hollowed heart

He scampered away, tail between his legs and found a chunk of wall to hide behind, his heart racing a mile a minute. He tried to make sense of the last few seconds, gasping for air, and could hear the snarls and yowls of battle as the unknown woman battled the leopard. He closed his eyes tightly, everything in his body clenching as he struggled to make himself smaller, to hide, to be unseen, to be a coward. That thought sent a snarl to his lips. No, he was done running, and he was done hiding. Everyone thought they could push him around because he was blind but he would show them, he would show them all!

Volcanic burst from his hiding spot and launched himself at the cat, needle sharp teeth sinking into the cat’s tail and pulling with all his might to distract it while the woman battled it. He snarled and thrashed his head, claws sinking into the ground as he braced himself. In a wild instant the cat turned and swatted for him, he was missed by cringing away from the black shadow that was the leopard’s razor paw. With the tail still in his jaws he ran between the cat’s legs, pulling the tail tighter and causing the leopard to turn about to swat at him. He released the cat’s tail and danced backward, standing beside the female with his hackles raised, his eyes narrowed, and his ears pinned. They would fight the cat together.

“Ready?” He asked, knowing they were at a disadvantage as the cat snarled and swiped at the air between them before giving a loud hiss of frustration. Without waiting for a response he charged forward, grabbing the cat by the paw and pulling it back, shaking his head left and right as his teeth sank in and blood filled his mouth. He felt the claws flex and bite into his tongue before the paw was ripped away by the furious cat, he could feel the burning hot tear the cat had left in its wake but kept his guard up regardless. He wanted to prove he wasn’t a coward, that he could and would fight anyone and everyone regardless of the challenge, he was fire, he was destruction, he was Volcanic Praetor and the world would know his name and come to fear it. He stood beside the woman again, lips raised in a snarl as he surged forward, barking and snapping his jaws, trying to scare the cat as much as possible to drive it away, trying to strike terror in its heart even though he was still just a cub.

The cat gave a low yowl and swiped at the air between them, it lowered itself to the ground as volcanic surged forward and to his amazement it even flinched away, taking to the wind rather than trying its luck with two wolves, even as young as he was. He would never be a titan like his siblings and would never even stand as tall as his father, but in that moment, watching the spotted hide of the cat retreating he felt taller than a mountain and he lifted his head to howl his triumph even though it was high pitched and wailing.

Wordcount: 545

Total Wordcount: 1631

Speech