Mine! (Stigandr)

[Shadowfang]

4th of Summer 512AV

Shadowfang walked through the forest, thinking about Kalila and what had happened last night. They had talked, and he had learned things about her that she kept secret from most people. She had shown him her true form, talked with him about her past, about the murder of her family, about her brother Nasim, about how she had killed people in the past to keep herself safe. And they had kissed. As far as he knew, that meant something special to non-Zith. He slightly regretted punching her because she had grown angry with him, but he had been so mad at her at the time... He was beginning to see how some events happened in a circular way. 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he liked her Dhani form. It was big, frightening, powerful, feral; all things that he could relate to because that was how he himself was often described. But then again, her human form; small, dainty, fragile, beautiful... He was getting conflicted again. He was not really thinking about all this because he was trying to figure it out, he was thinking about it because... well he just liked to think about it, to remember it. For now, it was his only focus. Zith were masters at focusing on specific tasks, but when there was nothing else to focus on, he focused on thought and memory until something more interesting presented itself.

At this moment, something more interesting did present itself. He smelled something different from the usual smells of the forest, so he deviated from his course to go take a look. His nose led him to the edge of the basecamp, where he saw... a horse. A simple black horse standing there. It was an odd smelling horse, but still just a horse. Dissapointed, Shadowfang was about to turn and leave, when something caught his eye. The horse sparkled, and was soon enveloped in twinkling lights, almost as if it were surrounded by the brightest fireflies he had ever seen. Soon, the lights dissipated and a naked man was standing where the horse had once been. A Kelvic... He was a Kelvic, like Kit.

Shadowfang stepped forward and emerged from the forest, curious about the man. He had seen plenty of Kelvics here, but this one seemed familiar. Shadowfang walked towards him until he was only standing a few feet away from the man and said "You are a Kelvic... like stripetail." This statement of what was blatantly obvious was the only thing he could think of to start a conversation with the man. He had not had the time nor the want to talk to any Kelvics beforehand but, now that his curiosity had been piqued, he wanted to talk and learn more. His stomach grumbled. The man's scent was reminding him how hungry he was. 

[Stigandr]

Stigandr was lazily eating grass, his mind on simple thoughts at the time, of the Spires and how peaceful it was and how much he could relax here. His tail twitched every so often, the length of it flipping wildly about before it would settle again, mostly neat and untangled as he was able to get some help in keeping himself clean when near Jakobi. It was a pleasant change of pace as he had been used to the matted and tangled mess it was in Sunberth, often catching on twigs and branches on the ground. Stigandr was nearing the end of his meal when his one ear turned suddenly to the side at the sound of someone approaching, thought slowly. His eyes came up as he continued on eating waiting for whoever it was to appear. Before the sight of him though, came the smells. Stigandr's eyes widened in response. It was of grass and dirt, but also something...darker. It was a scent he had smelled before, though slightly different. His mind flashbacked to the fight with his first Zith in Sunberth. First fear, then anger roiled inside of him. He had seen a Zith in passing a few times, but this one was approaching him and to the horse, that meant he was the target of the hunt, this putting him on guard instantly. Quickly swallowing the food he had, Stigandr shifted forms as the Zith rounded the path. He was leaving but turned to come back towards him as he shifted. Stigandr thought he was returning, thinking he could get him off guard in a weaker moment. He waited, not running as the foul creature approached him. One thing he remembered from his master in Ravok was to wait the moment for an attack if your predator thought you were unaware. At the last moment, another memory clicked. It was the scent of this creature, and how similar he smelled to the other Zith. Not only in race, but in the way family animals were similar. It could possibly mean he was related to the one who had attacked him once before in a long, painful game of cat and mouse. This memory and scent was the last barrier holding Stigandr back. The Zith had barely the first word out before the Kelvic turned and brought his arm up from low, seeking to connect his right fist the the bottom of the Zith jaw before he could make an attack on him.

[Shadowfang]

Without warning, a fist slammed into his jaw. His teeth clicked together and the back of his neck made a cracking noise as his head jerked back. Above all, it hurt. He stumbled backward with a grunt of surprise and pain, trying to recover from the unexpected attack. There was a moment of stillness as Shadowfang prodded the already bruising thin flesh on the bottom of his jaw, glaring at the Kelvic. All of his surprise, curiosity, pain, and serenity instantly transformed into rage and hatred. Had he been more calm, he would have been able to stop and think he would have drawn the daggers at his side and used them against the Kelvic, but all practical sense had left his brain, replaced with an animal desire to kill.

