Ouroboros Spine and all of our shadows are ashes against the grain

You're fine!

She snorted as Kroc steered clear of her waving the bone. That singular huff punctuated how she felt about this, and it was nothing short of good. She was quite content with the ownership of that bone, but it was a contentedness that would soon be cut short. Keenly she observed her out of the corner of her eye as the larger female raised a paw to bat at her, the swat seeming half-hearted in comparison to the pounce that swiftly followed it.

Now Echelon wasn't really the type to simply skirt away from a challenge. In the company of a known associate, it was much easier for her to simply take the punches and roll with them. So when the weight of her kin came barrelling into her, she took the brunt of it and responsed with ferocity. Her grip on the bone released, dark lips pulling back into an open-mouthed snarl as she turned her head in towards the exposed underside of her assailant. Likewise, her posturing turned much more dominant as a result, her tail rising to bring up the end of her hackles standing. Brash enough to bear the weight on top, she struck like a pit viper long coiled from lying in wait — but the strike wasn't meant to draw blood. With her own kin, she'd nip and torment the flesh beneath their plush coats, but drawing blood was not a necessity here.