The Heartwood and i pray to god you dont come back here anymore

the grim reality of two versus one, was that the one never won. with predators such as wolves, an outnumbered fight was more butcher-shop than fair match -- and caiaphas gave her victim no quarter.

the beast's attention was drawn to merrick, and that was to be his second mistake in what was scarcely more than fifteen seconds' time (the first, of course, being having ever engaged caiaphas at all). at his flank he was his most vulnerable; the heartgirth tantalizingly close, and now bleeding profusely by caiaphas' teeth.

a knee swung towards her muzzle, and she knew then the fight already over. a mistake to ever hand a wolf a limb -- particularly one such as caiaphas. his knee would connect, and it would hurt -- but her pain would be rewarded as her teeth sought the leg so kindly proffered to her.

and once(if) gripped, she would do what came to every wolf as naturally as rain -- she would wrench the leg first right, and then left with all the force in her being -- and either the bones beneath would break from their pivotal moorings,

or goliath would come crashing to the earth.

The boy was dealt with for now. There was no more retaliation from him and so the and moved onto his next target - the witch herself. She was quick to react to his knee, she was battle-worn and had quite the instinct for it - but so did he. The moment he felt her teeth against his limb, he shoved it deeper into her maw to avoid any patella damage and instead let her sink her teeth into the muscles around it and planted his foot down, allowing it to move with her motions instead of fighting against it. He was larger, physically stronger despite the one leg who was taking major damage to it. 

His one side burned from the knee to the flank but as the adrenaline coursed through his veins he twisted around, moving his hind portion as little as possible. Maw poised and ready to grab her hock. Should he take hold of his target, he had every intention to grip it in his vice and crush.

caiaphas could not see merrick, with a faceful of brown dog stifle -- so she had not known he had been thrown aside. it would not have changed her tactics, or even softened her blows -- caiaphas had every intention of killing today.

as an aside, while she was masticating sinew and flesh beneath her teeth, attempting to cut through gristle to bone -- she wondered what the fuck is this guy's problem anyway? she hadn't known him from adam -- was he perhaps raleska's disgruntled and deranged boyfriend?

the time for pondering identities had since passed -- as vengeance wheeled around caiaphas went smoothly with him. he may have been bigger, but he was not better -- with one leg down, he only had three to go..

caiaphas did not release her grip -- but she did angle her jaws downward, where bone was protected by nothing but ligaments - here she threw her head just as vengeance swung around -- attempting to unbalance him completely as his jaws searched for purchase. with all of her might thrown into her counter, and six years of playing bonebreaker, she was likely to either dislocate the stifle entirely from its thin chambers, or break bone cleanly.

her hock was not unscathed -- she had attempted to unbalance him just as his balance was most perilous (as he had quite far down to lean to get her hocks), but his teeth still found her hide, landing upon her haunch and drawing rivulets of angry crimson along her stormy fur.

caiaphas' attack: continue her last attack of attempting to break his leg, by trying to tug/break his leg out from under him as he leans around to bite her <3
also, eb told me to skip her for now, so doing that :p

Her desire to take his knee was unrelenting. There was no way around it, there would be permanent damage in the long run but he wouldn't back down. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he allowed his weight to keep him grounded despite her pulling at the leg. 

Firmly grasping the muscles around her hip, it was not the target he was aiming for, but it would work just as well. Finally, with something to grab onto, twisting his head to one side to lock his teeth deep into her flesh and begin to pull at an angle. Up, and toward his own injury in order to try and alleviate the amount of power she had behind her own tugs. 

Though with his neck twisted there was only so much power behind his lift - he trusted his own abilities to at least alleviate her grip and maybe better position himself to continue.

There's going to be some permanent damage to his knee! Scarring too. Gripping her haunch he's twisting, pulling upward and toward him (edited).

skipping merrick again with permission <3
caiaphas' attack: continuing to chew his leg, attempting to sever artery and break bone still, taking vengeance's hit in full since she can't dodge it.

her hold was fast, and so was his. blood splattered in her mouth, overwhelmed her senses.

iron, salt, grime.

still she held, feeling sinew give way both under her teeth, and in her haunch. she had endured pain her entire life, and still, it did not make it any more bearable. vengeance's teeth cut through meat and matter in pristine pain that bloomed violently across her senses.

still caiaphas held on -- feeling him pull her up -- she was lighter, but his strength was not beyond her. if he pulled her in any way, he also pulled on himself -- he would cause more damage to his own body in the long run.

he was at a stalemate, and would soon realize she had the upper fang.

caiaphas attempted to burrow deeper, teeth moving like meat-cleavers now. she had yet to break his bone, fine -- she would instead bleed him out. along the knee and leg was an artery she did not know the name of -- but certainly knew its importance, as it threaded like a vine over patellar ligament and nerves, the blood supply of the stifle and lower limb. this vessel, the femoral artery, was protected by nothing save a thin film of ligament and tendon.. all of which she had already devastated. soon she would hit it, she knew -- and he would be bled out in the manner of a buck felled in winter snow.

