word count:282
total word count: 282

Something was wrong. A new scent filled the air, similar to that of a wolf but not close enough, not right. Whoever or whatever they were, they weren't family and thus they weren't allowed to be here. Maybe Levi ought to do something about that, just because he could. He breathed deep and from the stench of it realised it had to be nearby, that the wind didn't have to carry it far. He scanned his surroundings, spines down the back of his neck prickling sharp as his hackles raised. The mystery of it all wasn't appealing to him, he hated being left in the dark, especially when he felt as though something was watching him from within the long grass.

Puffing up as tall as his tiny form would allow, he bared his teeth, goading whatever was in hiding to come on out. The game was up, he knew it was there. And so out of the long grass it came, small and slim with an orange coat to rival his mother's splodges. Its underbelly and chin were a soft white, whilst the end of its limbs were smeared black. It was a fox and even though he couldn't put a name to it, he knew it wasn't right, that the feral look in its eyes wasn't normal. That he'd have to fight it, drive it out of this place before someone else could take this chance from him.

With a puppyish snarl he leapt into action, sabres snapping as he raised a paw, hoping to slash at it with a talon. He was small but sharp, intent on doing damage even if he wasn't exactly sure what would work best.

Morgawr was thinking about Biggie again. The pebble that represented her was still buried where she'd left it. She didn't have any easy way to carry it around, so she figured that that would be the safest place for it. In particular, she was thinking about Biggie's family. She had a mom and a dad, just like Morg, and no siblings. But her parents were both very sickly and weak, so Biggie protected them. Biggie protected everyone. She was big and strong and the toughest fighter of any squirrel in the whole world. She didn't have any close friends, but she didn't need them. A strong and silent kind of girl.

She suddenly was removed from her thoughts by a slowly creeping scent. She wasn't sure what it was, but it made her nervous. And yet, she was enthralled. Almost without trying to, she followed, tracing the scent to the source. Her nose pressed the ground until she tasted dirt; she stuck it in the air until she felt like she could reach out her tongue and taste the stars. But the strange scent was always there, faint but impossible to ignore.

She almost didn't smell her brother because she was paying so much attention to the scent, but eventually, she got up to him. Levi was puffed up and baring his teeth, and she stayed behind a few paces, watching him. Not hiding. Just observing. She glanced around. Something was watching them. She didn't know where.

Until it stepped out of the grass.

A small predator with a wild look in its eyes. Levi slashed at it, and Morgawr joined in on the fight. She sprinted forward and tried to bite the fox's neck. She'd never fought seriously before, but she wasn't going to call for help. It was only a little thing. The two of them could drive it off. Right?

WC: 313
Total: 595

word count: 326
total word count: 921 

Levi was determined to bring the creature down on his own, was confident and fuelled by puppy naivety, as though nothing bad could or would ever happen to him. Youthful arrogance and bluster spurred him on, as if the blood that ran through his veins was enough to coast him through life. But apparently the strange smell wafted further than he thought, as from the corner of his eye he noticed his big(ger) sister Morgawr barrel onto the scene, teeth bared and just as eager to prove a point. Sure, he was a bit annoyed she wouldn't let him handle this alone but...he supposed he'd let her stay, no reason not too. Besides, this was Fatalis land, trespassers would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Strength in numbers against the villainous few.

He missed his first initial slash, his paw instead boxing against the fox's muzzle like a makeshift punch. That would have been fine in and of itself if the fox had simply taken the hit and didn't retaliate...but well of course it did. It was mad and angry, its teeth were sharp enough to do some damage, even Levi could see that. Dipping away, his efforts to dodge simply weren't enough as the fox promptly grabbed a hold of his scruff and tried to clamp down-only to flinch away with a pained yelp. Blood dripped from its tongue, stray spines still embedded into the soft flesh. The fox had learned the hard way that Levi wasn't nearly as fragile as he looked, that he was pointy on all ends.

Seeing his sister make a grab for the fox's neck, Levi figured he ought to join in and see if they could drag the creature down. Bring it down to their level and let fighting instinct do the rest. And if nothing else, this was fun! Better than the subdued puppy fights he'd had with his siblings, more rough and tumble than anything else.

Morgawr didn't want her little brother to get hurt fighting the fox. More than the fun of a fight, that was why she'd stepped in. Levi was as fierce as anyone else she knew, but he was still awfully small. While she'd never risk telling him that, she wasn't entirely sure that he could fight off a clearly mad fox on his own. She was channeling the spirit of Biggie, charging in to protect a weaker family member. Not even one bee in the busy hive that made up her brain had a passing thought about whether or not Levi even wanted someone to help him fight. She was too young and too protective of her brother to care about a silly thing like his feelings. They were going to chase this fox out of Armada land for the good of the Fatalis line, and neither of them were going to get hurt in the process. That was what Morgawr decided would be right.

Her jaws closed on the fox's neck from underneath, and she tasted blood. She dug her teeth in further, but not for long; the fox bit her neck in return and shook her off. She didn't have the neck spines that Levi did, but the fox let her go anyway. She immediately jumped in again beside Levi, trying to bite at whatever she could reach. Morgawr wouldn't back down in front of her brother. She didn't want him to think that she was cowardly.

WC: 248
Total: 1169

word count: 280
total word count: 1449 

The coppery taste of blood lingered on his tongue as he thrashed his head, oversized sabres inflicting considerable damage upon the crazed fox. It was as though the fog had lifted, its mind more of its own as it scrambled to get away. To run and flee as though this had never happened. Levi could have considered that a win, after all they'd done what he'd set out to do. But what was the point in only going half way? His little heart thundered in his chest as anticipation flooded thick through his veins, he wanted more! Wanted to win and prove a point, to finish what he'd started just because he could. That and a small part of him liked to see in action that size was not everything, that the two smallest of the litter were doing stuff adults would usually do.

His little paws thudded against the earth as he made chase, dashing into the grass as he followed the trail. It was injured, bleeding badly and so wouldn't be able to go far. It was simply a matter of running it down, putting endless puppy energy to use as they outlasted the fox in the pursuit. Or that was the plan at least as the chase didn't last nearly as long as Levi would have liked.

Slowing to a walk and panting a little, the fox had collapsed and was wheezing on the floor as it kicked its limbs, hoping to clamber back up on its paws.

"Morg..what should we do?" He asked, now that it had lost the challenge his interest was waning. Maybe they ought to just leave it here and see what happened.

It only took a few moments for the two puppies to wear the fox down enough that it ran. The taste of its blood still slippery on her teeth, Morgawr gave chase, right on Levi's tail. She could open her mouth and barely reach forward to grab onto it. She almost did, just as a whim. Would the bones in a wolf tail crack in her jaws? She held herself back from trying. She could crack the bones of this fox if she caught it.

But they didn't have to catch it with their own strength; they met it collapsed and kicking on the ground. Morgawr was about to ask Levi what he wanted to do with it when he decided to defer to her. She stared for a silent second. Her thoughts of bloodlust melted away once their prey predator wasn't running or fighting. Why was it so sick? She felt suddenly disgusted by the prospect of tasting any more of the fox's blood. "I think we should just... Watch it? She wanted to see what happened. If the fox could get sick like this, could a wolf, too? She didn't want to be down on the ground like that. And if she did, she wanted to know how the sickness progressed. That was smart, right?

The fox kept kicking.

WC: 221
Total: 1670