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Description

Featuring

vs

+ 18 Antlers for Maul and Pandora;

+8 Antlers -- full body
+2 Antlers -- Cameo by a registered WoLF character

+8 antlers for writing ( 2,020 words )

A collab done between myself and ShadowCatsKey !

I did the sketch, shading, bg, and helped plot the writing.

They did the amazing lineart, colors and the writing below! <3

Please check out their submission: . WoLF . But I Insist .

WARNING; Language

♦~----------------------------~♦

'Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!'

As silent as she had been, as much as she tried to linger in the trees' shadows, there was no amount of compensation that could change how dark her pelt was, and how very much it stood out in a white winter, such as this.

It was a miracle, that she had gotten as close to her potential prey as she had... but to no avail. Her curved, brittle claws came down own the fur around its tail, not the hindquarters like she'd hoped. Instead of a wail of pain and a crippled creature, she instead had to deal with an able-bodied creature whose first instinct was to turn and bite the closest body part;

Her goddamn snout.

"You little fuck!" Thin paws darted into the snow after her prey, to no avail. Once again, an attempt to hunt was a failure; this time, there was the added humiliation of being bit on the goddamn nose by a rat. Or a squirrel. or whatever that chittering, wild rodent called itself. The damn thing wasn't even kind enough to die; instead, the little beast bolted up the nearest tree, its tail red from exposed flesh and missing fur, but otherwise unharmed. Possibly not even a single broken bone. With it went Pandora's chances of eating anything that day.

Every piece of herbivore flesh probably heard the squirrel's shriek, and then her own reaction.

At least her own nose wasn't bleeding, if it could even be called a positive. A quick swipe over the rough, black skin didn't leave any sign of red on her paws. At least she was that much less likely to catch a disease from the little shit.

A disease would have been worth it, however, if it meant she had gotten to eat its sorry, plump hide.

With bared teeth and furious, heated eyes, Pandora turned to follow her own sorry tracks in the snow. Why she backtracked, she had no idea; she had no den, and she sure as hell wasn't going back to the place where those two-legs had dragged and dropped her.

She had waited so long to be free from containment- she wasn't about to back to it.

Even if those cages had meals every afternoon...

It was during her unceremonious walk back through the trees, through tracks of her own that had begun to melt slightly in the sun, that she heard a voice echo toward her;

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."

Every piece of her pelt stood on end as the words registered, as she realized that someone was so very close. Her head whipped wildly, until she caught sight of another figure, another canid, with their back to her. There was a short distance - perhaps ten or so strides - and a number of trees and dead shrubs between her and the stranger, but it didn't feel like enough. Immediately obvious was their size, their weight obviously twice her meager bulk, if not more. Size wise, he stared forward at objects Pandora had to look up at, at an odd, twisted branch she had passed and had to stand on her rear legs to see. Scent came next, which only confirmed that the stranger was male, something the voice had already hinted at.

Maybe, if she moved quickly...

But luck wasn't with her. It never was.

Before Pandora could even think to drop to the ground and slink away, the stranger had turned; their eyes seemed to light up upon seeing her, but something was clearly wrong. One iris was impossibly tiny, that same eye wide, as if it were ready to bulge from its socket. It was distracting, disturbing- even moreso when paired with the massive teeth that were revealed in what appeared to be an attempt at a smile.

The strange eye had frozen Pandora in place as the stranger turned, then strode in her direction, their gait almost impossibly light and carefree. The sight was infuriating; Of course an animal gifted with such size and strength could afford to be that careless. But then again, how exactly had they gotten so close, with their bulk, and they equally dark coat? It had to have been during her failed attempt at providing for herself; unless he had been in the woods the entire time, and she had somehow not noticed.

The thought made her skin crawl, made her finally able to take a single step back as the stranger came to a stop.

"That sounded painful back there," Came his voice again, a low, unsettling sound that felt more trustworthy than his strange, inconsistent face. He paused a short distance away, enough so that his lengthening shadow didn't touch her.
It was too close.

Pandora took two slow, elongated steps back. The stranger remained still, his head now cocked to the side of his normal eye.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Now he lifted one paw and held it up, as if to seem bashful. "I just... I heard the commotion, and wanted to see if I could help."

"...I don't want any help." She tilted her head toward her chest as she spoke.

"It's probably too late to help, anyway." He sighed, the motion large and dramatic seeming thanks to the sheer size of his chest, the way it rose and fell. For a moment, he glanced away, which relieved Pandora more than she realized- but then his attention returned to her. "Do you have a safe place to sleep?" He suggested, his head tilting forward. Having that maw and those teeth inching closer made Pandora curl her claws into the earth. "I... It's going to be freezing tonight. If you're lost, too, then, maybe we could-"

"No." Pandora snapped the word before the stranger could go any further.

