Shadewood With all the fire we can breathe.

The interloper noticed her too late. Masquerade managed to straddle her back with her forelegs. She could’ve easily done damage with her teeth, sinking them into the other wolf’s spine or somewhere somewhere on either flank. Part of her thrilled at the idea of slaying the thieving intruder, though this wasn’t the rise. This land didn’t even properly belong to them. This awareness tempered her somewhat.

Instead, Masque struck for the woman’s scruff, meaning to subdue her. Before she could latch fully, the stranger bent in half to snap at her right foreleg. She managed to grab it, though the angle was too severe to apply enough pressure to break it. Masque hedged on this anyhow, twitching the limb at the searing pain even as she applied most of her focus into yanking the trespasser’s scruff and trying to force her to the ground.

It was a difficult task, given the other woman’s size and strength. Jaws still holding onto her scruff like a steel trap, Masquerade suddenly pivoted her body to the left, so that she straddled that flank. She managed to yank her right foreleg free in the process, albeit painfully. The damaged leg snaked around the other wolf’s torso, holding her in a vice-like grip as she kept pushing her downward.