Kintla Flatlands it's chasing a jackal

I'm sure she would be chopped liver at this point but we'll have to suspend belief! Come at me, @Summer. ;)

Nobody could make Honey Badger bleed her own blood. She chose to willfully ignore the consecutive confrontations over the past several days, in which she had certainly bled at the hands of her enemies. Whether she had won or lost those fights in reality, she considered herself the victor. Her heart was still beating and, even after all that, it thirsted for more violence. Perhaps she had been exposed to too much testosterone in utero or she was simply a product of her harsh environment. In any case, she thought of herself as a total badass and she had yet to be proven wrong, in her opinion.

The two-toned yearling veritably swaggered as she trotted northwest, sticking to the shadows of the mountain range on her right. For a while, she didn't come across any more packs. She did cross paths with an American badger sow. She either didn't know or didn't care that she shared a name with the beast. Honey Badger executed her promptly, devoured what she could and then rolled in the leftovers. She then continued forth, smeared in blood and gore like a true warrior.

Being vague about Summer's visit to BDP ^^

Summer still wasn't convinced even as he walked that he was making the right decision about his destination. For one, he had only told Amekaze that he would be going to Blacktail Deer Plateau to inform them of their lost juvenile's whereabouts. He had never mentioned a secondary trip to the West where he had been informed rested Redhawk Caldera. Secondly, he was still not certain that speaking with Tytonidae's father was a wise decision. Certainly he had a right to know that his daughter was safe, but Summer did not know the man and so did not necessarily owe him that kindness. But more importantly in not knowing this Peregrine fellow, he did not know for certain that he wouldn't come charging to the Sunspire to reclaim her.

Nevertheless, something pulled the yearling forward in spite of the inner turmoil he dragged at his heels. Not knowing exactly where to find the pack, his aim was a little off. Had it been more accurate, he likely never would have crossed paths with the bloodied beast of a woman he now set eyes upon. Her dark fur was stained with gore that seeped up into what would have been the stark white of her back, were it not for the stains of red smeared across there as well. She looked to be a rabid beast to the eyes of the Ostrega, and were he not so innocently curious about her, he likely could have avoided her entirely.

"'Lo!" the boy called out as he trotted swiftly in her tracks, "Are you alright?" Summer paused a good distance from her and merely watched her hulking form as it stalked across the land, naive concern upon his features. Chivalry and a weakness for damsels in distress were sure to be his downfall if he didn't learn a lesson from this that not bloodied women were so due to distress.

The last two times she had crossed paths with wolves, she had been a trespasser upon their territories and they had reacted accordingly. This third encounter took place on neutral ground, so the wolf that materialized did not immediately seek to kill her. Nonetheless, Honey Badger stiffened and snarled openly as he approached, her yellow eyes scrutinizing him. Her purpose was picking fights, not making friends, and she answered his question with a leer and a lash of her tail.

"I'm fantastic," she hissed between clenched teeth when he still smiled blithely at her, evidently unperturbed by her cold reception. "Get lost," she added, puffing up her chest and standing tall in the hopes of intimidating him into retreat.

The female's response was wholly unexpected. Summer stared at her in surprise and fascination as she snarled at him. His hackles raised warily, though his posture remained nonthreatening. He didn't know why the female was acting so belligerently towards him. He assumed naively it was a defense mechanism due to her injuries--perhaps she saw him as a threat.

Stupidly, Summer stayed put and continued down his heroic path. "It's okay, I just want to help," he reassured her with a slight dip of his muzzle. His ears shifted backwards as another nonverbal sign of his lack of interest in any sort of conflict.

He finally seemed to notice her aloofness, yet he persisted in questioning her. Honey Badger's tongue swiped over her muzzle as she stared at him. She suddenly realized that he must think her injured because of all the blood. In truth, she sported half a dozen or more wounds from her recent altercations. Yet they were covered with the badger's sticky, drying blood and she refused to acknowledge them anyway. The yearling grunted.

"Help? I don't need your help," she snapped. "Now scram, unless you want to fight," she added, taking two steps toward him and erecting both her ears and her tail. Her lip lifted and her yellow eyes bored into him. She was always up for a fight, though she fully expected him to back down and go away.

The female was determined to refuse him and Summer was beginning to think that perhaps he'd been wrong about what the situation here really was. This was no damsel, and the only reason she was distressed was because he was treating her like one. His better sense told him to throw his cards down and fold before he was taken to the cleaners, but he lingered still.

