Askan hadn't intended to wander this far south. The colder, more temperate, climate of the north suited him better, but an awful case of itchy paws kept him wandering, meandering around Boreas like a transient, grumpy ghost. Exploring was all well and good, he'd stumbled upon a few places of interest but the same couldn't be said for Gambit Briar. It was a bit of a shit hole to be honest. The terrain was rough on his paws, dense with tangled branches and thorns that and tugged at his coat, like the trees never wanted him to leave. The going was slow, arduous, as he carefully picked his way over rocks and around the sharper, grabbier looking briars. But he wasn't careful enough, it seemed.

"Fuck!" He hissed with a dramatic wince as a thorn left a clean, but shallow cut along the line of his snout.

He wrinkled his nose, going cross eyed as he tried to inspect the damage. It stung like a bitch but even with no medical knowledge at his disposal he could tell that a little nick on his muzzle wasn't going to kill him. Probably. Bit of a shitty place to cut himself though, no matter which way he flicked or twisted his tongue he just couldn't reach it. He supposed he ought to be relieved though, it could have been worse,  he could've stabbed himself in the eye and then what would he have done? Stumble around blinded and in pain till he got stabbed yet again by another vindictive bush? Askan snorted at the mental image and his tongue darted out to wipe away at the blood that was rolling over his lips. It was bleeding a little more than he'd anticipated but whatever, he'd just loop back to the stream he'd passed earlier and clean it up. No biggie.

He'd only made it about half way there before he felt like something was wrong. At first it was a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, then he noticed that the forest had gotten awfully quiet, that the birds in the canopy above had stopped singing. His ears flicked forward, listening, and it was then he noticed the pin prickle sensation of something looking at him. Watching, waiting.

He tensed, his hackles stiffening as his lips curled back into a snarl. He was all snapping teeth and ferocity as he stood his ground, egging his stalker on to cut the crap and reveal itself. And then it did. Stepping out of the brush the cat was bigger than he'd ever seen, low and slinky with a black pelt and angular pointy shoulders.

What a dumb beast it was, did it truly think a little bit of blood was enough to put Askan out of commission? Pfft, what an idiot, like he'd go down that easily. With a thundering snarl, Askan lunged forward, jaws snapping as he made the first move.

As winter fully engulfed Boreas, Mæva started sticking more to the south and west. It wasn't that she hated snow necessarily but she didn't care to deal with cold temperatures on long trips for one thing. For another she found herself wishing to carve out a territory that felt more like home. Her favorite spot was quickly becoming the Algoma Prairie where she could practice her hunting. She'd be a yearling in the spring and the milestone was so close she could almost taste it.

Curiosity drew her farther south as she sought to get a better feel for the surrounding lands, right into a tangled mess of briars and undergrowth. Mæva snorted. This had to be where those rabbits fled to when they just slipped past her jaws. Mæva moved slowly and carefully, grumbling every so often when the thorns grabbed at her fur. She pulled herself free just in time to see a series of burs stuck to her coat. Aw crap…

Double crap! She pulled herself from one sticky situation into another as she found herself caught in raspberry brambles. To make matters worse she heard a snarl nearby. Mæva coiled her legs beneath her and leapt just a black panther backed right into her. The cat jumped and yowled in surprise as Mæva whipped around, hackles raised and equally startled. Something was off with it, it didn't smell right and it looked right at her then leapt. Mæva squeaked and dove to the side, diving under the brush as the cat's claws nicked the top of her hips.

With its claws swiping at the air Askan couldn't even get close to the cat, let alone land a hit. He tried dipping low, weaving to the side to grab a hold of a leg, only for the cat to ward him off with a slash that barely missed ripping his face to shreds. It was becoming increasingly apparent that fighting the cat head on just wasn't an option. Thus far he'd managed to avoid getting hit but he had a feeling that the cat was wising up to his antics, that if he tried to grab a hold of one of it's legs again it wouldn't end well for him. But at the same time he noted that the cat wasn't pressing the attack either, it was simply holding him at bay, making a big huff and puff about it too. The Selwyn had a suspicion that the cat was unfamiliar with wolves, or at the very least it had never fought one before. It didn't know what he was capable of and as such was being cautious; playing it safe and simply warding him off, waiting for Askan to make a mistake.

Well now that Askan knew the rules of play the ball was in his court.

He darted forward, tail arched high and teeth bared in a very showy, convincing bluff charge. The cat stumbled back, intending to give itself more space- only for it to yowl in surprise. as it backed into something. Askan's steps faltered and he stumbled to a stop, eyes wide and hackles falling. Before he could even figure out what had happened the cat whipped around, clawing at the newcomer with renewed fury, as though they'd be it's opponent all along. To hell with that.

