End to a Means

[Tala]

Kachina blinks at the sudden voice that is in front of her, a quick glance is offerd around to catch sight of the wolf outside. "Ya..?" Is offered with an almost whispered tone, not to sure how this wolf knew she was here.. Maybe Anoki told them all there was someone else trapped other then Ikuna.

The movement from behind Wachiwa is picked up and she catches sight of Ikuna racing forward which spurs her into pushing upon the logs towards one end to try and get them budging. With the added help from Ikuna a space is made and without second thought she is working on clawing her way out of the den. Her large forepaws grab at the earth kicking it behind her and she wiggles and pushes until she's able to push her head and forepaws out of the area of moved branches.

It takes a few long moments but she is soon able to calmber and claw her way out, covered in dirt and who knwos what else she is finally free of the hole. Her gaze snaps around wildly and once she catches sight of the bobcat still coming she lets out a rather loud snarling hiss for one her size, fangs fully bare. There is a lot of pent up rage within this young cougar, and even though she looks thin and worn she is not about to go down without a fight and there is no way she is going back in that hole!

[Cay]

A second after Skahla's charge Lexus joins the fight as well, leaving the pup to escape to the safety of the others as he leaps at Onatah with a snarl. Words are done with, it's time for teeth to finish this once and for all. Moving fast Lex aims for the wolverine's legs mostly, trying to maim and weaken while keeping out of the way of teeth, both Onatah's and Skahla's though he does snap at the wolverine's head when it gets close enough.

[Therdde]

Before this day, Skahla had really intended to go his entire life without killing anything that wasn't meant to be food. That was before this day, though, and there is no hesitation in defending himself and fighting back. He is only cautious enough that his teeth do not threaten Lexus, but as he works with the other wolf to quickly take down the wolverine threatening them, he does not let up. Since this is what it took to get Ikuna away, there is no way that everyone here is walking away from this. Not if Skahla has his way.

[Azoto]

Ears fold as the wrong cat answers back, and Wachiwa starts to bristle again. This is going to be a messy fight, and though she is not notmally a hostile creature, she will fight this fight to the end if she has to. Ikuna diving beneath her, barely fitting causes her to yank a breath in a gasp, but she keeps shoving at the logs-- and as soon as the cougar cub is out, she turns to face the bobcat as it comes for Ikuna.

Teeth bare, and though she's still dealing with blood in the fur about her face, and one painfully hurting eye, she's not about to just let the cat come without some form of pain being brought down. It threatened Ikuna's life; it tried to threaten the life of another innocent, the cub also bristling behind her.

"It's over, cat," she says, through bared teeth, "Do you want to end up like the bird, like the wolverine?" She jerks her head a bit to gesture to the two wolves already after Onatah. "I give you a choice.. You can stop, you can back off, and run away. Maybe the Spirits will take mercy on you, and you will live a ripe old age. But if you try to get past me, I will do my best to see that the Spirits' mercy will be the only mercy you receive here."

[Curiosity]

A hind leg is snagged by the elder wolf's fangs, and Onatah cries out in simultaneous rage and pain as rows of sharp teeth clamp down over her flesh. With one of her appendages locked in an unrelenting vise, she's virtually trapped between the pair of attacking lupines; but even though she's faced with a growing sense of doom, the hell-bent wolverine doesn't go down without a fight, trying to cause as much damage as she can to the other wolves until she's finally overtaken.

Pauwau hesitates yet again as the pent-up puma cub is successfully freed from her underground prison, back arched and fur bristled in a standard display of feline fear and aggression. She was able to previously keep the captive youths in line with the help of her companions, but facing off against both of them in addition to the adults present, alone? She may no longer have the key to supposed immortality in her grasp, but she's not witless enough to risk sacrificing her life here and now for a chance at a few extra years. After all, cats are rumored to have nine lives to begin with already.

As such, even before Wachiwa begins to deliver her ultimatum, the marbled feline has dashed up the trunk of an old, tall tree nearby, claws digging into the gnarled bark as she climbs her way to safety. However, it seems that nature, fate, or a malevolent spiritual presence - or perhaps a combination of all three - has one last trick up its sleeves... As the bobcat leaps from the dead branches to the top of the valley wall beyond, the large tree groans in a deep death-rattle, creaking thunderously as it begins to fall towards the ground below. Its descent is slow at first, but quickly builds as gravity takes hold, threatening to crush anyone who's not quick enough to move out of its way.

[Pavane]

Ikuna steps aside to let the young cougar push her way out of the hole. The lean, half-starved kitten can at least press through small openings, but that's not much comfort. Being out, here in the fresh air and the sunlight and the gentle breezes - that is a great deal of comfort.

