Bramblepoint i am faster than 80% of all snakes

Neither one of Frolic’s litter mates could be convinced to leave the rendezvous site when nobody was looking. She zoomed around its periphery half a dozen times before making a break for it, not because she intended to be disobedient but because Frolic had nowhere else to put all this energy.

She found her way to the caldera’s rim, which actually stalled the child for a solid minute or two. She gawked at the views, unaware until this very moment just how far the wilds stretched. There was so much to see and explore, she could barely contain herself as she scrambled downhill.

She didn’t think she’d ever run so fast! Frolic let out a gleeful shriek—quite possibly alerting her pack mates of her breakout—as her momentum carried her into the neighboring forest of Bramblepoint. The ground evened out a bit, slowing her enough that Frolic wasn’t too terribly hurt when she inevitably stumbled over a tree root and crashed into some underbrush.

I’m hoping Frolic can make some friends, so tagging nearby pups for visibility! @Ajei @Arrluk @Chiteo @Massaraq @Orca II @Seal

When Seal heard Alaric would be traveling to trade with Moonspear’s allies, she practically begged her parents to let her go. Unfortunately for the young girl, she was a month shy of being permitted to participate in long-distance journeying.

However, this fact didn’t deter the young girl. With her typical Pollyanna character, she could see the silver lining. Happy and optimistic that her time would eventually come, Seal set off to find herbs Alaric could bring with him on his voyage.

She had found a particularly good patch of coltsfoot on Moonspear’s border. Before she knew it, Seal had inadvertently left her home turf and ventured into Bramblepoint. Suddenly, she spied wild fennel and began to collect the lacey stems. Surely Alaric would be proud!

Suddenly – a calamity! A creature crashed through the foliage right in front of Seal. “AHH!!!” she screamed in surprise as she jumped backward, dropping the herbs she had collected. Seal’s paw clutched her chest to calm her heart and realized that it was another kid!

However, an invasive predator silently lurked nearby and became drawn to the commotion.

Someone screamed. Frolic sat up like a bolt, leaves and sticks clinging to every inch of her body as she looked around wildly. She saw another pup in a clearing a few yards ahead, around the same age as Teya’s kids. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as she jumped to her feet and bounded toward the other young girl. Frolic’s whole body wriggled as she sniffed noses with her.

Hi, ‘m Frolic! Wha’s your name? she asked, oblivious to @Tony the Tiger lurking in the foliage behind her. Do y’live here? Do y’like to race? Wanna race me?

The other girl was little - young! When had Seal grown up to be such a big kid? The tawny pup was half her age but equally outgoing as the effervescent Seal.

By the time her heart had stopped pounding from surprise, a big smile had painted itself on the Moonsperian’s face. “Hi!” Seal chirped back as her scrawny tail wagged. Already, they were like two peas in a pod. Peanut butter and jelly. Ham and cheese.

“Ah’m Seal! Yeah, this is my…” Suddenly it dawned upon Seal that she wasn’t home. Or near Moonspear at all. In fact, she was in a foreign territory. Lost. Her first time outside the borders alone. Seal’s ears rolled back, suddenly not-so-sure she should be out here by herself without a grown-up.

“Uhmm,” the girl mumbled as she bit her lip, worried.

Suddenly, a twig cracked, and two yellow eyes, big as moons, reflected light from the shadows.

A growl...

---

A new jungle. A new territory. A new kingdom to conquer.

The prey here was stupid and weak, much like the men who had once held him captive. They, too, had succumbed to his fangs after the crash. Ahh, sweet freedom… freedom from that stupid metal cage!

That morning, the tiger had feasted on fur and fang… on deer and fox… but, still, he hungered. Endless hunger. He prowled across the meadow and through the forest when he spotted a perfect opportunity to sate his palate.

Two wolf cubs mingled in a clearing.

Perfect.

He stalked through the undergrowth inching closer and closer. A master of the art, confident and vain.

He lept.

---

Seal screamed.

WELCOME TO THE TIGER DOME
(This is a roll-based game! Click the link for more info! 4 characters may join to fight and all other may join to witness the events.)

Seal seemed just as thrilled to meet Frolic, the two of them grinning at one another like old friends reunited. The younger pup’s tail swayed as she eagerly awaited an acceptance of her proposed race, though it slowed a little bit when a cloud passed over Seal’s face.

Wha’s a matter? Frolic asked, head tilting adorably.

