Ace was patrolling today, but when something strange caught his attention, he couldn't ignore it. On the furthest edge of rustling thickets, he had found something quite disturbing. He had found a pool of blood not far beyond the borders, and it disturbed him that such an event happened so close to the pack. The first thought that came to mind was that this could have been Ignis or Actaea had they decided to venture near the borders, and whatever had been able to do this, could have made easy prey out of his niece and nephew. He inspected the scene, though he couldn't tell if it was someone he knew or just an unlucky stranger. Remains were scattered every which way, mostly fur, but upon further investigation, he noticed a trail of blood led away from pack lands. This was good, wasn't it? At least the animal hadn't ventured towards Abaven...but still. If it did this so close to the pack, he feared it might return and try its luck. This was probably a potential threat best not left unchecked, so he howled to warn nearby pack members before taking off. Ace decided to track the animal down and find out what it was. He followed the trail for a while, stopping occasionally to make sure he was still on the right track. The further North he went, however, the more he felt unsettled. He came across more evidence of a struggle. Except this time, it was grimmer. More fur was scattered around along with what looked like a wolf's hind leg. His fur began to prickle with uneasiness, but he carried on in his search. As he began to trek into the northern lands, the trail was much easier to follow through the snow. Unfortunately, it also meant more blood was visible which led him to believe that this creature was dragging its victim along with it. He continued to follow the trail through the snow until it ended in the marble wash. Cautiously, Ace surveyed the area and determined this was where the trail ended. Wary, he continued his search down into the wash. It didn't take him long before the crunching of bone caught his attention, and when his gaze looked up, he saw it. Crouching several yards away within the Wash was a massive striped beast. In it's jaws, the wolf that had fallen prey to it. Ace grimly watched as the Tiger crunched on a hind leg, though there was something...strange. "Help...me..." Eyes widened when he realized that the wolf was still alive, and the tiger was merely playing with his life and inflicting as much suffering as possible by slowly eating him alive. "Mother of Gods..." That was all it took for the beast to look up at Ace. It dropped the wolf he was eating and rose to his full height. A fearsome roar echoed throughout the land, and Ace knew he was in for a fight. speech action

Something wasn't right. Dragon had smelled blood in the area, and another, stronger scent that was somewhat recognizable. It smelled feline, but it definitely wasn't from either of his companions. Kimahri and Shiva scouted on ahead while Dragon veered off in another direction. With three of them searching, it would be a lot easier. Little did he know that the beast he was tracking was much more dangerous then he imagined. And they were about to be in for a big fight.

A loud roaring sound echoed around them, catching Dragon off guard. Looking wildly around, he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, but his companions would save him the trouble. Kimahri and Shiva came rushing back, at that point. "There's a tiger in the wash, looks like it's made a meal of someone...and there's another wolf there facing off against it." Dragon's eyes narrowed for a moment before lifting his head. Alright, this beast was too close to his family for him to just want to leave it be. Plus, he should probably check and see if this other wolf needed help. With that in mind, the trio took off to find them.

It didn't take long for them to clamber down into the wash and stand near a white male. Though Dragon didn't recognize his scent, he DID recognize the male belonged to Abaven. "Need some help?"

With his wounds healed, Enrico was ready to... travel with the rest of the pack down south, he supposed. It was strange to think about being a part of the pack when it was no longer his, but Enrico was nothing if not gracious and graceful. He needn't hold a grudge when it was clear that his advancing age no longer made him suitable as an alpha. He would serve the pack he had brought together as an advisor, then, and let the younger male bear the brunt of the other young bucks setting out to test themselves in battle against an alpha. Surely the brawler could handle that. Enrico would just quietly continue to keep the pack working and safe.