He looks around anxiously, from Kachina to the mean bobcat, to the tumble of flying fur that is the wolverine fighting a losing battle with Skahla and Lexus, and up to Wachiwa next to him. Now what?

Fortunately, clever Chewy has the answer. She knows what to say, and so Ikuna nods. He stands firm next to one of the best bigwolfs he knows, and he growls softly alongside her words. A fine show of bravery and mercy, and the bad bobcat that clawed him is running away. She's all scared now, and well she should be. Why -

The crack of the tree startles him, and his tough expression disappears and is replaced by a wide-eyed combination of curiosity and fright. What now? Haven't enough bad things happened?

The pup whines, glancing to his companions and to the struggle with the wolverine. This battle is nearly over, one way or another. He'd rather it didn't end with any of the wolves crushed under dead wood, though. He takes a sideways step, and another one; hesitant and uncertain, he looks to the others.

[Tala]

Kachina stares down the bobcat, seems like what ever fear she once had over this young cougar is gone and replaced with anger, a lot of anger.. Another deep snarl escapes her, whiskers quivering and tail lashing around madly as she rests in a crouched position as if she were about to leap out at the other feline. Once the bobcat is turned and running she starts to follow after her rather quickly up until the other is clambering up the tree, where normally she could follow but at the point in time she's unable. A half snarl of rage escapes her as she can't follow after the one that kept her for so long..

It takes her a few moments to hear the creaking and rattling from the tree that the bobcat was clambering through. She blinks as she looks up at the tree and starts to slowly back up and towards where Ikuna is, her ears pinned back and her gaze flicking around. She catches sight of the wolves fighting the other bad thing and yowls out to get there attention. "Get out'a the way!!" She yells out as loud as she possible can.

[Cay]

Systematically taking out the wolverine's legs is Lexus' plan, reality though rarely works so neatly and he has a hard enough time keeping hold of one at first, still it's damage done and as the fight goes on that feeling that this is an invasion of territory returns to trigger instinct and he fights unusually viciously for one usually so calm and reasoned.

At first the call to see the new danger from the tree seems to fall on deaf ears. Too caught up in the battle for the world beyond, it's several seconds before his ears suddenly prick and he freezes then quickly looks up to the tree. A yelp and he bolts, leaping straight past the wolverine to run for it. Even aching from several claw and bite wounds the aging wolf can put on a turn of speed.

[Therdde]

Unlike Lexus, Skahla hears the cracking of the tree limb immediately. He simply deliberately ignores it, just as he ignores the wounds he receives from the wolverine, causing more trickles of blood to join that from the gashes on his nose in marring his white fur.

It is not until Lexus leaps past him, after the young cougar cries out, that Skahla pays any heed to the danger. Luckily, the time he loses in making sure the wolverine is properly crippled is made up for by the fact that he can figure quickly, if not particularly what or how severe the danger is, that time is of the essence, allowing him to spin rapidly and lop right on Lexus' heels.

[Azoto]

Wachiwa is glad, to say the least of it, that the cat decides against battle. However as Kachina follows Pauwau, her ears remain at dischord. "No, wait, get back here!" the she-wolf calls, hesitant to follow, yet not willing to abandon, either. As the creak of fate (and the will of the great spirits) catches her ears, she takes only a minute to decide.

"Stay here," is told Ikuna, and then 'brave Chewy' rushes to snatch up the cougar about the nearest, easiest catch point, and then turn back to run for Ikuna, hopefully carrying Kachina with her at a much speedier pace; the den of doom, at least, seems out of the way of the plummiting tree.

'Great Spirits above, protect the younglings, spare their eyes this fitful wrath of yours,' Chewy utters in thought, trying to pull Ikuna and Kachina both to her, either way.

[Curiosity]

The old tree continues its groaning descent, heading straight for the trio of creatures locked in battle; however, regardless of what twist of fate or spirit's whim caused the dead timber to fall in the first place, nature finds a way to return itself to a rightful balance once more.

Onatah is left behind by the wolves, both hind legs crippled, unable to drag herself away from impending doom in time. As such, the wolverine merely turns to face her fate head-on, watching the thick trunk as it approaches, its shadow quickly growing larger and larger until the darkness overtakes her completely with a thunderous crash.

Even the ominous deer skull laying nearby is not spared, laying on its side among the barren branches of the fallen tree with its lower jaw dismantled. One of its spindly antlers lies nearby, reminiscent of the remnants a discarded carcass, while the other is broken jaggedly in half, several of its tines crushed into tiny pieces littering the valley floor.

Perhaps now, they can all finally rest again, reunited once more as a family, with their foes defeated. It may take some effort to fully return to the way things were, but in light of all that's happened recently, it almost seems like child's play. They're together again, and that's all that matters right now.