mangroves, while birds of prey roosted in the branches. If they could make a life out here, Clove could pass through on her way to Tojo Kai. She was sure of it.

She’d entered an area rich in dragon mangroves, creating an oasis of sorts. She’d stop to study them closer, in awe of their beauty. Their roots coiled and twisted, creating patterns in the sand at their bases. Gnarled branches spread out and intertwined with others, creating natural archways and a canopy of leaves. The temperature had dropped drastically beneath the mangroves, providing temporary relief. But it wouldn’t last long.

She heard the snarling before she saw them; a pack of dingos, whose territory she’d unknowingly entered. They emerged from behind the towering trunks of the mangroves, bearing their fangs and ushering her out of their oasis. Clove didn't think. She acted purely on impulse, morphing into a fight-or-flight response. Her paws scrambled beneath her, legs propelling her deeper into the oasis as she ran away from the danger. But this elicited a predatory response from the dingos. They started chasing after her. 

Frantically, Clove is searching for a way out. But all she can see is dragon mangroves, each blending into the next and creating a mangled mess of forestry. She couldn’t outrun them forever. She couldn’t fight them either. She needed a way to hide, to get out of their reach until they became bored and left. 

A juvenile mangrove appeared to her right, and Clove pivoted and ran straight for it. Leaping up against the trunk, frantically pulling herself up into the low-hanging branches. But she wasn’t fast enough. A dingo caught her back right paw, trying to pull her back down and she screamed. Kicking it with her other paw, she wedged herself loose. Climbing up onto the branch and holding on for dear life, as the pack leapt up and snapped at her repeatedly. Missing her by inches. Blood dripping from her paw and onto the sand below. 

She was terrified. 

"Clove Carpathius"

Tojo-Kai had been keeping him unusually busy. With the departure of Kuroo and some of his siblings to Nihon for a visit to learn some culture, Akito had been expected to pick up some of the slack. Reeling in netting, fending off predators, patrols, lessons, and whatever else the Kaicho requested of him. To a fault that may or may not be working against him, Akito was loyal. He was loyal to his family and his pack, but he couldn't deny that his mind often wandered off to Clove. The Hallows truly weren't far from their lands so he hoped to go visit more often, but alas, there he was stuck. On that particularly warm day, he left early to patrol the borders. Starting south along the sea and making his way westward and north toward the grove full of dragon's blood trees. Akito took his time. The sky was cloudless for what was expected of southern Auster, making the sun unusually warm against his dark coat. His tongue began to loll from his mouth, panting quietly as he makes his way further north. Keeping close to the outskirts of the bamboo, he ensures the scents lining the border stand out loud and clear. This was Tojo territory and they wouldn't tolerate trespassing. His mind wanders, thoughts mulling over his daily tasks when a commotion brings him to reality. A stray dingo pisses along the bamboo with not a care in the world. Akito can't help but let out an annoyed sigh at the mangy mutt as he rushes forward to scare the thing off. Instead of running as the mongrels normally did, this one turns on him, snapping and snarling. Taken aback for a moment, surprised at the ferocity of the dingo, Akito shifts into a battle-ready posture. As he lunges, aiming to grab ahold of the dingo by the snout, the dog takes off into the grove. Unwilling to allow the dingo to live any longer for such atrocities, Akito follows it. His paws hit the ground running, head lowered and ears back as he snaps at the heels of the dingo. What he doesn't know is that he's practically being led to a trap. A trap of more dingoes. In normal circumstances, Akito may have been slightly worried for his wellbeing if he were to face a whole pack of them by himself, but what he saw instead worried him even more. Dangling from a tree, blood trailing from her paw as the dingoes leapt into the air like snapping piranhas, is Clove. Skidding to a stop, cloud pluming around his legs, he feels his heart skip a beat before thumping hard against his chest. He truly can't believe it. Eyes stare, unblinking at the scene until he hears her. Clove. It's all he can think of as he blindly dives in to drive the dingoes off. I have to save her. The words repeat over and over as he grabs a dingo by the scruff and flings it off to the side. He feels their teeth clamping down on his skin, on his legs, on his sides. Unsure how many of them there are, he doesn't care. If he can provide enough of a distraction so she can get to safety, he would die trying.

Wrapping her forelegs around the tree branch, Clove held on for dear life, trying to ignore the pulsating, stinging feel of the bite on her forepaw. Blood kept trickling from the wound, splattering on the ground but Clove didn’t notice it- she was occupied with keeping herself in the tree, knowing the dingos would eventually tire out and leave her alone. But dang, they were relentless- throwing themselves against the trunk, causing the branch to bow and sway, leaping up and snapping at the air just beneath her perch. What has she done to upset them so badly?

Another slam against the trunk and Clove was almost dislodged from her perch, her claws scraping against the mangrove as she struggled to keep herself upright. A wave of panic shot through her, the impulse to call out for help rising in her mind. Right now, she needed a knight in shining armor, a gallant hero who could protect her from the vicious beasts! And behold, the perfect boy for the job appeared out of nowhere, like a white knight riding in on a stallion.

A flash of grey emerged from the underbrush, diving into the fray and grabbing a dingo by the scruff. “Akito!” Clove yells, astonished to see him but grateful all the same. They start to circle him, taking turns leaping in and biting him but Akito is fierce and relentless- but he’s only one man. He couldn’t do it all alone. Clove needed to be brave. She needed to help Akito. She couldn’t watch him be eaten away by the dingos.

“Ahhhhhh!!!” With a little battle cry, Clove was leaping down from her perch, landing on top of a dingo with an oof. It broke her fall, one of its legs breaking beneath her weight - she didn’t weigh that much! It just fell at a weird angle. - which made it release a loud, ear-pricing yelp. Scrambling to her paws, Clove backpedals and watches the dingo limp away. One of its companions whirls around, sees her, and lunges at her. And Clove freezes.

"Clove Carpathius"

The trill of her voice calling out his name nearly distracted him. Was she is more trouble? From his peripheral, she’s still in the tree so he remains focused on the dingos at paw. Now becoming surrounded by the mongrels as their attention turn from her to him, he knows he’s outnumbered. They aren’t afraid either - they see it. They know he’s only one against several.

But he’s larger, stronger, smarter. As they lunge in, jumping him from all sides, he takes them on one by one. The dingo he’s grabbed by the scruff, he whirls it around to smack another that’s latched onto his shoulder. Knocking them into the dirt, he spins to grab at another one on the opposite side.

Distracted by the mob of dingos, he barely hears Clove scream and fall over the din of clacking teeth and rippling snarls. He spin around toward the tree, lunging for a dingo, grabbing it by the neck. Shaking it fiercely until its neck makes loud a snap, he drops it as he sees Clove freeze in front of a very angry and hungry dingo.

Akito rushes forward as the dingo lunges for Clove. He forgets about the rest that pull and tug and hold him back from reaching her faster. A guttural noise rips from his through as he pushes, trying to intercept the dingo from attacking Clove. He barely reaches in time, lunging forward, teeth clamping down on the dingo’s hind leg.