Some noises behind her caused her tawny ears to tilt backward, her head partly turning. Most of Frolic’s attention remained on Seal, however, especially when the other girl screamed a second time.

Then her head whipped around to see something—a beast straight out of one of Frolic’s wildest imaginings—bearing down on the two of them. Frolic’s eyes went wider than ever, her deep-set instincts immediately doing battle with her fearless and thrill-seeking nature.

But this was real danger and Seal was in it too. Frolic scrambled to all fours and hollered for Seal to run. It was time to race… for their lives. Frolic just hoped her feet didn’t get tangled this time.

Totally not me throwing in a coyote bc my Moonspear gal fell off a mountain.

Since her sour incident with Tumbleweed, Meridian had gone on yet another wander. As always, she would return to The Tribe in under a week's time, bringing herbs and trinkets not native to the desert. Now, returning didn't seem so guaranteed.

The russet coyote answered the frantic call by dropping her herbs and racing through the forest, hoping that whatever had happened, she was not too late. Her heart skipped a beat with what she saw next. Meridian was familiar with the dangers of cougars. Rarely, some would be seen in her natal desert, and as a pup she had heard den tales of their strength and cunning. This one was different, almost two times larger. Its pelt wore stripes of the strongest orange, and the darkest black. Pups, wolf pups, were in danger. 

Sun and shadow, holy shit! She screamed for them to run before attempting the classic coyote move. A frantic nip on the ankles of the giant feline before dashing away after the pups. She knew the weaknesses of larger animals, if it went by her plan, the cat would turn around, giving them a moment to escape. No matter the predators agility, the coyote would be faster, if only by a second. She lacked the strength to hold her own in a fight. 

She only hoped that the little ones had the stamina that she did, and that someone else heard their scream.

The wind moved his paws with speed. 

Shard didn't know why, nor did he care. Wind had places for his paws to be, and he did not wish to disappoint his temperamental mistress.

He ran, galloping across the land and finally to an unholy sight indeed.

A large animal he only knew as a cougar, larger than life and sunkissed with orange and ice, blackened with claw marks that criss-crossed its orange bits. 

And pups were caught in its line of sight.

He growled, a white mountain of a man upon the land. 

May his mistress' fury grant him strength.

I’m entering Seal into the fight! Currently, Seal and Shard are fighting, Meridian and Frolic are fleeing. There can be up to 4 fighters, so we have 2 slots remaining.

A quick reminder that Tony the Tiger is a dice roll game for Wolf's 10th Anniversary!

We will be rolling here
(I will tag players when we start)

I'll give it some time for others to join the fight and then we can begin to roll to decide the outcome!

The tiger’s glare cast a bad spell upon Seal’s body. She became frozen in place, quivering as the violent orange beast charged.

You know that part in a war movie where catastrophe rains downs around the main character and the whole world is shell-shocked into silence except for a high-pitched hum?

Yeah… that was this moment.

Run! Her mind commanded.

RUN! But she couldn’t even breath!

Frolic’s voice was but a mumble in the background.

Then, by some stroke of luck, a guardian angel appeared in the form of a coyote and a white wolf.

There was no time for questions. The stranger nipped at the Fury’s heels and its attention turned for a moment. It was like all the blood in Seal’s body, once stopped, began to flow again. She ran, following Frolic and the coyote, but not before the tiger’s great paw reached out and swept Seal’s feet out from under her.

She crumbled to the ground, ready to become tiger chow. There would be no more running… Seal would be forced to fight for her life.

Frolic ran without looking back, her legs a black blur as she raced across the breadth of the clearing. Just before she plunged into the undergrowth on the far side, she heard someone shout. Then there was a savage growl and the unmistakable sounds of a violent commotion. She couldn’t resist turning her head.

She immediately stumbled and slammed to the ground. Frolic was quite used to such things, so she immediately began scrambling back onto her feet. Breathing hard, she looked backward and saw the tiger looming over what must be a collapsed Seal. It felt like her heart stopped in her chest.

Her eyes flicked, taking in two strangers ready to fight the tiger to save her new friend. Meanwhile, Frolic stood there, chest heaving as her body tried to decide between fight or flight.

Meridian's heart lurched as the tiger loomed forward. She strained every muscle, accelerating her speed. Looking behind her, she recognized the stature of the grey pup, frozen in terror. The young one attempted to follow, but was held back by the beast. 