He'd been out with Asriel, stretching his legs, when a roar quite nearby startled both he and the cat into silence. Movement caught their eyes, a pale wolf staring transfixed at something. The pair both moved up beside him at once, though Asriel was polite enough to stay on the other side of Enrico out of politeness so they didn't startle the stranger. Before they could get there, a trio of startlingly familiar forms worked their way down into the wash to stand beside the male as well. Dragon, former alpha of Talis. Enrico nodded to the jaguars, though he knew Dragon himself would not see the gesture of greeting.

The sight that greeted them not a pretty one, and the cat that faced them with obvious intent to cause harm to the white wolf, to Dragon and his companions, and now to them, was far, far larger than the spotted Asriel or the sleeker jaguars the former alpha had collected. The fate of the pleading wolf showed quite clearly what their fates would be as well if they failed to either kill or chase off the creature. "Tiger," Asriel hissed with his eyes dilated in a fear that was very rare for the snow leopard. Well now. This would be... interesting.

He didn't move a muscle as he watched the large beast in front of him. The tiger's pristine white fur was smeared with blood, it's blood stained teeth dripping with it as well. It glared at him with a piercing blue gaze, and he stood frozen with uncertainty. Every instinct told him this beast was extremely dangerous, and he shouldn't leave it to continue terrorizing the world. But he couldn't take it on alone...that would be suicide, so what choice did he have but to walk away? And if he did walk away, there was no guarantee that this creature would let him go without a fight. He stood there as he thought about what to do, not realizing that two others had slipped in on either side of him until he heard their voices. One asking if he needed help, and another uttering a single word.

Tiger. So that's what this was? He had never seen one before now. He glanced at each wolf from the corners of his eyes, not recognizing either one of them. But that was fine. It seemed the tables were turned on the feral beast. One tiger against three wolves and...were there more cats? He spared quick glances and saw them. Two Jaguars standing beside the brown male, and a snow leopard standing beside the black male. Gaze returned to the Tiger, and Ace nodded. "You all came just in time. I could certainly use the help."

Alright. Now the question was, how were they going to handle this? The tiger hissed at them, clearly aware that it was outnumbered, but it didn't seem to matter. The wolf at its feet was bleeding out, and Ace knew there was nothing they could do for him. No matter what, they were gonna have to tackle it head-on. But with three wolves, two jaguars, and a snow leopard, they could do this. He glanced at both of the wolves that had joined him, noticing one was blind and the other was older than him. Well, this would make it more interesting. "We should surround it from all sides and attack it that way. It'll be easy with all of us, and it can't attack us all at once that way. Just try and stay away from its teeth and claws," He knew that the dark coated male knew that well enough, so he directed that warning more towards the blind male.

Alright, now it was time to move. Ace took a deep breath as his defenses lined up. He was going to take it head on so the others could surround it. He figured he could take more of a direct hit then the blind guy and the old man, but he wouldn't completely underestimate their abilities, either. Before he knew it, the tiger had roared at them and leaped threateningly towards them, and Ace took that as a cue to action. He rushed forward, jaws open as he sought to run at it. Once close enough, moved a bit more to his own left so he could come at the tiger's right shoulder. Pushing off with powerful legs, Ace slammed his shoulder against the Tigers, effectively unbalancing it for a moment as it lifted a paw to swipe at his hindquarters. Ace danced out of the way before he got close again, this time aiming a bite at the right side of the beast's neck. Again, the tiger swiped at him with a heavy paw, catching Ace's rump with raking claws, but it wasn't enough to deter the dire wolf from continuing his assault. He managed to gain a solid grip on the tigers skin, and he shook his head in an attempt to tear it and make it bleed.

 speech Thought Quote

Dragon smelled a familiar scent as someone else joined him, realizing it was Enrico. He supposed it wasn't a surprise that he'd run into Mask again. After all, as far as he was aware, the male had a pack in the North. He listened to the white male's plan, and Dragon nodded. His companions knew what to do already. They had been together for so long, they didn't even need to really speak any more in situations like this. Dragon took a moment to get himself ready for an assault. He figured it might be a bit difficult, but with his companions help, he could do it. A single growl from Kimahri and Shiva let him know that it was time to move, so he followed them as they circled around the Tiger to come at it from behind.