Askan rushed forward once again, seizing the opportunity with jaws opened wide. Colliding with the cat, he clamped down on the back of the it's neck, hard, and shook his head in manic, rough motions. Ripping and tearing and generally holding on as tight as he could.

Mæva had buried herself deep in the underbrush, twisting to try and get back around so she could see where the cat was and if it still posed a threat. If it were a healthy cat it might leave her be if she was leaving its territory but she couldn't quite tell what was going on with this one and didn't' know what to expect from it. It was screeching in pain and she peeked out of the brush to see a wolf seizing it by its scruff and shaking it.

Oh! She'd been so caught up in saving her own skin she hadn't noticed the man. Feeling like she at least ought to help she slipped quietly from the brush then darted forward, coming in at the panther's right hind leg at a perpendicular angle. Her fangs sank into the leg, just above the knee and she also started shaking her head to do as much damage as possible. At that moment the cat kicked out, the hind paw striking her in the chest and pushing her back into the raspberry brambles.

Askan held on for dear life as the cat shrieked and flailed, doing everything in it's power to try and shake him off. He clamped down so hard his jaw was starting to ache but even that wasn't enough, he was slipping, barely holding onto the loose skin of the back of its neck. He had to readjust his grip, to grab a hold of the throat if he stood any chance of taking the beast down, but he knew that if he let go now the cat wouldn't give him a second chance. He snarled in frustration, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do, when he remembered that he wasn't alone. He'd been about to bark- or rather grumble- an order, to tell them to do something when the cat seized up again and began flailing, kicking out at its second attacker. Nice, this was exactly the opening he'd needed.

Askan let go of the cat for a moment, not even a slither of a second before he chomped down on the cats throat again, this time bearing all of his weight forward as he forced the cat onto it's stomach. With his paws braced against it's shoulders, holding it in place he ripped and tore into the beast, the taste of blood thick on his tongue, almost intoxicating. He glanced up for a moment, his yellow gaze bright, almost manic, as he caught sight of his not so little helper. She'd been kicked back after making a right mess of the cats leg, but seemed no worse for wear.

The same couldn't be said for the cat. He felt sorry for it, almost. It was savaged, torn open and was bleeding profusely onto the forest floor but not dead yet.

"What should I do?" He asked the stranger, sides heaving, his voice rough and hoarse.

The cat would likely die either way, but he was curious as to what the stranger thought of this whole situation. It seemed, from his perspective at least, that she'd fought the cat in self defence, not because she'd intended to give Askan a helping paw. Not that he would have asked for it anyway, but she'd done her part so he supposed she deserved a say in the matter.

Mæva winced in pain from the blow to her chest, quickly scrambling into the brush to avoid another swift kick form the flailing jaguar. She couldn't stay where she was however. The brambles were tearing into her skin and snagging her fur. She yelped as she pulled herself free of the raspberry thorns. They were almost tearing her up worse than the cat was! When she finally disentangled herself she saw the man had ripped into the cat's throat and it was starting to die. He asked her what he should do and she met his eyes, frowning as she looked down at the cat. It was pretty, it was a shame it had to be so mean.

"You should finish what you started so he doesn't have to suffer any more. He doesn't smell right anyway, somethings wrong with him."

Askan supposed she had a point. Letting it bleed out seemed unnecessarily cruel, and unlike cats wolves did not play with their food. Not that he intended on eating it, it just didn't seem like the natural thing to do, like there was something wrong with the meat. Then she mentioned that she thought the cat smelled wrong, which honestly Askan hadn't noticed. He'd never seen such a cat before, how was he supposed to know what they smelled like?

"What do you mean? You think it's sick?" Askan's nose twitched in disgust. Hopefully it wasn't catching.

He then looked back to the cat once again, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed in a thoughtful squint. He could see himself dying in a situation such a this, bleeding and alone, but as much as he'd deny it he'd want to be shown some mercy too. To see a little bit of light before everything went black. Beneath him the cat rumbled, weak and raspy and Askan figured that now was the time. He didn't think there was an afterlife, despite what his parents had hammered into him as a pup, but if there was then he hoped that the cat would be going somewhere nice.

He ended it then. Grabbing onto the back of the cats neck once again he bit down hard, clamping down on its windpipe. It struggled at first, feebly wiggling and squirming against his hold but soon enough it went still and slumped to the floor. It was dead and Askan...he felt little. Perhaps a little guilty but the feeling was quiet, subdued, hidden by the smug sense of triumph that shoved itself to the forefront of his mind. To think that he'd killed a cat -with just a little help- without much trouble at all, surely that said a lot about his skills. And scratch on his nose aside he'd come out fine, like the fight had never happened.

He turned to the girl then as he stepped over the cat and shook out his coat. He was a bit dishevelled but that was to be expected, not that he really cared how he looked these days.