With a snarl of anger he leapt forward, swinging a clawed hand downward at the man's face in an attempt to rip at whatever he could reach; face, neck, chest, arm, or leg.  He did not understand why he had been hit, nor did he care. All thoughts of the previous night had been wracked from thought. His mind was fogged by rage and a sudden thirst for blood and hunger for flesh. He saw red. The only thing he was focused on now was fighting and maiming and killing. Forget talking with the Kelvic, he would be Shadowfang's next meal.

[Stigandr]

Barely a moment after his fist had connected with the Zith's jaw and seen him had the Kelvic felt a tinge or remorse for his act of violence, a trait brought on from being around caring and loving creatures. It was but a passing moment in time, a mere grain of sand in this event. The Zith stood to his feet, prodding his jaw and Stigandr felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, telling him to take off, to save himself. His desire to run was overridden by his desire to fight, to stand his ground and prove he could fight and defend his friends. This would prove an almost fatal mistake as the Zith struck out suddenly with a deadly clawed hand, causing Stigandr to reel back and take two claws running down his chest almost a half-forearm's length, blood running down his body as the pain erupted suddenly. He yelled out in pain, a deep sound that was not human, haunting to the ears as it sounded like an animal trying to come out. The adrenaline quickly subdued the pain as he stumbled back a few feet, trying to regain his footing for the ensuing fight. The Zith's eyes were raging with a bloodlust that was growing deeper every moment. He could run or fight. He knew he would be hunted as he had been in Sunberth. He would not escape like then. He needed to fight. Stigandr waited and kept his distance from the Zith, skipping backwards and around the trees, hesitant to attack. He brought his hands up from his side, about mid-level, ready to strike out in any way he could. He looked around, trying to find anything he could use and found nothing but fallen branches that would probably hinder him. The Zith attacked suddenly and Stigandr stepped forward this time, bringing his left arm up to swing and try to block the Zith's attack as brought his right leg up to kick at the chest of the Zith, hoping to knock him on his back and make him vulnerable. The lessons of his past came back slowly, the yelling lessons of his master coming to his ears as if he was there. "Keep them down! Do not let him stay on balance! Can you attack if you are unbalanced? No! and neither can they!"

[Shadowfang]

Shadowfang's claws ripped through skin, revealing the blood and muscle inside. A vicious, almost evil smile wound its way into his face as he saw the blood fly and felt it run down his claws. The animal cry that came from the Kelvic reverberated through his mind, calling to something deep within him. His body was shaking with excitement and adrenaline. Eyes that were usually dull and bored now almost glowed, anxious and ready to see more blood. His chin still throbbed painfully from the first punch, but it had been pushed to the back of his mind. He had never realized it until just now, but he was very hungry. This was not just a fight anymore, it was a hunt. 

The Kelvic was on the retreat now, backpedaling around trees to keep his distance from the Zith, not exactly running, but not standing his ground either. Shadowfang did not mind. It was close enough to running so that he could feel like he was scaring the man, but he still would not have to break into an all out chase. Shadowfang licked the blood from his claws, savoring the salty taste, and followed at an easy pace. He maintained the distance between to two, just close enough to where a leap would be enough to attack again. And then he struck. His legs pushed him forward as his left arm swung from the side aiming for the face again, but this attack did not land.

His wrist hit an arm, stopping his claws from reaching flesh again. Before he could react, the man slammed a foot into his chest. Shadowfang was knocked into his back with an oof and a thud, fighting to breathe. As soon as he was able to react, he put both arms in from of his face to try and block the blows that he thought would come. The brief feeling of helplessness, of being knocked to his back and beaten up again, brought back memories not unlike Stiganr's. Though in his memories, Musca was the one hitting him and yelling at him. 

"Look! You got knocked down again! Get up, weakling pup! Yeah, you heard me! Stupid, weak, puny pup!" Shadowfang gritted his teeth and tried to endure, but he needed to get onto his feet again. He yelled, snarling, and frantically thrashed his clawed feet, relying purely on luck to get the Kelvic off of him so he could get back to his feet.

