Miriette had decided that she needed to clear her head of everything that she'd had thrown at her lately. Why in the world she'd stayed in the packland she didn't know but she hadn't wanted to see her father killed after spending a few weeks stalking after him in the packlands and seeing how he devoted himself to the whole of the astranged family. She had paused on the beach as she caught the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. A small smile split her maw as she sighed and began to quicken her pace towards the surf.

Suddenly the high pitch sound of laughter made her stop in her tracks as she realized that someone else was with her. Turning to catch sight of the bespecked black and grey puppy she shook her head. Where in the world had she come from. She tried to call out to the girl but realized for a second she'd forgotten her name, suddenly though it came to her. "Cinder! Comes back!" She really had wanted some time alone but it seemed that she was stuck pupsitting when it wasn't even her duty. Maybe if she caught the little brat and brought her back to the Savant she could get that time she so craved.

Brennt's modern mind had been subordinated to his primitive one earlier in the day. The predator, a title that he had never heard and never used, a word he barely understood on the best of days, was the best descriptor of the consciousness that dominated him now. The personalities were not different, only expressed differently. Brennt was, in truth, both mindsets, but could not consolidate the memories clearly between the two. He knew it was him, all the time, but things were so much different when he went from one to the other that he felt like someone else. His Nowry Half, the person that he had been when he lived at Nowry Village, his birth pack, and his Lone Half, who he had discovered the day that Pallok had tried to kill him, and the following days when he had begun hunting on his own. He would be happy with just his Lone Half, if he didn't have Maz for a friend, and if other wolves didn't try to talk to him with their words.

The predator was hungry. It was limited by Brennt's needs. Brennt was a product of defective sophistication. He was smarter than his ancestors, but not smart enough to fit into modern wolf societies. He was too smart to just be himself, the wolf he would have been without the spread of the human virus. The worded side had tried to understand society, and it had hurt him. His mother had betrayed him, and loved her new pups more than she loved him, who was her special boy. He had eaten them so that he could be her favorite again, but now she hated him. The predator understood very little of the mechanics behind the situation, but it did understand that it inherited Brennt's need for stress-relief by way of puppy-eating. The habit had developed many months ago, after the second time he had tried it and discovered that it not only had made him feel better when he'd finally gotten rid of his younger brothers and sisters, but that it made him feel better every time. The predator did not understand, nor did it care, why it had the need to do this. It only knew that it had the need, and it had the ability to fill it.

With wild haste, it blew past the black female, having spied the little girl for several moments, inching closer to the two of them behind the brambles. Cinder's eyes grew wide as she looked past Miriette, and her lips trembles, before her jaw dropped and a shrill, terrified scream tore at the sky. The short scream concluded with a heavy sob as she saw the yellow-eyed monster sprinting toward her, past the adult of the pack that had taken her in, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the teeth plunged into her flesh. The predator did not stop, but clenched the muscles of its jaws as powerfully as it could, feeling rivulets of blood, bile, and other juices leaking from holes in her skin and pooling at the bases of its fangs. Cinder's sobs became choking cries, but she was too frightened to form words anymore. Fortunately, she was also too frightened to feel the full pain of the grievous wound as the monster ran with her in its jaws.

Miriette hadn't expected anything but the child to run away when she'd called out to her but instead she was greeted with something totally different and something she'd never expected. The horrified look of the child as a cry rose from her throat made the hair on Miriette's back stand on end as she turned just in time to catch the breeze as the monster swept past her and after the child of the pack. Anger rose in her blood as she realized the monster on sight but it was too late to stop him as he'd already sped past her and was nearly to the child already. She let out a snarl of rage as she bolted from her position, her thoughts of rest and relaxation gone as her talons dug into the sands as she joined in the chase.

The piercing squeal of the child as the monster finally overtook her was heart wrenching. She gave one more burst of speed as she sought to ram into the heathen and throw him off his feet. Miriette wanted nothing to do with the bastard but she wasn't going to see the child suffer just because the crazed beast was stupid enough to attack upon pack lands.

The predator lost its footing as a faster, though somewhat less massive, wolf plowed into it. It was an immense creature, which made its completely fluid and natural reflexes all the more awe-inspiring...or terrifying. As it felt the impact, it swung its head, throwing the squealing, savaged pup away from the black wolf to bounce and roll across the sand. The beast itself rolled once across its back, getting all four legs back beneath it with smooth alacrity. It yellow, bestial eyes locked onto those of the interloper. The land belonged to someone else, but the monster had grown hungry. Borders came second to hunger, even this odd, non-life-threatening hunger that it experienced now.

