hale cometh down upon our spines

He watched as her chin collided with the ground. Feeling a sense of achievement as he beat the girl (again) and proved that it was no fluke that had led to him winning. He was simply better, stronger then she was. He turned to watch her as gravity pulled her across the slippery ice. Expecting her to get to her paws at any second. But she didn’t. It was almost like he was watching in slow motion as she failed to find her purchase in the slick, wet ice.

He continued to watch, and he too realised the ledge that stood behind her. A chance to lose his nemesis, exactly as he thought she should have when he had landed in the lake. He watched as she pulled closer, her sliding body picking up traction. He was going to let it all happen, when something lurched inside of him. The idea of no Delphi to terrarise, of how she had pulled him from the water when she stood to gain nothing.

Almost against his own will, he lurched forward. He had left it so late that he had to almost fly out of the outcropping. She was almost at the ledge, and he was still closing the distance between them. He saw her back leg start to slip off. Nothing but air beneath her, and then he was there. He grabbed at her with his paw, but he didn’t have enough leverage. He grabbed at her scruff, almost sliding off the ledge himself. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he struggled against the elements and gravity to keep her from falling. He felt his teeth slide into her skin, and draw blood. He tasted the shocking, painful zip of her blood and shuddered. Trying not to gag as he pulled his weight backwards, digging in with his back legs. He hauled her up and over, slipping on the ice more than once himself as he did so. Finally, shaking, panting, and almost retching, he had her back on the mountain. He released his grip on her and collapsed next to her, spitting out blood as he lay there, half tangled in her fur.

"Speech"