A/N: I'm back! I hope this chapter meets what's (hopefully) become expected of me...
I do believe that your questions will be answered in this chapter, Kamaria Jay and UKJ. And thanks for taking the time to review! ;)
The title is Latin. n.n See you at the bottom!
Chapter 7: Bellum Cum Iumento
Or
Battle with a Beast
"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold." –Helen Keller
The Cougar gave lion-man a grin. She was enjoying this fight much more than she had those territory battles. If his grin was anything to go by, lion-man was enjoying the fight as much, if not more than her.
But… she could feel her partner-in-body-and-soul, her human half. The part of her that needed to be sheltered, protected. Her partner-in-body-and-soul was confused.
'Why are you enjoying this so much?' her mind-voice questioned. The Feral couldn't answer her. There was no answer to a question like that. It just was.
A loud animalistic growl brought Cougar back to the here-and-now. She saw the large clawed paw moving toward her head, aiming to either knock out or kill her. She jumped back, evading the claw-swipe by mere breaths. Lunging forward, she sunk her own claws into his large bicep, ripping through the muscle underneath. Lion-man roared, lashing out again. His claws caught her face, tearing the delicate skin of her cheek and across the bridge of her nose.
The smaller of the Ferals snarled at her opponent, jumping back and landing on her hands and feet. She used the leverage it gave her to run behind lion-man as he charged her. Before he could turn his bulk around, the Cougar had leapt on his back, claws extended and hooking into his broad shoulders. Her fangs found purchase in the back of his neck, around his spine.
The sweet, metallic taste of blood splashed into her mouth as lion-man froze with a sharp inhale. He shifted, and a dangerous growl erupted from Cougar's throat as she bit down harder, her fangs digging into his vertebrae.
"…Stupid, god-damn cub," lion-man growled, his voice filled with dark amusement. "I can't die."
The Cougar didn't know what that implied, but Kuga did. The human was…startled, like prey when Cougar suddenly appeared in front of it.
Once again, the young female was brought back to the here-and-now as the man snagged Cougar by her shirt, his claws scratching her back. Once he had a good grip, he ripped her off his back, seemingly uncaring as her teeth and claws tore out chunks of flesh. His blood ran in tiny rivers down his body, filling the air with its sweetly metallic scent.
Lion-man threw her into a wall; she yelped then fell limp as her head hit the brick. Cougar's head was spinning and she was having a hard time breathing as a warm wet spot was forming on the back of her head, right where she'd hit the wall. Warm, sticky liquid ran down the back of her neck. She could smell her blood past the scents of sweat and anger and other unidentifiable emotions.
She was getting dizzy…could only watch helplessly as the man stalked over. Her vision blurred for a moment before clearing again, and the young teen looked into lion-man's blue eyes. His orbs had darkened to almost cobalt, dark promises spinning webs within his irises.
Through the swimming in her head, Cougar realized something as she looked into his amused gaze. He had been…playing with her. He let her claw him, let her attacks injure him! He let her believe she had a chance against him! Let her believe she would have a chance of being the Alpha she had been in her territory!
This was all a game to him… This was his territory, and he had told the young Feral where she stood with him in the most primal of ways. Cougar dropped her gaze from his eyes. She had lost, and she seriously doubted she'd win if she challenged him again.*
Just as lion-man had gotten within swiping-distance, a distant shout distracted them both.
"KUGA!"
The human forced Cougar back at the sound of her name.
Kuga could hear running footsteps coming closer, though they were still blocks away. She shook her head, trying to keep it from swimming, to clear the shock and fuzziness out, but to no avail.
She smelt something, under the scent of blood and sweat and the man [Cougar certainly knew how to name people. He smelt like a lion's exhibit in a zoo!]. Focusing on the scent, it took her a while to put a name to the familiar scent. When she did, a weak growl rose in her throat as Cougar tried getting out again.
'Claw-man.'
'Logan? From the Institute? How'd he find us so quickly?' the human mind-spoke. 'Never mind that. Maybe he can help us find a place to heal…' Another weak growl rumbled through her.
Kuga could hear Cougar's angry snarling in the back of her head.
'Claw-man had taken us from our territory-had caged us!-and you want his help?!'
The growls caused the man to glance back at her. An amused smirk crossed his lips. Kuga couldn't decide if it was her growling that amused the man, or the fight she still had left, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She had to get away and find a safe place to heal; a quiet, dark place, a place where she could calm the Cougar. And since her beast wouldn't let her ask Logan for help, she had to deal on her own.
"KUGA!" the shout came again, closer this time.
