My Wild Beast

Yoa scanned Vulcan’s gaze so quickly that he didn’t even think before bursting up to take this threat down from his little mouse. Vulcan’s talon sliced at the jaguar’s eyes as he drew too close. Yoa veered his head back in time before the eagle’s claw pierced through his left eye. A burst eyeball would certainly take longer to heal than the slash now running down his cheek and throat.

With a growl and twist of his body, Yoa landed gracefully on his feet, snarling in pain. Vulcan whistled tauntingly from the sky, telling the cat not to be so arrogant. Yoa glared up at the harpy eagle, his legs already in motion, sprinting and leaping for branches, catching up to the damned winged creature.

Yoa leapt from a branch and caught Vulcan’s talon, his claws shredding into the thick skin. Vulcan screeched and tried to kick him off, his sharp gaze locked on him as he hovered in the air, shaking his leg. Energy thrummed through Yoa as he clung onto the eagle’s leg and began sinking his claws in, climbing up the giant bird.

With another high piercing screech, Vulcan pecked at Yoa’s ribcage, the impact slicing through skin and almost piercing a lung. Yoa released him before he could do that, and the eagle used its other talon to grab him and toss him aside like some insignificant insect.

Yoa flew through the air, spinning, feeling a little disorientated as the world blurred around him, greens, blues, and then he crashed hard into a tree. Vulcan whistled and left him, his focus now intent on finding Nova. He’d caught sight of Yoa coming from around the anacondas, but if he was so attached to that woman, he would never leave her with the snakes.

A rustling snapped Vulcan’s gaze back down, and he noted the trees swaying, following his wingbeat. Each one rustled slightly like a large impact hit it. The eagle noted a black blur catching up to him. Vulcan was right, the girl was still around, and Yoa seemed rather protective of her.

Yoa was usually lethally quiet, and he made sure the trees were always undisturbed unless he was panicked. The great Yoa... panicked? She must be exactly as he thought then.

Yoa surpassed Vulcan, ignoring his injuries. He didn’t need to chase Vulcan if he could get to his little mouse first and protect her. Vulcan disappeared, which was relatively hard for a huge bird like that.

But Yoa was quick. He began descending into the trees and underbrush, keeping himself hidden now as he passed through the capuchins, who stilled but couldn’t understand what sort of threat was among them. Their tense bodies relaxed when he was out of their territory and stalking through the caves of the vampiros, who watched him with their beady eyes before returning to sleep.