[Stigandr]

Stigandr watched the predator as it licked his claws clean, the sight making Stigandr bristle with rage. This creature was enjoying the blood from his own body and Stigandr knew Shadowfang would be looking for more. More that he would not get. The next exchange happened with Stigandr kicking his attacker onto his back. Stigandr followed quickly, straddling the Zith's mid-section and throwing a flurry of blows towards the head of the creature. The first barely made contact as Shandowfang's arms came up to block the Kelvic's attacks. The pain from his hands hitting forearms forced Stigandr to stop swinging after almost a dozen rapid, angry hits, changing them to the bare midsection of the Zith, aiming for his lower ribs. Stigandr felt the satisfaction of his target appearing helpless and trapped, unable to defend himself effectively. However, his poor training showed through as he lost focus of things and Shadowfang regained his head and start thrashing. Most of the swings were wild, but a couple shots of the knee hit the Kelvic's back as a couple swings connected with the torso on front. His animal instincts took over and he began to move and retreat, his body rolling away from the Zith as he received a couple more shallow cat-scratches on his leg, but nothing half as bad as the first rakes on his body. His hands and feet scrambled through the dirt and roots as he moved away quickly from where he was over Shadowfang, and that was when another memory came to him. It was one of fighting Musca in the city of Sunberth, of picking up something his hand fell on at the time, a rock. He had thrown it in desperation at her and it had almost worked. But here, there were only sticks, and the handfuls of dirt and soil in his hands. Stigandr took a handful of soil and dirt and turned towards the Zith. Stigandr did not wait for Shadowfang to rise fully and ready himself, but pressed the attack on the thought in his head, the voice yelling at him to give no ground. Running forward Stigandr brought his hand up threw the dirt and soil, the dirt spreading out into a cloud as the clumps of soil flew randomly, mostly just harmless clumps, the dirt being the biggest thread if it actually hit the Zith. Whether it hit or not though, Stigandr would keep running, looking to slam his body against Shadowfangs before continuing on into the woods. If he could get away and end this fight now, he would. At his core, he was a prey animal and fought to escape, unless it was clear he had to kill.

[Shadowfang]

The Kelvic's first blow connected with Shadowfang's face bruising him and bloodying his mouth. But his wild, frantic, untrained thrashing managed to get the man off of him before any more big damage was dealt. His forearms would be hurting for a while, but a least he had not taken another blow to the face. He began scrambling to his feet, only barely coming to a full stand and glaring at Stigandr before the clump of dirt came flying at his face. Angrily, he swiped at it, knocking it to the ground and getting his fur dirty, then looked back up at the Kelvic, ready to strike again. But, the Kelvic was already striking.

The breath was knocked out of him when the man's body collided with his, knocking him to the ground and hurting like a punch. He tumbled over and, once again, scrambled back to his feet, snarling in rage and ready to kill. The Kelvic was running, trying to escape into the forest. Other predatory beasts might become even angrier, chasing after their prey in rage. But Shadowfang was a Zith. Running was brought on by fear, and Zith loved it when their prey was afraid. Despite his pain and injuries, be grinned viciously. This had quickly turned from a fight into a hunt. And he was not ready to end it just yet.

Shadowfang broke into a run. His target was faster than he was, and obviously stronger, and had already put distance between them but if Shadowfang took to the air... Flying was faster than running. Shadowfang spread his wings and flapped with short, quick motions, staying low to the ground. He felt his speed increase as the wind rushed against his face, his heart rejoicing at the sheer joy he felt from this chase. He flew at the retreating Kelvic, turning his body from side to side to weave through the trees, but frequently having to slow down or stop when he did not think he could make it around some of the thickening trunks, growling in frustration. 

He flew past the Kelvic and slowed to a stop, dropping to the ground and turning to face his prey, leaping forward with another claw drawn back to swipe downward at the frightened man, eager to feel blood run down his claws again, wanting so much to taste the salty, life-giving liquid.

[Stigandr]

Stigandr could feel the presence of the Zith on his trail, knowing the bloodthirsty creature was going to chase him down until one of them was dead or some other outcome forced them to halt. And halt is what Stigandr had to do as the Zith finally caught up to him, dropping himself in front of the running Kelvic. As the Zith brought his feet down to the ground and his hand up to swipe, Stigandr had a moment when a plan formed. Civilization. The Spires would not allow the Zith to kill the Kelvic within the city bounds. But first, the situation at hand. Stigandr tried to drop and slide on the ground to avoid the claw, but was only partially successful as he lost his footing some, more of falling to the ground than dropping gracefully. His body erupted in pain as his hip hit hard, his arm coming up to block his face, the burning gashes forming quickly across his forearm as it took the brunt of the attack from Shang. The next moments of him sliding to a halt and the pain would be a blur in his memory later on; all he would remember is the pain in his hip and arm, then he would suddenly be running, the sound of his hooves hammering the ground as he carried himself towards The Spires, towards safety. He could only hope he would make it there before another encounter with the Zith. Though it seemed he could outfight the foul creature, it had claws and they could so significant damage even with little skill, and blood loss would kill quicker than the blunt force Stigandr could enforce. His hip flared in pain with every push off the ground, with every contact of his back hooves to the ground, but the distribution of weight over four limbs instead of two helped ease this pain. He just needed to reach the city