A quick strike with his royal staff is all it takes to put the injured mouse out of its pain and Bog reaches down to pull out the thrown knives from its dead body. He was impressed by Marianne's vague tale of killing a viper but to actually see her in action is a whole other thing.
They had spotted their prey quickly after returning the satchel to the hunting glade burrow and had maneuvered themselves to ambush it when it bolted. He had feared they would have to find another prey but flying silver put the animal's fast speed down to a limp and another strike kept the animal from reaching its escape tunnel.
Bog is glad they had already discussed that Marianne would only attack from afar because the brown and white mouse may have been unable to move the rest of its body but its teeth were still poised for attack when he approached.
"Not much of a prize, is it?" Marianne murmurs dejectedly.
"What do you mean it's not much of a prize? I doubt there's one other pair who managed to get a mouse, especially a nice one like this male," Bog comments, handing her knives back to her. "There isn't much damage to the coat thanks to how precise your attack was. You just might have to fight Mom over who's keeping the fur."
"You're being very proud over a mouse," she mutters.
"You're being very disappointed over a mouse," he counters. "It may be different in the Light Field but catching a wild mouse in the Dark Forest is a great achievement for a single or paired hunter. They'll be singing our praises come moon-down."
"For a mouse? But there isn't much meat on it. I figured a hedgepig would be a greater prize," Marianne comments.
"Hedgepigs are slower and easier for a paired hunter to take down and their fur isn't valued as much. Mice are harder to catch even for a group of hunters and its fur is valuable but it's tricky not to damage the fur when trying to kill it," Bog explains. "Plus, this breed of mouse has a tendency to sneak into the bat stables and make a meal out of them while they're hibernating. It's why we post guards there during the winter so they..."
Bog turns his head toward the nearby screams and wastes no time taking to the air with Marianne beside him. It doesn't take him long to find the source of the screams, two small young goblins running as fast as their legs can carry them but it's what is chasing them, barreling through the brush, that makes a shiver run through him.
"Bog, what is that?" Marianne questions breathlessly.
"I...I don't know," he mutters. "I've never seen a lizard that big before."
"We have to get them out of there. You're faster. Do you think you can carry them?" she asks.
"I can but only one at a time," Bog answers, pushing his wings to fly faster. "It'll be a lot easier to fight that thing."
"You can't fight it alone and I don't have my sword," Marianne reminds. "There's no telling how tough its skin is, so my daggers might not work and if I throw a knife, it might hit those two. I'll distract it."
Bog nods reluctantly. It's obvious the youths won't last much longer as the female stumbles and the large lizard gets closer to them. As much as he doesn't like putting Marianne in the least bit of danger, they need to get the pair out of there.
Readying his royal staff, Bog flies near the beast and slams the metal against its snout before flying ahead and grabbing the lagging young female. Diana whimpers her worry over her prospective mate but Bog grunts reassurances before setting her on a branch and flying back for the tiring young male.
He urges his wings to fly faster as the youth just misses being bitten by the reptile, Marianne's distraction efforts not bothering its speed. The glint of steel and a familiar rage-filled roar is all the warning he gets.