He is powerless to assist either of his children in their change, the Leopard merely watching on as they cried and whimpered, features content to scowl as best they were able within his animal form at the constant, irritating sound they made, tail flicking in disdain for such hollering before both simply seemed to cease- their return to feline form seeming to delight the boy all the same. He does not understand, truly, this change from baby to kitten, no how he might go about inducing it- vastly preferring his children in their animal form, if only because they are easier for him to understand, to read, instinct alone assuring some level of desire to be around them and as such the normally volatile creature is content to allow the small kittens to clamour about him, a satisfied purr rolling within his chest and Isabella climbs atop his golden spotted form- his attention focused far more upon the child within his sights rather then the one that was not. He is protective, to be sure, they are his things after all- his possessions and he will see no harm come to them. Yet, by that same token, he simply does not understand a need to watch them here and now. The forest is silent, quiet, his mind distracted as his form rolls upon its side, toppling his daughter with him as his paws bat towards her. They will play with him, when Naddy and Tetra and Birdie will not- Tobias recently having come to appreciate the constant desire of his children to play was nearly as demanding as his own and as such they are a willing distraction.

It is his own Hunters Instinct, perhaps, that sees the Leopard roll suddenly upright, dark eyes aglow with the gloom, ears rotating neatly atop his skull. His is....aware of something within the forest, claws unsheathed from within his paws, jaws parted to taste the air about him, his own Power readily seeing to unsettled him as he rises to his paws- as a knife is flung towards Micah. The sudden cries of the kitten see a roar of aggression spat free of the Leopard, aware of the Hunters rapidly emerging from the undergrowth now in an effort to surround the small family. He is an aggressive creature by nature, volatile and yet his near instant desire to attack is halted only by the presence of his children and a deeper, instinctive need that tugs wildly at his mind and sees the boy pivot, teeth sizing the closer child, Isabella, within his jaws before he launches himself upward and clear of the bullet fired towards him. Large claws hook within the tree above, hauling the giant jungle cat into the branches, the boy pausing only to do what that faint tug of fatherhood demands- placing the child within the hollow of the tree, hidden from sight and safe from the ground below before he leaps back and into the darkness of the trees, the unfortunate Micah wailing in panic below.

For a moment at least it would appear as if the Leopard has abandoned the mewling kitten that stumbles and calls so frantically below, the trees above silent as each muscle tenses itself, waiting....waiting....for what he knows will come, at least one young hunter stepping from the cover of the trees to go towards the kitten, reaching down to pick it up as Tobias simply does what nature demands. His lunge is sudden, silent, the cry of alarm from the other hunters coming far to late as the spotted cat leaps from the shadows of the canopy and lands atop the hunter whom had tried to reach for Micah, claws slicing into flesh as those powerful jaws seize the mans neck, yet another of his powers employed to slice through skin and bone and muscle and sinew and until any hint of life leaves the young Hunter- the carcass dropped from his bloodied jaws with no concern. He can feel Tetradore approaching. Another roar is released into the darkness, a call to Tetra more then an act of intimidation, though the fear that spirals from the remaining to Hunters is near intoxicating, Micah all but forgotten as the boys wretched mind simply focuses on the hunt alone, tongue seeping across bloodied jaws as he steps forward over and over and towards the nearest Hunter, the boy stepping back over and again. Tobias knows well that Tetradore is close, that his Alpha is surely coming from behind this Hunter and as such he seeks to drive it back towards the panther, perhaps they might take it together, one from each side, the Hunter young, reeking of fear like a deer- the boys mind no longer entirely human as he lunges for this one too, the taste of one felled Hunter already on his lips. He likes that taste.

The final Hunter, wherever he is, is ignored for now, Micah hidden perhaps, among the shadows of the trees and plants- the Leopard far too taken with his desire to hunt to concern himself with the third Hunter when the second is within reach....

madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push