The ground was covered in so much soft mulch and moss that for a little while it was hard to pick up on the scents of the wayward foals. Okibi had to crouch and practically stick her nose into the muddy ground to catch onto anything. Her long purple hair was collecting a nice variety of leaves and sticks by the time she finally caught wind of the missing ponies.
"Got 'em." Okibi muttered as she shot to her feet and dashed off in the direction that the scent trails lead her. Heavy footfalls echoed behind her; Seven was close on her tail. That was a good thing too, because she had the distinct feeling that she was going to need his muscle for what was ahead of them. They werent the only ones that had noticed the foals had strayed from their herd. There was another scent trailing behind them. "We hurry. Ponies in trouble."
No sooner had she uttered those words did she hear the faint, high pitched whinny of one of the baby horses. Okibi cursed in beast tongue and activated a gravity jutsu, making her so fleet footed that she practically hovered above the ground. Seven was losing pace behind her, but that was ok. She could hold off whatever had caught the foals first for a little while on her own. With a harsh growl Okibi leaped through a dense wall of shrubs and burst out the other side into a small clearing, landing with her legs splayed and claws drawn. She saw the three small colts she was tracking, cornered against an enormous tree by something that could only be described as a a feline beast. Its eerie yellow eyes were trained on the frightened ponies, saliva dripping from its toothy maw.
"Hey! Ugly! You touch one hair on those ponies heads and Ill rip your tail off and feed it to you!" Okibi barked out in beast tongue. The gigantic cat monster whirled its head in her direction, snarling. It apparently did not like the idea of there being a competitor for its meal, and so switched targets. It turned it's back to the foals and focused itself on Okibi instead. The violet haired imp of a girl grinned coyly. "That's right. Come play with me instead."
It was as if someone rang a bell. The opposing beasts - one literal and the other not so much - sprang at each other, a mess of claws and fangs and snarls. Okibi was much smaller than the feline monster, but that hardly mattered to her. Although it might have been a good deal heavier than her, Okibi was a good deal stronger than she looked. The beast snapped at one of her arms, but Okibi barked a laugh and pulled out of the way just in time before grabbing it by one of its ears and pulling herself onto its meaty neck. The cat thrashed and clawed, but Okibi was able to wrap her small arms around its throat in a choke hold.
Just then, Seven made his way onto the scene just in time to see the beast charge a nearby rock-tree, smashing Okibi against it. The girl cried out and lost her grip on the felines neck, falling off. The monster was about to make for a killing lunge when Seven charged and rammed it in the side, sending flying a good ten feet. It rolled and sprang back onto its feet, favoring one of its hind legs which must have twisted when it went down. The feline snarled; Seven growled, and an intense stare down ensued.
For a few moments, it looked like neither one was going to back down.
Until Seven reared his head back and let loose a mighty roar that shook the very ground they stood on. Okibi slowly got to her feet, grinning as she clutched her throbbing shoulder. The feline monster shrunk back slightly before slowly making its way into the brush, practically with its tail between its legs.
"Nice roar." Okibi compliment, patting him with her good arm. Seven smirked.
"Lets get those ponies back to their mothers then shall we?" He said lightly before they started making their way to the three foals. They looked much calmer now that the monster was gone, and even approached Seven to nibble at his shoulders and legs in thanks. They could sense that he was not a predator to fear. Okibi couldnt help smiling as she loosely roped the colts necks and hopped onto Sevens back. Sometimes, animals just had so much more sense than humans.
[Word Count: 767]
"Got 'em." Okibi muttered as she shot to her feet and dashed off in the direction that the scent trails lead her. Heavy footfalls echoed behind her; Seven was close on her tail. That was a good thing too, because she had the distinct feeling that she was going to need his muscle for what was ahead of them. They werent the only ones that had noticed the foals had strayed from their herd. There was another scent trailing behind them. "We hurry. Ponies in trouble."
No sooner had she uttered those words did she hear the faint, high pitched whinny of one of the baby horses. Okibi cursed in beast tongue and activated a gravity jutsu, making her so fleet footed that she practically hovered above the ground. Seven was losing pace behind her, but that was ok. She could hold off whatever had caught the foals first for a little while on her own. With a harsh growl Okibi leaped through a dense wall of shrubs and burst out the other side into a small clearing, landing with her legs splayed and claws drawn. She saw the three small colts she was tracking, cornered against an enormous tree by something that could only be described as a a feline beast. Its eerie yellow eyes were trained on the frightened ponies, saliva dripping from its toothy maw.
"Hey! Ugly! You touch one hair on those ponies heads and Ill rip your tail off and feed it to you!" Okibi barked out in beast tongue. The gigantic cat monster whirled its head in her direction, snarling. It apparently did not like the idea of there being a competitor for its meal, and so switched targets. It turned it's back to the foals and focused itself on Okibi instead. The violet haired imp of a girl grinned coyly. "That's right. Come play with me instead."
It was as if someone rang a bell. The opposing beasts - one literal and the other not so much - sprang at each other, a mess of claws and fangs and snarls. Okibi was much smaller than the feline monster, but that hardly mattered to her. Although it might have been a good deal heavier than her, Okibi was a good deal stronger than she looked. The beast snapped at one of her arms, but Okibi barked a laugh and pulled out of the way just in time before grabbing it by one of its ears and pulling herself onto its meaty neck. The cat thrashed and clawed, but Okibi was able to wrap her small arms around its throat in a choke hold.
Just then, Seven made his way onto the scene just in time to see the beast charge a nearby rock-tree, smashing Okibi against it. The girl cried out and lost her grip on the felines neck, falling off. The monster was about to make for a killing lunge when Seven charged and rammed it in the side, sending flying a good ten feet. It rolled and sprang back onto its feet, favoring one of its hind legs which must have twisted when it went down. The feline snarled; Seven growled, and an intense stare down ensued.
For a few moments, it looked like neither one was going to back down.
Until Seven reared his head back and let loose a mighty roar that shook the very ground they stood on. Okibi slowly got to her feet, grinning as she clutched her throbbing shoulder. The feline monster shrunk back slightly before slowly making its way into the brush, practically with its tail between its legs.
"Nice roar." Okibi compliment, patting him with her good arm. Seven smirked.
"Lets get those ponies back to their mothers then shall we?" He said lightly before they started making their way to the three foals. They looked much calmer now that the monster was gone, and even approached Seven to nibble at his shoulders and legs in thanks. They could sense that he was not a predator to fear. Okibi couldnt help smiling as she loosely roped the colts necks and hopped onto Sevens back. Sometimes, animals just had so much more sense than humans.
[Word Count: 767]