She tried to get up, gathering her arms under her body and trying to push her body up. A sharp pain made her gasp as her arms went weak and she fell back to the ground. Panting, Kuga took stock of her pains. The scratches on her face were tingling, as were the ones she'd gotten through the entirety of the relatively short fight. Her head was sore where she'd hit the wall, and her knees were stinging. However, all that was manageable.
Again, she tried getting up, and again the sharp pain stopped her. …Her ribs. That's what hurt so bad. Being thrown against the brick probably cracked-possibly even broke-a few of her ribs. But, being as stubborn as she was, Kuga tried again. This time, a whimper escaped her throat, causing the man to chuckle.
The teen glared at him through tear-filled eyes. He was laughing at her pain! It wasn't fair that she was laying there, curled against a wall because of the pain he caused, while she hadn't been able to do anything to him!
The sudden spice of anger coming off the Feral she had been fighting caused Kuga to snap out of her self-pity. She had time for that later. At the moment, however, she was a bit occupied.
She was stuck against a wall, with a man she can't beat in front of her and another one just a few blocks away. She had no one to help her, she was in pain, and the miasma of anger coming off the man in front of her was turning her own residual anger into fear. Her fight-or-flight instincts were kicking in, and at the moment, she wanted to run. To run and never look back. To get far, far, far away from the tension building on the empty street.
Cougar forced the human back, taking control once again, just like she had when her partner-of-her-mind-and-soul was being hunted.
'What is this- Musical Chairs or something?' the human grouched, fear making her mind-voice waver. Cougar didn't answer, just focused on finding a safe escape route.
A dark growl rumbled deep in lion-man's chest, and a challenge glinted in his nearly-cobalt gaze as claw-man ran out from between two buildings, searching for something.
Cougar knew what that challenge was, being a predator herself. Lion-man was challenging claw-man for the rights to his prey-which just so happened to be Cougar herself. The thought of being prey didn't sit well with her, used to being top predator as she was. But, she knew that to those two predators, the ones that were keeping her from finding a safe place… to them, she was prey. Weaker.
But it wasn't only a challenge she saw. Cougar could see…betrayal? Hurt? Something like that. And it manifested itself into anger; hatred so strong she was left breathless. Lion-man and claw-man must have known each other, and something happened to make lion-man hate the other so much…
"Stay outta this, Runt," lion-man warned as claw-man came closer. Claw-man growled. His own hatred was mixing with lion-man's, feeding to each other, causing it to grow, overwhelm all other thoughts and emotions. Cougar's fear just added to the strained tension.
"Give me th' cub, Creed," claw-man ordered in a low growl.
"She's mine!" the other snarled. Claw-man's nostrils flared, and his already dark eyes turned black.
He roared, charging lion-man as blood-earth-claws erupted from his fists.
As any cornered and injured animal would, Cougar took the opening that was presented when the men-with-similar-scents started fighting. She ignored the pain the partner-of-her-mind-and-soul hadn't been able to as she pushed herself up and staggered down the street, using the walls as support. She didn't stop moving when the sky opened and cried on her, nor when she ran out of walls to support herself.
The Feral waded across water, crossed a long, smelly, flat rock, and stumbled through trees until she was sure she was safe, if only for a time. The whole time, she could feel the partner-of-her-mind-and-soul watching, keeping their path in mind. But she didn't try stopping Cougar.
The moon had set and the sky was turning from black to dark grey when the young Feral finally stopped. She looked around until she found a cave large enough for her to curl up in, then dropped off to sleep as the pain, fear, and adrenaline finally hit her.
*In wolf packs, it is seen as a challenge if one wolf meets another's gaze. If the other wolf is more dominant, it would take that challenge as a threat to his position in the pack. I'd imagine that's how most Ferals (at least the ones like Creed and Logan) would see it.
Ok, here's the next part. I feel it could be longer... I wanted to save the next bit for later, and this way I can think of more plot points. XP
Now, I just wanted to say... I LOVE YOU GUYS! I've been getting a steady stream of favorites/alerts from different people. As of 1 September, at 4:18, I had 22 favorites, 42 followers, and 39 reviews! *mumbles* (I didn't think I was that good... *n.n*)
Many special thanks to my regular reviewers, SBPride, 2011Gokurocks18110411, PrincessAnime8, and Djbirdywantstofly.
Also to Animals are my Life, Heve-chan, High Lady Nyx, UKJ, Kamaria Jay (hope I got it right...), lilyoftheval5, and everyone else who has reviewed. You ALL make me feel so loved! (I can only hope that I continue to meet all of your expectations...)
I'll get the next chapter out when I can. Feel free to give me ideas or ask questions, either in a PM or review.
Laters!
Risika
