Drizzt looked at the fierce beast's eyes, his lavender orbs returning the intense gaze. He had his scimitars drawn; Twinkle glowing wildly in the night. The great beast crouched on all fours, it's stomach nearly touching the snow beneath it. Drizzt followed the crouch with one of his own, preparing for the attack. The beast lunged at Drizzt; it's corded muscles shooting the beast at great speeds.
This was agility the likes of which Drizzt had never seen. He barely escaped the great cats swiping paws; the paws themselves tearing off a piece of Drizzt's forest green cloak. The dark elf went into a roll, coming up to the base of a tree. The great cat followed, it's speed making it nearly impossible to escape. Drizzt ducked under the cat's leap, scoring a hit with Twinkle under the cat's ribcage.
The blow was fatal, Drizzt knew, though, with wide-eyes and a mouth agape, he watched the beast come again. He had made the cat angry, the adrenaline and rage fueling it's defiance to die.
It refused.
It would rather take a hundred blows than lose to this one foe. It leaped again, and again a blow was dealt. Drizzt was amazed at the cat's ferocity, its resilience; respecting it in every aspect. The cat leaped for the last time. The dark elf scored another hit on the great cat right under the chin, leaving a wide and open gash. The cat swooned, the adrenaline's effect wearing off on the hulking form. Empathetic eyes looked up to the dark elf, their yellow tint reflecting again the panther's black fur. Drizzt watched as four hundred pounds of dead weight slammed to the ground. If there was one thing in Drizzt's life that he would regret, it would be this. His lavender orbs no longer held anger, the fierce fire of battle, they held remorse. Long had it been since he killed an innocent creature. And long will it be since he forgets.
But then, comfortingly, he reminded himself: Such is the way of survival. And if he is to survive the trial ahead, he must embrace the hunter once again. And if he is to retake the onyx figurine back from the hands of his enemy, he must learn to kill without remorse.
"A long road lies ahead," the drow said to himself, "and I still have much to learn."
