Drip, drip, drip.

The sound plagued his mind as it repeated, echoing off the cavern walls as Dominus kept moving toward it. He was curious about these caves, though why did it seem that every time he explored caves... something bad happened?

His blue eyes drifted to examine the walls that surrounded him as if they could tell him what the answer to that question was. Was there something lurking in this cave, as well.. or could he finally manage to come across a dry place to rest without having to fight for it? Please? For once?

Of course not, not today.. probably not any day. Dominus never seemed to be able to just relax. It didn't take too long for him to come across the thick scent of the snow leopard, which immediately made the teen turn around. He was so tired of cat claws. He moved a lot quicker back to the entrance of the cave than what he had moved on the way in, but it seemed he managed to just catch the feline as it was returning home.

He practically ran into the large female snow leopard at the den of the cave, though she appeared to be even more surprised than he was by the act. Talons tore through the dirt in an effort to brake himself before colliding with her. She was much more agile, jumping out of his trajectory with a loud roar. It seemed she wasn't happy with just allowing the wolf to leave, either. As soon as she found her footing, she moved back in to slap the wolf across the face just as he was setting his defenses.

He felt the claws hit below his ears on his forehead, immediately he did his best to turn with her swipe rather than against it to lessen the damage. A loud growl ripped out of him as soon as her paw was off of his head.. jaws swinging widely open as the beast lunged straight for her face. He was so over CATS! Teeth sought her eyes as he was angry enough to pluck them from her skull, of course, she narrowed her eyes and prevented herself from being blinded permanently, but for now.. Dominus managed to cut the flesh around her eyes open enough to temporarily blind her left with blood.

((1/3 for large predator fight.))

she didn't typically go near the caverns in the north. today was an exception, it would seem. Heloise wished to do something to take her mind off of her words to Acere and Tyranis, but deep down she also knew she would not apologize for them. she had said her piece and left them to figure out how to deal with Winterfell's debt themselves. she could not do much during her pregnancy that wouldn't threaten her unborn children. she was terrified of doing something to harm them, and with no active healer in the pack... she could not exactly go for check-ups or have someone tell her to keep her mind easy. it was the roar that caught her attention, followed by the snarls of a wolf. the alabaster woman was not the sort to ignore a cry - even if it was not a cry for help. she raced into the caverns, soon coming across the scene. a yearling against a snow leopard. granted he was quite large, one of those massive wolves even at his age that would continue to grow larger. she wasted no time in jumping on the back of the leopard, using her own agility and the focus on the other wolf to startle it. it gave a screech as her claws dug into its shoulders and she bent her neck to try and crush its windpipe in her jaws. the leopard would try to buck her off, but she held on. Heloise's eyes never left the predator, hoping that either the young wolf would flee or continue to support her from his own position. [ooc;] 1/3 predator fight

The cat's focus had been on Dominus, wanting to land more hits to his own face before Dominus could manage to get his teeth up to the leopard's own face. Neither one of them had a chance to relax as they danced, both lunging and avoiding while trying to get the perfect angle. During their circling, Dominus noticed the flash of white that was running into aid him.. and a strange feeling washed over him like a tidal wave- a feeling of immense gratitude. It was enough to even make his blue eyes misted, even though that confused him. He wasn't sure what this angel was pulling out of him, but he silently continued to appreciate her interference as he focused on keeping the leopard facing away from her so her entry could remain flawless.

He focused on the leopard, not wanting to draw too much attention to the oncoming female but he could tell a bite had been landed by the sound of agony that was released from the leopard's vocals. As the cat turned to try and assess what was happening to it, the other wolf was on top of the feline entirely. Dominus admired the scene for only a moment, as he experienced what so many others recently had been able to experience- what it was like to be helped. When he had jumped into the fray countless times, he often worried that those strangers would leave him alone in the face of danger. None of them did, and so that same sense of bravery was held onto proudly as he jumped right back in.

He pivoted his body to his left as he aimed for the snow leopard's right thigh. Lower fangs sought out the underside of it while uppers secured the thigh in his hold by pressing over the top, near the leopard's hips. Like he had done for the jaguars with Gunther, he aimed to pull the cat's body out of its defensive curl by pulling with every ounce of strength he had to offer to keep the cat outstretched and in an awkward position. This would prevent her from being able to use her back legs on the wolf at her neck, so for now- Dominus took the damage of the leopard's kicking.

((2/3 for large predator fight.))