Once they were in position, Dragon could hear the fight had started, and that's when they moved into action. With a furious snarl, he and his companions rushed in at the tiger's flank, with Dragon aiming to bash his weight straight into the tiger's right hind leg in an attempt to unbalance it. He felt the contact, and almost immediately he aimed to bite at the base of the tigers tail. Meanwhile, his companions darted in and out, landing blow after blow wherever they could with teeth and claws. The tiger was frustrated, evident by the way it was trying to twist and turn to get at both him, and the rest of the assault team. Dragon did his best to keep a grip, but when the tiger twisted around to bat at him (after Ace had let go and moved), Kimahri had tackled Dragon out of the way to avoid the attack. After that, the jaguar went right back to attacking, dancing in and out of range as he clawed and slashed at the beast.

The male who had stumbled upon the tiger quickly took advantage of the added numbers, issuing orders as Enrico studied the situation. The victim of the attack was clearly beyond saving even if they defeated the tiger, and it was entirely likely that he would bleed out long before the dust settled enough to even give him mercy from his suffering. Rationally, there was no reason to attempt to tackle the larger beast. They outnumbered it, and surely any reasoning beast would realize that and back down. But this tiger was clearly in the grip of some madness, and now that new prey in the form of this black and white stranger had appeared it intended to take it's gall out on another canine, so in that, true, there was reason enough to act. He wondered what foolishness could have led the stranger to attempt to act on his own, or if he had simply stumbled over the tableau too late to avoid notice.

The male's plan was sound enough, if the three - six - of them kept the tiger off balance by harassing him from behind whenever he spun to go after another of them. It was a well proven tactic for taking out large predators. He was concerned about Dragon's ability to participate in something that would require him to dodge out of the way of lightning fast blows he could not see, but frankly that was Dragon's problem as long as the male did not stumble in someone else's path in his blindness.

He gave merely a curt nod in understanding after the male outlined his plan, then with Asriel sweeping wide on the opposite side of the ring they formed around the tiger he set forth. Unlike hos temporary companions, Enrico did not rush to the attack. Instead he bided his time until the cat turned on Dragon, then rushing in to slash at its hamstring and leap back out again before the tiger could retaliate, though even moving as quickly as he could he still felt the wind of those claws as they barely missed his nose.

Asriel took advantage of the tiger's momentary distraction to leap full upon his striped back, claws gripping while powerful jaws sought a grip that would sever the spine right behind the skull, but the bite missed it's intended target when the tiger roared and twisted beneath him, and the smaller mountain cat had to leap aside with only a jagged laceration left along the tiger's neck.

The fight had barely been joined, and already the recently healed wounds ached, but Enrico pushed grimly passed the pain. He would undoubtedly pay for it later, though.

The others began to assault the beast, and Ace would not back down. He hadn't intended to fight it, but clearly the tiger wasn't going to let him leave without a fight. So he was very lucky (and glad) when the others had shown up to save his skin before the tiger had made its move. Now though, it was being attacked by all sides and he was sure it regretted sticking around. His thoughts on what the tiger might be feeling now didn't linger very long. As it turned around to try and attack Asriel, Ace leaped forward again and sought attack it from the left side while Dragon's companions bounded in and out nipping and clawing at it. Ace jutted his shoulders out, seeking to slam the points straight into the softer part of the tiger's flank just behind the ribs in an effort to knock the air out of its body. The moment he made contact, he aimed another bite at the tigers spine. Fangs dug deep into its body, and Ace found a crippling hold on the beast to stop it's movements some.

