He had never called her Iggy before now. Interesting... The opening to the outside wasn't excessively large, but there were a few rocks she could potentially climb on the way out. She decided against testing him further. If he wasn't through by now, she didn't want to push him into believing she'd truly leave.

His calls in the distance grew sharper. Ah, he'll be exceptionally angry now. She turned away from the light of the cave, her eyes light blind against the darkness. She started to make her way back.
"I'm here! I'm coming m..." her voice trailed away as her light blind eyes readjusted to the blackness of the caverns. Something set off the hair on the back of her neck. She caught a strange movement out of the corner of her eye. The smell was vaguely that of the pelt Wylan had made into a vest... She had never seen one alive before... She couldn't see it in the dark. She pressed her body against the cavern walls. Where was it?

She had only her canine teeth and claws, hardly anything to defend herself with. Slowly she inched along the wall, unsure if it was the right move or not.

A low growl echoed through the cave... a tail length away from her face.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Ignita’s words cut off, and his heart clenched. He let out a deafening roar, and tore through the rock tunnel. Ignoring the cuts and bruises forming along his paws, and then his shoulders as he scrapped them through the narrow hole. But finally, he was in the tunnel. He tore through it, leaping over Ignita’s little orange form and hitting the cat hard. He was a great deal larger than the tiger. He clamped his teeth across its face and dug in hard. At the same time, he hooked a paw up behind it, and drew his spurs into the back of its neck. The fight was quick, and bloody.

The tiger collapsed at his paws, and he whirled. He wasn’t finished yet. He leaped again, this time at Ignita. Landing on her, and pushing her into the cave dirt. He was breathing hard, blood splattered across his face, glistening on his teeth. He pressed himself down against her, holding her fast to the cave ground. His entire body shielding her. His heart thundered in his chest, roaring past his ears. He couldn’t think past it, but he could remember. He could remember Ignita, and how stupid and helpless she was in the training ring.
"Basilisk"

She drew in a breath as she heard the roar of her master down the corridor. So. very. far. away. Then in slow motion, the tiger leaped, its claws extended, mouth wide and eyes shining, reaching toward her like she was a mere snack. She was frozen. Then he came, leaping over her tiny body and meeting the cat head on. As if time sped up before her very eyes, he dispatched the beast. Then he spun, a light in his eyes she had never seen before. Her body fumbled forward to run from him, but she was hardly fast enough as he slammed her into the cave dirt. Knocking the wind from her chest she struggled to breathe beneath him, looking up into the shining blood stained fangs of true death looming over her.

"B-as!" She wheezed, finally gaining a breath. She struggled under him as he pinned her to the floor, fighting for air. "B-ah I--" She began to frantically push against his body, she could barely move.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe. He had been moments away from losing her. Seconds. The launching cat would forever be burned into his memory. If he had been just a moment longer tearing down the wall, if the cat had been closer… he would have arrived to find her body, shredded by sickeningly large claws. He could picture the cat, holding her throat in its fangs. Not the gentle love bites he held against her flesh. But long, puncturing wounds. His body shook, and he ignored her helpless cries and thrashing beneath him a little while longer. Holding her there beneath him, where nothing and no one could touch her.

Eventually, slowly, he rolled. Scooping her up and bringing her with him until she lay against his stomach. He wrapped his paws around her, pressing his nose against the crook of her neck. A place where her scent was strong, and surrounded him. That stupid, stupid truth ran through him again. It was only a matter of time before it escaped him. “You. Will. Learn. You will learn to defend yourself or die trying.” He snarled against her ear. She was warm and soft against his stomach, and he groaned softly, pulling her tighter against him, readjusting her to where he could thr-- and Larimar was there, screeching in his ear, smacking her wings against him, smearing the blood across his face into his eyes until it burned.

"Basilisk"

Ignita's frantic struggles began to weaken as she struggled for hair to breathe against his thick black fur. He shuddered above her and she thrashed against his grip, gasping for what little air she could consume. Then slowly he eased off her, she took in a breath to fill her lungs, relaxing into him. Her heart pounding, her ears roaring as her breath steadied. She had nearly been eaten by a TIGER. He came to her rescue.

She eased into his roll, the smell of him consuming her nose as she breathed ever deeper to ease the pain in her chest. He was on his back and she was wrapped into his chest and belly, she felt his nose in the crook of her neck. His words pounded against her shoulder with his hot breath. She will learn to defend herself. or die trying... The snarl for added emphasis. She had completely frozen against the cat. She had stood there helpless.

Then she felt the shift, the warmth of his fur against hers. In tandem, she felt both their bodies responding to her near death experience, the adrenaline running within them, feeding a need to survive.

He pulled her tighter against him, her mind lost in the scent of him, her face pressed against his chest. She felt him shift her body, tingling, and electricity cascading over her nerves making her mind numb. Her breath grew heavy and her heart quickened as she was shifted. Warmth, opening, screeching? A trance broken she blinked her golden eyes and saw Larimar beating his face with her wings and screeching.

Oh, what were they doing... She knew... the thought came forlornly to the forefront. A chastisement she wasn't so eager to listen to. A resolve weakened in the face of a fucking tiger. Her paws gripped into his black fur, she didn't want to let him go. She didn't want him to get up.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

For a moment he was blind, and the burning in his eyes outweighed the deep scrapes across his shoulders, and pinprick cuts in his paws. Despite that, despite it all he was tempted to keep going anyway. To finally do what he wanted to. What he craved, and burned to do. But Larimiar was right, and he would not and could not face Hazel with the truth this way. This was too much, too far, too soon. 


The scent of her was intoxicating and enough was enough. He wouldn't hurt Hazel this way. He breathed once more into her neck, blinded still and then pulled back. Pulling her gently off him, and stepping backwards, feeling for the rock until he could back against it. He was still breathing hard, filled with rage and love and need. “Iggy. I can't see you. Can you find something to…” he gestured with a paw.

An almost imperceptible disappointed huff escaped through her nose. No, this was good, this was control. This was needed. The last thing she wanted was to hurt his relationship with Hazel. How were they ever going to get back from this?

He called her Iggy again. She didn't know how she felt about him calling her Iggy. It felt... wrong somehow. She could certainly find something to help clean his eyes. The tiger's fur, his tail, her tongue.

"You'll like it too much, I should just lead you blind." She teased breathless. What was it about this cave that emboldened her? The tiger? The solitude? What?
She pressed her side into his arm to lead him back to the tunnel entrance. There she could squeeze through and get a nice chaste cloth to wipe his eyes. Unless he allowed her to clean them like the dogs they were.

"Speech"