Xander smiled as he happily ignored the egghead that Doctor Grace had stuck him with. Not that he had anything against the man personally, but Xander did not know, care, or want to know and or care about the symbiotic relationship involved between the native 'slingers' and their offspring. While he thought it was freaking cool that it shot it's head at things, he had discovered long ago that not knowing the intricacies involved kept it cool much longer then an in-depth explanation on the hows and whys involved.

Dropping his spear on a nearby trunk, Xander nodded absently at the man's warnings to not wander far before he moved into the jungle. He had been in jungles before, back on earth, before they had been paved over at least. Walking through the trees, Xander let the memories flow back to him, the sheer pressure of life around him now was something even the most crowded megopolis back on earth failed to equal.

Everything around him was eating, breathing, moving, living. From the ground below, to the swaying leaves and branches above and higher, everything was alive.

Taking a deep breath, Xander broke into a run through the jungle. Moving through the underbrush, he felt the ancient stirring of the Hyena start to awaken from its century long rest. While not an open savanna, as it would prefer, the feeling of moving through this wild place felt oddly, right to the Primal Spirit.

His run was interrupted by the staccato beat of gunfire from the landing site. Skidding to a stop, Xander felt his blood chill at the roar that echoed through the jungle before sprinting back the way he had come.

Breaking into the clearing he had only recently left, Xander took in the sight of a massive six legged demon ripping into a tree as it tried to reach the scientists within the root system. Nearby lay the body of their security escort and the shattered remains of the machine gun. Pushing his new body to its max, Xander rushed the monster.

The tackle would have done any of the gene enhanced super athletes back on Earth proud. Xander was just happy that his body was stronger and the gravity lower than he was used to, it made tackling the beast idiotic, instead of suicidal.

Rolling on impact, Xander moved over the downed creature and kept going, hoping to put some space between them. Surging to his feet, he turned to face the creature again, only to discover that despite his skill, the massive black monster had already regained its footing and was in the process of leaping on him.

As the massive teeth made their way towards his skull, Xander had time for the thought that, gravity or no, attacking this thing had been suicidal after all.

So, crouching low, he leapt forward under the monster's jump before turning and backing away from his opponent. Xander was amazed at the speed the massive creature had, it had barely touched down before it was facing him again.

"What the hell are you?" Xander said as he scanned the clearing for anything he could use to fight this thing. His eyes fell longingly on his spear were it rested, a hundred yards beyond the monster. It may as well have been back on Earth for the good it was likely to do him.

Xander was brought out of his thoughts by the scientist as he yelled something at him, turning his head to hear better, Xander finally caught the answer to his question.

"Thanator, they named you after Death?" Xander asked in shock as he stared at the monster before him, while it was descriptive it was about as original as naming a Rhino 'Big Grey Pointy Nose' it just didn't have that flare for ironic drama.

Pulling his knife from its sheath, Xander held the blade carefully so as not to lose it in the coming fight "Bring it, you Doctor Seuss reject from hell." He snarled before charging the monster.

--

"Three little kittens, they lost their mittens" Xander sang to himself as he lay against the still form of the Thanator. While not his prettiest fight ever, he had at least managed to pull off rule one so he wasn't going to complain about it too much.

Forcing himself to his feet, Xander looked over at the scientists he had managed to save before pulling the knife from the dead predator, all he wanted now was a nice hot shower, a big bowl of food and a three day sleep.

No matter how many fights he was in, the adrenaline crash always sucked. As he fell to the ground, Xander finally noticed he was leaking from places he probably shouldn't be. Not that he expected any different after a fight like that, but as the battle haze finally lifted, the pain from his injuries came rushing back.

Groaning in pain, Xander forced himself up again as he did a quick check for critical damage before deciding that he could get back to the chopper with some help.

Taking a step in the general direction he remembered his ride being in, Xander was surprised by a weight landing on his leg sending him tumbling to the ground as sharp pain flooded from the location of the attack.

Looking down, Xander blinked at the pint sized Thanator that was currently gnawing on his appendage.

Reaching down, he peeled the small carnivore off his leg and held the hissing hellspawn at arm's length before looking back at the gob smacked researchers; it took his mind a minute to realize what had happened before looking over at the Thanator he had killed earlier.

Moving around it, Xander sighed at the distinct lack of male parts before looking down at the struggling cub in his hands.

"Well, shit," he grumbled before shifting the cub to a position it couldn't scratch or bite him from and limping over to the packs, the teeth were enough to tell him that it was a solid food eater already and he would much prefer it gnaw on some of the jerky he had brought with him rather than the odd appendage it managed to reach.

As the scientists gathered their gear and the fallen soldier, Xander made it to his pack and dug through it quickly. Finally getting the small headache to gnaw on the meat, he shifted his pack to his back before stumbling towards the transport, he was almost out of the clearing before turning around and scanning the area again with a frown "What happened to my spear?" he asked as the researcher walked past with a shrug.

After a moment of searching, Xander growled and followed them back to the chopper.

Behind him, a blue hand carefully held the spear before disappearing into the jungle.