Heloise focused on what she could. with the boy assisting from below, she wasn't bothered with his results. she clung onto the cat best she could as it started to flail beneath the boy's assault. twice she was sure it would flee, but perhaps it had its own stubbornness to it. she did, however, see the other getting the blunt of the attack. she yanked her skull up sharply, pulling the leopard's head back awkwardly and perhaps painfully. a yowl, half pained and half defiance, echoed the cavern. the throat was in full glory now, momentarily available for a deep impact. she couldn't yell at the boy to go for it, however. she tried to catch his eye and gesture downward, still gripping the large feline in her jaws. unlike the wolves here, the predators and prey were mostly normal in size. she did not have to worry about a giant saber cat bursting upon the scene. no one came to the defense of the leopard - the female was quite alone. perhaps it knew this, for it started to flail desperately to be let go as both wolves attacked it. Heloise clung to the back still, refusing to allow an inch of her pregnant body to be within swiping distance. [ooc;] 2/3 predator fight

When the neck was presented, Dominus wasted no time. With his shoulder ripped to shreds from the cat's back paws, he was more than ready to get away from the ongoing assault. He threw his mass up the leopad's body with his jaws snapping down around his target. Thick fangs punctured the cat's neck and pinched together scruff and muscle alike, cutting through the bulk of it like four apparent cleavers.

Blood rushed past the boy's inky lips as he made the killing blow, and already he could feel the feline weaken beneath him. His shoulders and hips stung, but he did his best not to look in agony as he pulled himself away from the leopard's dying body.

"Thank you, you might have just saved my life." She at least certainly saved him from a lot more pain. He winced as he shrugged his shoulders, not realizing doing so would burn as much it did.

((3/3 for large predator fight.))

a flash of red in the dark sprayed the walls around them. it was a grisly affair, but she believed that if they did not defeat the leopard it would just cause problems later on. the she-cat hadn't tried to run until it was too late, and there was no telling what would have happened if she hadn't joined in. the boy may have been fine, but there was always the option he would not be. she slid from the cat's back as it gurgled for breath, neck clamped by the large boy. she tried to hold it best she could until its last desperate gasp filled the cave. then it was done. she panted, though not as heavily as she did a season ago. accustomed to fighting now, a snow leopard was nothing compared to the fierce polar bears she had battled. the boy's voice caused her to raise her head from the corpse. "are you alright?" she asked instead, leaving out the fact she would have done it for nearly anyone possible. he seemed injured and she had limited knowledge of herbs. especially ones that grew in caves. the leopard had beaten him a bit badly. there was blood from his wounds. she sat, indicating that he should too. at least to catch his breath. "do you require a healer?" her concern voiced, eyes dark with worry, as she looked him up and down. [ooc;] 3/3 predator fight 0/3 met a new wolf

The trio had been foraging, looking for last minute supplies to prepare for the lessons they would need to hold. Her uncle wanted her to take her brother Ignis and a new pack member under her wing and teach them about healing. It was both an honor and terrifying for her. She would hope that she would be as good of a teacher as Shaye had been to her during her stay in Abaven. Like with everything else she was carefully planning out her lessons which took a little time to do, but soon she would be ready. They were at the border of the woods gently digging up plants and filling saddlebags with supplies. They were a bit far away to actually hear the commotion clearly, but the smell of the blood seemed to waft in their direction. Boris had been closer to the caverns and gave a squeal to catch Actaea's attention. Her molten gaze looked to the boar as he sniffed the air and she moved to be beside him, also taking a deep inhale of air. It was faint, but she could smell blood and decided it was worth checking out. Moving forward, Boris fallowed close behind with Lorenzo clinging to his back. When they grew closer the scents of the two wolves and the snow leopard became clear and the fact she recognized both wolf scents made her brows furrow together and her pace quicken. Just inside the cave was the bright white pelt of her uncle's newly announced mate and close by was a much darker form. It wasn't until she grew closer, to get the very details of his face and to see the bloody mess that he was before she fully recognized him. It had been a while, a few seasons, since she had seen him and the last time he had chased her away. This time he was injured and Heloise? Her molten gaze looked to the women as she stopped at her side, looking for visible wounds on her pregnant aunt (Calling her this was still something she needed to get used to). Externally she looked fine and Actaea turned her attention to her brother and the boar stood to the side to let her get the supplies from the packs that she needed. Leaning over to the boar she opened the bag and dug through it for the large mass of cotton she had collected. "Hold still Dom" a gentle yet stern command to her larger brother. Gently grasping some in her teeth she approached her brother and attempted to dab off the blood so she could get a clear picture of how deep the wounds were on his shoulder. Tending to Dom's wounds: 1/3 "Speech" & 'Thought'

Funny how things work, isn't it? He had no idea the wolf that had helped him fight off the snow leopard actually had anything to do with his Praetor family. He had no idea that she was the new mate of his uncle, and he had no idea that his sister hadn't been too far off either. It seemed that sound traveled a lot different up in the North, the sound of the boar's hooves surprised Dominus and told him they had attracted someone. That someone was his sister, and that was all he knew.

