Facing Death and Memories

[Kerael]

His breath burned in his lungs as he gulped the cold air. He glanced frantically back and forth, looking for an avenue of escape.
Kerael had had many run-ins with hunters, but this day they had given chase for a long time, tireless on their horses. The big male cursed all humans, his lips lifting in a snarl as he felt the pain in his left haunch. Blood trickled from the arrow buried in the muscle and fur, but he pushed onwards, hearing the dogs behind him. They were great shaggy wolfhounds, as large as him, able to take down elk and vargs alike. He saw the waterfall ahead and dashed up the rocky ridge, the sharp rocks scraping his pads raw and leaving bloody prints behind him. Just in time he arrive at the cliff's edge where the river thundered off into the fridgid air, sending flues of spray into the air as it hit the lake below. Deep resounding barks sounded behind him. Kerael spun to see five of the wolfhounds struggling up the same rocky slope. He realized he had nowhere else to run. Below, the humans shouted excitedly to each other, pointing at the big male varg on the edge of the cliff.
He recognized one of them, his face scarred from where Kerael had attacked him. It was his old owner, the big man who had trained him to attack and kill.
But Kerael faced the wolfhounds, bracing his shaking legs. He would die a warrior, facing death, and defiant to the humans at the last. A shiver of regret ran through him, for he would die alone. But he pushed this aside, and turned to face the dogs.
The five wolfhounds reached the cliff, stopping in surprise as they found the big male varg, his scarred body tensed as he snarled at them.
But the alpha of the dogs turned to the others.
"'e's jus' one, get 'im boyos."
Kerael dodged aside as they leaped at him, slashing at one and burying his teeth in another. The kerl warrior fought with the strength of a bear, having nothing to lose. Closer they came to the cliff's edge, and the thundering river shooting off the edge, floes of ice shattering as they hit rocks in the river.
Kerael slashed one dog's belly and dodged away from another's claws, but his back leg gave under him, and he felt the sting of claws raking his back. He grabbed one of the dog's front legs and snapped it in his jaws, flinging the dog away. Another slipped on a patch of ice and flew over the edge of the cliff. Only three dogs faced him now, but he felt himself tiring.

[Tamra]

Picking his way amongst the loose chippings of rock, a large ebony varg, made slow progress across the slightly less than easier accesses to the lakeside.

Why he'd chosen this path, Tamra probably would never know. Perhaps to challenge his ageing body, to prove that the grey fur streaking his once handsomely black pelt was no hinderance to his endurance and physical capabilities? Perhaps not, and it were mere impulse, yet either way, Tamra discovered the sounds of raging battle.

Ears suddenly pricked forward, his blood racing in ancient expecation of free flowing blood. Suddenly, the old wolf felt rejunvenated, and was bounding round the corner, bold as newborn cub, to engage in whatever he chanced upon.

Mere seconds it took for the veteran warrior to assess the situation, strategically calculating which hound he'd best deal with first. He hadn't even registered who the hounds were chasing, too eager to maim and kill.

Barrelling into one of the three remaining hounds, he rolled across them as they hit the floor, wind knocked out from the unexpected blow. Expertly haulting and simultaneously twisting, Tamra snarled, driving in for another attack, this time tooth and claw fully extended to tear the hounds tender flesh.

[Kerael]

Kerael saw a black shape hurtle towards adog, slamming into it. Recognizing that the varg was engaging one of the other dogs, he turned to face the alpha dog, raking it's face with his claws. The dog howled and snapped at his front leg, trapping it in his legs. Kerael held back a yelp and clawed at the hound, forcing him to let go. Closer to the edge they moved as they traded blows.

[Tamra]

Teeth sank mercilessly into heated flesh, the scorching taste firing ancient bloodlust into furthered frenzy. The jaws clamped down hard about the thick neck, a loud resounding snap preceeded the death of one more human hound. Not even halting to commence a victorius howl, the black devil was off again, chasing the last remaining hound about the plateau, deaths grin darkening his bloodstained expression.

A quick glance told that the other wolf was still in battle with the alpha, a sharp howl of anguish speaking volumes. Tamra left the stranger to finsih him off, bearing down on the terrified remaining hound.

Cornering him between the cliffs edge and another cliff, Tamra snarled, fueled by the taste of fresh blood, and craving more. The hound turned, glancing down the chasm behind him, looking over Tamra's head for his master. Finding no salvation, he snarled in return, determined to give as good as he could get.

They simultaneously sprang for one another, locking in fury and rage mid air. The beast managed a firm hold upon the scruff of Tamra's neck, biting down hard and clawing at Tamra's chest. Tamra tho, whether by skill or luck he would never know, had succeeded in taking a firm hold upon the underside of the hounds throat, his suffocating grip slowly killing the hound.

The hound realised he was done for, his windpipe exposed to the cold nights air, and sratched furiously wheresoever his paws could land on the large wolfs flesh. One raked down his right fore leg, reopening old wounds that had only just healed. Barking out in abject pain, he lost his death grip, staggering backwards as he attempted to embrace the pain, then push it aside. O how it burned, the battle wounds dealt by Kanis scorching his insides, threatening to drag him down into blackness. Shaking his head, he hobbled about, determined to keep the dog moving enough for time to finish him off.