He lowered his ears at her response, though she saw the smallest of flickers at the corner of his mouth. "...I.. Please, I insist. It's not far from here, an old bear den that isn't in use anymore. It still stinks like hell, but it's safe from the cold. Two bodies are warmer than one, right...?"

She found the will to move properly once more. She began to back away in earnest, eager to get more than a single stride between her and whoever this was. Irritation coursed through her system as she regretted her position, with how unknown territory stretched behind her, and the only land she even partially recognized lay past him. Frustration got the better of her; with a loud grunt and scoff, Pandora turned her back on the male. Unknown or not, if she was forced to exit via hill behind her, so be it. Angry steps began to take her into the trees, their shadows a welcoming sensation.

He followed her.

Eyes still ahead, Pandora tucked her chin and bared her teeth. The sound of his footsteps made her want to run- but that was stupid. What if there was as cliff right up the hill? What if the baer that lived in that den had come out for a rare meal? She didn't know what to expect-

-but could it be any worse than the stranger whose shadow now fell over her form?

"Please," It wasn't quite a whine, but the tone only deterred her further. With every step she took, he followed, his paws making obscene crunching noises as he traversed through the snow. "If you just listen for a second-"

"I said no!" With a snarl, she whipped her head around, only to find her muzzle level with the thick fur on his chest. Unable to breathe, her eyes flashed up to the male's face, where his countenance had completely changed. Any sign of the clingy, friendly stranger were gone, replaced with wide, savage eyes and teeth revealed purely for show.

Stunned by the proximity and change, Pandora could only watch as the male slammed a large paw in her path. The mist from his breath plumed around them both as he leaned forward, his muzzle at the same level as her's, those teeth so threateningly close to her own skin. Had he wanted her to turn around, just so he could pull that fiendish about-face? Pure fear surged through her veins as she realized the approach was a ruse, and that the moment he had seen her, she had been lured into a wicked, twisted trap.

"Oh," Came his voice, malicious, snarled, reminiscent of something that could only exist in a nightmare. "But I insist!"

She tried to run-

-but if she got even got one step before the stranger was on her, that would be generous. The forest erupted with the sound of dueling predators as, with a lunge she had no prayer of avoiding, his frame took her to the ground and held her there, his weight driving her bony form into the frozen earth. However, she went down fighting; her claws and teeth flashed at whatever body part of his she could reach. Occasionally, she found purchase. Claws tore out fur on his neck and shoulders, her teeth temporarially deterred his muzzle, and, finally, she managed to land a wheeling, furious kick on his encroaching face-

A kick that landed right on that nightmarish, bulging eyeball.

The stranger roared and reared in agony, a forepaw now covering their face. With only one front leg being used to pin her, Pandora was able to resist, roll onto her feet, and dart under him, in between his legs-

-but it wasn't fast enough. His head whipped down, his teeth sank into one of her hind legs, his snarl vibrating through her bones. With unfathomable ease, maybe aided by pain and rage, he dragged her, pulled her, jarred his head up and threw her into a goddamn tree back where they had first spoken. She hit higher up than she could reach, and fell to the ground, the snow doing little to break her fall.

For a heartbeat, her breath left her with a gagging sound as the flesh in her torso, along with the rest of her. was stunned by the impact. But, even as her chest tried to heave, unable to form a desperate inhale, she began to scramble. There was no time for this, for her goddamn body to misbehave! With the stranger still somewhat distracted by his afflicted eye, Pandora had the moment she needed to shake her head and try to regain her balance. Before that bastard could turn to face her again, she found her footing, and ran like hell into the brush behind them, a place Pandora had specifically avoided when beginning her hunt;

a mammoth nest of thorns.

Their hooks raked at her fur, her face, her entire being as she hauled herself through their domain. Momentum had helped her greatly, had broken several of the first twisting branches with speed and impact alone. A few steps later, the journey became more difficult, as the plants tried to resist, tried to trap her with their expanse, their might, with roots that dominated that entire hillside now exerting that resistance.

It was either contend with the thorns, or go back to that beast; and she chose the thorns.

She tredged on, her claws ripping up sod, her head lowered like a bull in an attempt to shield her eyes and nose as she went. Sobs broke through the silence as she fought, unwilling to stop. The journey felt like hours, but ended after a short, bitter battle over a few mere meters. From the other side of the obstacle, she emerged, curved debris covering every inch of her pelt, but she dared not stop to pick herself clean. Some of the offending branches fell as she continued, dislodged by her frenzied escape, left in the snow behind her, along with her careless, panicked tracks through what had once been undisturbed snow.

She had no way of knowing if the stranger had followed her, had braved the thorns, or knew where to contront her on the other side, and she wasn't going to stop and find out.

