Through the soft snow, paw of an unnaturally large size crunched their way across unfamiliar territory. The path left behind in the behemoth's wake would have been the stuff of legend around Boreas, and likely been dismissed for hogwash or hoaxes, unless they were to see the massive wolf that left behind such tracks. Through the wintry woods the giant prowled, coat as stark as the snow he crushed beneath impossibly large digits. The pristine white fur was marred only by occasional patches of ashy gray, and a dappling of jaguar-like spots covered his body like active camouflage against the snowy terrain. Dense clouds of humid breath hung in the cold winter air at the end of a muzzle that could have snapped over the largest wolf's head like a bear trap, and above that dangerous maw, two pools of molten gold peered out at the world around him, swerving through the trees on either side of him, keeping his guard up, ready... waiting...

He had known they were tracking him for some time now. He had known since he had killed one of their own trying to poach a deer from him. The cocky brute thought he could outsmart him, but in the end, Nero had left the wolf a mangled mess of what he had once been. Nobody tried to steal from him. But the stupid wolf had not been alone. The rest of his group—a posse, really—was pursuing him through the forest, keeping their distance enough that he could not pin down exactly where they were, but he knew they were there. Every so often, Nero would hear the snap of a branch, the rustle of dry foliage, the crunch of ice under the weight of a foot, and he would know they were still tracking him. Unfortunately for the wolves, he was the mightiest hunter in these lands, and he was going to teach them a harsh and unforgiving lesson as to why.

Following the sounds of a nearby waterfall, Nero veered his path and lumbered leisurely through the winter woods, heading for the falls. He kept his ears turned back, scanning for sounds. When he reached the clearing that opened up to the impressive waterfalls, the gargantuan wolf paused, sniffing the air and the ground. There was a pack set up here; their borders were clearly marked and well defined, recently established. Hmm, that posed a small complication... But Nero was not given any time to dwell on the matter. Turning back, he saw the three wolves emerge from the woods to finally face off against him. They glared, they snarled, they put on a good show of looking intimidating. But Nero just stared at all three brutes unfazed, sizing them up, taking them in with a predatory gaze.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to our brother," snarled the one clearly established as the leader of the trio.

Nero just stared the significantly smaller wolf in the eyes, his piercing golden gaze burning holes into the other wolf's head. "Guess I'll just have to kill you first." His response was cold and simple; no need to mince words with wolves who were about to be dead. Refusing to back down from his obvious threat, the wolves rushed Nero, two splitting off to try to flank him. Nero waited until they got closer, then swiftly kicked up a wave of slushy snow at the nearest wolf, pelting him with wet snow and ice. It was enough to distract him, giving Nero all the opening he needed. With a vicious snarl, Nero lunged for the wolf, grabbing the brute up by the neck in his powerful jaws. The wolf yelped, then gave a strangled whine for mercy as Nero lifted the wolf right off his paws, holding him aloft kicking and flailing. The wolf's friends tried to save him by biting at Nero's legs, their teeth sinking into his thick fur and skin, but Nero merely flinched and endured the pain. Then, with one powerful snap of his jaws, he crushed the brute's throat and shattered his neck, killing him immediately. But he was not satisfied yet. In a gratuitous display of violence and gore, Nero snapped his jaws down again, rendering the dead wolf's neck to pulp and filling his maw with the coppery taste of blood and sinew. A third snap and the wolf's head separated from his body, the decapitated remains crumpling to the snowy ground and staining the pristine canvas of white snow a deep red. One down, two to go.

Focusing his attention on the smaller wolves biting and clawing at his sides, Nero snarled and swung a massive paw out to catch the leader along the side of his head, sending him sprawling across the snow. The third brute did manage to get some good bites in on Nero's thigh, just barely missing his femoral artery by fractions of an inch. Nero snarled against the pain, feeling the blood run down his leg. Blazing gold eyes turned to the brute hanging off his thigh, and with a quick adjustment of his hip, he kicked his leg out to catch the wolf under his belly, kicking him away. The brute did manage to rip through Nero's thigh on the way out though, sharp teeth leaving deep lacerations across his leg that bled profusely. Nero grunted and pushed through the pain, reveling in the surge of adrenaline that came with it. It sharpened his senses, made him more aware—more deadly.