"I suppose I ought to thank you." He grumbled, sounding awfully reluctant.

Mæva nodded. "Yea, he doesn't smell like they usually do. Might be something wrong with his brain. I saw a grizzly bear that was awake!" It had also smelt funny. Geir said there might've been a parasite or something in its brain and that's why it wasn't hibernating. She'd also gotten attacked by the bear. Mæva was starting to think a vacation at home in the estuary sounded really nice about now. However, that was no guarantee she'd be safe from predators either since the estuary was prime real estate in the west but at least her dad and siblings would be around.

Mæva sat quietly as she watched the man dispatch the jaguar. In the end she found herself looking away. She wasn't quite sure why. Mæva shook her head as the man spoke. "Naw, I should be thanking you! I think it would've eaten me if you hadn't showed up. My name is Mæva Adravendi, how about you?"

Hmm, Askan supposed that made sense. He'd made note of it earlier but that would explain why the cat didn't seem to know how to fight, that it could only flail, hiss and stand its ground like its paws were caught in mud. If it was truly sick then in a way they'd done it a mercy, saved it from whatever suffering it would have endured down the road. A silver lining if anything, he supposed. Askan had never seen a bear wandering around in the winter months, but he'd heard a tale or two, that they tended to be dangerous, erratic blood thirsty beasts who had little common sense left in them.

Askan bit back the urge to lick his lips, just in case it was catching.

The stranger was a lot better at showing gratitude than he was. It practically shined from her, bright and earnest and Askan found himself...feeling a little bashful. Oddly enough. He shifted his weight from one paw the other, his brows furrowed as his tail began to wiggle just a little. It was what he deserved really and he would have been awfully offended if she hadn't thanked him in one form or another,  but he supposed that he hadn't expected her to be so nice, like she actually meant it. Like he was actually deserving of praise and gratitude. Askan cleared his throat and his tail flicked to a standstill.

"Probably." He was quick to agree, wanting to brush his uncertainties aside."Askan Selwyn.  It's nice to meet you, I guess." See, he could he civil-ish. But he wasn't sure where to go from here, conversations didn't always flow naturally for him. "I'm leaving, this place is a shit hole, not worth the time. You can come if you want, just till we're clear."

And least then he'd be certain she wouldn't be eaten by another cat as soon as he turned his back. As to where she went from there, he didn't really care. Clearly she could look after herself well enough, she wasn't skin and bones and apart from a few scratches from the brambles she seemed fine enough.

Mæva stretched her left shoulder, wincing at the movement. There were still a few thorns clinging to her fur but her lemur companion would be able to remove them as soon as she arrived back home. She looked forward to getting some salve from her father. Nothing worked better on cuts and scrapes than the ointments and salves her dad could make.

The stranger introduced himself as Askan Selwan. "Nice to meet you too Askan." He stated that he was leaving and she nodded quickly, tagging along after him. "Yea, there's not really anything worth hunting in those thorns and briars. I'll stick to the prairie. So where are you headed?"

OOC: fade with your next post?

Askan hummed in acknowledgement. He wasn't quite as polite as Mæva but even he had the sense to at least recognise her efforts. She was pleasant enough anyway and she'd helped him a little back there with the cat so he had no reason to be a dick to her. He'd be lukewarm at best, that's all he could really manage. She then asked him if he had anywhere to be and he shrugged. There was no shame in admitting that he didn't, that he was all lonesome and transient but for some reason or another he hesitated. It wasn't a sign of weakness, surely, but to him it felt like it was, like he'd never find a place to belong.

No doubt he was making a mountain out of a molehill, being all dramatic and all woe is me! But it was had to repress such thoughts when they popped up in his mind so damn often.He snorted, passing it off as though he had something in his nose, and shooed away that line of thought. It was hard to linger on such broody thoughts when he wasn't alone anyway and if he got too huffy he'd no doubt make a scene, airing his dirty laundry.

"I don't really have anywhere to be, just moving around right now. I'll...figure something out eventually." Probably. Hopefully.

He continued on, moving at a steady pace as the pair moved north, slowly inching closer and closer to the edge of the Briar.

ooc: sounds good to me!

Mæva trotted along, her pace shifting with the terrain. She was eager to get out of the brambles that caught in her fur and sliced at her legs. At least she knew where not to go now. Maybe it was time to go ahead and settle in the estuary until spring finally came or her siblings came up with something fun to do.

She glanced at Askan and nodded lightly. "Yea, my family's kind of like that right now. We settle down wherever's good depending on the weather but…" She shrugged. She knew they had family somewhere in the West but she didn't know if they were going to live with them or just visit for a bit and then move on their way.

She saw their paths starting to diverge. "Well, I've got to turn fully west. It was nice to meet you and thanks again!" She turned sharply to her left and started trotting in the direction of the Estuary.

-exit-