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the bear lunged from the shadows; finley had paused in uncertainty at his call; and bile rose hot in his throat as the massive paw lashed at her. he blinked, the gesture lengthened by a moment — he did not want to hear her scream, nor see her lifeless body vaulting doll-like through the cold air. but neither of these things happened; lasher stiffened, eyes widening as finley's foolish form darted toward him.
the man stumbled as she careened against his body; he wanted to reach for her shoulder, sink his teeth into her flesh and shake her until the blood flowed and she was assured in agony of her stupidity. gathering himself, lasher flattened himself as the avalanche of the bear's thundered footsteps filled his ears and the giant maul of a paw wrenched out once more.
the man snapped half-heartedly toward the formless void formed by the ursine's dark pelt, blended as it was into the night. its musk stung his nostrils; he caught his own tongue between his teeth and winced
finley
and whirled to face where he had last seen his companion, every fibre of his body shrieking at him to flee, to leave her, but taltos could not bring himself to abandon the blackthorn to her grisly fate.