Ouroboros Spine digitalis horridus

He can hear her coming. The only comparison he can make as the sound builds and the stranger draws closer, is to the mighty bear of Ursus; Kiliutak had never watched the bears much within the valley but he had imagined what they might be like in battle, how heavy-set and burdened they appeared for all their strength. This was similar to his expectations.

The next thing he thought of was the boar.

The pigs that Kukutux commanded. The thundering of steps - the quickness of them - made Kiliutak grab for the dried weeds and things (only to miss), then scamper off the path as quickly as he could. The wolf came galloping through a cloud of dust and through it, along the path and then down towards the gulley.

He bows as low as he can go, protective of his throat, coiling himself and twisting so that when she meets him with teeth bared, she cannot grab for something precious. But grab she does — hard, fast, like being hit with a mountain.

The boy goes down without a fight — held to the dirt by those teeth — and lets out a shriek that echoes across the mountain paths.