Ouroboros Spine digitalis horridus

IDK i guess i felt like writing. no need to match! open for anyone.

Okay, so he hadn't gotten far. The heat wave may have ended but the more Kiliutak was left on his own, the more he could think about things. He knew that Avicus had been run off from the territory and that, by the smell of blood on the wind and the cuts on @Kukutux' face, there had been a fight. The girl had not resurfaced to continue her attacks or harassments as far as the boy was aware — which meant she was injured, dead, or disinterested in coming to his rescue.

Kiliutak did the next best thing after finding his way past @Zane — he sought out a source of water to quench his thirst, then set about finding something to eat. He wasn't aware of the location of many caches; he'd ruined many during his own assault of the various ulax weeks ago. After rooting around in the dirt and carefully stalking off the beaten path, he found what looked to be a hollow.

It was full of dry dirt and layered in cobwebs. There was a distinct stench to the soil though — mustelid. Kiliutak didn't know what it was, only that his mouth salivated upon finding it. He began to dig, opening up the hollow so that it was wider than his forelimb was thick; prodding with his snout until he could reach further back among the debris, with the hope he could snatch at something alive.

When he drew himself free again his face was mottled with dirt, dry bits of pine needles, and the tangled mess of webbing. In his teeth he held a cluster of dried plants that some creature must have been storing (or using as a bed, given how deeply packed they were). Kiliutak pulled himself back from the hollow and then up along the path with a scramble of his hindquarters, then tossed the bundle down.

He didn't know what the plants were. The pile was an amalgam of things plucked from the surrounding foliage: a wide blackberry-like series of leaves with six points (like a maple leaf but wide and green); attached to this was a cluster of red berries, some which had dried out and some which had rotted. A thread of green (what was once a stalk of some kind) connected to bell-shaped flowerheads aligned in a row. They were once a magenta color but now, desiccated as they were, appeared plum-colored with dark edges.

Kiliutak snorts over them, then begins working one limb across his face in an effort to remove some of the cobweb from the bridge of his snout.

in reference to this thread, i am going to assume that shikoba has seen kiliutak previously and knows he is not meant to be out and about by himself. if you'd like this changed, please let me know! <3

after seeing the great bear, shikoba is aware that the challenge would be steeper than expected. she is risking the rest of her strength and body to ensure that moonglow is rid of the shadow that lurks in the mountain and the red wave that holds the tupilak's scent. it would all end when kukutux gives her approval. until then, shikoba combs through the territory and scouts out major landmarks that she can recognize and remember.

she passes by caches that have seemingly been ransacked and destroyed [a shame, they'd have to be fixed and refilled for the winter] as well as abstract looking trees and misshapen stones that stick out of the earth like its own jagged teeth. all important aspects that define moonglow to shikoba. she feels like turning back after her time out to head back to her ulaq. 

but something lingers in her coal black nose, something that doesn't belong. it isn't blood, it isn't an invader -- it's an escapee. nuak. sulfur eyes widen as the older woman turns in the direction of the scent and gallops towards it, full speed ahead. despite her lighter frame, her thunderous gait kicks up the dirt and stone beneath her as she draws in, closer and closer. 

he would hear her, but she has no intentions to hide or cower. it is bold, it is open, it is honest, it is everything she is when she battles. whether he chooses to flee or stand his ground, it does not matter. fuel to the fire, adrenaline pumps through her scarred body, she will make sure her teeth meets flesh today.

He can hear her coming. The only comparison he can make as the sound builds and the stranger draws closer, is to the mighty bear of Ursus; Kiliutak had never watched the bears much within the valley but he had imagined what they might be like in battle, how heavy-set and burdened they appeared for all their strength. This was similar to his expectations.

The next thing he thought of was the boar.

The pigs that Kukutux commanded. The thundering of steps - the quickness of them - made Kiliutak grab for the dried weeds and things (only to miss), then scamper off the path as quickly as he could. The wolf came galloping through a cloud of dust and through it, along the path and then down towards the gulley.