The hackles rose up along the back of its neck and it bared its long fangs. The pups cries had subsided. It did not bother looking at her...it had snapped many of her ribs, and she would not rise on her own. Her breaths were coming fast, and her eyes were closed. The wound would prove too much for her. The predator had no words to exchange with the black female, only body language. Its body language was clear. It surged forward, unwilling to wait for its attacker to back down. Maternal instinct ran strong in many she-wolves. It would resort to force first, and if she fled prematurely, then it could escape with its meal without further incident. If not, well, it was confident that it could kill her. Its fangs flashed as it shot toward her, skipping all pretense, opting instead for sudden, lethal violence.

Miriette snarled as rage rushed through her body. The child had done nothing to deserve the treatment that the male had given her and somewhere inside she tried to push away the fear and common sense that the pup probably wouldn't make it through the wounds that had been inflicted on her. The male began to rise back to his feet as Miriette shifted her weight to a more stabler stance as a threatening growl rose from her throat as she watched the yellow eyed demon getting his bearings.

She could barely hear the gasping breaths of the child behind her as suddenly the male lunged forward. Not evening thinking of herself but of the poor little girl laying cast away on the sands she dove forward, fully intent to meet up with the male fang for fang. She might only be a female but these were her lands and she had every right to defend this place while he had nothing. She could feel his fangs slice through her upper forearm as she whipped her head to the side and with a flash she snap at the male, hoping to find some connection with his body and taste the blood of the beast.

The two wolves took one another in their fangs, the larger beast had gone low and taken the black female at the upper foreleg, and she his shoulder. From there, the burlier creature had the strength advantage, and drove the both of them deeper into the territory with its hind-legs. Using its lower hold on her, it pushed forward, and rose, getting its center of gravity beneath hers, and toppling the two of them down to earth. Her fangs tore at its skin, but short of a quick flash of pain and a tuft of its own bloody hair coming away with her teeth, it was not slowed down.

The positioning was awkward, the beast's jaws had to release the leg to take its attacks at her face--its favorite tactic--but doing so would allow her to regain her feet faster. As large as it was, it brought its foes beneath it as quickly as possible, to kill them there. That was the method it used in its battle with Cwmfen and many others, now. It had killed Cinder's parents after dragging them into the dirt, putting its weight on them to prevent their regaining their feet and killing them from the top, dominant position. This time, the female had managed--whether on accident or because of experience--to prevent herself from being taken down squarely beneath the massive figure, landing near its side. The predator released its hold and quickly began snapping at her, hoping to kill or wound. It side-stepped with its shoulder, hoping to balk her attempts to rise. A few more moments, and it could have her neck.

She could barely feel the pain of his fangs as they sliced into her flesh and he attempted to bring her down. She tried to push back with her muscles of her hind legs as he drove her back. Hopping to try and keep her footing he finally managed to topple her as she snarled in rage as her fangs were ripped free of the flesh she'd claimed on the male. She felt her body twist and turn almost instinctively as she tried to right herself upon falling. Her silver grey eyes flashed as she could feel the breath of the male near her face as he tried to lay claim to her muzzle. Instead of turning away and exposing her throat to the male she thrust her fangs right back into his own maw, her teeth closing over his muzzle as she snarled, putting more weight on his face and neck muscles as she used her grip on the male to right herself.

In a flash she let go of the male's muzzle but wasn't quick enough as his own fangs sought retribution for the damage she'd caused. She could feel the hot searing pain as she felt one of his canines slicing across the back of her ear and along her neck. With a quick jerk she stumbled away from the male to regain herself as she began to circle the beast, to survey the damage done as well as to try and give her a moment to think.

The predator snarled as the black female snapped back at it, the two of them snapping their fangs at one another. In the chaos, she managed to take the upper hand, and keep its jaws secured and away from her flesh until she could get back to her feet. The big brown monster did not hesitate to stay on the female as she rose. It pursued her as soon as she escaped its initial attack and began putting distance between them. In a flat out run it was slower, but in the immediacy of battle the discrepancy of their speeds was not wide enough to yield a significant advantage. It stayed on her tail, pressing her temporary retreat. It understood the benefit of pushing the opponent, the necessity of an attack to be quick and overwhelming, brutal and straightforward. The predator could not plan ahead well. It could lay simple traps, ambushes, it could stalk prey, it could anticipate movements, but it did not have elaborate strategy. This might be a significant weakness, save that the battles it waged left no time for such complex plans to be laid out. It did not need time to think, and so provided none to its adversaries.

