The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 16

Long teeth and hooked claws dug into Wildfang's neck, shoulder, and chest as some unknown assailant joined the fray. Instinct drove the wolf to drop the jackalope, before rolling towards the attack, and as the monster on his neck clung to his flesh, he could hear sharp hissing and growls that cried out as chunks of his hide were torn open by the creature's hind claws which raked across his side as he rolled over his assailant.

Thunderfoot realized how lucky he had been, the deep wounds on his leg were a far cry from the damage he knew the wolf had intended to inflict. He focused his will as he backed away from the fight that was taking place before him, the two large predators tearing up the terrain in their contest for superiority, while his wounds closed up until no sign was left. Whatever magic the wolf possessed to prevent his healing was not in effect, neglected in its struggle for survival.

The two supernatural creatures rolled together a few times, large chunks of earth being sent into the air as they each tried to find their footing, just to be thrown to the side as the other pressed for advantage.

Sara never released her grip on the wolf's throat, and despite the damage she was doing, the wolf's thick and durable hide was providing a surprising amount of resistance to her dagger like teeth, preventing her from tearing the meat from the beast's neck and ending the fight right there.

Wildfang realized what had attacked, and knew that what advantage he had hoped for was lost now that the cat had joined the battle. There was no way he could take the three creature at the same time.

Sara managed to keep her body away from the wolf's snapping mouth, which continued to whip off to the side trying to reach her limbs as the large dog used its mass to try and bring the cat forward. For as much strength as the wolf possessed, Sara had the upper hand and held the better position, her grip on his neck and agility allowing her to keep out of the wolf's reach.

The problem was, that was all Sara was capable of doing, the beast's hide was too durable for her to do any more damage to his neck with her teeth, and if she used her front claws to do anything more than hold on, she risked losing her grip and falling out of position, exiting the narrow window where she was safe.

Tani'm could not believe the amount of energy the ward had used to blunt Thunderfoots attack, or the additional energy that had been taken to protect her as she bounced across the ground before slamming into a tree at the edge of the clearing. Even with the ward's protection, the air had been forced from her lungs, and she felt dizzy and lightheaded from when she had hit the tree.

As her vision cleared, she struggled to believe what she was seeing. Sara was holding onto the side of the wolf's body, her front claws dug deep while her teeth were buried into the monster's neck. The wolf was using its larger size to try and pull or shake Sara off of its side, but the agile woman seemed to stay exactly where the wolf didn't want her to be.

Her head rang and she collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain as she tried to stand, her dislocated shoulder and almost broken arm screaming out in anguish as she mistakenly attempted to use her right arm to push herself up.

Tani'm's cry distracted Sara just long enough for the wolf to gain the angle it needed, and as his teeth dug into her side, Sara was reminded of just how dangerous the wolf was. Her hide was similar to the wolf's, shockingly durable and resistant to slashing wounds, so while the wolf was able to sink his teeth into her body, he was unable to tear the meat from her side.

Despite that limitation, the wolf's strength was profound, and while it took all of his might, he managed to pull the wild cat from his neck, his wounds widening as her teeth were pulled out of his flesh. He whipped his body and sent the large cat sailing through the air, towards Thunderfoot who had been charging towards him in preparation for another attack.

The rabbit was forced to dodge Sara, which caused him to change his course and continue his sprint into the forest, aborting the strike he had been hoping to land.

Sara's side burned with a deep pain she had never felt, the crushing wounds inflicted by Brandon seeming like a distant fondness next to the searing pain that radiated deep within her body. Through that suffering she managed to right her body midflight, her claws digging into the ground as she skidded to a halt, hissing towards the wolf a moment later.

It was too late though, the wolf was already there, and her hiss was met by the face of madness, as her adversary was attempting to bit her neck. With unexpected agility, Sara managed to lunge forward, causing the great hunter to sink its teeth into her upper arm, diverting the attack from her neck where it had been intended. While her speed had saved her life, the forward momentum caused the wolf's bit to set in deep.