[Kerael]

The black varg had dispatched another hound and turned on the remaining one as Kerael battled the alpha. He felt his paws slipping as they drew near to the river where it cascaded over the edge. The spray from the falls had frozen on the rocks, making it slippery. Kerael braced himself as the alpha launched himself at the varg, and the momentum of his leap made Kerael lose his grip, and they both skidded into the freezing river. Kerael's paws grappled at the smooth icy stones under the water at teh force of the river pushed him closer to the edge. The wolfhound howled in dismay as it slipped and was pushed over the edge. Kerael's legs burned with the cold, numbing him as he fought the force of the river. He felt his back legs slip over the rim, but his front claws found purchase in the river's bottom and he dangled, half over the cliff as the merciless waters pummeled his body, clinging to the edge desperatly.

[Tamra]

Time was kind for the burly male, for the hound began to ail long before Tamra had forseen. Limping to and fro, snapping and snarling his feroscious challenge, Tamra led the hound in a Devils Dance, occasionally testing his fortune by darting in and dealing yet another glancing blow.

He kept this up for a while, watching with disdainful pleasure as the hound allowed his life to pass by with so little event, until a yelp sounded out from the edge of the ravine. Turning his scarred head quickly, the alpha was no where to be seen, leaving instead a bedraggled wolf hanging precariously close to his own death.

Turning his attention back to the dog infront of him, he smiled ruefully, leaping in to deal one last blow with his powerful jaws. The dog was too far gone to put up much resistance, feebly clawing at his chest as the great jaws closed down on his neck.

Discarding the beaten body, Tamra limped across to the riverside, assessing how best to retrieve the stricken varg. He could not haul him back up without drawing blood, the wolfs mouth incapable of being gentle and forceful at the same time. It might have worked, he reasoned, should the stranger have been a pup, but one check over the edge of the ravine revealed that not to be the case.

Instead, Tamra perused the more imaginative means of rescuing the stranger, glancing around for a decent sized log or twig he could use.

"Don't fall off", he growled, padding away and down the cliffside somewhat in search of his ingenutive tool.

Finding what he sought, he dragged it back up the hillside, depositing it infront the other, spitting out the chips of loose bark he might otherwise ingest.

"Take hold of that end, and do not let go", he barked, voice deeo and husky, still fueled by the heat of battle.

[Kerael]

Kerael's back legs scrabbled at the cliff's unyielding wall, his front paws beginning to loosetheir grip on the edge. He felt his energy being sapped by the water's pounding on his frame, threatening to push him off. Suddenly, Tamra finished off the last hound and growled at him to hold on. Kerael's wearymind had no time to wonder why the Balkar was trying to help him, but when the black wolf handed him a stick, he grabbed it in his jaws, clamping down on the stick. But the sudden movement made his paws slip, and he jerked backwards, pushed by the icy torrent. Now his back legs were dangling uselessly in midair, numb from the waterfall. He felt himself slipping backwards and realized that if he held on, he would drag Tamra over the edge as well.

[Tamra]

Brute force and ignorance. Those words conjured up such pleasant memories of Tamra and his mother, sat outside the den on a summers day. He'd spent the morning with his two brothers, playing was the way of youths. The youngest of the three, Tamra found himself the brunt of most the jokes, and forever being knocked around by Tren and Ranv. Never the less, he would match them, blow for blow, till they would grow tired, and abandon him to his tirelessly following. His mother would laughat times like those, proclaiming, "Tamra, wherever you wish to go, your brute force and ignorance will assure you every success". It was those exact traits that made the former First maintain his death grip upon the stick.

Slowly, the other pulled him closer to the edge of the cliff. Eyes boring into the others, he silently forbade him from letting go, and ordered him to atleast try to use his legs. Bracing himself as best he could, he determindley pushed aside the feroscious pain in his jaw. Only Kerael could save Kerael now, all Tamra could do was hold on.

[Kerael]

Kerael tried with all his might to brace his back legs against the cliff wall, but his wounded haunch gave under him, and his claws scrabbled vainly for any purchase. For a moment he found a grip, but then the pounding waters shook his paws free. Seeing the black varg's paws skid closer to the edge, he looked into the varg's eyes and saw the determination there. Kerael realized that he wouldn't let go, that he awas depending on Kerael to save himself. But the kerl was too worn out and the numbing waters had pounded the energy from his frame.
But he wouldn't drag another valiant varg to his death. Kerael's grey eyes locked with the black one's eyes, his gratitude for the varg's courage, and his appreciation filling his gaze. Then Kerael opened his jaws, and let go of the stick. The big male's body was swept over the cliff by the falls, his grey form lost in the pounding falls, the only sound the roaring of the waters, and the chill wind whistling through the air.

[Terin]

[glow=green,2,300]Terin's breath caught in his throat. The young cub had been tacking his father, quite proudly, and then, he had seen the fight. He had cowered like a Sikla, hiding. He was just a pup... what could he have done? Probably quite a bit.. he was large enough now.. and he had survived other trials... but he had hid. He had watched his father fall, and now, the cub stepped foward, little muzzle pearing over the edge.

He was gone. Terin's maw tilted back, and he howled, loud, long. His father... was gone. [/glow]

[Kerael]

Pounding, freezing waters. The roar of the waterfall, and then silence. Silence, numbing the mind, tearing the senses away, leaving blankness. Then the shock of cold water, air brushing the senses, luring them back, and the pain of awakening.
Sudden consciousness burst upon the varg's numb mind like a sharp pain, bringing back reality. He barely felt the solid ground under his limp form, barely registered the movement as he dragged himself from the river, clawing slowly at the bank, and then the freezing impact of fresh air. And the knowledge that seeped into his mind, the realization; he was alive.