Its A Gator! Oh Wait... Its Small...

There was so much excitement going on in The Hallows that it was almost overwhelming even for such an energetic child like Dusk. There were so many new things. So many new faces. New smells and tastes and sensations. Now that she wasn't locked in her family's chambers anymore and could roam the castle, the girl was discovering many new things. Some that she probably shouldn't have discovered, but... you know... Kids will be kids.

And speaking of kids...

One of Dusks cousins, thinking that she was being sneaky, crept from the hall. Fire opal eyes narrowed slightly. Oh no, she wasn't going to be the only one to go on an adventure! Just as sneakily, Dusk crept from the castle, sticking to the shadows like the little soot sprite that she was. Once she was out in the wilds, it was significantly more difficult to hide. A blanket of white covered the ground and the girl was the exact opposite. A little frown pulled at her maw, but she would make do. Even though the ground was white, there were still shadows to cling to.

Quietly, the dark child followed her amaranthine cousin across the snowy ground and into the grove. The smell of berries was still on the air, despite the cold, though their sweet tang was somewhat different than it would have been if they'd been fresh. It was a wonder that they hadn't all been consumed, but Dusk could see a few different berries still clinging to the highest branches of the trees. Maybe things couldn't climb that high? She wasn't sure.

The sound of Andromeda laughing and bouncing about in the snow brought lynx-tipped ears perking upwards and Dusk could no longer help herself. With a whoop, the obsidian child launched herself at her cousin, tackling Andy into the white powder playfully. The pair rolled in the snow for a while, tussling good naturedly. Neither of them were aware enough of their surroundings to notice the oncoming predator, and what an odd one it was!

From up above, a big bird called out a warning. Dusk didn't now whose bird it was, but she did heed the warning. Hyper and adventurous, yes. She wasn't stupid, however. Finding her paws, the girl's fiery gaze scanned the area. Snow clung to her dark coat, but she paid it no mind. The slither of a long body sliding across the ground met Dusks ears and a low growl pulled from the pup. Lips peeled back and her thick pelt bristled, making her appear much larger. What was a caiman doing here in the cold? Had it gotten lost somehow while traversing the nearby river? It hardly mattered now. The reptile was longer than she was and looked rather strong. It also looked desperate, as though it was starving. Dusk cast a side-eye towards her cousin. Would Andy want to fight or flee?

The caiman made a beeline for them, its claws digging into the lightly frosted ground to give it purchase. Dusk hopped out of its path, circling around one side of the reptile. As its attention was now on Andromeda, the midnight child hopped around to the caiman's back end. Teeth sank into the scutes and Dusk lashed her head back and forth. It wasn't easy to rip through the hard flesh, but Dusk wasn't your average wolf. Thanks to her dad, she had abnormally strong jaws and teeth. Those little puppy teeth sank between the scutes and Dusk tasted caiman blood for the first time. Her eyes widened in surprise and she released the tail, licking her bloodied lips with relish. Oh... that was interesting!

"Let's kill it, Andy," Dusk urged her cousin. Perhaps some little girls might have been squeamish about the idea of killing something so young, but again, Dusk was an anomaly. She was very much looking forward to a little bit of murder. And why not? It had wanted to kill them, had it not? Up above, the big bird wheeled and flew back towards the castle, most likely to fetch some sort of help. They wouldn't need it. Dusk was confident in her abilities... even though she had no idea what those abilities were.

Without waiting for Andromeda to agree or disagree to her plan of action, Dusk leaped back into the fight. The caiman spun towards her, its long snout open wide. The girl snapped and snarled, lashing out with one paw, sharp, retractable claws slicing through the tip of the reptile's muzzle. Blood splattered the ground from that strike and the caiman recoiled, backtracking through the snow until it was backed up again a bush. Not very smart to corner itself, Dusk thought. Once more she skirted to the side, the two girls keeping the caiman sufficiently distracted by working together. Again teeth sank into the creatures long tail and Dusk jerked her weight backwards, pulling the caiman out from beneath the bush. It jerked its tail out of her mouth, the sharp scutes cutting into her lip and cheek and she yelped in surprise to taste her own blood. Surprise turned to anger. How dare this thing hurt her?!

With the caiman spinning back and forth between the two, it was easy to pepper the creature with bites, each one drawing a little more blood. It was taking a long time though. Could they maybe flip it onto its back? "Flip it!" She called out to her cousin, then bit its tail again and struggled to wrestle the thing onto its back. Once they got it there... they could jump on it? She hadn't thought that far. Oops.
"Dusk Carpathius"