the scent of loner within their borders heading directly for a food cache was strong and offensive to the chocolate garbed sentry as he apprehended and adjusted his course to meet the audacious male in an interception. dauntless's hackles bristle and a low growl rumbles in his throat as the earthen agouti man appears through the trees, big as you please, with a stolen hare's stiff corpse hanging limp betwixt his jaws. dauntless's lips curl back from his teeth as his muscles pull taunt, tail raised high over his back. a snarl wrenches from betwixt his jaws before he runs, all out, towards the trespasser dauntless's aim to slam his body against the trespasser's own in an attempt to get him down. it's at the forefront of his mind that his ultimate goal is to get him into submissive surrender and dauntless is not afraid ( ahah, i enjoy the puns i get to use with his name ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) to assert his dominance, especially on his own turf to a man who — as far as dauntless cares to see — can't respect the borders that are there to warn him away.

the impact of their bodies as they collide is hard and dauntless' shoulder takes most of the resounding brunt and pain of it. it smarts but a secondary rush of adrenaline fills him and numbs it, allows him to focus on what's presently the most important thing: the fight. this isn't a friendly, competitive spar between brothers. this was the real deal and in that small and brief moment of consideration it terrified him just as much as it excited him. there was no such thing as a harmless trespass and theft of valuable food resources. that hare could have been a meal for arushi or ishara. or for catori who he assumed would soon grow round with his baby siblings.

the trespasser rose and leapt at him, parted jaws aiming for his face. dauntless feigns left quickly and the male's attack misses him. as the male's neck comes into his range dauntless aims to grab the male's front leg.

dauntless' attack misses the trespasser's leg. the boy's teeth clash together jarringly, having anticipated wrapping around flesh and bone of the criminal. dauntless gives his head a slight shake and sobers up quickly, letting out a low snort. dauntless dodges the gnash of the trespasser's teeth aimed for his scruff with a snap of his teeth in response. like hell ...he thinks with a surge of defiance. this was his turf and losing to this man would be nothing but an utter embarrassment. if he allows the man to grab him by the scruff then it'll be hard to regain his ground. the trespasser's teeth miss dauntless with his dodge and dauntless moves in quick aiming for a hind leg this time, teeth intending to splice flesh as dauntless attempts to once more throw him off balance and get him down to the ground.

dauntless's second attempt to grab the male's leg was successful: his teeth sink into the thin and soft flesh of his leg, tugging him to the forest floor. he's down and dauntless draws in a breath as he releases the trespasser's leg before the other male can manage to bat at him. dauntless aims for his belly then, seeking to splice him open like he would a deer's belly. this wasn't a game, after all. dauntless was fighting to protect his dad's claim, fighting to protect his sisters and everything that he held dear; and he's realized abruptly that there was no line he wouldn't cross to ensure their safety. he would corrupt himself with becoming death, if that was what it took. yet, with the trespasser still wriggling and kicking it would make his mark hard to reach. still, dauntless attempted it, nevertheless.

dauntless lets out a low snarl, snapping his teeth as the trespasser's legs wrap around his neck and throws him to the ground. dauntless's landing is not elegant — his body collides with the earth hard and painfully but adrenaline rushes in to whisk away the pain so he can continue with the fight. he scrambles to his paws as quick as he can and launches after the man as he makes a break for his kill. dauntless draws in close and aims for the man's scruff to force him back to the ground and into a submissive yeild.

dauntless scruffs the man and jerks him to the ground hard, asserting his dominance over the trespasser. this victory feels measurably different than his victory over his friendly spar with sunny. the trespasser rolls over and stares at dauntless with hatred in his eyes and dauntless' lips curl silently as his hackles bristle and tail rises over his back. it only bothered daunt because this was his turf and if anyone had any right to feel hatred it was dauntless himself. "the next time i see you anywhere near my borders whether you're inside them or there's ten feet between them and your body —" dauntless swipes his salmon pink tongue across his jowls, pearly white teeth gleaming as if to reinforce his next words. "— i'm going to kill you." not a threat, not a warning. a promise. in the wake of that heavy promise dauntless does not mar his flesh, to show that he can be merciful but that it would be the only time, as he snaps his teeth at the man to encourage him to his paws and prepares to chase him out of morningside's territory.