Neith had to pee. There was no way around it, and she couldn't go in the den so she had to leave her tiny little one in the den. Usually Laufey was around to watch her if Neith needed to go out or do anything but she didn't have the time to call and wait for him now. With out anymore hesitation she'd leave the little pup in the den as she escaped out the entrance and trotted a few feet away. She was still in view of the den, and nothing might have come of it if that coyote hadn't just come out of nowhere. When she was almost finished releaving herself Neith would feel teeth around her tail and a sudden jerk back. "Lauf..." the woman would turn to see not the giant who had sired her child, but a much smaller form of a coyote. Her hackles would raise and she'd go to tear into him when the creature would run off. Neith wasn't about to let him get away with that, and she'd charge after him. Not realizing she'd left her den, and the baby inside, completely unguarded. The male coyote's partner would take her chance to sneak into the den, hoping to make an easy meal of the newborns within. She'd be disappointed to find only one child curled within. All the same, she'd take the creature by the tail instead of the scruff and retreat out the entrance of the den. ""

During the night Laufey had grown restless. For unknown reasons he'd awoken and been unable to go back to sleep. Fearing that he'd wake Neith with his tossing and turning the giant had quietly slipped from the den and gone out on a midnight stroll. He'd wandered Yfir - half-heartedly following the border - until he'd almost unhinged his jaw yawning. Taking that as a good sign the brute slowly began to meander his way home. As he approached the den his gaze had become ensnared by a shadow moving down the side of the hollow where his concubine and child slept. Unbeknownst to him neither Neith nor his baby were inside. Immediately he recognized the shadow as the threat - intruder? - and his hackles rose. Silently he shot forward; careful to keep the tree between himself and the shadow until the last second. As soon as the tree was within reach he darted to the side and then pounced on the fleeing creature with a snarl. With a muffled shriek the animal - he quickly recognized it as a coyote - tried to wriggle away with its prize - just as quickly he recognized the baby - and in a matter of heartbeats the situation devolved from a simple fight to a murder in progress. Enraged bellows and pained screams echoed off the redwoods as Laufey tore the little thief apart. His rage ran so hot that the death of the coyote didn't stop him. He continued to shred and shake the small body until it was unrecognizable and blood and gore splattered everything within a six foot radius. The brute broke bones and slung entrails. He crushed through teeth and eyes until the face of the coyote was all but obliterated. Finally, when there was nothing left to destroy, Laufey stilled. His breath left his clenched teeth in forceful hisses. He stood with his legs apart and his head down. From his mouth dribbled a river of blood and saliva. Hellish ichor splattered him all over; there wasn't a part of him that remained unblemished. Finally it occurred to him: where was the baby? His breath caught and fear briefly replaced his rage. He snapped his head around, his eyes skimming over the pools of gore and the bits of coyote that littered the clearing like confetti in search of the tiny white form of his newborn daughter. He began to frantically dig through the remains; flinging big pieces aside and sloshing through puddles in search of her. Where was the damn baby?!

All she had to show for her scuffle with the coyote was a mouth full of fur, she'd snagged a bite out of his butt as he ran away from her. She let him go after he'd gotten far enough away, one of the other pack members would surely find him. Neith had to get back to the den and the pup. She was almost within sight when she heard Laufey's loud roar and immediately her heart sank. Something was very wrong. She'd rush to him in time to see her pup thrown from the smaller coyote's mouth. With all of her effort Neith would rush to collect her child in time to be sprayed by a bucketful of blood. Covered in the red liquid she would retreat several lengths as Laufey's anger was slowly sated by the violence. She would hover over their pup, checking her over once, twice, three times. Where was her little striped tail? By now the pup was squealing in discomfort and Laufey had completely ripped the culprit to pieces. "She's here. She's safe." Neith would whisper before returning to her feet, pup in her jaws. She needed back in the den, a nice meal, and a good warm up. Neith wouldn't hesitate now to return to the den, she'd get the tiny girl a meal and a nice warm tummy to lay by. Then she was going to clean herself, and Laufey of the gore that littered the both of them. ""

Pink spittle shot out of his clenched teeth as Laufey hissed his frustration. He was beginning to panic. How could she just disappear? She'd been right there, right in front of him! "She's here. She's safe." With a start the giant spun with bared teeth, the fierce expression disappearing the moment he recognized Neith. His breath left him in a relieved gust. "Oh," he breathed. "I was afraid there might have been others." "Is she alright?" Stepping closer Laufey moved to inspect the tiny pup. She was just as splattered as he but she looked well enough- He squinted. Stepped closer. A growl left his lips as he eyed the space her tail used to occupy. Had he done that? His thoughts drifted back to the moment he'd discovered her in the coyote's jaws. She'd been hanging upside down, dangling out of the little beast's mouth by her back legs. No. That wasn't right. She'd been hanging by her tail. It was clear that Eisleif was, at the very least, uncomfortable. She squirmed in her mother's grasp, her little voice occasionally reaching his ears. Gently the brute reached out to lick at the baby's ears in an effort to soothe her. "She needs to be seen by a healer."

To see the fierce reaction to his child's potential harm was incredible. He was every bot as powerful as his large form suggested and Neith had no doubt he could have easily done the same to her he had the coyote. Now Neith wasn't about to speak with Eis dangling in her jaws, so she would let her father look over her for himself. He'd see what she had, her tail was gone. As he suggested she be seen by a healer Neith would nod softly, not wanting to disturb her little pup more than she already had been tonight. Stepping around to fall in at his shoulder Neith would follow Laufey to said healer. She still wasn't completely sure of everyone's name and occupation. Finding herself a bit nervous her tail would twitch behind her. Had this been preventable? Was there something she could have done to keep Eisleif and her tail united? Would this be blamed on her? Would she lose her pup? Ears would cling to her skull as impossible possibilities ran through her head and she held tightly to her baby. ""