Miriette's haunches were within attacking range, but the predator abstained from latching on with its fangs. That damage would be superficial. Instead, as it pursued her, it put on speed, and barreled into her, emulating the attack she had employed at the outset of the battle. It was so much more massive, that there was no where for the battle to go but into the dirt. It had forsaken its own footing as well, and in the mad scramble for the two wolves to right themselves, it found a large portion of flesh, and clamped down, hard. If this was the front of her neck, it knew it had won. If this was the back, it could keep her face in the dirt long enough to win. Anywhere else and the outcome was still uncertain.

The dangerous dance that the two of them engaged in couldn't go on for much longer before someone came out ontop and she was beginning to realize that sooner or later she was probably going to be the one to fall. She let out a rumbling growl as she twisted away from the brute and out of his grasp for a moment before she landed heavily on her paws once more. In that small amount of time the beast had launched forward and had attempted to catch her off guard. In a whirl of twisted and turning bodies the two of them went crashing to the ground where Miriette knew that if she didn't get back to her feet she was surely in trouble.

The pain began to blossom along her side and elbow as she realized that the beast had managed to catch her under the forearm where her elbow joined close to her ribs. She tried to tug out of his reach and yet found that he had a firm hold on her flesh and if she tried to escape she wasn't going to be leaving whole. She tried to twist around and snap at his face, feeling her teeth sink into his ear a moment before she let go quickly and lifted her muzzle up, letting out a call to her packmates as quickly as she could, knowing if she wasn't careful that he would be able to reach her throat.

When DaVinci had realized that his youngest ward was missing the male instantly went on the hunt for the child's trail. Little Cinder had given him quite a bit of trouble since they'd taken him in but she was still beginning to grow on the male and even begin to make him forget some of the pain he'd begun to know so well. It had taken him a little bit of time to tease out the new trails from the old one's she had crisscrossing the pack lands but he soon realized the trail he was following was marked by another scent, the one of the black hued girl that had taken the rank of Sulien. He wasn't certain what exactly had happened between her and Jefferson but he knew he'd have to ask one day.

DaVinci was about to just let the child be, he didn't think that Miriette would trouble the kid, if anything it would be the other way around, but however it came out he figured he was safe enough. He'd been just about to turn back to his cabin when he heard the painful howl of one of the pack mates. It didn't take him too long to realize that it was Miriette's voice that was calling out. A deep weight sank in his stomach as he didn't even think but instead barreled down the path towards the beach.

The scene that he stepped into was like a scene out of a nightmare. A fury began to course through his body as he caught sight of the beast that he'd already had to chase off once and that had killed poor Cinder's family. At the thought of the girl his eyes scanned the area, his body still bringing him closer to the monster and his lowly pack mate. His blood that had been boiling with a frenzy almost seemed to freeze though as he caught sight of Cinder's nearly still form laying tossed aside. His heckles rose instantly as he slammed into the fight at full force, his fangs coming in low to the monster's body, along the shoulder and neck where he strained to hold Miriette in his jaws. If the beast didn't escape he wouldn't leave with his life today.

The collision wasn't something the beast's jaws could overcome. Its teeth were ripped brutally from the black wolf's side as a new challenger entered the battle. With all of the inertia of the new wolf's charge, his teeth penetrated the big wolf's shaggy main easily, closing on the meat of the predator's thick neck, while simultaneously tearing it off of his packmate. The monster scrambled and rolled, yelping and snarling as it dug its hindlegs into the earth to gain leverage, trying to maneuver its own teeth into the neck of its assailant. The hold of the newcomer was strong, and solid enough that the monster had difficulty, twisting those foreign fangs in its own neck while it sought powerfully, but fruitlessly, for a target of its own.

After several moments of scuffling, the brown and gray wolf resorted to its favored tactic, and began trying to press the fight into the ground once more. It wasn't as easy with a foe who was equal in size, and so the muscles in its legs and back and even its punctured neck strained for long while against the strength of its enemy before it finally succeeded in overbalancing DaVinci, and body slamming the both of them viciously into the ground. The hold on its neck was had been bucked loose, and it quickly took to its feet again, feral stamina and strength refusing to tire, refusing to wear down.

