The air whipped and a blast of fur slammed into Svan's face. He stumbled backwards, a look of surprise on his face. The dhani turned to spit a wad of orange fur to the ground and spun back just in time to get another mouthful of cat hair as it crossed back behind her. This one, Svan spat at her eye.
Svan watched cautiously as the tiger crouched low, and he braced himself for the pounce he knew was coming. However, it never came. Instead the tiger rose and began stalking towards him predatory manner. Svan took another step back, intimidated by the tigers approach. He knew tigers were dangerous enough, but there was something different to this. A certain human air of aggression and vengeance no animal possessed hung in the aura around the tiger. Part of Svan's mind wanted desperately to flee, but he forced himself forward. He tried again and again to flank her and wear her down, but she seemed less interested in attacking as she did in simply driving him back. Towards the rocks? But why? Surely a tiger could would rather fight on even ground than risk giving her foe the advantage. She was either bolder of more cunning than Svan was giving her credit. He made a note in his head not to underestimate her.
Slowly the pair worked their way towards the rock. Svan's weak punches bounced harmlessly off the tiger's muscular and furry body. All the while he clumsily moved his body out of harm's way as she drove him towards the rocks. She expects me to move. She knows I won't just stand still and let myself get pinned, so she must be waiting. However, she doesn't know WHEN I'll make my move. The dhani kept this thought firmly in his mind as he stepped back. Like the snake he was, Svan waited patiently. The closer he got to the rock, the more predictable an attempt to escape would be. However, if he dashed too early he would have to outrun a tiger, a feat he was not confident he could accomplish. Unfortunately, this meant that Svan would need an opening. An opening large enough to allow Svan to turn his back on an 8 foot tiger. Just as Svan was growing disillusioned with his plan, the chance appeared. Svan leapt at it like a beast freed from its cage. He acted as if going for yet another punch, but then pivoted his body and shot off to the side of the small cliff where it was lowest. Catching the side of the rock with his hand, Svan swung himself onto its gravel-covered surface. His leg pushed against granite, but his feet slid with the pebbles below. Much to the dismay of Svan, the rock beneath wasn't exactly a place for sure footing. In truth, it was a rather poor place to stage a fight against a beast for a number of reasons. Shaped as a small cliff, the rocks were low on one side, and high before dropping off suddenly on the other. To fight from the south meant that Svan would be driven down and forced to fight uphill without the aid of any traction. An attempt to hold the ground to the north meant that one risked being driven off the edge, and he knew all to well that the tiger's massive paws would be the only one to find any traction on this rock. "Just perfect", Svan groaned. Mindful of the edge, Svan moved towards the center of the rock. Svan felt that the footing was better here, and he wasn't close enough to the edge for any pesky tigers to yank him down. Despite this the dhani still felt his foot sliding on the loose gravel, and ice-slicked rock. It will have to do for now, Svan told himself. Svan sank low with his cloak falling over his body. Underneath and hidden from view, he made motions against the rock as if lifting pebbles and rocks to throw, but his true intention was no such thing. Instead he reached for his water flask and unscrewed the large cap. He could feel the bite of the ice water as the cold air seeped out of the flask. If she remained below, He would simply toss rocks, pebbles, and chuncks of ice at her until she joined him on the rock or fled. The moment she was on the rock close enough to Svan, he would douse her with the best and longest splash of water he could manage. What Svan didn't think of was how much looser his footing would become once the already slick boulder was covered in water. Still, he had fought tooth and nail to gain this spot, and he would be petched before he gave it up before he got at least SOME use out of it. He made a few more motions against the ground, fully conscious of the tiger that lurked nearby. He had endured a bruised back, dislocated shoulder, wounded chest, and a mucked up face, but this time it was his turn. The stage was set, the props readied, and the actors had taken their places.
Face shadowed deep beneath his black hood, Svan let a wicked and fanged grin creep across his face Now all that's left- the snake mused -is to begin the show.