Fuck.

Scylla had been delicately picking her way between the briars, mismatched eyes scanning the undergrowth for some nice little mushrooms, when a snarl from behind rippled through the air. She hadn't smelled the big cat, the wind working against her, but there it was. The tiger blocked her exit and it damn well knew it. From her place amidst the darkness caused by the thick braids of thorn covered vines, the light of day outside was drastically different.

The tiger attempted to reach in with one big paw, it's curved claws extending to try and hook into the slate and cream fae. With a grimace, Scylla lashed out in return, a blade sliding free from one bracer. A moment later there was a single tiger toe laying on the ground in front of her. The feline roared in pain, but the removal of its toe only made it angrier. It began to push into the small, thorn covered passage. Great.

"Scylla"

It was the angered roar of a big cat that caught Atreyu's attention, dark ears perking up on her head before she was a flurry of motion. Someone could be in trouble! As fast as she could, Atreyu followed the deer paths through the briars and vines, making her way toward where she heard the roar come from. Upon arriving on the scene, Atreyu pauses for just a single moment to assess what was going on. A tiger was attacking a wolf, who had been backed into a thicket of thorns and seemed to have no where to go. Pulling her own hawksbill blade from her satchel, the spotted dire wolf set in motion a second later.

While the tiger was busy with the other female, Atreyu snuck up behind it swift and silent as a shadow, and slashed at the hind legs of the tiger. It would not be a fatal blow, but it would limit movement and get the attention of the massive cat. When it did whirl around as she hoped, Atreyu had a fist full of sharpened claws waiting for it. She would not let anyone get killed by this cat today, she had had enough of death. She would showcase that she was not afraid to cause such a condition, but she was sick of it.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

Despite a possible future as a cat treat, Scylla kept her calm. Getting worked up would only make her sloppy. It was a mistake that a lot of wolves made. The pressure of a life or death situation sent most into a tizzy. To Scylla though, this was what life was all about.

Suddenly, the cat spun and mismatched eyes caught a glimpse of vibrant pink. Now that the feline's back was to her, Scylla could see the bloodied hind leg. Mmm, interesting. It seemed as though someone had come to her rescue. How valiant.

With the tiger's attention on someone else, the Obscuran Sovereign made her way out of the thorny tunnel and into the clearing. Sliding her satchel of goodies aside, the diminutive fae prepared for war. Since one of the cats legs was incapacitated, might as well even out the set. Blood already flecked the clearing from the leg cut and the missing toe, but more was to come. With her dagger, Scylla raced in, slicing along the back of the yet untouched leg. Well... it was touched now.

"Scylla"

The big cat whirled on her and she made sure to swipe for its eyes, hoping to blind the feline and make this an easier fight. Her retractable claws caught onto flesh and she flexed her paw to better tear at the wound. The slate and cream woman made her move then, swiping for the leg Atreyu hadn't been able to get to. While Atreyu was more the size of the tiger, the much smaller woman was more the size of prey for the big cat. The spotted dire woman wasn't about to let anyone become a cat toy, and as the tiger turned to go for the small wolf, Atreyu made to stab for the side of the cat.

Her hawksbill was hooked, but she knew just how to twist the knife to make it lethal, this time she aimed to stab into the lung of the animal. The blade was sharpened to a razor point, and once she made contact with the side of the tiger, she would pull the blade upward. They could waste no time in this kill, this one was a life or death moment. Atreyu didn't worry about herself, she worried for the tiny wolf fighting a massive tiger. Though the woman was quite impressive, she could have just run.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

It wasn't within Scylla to run. She was made of strong stuff from a line of very strong wolves. Small or no, she didn't back down from a fight. The tiger would be sorry for that.

As the colorful fae dug her knife into one side, Scylla dug her own serpentine blade into the other. Nimble digits made it easy to hold on and jerk upwards, rending a large hole in the tigers rib cage. The cat squealed in pain from both wounds, its eyes going wide in shock at the realization that it was bested. The thing was dead, it just didn't know it yet.

"Scylla"

Everything seemed to go by quickly and slowly at the same time. Atreyu put her knife into the cat's ribcage and the smaller wolf did the same on the other side, but the tiger wasn't quite done yet. With a huge swipe of its paw, the feline managed to dig its claws into the spotted woman's shoulder. Atreyu snarled in pain, taking her blade out and sticking it back into the tiger's throat this time. As the tiger finally began to succumb, it painfully removed its claws from her left shoulder, clawing down toward Atreyu's chest before letting go. Those vicious nails left wide ribbons of red behind, slicing through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

The smaller woman also opened up the tiger's side, though Atreyu had received the brunt of its anger and shocked adrenaline-fueled attack. Once the creature finally decided to go down, Atreyu looked to the other woman while panting with exertion and pain and nodded her head. It was a pleasure to fight with the woman, most would have run out of there at the first opportunity. It was obvious that the slate-hued woman was made of different stuff. After assuring herself that the beast was dead, Atreyu looked back at the other, "Think you could take a look at these claw marks?" She asked politely, trying to look at them herself. She couldn't really see them that well, but it felt as though they would need stitches. They would definitely leave a mark.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

With the big dumb cat dead, the Obscuran Sovereign cleaned her blade upon it's striped corpse. She then held it up to the light, inspecting it for any clinging blood or gore. You had to be sweet to your weapons or they'd be sour to you in your time of need. Once satisfied that it was clean, Scylla place the blade back into her bracer, giving it a friendly pat for good measure.