This creature was a dangerous one. It was clear that she was wounded. Was it because she'd been attacked, or because someone had defended themselves against her? The Sunspire was a good distance away, but not nearly enough for comfort. "You've got yourself a nasty temper, haven't you..." Summer said quietly, eying her warily, debating what the best plan of action would be for dealing with this threat. Leave it be and walk away, hoping for the best? Or make a stand here, teach her that he was not to be trifled with so that she would know when she came across his scent to turn the other way?

She stared at him unblinkingly for a beat after his astute observation, then broke her stoic facade long enough to roll her eyes at him. "And you're sharp as a tack, aren't you?" Honey Badger mocked him. "You're stubborn," she added while they were on the subject of obvious truths. "Stubborn and stupid. You should've walked away five minutes ago. Now I've run out of patience, so I have to kick your ass."

Without any further preamble, she leapt at him, jaws snapping. It was more of a bluff than anything—she was tired and didn't feel like wasting her energy on such a bonehead—but if he didn't scram, Honey Badger would show him that her bite was much worse than her bark.

It seemed Summer had missed the opportunity to choose how this interaction would proceed as suddenly, the bloodied woman's patience was snapping and she was lunging at him. For a second, Summer's mind briefly flashed back to the last time he RPed with one of Kat's characters and something very similar had happened. But just as quickly as the young black female popped into his head, she was gone as Summer slipped into defense mode and leaped back from the woman's attack with a roar of anger.

Were he less frustrated by recent events in his life, he may have made the wiser decision to just walk away. But as he felt her teeth snapping just inches from his muzzle, his mind made itself up. He too bristled with fury and suddenly was lunging towards her shoulder with widened jaws targeted towards the scruff of her neck.

He surprised her by fighting back rather than fleeing. Although weary, a sardonic smile wound its way onto her lips even as he flung himself at her shoulder. Honey Badger braced herself for impact, letting him land his hit on her already bruised shoulder. It hurt like hell, though she showed no sign of pain beyond a slight hiss. His fangs cut like needles into her lean muscle.

She had allowed him to succeed for a specific reason. Even as the black male tried to grab the side of her neck, she whipped her head around and did the very same thing to him. She aimed a bit lower, hoping to save time by going right for the jugular. If she punched even one tooth through it, he would bleed out in moments and she could be on her way from this impromptu skirmish.

The female didn't move as Summer collided with her, a fact that would have raised an alarm with a more experienced fighter. Though the moment between his attack and hers was fleeting, it was flavored with triumph in his mind as he felt her fur in his teeth.

Immediately, the strange woman deflated his victory with her counter attack. Her sudden movement took Summer by surprise, and so he flinched just before she landed her hit. His shoulder shifted forward, blocking her from the lethal hit to his jugular, but still causing him the sharp sear of pain as her teeth dug hard into his skin. He released whatever faulty hold that he'd had on her neck to try and yank himself away, kicking at her with his front legs in an effort to knock her off her balance. The only thing on his mind now was getting away, for he had very quickly come to realize that he was way out of his league here and that any thoughts he'd had of showing her to keep her distance from him had been foolish overconfidence.

Her assault caused him to flinch, which saved his life. Honey Badger's teeth sank into his flesh, though their sharp points missed his jugular by more than an inch. She found this more upsetting than the set of teeth digging into her own neck, at a similarly terrible angle. Before she could think about repeating her own attack or pulling away from his, the stranger began flailing his forelimbs and pulling away.

Although his thrashing legs did not succeed in knocking her over, his kicks were a powerful deterrent, forcing the yearling she-wolf to leap back a foot or so to avoid taking a hit to the face or neck. She sensed a desperation in the erratic movements. Perhaps he had lost his confidence and intended to flee after all. Honey Badger's yellow eyes danced at the prospect, though she wasn't about to just let him go.

Honey Badger sensed that he was about to run and sprang at him. Maybe she'd catch him, maybe she wouldn't. But no matter what, she was determined to give him a good and proper scare at the least, if not some more tooth marks to take home as a souvenir.

His kicks succeeded in breaking her hold upon him, and immediately he seized the opportunity with a turn and a surge of speed as he attempted to run for it. The bitch was not about to just let him go however. Suddenly, he felt her teeth against his lower spine while her chest collided with his tailbone. He tripped upon her reached limbs, stumbling into the snow and rolling. He lost track then of what was happening, knowing only a desperation to get back on his feet as he kicked with every leg, heedless of what parts of her he may or may not connect with.