Description

Featuring

vs

+ 18 Antlers for Maul and Pandora;

+8 Antlers -- full body
+2 Antlers -- Cameo by a registered WoLF character

+8 antlers for writing ( 2,020 words )

A collab done between myself and ShadowCatsKey !

I did the sketch, shading, bg, and helped plot the writing.

They did the amazing lineart, colors and the writing below! <3

Please check out their submission: . WoLF . But I Insist .

WARNING; Language

♦~----------------------------~♦

'Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!'

As silent as she had been, as much as she tried to linger in the trees' shadows, there was no amount of compensation that could change how dark her pelt was, and how very much it stood out in a white winter, such as this.

It was a miracle, that she had gotten as close to her potential prey as she had... but to no avail. Her curved, brittle claws came down own the fur around its tail, not the hindquarters like she'd hoped. Instead of a wail of pain and a crippled creature, she instead had to deal with an able-bodied creature whose first instinct was to turn and bite the closest body part;

Her goddamn snout.

"You little fuck!" Thin paws darted into the snow after her prey, to no avail. Once again, an attempt to hunt was a failure; this time, there was the added humiliation of being bit on the goddamn nose by a rat. Or a squirrel. or whatever that chittering, wild rodent called itself. The damn thing wasn't even kind enough to die; instead, the little beast bolted up the nearest tree, its tail red from exposed flesh and missing fur, but otherwise unharmed. Possibly not even a single broken bone. With it went Pandora's chances of eating anything that day.

Every piece of herbivore flesh probably heard the squirrel's shriek, and then her own reaction.

At least her own nose wasn't bleeding, if it could even be called a positive. A quick swipe over the rough, black skin didn't leave any sign of red on her paws. At least she was that much less likely to catch a disease from the little shit.

A disease would have been worth it, however, if it meant she had gotten to eat its sorry, plump hide.

With bared teeth and furious, heated eyes, Pandora turned to follow her own sorry tracks in the snow. Why she backtracked, she had no idea; she had no den, and she sure as hell wasn't going back to the place where those two-legs had dragged and dropped her.

She had waited so long to be free from containment- she wasn't about to back to it.

Even if those cages had meals every afternoon...

It was during her unceremonious walk back through the trees, through tracks of her own that had begun to melt slightly in the sun, that she heard a voice echo toward her;

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."

Every piece of her pelt stood on end as the words registered, as she realized that someone was so very close. Her head whipped wildly, until she caught sight of another figure, another canid, with their back to her. There was a short distance - perhaps ten or so strides - and a number of trees and dead shrubs between her and the stranger, but it didn't feel like enough. Immediately obvious was their size, their weight obviously twice her meager bulk, if not more. Size wise, he stared forward at objects Pandora had to look up at, at an odd, twisted branch she had passed and had to stand on her rear legs to see. Scent came next, which only confirmed that the stranger was male, something the voice had already hinted at.

Maybe, if she moved quickly...

But luck wasn't with her. It never was.

Before Pandora could even think to drop to the ground and slink away, the stranger had turned; their eyes seemed to light up upon seeing her, but something was clearly wrong. One iris was impossibly tiny, that same eye wide, as if it were ready to bulge from its socket. It was distracting, disturbing- even moreso when paired with the massive teeth that were revealed in what appeared to be an attempt at a smile.

The strange eye had frozen Pandora in place as the stranger turned, then strode in her direction, their gait almost impossibly light and carefree. The sight was infuriating; Of course an animal gifted with such size and strength could afford to be that careless. But then again, how exactly had they gotten so close, with their bulk, and they equally dark coat? It had to have been during her failed attempt at providing for herself; unless he had been in the woods the entire time, and she had somehow not noticed.

The thought made her skin crawl, made her finally able to take a single step back as the stranger came to a stop.

"That sounded painful back there," Came his voice again, a low, unsettling sound that felt more trustworthy than his strange, inconsistent face. He paused a short distance away, enough so that his lengthening shadow didn't touch her.
It was too close.

Pandora took two slow, elongated steps back. The stranger remained still, his head now cocked to the side of his normal eye.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Now he lifted one paw and held it up, as if to seem bashful. "I just... I heard the commotion, and wanted to see if I could help."

"...I don't want any help." She tilted her head toward her chest as she spoke.

"It's probably too late to help, anyway." He sighed, the motion large and dramatic seeming thanks to the sheer size of his chest, the way it rose and fell. For a moment, he glanced away, which relieved Pandora more than she realized- but then his attention returned to her. "Do you have a safe place to sleep?" He suggested, his head tilting forward. Having that maw and those teeth inching closer made Pandora curl her claws into the earth. "I... It's going to be freezing tonight. If you're lost, too, then, maybe we could-"

"No." Pandora snapped the word before the stranger could go any further.