The large ocelote possessed a flexibility that the wolf had never encountered, and as the long teeth of the mighty wolf rooted themselves into the cat's muscles, the ocelote dropped its weight and allowed the wolf to stand atop it. As tooth met bone, the wolf's neck and body began to whip from side to side, doing tremendous damage to the cat's shoulder. A mere second later, razor sharp claws and long thin teeth dug into the wolf's neck and throat as Sara curled her body around the great beast and returned the attack.

The pain was unbelievable for both creatures, their eyes growing wide at the damage they each inflicted to the other. If not for the wolf's natural gifts, the clawing and gnashing wounds that the ocelot inflicted would have been life ending, but as it was the wolf was relieved to realize that the cat did not have his gift for enforcing the injuries she inflicted.

So it was, that while Sara tore chunks of the large wolf's throat out with her teeth, and opened massive lacerations across the arteries on the other side of its neck, the wolf returned the damage in kind. Her vision went white as three-hundred pounds of muscle rested on her chest, the wolf's claws sinking into her belly as the beast pushed against her, pulling his head back and ripping the flesh and muscle from her upper arm and shoulder.

Whatever pain she had ever felt was lost beneath the earth shattering weight of what she experienced in that moment. Her brain was incapable of making sense of the sensations that assaulted it, and for a moment she struggled against the force of it, until through the white hot anguish rose the one thing Sara knew well — anger, rage that burned away all of her pain and agony, and drove her towards vengeance.

Wildfang knew when a fight had ended, recognizing the limp resignation of a foe in defeat from a mile away. As the cat's limbs stopped flailing, he tossed his mouthful of flesh to the side, licking the delightfully savory blood from his lips as he focused his energy on mending the wounds to his neck. In a mere moment his understanding of combat changed, as the unmoving form of the defeated cat exploded with lightning fast lethality.

The amber eyes he saw as he turned his gaze on the supine feline would have been warning enough, but the single forepaw that reached out and hooked its claws behind the back of his head made his situation clear — the fight was far from over, and his foe was anything but defeated. It was a sickening feeling, the pain that he felt as he tried to pull his head away, but what followed was far more disturbing. For while the forepaw dug narrow trenches into his skull as it drew closer to his left eye, the cat had spun her body, and pulled her legs to her chest before lashing out and connecting just below his long neck.

He was reminded of the wound the forest guardian had inflicted during their last battle, when the small woman had slid beneath him, but this new wound was far deeper, and where the guardians fang had only inflicted a single long gash, the cat had just opened many long and dangerous wounds running from his neck to his naval.

Wildfang dropped the front of his face down and jumped back, taking one more short strike from the cat's hind legs before his body pulled away. Sara's front claws opened a long series of wounds down the side of the wolf's face, narrowly missing his eye by a mere fraction-of-an-inch while exposing long sections of the wolf's skull. As the large canine landed, he felt the wounds along his belly widening, threatening to allow his intestines to spill out. By some small miracle, the cat's attacks had just avoided opening the membranes and tissues which held his organs into place, his thick muscles taking the brunt of her assault.

As if by instinct, the mighty hunter turned his hazy gaze toward the forest guardian as he backed away from the cat, its deep purr adding music to his worry. While his own vision was beginning to fade, relief washed over him as he saw the small woman attempt to stand, her legs growing weak and shaky as dizziness took hold, dropping her back to the ground.

His magic worked quickly, closing his tissues enough to stem the flow of blood that gushed from his open neck, and as his arteries mended back together, the open slashes that ran along his midsection pulled closed, ensuring that he would not tear open and release his guts upon the soft and soden ground. No sooner had the gravest of his wounds been mended, was he reminded of his mistake from the last time he had fought the forest guardian — the rabbit being brought to mind.

He attempted to hop back as he turned his head, spotting the jackalope a moment before it connected. Unlike the attack's that had come before, the jackalope was not leaping through the air with its powerful hind legs ready to land a devastating blow, instead the creature was guiding its horns towards the wolf's exposed side. As the wolf's body lifted from the ground in his attempt to avoid the incoming assault, the first of the jackalope's antler points began to sink into his flesh, quickly followed by the others.

