Arrow Lake [m] Haven't felt this way since I asked you to go steady

Tariq had been roaming the mountain's edge, his heavy frame moving with surprising silence. He wasn’t looking for trouble, but trouble had a way of finding him.

The faint sounds of snarls and scuffling reached his ears, cutting through the steady hum of the falls ahead. His ruby-red eyes narrowed as his steps quickened, the distant scent of blood and fear now unmistakable.

And when he arrived, it was chaos.

Two figures tangled in a violent blur of fur and teeth, the smaller of the two struggling to hold his ground against the larger attacker. Tariq’s gaze locked on Panacea—the desperate fire in his movements, the refusal to back down despite being outmatched. The wolf was fighting like a cornered animal.

Tariq stepped forward without hesitation, towering frame crashing through the brush from the treeline, his deep growl rolling across the lakeside like a low thunder. “That’s enough,” he spit, his voice rough and commanding. It wasn’t a request.

The larger wolf froze for a moment, glancing over his shoulder to meet Tariq’s piercing gaze. His hesitation was enough. Tariq surged forward, his massive form barreling into the stranger with an impact that sent them both skidding across the icy ground. The attacker yelped as Tariq’s teeth sank into his shoulder, a warning more than a killing blow.