Wapun Meadow The path ahead

@Surma

Steady's need clamped around the rabbit's throat, and he jerked his head several times, feeling the bones crack in the hare. His tail swayed side to sife, happy with his catch. It wasn't for him, however, it was for his mate. He remembered her skinning the boson and saving the skins for warmth.

Well, the pelt of the rabbit wouldn't be big enough to keep her warm, but it was a lot softer, and maybe she would like to lay her head upon it. He had been careful not to damage the pelt, knowing it would ruin it.

Turning, he looked towards home, his head held high with the rabbit dangling from his jaws. It had been some time since he left the comfort of home, and he wasn't going to waste anytime getting back.

Eventually, Surma finds his legs moving once more. At first, he doesn't know where he's going and it isn't until he's near the base of a mountain that he fondly remembers the whisp of a wolf. He'd reoccurred sometime later but the memory is hazy at best and the last thing he wants to do is pick at the scabs that have grown there. The world seems familiar on this side but from a dream long ago, something no one will recognize if they say him now.

The scar across his muzzle has begun to thin and flatten, becoming apart of him as a memory. As Surma. He wrinkles his nose at the thought and growls lowly within. It has been days since his last meal and the hunger his body calls for is ever present. The fox had been enough to tide him over but he can't push too close to the limits. A fire burns within his heat that he can't quite extinguish, and until then, he'll persevere.

The scent of blood stops Surma in his tracks and his growl increases. His stomach roils in cheer, urging him forward until he comes face to face with a low hanging rabbit. The one it belongs to is barely a concern as long as he can get him to relinquish the kill. His thick fur puffs up around his chest to disguise his thin frame. Even though he's managed to keep fed over the last few months, the wear and tear up close is obvious. For now, Surma keeps it from view and uses his teeth as distraction. Lips curl and he teeters a few more steps forward as a vulture circling the dead.

Too late, he realized he wasn't alone. He had zoomed out, thinking of Valette and home. The other male seemed to show up out of nowhere, but Steady knew he just hadn't been paying attention. 

Hare still in his jaws, he growled as his hackles raised and his ears pushed forward. He wasn't going to give this up without a fight, and his stance showed that. 

But, nor would he make the first move. Maybe the other would come to his senses. Then again, hunger was a forceful motivator and Steady readied himself for an attack, watching the other male closely.

To no surprise, the other wolf does not give up his kill so easily. His hackles raise and he can see the blood stained teeth warning plainly across his face. If Surma can only get him to loosen or drop the kill, he will have the chance to snatch and run, but until then he continues to egg the other on.
 
Surma returns the growl and whips his tail behind him in irritation. It’s the last invitation of conceding he gives and a few seconds later, his legs launch him forward as if they are made of springs. His jaws open wide following a snarl and he aims his mark to grab on part of the rabbit hanging from his mouth, giving the other with few options for reaction.

Non-verbal warnings were given, but neither wolf was backing down. Steady could have dropped the rabbit, and gone to get another one. But, why should he have to exert the energy twice, and this stranger not at all? 

He growled again, and then the other male lunged. Steady's head turned quickly so that he couldn't grab the rabbit, but he also turned his body so that his neck wouldn't be exposed. Unfortunately, it left his backside open for attack.

He knew he couldn't fight with the hare in his mouth, tying up. his most valuable assets. So, with a jerk of his head, he threw the rabbit away from them both, and prepared to face the other male. But, was he fast enough not to incur an injury?

The wolf turns his head in time for Surma to miss the rabbit. He growls in frustration but it is short lived as his jaws instead snap on tender flesh of an open backside. He holds what he can for as long as he can but he’s shaken free when the male snags away from him. Ears fold back against his head as he regains his composure, beginning to circle until he’s face to face with the other. The rabbit isn’t anywhere to be seen at first and there’s a string of panic that runs the back of his mind. Without it, there’s no point in this, and he considers turning tail and running until he sees the crumpled corpse in the distance. Nowhere near his competition.
 
His dark orange eyes flicker back and forth as he slinks to one side so that he can put enough space between them, then his legs spring a second time but he does not go for the brute. Again, he goes for the abandoned hare off to the side.

He growled as teeth sunk into his flesh, and he whipped around, jaws snapping on air, though they had hoped to find their own flesh to penetrate. The other wolf seemed to be torn in this fight, while Steady only had eyes for the stranger. Then he remembered this fight was about food. Food he had tossed to get this mouth free.

The black Alpha raises a lip in a snarl as he watches the other male. His eyes go back and forth, and he tries to get in a better position to take the hare, but Steady steps between them. It wasn't going to just step aside and let the other male have it. Not when it was a gift for his beloved.