As the tiger tried to twist around to claw at him, Dragon's companions swooped in and began a frontal assault. The female managed to latch firmly onto the tigers nose, while the male jaguar found purchased on the side of its head with the tigers left ear in his mouth. A series of roaring ensued by the predators, and Ace knew they were getting the upper hand.

speech Thought Quote

The wind was knocked from him temporarily after Kimahri had thrown him out of harm's way. He had barely felt the wind from the Tigers attempted attack, and Dragon was thankful that Kimahri had seen it in the nick of time. He could hear what was going on, and with the number of wolves and felines attacking the tiger, he had a feeling it was getting overwhelmed. He could hear the scattered footsteps of everyone involved, and while he couldn't see positions, he waited a bit until he could somewhat pinpoint where the other footsteps were. The snow made it a little easier to do that. He could hear the crunching and where it landed when it was swept up. He narrowed his eyes and flattened his ears against his skull, a growl emanating from his chest as he waited.

A yowl from his companions let him know their position, and when he heard the weight of the white male (who was closest) crashing into the beast, Dragon decided to make his move. He could hear the tearing of flesh and the pained sounds coming from the tiger as its hind paws beat the ground and kicked up snow. Dragon followed the sounds, and as soon as he felt he was close enough, lunged downward to attack the tigers hind legs. His shoulders slammed into the back of it's legs, forcing it to unbalance and fall to the ground. Dragon took the chance he had and turned his head, teeth finding purchase in the tendons on the cats left hind leg. He tore the tendons in that leg, crippling it. Even when the tigers other leg found him, Dragon did not let go. He could feel blood trickling down his face, a stinging pain pulsing on his former undamaged ear. The tiger had most likely cut him there, but he paid it no mind for now.

Enrico stayed back out of reach as the white stranger barreled into the tiger's flank and secured a grip on its back, then Dragon's two companions caught its attention by mauling its face. His own face remained a serious mask, expressionless, but inside a fierce grin blossomed. The striped beast had apparently not counted on the assistance of a trio of only somewhat smaller cats with just as many pointy ends each as the cat himself had. Perhaps he'd gotten too complacent picking on lone wolves and thinking that meant he could prey indiscriminately on other predators.

Coming up beside Enrico, Asriel snarled his own feline snarl and a hiss, adding to the general din surrounding the hated creature he had known distantly from those who prowled near his own homelands. Enrico bided his time, and the cat waited nervously beside him even as Dragon blundered in blindly and seized the tiger's hindleg. There, while the blind male provided a distraction - Enrico darted in, fangs slashing for the tiger's unprotected right flank and opening it in a gout of blood before darting away again. Asriel followed behind with an unearthly screech, heavily-furred paws with their claws unsheathed to slash viciously at the tiger's furious gold eye, claws aimed carefully to blind the creature but also avoid the female jaguar at its nose, before he too bounded back out of the way.

The tiger was weakening. Quickly losing its strength and fire as their assault continued. He released the bite he had so he could get back and catch his breath. He watched the others for a few moments, the alabaster male circling around to the tiger's newly blinded side. He gauged the situation for a moment before determining that this beast could be easily brought down now as it tired and bled out. The female jaguar had a firm grip on its muzzle, attempting to suffocate it. After he caught his breath, he shook himself to loosen his muscles before heading back in to the fray. He charged again, but this time he went for the throat. While the tiger stumbled in the snow, Ace's fangs found purchase on the left side of the tigers neck. His upper canines buried into the side of the neck while his bottom canines dug into its throat. He bit down as hard as he could, attempting to suffocate it and bring it down once and for all! "speech"

The struggle continued, but Dragon could feel the tigers strength was beginning to fade. He continued to tear at the tigers hind legs for a few moments longer before Kimahri informed him what was going on. He released the grip he had and instead chose to go for the tigers spine. If the alabaster Male was going in to try and finish it off, Dragon would aid him in that endeavor by trying to cripple it and bring it to the ground.

He rose on powerful hind legs and brought his forelegs over the tigers back. Head snaked forward, jaws agape as he sunk his fangs on either side of the spine. He could feel muscle tearing beneath him, and soon he could feel the scraping of bone against teeth as he applied more pressure. Eventually he heard the crack, the tigers haunches falling to the ground a moment later. This was it! They had it!