@Rhode! Forward-dated quite a bit, whenever suits you is fine.

Time of day: dusk
Weather: light snow

She'd passed by this odd structure a few times before but never entered it. Desiring a change of pace, Maud found the mouth of the place and stepped inside. It was like another realm here, limestone piled high with smatterings of strange smooth gems. They twinkled in the moonlight, mesmerizing her. The faint dusting of snow that drifted down from the clouds only added to the magical aura. Pretty as this quarry was, there were few plants and even fewer prey animals to be found. Still, it made for a nice tourist spot. As per usual, she couldn't quite put her finger on how it made her feel, but she knew she felt good, which was enough for her.

With catlike curiosity, she followed the maze-like halls deeper and deeper until met with a crystal-clear pool. It had frozen over, but she could see far down into the watery depths. Satisfied with her findings, she weaved her way back out of the quarry. For Maud, the day was just beginning, and she had hunting to do.

i'm flexible with dates. also, are you good for a spree? :)

remaining in the open was no longer a viable option. when putting his weight onto his right hindleg, anathi could hobble for distances at a time. the next goal would be learning how to run, but that was difficult with the burden of his limp left leg. it didn't take a healer to know that it would never heal, not in the way that it was meant to. learning to live with the burden of that realization was the most difficult part of the process.

he was too weak to dig a den, so he'd taken up residence beneath any shelter that he could find. however, with snowfall becoming heavier and starting more often, anathi thought to take up residence in the nearby quarry. he'd only made it a few steps down one of the halls before being hit with the scent of another. he followed it from a distance before the stranger finally came into view.

anathi froze. uhrihro, he whispered. he attempted to backtrack and leave without being detected, but tripped over his own lame feet.

Oop, I'm back from lunch. I can spree now! I'm not sure how you wanna go about rolls, but I'm not picky!

She rounded a corner and was surprised to find a wolf standing across from her in the limestone hallway. Looking quite petrified, he whispered something she didn't understand. The dog backed up to try and escape, but he tripped over his own feet. That was when Maud realized he was lame. It must've been her lucky day, as her prey waltzed right up to her and was already crippled.

Without a second thought, she bounded towards the lowly dog and pounced with outstretched paws, sharp needle claws unsheathed and aimed right for his throat. Regardless of where they sank in, she'd try to hold him still in order to deliver a finishing blow: impalement to the skull with her unforgiving fangs.

i'm big goofy and rolled wrong, his current hp is 15/20. maud's attack cancelled out with the dodge.

o, kak.

the panther quickly caught wind of anathi's presence. as she lunged forward, he stood, moving just far enough to keep his throat out of reach. instead, her claws raked a wound against his ribs as he collapsed once more, pain searing through his body.

anathi fought against a cry, instead snapping back in hopes of returning the favor.

Yaa, I think we're good now? Tho they keep doing nothing to one another, if I've got this right. Lmao.

She shouldn't have underestimated him, as the wolf had enough time to sidestep her attack in spite of his injury. Her claws scraped the stone floor with a sharp clack, which left her desperate for the sickening squelch of flesh and blood. Swiftly, she leapt back in time to avoid his incoming jaws. Maud reeled back to slash his face, but her swipe was met only with cold air. She growled in frustration. Wasn't this supposed to be an easy kill? Damned dogs, everything was difficult with them.

She sat on her haunches with a paw at the ready in anticipation of his next attack, as fleeing was out of the question for him. Once his next lunge inevitably came, she'd swipe at his snout to deflect it.

anathi pushed himself out of the way using his front legs as leverage. he returned the panther's growl with one of his own, lips curling upward in a defensive snarl. there wasn't much for him to do here aside from preventing as much damage as possible. as she sat back, paw up in preperation, he forced his body to turn and snapped forward.

the cougar's paw swept clean against maw. anathi flinched backward, licking at his paw to clear some of the blood dripping from his nose. one of her claws had managed to knick his gums, prompting the slow pooling of blood in his mouth. in an attempt for retaliation, he quickly forced himself upright and pushed for another lunge.