still she shook her head viciously, marveling at how his bone had yet to break under teeth designed for cleaving. vengeance pulling against her only served to be the knife pulled taut across vulnerable flesh -- her teeth would do the cutting if he so kindly provided the tension.

all she needed was that little nick --

her haunch would pay the price for her insistence (and how pain howled through her, making her drunken and furious), but caiaphas would not go down without bringing the dark cur with her.

breath and breath and breath and 
heartbeat surging; merrick's tongue lolled as the ground swam before his muzzy eyes. the pain had dulled to the soft grain that accompanies shock, and a steady warm rivulet along the back of his foreleg alerted the body that there was still life within him.
distantly the snarling continued to ring; the boy turned, blinking at the writhing caiaphas and bulking vengeance, locked together.
she had 
she was 
mind parading incoherently, merrick forced up his chin, focusing until vision cleared upon the blood-spattered fray.
they had to g —
with a lurch that sickened the yearling, he lunged for the battling pair, weakened jaws snapping with a renewed verve as he briefly rallied to part the demonic pair from their eldritch clasp.
caiaphas; he plunged himself against her battleworn chest, using the last of his strength to grapple the woman from her fiercely gripped target; away and away and away until she 
wrenched aside 
and merrick staggered off finally at a blood-worn hobble, too weary to cast his voice at the hag but hoping desperately that she would flit too into the shadows.

Idk what rates you guys are rolling at but I got a 9 out of 10. It can be ignored if Caiaphas decides to leave too?

After gaining her rank of General, Alice had started following her own path, no longer shadowing the beast. Today was different though. She had trailed after his scent, not in any real hurry to catch up until the metallic scent of blood mingled the trail. At first, she believed the blood belonged to another, two other scents mingled with Vengeance's as she neared, but she never would have guessed what actually transpired.

Vengeance was losing? Cold eyes locked onto the mystery women, she had never seen her before but the fact that she had done so much damage to the beast amazed her. A low growl rose in her throat as she stalked forward, the shape of Merrick disappearing into undergrowth catching her attention only for a moment before it snapped back to Vengeance's attacker. If she did not follow the boy's lead she would rush in attempting to grab her and rip her away from the warlord.

While she chewed away at his limb, he would do the same with his own hold. It wasn't much, but he would make do with what he had. Pulling her away from him didn't work, so time for plan B. Letting her drop back down the ground rather than continue to try and coax her to let go of his leg, he began to saw his way into her back. Chewing, like a python on its prey - aiming to dig into her haunch and attempt to pressure on her spine if not reach it itself. 

She may take his leg, but he would take her whole bottom half if given the opportunity to reach that vertebrae of hers. 

Unaware of both Alison's arrival and Merrick's readdition to the fray - due to them both seeming to focus on Caiaphas and all he knows is that she's at his leg still. He would continuously focus on the woman for the time being, should she refuse to move, neither would he. A leg for a back; and he was growing desperate to immobilize her as quick a possible.

It's his final hit as discussed! Just trying to crush her spine now. Unaffected by Merrick's hit on Caiaphas as well as Alison's unless Phas does something in reaction.

a gout of scarlet rimmed her jaws, darkening the alabaster along her chest like the formidable cerise bloom of a savage flower. caiaphas tasted it, the boorish slug of heat and iron — how it overwhelmed her senses while pain sang keenly in the background.

she was aware of agony and blood and doom along her backside — and then suddenly, was flung free by a force beyond her own or vengeance’s. merrick’s form catapulted her free, wrenching skin and muscle in a bolt of immutable shock — she wheeled, drunken on pain and blood, eyes affixing on vengeance in murderlust when he became not one but two visions. swimming — not one, two — no, a different wolf, another, a fourth —

caiaphas’ ear turned as she looked behind her. merrick gone, the wolf advancing. the trembling in her legs rocking her into motion, caiaphas bolted from the fresh set of new jaws before her. every breath burned hellfire down her lungs and stomach, every limping step accompanied by the screaming of her haunch and spine — she followed merrick’s path down through the underbrush, knowing to stay would be to sign the warrant of her death ...

and caiaphas was far smarter than that.

last from me!

And so it was:
the harpy and hellion, sundered; and when a fourth contender arrived, the sybil found it favorable then and there to away from the scene. As silvery as the spectre she prayed to remain the guise of, Andraste hastened with the strider's reaching she'd been blest with; still yet retained in the stilted lines of willow-gaunt figure. Fairylight; flitting away away away and to the only place where further aid might be acquired; those who might be able to protect her hatchlings in sureity, nevermother that she had become.

She might still yet provide.