Hushed Willows mama, please—let me back inside

No posting order from here on out -- jump in when you can, and if you haven't already and want to. Just limit it to once during this round. Next round starts in three days.

Ah, the little one. She is weak, defenseless—an easy target. She feels herself salivate, craving this more than she should, looming over the girl. . . And then one of the adults arrives, a dark female, all ferocity and fangs. The wolf named Tzila howls; Tupkuk knows more will soon come, and the fight will not be as easy.

One, two, three, four more come, snapping and snarling. Another child, gawking in the background. Soon all is confusion, the world spinning around them faster than before. She must do something, must. . .

With a whimper, Tupkuk lowers herself as if cowed, eyes raking the ground, hunched shoulders all submission. Oh, the big scary dogs! Of course she is no match for them! She makes a slow quarter-turn, beginning to shuffle to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches. She waits.

And then without warning, she spins with an agility shocking for her size, swinging a massive paw at the little dark woman that had arrived to flank the first adult. It hits the delicate skull dead-on, sending the wolf flying, while her claws rake across the paper-thin flesh at her throat and sends a spray of blood across the assembled canines.

Then she lunges at the rest.