It was those sharper senses that caught the lead brute coming at him again. Nero turned just in time to intercept the wolf's lunge, both brutes snarling and biting at one another's face and neck. Nero caught the wolf across the face with his fangs enough to puncture through his cheek, while the brute got some deep scratches along the arctic dire's collarbone, staining his clean white fur with speckles of crimson. That was when Nero felt the second wolf leap onto his back, claws and fangs going into his flesh along his spine. Nero roared in pain and thrashed, trying to buck the wolf off his back, but to no avail. The bites on his back moved up, chomping down through flesh where his neck and shoulder met, trying to rip through his arteries and veins. Unable to continue a fight with his focus split, Nero demonstrated his special trait—he grabbed the lead wolf's face with his paw, dexterous digits getting a good grip around the wolf's snout and jaw and slamming his head down into the ground before tossing the stunned wolf's body aside. Now able to focus on the wolf on his back, Nero began to run towards the cliffs of the falls, turning to throw his back against the unforgiving rock face. The wolf was slammed between Nero and the rock, crushing him hard enough he yelped and flopped off of Nero's back. Freed from the assault, Nero rounded on the stunned brute and grabbed him by the head as well, then proceeded to slam the brute's skull back against the cliff over and over and over and over. Dull thuds soon became wet squishes as the brute's skull was pulverized and his brains were turned to mush against the rock and he was left twitching in his death throes. Nero watched the wolf twitch in his grasp for a moment, then bashed his head against the rock a few more times for good measure until his movements ceased and he was dead. One left.

Turning to face the last brute, the leader, Nero was a sight. Covered in blood, both his own and his foes', he calmly stalked over to the wolf who was trying to stumble away in his dazed stupor. The brute made it about three paces before he fell to the snow again, and then it was all over. Nero was upon him, grabbing the wolf's scruff in his jaws and lifted the screaming wolf up. The wolf was begging for mercy, sputtering out apologies faster than his tongue could form the words, but it didn't matter. His fate had been sealed when he decided to attack Nero. Without so much as a word to the doomed wolf, Nero parted his massive jaws and snapped them down over the much smaller wolf's head, biting down through the bone where the jaw connected to the skull. The wolf screamed in terror and panic—then was silenced forever as Nero bit straight through the wolf's skull, bisecting his head with a wet rip and pop of bones. Nero dropped the still twitching corpse to the ground and spat out the rest of the wolf's head beside the body, his foe's eyes still open wide and filled with terror in their post mortem glassy state.

And just like that, the fight was over. Nero had won and left the clearing around the falls a veritable bloodbath, most of the snow stained red and three mutilated corpses strewn about. But it had come at a great cost. Nero had sustained several serious wounds, including the deep lacerations in his thigh and the bites around his neck which had begun to drip blood down his chest and back. The paleo brute grunted and winced as the searing pain began to fill his brain, the adrenaline beginning to ebb away and leave him in the aftermath of combat. He was no healer, he had no means to treat all of his injuries. His fate would be in the hands of the old gods now. Limping over to the plunge pool at the base of the falls, Nero slumped down across the snowy shore and dipped his muzzle into the ice cold water, taking deep laps to quench his thirst and cool his body down. He was well within the pack's territory now, but he didn't care. He'd left a massacre on their lands anyway, and soon, they'd have a fourth, rather impressive body exsanguinated beside their waterfall too. How sad, Nero thought to himself, for a creature of the old blood to die in such a shameful way.

WC: 1688

Ooooh, now wasn't that just lovely? Scylla had been resting up atop the falls, surveying the land below, when she noted a scuffle break out. Not her wolf, not her problem. They were on her land, however. She could have gone down there. She could have helped out, buuuuuuut... With paws crossed as a pillow for her delicate skull, mismatched eyes watched the show. It was fascinating, to say the least. One of the males was a big, big boy. She'd seen another similarly sized wolf, but this one... he was impressive.

Battling for survival was always such an interesting thing. It was exciting to know that one side would inevitably meet their death. Who would win? As soon as the first wolf was dispatched, Scylla had her answer. The big boy would be the victor. From her perch atop the falls, she silently cheered him on, grinning or chuckling when he performed some fancy move or another. How wounded would he be when this was finished? She didn't have to wait long to find out.

Bodies lay all around the snowy coated giant and he soon collapsed. That was her cue. Sliding her satchel about her neck, Scylla picked her way down the falls until she reached the bottom. The fae's dark body peeled from the shadows as she drew into the brutes line of sight. Dulcet tones purred seductively despite his current state. "My my... what a pity for a beast as large and impressive as yourself to lay down and die." She clicked her tongue, shaking her delicate head. "Such a waste."

