You'll make a great fur rug

Acantha was taking to her new pack fairly well. She liked the plains that they occupied well enough and she quite liked the woman that had decided to employ her as her guard so there was very little more that she could as for. She had made herself at home within Aslatiel's den and was learning the lay of the land pretty quickly. Seemingly overnight her concerns about the future had been elevated and replaced with hopes and aspirations, something she hadn't felt in a couple of years. She had Aslatiel to thank for that. She felt like it was only right to repay the woman with her loyalty and to follow through with her promise to sharpen and better herself to be the guard the Reaper deserved.

Since she had more or less learned the lands within the Armada's borders inside and out, she then began to set her sights on the lands that surrounded it. She had wandered back and forth around these lands for a few months before she crossed paths with Asla, but that had just been a beginning, cursory look at things. Now that she knew for sure where she would be settling, she intended to know these lands well enough that if she was ever asked to go anywhere near their lands she would know exactly where she needed to go. She set out though the willow tree forest that bordered the Armada to the east and as she passed through that portion of territory she eventually found herself in a dense mangrove full of exposed roots and streams.

Aqua eyes scanned the trees curiously as she began to mentally map them out, but as she drew deeper into the forest she caught the scent of a predator. It was enough to make her pause, going onto high alert as she looked around her and tried to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. She started following the scent, though it was difficult with the amount of streams and water cutting through the land. As she was searching for its source she heard a low growl from within the trees to her right and her gaze popped up to spot the saber cat that was partially hidden through he trees and foliage.

The area certainly wasn't claimed by a wolf pack, but it clearly was claimed by this territorial feline and it didn't seem all that pleased that she was here. She held in place as it started to stalk closer to her and her hackles bristled, shifting to face it. If she backed away now she could probably get away without a scuffle, but she eyed its teeth and plush, sand hued pelt and knew that it would make for some good supplies if she was able to bring it down. Sizing it up, she knew it would be a hard fight, but the reward would be worth it and she'd have the advantage of being a bit more nimble in this tight knit forest.

The saber cat didn't give her much option as it charged forward with a roar, leaping toward her to defend its territory. She leapt out of the way, hopping over some of the roots and spinning back around to face her new opponent again, her paws splashing through the water and sending mud up along her pale legs. Thinking quickly, she backed up to one of the larger trees near her while she snarled and growled at the feline, egging it on to get it to charge at her again. Luckily it fell for the trap and it ran toward her full speed and she jumped out of the way again at the last minute, feeling its large saber tooth scrape against her shoulder with a wince before she could fully avoid it. Luckily though, the plan worked and she heard the large saber cat slam into the tree behind her.

She turned back toward the cat, seeing it shake it's head from head butting the trunk of this tree and she took that as her opening, lunging forward with a snarl to bite deep into its throat. She got a strangled yowl in response and it immediately tried to thrash and pull away, but she held firm, bitting down harder around its jugular even as one of his large paws came to swipe at her with razor sharp claws, cutting across the curve of her shoulder. With a hard yank of her head she ripped out a pretty sizable piece of its throat before she quickly stumbled back out of range, watching as it did the same only to sway and stumble and eventually fall to the ground with struggling, gasping breaths that were cut off by the blood that was beginning to trickle from his jaws.

Acantha smirked slightly and began to lick her wounds while it continued to bleed out across from her. The gash she had gotten from its impressive fangs wasn't much to write home about, but it had gotten her pretty good with its claws. Those would probably need to be treated she supposed, but it certainly wasn't the worst wound she had gotten. Once she heard the cat stop struggling and things went silent again she looked back up at her kill with a small smile and then went to begin breaking it down so she could take it back to the Armada territory. She wasn't going to let a single bit of this saber cat go to waste.

WC: 918/800

Acantha Elpis Stavros