It was late in the evening, which was basically her favourite time of day. Her blindfold was pushed up and bunched around her ears. Lioness was a few paces away, walking at her own pace in the times when Kite didn’t need a guide. The woods were full of scents now. Like that of little puppies that had been out exploring throughout the day. They were likely tucked into bed now, under the watchful eye of their parents.

Kite was herself restless. She knew what she wanted, (Actually, she wanted a lot of things) But she wasn’t sure how to get them. She kicked dirt and muttered under her breath as she walked. She needed to challenge for her rank, but her dreams of challenging Azure for his were dashed now. She should be happy about it, but it left her feeling empty. Abandoning revenge was no easy thing.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the beady eyes in the trees above her, or see the golden tail as it curled about the tree trunk. Feline hunches folded. Watching, waiting, for a chance to strike.

"Speech"

Dread had lost track of time during his travels today. It was supposed to be a quick errand for Halo. She'd set out all sorts of collection containers for wild yeast in some of the surrounding areas, she'd said something about making different breads and different fermented beverages with it... weird, but alright. Dread was happy to go collect them for her, taking some time to get out and walk and clear his head. Yeah, what had turned into a quick errand had instead dragged on into the day. Halo specifically said there were five jars set out, but he'd only been able to locate four. It felt like a wild goose chase for that fifth jar.

Of course, it was in the last place he'd looked. Dread had actually come back out searching for it, unsatisfied that he'd only found four initially. Now all that was left to do for the day was get home and get to bed... but that, also, was an idea too good to be true.

Dread saw Kite first and the lion second. Without a second thought, he sprung into action. "Shit, Kite, watch out!" Dread called to his sister. A heartbeat later, both the yearling and the predator were in motion. The lion lashed out, springing towards Dread. The boy leapt towards the cat, teeth gnashing and snapping. He put himself between his sister and the predator, a deep growl ripping free from his throat. Ears pressed to his skull, gaze intense as he locked with the cat. If he could keep its attention, then Kite had more space to actually damage it. One of the beast's retractable claws dug into Dread's shoulder, but the boy pressed on.

"Dread Fatalis"

Her brother's voice shocked her from her thoughts. Her eyes flew first to him, and then to the direction his eyes were going. Before she could even figure out what was going on, her brother was in motion. She shied to the side, not sure what she was supposed to be getting out of the way of - and then she saw the cat. She bared her teeth in a silent snarl, a little annoyed at the way Dread had put himself between her and danger. She wasn’t a weakling, dammit! And then in the next breath, she realised he was giving her an opening. He was trusting her to do some damage.

Gratified, she leaped into the fight. Aiming to dig her claws into the butt of the cat, and pull down with all her strength. She wanted to get its legs out from under it, while also doing damage to its flesh.

"Speech"

Kite took the opening, thank fuck. Dread's heart pounded in his chest as he engaged with the creature, snarling as he sunk his teeth into the beast's meaty shoulder. Biting down hard, feeling his teeth grit through the pain. He was bleeding from the encounter with the creature's claws, but that was fine. He was fine. The pain woke him up, and it would keep him going through this. Rallying against the cat and pressing into the creature's space, he would do what he could to keep the lion's attention on him.

To her credit, Kite was making good headway, too. The cat's hind legs seemed to be forced out from beneath its body, and Dread would use that instability to force himself into the predator's space. Wrenching his head to and fro, trying to maintain his grip wherever he could. Pressuring his way through combat with the predator, and dealing what damage he could in as little time as possible. The longer the fight dragged on, the more danger they'd be in. The greater chance something could go wrong. Dread felt the cat's claws graze his foreleg now, a stinging sort of pain. Let it sting. He was living for the moment, living for the fight.

"Dread Fatalis"

Kite’s adrenaline was crashing through her system. The suddenness of the attack, and in Armada territory was painfully unexpected. As the creature tore into Dread, she let out an angry snarl of rage. Doubling down on her attack, and leaning forward to sink her teeth into its rump, dragging her claws down, doing as much damage as she could in the motion.

She managed to pull the heavy rump to the ground, and she jumped on its back, walking up its spine, puncturing its coat with every angry step she could. “That's. For. Hurting. My. Brother!” She yowled, punctuating each word with a bloody step.


"Speech"

Adrenaline. Pure, unadulterated adrenaline. Dread can feel his heart pounding in his chest, can feel the heat of the blood oozing from the wounds. Can feel the distinct ache and throb that he knew would only get worse when the protective chemicals faded from his system. His head spun, and his chest ached. Kite was doing a good job getting the creature down, and it was growing weak and feeble. Her approach was interesting, standing and stepping on the cat where it crumpled to the ground.

Dread took his shot, with the cat on the ground. He took his chance now, before the damage got any worse. Teeth bared, he leaned down over the lion's throat. He could feel the creature's claws make contact with his ear, but it was too weak to do much now. It's without a second thought, without another breath to consider the action, that Dread sinks his teeth into the lion's throat. Ripping and tearing, doing all the damage he could. Doing all the damage he'd need to. It's savage, but hell, so was Dread. This is the animal he was becoming, the man he was growing up to be. He rips the lion's throat clean open, feeling the warmth of blood as it coated his teeth. Feeling the wash of gore on his coat. Sighing, he took a step back. What was done was done.

He looked to Kyanite before him, catching his breath. "You okay?" A gentle question, checking in. Dread couldn't-- Dread wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Dread Fatalis"

While she tore out its back as savagely as she could, Dread took it as an opening, and got his teeth around its throat. She watched in satisfaction as he tore it, and the cat gurgled one last breath. She hopped down from the cat and moved to nudge her shoulder to Dreads. She was glad he was okay. When he had stepped in front of the cat, she had felt anger and fear for him.

“I am, are you?” she asked, she thought he was, but it paid to be certain. She nuzzled into his chin, a rare display of affection from the prickly girl. Not in the least bit worried about the blood still dropping from his muzzle. In fact, she gave him a lick under his chin to help clean him up.


"Speech"