Flycatcher Downs vi. defeat

The absence of his friend had not gone unnoticed and she had not been forgotten. But a storm had come and gone, taking away her scent and leaving him blind to her whereabouts; he knew not what had happened to her, could not fully believe that which he’d been told. She had abandoned him, like so many before her, and yet he couldn’t so easily disregard her existence. The memories of their time together played through his head, keeping sleep from overtaking him more often than not. She was his but she was not alone, and his indecisiveness, he knew, was what had surely driven her away; he could not blame the girls, only himself. Holding on foolishly to the hope that she would return to the valley and to him, he kept to the borders more often than usual, stationing himself beside her boulder just as he’d done before.

And it was by being there that he heard a scream, the voice familiar, though he’d heard it only a handful of times.

Alexander’s legs were moving before his mind could fully register what it was that he’d heard. He tore across the land, seeking out the origin of the scream—her scream. But when he came upon the scene he felt his limbs lock up, slowing him down whilst his eyes grew wide. For over her stood a male, the stance dragging up a particular memory from the recesses of his mind that he had tried so desperately to forget, to rid himself of. The humiliation felt that day suddenly came back with a vengeance, driving him back—but he could not retreat, he could not abandon her. No one had come to his rescue that day, he’d never been saved from the patchwork male’s vile doings, but history did not need to repeat itself. He could make a difference this time—though he could not save himself, he could save his friend.

Humiliation became fear and fear became rage, blinding the Inuk and forcing him towards the dark mass. He did not slow or hold back in the slightest, lunging forth instead with jaws agape and a snarl that could be heard even by the gods. He did not plan his attack, did not stop to consider his actions—he just attacked, intending to drive his teeth into any piece of the male that he could reach, and drag him far from Reigi.