Redtail Rise [M] Ah but working too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack

Of course she would take the initiative of his blunder and launch an attack, which he couldn't exactly avoid. When she gathered herself and readied to leap, Glawackus tensed and fought against the shallows to try and find his own footing; he barely managed it as she came crashing nearby, snapping after him with a wave of bog water to supplement her assault. His mouth was open when the splash hit him square in the jaw, forcing grit and pond scum to the back of his throat and making him recoil. That tiny movement saved his eyes, but not his face — she caught him across the muzzle and with one scissor of her jaws, scored him deeply.

She was snapping and advancing in a flurry, while he recoiled from the pain; not quite aware of the red that now stained his face, as he was cold and wet from the bog, and thus numb. But he knew he had to get out from this position if he was going to survive. There was no chance he'd win on an attack — and his defense was crumbling as she pressed her advantage — so, like before, Glawackus' best move was to retreat.

He was coughing and staggered from the constant blows, feigning more injury than he felt for that moment, in an effort to bait her in a different direction and create an opening that he could maybe use to climb free of the ditch. If he managed, he'd climb to the first solid patch of earth and scurry off with his tail tucked, to nurse his wounds.