Mae hadn't meant to trespass. The young Frostfur-Mayfair was unaccustomed to the treachery of mountain terrain. She'd been aware of the danger to some extent, but hadn't truly realized what it meant until she slipped.
The girl tumbled all the way down into the Vale, amassing an impressive collection of cuts, scrapes, and bruises on the way down. Most distressingly, her head struck stone and left her ears ringing. Mae eventually collapsed in a pile of bruised and bloody fur. For a moment she was too dazed to move, and could only lie there, wondering why she'd thought this was a good idea at all.
He still was not pleased with their girly new home, and Saleem decided he would only sleep there. Any other time, he would be Elsewhere, which today, happened to be the eastern "wall" of Epoch. On any other day, there would not have been too much to do here, but today, he smelled blood. In all his life, Saleem had only ever known blood to be food.
The boy stalked his prey, moving in quiet and slow. He was a growing boy, and he salivated at the smell and sight of the broken and bruised creature. Lunch was about to be served.
After a few moments of stunned silence, Mae began to stretch out all her battered limbs. Ughhhh,
She leaned back, letting her head flop into the dirt. Fuuuuuck.
At least all of her legs were in working condition. Mae held one stinging paw in the air to inspect the scraped pad, oblivious to the boy who was hunting her.
Then, with another long groan, she rolled over and started to lift herself. Dizziness rushed over her, but she was determined to stand — and did so, albeit unsteadily.
The thing moved, and Saleem froze in his tracks, not wishing to be detected, lest his lunch speed off before he could eat it. The prey made noise, some words he couldn't be bothered to decipher. Somewhere, deep in his still-forming brain, he did know that it was the same type of creature as himself. Then again, it smelled nothing like the wolves who lived here, and it smelled more like food than anything else. Saleem's nostrils flared, taking in the scent.
It rolled and wobbled unsteadily to its feet, and Saleem could see its weakness now. He remained behind the bush, low on the ground, his body tensing until just the right moment.
And then he leapt, jaw agape and murder in his eyes.
Mae finally realized, too late, what was happening. A golden shape lunged for her and all she saw was teeth and then Moss's face and then that man and blood, and blood, and —
Snarling fearfully, half-blinded by panic, she snapped wildly at his face. Then she thought better of it, and went for his throat.
To Saleem's surprise, it fought back. It went for his throat, and the boy recoiled as he felt its teeth on his neck for a brief moment. It made contact, but it did not break his skin, and he recollected himself. Saleem had not been taught to give up, and so he threw himself again at the prey who fought back, this time aiming for a back leg, hoping he might disable it so it would be easier to kill.
Mae hadn't managed to keep her grip, but she was persistent. She twisted as he went for her back leg, lunging again for his throat. The sting in her leg brought her somewhat back to reality. She jerked from his grasp, her skin tearing further, but the pain took a moment to reach her. For now it was pure adrenaline.
feel free to follow him to the nest if you'd like!
It pulled away, and Saleem felt skin and blood on his tongue. He had not injured it as much as he would have liked, and soon it was coming for his throat again. This time, he felt the piercing of skin, and his own blood was spilled. Saleem yanked away, leaving a chunk of skin with his prey. Hurt now beyond a bruise, he backed away, hackles raised and bloody teeth flashing, knowing he should quit while he was ahead. There was easier lunch than this, and he needed to warn
@Sylianos.
Then, the golden boy turned and ran as fast as he could toward Wraen's Nest, knowing
@Arsenio and
@Tamar would see his wounds tended to.
He tore away from her and started to run. Mae stood back, swaying, and watched him with eyes full of venom. She spat once on the ground, wishing that it was his face instead. Bastard!
She shrieked after the coward.
Then she turned and ran, limping heavily. She didn't know how she would get out of here. As it turned out, she wouldn't need to worry about that just yet. After a few moments she slowed, dizzy, and then finally collapsed — still within the borders, which she would curse herself for later.
Nobody was at the nest when he arrived, and Saleem sunk down and tended to his own wounds, muttering ugly words under his breath. He now knew he must find her again and seek revenge. Not only had she wounded his neck, but also his ego, and that just would not do! Groaning, he managed to get himself into some water to soothe the worst of the pain, then fell into a restless sleep.