now we got problems And I don't think we can solve 'em [DM]

Well fuck, that meant she didn't just have to win for Recluse, but for herself too. For her friends, those that cared to stick after this anyway. It meant she had to live.

Sparrow focused back on the fight, her three grounded legs bent lightly for balance, her toes and claws digging into the ground for traction. Her hackles were higher than ever, providing plush padding from attacks. Tail flagged out for a show of dominance and to help direct her movement. Her shoulders remained rolled, pushing her skin and fur forward to protect her neck. To protect her face from glancing blows, she kept her ears pulled back, eyes narrowed, muzzle tight and wrinkled. If she was going to win this, she had to keep on her toes.

Sparrow's attacks had put the two in close combat. Ruby gnawed on Sparrow's left middle deltoids, teeth puncturing deeply, leaving moderate tooth-sized holes that bled freely in Ruby's grasp and would likely leave moderate bruising around their openings. Sparrow's rolled shoulders helped push extra skin and padding around the area, but even she knew she couldn't keep this up forever. Ruby swung her body around, and her right foreleg pushed Sparrow's left foreleg out of the way as Sparrow tried to hook her. Sparrow had, at least been able to get some tooth in, though she missed her mark.

With Ruby to Sparrow's left, Sparrow shifted her weight to her back legs, lifting her forelimbs off the ground. Sparrow reared, the skin on her left shoulder ripping from Ruby's grip, leaving moderate tearing to the puncture wounds on her deltoids. Keeping her weight distributed to her back paws, Sparrow lifted her left leg and attempted to slam down and wrap her left paw around the right side of Ruby's neck, where her neck met her shoulders through the trapezius, with the hopes of shocking her with the sudden downward force and slicing Ruby's skin with her cat-like claws.