Who gets last laugh?

Manea had already killed, or maybe just nearly killed one, and before Chade knew it she had pinned the hyena which had been going after him than fighting another one!  Yet Chade was still messing with just one?  Emboldened by this he lunged in to grab the side of the hyena’s neck this time.  It tried to turn his head but now Chade wasn’t thinking of ‘what if’s’, the young man shook his head with strong thrashing motions, and feeling how the hyena actually lost its balance, stumbling a bit as he did.  The realization that he might be the stronger of the two was a shock but he took advantage.

Chade decided to mimic something he’d seen Manea do, well sort of.  Chade leaped up to put his front legs on the hip as Manea had done with her claws.  Instead of holding back with his hesitation he shoved his weight into it, the hyena was already injured enough it didn’t have a chance as Chade gained more confidence, it fell down making a strange sound in its throat.  Chade lowered his head, grabbing the underside of its throat, chomping down, and ripping it open as he would any prey animal.  Its lifeblood was seeping away fast.

Behind them, the hyena that hadn’t come to attack was watching now, having forgotten whatever it was interested in.  Chade was feeling a rush of energy and he ran straight towards it.  He could do this! These things weren’t so tough!  The hyena for its part saw what was happening to its companions.  Chade never got to fight it.  The hyena was fleeing.

Chade was turning back to help Manea, pausing when he spotted a small’sh cat that had shoved itself deep between some tree’s and branches to avoid being the hyena’s meal.  It was scraped from some nasty thorns on a berry bush, nothing too bad but it had helped her avoid becoming a meal.  Chade looked at those fearful eyes and for a moment wanted to reassure it but not yet.  “hang on,” he whispered before running back to see if Manea needed him.

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