Dragoncrest Cliffs We can weep and call it singing

Even though he had the advantage of being able to watch what Vercingetorix was doing, Ephraim wasn't as prepared as he ought to have been for the man's charge. The warrior wasn't too secretive about where he was going, allowing Ephraim to duck out of the way just in time, but he wasn't as quick as he could have been. Verx's lowered teeth scraped across the flesh above his shoulders and his eyes teared up of their own accord when a hefty tuft of fur was yanked loose from his coat.

He reacted quickly, but without much thought. His first instinct was to turn his head and spin out of his crouch, snapping for the exposed shoulder nearest him, but his heart was hammering from how sudden Vercingetorix's attack seemed to him and his counter wound up clumsy. His aim was all too obvious and it would be easy for the stronger wolf to anticipate it and force him away before he managed to get any sort of grip. A smarter, more experienced warrior might have gone for Vercingetorix's hind leg instead, given the limited options his opponent would have then, but Ephraim was naught but a largely untried greenhorn who needed to learn the hard way what worked and what didn't.