Heron Lake Plateau theodore rex

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Whether the sound was his heart, his paws, or the attacker's paws was unknown, but the sound filled both of his ears, echoed into his chest with a shock that seemed to freeze the organs in his body, leaving him a stone cold mess. His paws were fast on the rough ground, but not fast enough - a gust of air tickled his toes, followed by a gut-wrenching tug. Pain shot up his leg, and he peered down in fear to witness the lynx's jaws snap shut around his ankle, pulling back with a force that make the young blackthorn cry out in horror, tumbling to the floor. He'd never seen an attack before, let alone have the victim be himself! Oh, was he going to die now?

Cinder had never been a large wolf, and he was just smaller than the ferious feline, who's hazardous eyes flashed in his vision for the second time - it was an abnormally large lynx, with a bulking form and pointed incisors. He didn't have time to stop and stare, though, when he was being dragged like a limp doll toward the jaws of the creature. Where had it even come from? Why was it trying to hurt him?

If he had been in a calmer state of mind, where his sight was not blurring at the edges and the world did not spin so violently around him, he might have noticed the bones protruding from the intruder's stomach, or where the spine stuck out and streched the skin on their back. But he didn't.

Phox's attack snapped through his mind's spiralling thoughts, and for a moment claws tightened around his hind legs before the weight became looser (now his vision was a blur of black and silver), and the blackthorn's panicked body attempted to wriggle out from under the predator. He was unsuccessful the first time, but fear lent him a boost of urgent strength and with a second attempt (the lynx was momentarily distracted, though he could not see past the mass of fur and muscle) he was free! Or... would have been, if the creature had not noticed the writhing youngster escaping from beneath their claws. But it did, and as he moved to spring away a thundering growl and a crunch filled the air with venemous peril, followed by Cinder's second scream. It was of pain, as a searing heat sped up from the base of his tail and tingled up his spine, before there was a deathly numbness and then release. He felt his chin smack into the earth, but did not waste time looking back at the hulking creature behind him, and sped off into the shelter of any vegetation that had survived winter's grip.

Once he was safely wrapped in whatever he could find, terror-ridden eyes of bronze peered out into the open, only to feel shudders ripple through his body at what lay before him - the lynx had dropped something, but charged toward Phox like a raging bull.