Overture Downs in the arms of the strangler

@Zephyr, i'm dating this for 12/26. let me know if that works.

blondine knew that she'd have to head back home by sundown. a few days had passed since she'd taken her leave; she didn't want either -arch to think she'd abandoned ship. ain't the aberleaf way, she muttered to herself, can't leave 'em again. 

there was a small expanse on the way. blondine settled at the foot of a hill for a moment's rest to prepare for the trip.

I'm going to make sure there are no dead bodies ahead, He'd told @Phillip, maybe a little too bluntly. I don't want you to pass out again. For once, it's the truth; he'd hated how scared and vulnerable he'd felt in that moment, and he is not eager to repeat it. There is a protective streak in him, too, though he refuses to acknowledge it even to himself. It's easier to chalk it up to selfishness and leave it at that.
He doesn't find a dead body, fortunately. He does find a live body, unfortunately. Why are you sitting down here? He demands as he approaches the earth-colored wolf from behind, immediately irritated by what seems like stupidity to him. You can't see anything here. Someone could come over the hill and kill you.

the faint sound of a distant voice stirred blondine from her sleep. i can't see much of anything from anywhere, quite frankly. she rose and turned back then, amber gaze falling on the fragile form of a stranger. a smile on her face, she opened and close the empty socket for show.

it was then that she realized this was not a true wolf, but one of the others. blondine worked to soften the scowl she'd forgotten to hide. ain't her fault, blondine. she can't help how god made her.

what're you doin' down here, if it's so dangerous? she gave a small smile to soften her concerned gaze.

The empty socket catches his attention immediately, even before the woman starts an exaggerated blink to point it out. He grimaces, throat tightening with sudden nausea. Don't do that. That's nasty, He says as his ears flatten to his skull, keeping his voice level with no small amount of effort. The scowl only increases his displeasure, and by the time the stranger decides to play nice, he's already determined that he wants none of it. I'm looking for dead bodies of idiots like you. No need to tell her why, of course; maybe the mystery of it will put some fear into her. It'd be nice to see a bit of fear for once.

alright, alright. blondine was ready to quit her jest until hearing the girl continue, her words growing more offensive. still, she tried to give the stranger the benefit of the doubt, continue to smile while she asked, is that a threat?

one eye or both, blondine wasn't the sort to turn down a fight, but especially not with a half-blood; a being half wolf and half vermin. don't threaten me, darlin'. it ain't nice. she stiffened then, her tail twitching behind her.

pping hits a bit based on what we agreed on, lmk if anything needs to be changed tho!

He doesn't like her smile at all, and he likes her words even less. It doesn't matter that his words hadn't been a threat, or that his intention had not been to start a fight. He's insulted now. There is no fear in the woman, he sees; she's mocking him, surely — which he finds ironic, considering her strange manner of speaking.
You don't scare me. You can't even talk right, He snaps, catching himself before he can take a step back and instead moving forward. No weakness, he reminds himself. Then, before he can talk himself out of it, he lunges. He aims for her throat, but he doesn't know to anticipate the other's movement, and when his teeth meet the wrong place he finds himself only leaving scratches, grip failing — from surprise, and from the sudden wave of self-doubt at the most inconvenient of moments.

there was hardly any time to formulate a response before the stranger was lunging forward. blondine was glad she'd braced herself; the target was her throat, but she moved quick enough to offer a shoulder instead. the bite was quick, hardly breaking skin, so she thought to retaliate before her opponent had another chance. being that he was on her blind side, she couldn't place her aim and instead decided to settle for whatever she could get.

He feels her teeth sinking into the side of his neck before he has a chance to move away, but the pain is not what he expects. Instead of the burning lance that had shot through him the first time, he feels only pressure and a deep, gnawing ache. A gasp slips from him as he wrenches away from her, stepping back briefly, and he lunges again in the next second with what he hopes is a more careful aim. Again he goes for her throat, higher this time, determined to grip whatever his teeth find.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: eye gore

blondine was latched onto his throat for all of a second before releasing and backing away. this was not meant to be a fatal encounter, but rather a display of dominance; murder was not on her mind. she would have turned and walked away were it not for the subsequent attack, another lunge for her throat.

she used her head as a sheild, tilting it downward over the center of her neck. her mouth opened in a snarl, just as his jaws clamped down, one tooth lodging itself in the roof of her mouth. the upper canines of her opponent's mouth scraped against blondine's forehead, sliding down and piercing the lid over her good eye.

she was balanced on her hindlegs. with her available paws, she clawed helplessly at her assailant. it was a familiar feeling, the same as had been before. 

once the stranger released, blondine's eye would be removed from the socket, leaving nothing behind.

The last thing he expects is the stranger's face between his jaws — but that's what happens, somehow. It all goes a bit too fast for him to keep track of exactly how. One moment he feels jarred by the pain of his teeth against her skull and her claws against his chest, grip tightening nonetheless, and the next he feels something soft and warm against his tongue. He flinches, jaws stretching wide as he disentangles himself from his awkward grip on her, and he feels flesh catching in his teeth as he pulls away and down, stretching and then giving with the slightest snap.
He takes a step back, nausea intensifying as his jaws clamp shut over something oddly round and warm and too soft. It slides down his throat before he can even register the salty taste. He chokes on it as he turns away, ignoring the woman he'd just maimed. He can't look — not out of guilt, but disgust. If he looks, it will only confirm the sinking feeling in his stomach that tells him he knows exactly what he'd just swallowed, and he doesn't think he can tolerate that just now. Instead, he runs, and he doesn't stop until his body's protests force him to.

there was nothing left to do about it now. the eye wasn't going to come back. blondine could sit and wait for someone to come find her, or she could get up and move on. get up, and move on. just.. just get up.

the sound of the stranger's retreat was muffled by the rush of blood in blondine's ears. she sat back on her haunches and huffed, finding herself incredibly dissatisfied with the way that this fight played out. 

i'm goddamn blind, she laughed. her voice was quiet and strained, but the laugh was genuine. where's indra when you need her?

blondine sat there for a few more minutes before standing and trying to make her way back home.