He bows as low as he can go, protective of his throat, coiling himself and twisting so that when she meets him with teeth bared, she cannot grab for something precious. But grab she does — hard, fast, like being hit with a mountain.

The boy goes down without a fight — held to the dirt by those teeth — and lets out a shriek that echoes across the mountain paths.

eventually she feels flesh beneath her white daggers and holds onto it tightly, as if it is the last morsel she may ever feel between her unhinged jaws. even when the boy lets out the blood-curdling scream that causes the unexpected flight of birds, shikoba refuses to let go. he would have to thrash about and roll on top of her to get her to let go of her vice-like grip on him. thankfully for the boy, it is not neck and windpipe that she holds onto, but rather a fold of skin on his shoulder area. her bite is not deep, but it certainly would hurt as if it is.

as the boy crumbles to the ground, the native woman attempts to find a way to hold him down, despite her smaller size. should she be able to find her footing, a paw would press against his muzzle to keep his face against the dirt that welcomes his body. but in this potential moment, it would give him a chance to snap at her limb, should he try and manage to succeed. she must think quickly now, does she try to end his life now, or wait for kukutux to truly give her the signal? either way, her choice made today will cause ripples within moonglow. her own life is now on the line as she faces the bear alone.

a deep growl rumbles from within her, a clear message to the boy. 

"stay down."

Years of being roughly handled by those his age or older have sculpted Kiliutak in to the perfect punchable thing; if he were an object in a past life, he would have been a sand bag hung by chains from the ceiling, ready to receive the pummelling of fists. Likewise, when Shikoba slams in to him and grabs at his shoulder with her teeth, his only natural response is not to fight back, but to crumble.

She shoves his face in to the dirt.

The boy is gasping to replenish the breath he had previously lost to his shriek and as a result of that, eats gravel.

Though the woman is smaller than he is, Kiliutak does not know how to use his bulk to his advantage - nor does he consider it an option - and so when she commands that he stay down the order is superfluous -- he had no intention of standing up again or fighting back to begin with.

time and time again, shikoba finds herself unveiling white daggers in order to pierce the skin of her enemy under the guise of self-righteousness to protect what is hers. her fights, even when the odds are stacked up against her, have always been fair; she has the scars to prove that she does not sneak away from combat nor cower in the face of danger. each and every time the woman has spilled blood, it has been a fair fight with an evenly or perhaps an overpowered enemy, like the hellcat.

yet in this moment where shikoba holds the boy between her teeth, the wild and vengeful look in her bright eyes dies down as a the heavy weight of guilt swells within her body. this is not the fair fight she imagined it would be. the boy has not leaped for her, he has not reached to snap or bite or even run. he is obedient and fearful as she shoves his face against the dirt they walk upon.

every fiber in the woman's body tells her that what she is doing is wrong. that she is taking advantage of the boy -- the fight is not a fair one. there is no honor behind killing the defenseless and weak. that is below shikoba. her growls end from her throat and she removes her paw from his face. heaving to catch her breath, she asks him a question as her grip loosens from his shoulder.

"why nuak run?" a near whisper. his choice forced this decision from her, this primal instinct to capture and end his life. yet, now she can't bring herself to. for the first time in a fight, shikoba second-guesses herself.

The growling reverberates through the boy until suddenly it stops. The pressure of teeth against his skin lessens. Where the warrior has forced her will upon him, shoving him in to the path, he will have bruises. The fur beneath the cut of her teeth is tangled with saliva and a sheen of blood. Whatever she was after from him, perhaps she got it, perhaps not. The boy remained in the dirt as she withdrew.

The question was met with silence. The wheezing of his panicked breath, nothing else. His ears were ringing - his skin humming with fading adrenaline while he lay there. When she did not leave but only stood and watched him, Kiliutak saw his chance.

