he kept running. he ran for so long that he felt like he was lit ablaze. the winding river finally put his dash to an end.
issun paced along it. back and forth, back and forth, back forth, back. he burned with frustration and jealousy. damnit, he had done so well avoiding minori. why did he have to catch her with corvus, of all people?
He was not sneaking around, hiding, or otherwise trying to conceal his path as he sought out the river. The beast's mighty strides made him resemble his asiatic cousin — showing off the reason why his people are sometimes referred to as mountain lions; he lacked the mane but he moved with swagger, even with his recent wounds. There was blood all over his forelimbs, his throat, his face — not his, not all of it anyway. Most of it was dry between the filaments of his fur, matting it in place or making him look altogether wild. He liked it. He liked the fear he had brought upon the world around him, the pain, all of which the wolves deserved.
But he was heading for the river because he just couldn't lick himself clean. The sensation of crusty blood all over him was not as appealing as the fresh stuff, and Zugzwang needed a bath. What a moment that must have been — this massive cat, agitated, injured, filled with wrath and power, creeping along the edge of a frigid river just as a dark shape came careening out of nowhere.
It was another wolf. Zugzwang could've ducked away and gone about his business, gotten that bath, tended to his wounds, but he didn't. That wolf came racing out of nowhere and the cat watched - pupils briefly dilating as it moved across his vision - and then he took off after it, engaged by the strong instinct to give chase to something on the move.
edit; permission to pp
he didn’t notice the wildcat at first. his vision had gone blurry from the being out of breath. he only realized the immense danger he was in when the cat came darting towards him.
the world seemed to freeze. he could only hear his increasingly rapid breathing and the thump, thump, thump of his heart and the cougar’s paws.
his paws were glued to the spot, but his instinct eventually kicked in and he began to run away. his legs still ached and it was apparent. the warrior was no match for the cat’s speed.
i’m going to die here.
the fear he felt now outweighed all fears he felt in the past. adrenaline fired up in every part of him now. but the cat got closer and closer until it grabbed him from behind.
and then there was a crack.
it grabbed hold of his tail and began yanking it like a toy. seering pain shot through his body and he let out a caterwauling scream. he instinctively started to pull and tug away.
and then there was nothing.
issun spun around to face the cat, who held his tail between its jaws.
His loathing for these creatures was evidenced through his repeated targeting of them; this boy was no different, receiving the brunt of Zuzwang's rage as the cat wrought destruction across the wilds. In this instance Zuzwang's attacks were considerably lacking when compared to previous assaults - he is tired, wounded in his own reguard - and so when the boy twists and tries to escape, the fleet-footed wolf is successful. However, there is a toll to be paid. Zugzwang bit down hard on the dark piece of dog and would not let go, would not stop until he heard the cracking of bone and the feral scream of the lesser creature as the tail came loose; blood fountained from the creature's rear-end and Zugzwang watched with a bloodied grin, sneering over the lump of fur and bone between his teeth.
it was disturbing to see a part of him in the jaws of a beast. its sickening grin shook issun to the core. out of anything that could’ve happened, why did it have to be this? mauled by a cougar after seeing your friend with your enemy. what did he do to deserve this.
all of his harbored anger revealed itself at that moment. the smarter option would have been to flee, but issun held his ground despite the pain he was in. “damn you,” he hissed through his teeth.
The tail came away easily enough, just a simple twist and pull was all it took - these wolves had such feeble bodies. He was content with this prize, and made more enamored by the entire experience when the wolf spun to face him; he must have been in a state of shock from the trauma of it all. Soon the wolf would be staggering from blood loss; Zugzwang was interested to see that. He was tempted to linger and to test the limits of this wolf and his ruined body - but with the tail clutched in his teeth, he was also satisfied with the ruin he'd wrought. Perhaps the wolf would bleed out and die there, in the snow. Perhaps he would escape from this event and continue his life with a piece missing — that was a tempting thought too, one that Zugzwang eventually chose for him. He would not give chase to this ruined, worthless, pitiful wolf; he would let him live (should fate prevail) and let him continue living, knowing he was bested. The cat was grinning around the lump of bloodied fur and bone, but he did not give chase - instead he began to laugh, deep and mirthful, as he lunged around the wolf and away.