Moving around the giant, Scylla surveyed his wounds. The slice at the back of his thigh was nasty, as was the wound in his neck. He was losing quite a bit of blood but it was nothing that she couldn't fix. Wiggly fingers, after all.

Coming back around front, the diminutive fae seated herself before the hulking brute. She sat tall, absurdly long tail curling around her lower body. "I could save you. Fix you up. Make you good as new." Scylla's head gave a dainty little tilt. "Ah, but what's in it for me? I'd be saving your life, afterall. That's no small task." One paw extended and she stroked the side of his bloodied muzzle gently, sweetly. "A debt like that... The only proper payment is a life for a life, don't you agree?" Scylla smoothed the roughed up fur on the man's face in soft, soothing motions. Again she purred, "Tell me yes."

"Scylla"

Dying was a far more peaceful prospect than Nero had been expecting. All the deaths he had ever doled out had always been violent, vicious ends. A cursory glance back at the three bodies he'd laid to waste in his wake were a testament to that. Ironic, that he, a predator of the old blood, would find his end slowly bleeding to death on the banks of a river. Not in the heat and glory of battle, but slowly seeping away into the snow. It felt... wrong. It felt like an affront to all of his beliefs. But there was nothing to be done about it now. Even if he wanted to end his own life, Nero doubted he'd have the strength to climb all the way to the top of the falls to throw himself to the rocks below. No, he would simply have to accept his slow exsanguination or walk out into the water and drown. Neither option felt fitting for a brute like himself.

As he sulked over his situation and his ultimate end, the sound of soft crunching in the fresh snow caught the arctic brute's attention. Gray-tipped ears swiveled around to catch the sound and Nero moved with a lazy turn of his head, the motion tugging on the torn flesh of his neck to spy the stranger approaching him, surveying the bloodbath and carnage he'd left behind. She was a tiny, svelte thing, made of smooth plains and supple curves, wrapped in slate and cream stripes. Nero's expression remained dour, but the gleam in his eyes was a warning shot toward her. Don't. He wanted to be left alone to die, not be some bitch's trophy kill. Even wounded, he wouldn't hesitate to snap her in half like a twig. One more body on his tally before he went to Hell.

She spoke in purring tones to him, earning her a warning growl from the ancient dire brute. Stay away. He was a wounded animal backed into a corner. Was this fae friend or foe? She seemed to be admiring him—admiring his body—while she prowled around him. Inspecting him. Appraising him? Perhaps. Was she sizing up how well his pelt would look on her bed? Maybe where she'd hang his head in her den? Still, he was in no shape to immediately go for her. He had to save his strength, wait for her to come within striking distance, then he'd have his final kill. He wasn't going down without a fight. But to his surprise, the fae instead came to sit before him, posture relaxed and confident with her abnormally long tail wrapped around her. Now Nero could get a better look at her—and sample her scent easier too. Large nares flares, realizing that her scent matched the borders of this pack. This was the alphess of these lands.

The petite alpha offered to save his life; to mend him in exchange for his life service to her. Nero's golden eyes narrowed. She reached forward to stroke his muzzle and the urge to snap her leg off at the elbow was strong. But her touch was also soothing, tempting... She was playing with him. Playing God with his life. She told him to tell her yes while she smoothed down some of his mussed up fur. Her touch eased the savage animal within the monstrous brute. He held her mismatched gaze for a long moment, feeling the electricity between them as molten gold eyes held those gray and aqua jewels. It was like a battle of wills between the pair of wolves. She offered him salvation at the cost of his freedom. Was it truly better to die a free wolf than to live as her slave? Nero thought it over, considering his choice. He did not wish to be a thrall to another—but he did not wish to die even more. He still had things to do in his life. Foes to fell, faes to bed, a bloodline to propagate. Death was a hard stop.

With another rumbling growl, Nero breathed a soft sigh and his tense muscles began to relax. Even before he spoke the words, his body language spoke for him, as did the softening of those steely eyes. "Yes," he spoke in his deep, rumbling baritone after a moment. Then he laid his head down on his paws and stretched his hind legs out, giving the fae unrestricted access to any part of him she wished to mend. If she wound up killing him for his surrender, then he supposed he deserved it. His fate was in the hands of the Old Gods now.