The other male darts for the rabbit, and Steady darts towards him, his powerful leg muscles propelling him forward as his jaws open in anticipation of finding their mark. He goes for his opponent's abdomen, but he's quicker than Steady anticipated. But, he might just get a thigh if he was lucky. In case he wasn't, he staked out his front leg in hopes of tripping the other male up.

With his eyes only for the rabbit, the other wolf is much more focus on him. He’s able to get past the other enough that he thinks he’s gotten all the way, jaws open as he lowers to scoop but his teeth clamp on nothing as a painful force pulls him back. He staggers on his front legs, feeling the bite of fangs pierce the sensitive skin around the inside of his thigh, and pressure from the opposite side.          His front legs stiffen in place and he reels around like a fish pulled out of water and snaps his teeth back at the assailant’s face.
 
It is then he does not see the wolf that matches in color but the cougar that gripped its plaything several months ago. His heart seizes up and his breath lodges in his throat, as he snaps at whatever he can get—if anything—before he refocuses on getting out of the other’s grip.

The other male whired around and Steady felt teeth glide across his face. For fear of losing an eye, he let go of the male with a growl.

Assuming the other male would still attempt to go after the rabbit, Steady didn't retreat. Another snap came his way and he felt canines enter his shoulder. Instead of jerking away, however, he pushed into the male, trying to get him off balance.

While the other doesn’t have a grip on his leg anymore, giving him a little bit of freedom, he isn’t able to fully get away. He’s managed to cling to his shoulder and puncture in a desperate attempt to prevent a second bite on his own frame. When the large brute pushes against him, clinging to the flesh he has, he stumbles back a step or two until his legs are caught beneath him, sending him to the ground and in more danger. The rabbit is far from his mind as his mind swims in loss, trying to recover from the cougar weighing him down and the weight of the other looming above. Surma tries to scramble back to his feet to launch himself away, in any direction he can go.

Fangs deepened their hold on his shoulder, and he could feel the muscle tear. A guttural growl was released from his throat as he let go of the other male, only to rear up on his hind legs and come back down on top of him, attempting to pin him to the ground. He loomed over the other male, growling and exposing his canines in an attempt to scare the other male into submission. His threat, however, would be backed up if not heeded.

Steady had always been an instinctual and hierarchical wolf. Dominance was something he wasn't afraid to show when needed, and especially when a wolf was trying to dominate him. Fearful or submissive wolves could become aggressive when their life was on the line, but in the face of a true Alpha, they would submit, or die. Which would the other male choose? For Steady, those were the only two options.

PP approved

Surma does not get far in his attempt to flee. The brute is surprisingly quick to bite at his back and force him to the ground. He doesn’t have much to keep him upright that his legs crumble beneath him. At first, he pulls his legs in and tucks away his neck while he takes a second or two to assess what is happening above him. Nothing more than threats come his way but the proximity is enough to turn his stomach into knots and threatened to spill whatever is left inside.
 
Before the other gets a chance to bite at him again, he catches a glimpse of bright red—muscle exposed in his left shoulder—and he reacts quickly. Surma latches on just below and tears at the muzzle there, torn between staying tucked into himself to avoid serious injury and putting his full strength behind the bite. For the moment, he does what damage he can in such a position beneath him, using a little leverage to push and tear the skin and muscle around his leg.

The other male went down, curling up in submission, and that's when Steady thought it was over. The other male only needed to keep his stance, and his distance when Steady walked away, and the fight would be over. Steady could grab the hare, and make it back to Valette in no time. His shoulder was bad, he was already bleeding a lot, but he had no doubt that Krypton could help him.

But, it wasn't how it played out. His gaze looked up a brief moment to see that the rabbit was still where he threw it, and that was when teeth sunk into his injured shoulder once again. Steady felt the muscle tear even more, and he knew he was done. Instead of a growl, he whined. He did attempt a snap at the other's face, just to get him off as he attempted to retreat. The rabbit was not worth this, and Steady would let it go. He took a few steps back, growling now and flashing his teeth as a warning to other not to continue this fight. He would not coware in submission, but nor would he attempt another attack. Blood poured from his shoulder, and he no longer had use of the leg. He knew for him, this fight was over.

He felt teeth on his face right away as the shock of pain seers through the others. The punctures on his nose and top of his head are little compared to the further shredding of the shoulder and it’s enough to worm his way out eventually. He shoves himself from beneath the large male, covered in his blood and not, and frees from the onslaught of bites. If he catches any on his way out from under, he doesn’t notice in the moment, and his only care is to get away. The hare can is forgotten, knowing if he stays any longer the food won’t be enough to fix his new wounds.
 
When given the chance, he rears up his bag legs to full height and kicks off in gear to escape.