Dawnlark Plains Hungry, hungry

The doe lowered its head again, its momentary stillness the opportunity Sivaak had been waiting for. Her muscles bunched, powerful limbs tightening like coiled steel beneath her. With a low, guttural snarl that tore through the silence like a blade, Sivaak lunged.

She exploded from her cover, a flash of white and gray streaking across the undergrowth, her paws hammering the earth as she closed the distance in a burst of brutal speed. The doe’s head snapped up, its eyes wide with sudden terror, but it was too late. Sivaak barreled into the creature with the full force of her weight.

The doe staggered ahead, its panic sending it veering sideways, back toward the treeline and the northman’s position. Sivaak pushed forward with relentless force, her paws tearing through frost-bitten earth, closing the distance but not yet near enough for the final strike. Her breath came harsh and ragged as she drove the creature toward him, her body a freight of muscle and fury.

“Cut her off!” she roared, voice crackling like a whip through the brittle silence. Sivaak’s scarred frame veered right, forcing the doe to falter and swerve—straight into the waiting jaws of her ally.

For all her ferocity, Sivaak was no fool. A large kill required coordinated bloodshed, and if Randolf failed to act, her teeth would find him next.