Laith spun on his heels, snarling loudly with hackles raised as he fended off one of the hyenas trying to take a bite at him. He lifted up slightly on his hind legs to make himself seem bigger, flailing his front legs to scratch at its face. It skittered backwards, and he landed back on all fours just in time to duck under another hyena that had taken a running leap at him from the side. "Fuck off, it's mine!" His ears pulled back against his skull as he bared his teeth at the three hyenas circling him and the deer carcass he had decided was his. Apparently they had also smelled the fresh blood, but he'd gotten to it first, and wasn't about to let a couple hyenas take it from him. His fox ally stuck to his side like glue, screeching at the hyenas as it fluffed its fur, but didn't make any direct move to stave them off. Word count: 161/1500

She hadn't been in the west for some time, preferring the colder climates as opposed to the warmer ones. But she was on her way to maybe see if there was a pack she might be interested in joining. She had visited Valhalla already, and while it seemed like it might be a good fit, she wanted something a little more...well...she wasn't sure. She felt like the quiet life wasn't quite for her, so she was off in search of something that might click better. The woman was walking on the edge of the ravine when she heard the strange sound of...laughter? What a strange laugh...she had never seen hyenas before, nor had she ever heard one. Whatever these someones were laughing at, must've been pretty funny. Curious, the winter babe made her way to the source to see what was going on, and then she saw them.

A trio of weird-looking hunchbacked wolves was circling another wolf and a fox. They weren't like any wolf she had seen before, and it wasn't until the monkey on her back whispered to her that these were hyenas. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the ugly creatures. But more than that, she had to do something, right? She couldn't just leave that guy and the fox to be bullied by the hyenas! With a snarl, she ran over to them, jumping a narrow section of the ravine, leaves crunching underfoot and catching the attention of at least one of the hyenas. As it turned to look at the oncoming torpedo, Winter lowered her head and charged it, butting it head-on with her horns and sent it rolling to the ground in a whirl of dust and crunchy leaves, while her companions leaped into action to try and distract the others.

WC: 461/1,500
"Speech"

The sight of a huge white form ramming into one of the hyenas with its strangely curled horns caught Laith off guard for a few moments, and he stood there a little dumbfounded. At least until one of the hyenas slammed into him from the side and sent both of them sprawling into the leaves. There was a series of crunches, and initially he was unsure if it was the leaves or his own body. He snarled loudly again at the hyena standing above him, swiping desperately with his front claws and managed to scratch it in the face. It squealed at him, a most horrible noise, but briefly pulled away which gave him just enough time to scramble to his paws and back into a more defensible position. The fox screamed shrilly before darting forward to grab and pull at the hyenas tail, and Laith used the distraction to grab it by the scruff and shake violently. From the corner of his eye he could see some type of monkey and a bird distracting the third hyena with a good degree of success, but beyond making sure he wouldn't be attacked from behind again, Laith paid very little attention to them. Instead he growled and pulled the hyena by its scruff, treating it like a toy in a game of tug-of-war with the fox, hearing the leaves crunch loudly as he stepped backwards. Word count: 695/1500

She had sent the first hyena rolling across the ground, leaves flying up in its wake. She waited a moment or two for it to get up, but it lay there stunned instead. good. She turned her attention to where the male had been standing, watching the exact moment another hyena had slammed into him and sent them both to the ground. She winced on impact. That definitely had to hurt! Probably just about as much as the hyena that she had sent to the ground just a few moments prior. The other wolf seemed to be struggling a bit, and Winter began to get herself into motion again as she headed in their direction, but within a few moments, the stranger's fox companion had grabbed onto the hyena's tail and the pair ended up in a position where the hyena was being tugged from both ends. The sight would've amused her and probably made her laugh if there wasn't another hyena to deal with.

She found it easily enough, her companions had it distracted while she and the stranger dealt with the others. She glanced once more at the one she had knocked over and found that it had managed to slink away to lick its wounds, deciding that it wasn't worth trying to fight with a much larger horned wolf. Winter raced over to the one her companions were dealing with, unsure if the stranger would appreciate it if she interfered with his current fight. If it weren't for the seriousness of fighting off these maniacal predators, she would've appreciated the beauty of the area and all the leaves that were drifting around and crunching underneath. But as it was, she would simply have to appreciate it all afterward.