The yearling coyote whirled around, ready to run the the Seal's aid. She spied a large white wolf burst out of the foliage, confronting the cat. Meridian was caught between assisting him, and getting the tawny pup to safety. She chose the latter option, with regret. The other pup had a chance, and she had to provide Frolic with one too.

A large mountain loomed in the distance, and she could only think of using it as a way-point. Distant howls could be heard coming from that direction, and the priestess could only hope they were friend, and not foe. Mountain caves could conceal bears, and smaller felines, but bruins and other predators looked harmless in the face of such danger.

Follow me! She motioned for the pup to follow, still keeping a steady sprint. Meridian had two feats ahead of her; getting Frolic to safety, and treating the canids who fought the primal predator, if any survived.

THE BATTLE BEGINS

One brave wolf, Shard, and one frightened pup, Seal, stare down a beast never before seen in the Teekon Wilds. They clash in Brameblepoint and fight for their lives while Frolic and Meridian flee for safety!

TONY THE TIGER
VS.

SEAL

SHARD

---

HOW IT WILL GO DOWN

SEAL and @Shard please report to the TABLETOP THREAD (title: Tiger King) to begin the game. I will be rolling for Tony and will include instructions. The dice game will reveal the outcome of the fight, but any injuries/whumps are at the discretion of each player. We must completely defeat Tony (reduce his HP to 0) to win the fight and check off the achievement "defeat Tony the Tiger" for the Rising Sun Gauntlet event.

@Meridian and @Frolic you are welcome to keep posting in this thread, skipping Seal and Shard, until your characters leave the scene. I encourage you to continue a new thread together!

Once the outcome is revealed, SEAL and SHARD will post IC conclusions in this thread.

LET'S GOOOOOOO!

When his daughter didn’t heed the call for dinner Njord became worried. It wasn’t like Seal to stray so far from Moonspear. She was a rule follower and a bit of a homebody. Sure, she had gone on trips to Moonglow… but never without a chaperone.

Perhaps Ray’s visit had set something in motion. Or Alaric’s trip… she had begged to go and Njord hadn’t let her.

The man followed Seal’s trail out of Moonspear and into the nearby Brackenwood when a horrific sight almost sent the father into immediate cardiac arrest. A beast - a cat - unlike any he had ever seen or imagined was attacking wolves. And not just any wolves, but Seal.

Another man defended his daughter. The color of blood on his coat was like a red river in winter. Without a second’s hesitation, Njord jumped into the fray to fight alongside them all.

The kids were growing almost as fast as Bronco’s grey hair. He often avoided looking at his reflection when he drank, focusing his gaze on the ripples closest to his nose when he’d noticed just how much his muzzle had greyed. He stopped drinking to allow the ripples to settle, and when he did, he was shocked. 

He remembered his father’s face, and he saw it now- but older. He had to wonder if this was what Colt would have looked like- but then again, he’d never really had any idea how old his father was anyway. Jokes had been made quietly about the age difference between his parents, but certainly, Colt had never looked this old. 

He huffed and moved away from the lake, continuing down the scent trail left behind by Frolic who’d ventured further than her protective cousin/uncle (he really wasn’t sure at this point how they were related) would have liked. 

Reining in Ponyboy was a lost cause, but maybe Frolic would listen to him.

Her scent led him toward an awful din- and while he had no idea that moments ago, Frolic had bolted away from the danger, he could hear the growls and snarls of wolves as well as something that sounded like a cougar. 

His heart sank. Bronco was not a fighter, not anymore- but he was a father. 

He approached, and balked at first when he saw the striped feline- both longer and substantially heavier than any cougar he’d ever seen. Some unholy cat with the strength of a bear, and milling about it in attempts to hold it at bay were two wolves and a child. Frolic bolted, and then fell. A coyote passed by with a shout, and while Bronco was wary of coyotes, he believed in this instant that she would definitely be safer with the other canine than if she stayed around here. Bronco moved directly toward her, to intercept her line of vision. 

”Go, Frolic,” He said in a low, stern tone. ”Get back,” He commanded with a bark, hoping at least she’d keep her distance if she wouldn’t run. 

For the children, he’d risk it. He’d taken a look into his own eyes just minutes ago, and somewhere within them he still saw a protector.

With experienced reluctance, he joined in the battle.

The world fell away as the tiger loomed over Seal. Her small body had never before felt such fear.

Death.