He didn't get very far before she collided with his backside, causing him to lose his footing and go sprawling in the snow. Honey Badger would have loved to take advantage of this by going for his throat while he was downed, yet the impact followed by his flailing limbs knocked her off balance too. She pitched forward, tripped over him and went down, her chin hitting the frozen ground so hard that she nearly bit off the tip of her tongue.

Mouth flooding with her own blood, the she-wolf spat a spray of crimson froth in the snow and angrily pushed herself back onto all fours. "Oh, I'm going to fucking murder your ass," she practically roared, trying to attack the youthful male again before he could gain purchase and take off into the distance.

One of his flailing kicks apparently landed, for suddenly the girl was pulling back and shouting threat at him. Summer took the opportunity to spin onto all fours and again attempt to run for it, only to feel a sudden, sharp pain in his side where the bitch's teeth had found a bit of purchase. Summer barked out in pain and anger, suddenly so overtaken with the latter that he forgot his intention to escape and whirled to launch his fangs straight at her face.

I assumed he would keep running. I can change if needed! :)

Her teeth sank into his haunch. Honey Badger hit so hard that it actually sent a bolt of pain through her jawbone, skull and neck. Before she could react to that or anything else, the male whirled on her, latching his teeth into the bridge of her already disfigured muzzle. Eyes watering and bones screaming in protest, the yearling shook herself free and fell back.

The twinge in her head and shoulders began to dissipate almost immediately, yet in the five seconds it took for her to recover, he had already faced forward and gained some ground on her. Not keen to repeat what had just happened, Honey Badger remained where she stood, tongue flicking to lick the blood dripping from the contusions on her snout even as thick growls rumbled up from her chest.

no problem! :D

His hit again landed, and soon his teeth were slicing across the thin layer of skin upon the bridge of her nose. Summer bit down as he felt his teeth connect, but was left with only air and blood upon his tongue as she wrenched herself out of his grasp.

Summer's forelegs shot out to catch him as his weight came down after losing his hold on the bitch. She backed away briefly, and in spite of the realization that the scales were beginning to tip in her favor, he held his place. Anger burned in his right yellow eyes as he glared at her, his head and tail raised dominantly. He didn't move to attack again, only turned very slightly to signify that he was ready to walk away if she was as well. He braced himself even so in anticipation of the fact that she may very well launch another attack and begin round two.

He had the perfect opportunity to run away. Yet he did not take it. Instead, he swung around to face her, his eyes burning, his chest heaving and his tail raised. Honey Badger sneered immediately at the sight, then lifted her own tail so that it arched severely over her hips. She then began to trot closer to him, teeth bared and a growl curdling in her throat. She was getting weary of this particular fight and hoped he would turn tail and run. If not, though, she would keep going; she would even fight to the death.

She didn't leave. Why the fuck wouldn't she just leave? Summer found himself cursing her even more vehemently as she stalked slowly towards him, still not backing down even though they'd done each other a perfectly satisfactory amount of damage. The alpha wolf within him roared for the fight to continue, but Summer suddenly felt his paws shifting his weight backwards and away from another round of battle.

He kept a wary eye upon her as he stalked off, humility and bitterness bashing his pride even worse than she had his physical being. He did not want to lose, did not want to give up, but his better sense would not let him forget that she was far more skilled than he was in this arena, and he had someone at home to return to. She perhaps could fling herself recklessly into the jaws of other beasts who would gladly murder her, but Summer's mind went quite suddenly to Tytonidae. The thought of her eased the sting of his defeat, even if it could not spare him fully the embarrassment and crushing disheartening that came with this loss.

Finally, he did the sensible thing and took off into the distance. Honey Badger leered at him, looking as smug as ever despite her myriad of wounds and the smears of badger's blood still crusted in her fur. While he fled back to the protection of his pack and, particularly, the companionship of a good friend, she sat down to catch her breath. She gloated mentally at her perceived triumph and definitely stroked her own ego, thinking herself a badass champion fighter.

Nobody can beat Honey Badger, she thought as she finally rose onto her paws again. She shot a filthy look in the male's direction, then began to walk in the mountains' shadow again. She resumed her earlier swagger. And if any of her own fresh blood spilled into her mouth, Honey Badger simply told herself it belonged to the badger she'd killed or, better yet, that it was his blood on her teeth.