Despite its bulk (it wasn't as tall as DaVinci and so was more solid in frame), the predator was hellishly quick, and launched into a run almost immediately once the window was open. The newcomer's hold had been broken, and a heartbeat later, the beast was kicking dust into his face as it sprinted for the border.

Miriette hadn't really expected anyone to show up so quickly when she'd tried to let out a call to the others but she sure was glad that someone had. When she heard the snarl and whipped her head around to catch the silvery blue blur of DaVinci as he crashed into the monster she was jolted out of the relief as she felt the beast's teeth sear through the loose skin behind her arm as a yelp escaped her throat. She was pulled over but the impact and quickly rolled herself over and staggered back to her feet as she caught sight of the two males thrashing and trying to overcome one another. She took a step towards them before something reminded her of the child that had been the start of this all.

She turned to glance at the child and began to shake as she realized she couldn't tell if the puppy was even breathing anymore. She'd been about to move to the small girl's side as suddenly she realized that the two males were back to their feet and the enemy was escaping. A savage snarl erupted from her throat as she took off after him, trying to ignore the pain in her side as the blood ran freely down her legs.

When his teeth had met their mark a deep seated satisfaction overcame him as he wrenched his fags from side to side, getting a better grip on the beast as his teeth sank deeper into the male's flesh. He was struggling to keep the male from moving as he suddenly seemed to struggle harder to rid DaVinci from his back. He wasn't able to get ahold of the stormy hued male but suddenly he was able to throw the hybrid off balance and sweep his feet out from under him. DaVinci never let go though as the male came crashing down with him, his teeth aching from the hold he had on the bastard.

When he hid the hard ground his teeth finally were jarred loose as he struggled to gain his footing once more. The male was up quicker than he was and within moments the beast was seeking the boundaries of the packlands. DaVinci gave a snarl but Miriette was already on the male's trail. He gathered himself up from the ground and joined her in chasing the monster down.

The predator had become the prey. It could turn and kill the female, but with both of the pack wolves together, the chance of death was too high. It fled through the underbrush. With so much bulk, despite its strangely out-of-place fluidity of movement, it was not a fast sprinter, and quickly had to take to confusing turns and rapid changes in direction in an effort to lose its pursuers. It was big enough that it was hard to run down once it got started, which it would try to use to its advantage. Nonetheless, if either of them got their teeth into it, it would be easier to stop than a deer of the same size, though it wouldn't be as easy to kill.

The predator's instincts saved it here, as well. Miraculously, it managed to evade its pursuers as it vanished behind dune after dune, taking advantage of the break from the pack wolves' vision to take turns in random and unpredictable directions, making the chase hellish, even though it was the slowest of the three runners. For the first time, the monster put all of its instincts for flight to the test. In a prolonged hunt, it would have needed to return to fighting before it extinguished its reserves of energy. But as things stood, it felt that it could last until it escaped the territory limit. The predator did not plan further ahead than that.

Miriette had begun to feel her strength waver as she began to slow down and loose sight of the monster as she escaped into the dunes. DaVinci soon caught up with her and had begun to pass her by when she felt her foreleg give out from under her as she cried out. Floundering in the sands she tried to stand up and once more just crashed back down into the soft cradle of the grains of the dunes. She called out after DaVinci, not knowing if she could make it back to the beach on her own. "DaVinciiii!" Her heavily accented voice echoing over the dunes as she was left there.

It didn't take her long to try again to move to her legs as she finally was able to get all four feet off the ground. She couldn't put much weight on the one limb and began to limb off back towards the beach, remembering that they had left the poor girl alone, not knowing if she would be able to survive the salvaging that the bastard had delivered to the baby.

DaVinci could still see small glimpses of the monster as he rode the dunes trying to catch the bastard. He had hardly realized that he'd passed by Miriette until she was long gone. When her desperate voice called out He snarled in frustration at being so close and yet knowing that he couldn't go any further. Slowing down his pace he finally stopped dead and turned towards the shore again as he realized that they'd left Cinder alone. He picked his pace up once more as his heart pounded as fear began to replace the anger that had claimed his soul.

He came upon Miriette as she was reaching the form of Cinder, her own body collapsing underneath her as she fell beside the body that seemed to be too still. DaVinci let out a mournful cry as he dropped his body down beside the fallen form of Cinder, his forelegs gathering her frame to his chest as he realized that she was already gone. Possibly before he'd even arrived. "Noooo!" he snarled as he felt the tears falling on the form of the little child as he trembled with rage and despair. Sobs began to rake his body as he lowered his head down to cover Cinder's body.