Immediately his stomach was in knots and the pain from his wounds was suddenly not feeling quite so bad, he wanted to deny aid from a healer.. though only out of guilt. In a panic, he sat there speechless and unsure of what to say to either of them- then his sister commanded him to stay still, and considering he had no fucking idea how to react in the first place- he listened. She insisted on working on his wounds and he knew honestly they probably needed attention.

Blood was running down his right leg now, having made the journey down half his shin from the very top of his right shoulder-blade. Four inch-deep vales left behind from each of the claws of the leopard's left paw rested there, the longest about four inches in total across Dominus' dark blue flesh. One would almost think the boy bled blue judging from his skin and tongue, but red wept from his wounds undeniably in an unfortunate reality.

Dominus' breathing was still a bit stressed, though most of that was due to the fact that he had been holding his breath while she came close to him without realizing it. It wasn't until his lungs began sending pained signals to his brain expressing their desperate need for oxygen that he gasped and continued panting. He finally sat down on his haunches, though considering she was already dabbing cotton on him to clean the cuts- he realized only after that he probably wasn't supposed to move at all. It was so easy for the behemoth to forget that even the slightest movement from him was actually quite a bit of commotion in delicate situations like these.

"Sorry. For moving, and for everything else." His lips opened again as if he had more to add on to that, but those wide blue eyes flashed up to the woman beside them and his jaw split to give her an awkward smile. Did he want to get into family drama in front of a total stranger? He certainly had no shame, but what if Actaea didn't want to discuss it so openly? Maybe she wanted to pretend like she didn't know him at all, ha. Maybbeeeee he already said too much, fuck.

Dominus lowered his gaze and remained quiet, allowing his sister to work on him. He almost hoped she skipped over the slashes going down his back leg... but he knew she wouldn't. She had always been careful, calculative, and smart. Both of his sisters had intelligence great enough for some reknown, did they steal all the brain cells available in the womb? Dominus almost made himself laugh, but looked back up to Heloise.

"Thank you. You must be pretty important, to have an on call healer." His chin turned toward his sister as he grinned.

"I mean, I hope she pays you well." Pressure from her work made him wince, whether she meant for it to or not... he wasn't sure but it was enough for him to shut up for a second. Only a second though.

"I'm Dominus... Praetor." The regret in his voice after announcing his last name too was pretty readable, but what was the point in hiding who he was when his sister was right beside him? She knew him quite obviously, she stated his name before he even had. It's just.. he had a gut feeling that the name would mean something to this woman, as well. The shared the scent of the same pack.

His attention didn't stay on Heloise for long, unable to gravitate away from the reality that his last living sister from their birth litter was now sitting right beside him. He wanted to explain so badly, it was heavy in his eyes as he stared at her rather than her work.

OOC;; four four inch long, one inch deep lacerations across the top of his right shoulder-blade. four seven inch long, surface deep lacerations going across his left hips.

edit; Oh and four lacerations above his left eye on the upper portion of his forehead, below his ears. To the bone, about an inch or so long as it was a smack. :D Half his face is covered in blood and I COMPLETELY forgot until now, oops. Happened in first post. (That was a long time ago, heh.)

she felt utterly useless without the skilled eye that a healer had. though her own past severe wounds had been tended to three times by others, the knowledge they shared with her was long gone. she was a soldier, a knight - not a cleric. she had no formal training and could only look at the young man's wounds. her eyes shut briefly, only to fly open at the sound of another's approach. half-expecting another leopard, she swung her body in front of the boy to protect him. it was only when the scent of Winterfell hit her did she relax tense muscles. Actaea with her companions. she called Acere saying she was a healer and so she stepped aside to allow the girl sight of the other wolf. instinct would make Actaea pull toward the injured, though a quick look was given to Heloise before deciding she wasn't injured. the young healer even said a name - Dom. this caused Heloise's ears to pique forward. so this was a known ally or... though it would soon clear up. the boy, Dom, made a few jokes that were mostly flying over her head with the concern to his health. only when he said a surname... Praetor though. there were few Praetors that were not part of Winterfell. was this a nephew of... it had to be. the two wolves before her looked a-like, even if they had their differences. brother and sister, of course. "I am Heloise cel Mare" she introduced herself with a dip to the boy. she refused to make a connection, give Acere's connection, away. her mate's assault on the boy's father... she had been there at the very end, unable to stop him. so she kept her involvement out, kept the knowledge from Dominus. she felt it was a kindness. "knight of Winterfell." she added in, forcing pride into her tone despite the weary circumstances. [ooc;] 3/3 predator fight 1/3 met a new wolf