Redsand Canyon Wheat like waves.

There was very little strategy in Towhee’s approach. She flung herself at the cat, jaws snapping, aiming for its nearest limb. Mercenary’s instincts told her to hamstring it before it could get anywhere near Mereo’s most vulnerable.

She succeeded in clamping the lynx’s left hind leg. Towhee intended to apply pressure and shake it simultaneously to maximize the damage. But the cat possessed, well, catlike reflexes. She’d barely registered her own triumphant hit when the lynx whirled and slashed.

Germanicus and Reyson were quick to close in beside her, distracting the lynx enough that Towhee only took a single blow. Ignoring the searing pain and the impulse to release her grip, the Redhawk doubled down until she felt flesh tearing and bone snapping. Her mouth filled with blood and gristle.

The lynx shrieked directly in Towhee’s ear. She didn’t hear it, though she felt the heat of its breath, smelled the sourness of blood and fear. It became suddenly much harder to hold onto it. The lynx was being battered on three sides. It was falling to the ground. As it went down, it struck desperately at Towhee’s face with its fangs.

Finally, the Redhawk let go and leaped clear. Certainly the cat wouldn’t be getting back up again. The soldiers had eliminated the threat, though at what cost? Towhee would assess herself and her comrades in a moment, after the lynx finished screaming and twitching.