He hastily drew his sprawled limbs beneath his body and stood himself upright, lunging away from the woman's shadow. His entire body was shaking, snaking, aching; but he did not retaliate, only tried once more to escape before she gathered her surprise to attack again.

Oddly enough, he was moving back along the path towards the ulax, upper shrine, and the stonework where he had for so long been kept. Plants forgotten, reeking of fear.

an act of fairness that could have harbored more pity for the boy is taken for granted as he slips away from her. shikoba falls to the ground, guilt flees as anger replaces it. the growling and snarling return and now shikoba knows that mercy is not an option for the underling of the tupilak. if the boy had chosen to attack, shikoba would meet him again with unbridled rage. yet, he instead takes the route back towards his home, the higher part of the territory where he is kept away.

perhaps this is the wisest choice. should he go back towards his prison with little to no issue, shikoba would let him breathe for another day. despite her discussion with the duck, she is still unsure of whether or not the boy is ready to have his blood spilled onto moonglow's sacred land. her indecisive nature may stir trouble later with the higher-ups. but until then, shikoba will do what she must to handle the situation.

even though he does not come to attack her while she is down, this does not do much to dampen the fire that burns within the woman. with her lips pulled back and her kindness fleeting, shikoba charges after the boy in an attempt to herd him back as if he were nothing more than a deer trying to escape her grasp. head low and neck elongated to snake him, she attempts to snap at his heels to hasten the pace.

The boy shoves himself belligerently across the path and up along the ridge, scrambling when the path cuts out or bends in a way he does not expect, but otherwise doing his best to keep ahead of those sharp teeth. He is not agile - he is too bulky - but there is a desperate kind of speed to his steps.

The stranger quickens, likely due to frustration or merely knowing the paths better than the boy, and he thinks he feels her hot breath on his heel. There is no telling the snap of twigs from the snap of teeth; but all that matters in the heat of the moment is escape, so he continues to climb and fight his way across the terrain until the crevasse comes in to view. It looks so different from the outside in, and he wonders if he has found the right place.

The scent of himself overwhelms the closer he gets. There is a discarded pile of bones near one ledge (a forgotten breakfast given to him by someone or other) and a ratty piece of red fox fur by the entrance to his cage. It is discolored from his use; in pieces after he had shred it during an emotional first night as a captive.

Now he sees it as a target to aim for, and hurries to the cover of shadow which the crevasse affords. Kiliutak tucks himself as far back as he can manage within the chasm, which has only grown smaller as he's matured here beneath the watch of guards. His heart is hammering in his chest; but he looks out from the darkness at the mottled wolf who pursues him and hopes she stays out.

shikoba has not felt an adrenaline rush quite like this one in a long time, along with a sense of frustration and bitterness. in an attempt to be kind and understanding, she is taken advantage of. yet, she does not blame nuak for choosing to not comply; she blames herself for trying to help the boy when he is in no position to be offered nice things. she is weaker and is softer than she was in her younger days, that is the problem.

every time shikoba feels her teeth make contact with flesh, she can feel her pace quicken as her intentions grow darker and darker. if she is cruel, she may bite to tear something of his. but perhaps that path is below the one shikoba walks on. she has already let the boy disgrace her once in battle, but she will not allow him to do so again. instead, her nips are enough to send him the message that if he doesn't keep up this quick pace, he may meet his end.

thankfully for the young boy, he has made it back into his chamber. shikoba slows as she nears the entrance and she sees how nuak pushes himself against the back rock. she is now halfway through the entrance, but is still in her stance. her heavy breaths soon return to normal quickly, thanks to her daily patrols keeping her in shape.

she takes a threatening step forward with her hackles and tail raised as the low rumble of a growl escapes her throat. a very clear sign that she is not happy with him running off on her, even if it is back in his tomb. should he remain on her good side and stay submissive and obedient, then shikoba may leave him alone to guard the entrance. if not, then it won't be just his shoulder that bleeds.