Death had always been a distant acquaintance. She had met them when her family killed prey to eat. And she had met them at Moonspear’s cliffside tomb. They even lingered at Narwhal’s cairn… but now, Seal looked directly into the face of the life-ender.

It felt like her heart had stopped before the tiger touched a single hair on her head. However, the instinct to survive jumpstarted her stalled engine. Adrenaline began to course through the child’s veins. When the tiger struck, she snarled like a wicked creature and gnashed her fangs. There was no thought or eloquence to her chaotic movements – they were only the frenzied reactions of a cornered animal fighting for its life.

Seal’s only saving grace was that another wolf, a complete stranger, had come to her aid. The strong man took the brunt of the tiger’s onslaught. His alabaster pelt and ferocious nature were reminiscent of a warrior spirit from one of Kukutux’s fables.

Then, as their strength waned, reinforcements arrived. Seal caught sight of a familiar red tail.

"Da?" she cried out as she fell behind the three men for safety.

The violent fight continued. In his weakened state, Seal watched as the spirit warrior was cut down. Then, the tiger came, once again, for her. Bleeding, Seal felt light-headed. The pain was unbearable. She fell back towards Shard and passed out as Bronco and Njord continued to keep the tiger at bay.

Unable to go on, her unconscious body was carried away from the fight by Shard to a safe place.

By any standard, Njord was born gentle. Fighting never came naturally to him, as a child or a man. Only after training with Kigipigak had he learned the art of violence. Even then, Njord seldom used his new talents.

However, a father’s fury was a force to be reckoned with. The sight of his daughter – injured and afraid – sent a shock through the man. Too many terrible memories of his loved ones, dead or bloodied, were harbored in his heart. Like a retired Highlander, Njord picked up the blade and hammer once more and charged with a ferocious battlecry.

In his peripheral, another man joined: brown-furred and scarred. There was no time for questions. The three warriors engaged the strange beast with all their strength.

The Sveijarn, more agile than he was strong, zigged and zagged as he adeptly parried the tiger’s ferocious attacks. Wolf and tiger blood, the color of red wine, mixed on the ground. One by one, the wolves were forced to fall back until only Njord remained.

Njord would be lying if he said he did not feel fear. Slowly, his energy waned as his flesh was cut open time and time again. His muscles became fatigued. His joints ached. His whole body shook with the effort to stand.

But their foe was in an equally poor condition. Twice, the tiger tried to flee, and twice Njord reeled it back. Death was the only proper ending for this terrible monster. He managed to whittle the tiger down to the last ounce of its life before, franticly, it struck Njord for a final time and managed to escape.

He could not pursue the cat any longer. Exhausted and dizzy, the red-tail slumped to the ground.

He did his best to assess the predator as it turned its sights on the wolves. Its amber eyes were narrowed into slits, the patterning on its forehead dazzling, but pinched in rage. A display of its massive canines made the fur along the back of Bronco's neck stand up. One glance at its paws told him it had long, curved claws- sheathed while it walked to keep them razor-sharp. He'd faced a cougar before, and it had flayed him. Now, he faced something much larger, and more powerful- and he wondered one last time if he might ever live to see his children again before the feline moved. 

It was if a dance began, with all five of them shifting into movement, the wolves orbiting around the tiger as it whirled and lashed. It focused its intent in on the child, the feal-furred youth that Bronco wished would just turn and flee- but it was likely too late now. If she did, the tiger would no doubt pursue her, and turning your back to a panther was a deathwish. 

His first few strikes did little but draw attention and with angry slaps of its paws it struck him back as if it was swatting a fly. He tumbled and rolled, feeling his body fill with adrenaline while simultaneously leaking blood from scratchmarks. 

It was when the tiger had the child incapacitated that his instincts finally switched- and he attacked in earnest. The nimble grey wolf seemed to be dodging well, and landing bites that caused the tiger to whirl, swing, and miss. He would tire it out, Bronco thought. Meanwhile, the white wolf took advantage every moment the tiger was distracted to bite, striking deep puncture wounds into its flesh which had begun to be striped with red alongside the orange. Boulstered, Bronco finally lunged close enough to do the same himself. 

Twice, he was able to make the tiger shudder and yowl in but within a second, his hope was dashed aside when the tiger turned to fix its focus on him after finishing with the white wolf. Bronco looked, to see the man begin to carry the limp child away, and it was in that moment that he was finished. 

He wasn't sure what happened, but the last thing he saw was the sky before everything went abruptly dark.