The jackalope was low to the ground, and even though his mass was far from that of the wolf's, he wielded the tremendous force he had generated with proficiency. Each spear like point of the large rabbit's antlers pierced deep into the wolf's body, crushing ribs, and penetrating organs as Thunderfoot lept into the side of the mighty wolf's muscular frame.

Much like the last time the rabbit had hit the wolf, the force was overwhelming, and Sara could not believe the sight as the seemingly small rabbit slammed into the wolf at nearly forty-five miles per hour. She watched as the wolf got launched a half-dozen yards across the clearing, a large arc of blood following it through the air, and was amazed by how the rabbit seemed to be unfazed by the attack.

Thunderfoot's neck flexed during the impact, his muscles highlighted by the rays of moonlight that continued to dance through the opening in the clouds. She expected to see the rabbit's body crumple against the wolf's massive side, but instead, as the wolf sailed through the air, the rabbit's momentum carried it a few feet after it, seeming to chase after his opponent, before landing with a comical gentleness. Sara yowled with joy as she basked in the sights and sounds of the impressive attack.

Wildfang's hatred knew no end, and as he was carried into the air with the force of the jackalopes most recent intervention, he was visited by a moment of surprising clarity. He had dealt some serious damage on the trio of hunters who had come after him that night, and while he still possessed the strength to mend his wounds, he was no longer certain he would come out on top if the battle continued.

His gambit would have worked, if not for the bedeviled magic that protected the forest guardian. Her arm would have been torn from her body, and the jackalope's first leaping attack would have been met with the unforgiving embrace of his bite. Instead, everything had gotten away from him, and even though every fiber of his being ached to finish them off, he knew that he didn't have the strength to win the day. The rabbit — the damned insufferable rabbit — had devastated his body, breaking several ribs, cracking the bones in his front leg, and nearly piercing his heart.

The mighty wolf hit the ground and slid along the soft moist turf for several yards, and his body shook as he forced himself to stand a moment later. With a brief glance, the wolf confirmed what it already knew; the ocelot was on the rise, rage cast out from its amber gaze, and the jackalope was watching him with intense hatred. After releasing a deep growl, the large beast focused his attention on fleeing into the forest, and attempted to mend his wounds as he made his escape.

Tani'm watched with resigned frustration as the wolf moved towards the forest, her vision still wobbly from the impact she had suffered with the tree. She had moved her knife to her off hand, in case the wolf charged at her, and considered trying to throw the weapon at its fleeting form, but decided against it just as the wolf vanished behind a tree.

"Fuck!" she yelled as she fell to her back, the bright moonlight vanishing behind a cloud, seeming to cast a shadow upon her soul, as well as the forest.

"Why can't I kill that damned wolf!" She bellowed into the quiet of night, frustration and anger tainting her words.

She allowed her arms to rest on the soft moss and grass that cradled her, and within a few seconds she began to feel the dizziness from her concussion fade. Never before had it taken so long for the forest to aid her recovery, the many spills she had taken as a child seeming more like the playful games of youth that they were, as opposed to the dangerous war she was waging that night.

Her attention was drawn to Sara, who she could see whimpering and hobbling towards her, the ocelot's front left paw held high off the ground, a sickening deep section of flesh missing all along the limb's bicep, and running all the way across the shoulder and down the back, revealing a tapestry of anatomy that almost caused Tani'm to vomit. As if to contrast the horror that had been done to her, Sara was purring louder than Tani'm thought possible, the deep rumbling noise begging for aid.

Thunderfoot was standing there between the two women, panting and staring off into the forest, and through some unknown means Tani'm could feel the exhilaration and disbelief that was consuming the large rabbit. Never before had the rabbit thought itself capable of such a feat, standing up to a wolf — to perhaps the mightiest of the wolves.

Tani'm fumbled her way to her feet, her dislocated shoulder and bruised muscle and bone making the use of her right arm nearly impossible. By the time she found her way to Sara, the woman had collapsed to the ground and reverted to human form, consciousness threatening to flee her as her blood poured from the massive laceration across her bicep and shoulder.