He tried to get around her defensive posturing but simply wasn't agile enough to pull it off. Her paw collided with his face, slicing his gums, and it felt... good. But the hellhound was quick to retaliate. Maud turned so that he'd bite her shoulder in lieu of a more vital area. Then, finally, her claws sank into his flesh. With a shrill caterwaul, she shoved all of her weight into him to try and dislodge the pest from her shoulder. If she could, she'd pin him to the ground where his options would be severely limited. Then, she would once again go in for a killing bite, aiming for his throat this time.

i'm writing this on the assumption that the big bite is maud's attack.
HP: 5/20 :((

the bite landed and anathi held on with all of this might. for a moment, this worked, but the panther quickly overpowered him and flipped the brute onto his back. were his hindlegs not splayed out at his end, he might have attempted to claw at her underside.

the strike was a clear attempt to kill. anathi swept right as she lunged forward, her teeth gripping onto and pulling away a sliver of flesh from his throat. it was deep enough to provoke bleeding, but luckily missed any major arteries. he snapped at her paws to get her to release their grip. if successful, he would push himself a few steps away, legs scrambling to stand behind him.

Dunno if you want to keep rolling since she's going for his leg now. Up to you!

She could see how the dog had survived this far, as he refused to give in despite his severe disadvantage. Even when she had him pinned, he kept fighting. Maud tore a good chunk out of his neck, but she narrowly missed an artery. She felt a sting in her paw, which instinctively pulled away while she moved her weight off of him. Smartly, he released her just as she went to swat his skull. Another fucking miss.

She was growing impatient. This was beginning to feel not worth the effort, but Maud would be damned if she let a crippled wolf outdo her. He clearly knew what he was doing when it came to combat, as he controlled his front end well. If she couldn't make much headway there, she'd aim for his weak point: the back end. She lunged again, this time with his hind leg as her target. One foreleg would try to pin his head to the ground, claws digging cruelly into his face. Meanwhile, she'd lean down to pierce the flesh of his leg with her fangs. If able to get a good hold on it, she would tug and twist with all her might to mercilessly try and sever the damned thing.

nah, it's good.

anathi managed to stand, but buckled and fell with the panther's lunge. his head hit hard against the ground, leaving his vision dizzy as he drifted between states of consciousness.

the pain of her claws digging into the flesh of his cheek was diluted by that of her jaws around his thigh and the subsequent breaking of bone. anathi's eyes shot open as he opened his mouth to gasp, though the air was trapped in his throat.

a moment of numbness.

the shock and adrenaline did anathi a favor, then. the panther'd partially amputated his hindleg, leaving the upper half mangled and unrecognizable. the blood followed a slow but powerful flow, puddling beneath the stump. if allowed, anathi would use the last of his adrenaline to hobble and fall into a nearby pool of water.

gaan in die water, he thought to himself, en sê u gebede.

Turns out it's curtains for Rhode after all... I'm so sad!! I was rooting for him! ;v; RIP Rhode.

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With a sickening crack, the bone snapped. To Maud, it was a source of cathartic bliss. Fueled by her rage, she didn't stop there. She continued to twist and pull until the limb detached completely from the dog's body. The force of it threw her off-balance for several heartbeats. In that time, the dog was, miraculously, able to haul himself to his remaining feet. He was trying to drag himself into the icy depths for a watery grave, but she would not allow it.

Slamming her paw down onto his spine, she held him in place. He was the condemned, and she was his executioner. The guillotine dropped, sealing his fate. His lifeblood seeped into her maw through the puncture wounds from twin ivory blades. Sure that the dog was nothing more than an empty husk now, Maud wrenched her teeth out of the wound and licked her maw clean of blood and grey matter. Then, she slid onto her stomach as she caught her breath.

Dogs always made things difficult; but today, the cat prevailed. She feasted on her well-earned meal, savoring every bite. And if anyone wanted to challenge her for her prize, she would ensure they met the same fate.