[se] killer instincts

Isla take your medicine It's on four paws that Isla prowls through the Greatwood don't let the table fool you I haven't got a tiger one OK, whiskers twitching at the slightest scent, ears flicking at any crunch of falling leaves that don't belong to the two predators stalking through. With stripes of molten gold and fur a bright, tiger orange, she blends in dangerously with the Leafchange palette, and though big cats like her shift aren't native to these parts, it doesn't make the fauna any safer. Eventually the trees part to reveal an area of strange, gaping pools of what she assumes is water. Padding up to investigate, it's with a huff and soft growl that she realises there's no reflection in the pools, but bizarre, elsewhere images. It reminds her of portals, somewhat, and large white teeth are bared automatically. Her suspicion means that, when a cloud spider dangling overhead unfortunately comes into her periphery, Isla acts first and questions later, and her massive paws make short work of the unfortunate creature.

the lullaby

I had a dream about a burning house
You were stuck inside, I couldn't get you out

Despite his size, the manticore is able to slink relatively quickly through the underbrush. He isn't silent of course, but for any creatures who only hear the soft rustling of soil or dry leaves, they will be quickly surprised to find a creature of such enormous size as the cause of such slight sounds.

Having not had the opportunity to prowl in a good long while, Remi relishes the anticipation that sloshes like liquid fire in his belly as his shoulder blades rise and fall with each perfectly placed step. Like Isla, Remi peers into the Eyes of Vi, though he recoils almost instantly. It reminds the Lullaby far too much of the nothing-place he'd been displaced to during the War when he and the rest of the demigods had been making their ascent.

Snapping his head around at the sudden flurry of movement, the manticore only grins catlike and shark-toothed at his counterpart as he watches the spider reduced to nothing beneath her large paws.

I lay beside you and pulled you close
And the two of us went up in smoke

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla take your medicine Tigers can't pout or look reproachful, but one might swear there's something like that in Isla's expression as she glares down at the bits of cloud spider leftover. Huffing meaningfully at Remi and shaking herself off as if to dispel whatever tension the pools and the interruption have brought, she's suddenly caught by something hanging over the manticore this time. Gazing up, pupils enlarging almost comically, if Remi follows her gaze it will be to see several more dangly spiders begging to be swiped out of the air. Perhaps it's because she's more a slave to her feline instincts than an Attuned might be, given the lack of humanity available via a bond, but the tiger is already prowling up a nearby tree, creeping out across a low bough to creep up on the pesky arachnids. It might result in her falling in one of those weird pools, but apparently she's decided it's worth it.

the lullaby

I had a dream about a burning house
You were stuck inside, I couldn't get you out

Instinctively, as Isla looks toward him, Remi's tail raises as if to strike. Only when he notices that her gaze isn't actually on him, but above him, do his predatory instincts relinquish their hold over his mind that he isn't actively thinking of attacking the molten tiger.

Looking up, Remi's eyes narrow as he sees the arachnids twisting and creating intricate webs of shockingly strong silk. Just now whatever appreciation he might normally have had for them has no chance of taking hold. Coiling onto his haunches, the manticore splays its wings as it jumps: paws outstretched and mouth agape, Remi slams his jaws closed on several spiders though finds one of his paws has been caught in the spider's metal-strong webbing.

Roaring his annoyance, Remi hangs by a single paw before uttering a series of whining growls in Isla's direction as if to suggest that this is now her problem to solve.

I lay beside you and pulled you close
And the two of us went up in smoke

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla take your medicine Mid-prowl along the branch of the tree when Remi makes his leap, Isla finds herself all coiled up with nowhere to go. It's impressive (and she's a bit jealous, too), the way his jaws slam around the arachnids, reducing them to nothing at all. Of course, in the next moment he's dangling around like a kitten caught in some yarn, and the tigress snorts her understanding. Creeping a little further forward, maybe Isla bats at the spider silk a couple of times as if to play around with it, but soon enough she's swiping at the connecting branches where the web has started to form. On the plus side, it absolutely free's the manticore's paw. On the downside, the branch holding Isla's weight promptly snaps as well, and although she squashes a few spiders on the way down, she's liable to squash Remi too.

the lullaby

I had a dream about a burning house
You were stuck inside, I couldn't get you out

With his ears flattened, Remi glares harmlessly up at Isla as she toys with his restraints. Rather comically the manticore can clearly see what is about to happen next, and though there's a roar building in the back of his throat, Isla's success comes far more quickly than his warning does.

Tumbling downward with Isla soon to follow, the manitcore focuses on slamming the murdery-end of his tail into the ground rather than trying to break or brace his fall so that his renewed friendship with the Remedy doesn't come to an abrupt end. It's a pity the tigress doesn't have access to the attuned bond though, because currently Remi is stringing together a bright and musical series of curses and declarations in the travelling tongue.

I lay beside you and pulled you close
And the two of us went up in smoke

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla take your medicine Well, joke's on you Remi, because Isla is also uttering a bright and colourful stream of curses, and you're missing it. Either way, there's a moment in mid-air where the tigress thinks she might actually enjoy a flighted shift, until, you know, the falling part happens. Landing atop Remi in a furry swarm of limbs and wings and tails, Isla's roar of upset is amplified by the amount of spider guts they're getting covered in. With typical comedic timing, her attempts to extrapolate herself from the manticore take longer due to trying to help her fellow feline, and when eventually they are separated, the molten tiger looks remarkably dignified, even if the lash of her tail says otherwise. She can't communicate it verbally, but she's rather had enough of this part of the Greatwood, with all of its spiders and holes.

the lullaby

I had a dream about a burning house
You were stuck inside, I couldn't get you out

It takes a good amount of self-control for Remi's paws not to encircle the fallen tigress and for his jaws not to find the blood-bright artery in her neck. Manticores, not unlike most species, are not particularly fond of having other creatures fall onto their bellies, and so despite resisting the urge not to mortally wound his friend, Remi still bellows a roar of annoyance that's concluded with a snap of teeth.

As Isla finally makes her way off of him, this not at all being like that moment between Nala and Simba, the manticore rises swiftly and gives himself a brisk shake. Glancing at Isla, Remi flares his nostrils for a moment before turning and moving back toward the tree that the Remedy had just fallen jumped down from. Rearing back, he stretches his paws up as high as he could, peeling away the bark with his talons. Then, with the sharp tip of his tail, he carved a very inelegant R followed by an I.

Whether this was meant to serve as a R+I heart, or a signature of responsibility for the dead arachnids was something they could talk about on the skyboat ride home.

~fin

I lay beside you and pulled you close
And the two of us went up in smoke

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!