Venturing through the south eastern lands was difficult because of the abundance of packs in the area. He was used to avoiding them since he lived in Abaven really not that long ago but it was more tedious now that he was moving in the other direction. He would cross the river once he made it to orchid, and then head south to Auster from there.

As he drove the cart through the soulless forest, he watched his steps and wandered carefully. He never liked coming through here but it was better than the swamplands. Moving forward, a large tiger prowled from the mists in front of him, lowering it's head and letting out a low growl. Leaving the cart, Balthier stepped forward ready to try and chase it off.

"Balthier"

Inoki had decided to skirt around the mountain, having had a quick look inside some of the mines but then swiftly changed her mind upon not being able to see a single damned thing in the darkness. She really needed to learn how to make a torch, or maybe even trap a few fireflies in a glass jar. That'd be pretty cool. She found herself in the moist forest, her smaller frame making it very easy to slip between, around, under, and over the thick vegetation. It was actually somewhat fun, finding the easiest path through, even if the soil was damp and clumped between her toes as she walked. But her fun was quickly spoiled by the strong scent of a large cat, and her fun stood on end as she heard a low growl. Her paws carried her to an old fallen tree which she leaped up on, peering over the edge to see a wolf that looked surprisingly familiar, but was seemingly facing off alone against a tiger. That was dumb of them. But she couldn't just leave him to face it alone, and it seemed he had been moving some cargo in his cart, so perhaps if she helped him he'd allow her to take a trinket of sorts as thanks. Inoki stayed on the fallen tree as she wasn't quite ready to simply throw herself in harms way, but shouted down to the cat with a snarl, hoping to distract it enough that the wolf could get a solid attack in. "Up hear you big scaredy cat!"

If Balthier hadn't been carrying the cart with meats, herbs, and a few other resources, he wouldn't have tried to face off the tiger. He needed to get these supplies back to the pack and he wasn't going to risk all the hard work he had already put in plus the hungry, tiny mouths back in Fenmyre.

His attention diverted slightly as a voice came out from the trees and he struggled to find the source of the voice at first. When he spotted the girl that he had met before, it seemed the tiger had too. And he took his opportunity to run forward and attack the stripped cat by biting it at the scruff under it's throat and getting it's attention with a large swipe back in his direction.

"Balthier"

The tiger turned her way, and for a moment she thought it was going to take a leap at where she stood upon the fallen log, but just as quickly the wolf took the open opportunity to get a sneaky attack in. The feline yowled, swiping at the wolf with one of its large paws, and Inoki took that as her cue. She hopped down from her position and darted around the back of the tiger, hoping it would continue to be preoccupied with the wolf currently grabbing at its throat. When she got behind it, she wasted no time in taking a running leap, landing on the tiger's back with a low snarl. Her claws dug into its thick fur for purchase, trying to balance on top of the writhing feline without falling off. A second later she made to grab at the skin just under its left ear where it met the side of its chin, biting down with all the force she could muster and roughly shaking her head. Inoki wanted to try and rip and tear at the skin, to at the very least keep it distracted so the other wolf could either go for a killing blow, or show the feline that it was clearly outmatched and chase it off.

The girl leapt down from her perched position, the tiger escaping Balthier's jaws as it started trashing around and trying to bronc her like a horse. He took a step back and put his paws back sturdy on the ground under him as he looked for another open opportunity. When the cat came back and spun around, Balthier jumped forward again and bit down on it's throat just where he had grabbed it before. The tiger started to panic and try to get away from the two wolves now seeing it was out numbered. Balthier was going to let it flee too, he didn't like to kill something unless he had too.

"Balthier"

The tiger began to thrash around, and it took all her strength to simply stay attached as she was swung to and fro. What felt like forever of hanging on was just a few seconds before the other wolf grabbed at the throat of the feline again, and it was then it seemed to get the idea that it was outmatched against the two wolves. Inoki gladly let go to let it flee, yowling as it scampered away through the trees, breathing heavily as she sat back on her haunches. That was a little too close for comfort, but at least she hadn't gotten hurt. She turned to face the wolf, eyes lighting up when she recognised him from the spars they'd had previously. Her tail thumped on the ground where she sat as she grinned at him. "Good thing I was here to save your ass." Her gaze briefly flitted to the cart with all the meats stashed in it with a raised eyebrow. Dragging one alone wasn't such a smart idea, as evident by the tiger attempting to fight Balthier for the right to steal and eat the meat. Nearly dying aside, it was nice to see a known face again.