Tyrian bared his teeth at the yipping coyotes who were slowly creeping closer. They wanted the elk shank he was bringing home and he had no intention of turning it over without a fight. There were five of them that he could see; two adult males, an adult female, and two sub adults who were hanging back far enough that he had yet to diss out their genders.

The adult males so far had made several unsuccessful attempts to get behind him while the female had done her best to help the male by distracting Tyrian from the front. She lunged at him and worried his feet at every opportunity. So far he had successfully defended himself and thwarted their efforts, but if he didn’t change the balance somehow, soon enough they would tire him and get their way.

Quick as a whip Tyrian swiped at the adult female as she lunged for him. She hadn’t noticed his claws and so the attempted strike came as a surprise to her. She wasn’t fast enough to evade and he succeeded in raking his claws down the side of her face and sent her reeling away. Perhaps now the balance would shift in his favor.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Her hunting had gone well. Natha had been able to flush out a rabbit from beneath the remains of a tank. She was moving swiftly back to her temporary den site, the moonlight gleaming across the land. She heard the howls and her ears flicked back. Coyotes. She'd hoped to beat them back to her den but she soon found herself cut off by a scruffy, one-earred coyote who was closing in on her. Natha bolted, her prize securely between her teeth when she soon found herself in the midsts of more predators. More coyotes and a wolf. Seven hells!

She saw the male was guarding an elk shank and moved a bit closer to him, hoping her eyes and the rabbit conveyed her hope that they could be allies. She heard the shuffling of claws and whipped around just as the scruffy male coyote leapt at her. She slashed him across the face with her claws, a growl coming deep from her throat as she arched her back. One of the other males then dove for her. Natha dropped the rabbit and hissed, a yowl erupting from her throat. The coyote slowed, one ear flicking back. He glanced at the scruffy coyote, hoping for back up and at that moment Natha sprang. Her fangs latched onto the side of the coyotes face as her claws dug into its neck.

Upon learning the wolf in their midst was clawed, the cluster of coyotes pulled back in surprise. Their hesitation was short-lived. After a moment to absorb this new information and check on their wounded companion, the coyotes closed in again. Cue the arrival of Natha.The cat burst onto the scene and quickly closed the distance between them. She too was dogged by coyotes. Tyrian recognized her as an ally immediately. She too had a kill to defend and though she brought trouble with her, it would be better to have an ally to face the horde with than to stand there alone.

After nodding to the cat Tyrian turned his attention back to the coyotes. He lunged for the nearest one and sent it tumbling backwards in surprise. The mongrel beast tripped over itself and fell into one of its companions, but Tyrian, afraid of getting too far from his kill, was forced to retreat back to where he'd started. He stood over the haunch with his head lowered and his pointed gaze roving from face to face daring one of the dogs to approach.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha held tight as the coyote screamed and flailed in pain. The cries prompted the scruffy coyote to get involved and as Natha couldn't see him he latched onto her scruff and began to pull violently. A yowling growl slipped from her lips but she did not loosen her hold on the other coyote. She was in a great position where she was and she was loathe to give it up but then the scruffy coyote began to shake her and she lost her grip as she was finally pulled free. Enraged she twisted and her flexible arms, armed with claws, went behind her head and ripped into the flesh along the coyotes jowls, eliciting a cry as she was finally released. She quickly bounded back over to her kill as she noticed the other coyote moving in for it. Hello no! She snagged his hind leg and he whipped around again, face severely bloodied from her attack.

The ally-cat yowled and Tyrian made the decision to help her even though it meant leaving his food exposed. He sprang at the scruffy coyote as it reeled away from Natha. It all but fell into his jaws in its attempt to get away from her and Tyrian managed to grab it by the neck before it had a chance to realize its error. In a merciless move reminiscent of what the coyote had just done to Natha, Tyrian began to shake the little beast. He had a good grip on it, however, not just its scruff and he thrashed it from side to side with all the force he could muster. When he tired of that he slammed it onto the ground and began to use his claws and teeth to tear into the coyote.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

The coyote whipped around again and as he did Natha released his leg only to tear her claws across his face once more, this time striking his eyes. The coyote screamed and writhed before stumbling off blindly. The scruffy coyote took a few steps toward her, uncertain if he wanted to keep fighting or not. She hissed, ears back as she frizzed up. Her back arched making her look much bigger than she really was. She bounded toward him and coyote turned tail and started running. Natha chased him a good ways just for good measure before turning and racing back over to her kill. She quickly stood over it and gazed over at the wolf who was mauling the hell out of one of the coyotes. Eyes keen to see if he needed any assistance but after seeing the beating their buddy was getting she wondered if they'd really bother to stick around.

Finally sense torn him away from the mangled coyote. By focusing all of his attention on it he was leaving himself open to attack and his kill open to stealing. Tyrian straightened and glanced around in the nick of time as a large female coyote suddenly slammed into his hind end. She sunk her fangs into his side and managed to get two solid bites before he wheeled around and chased her away. He growled angrily at her and then sprang after her, his eyes promising revenge. She wisely retreated, but wasn't quite fast enough; a yelp leaving her lips as Tyrian managed a glancing blow down her rump with his claws.

Seeing the dead 'yote at his feet and watching their comrades flee seemed to take the fight out of most of the remaining coyotes. Even though they carried on like they were going to continue the fight, the coyotes began to edge away. Occasionally one would turn and bark threateningly, maybe throw in a brave lunge if they were feeling chancy, but no matter what they continued to slip away. "That's right, you bitches! Run away!"