Duskfire Glacier take a look around you and get a good whiff

whoops so sorry to hold this up! for clarification, Imaq has not joined this thread just to avoid confusion and she would probably be outside the territory hunting, etc. :)

The high-pitched noise that Makatza produced when Sikuliak sank his sharp, mint new, canines into her was nearly enough to make him let go on its own. He didn't at that exact moment, determined to keep biting, but he did cringe -- ears twitching in pain and eyes squeezing shut. His ears were still ringing when Meerkat's words trickled through, her authoritative tone breaking through whatever rebellion might've inspired him. He released the older girl but it seemed she had no intention of playing by the rules.

The toddler had never experienced anything that might prepare him for what happened next and indeed, it happened so quickly that he didn't even have time to fight back or react. One second he was shifting back, either to step back from Makazta instinctively in response to Meerkat's reprimanding or to take on a submissive stance as the Counselor approached. The next, he was being rattled around and there was a horrid grinding, a searing pop as he was flung down by his shoulder. 

Now, it was him who was screaming like a wounded animal just before the mercy blow.

Another heartbeat and pain exploded through his head, aftershocks rippling through his body as darkness enveloped him. He could not see. Could not scream. Could not even breathe.

He did not register his father's or Veteran's arrival nor anything Meerkat might've been doing to stop the Duskfire pup. He could not feel anything beyond the dirt invading his airways and the blind panic tearing through him as Makazta ground his face into the dirt.