Living in this area of the continent meant less snow which Scald wouldn’t complain about. The waters stayed slightly warmer, the air a bit balmier, and wildlife abundant during the winter months. He was out exploring the swampier areas of the estuary when a shifting glimmer caught his eye. 

Freezing for a moment to assess the situation, the lanky adult was quick surprised by a large mouthful of sharp teeth came charging toward him. Perhaps the largest saltwater crocodile he’d ever since before was attempting to eat him.

“Fuck!” Scald shouts, eyes widening as he scrambles out of the way. His sense of fight surged forward, body transitioning into a defensive position as he faced off with the scaled beast. As much as he didn’t want to tango with the croc by himself, he couldn’t let it linger in case a pup ended up wandering by. Letting out a loud, sharp bark, he attempts to scare it off before resulting to teeth and strength.

Inferno was on patrol, head lowered as she loped along watchfully, when a sharp, angry bark attracted her attention. She raised her head sharply and immediately spun on her heel, sought the source of the sound, then leaped off at an angle to her original path. She stopped again at the edge of the brush to assess the situation. Scald was facing down a saltwater croc, a huge one, and neither showed any signs of backing down. Gathering herself and flexing the bronze-plated claws on her paws, the warrior leaped forward to land with a splash with her claws digging into the creature's tail, dragging it around before she had to leap away from the crocodile's snapping jaws as it turned on her.

The day is… okay, if Wade is being honest. Not much has been going on with him and, while Sly and Loki are fun company, the youth often finds himself getting bored. Was this a symptom of youth? Probably but it was still one that the growing pup hates. He is lounging in the estuary, half-heartedly hunting one of the birds there when a strange but cool thing happens. There is a strange low bellowing that issues from somewhere close by and the bark of one of his pack mates answers.

‘FIGHT!’, Loki shouts at Wade and that is enough to have him off and running, paws kicking up dirt as he races to see what it going on. By the time he arrives, a tall, lanky guy and a lady who likes one of his relatives are tangling with some strange, overfeed lizard. Eyes shine brightly with excitement as he barks out, “What the fuck is that?” Really, he doesn’t expect an answer since, you know, they are in the process of fighting but the red and black boy will never pass up the chance to use the word ‘fuck’. His pops uses it all the time!

Without too much forethought, the pup charges in, pointedly avoiding the gapping jaws and sharp teeth as he dives for one of the back, webbed feet. With a playful growl, he shakes his head, shredding the tender toes and coating his mouth with blood. '‘YUM! It takes like chicken!’, Sly is quick to point out and Wade has to agree with that statement. Meanwhile, the trio work to hurt and do mean things to the big lizard.


"Wade Preator" 'Thinking'| 'Sly' | 'Loki'

It probably wasn't a great idea for the boy to go running towards the scream of his big brother, but he and Gilda had been raiding abandoned duck nests for feathers when the splashing and shouting caught their attention. His sister was the first to run towards it and he couldn't just let her go like that. With his longer legs and collie speed, he quickly got head and tried to angle his body to block her path as he watched Scald and Inferno try to get the big lizards attention.

Gilda slipped past him so with a growl, he set off again, body low to the ground, splashing into the water, though it was only shallow it still came up to his chest. It had the tiniest legs he had ever seen, one even seeming to have been snapped off just behind where its foot should have been. He targeted that, realising if they stayed close to it's side up by the front leg it couldn't quite whip it's head around to cronch them... he hoped.

"speech"

Urgh, she'd only come out here because they had nothing better to do and now they were gathering feathers. She could barely keep the pout off her face as she picked through the abandoned nest, looking for the ones that had the least amount of mud on them. That was until Scald's shout caught her attention and her tail began to beat at a million miles a minute. That sounded like fun!

She gritted her teeth when Corsair overtook her and didn't let it deter her when he slid to a stop. All the better to get around him, she decided, only missing a single step when she noticed what had stopped him in his tracks. That was... a big fucking lizard. Scald and Inferno were doing great, but she could help, she was sure she wouldn't be getting in the way at all.

Gilda gnashed her teeth when Corsair shot past her gain and as he grabbed onto the stubby front limb she climbed up on the crocodiles back and dropped to the other side to dig needle-like teeth into the other. Sure this big fucking monster could throw itself into a death roll and drown them all, but she didn't know that... yet.

"speech"

Lyra would never tell her family no, which was how she ended up here. Tagging along, close behind Gilda and Corsair. She was hoping for something fun, maybe catch a bird? However, no, instead, there were feathers in her mouth. They tasted terrible, and she hated how they danced across her tongue. Scald's holler would cause everyone to pause, eyes dialing in on the direction it came from.

