Qeya River thorn blood

her life lapped warm at his paws as the man reeled back, panting, crimson painting his own coat.

his throat ached. his eyes burned; his nostrils and his mouth gasped air back into his lungs.

for a moment he only caught his breath, watching with single narrowed eye as the man turned and fled.

his howl was triumphant, a furling prideful sound that graciously invited the unknown @Senka to return. after all, now there was no reason to engage strife over a land when he now owned it.

he expected the man to return, heady with his fulfilled challenge. 

yikaas soon hobbled into the riverland, hunting for any scent of those hiding in the territory. in time he would return to bury the woman on the borders, but not before smearing the same rudimentary medicine onto his wounds and falling into a fitful sleep for a short time, blood oozing into a crust along the side of his face.