Sara was reminded of what Mercedes had told her, that only Alpha's could heal. She knew that Andrew was her Alpha, but she also recognized that she was something more than a traditional Ailuranthrope. So, as her vision began to fade, she tried to tap into the gifts she had at her disposal. She dove into her mind, finding the same expansive void and bright glowing green symbol, but unlike the last time she had been within her mindscape, she was confronted with a massive cloud of turbulent verdant swirling energy that hovered just above the glyph that Andrew had completed. The storm of energy crackled and thrummed with violent potential, fueling the many terrifying and magnificent gifts she possessed.

No sooner had she arrived, than Andrew's violet sprite made itself known, dancing in circles around her. She could sense his worry, and knew he was preparing to leave to come rescue her. In that moment, as Andrew's purple sprite nuzzled up against her neck, she knew she could not heal herself, that gift was not given to her. With a sigh, she took a moment to consider their situation, and knew that the wolf was unlikely to attack them again so soon; the damage they had done to him was profound, and as she pictured the fearsome beast, she knew she could not risk Andrew and Karen's lives.

While Tani'm, Thunderfoot, and her could still pose a threat to the wolf, Andrew and Karen were not warriors, and would stand no chance against the monster. Sara was reminded of the time Andrew had commanded her to stop, how she heard his voice echo through her mind, and she wondered if perhaps she could communicate with him in a similar way.

Tani'm had arrived, and while Sara's shoulder exploded in renewed pain as the small woman began to tend to her, Sara tried to focus herself on her current task — warning Andrew to stay home.

"Don't come, the wolf will kill you both!" She screamed into the emptiness of her mind, her words echoing through the black nothingness in strange and unfamiliar ways. Her failure was met by something deep within her, something that was trying to influence her actions, some unknown instinct that seemed strange and yet familiar.

Andrew's stories came back to her, his descriptions of how he used his gift, the spells and incantations visiting him when he needed them most. How conflicted he seemed by having to rely on his gift to guide his actions, while not knowing what the results would be. Never before had those feelings seemed so understandable to Sara, who for once found herself in that same situation.

Her body loosened, and her mind went clear as she surrendered herself to that deep impulse, allowing her gift to take control.

A strand of energy threaded its way out of the emerald storm that hovered off in the distance, snaking its way to where Sara stood, and connected her to Andrew's sprite with a band of verdant pulsing magic. Again, she screamed her warning, "Don't come, my love, the wolf will kill you both!"

She could feel the massive strain the act had taken, but knew that her message had been delivered, the gut wrenching fear of loss she experienced at the thought of losing Andrew and Karen being included as background music to her words. A part of her understood that she may never see them again, and before she had the chance to dwell upon that thought she shook her head and focused on anything she could find to distract herself.

The storm of green energy raged on within her mind, but seemed a bit more subdued, having been drained by the task she had just placed on herself.

Sara smiled, sensing the shifting portrait of Andrew's confusion, and the vague whisper of Karen's continued worry that acted as a faint perfume. She felt warmth as she cradled Andrew's sprite in her translucent amber hand, his avatar within her mind reminding her of the profound bond the two shared.

With regret, she withdrew from her mind, finding the pain in her shoulder much more manageable as she opened her eyes. The earth was still warm where Tani'm had applied it to her shoulder, and the firm outer shell that was still forming moved unlike anything Sara had expected. It looked like bark, dark and sturdy, but it shifted and moved with her as if it were skin, and within it she could feel the tingling warmth of Tani'm's magical balm, the thick paste working to speed her healing.

Whatever healing benefits the poultice provided were blunted by the wolf's talent for destruction, the beast's magic enforcing its wound, and preventing her from healing. Sara was reminded of when she had first seen Tani'm in a very similar situation, and knew that with time her wound would fester and grow tainted by the influence of the wolf.

There was fatigue in Tani'm's gaze, a deep worry that rested behind her eyes and spoke far more than any words the small woman could say. She understood as well as Sara the dangerous road that they each faced, and despite her efforts, concern was scrawled across her every feature.