Gilda would be the first to take off, but Corsair would be the first to arrive. Lyra noted the subtle irritation on Gilda's face. The girl didn't care if she was first there or not; she just wanted to help. The two larger siblings would position themselves in ideal spots. Teeth burying as well as they could in the thick hide. Her heart clenched in fear, this thing they were fighting was the largest animal she had ever seen. Her instincts were screaming to leave it alone, give it space. However, now she couldn't. Her brother and sister were there. She had to help protect them. There was a strange red boy there that she had yet to meet, now was not the time to ask questions. He was being helpful.

Lyra would follow, quickly jumping on the crocodile. It was really hard to keep a grip on the creature thrashing about. But she didn't want to place herself anywhere the croc could turn and snap... She was certain that meant death. The croc was preoccupied with trying to defend itself, she would use this to her advantage and jump onto the upper back. Taking a few steps to where she was at the back of its head. She wanted to bite into the eye, it seemed to be the softest spot. The giant lizard was essentially covered in a thick hide armor. She didn't think, she just did. Opening her maw as wide as she could, she had to bite down now or risk being thrashed off.

Teeth met flesh, her small mouth over the creature's very large eye. Her jaw was clenched as hard as it could, holding on for life. Lyra would shake and yank her whole body, trying to tear and maim. Whether she was successful or not. Fear had a tight hold on her but the any noise was drowned out by the prey drive.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

His barks did not do much to deter the monstrous reptile. Honestly, it appeared to only anger it more. Okay, not the brightest idea he had, but there was a territory to be protecting and this stupid overgrown lizard was in it. Who knew he'd turn out to be so protective?

Anyway, Scald continues to lunge forward, barking harshly, clacking his jaws together, aiming to go for some bites to the snout when he noticed Inferno from the corner of his eye. The girl was roughly his age? Well, old enough to hold her own so he wasn't super concerned. Even when the croc decided he'd had enough of her torment and swung around to snap at her, Scald only jumped in to keep it from fully twisting her way.

His teeth snag onto the croc's neck, attempting to dig in through the hard scales that protect it's soft insides. When the croc winds back his way, he leaps back out of the way, paws splashing through the mud and water and somewhat toward their foe's face. Good, good, blind it with mud, a great idea! Wait, what are they doing here? Scald's gaze snaps to the trio of collie wolf pups that come charging in as if they have any idea what they're doing.

Gilda, Corsair, Wade, and Lyra all jump in to help before he has time to say anything. Fuck, fuck, fuck, mum'll kill me if they die. Scald groans internally, even more focused now on keeping the croc's attention preoccupied so they others could do some damage.

The lizard thing was big and angry. The growl that it made had the water vibrating like a drum skin and she might have only been a puppy but she knew letting it drag them into the water was going to be a bad idea. She angled her body to try and use her grip on the stubby leg to haul it further out of the water. She tried to catch the attention of the other kids with a savage snarl and a flagging of her tail. They'd need to work together.

It seemed to take a lunge at one of the wolves up on the shore and she dug her little legs into the mud to try and prevent a retreat. It was too heavy on the land, but looking at that big, dangerous tail, she could tell it was built for swimming.

"speech"

When the croc lunged at a wolf, Lyra was not prepared for such force. As a result, she lost her grip and fell into the mud. Panic ensued as she tried to get up. Her paws struggled to gain traction in such a wet environment. After what felt like forever, she regained her balance. Luckily for her, the lizard was still preoccupied with the others. Lyra doubted she could get on top again, and frankly, she was too wary to do so. All it took was her falling forward into the monster's jaws.

Instead, she opted to bite into the soft flesh of the crocodile's armpit, her teeth having a slightly easier time burying into the part where its arm connects to the torso. This time, she would not let go. Since it was lower to the floor, she could use her paws to kick and resist. Hopefully, she could tear the ligaments open with enough persistence and time.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

With Gilda thrashing about on the opposite side and Lyra digging into the armpit of the limb he was chewing on, Corsair came to the same conclusion as Gilda and buried his limbs into the mud, attempting to keep the beast on the land as much as possible. It was terrifying watching the way the water shook around the beasts growls, but letting go could mean the loss of one of his sisters, the loss of one of the other wolves in the pack, and he wouldn't have that on his head. Hauling with all his might, he wasn't sure if it was their combined effort or if the beast was going for one of the bigger wolves, but it felt like with each tug, they were getting closer to shore.

"speech"