He lowered his ears at her response, though she saw the smallest of flickers at the corner of his mouth. "...I.. Please, I insist. It's not far from here, an old bear den that isn't in use anymore. It still stinks like hell, but it's safe from the cold. Two bodies are warmer than one, right...?"

She found the will to move properly once more. She began to back away in earnest, eager to get more than a single stride between her and whoever this was. Irritation coursed through her system as she regretted her position, with how unknown territory stretched behind her, and the only land she even partially recognized lay past him. Frustration got the better of her; with a loud grunt and scoff, Pandora turned her back on the male. Unknown or not, if she was forced to exit via hill behind her, so be it. Angry steps began to take her into the trees, their shadows a welcoming sensation.

He followed her.

Eyes still ahead, Pandora tucked her chin and bared her teeth. The sound of his footsteps made her want to run- but that was stupid. What if there was as cliff right up the hill? What if the baer that lived in that den had come out for a rare meal? She didn't know what to expect-

-but could it be any worse than the stranger whose shadow now fell over her form?

"Please," It wasn't quite a whine, but the tone only deterred her further. With every step she took, he followed, his paws making obscene crunching noises as he traversed through the snow. "If you just listen for a second-"

"I said no!" With a snarl, she whipped her head around, only to find her muzzle level with the thick fur on his chest. Unable to breathe, her eyes flashed up to the male's face, where his countenance had completely changed. Any sign of the clingy, friendly stranger were gone, replaced with wide, savage eyes and teeth revealed purely for show.

Stunned by the proximity and change, Pandora could only watch as the male slammed a large paw in her path. The mist from his breath plumed around them both as he leaned forward, his muzzle at the same level as her's, those teeth so threateningly close to her own skin. Had he wanted her to turn around, just so he could pull that fiendish about-face? Pure fear surged through her veins as she realized the approach was a ruse, and that the moment he had seen her, she had been lured into a wicked, twisted trap.

"Oh," Came his voice, malicious, snarled, reminiscent of something that could only exist in a nightmare. "But I insist!"

She tried to run-

-but if she got even got one step before the stranger was on her, that would be generous. The forest erupted with the sound of dueling predators as, with a lunge she had no prayer of avoiding, his frame took her to the ground and held her there, his weight driving her bony form into the frozen earth. However, she went down fighting; her claws and teeth flashed at whatever body part of his she could reach. Occasionally, she found purchase. Claws tore out fur on his neck and shoulders, her teeth temporarially deterred his muzzle, and, finally, she managed to land a wheeling, furious kick on his encroaching face-

A kick that landed right on that nightmarish, bulging eyeball.

The stranger roared and reared in agony, a forepaw now covering their face. With only one front leg being used to pin her, Pandora was able to resist, roll onto her feet, and dart under him, in between his legs-

-but it wasn't fast enough. His head whipped down, his teeth sank into one of her hind legs, his snarl vibrating through her bones. With unfathomable ease, maybe aided by pain and rage, he dragged her, pulled her, jarred his head up and threw her into a goddamn tree back where they had first spoken. She hit higher up than she could reach, and fell to the ground, the snow doing little to break her fall.

For a heartbeat, her breath left her with a gagging sound as the flesh in her torso, along with the rest of her. was stunned by the impact. But, even as her chest tried to heave, unable to form a desperate inhale, she began to scramble. There was no time for this, for her goddamn body to misbehave! With the stranger still somewhat distracted by his afflicted eye, Pandora had the moment she needed to shake her head and try to regain her balance. Before that bastard could turn to face her again, she found her footing, and ran like hell into the brush behind them, a place Pandora had specifically avoided when beginning her hunt;

a mammoth nest of thorns.

Their hooks raked at her fur, her face, her entire being as she hauled herself through their domain. Momentum had helped her greatly, had broken several of the first twisting branches with speed and impact alone. A few steps later, the journey became more difficult, as the plants tried to resist, tried to trap her with their expanse, their might, with roots that dominated that entire hillside now exerting that resistance.

It was either contend with the thorns, or go back to that beast; and she chose the thorns.

She tredged on, her claws ripping up sod, her head lowered like a bull in an attempt to shield her eyes and nose as she went. Sobs broke through the silence as she fought, unwilling to stop. The journey felt like hours, but ended after a short, bitter battle over a few mere meters. From the other side of the obstacle, she emerged, curved debris covering every inch of her pelt, but she dared not stop to pick herself clean. Some of the offending branches fell as she continued, dislodged by her frenzied escape, left in the snow behind her, along with her careless, panicked tracks through what had once been undisturbed snow.

She had no way of knowing if the stranger had followed her, had braved the thorns, or knew where to contront her on the other side, and she wasn't going to stop and find out.