Stay Alive

He brooded less now as the two weeks came to a close He hadn’t heard anything from Shaye regarding her judgement, but his talk with his sister had at least gone well, and he could hold onto that.  He hoped that she would say something to Shaye to show that there had been some misunderstanding between himself and their uncle, but more than anything he depended on Astraios to make a good name for him.

He skulked through the forest, ears twitching at the slightest noise. He waved his tail only to belatedly remember that it was no longer behind him, and carried on with a sigh. That had been another, far more poignant blow to his pride, losing the tournament miserably in the first round and his tail in the process. He shook his head and carried on, moving through the dense underbrush and marking his territory as he went. With the disappearance of the snake woman and her children life in Erövrare had become peaceful and quiet, its members now only those that had proven their loyalty to him or were bound to him by blood.

The sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs caught his attention, and Tyranis followed the noise with his head lowered. From the cover of a bush he could see a mother boar and her piglets wallowing in the mud left by the winter thaw and snorting joyfully as they did. The piglets themselves had gotten fat on acorns and berries but the mother sow was immense, nearly as large as himself with a ridge of sharp bristles rolling down her spine. She would be a welcome feast for his returning children and those that had stayed beside him. Silently he crept closer, his eyes wide as she watched the sow lay on her hip and then collapse fully on her side.

Like a bolt of lightning he charged from his cover and snatched one of the squealing piglets in his mouth, holding it tightly in his jaws as it writhed and screamed for release. The mother was on her feet in an instant, her head lowered as she charged for the offending wolf with a squealing scream of fury. Tyranis let the piglet fall and danced to the side while she came to a screeching halt over her spawn. Blood tinted Tyranis’ jaws as he grinned predatorily at the snorting boar. The boar lowered her head and charged again, brandishing her tusks with a promised threat to gore him.Once again he dashed to the side but as he went he sank his fangs into her flank and pulled with his own strength and the added weight of the momentum. The sow screamed as he landed his blow and wheeled just in time for Tyranis to once again distance himself from her. She screamed and charged for him again and again he danced to her side, this time sinking his blow into her shoulder.

The piglets had long fled the mud pit that had become their arena, most likely finding cover. He would track them down later, they wouldn’t survive long without their mother. Once more the pig charged, but this time she surprised him by turning her head and successfully goring his underside with her tusks. He roared in pain and twisted mid stride, landing on his side in the mud and momentarily at the mercy of the boar. The boar turned sharply on her hooves, thrashing her head and threatening to pierce his ribcage with her tusks. He managed to roll away, coating his body in mud until he felt ground under his paws and he was able to stand. The boar was beginning to pant, but it would still be a long time before she died of exhaustion. He needed to end this.

He circled the boar with bubbling snarls in his throat, his lips raised and fangs bared. She gave a snort and a bluff charge that made him flinch bodily, and then charged for him in earnest, her cloven hooves churning the mud underneath her. Tyranis crouched low, then sprang to the side, before turning sharply just in time to lock his jaws around her fatty neck. The boar halted, and began turning, hoping to slash at him with her tusks or gore him, but unable to as long as Tyranis turned with her. The column of her neck was far too thick for him to grasp completely, but his lower jaw sank into the middle of her throat, slowly using the strength of his bite to pinch a clump of meat between his jaws. He lifted his paws to wither side of his snout and with a mighty push, ripped away flesh, fat, and hide. The pig gave a scream of outrage and pain that soon became a gurgling  squall as blood filled her mouth. He stayed low as she staggered then surged forward to seize the exposed tissue between his jaws and tear away at her further.

With her neck all but ripped open the pig collapsed in the mud, her body convulsing with her death throws until finally she was still. He panted, a wide grin on his features as he watched his kill’s pained and unmoving expression. He tipped his head back and howled, calling those that were worthy to join him.  

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