The commotion of battle easily broke the still midmorning air. A cougar’s cry brought Jaden quickly off his feet. Large felines were not something to trifle with. Even with his size and current armament the man would have been leery of engaging one in battle singlehandedly. But the cry was too quiet to be a sound for an approaching attack on his being. He quickly realized this and, when a canine’s whine followed, he knew the cat had found someone much less fortunate than he to pounce on.
Jaden didn’t consider himself heroic but he began quickly toward the sound anyway. If he could help he would, but he didn’t plan on being torn limb from limb for a stranger. If he, or as the whines and growls suggested, she were up against a true monster then they could be truly out of luck this day.
When the scene came into view Jaden slide to a halt. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing before the bloody fangs of this cougar was none other than his most trusted friend. After all he had done to avoid being recognized by her or anyone else, changing his appearance, the black coat he wore, even the strong smell of ash hiding his scent, fate would make it useless now. He dashed it aside without another thought. Even before the decision to help cleared his shock his legs were carrying him forward at all the speed the limbs could muster. Long coat trailing and teeth bared, the wanderer no longer thought of whether he might help the unfortunate female but if he could throw himself into danger fast enough to keep the feline predator from doing any more damage.
The Alaskan approached from X’yrin’s left flank and the cougar’s right. He was able to watch in horror as the two parted and faced each other. The woman wore an expression of savagery he had rarely seen on her before and actually charged her attacker. Jaden had to admire her will to fight but would later recall feeling a little anger at her eagerness to jump strait into such an apparently dangerous confrontation.
The two only had a few seconds after her charge before the dark mass smashed shoulder first into the feline attacker. A fierce snarl tore past his gaping jaws as Jaden dug his teeth into fur and muscle on impact. The cougar screamed its primal call in surprise and began batting at the blur of dark fur and fabric now clinging to it. Canine and feline rolled and clawed, both fighting for dominance over the other. Jaden had an advantage in body size and defensive ability but the cat had agility and deadly, powerful claws. He was able to deflect its jaws well enough with his metal armor but the heavy paws repeatedly beat past his guard. One of the hits landed with an audible smack into the optime’s ribs. He couldn’t help but yelp when the paw withdrew, leaving behind three re-fractured ribs, neat lines of sliced fabric, and warm red on his otherwise black body.
The initial aim of his heroic dive into action had been to lock his arms around the cougar’s throat and squeeze the life from it. The action was proving much more difficult than Jaden had planned. The feline expected him to go for its throat just as it tried to tear out his. It easily evaded his grasp while he struggled to defend from its all-consuming assault.
In a moment of bad luck, Jaden’s forearm rotated slightly and left the flesh underneath his metal unguarded. His foe locked its jaws on and its lower set of long teeth pushed into his muscle. Pain forced a verbal curse of rage from the man as one of its back legs raked down his thigh. In that moment the tan body pinned him down and held its ground. He repeatedly struck at its legs and kicked at its belly but still it stood on him. He had the strength to toss it off of him but not with its teeth still set in his arm. He could see rage and crimson lust in this killer when their glares met past his own bloody metal.
Jaden does. Jaden speaks. Jaden thinks.
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