Approaching the fight at hand, she jumped into the fray and butted the hindquarters of the hyena. It whirled around on her, jaws snapping at her face and catching the side of her muzzle. She snarled before aiming a well-earned slap at the hyena's head - complete with unsheathed feline claws - and sliced them over the hyena's face. It yelped with pain, backing away as it shook its head, sending blood splattering and adding to the autumn scenery.

WC: 1,063/1,500

"Speech"

As far as he was aware, the hyena the large white wolf rammed into had apparently disappeared, but part of him expected it to suddenly jump at him from behind at any moment. One could never be too careful. As it was, there was something more important currently taking up his attention, and with a low growl and a heave he rolled the hyena onto its side. There was a flurry of leaves that sprayed up into the air, one of which tried to lodge itself in his mouth. He coughed to dislodge it, shaking his head roughly. Thoroughly distracted, he didn't notice the hyena had gotten up until it was right in his face again, but finally the blasted leaf was out of his face. Laith skittered backwards, crunching loudly with each step as the hyenas jaws snapped right where his muzzle had been just a moment before. "Fuck off, would ya?" He snarled at the hyena again, hissing out words between clenched teeth as he circled it. It seemed the white wolf was doing just fine with the other hyena given the yelp he heard, and the third one had yet to rejoin the fray, so he was happy to focus on the one in front of him. His fox darted in to snap at the hyenas hind end, distracting it long enough for Laith to rush forward and ram it with his shoulder, sending it sliding backwards through the crunchy leaves yet again. Still advancing forward with bared teeth, he made as if he was going to rush it again, and finally the hyena decided the fight wasn't worth it. He watched with a smirk as it scampered off without a backward glance, and after a few moments turned around upon remembering there was still the third one to deal with. But he didn't move forward to help the large white wolf, deciding they could handle something half their size well enough on their own. And so he simply watched, waiting for them to chase off the final hyena. Word count: 1405/1500

The hyena shook its head, sending blood splattering over the autumn leaves before snarling at Winter. It squinted through the blood that poured from its face, and Winter growled back, claws unsheathed and at the ready once again. It lunged at her, though it was half-hearted. Maybe it was starting to realize that this fight wasn't worth it. Teeth snapped in Winter's direction, and as she lowered her head to go for another headbutt, the hyena skittered to the side and opted to hightail it instead. Winter barked with triumph at their victory, and she turned around when she remembered that the other guy was still around. When she spotted him, he was watching her, his own fight with his opponent done. She grinned as she moved to approach him. "That was a lot of excitement, wasn't it? You alright?" She asked before blowing a stray leaf that had caught around her horn. She had some stuck to her claws, too, but she'd deal with that in a minute.

WC: 1,574/1,500

"Speech"

The hyena put up a bit more of a fight, and Laith watched with a bemused expression as it lunged at her again, before seemingly deciding round two with the horns wasn't worth it and scurrying off to probably go join the other two. The large white wolf turned to him then, offering pleasantries of all things. Ugh. He stretched out his shoulders, wincing at the brief ache. Probably a pulled muscle from ramming into the hyena. He was somewhat scrawny for a wolf, so going to-to-toe against a hyena wasn't a favourable weight advantage for him. "Nothing I can't walk off," he said with a huff, glaring once more at the direction the hyenas had run off in before meandering back to the deer carcass they had tried to take from him. He hadn't even been able to take a bite before they had descended upon him, and he could feel his stomach rumble in anticipation. But he glanced over his shoulder at the other wolf before doing anything, an internal war going on inside him. He wanted it for himself, but he had to begrudgingly accept that he likely wouldn't have been able to chase the fuckers off without her help. Not to mention the fox probably wanted some of it too. He really just wasn't winning today. "You want some?" Laith finally said, tail flicking in minor annoyance at the fact he was even stooping down to this friendly behaviour. But he'd seen what those horns could do, and wasn't about to piss her off by restricting her access to a meal. She could most likely just sit on him and there'd be nothing he could do about it.