Blue and grey eyes shifted to the colorful fae and she noted the lacerations on her chest and shoulder. Some were deeper than others and definitely needed to be seen to. The girl asked Scylla to do just that a moment later. "Of course." One paw motioned for the younger wolf to come and lean against the dead tiger. They'd tamped the grass down enough and it would provide a solid support for the stitches that would be coming.

Scylla motioned to a few of the deeper wounds that tore through the colorful shoulder markings. "You're going to need some stitches on these wounds here. Thankfully I'm a pro at putting things back together." Scylla flashed the other fae a grin and then opened her bag to grab some supplies. "Scylla, Sovereign of Obscura. Who might you be?" she worked up conversation to partially keep the girl distracted.

"Scylla"

Atreyu watched as the stranger cleaned her weapon, and with her own knife she did the same, making plans to hone the blade a bit more later. Pain radiated from her shoulder and she did her best to ignore the feeling, though it was enough to bring a tear to her eye when she moved. A couple of the claw marks felt deep, and she knew she needed stitching together, a fact that was confirmed when Scylla said as much after looking at the wound. The darker woman then introduced herself as Sovereign of Obscura, and while she had no idea what Obscura was, she knew what sovereign meant. "Atreyu Morningstar, heir - no, queen now, of Judila. There are not many of us left..." A soft, sad smile played on her face as Scylla went through her bag to search for supplies.

"I have some stitching material in my bag if you need it." She offered with another smile as she maneuvered her body to lie down without stressing her shoulder too much. The woman was so much smaller than Atreyu, and the pink lady wanted to make the sovereign's job a bit easier. The pain was a burning one that had Atreyu wishing she had seen that last blow coming, but it would leave a cool scar! There was already a cougar-toothed-sized bit missing out of her ear, now she had tiger claws on her shoulder! A bit of pride washed over her, both for herself and Scylla. "I'm very glad you didn't run when you had the chance, that tiger would have had me, I think." Waving her tail, it thumped in the grass behind her as she watched the sovereign do her work.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

"A queen indeed," Scylla purred as she pulled supplies from her pack; a spool of horsehair thread and an extremely sharp bone needle of her own crafting. Titles had never meant much to the slate and cream woman. Being alpha of a pack didn't change that much. Sure, she was the Sovereign, but she'd only chosen the title because it sounded fun. Anyone could call themselves anything that they wished.

Atreyu offered her own healing supplies and Scylla shook her head in the negative. "Every good healer brings a small kit with them at all times," she informed the girl. "Good that you have your own." Taking a square of clean cloth from her pack, Scylla moved to a nearby stream, soaking the fabric in the cool water. Upon returning to Atreyu's side, she gently cleaned the slash marks, ridding them of any clinging fur or debris. "It's always important to clean a wound thoroughly before you stitch it." It may have hurt a bit, but it was necessary.

Toes dipped into a little crock that Scylla had pulled from her bag. "Feverfew, yarrow and St John's Wort mixed with fat and honey," She kept her patient informed as she smoothed the salve gently upon the wounds. "This will promote healing, seal the wound and help with pain." Next would come the sutures and Scylla set to threading her needle.

"Scylla"

Atreyu took in a breath between her teeth that hissed like a snake as Scylla cleaned her wounds, though she did not cry out as most would have in this situation. She refused to let the tiger have that satisfaction if its spirit still walked around somewhere between life and death. Atreyu thanked the deities under her breath, she could have lost her life today, but thankfully the darker female came to her aid instead of running away. The spotted dire wolf watched intently and listened carefully as Scylla explained her poultice, soaking up every bit of knowledge that she could from the moment.

Once applied it wasn't so bad, but the application process of the healing salve that Scylla put over her wounds did see a curse or two leave her pink and white lips. No wonder so many would turn down the help of healers. Azriel would be one of those, he would insist that something like this heal naturally. The thought made her roll her eyes with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. Then, Scylla began to thread her needle, and Atreyu knew the worst was yet to come, bracing herself to feel the rhythmic sting and pull of the needle as her skin was stitched back together. She had gone quiet in absorbing information and preparing for the pain she had yet to feel, she wasn't afraid, just preparing for it.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo