He had wanted to get away for a while. Not to shirk his duties or avoid anything. Simply put, he needed a change of scenery. Someone new to fight, something new to see, someplace to explore. To feel a sense of adventure. One could say he was not typically an adventurous sort. He preferred to stay close to home and would only travel outside of the bamboo when requested to do so. Truthfully, he was still a pup. His first birthday wasn't for another season or so - he had time to grow into his own before wanting to take off to the far reaches of the world. Not that he would do that, but heading west toward the tall structure of grapevine was perhaps as far as he would go by himself. Standing before the crawling and trail vines, he looks up at it. Lately, his legs had been growing at an absurd rate and with how much they had been aching lately, he wasn't sure he would be able to squeeze between the cracks. From what he could see, the only opening was rather small and though not dangerous, it still threatened to snag on his fur. He wasn't fearful of what was inside, more so he didn't want to get dirty on this trip. It would be work to get clean all over again. But as he stood there with an early spring warmth washing over his coat, his body begged for the shade. Resolving he had no choice unless he turned back, Akito approached the cathedral-shaped structure and found a somewhat appropriate-sized entrance. Crouching slightly to enter, he returns to his full height once he is inside the dim interior. Within, shafts of delicate light shine down through the canopy as sparsely placed trees nearly choke with the surplus of grapevines that grow up their trunks and down their branches. The scent was sweet, but not overly sweet, just enough that it made your nose tickle. And it was quiet. So quiet that he wondered if he was the only one here...

It is difficult for Jericho to stay inside pack lands after he had been to the scary forest and met the most beautiful wolf in the world. A dreamy sigh pass his lips as he pictures the glow that surrounded Alora’s markings and the way she indulged him by participating in his story. Haydée had allowed the boy to leave the pack lands on the condition that he took her cardinal with him and the youth is pretty sure that one of the pack’s Combatants is trailing after him. Still the warm day was too nice to pass up and he had happily stuck out for the distant land… well, distant to a pup.

White eyes rove over the maple trees, admiring the way the ivy crawls up their trunks. The grapevines have even weaved together to form a ceiling that the sunlight filters through. It is picturesque and Jericho could lose himself in daydreams of saving Alora here except, a sharp musk suddenly hits him. Halting abruptly, he turns his gaze to dark forest around him, searching for the predator that his nose has picked up. It is a fluke, pure happenstance that he spies the monochrome form of another pup and the tiger that crouches low in the brush near him.

Eyes widen in alarm as the beast lunches forward, breaking from the shadows and charging toward the unsuspecting boy. Time slows as he pushes off, shouting, “LOOK OUT!” as he surges toward the predator. He is moving too slowly, as if his paws are slowly being sucked into quicksand with each pounding step of his paws. Adrenaline floods his veins, blowing some of his finer motor skills and causing a fine tremor in all of his muscles. Fear pulses in time with heart as the world narrows until all it is just him and the tiger, two trains barreling forward on a collision course.

A snarl is ripped from his throat and it pulls the feline’s gaze up to him and a smirk tugs at his lips as time finally catches up and Jericho lunches himself at the surprised tiger’s face. Growls fill the air as he bites at the beast’s face, angering the creature as he opens bloody wounds on its cheeks. With a growl it flings him off, sending Jericho sprawling across the leaf littered floor. Dazed, he looks up at the trees, wondering what the hell he has gotten himself into.


"Jericho Agatsuma-Kedieo"

Akito had been minding his own business. Quietly admiring the way the light shifted through the trees. He was ignorant of the feline that tracked him. No, stalked him. Each step was masked by the soft and squishy leaves that littered the grassy floor. Seconds pass as the tiger grows closer. One could see the hunger in its eyes as it watches Akito. To the tiger, he is easy pickings. Just a mere pup basically asking to be eaten alive.

LOOK OUT!

A piercing bark breaks his concentration. The sudden whiff of musk sets him on edge. Every defense in his body heightens as he whirls on the tiger that is emerging from the shadows. Swearing in his head that he was stupid enough to fall for this trap, Akito faces the tiger head-on. No way would he allow some mangy cat to take him down. Fur bristles, tail lifts, and his chin tilts downward. Hattori had taught him well and not an ounce of fear could be felt as he let the adrenaline take over.

As he prepared to engage with the tiger, he watched with slowly widening eyes as the other boy leaped at the tiger. Akito saw blood splatter against the ground as the tiger yowls. Suddenly, the boy is sent flying, sprawling across the grass. A snarl rips through Akito as he wastes no more time. Lunging forward, he first digs his horns into the tiger's flank. The tiger whirls on him as he peels himself away, blood trailing down his forehead. Lifting his lips to appear more threatening, he meets the tiger with force. Dipping down beneath the tiger's chest as it reaches out to grab him, Akito slinks forward under the tiger and aims to jam his horns up into the tiger's belly.

"speech"