[spade]

Originally Posted by Zero to Hero

When Ferox hit his target there was instantly a feeling of intense acomplishment, especially as the air left Ayla's lungs in one loud whoosh. The first few kicks of her hindlegs nailed his exposed belly, and Ferox visibly winced as her sharp claws scraped the sensitive flesh. However, he quickly arched his back, using his longer legs to lift his stomach a few inches so that they only barely brushed his long belly fur. It helped that he was actually really skinny under his thick fur; and that Ayla was much smaller than him due to being younger, a she-cat, and having been abandoned for quite a while. He bared his teeth, his jaws opening wide as he instinctively went for her neck. Thankfully, she decided to lift her forepaws to defend her face, successfully cutting off his route. He froze at this, and his anger faded in that one second it took him to realize that he had actually tried to wound her fatally. The thought shocked him into stillness, his entire grip loosening as he stared down at Ayla in shock. The tiny voice spoke up, and this time Ferox listened. What am I doing...?

He stepped away from his opponent, trying to hide his shame. Killing was supposed to natural in the Dusk Syndicate, but why did he feel like this? "I'm done," He meowed gruffly, averting his pale green eyes. As the adrenaline began to wane, he could feel each tiny wound. The stinging of his face greatly over-powered the small scrapes on his stomach, but he could still feel them all. Returning his gaze to Ayla, he realized that she hadn't gotten a single wound. "You're very good at fighting," He meowed, making sure the subject would stay far away from what had just happened. Ferox rubbed again as his cheek, and he winced as the action caused it to begin bleeding once more.

(I have a feeling that Ayla is gonna be my first cat that’s like truly sadistic, that doesn’t really care what others think and doesn’t take in regards to others. This’ll be interesting to RP… -cue evil smile-)

Everything seemed to slow down in the moment that Ferox pinned her down, even time itself. Each stroke of her hindleg against his belly fur, lifting her paws to her face. Ayla felt trapped in a timeless “bubble”, her eyes shut tight against the reality that she was, at the core, outmatched by the bigger and slightly older Ferox. Her mind whirled with how to get herself out of this situation, thinking of every possible avenue she could take. Due to being only a kit, however, and having no fighting experience outside of her current predicament, not many ideas came rushing to her. As Ferox went straight for her throat, however, Ayla’s whole body stiffened. Surely he wouldn’t kill her on the spot, right? After all, he had said “play fight”. But for all Ayla knew, that could very well mean “fight to the death”. However she felt his teeth stop just short of his target, blocked by nothing but her tiny paws. His breath felt hot against her neck, and carefully she opened one eye to look up at her companion. Already Ferox was pulling himself off of her, and the weight that pushed against her body – and her heart – was lifted.

“Thanks,” Ayla murmured to his compliment as she scrambled to her paws. Her muscles ached and a wave of tiredness swept over her as the adrenaline quickly subsided. Gone was the ferocious intensity that ruled her body just moments earlier, replaced by a wave of clarity and calmness. Had she really intended to harm Ferox? A part of her had, she knew that. Even at a young age, she could recognize the intent to physically injure another feline, and surprisingly it didn’t scare her. Call it a side effect from being abandoned, but remorse was a foreign concept for the young kitten. My mother felt no remorse for leaving me. Why should I feel it towards anyone else if I never got the same shot as them? she thought, her brow furrowing in thought as she absentmindedly shook the dust off each forepaw. Breaking out of her thoughts, Ayla returned her gaze back to Ferox, observing his wounds. “You’re bleeding,” she pointed out, her voice emotionless and flat as if she was stating a simple fact, using her paw to point to his cheek.