and the stars in their orbits shone pale through the lightof the brighter, colder moon

The young Isabella didn't have time to register what was going on, having never encountered the threat of a hunter, her chirp of confusion cut short by Tobias snagging her within his mouth. She was the lucky one whisked up into the safety of the trees which were a second home to their feline counterpart. Even being so young Izzy knew that this was no game that Tobias was playing. Instinct guided the kitten as her spotted coat slipped into the darkness of the hollowed tree, falling quiet and tense in wait as Tobias disappeared.

Micah had been the unfortunate one, lost in the commotion and stumbling in confusion until he sought cover beneath a broad leafed shrub. While the other two hunters had sought out their targets and met their demise, the third had followed after the injured cub when he was confronted by the massive male panther. The hunter narrowed his gaze and gripped tightly to the large silver dagger he clutched in his hand as his other hand twitched, frozen near his side yet poised and ready- debating on how fast he could grab the pistol on his hip and fire it at the beast he was now faced with. This was not turning out to be the easy night he had hoped.

Micah was roused from his hiding spot by Tetra's appearance. Tetra was pack...he was safety. Micah chirped and stumbled from his hiding place in attempt to skitter over to Tetra but his path took him far too close to the hunter. It was the one moment the hunter needed of distraction to snatch Micah up by the scruff and swiftly hold the silver dagger to the kitten using him as a shield. "Don't come any closer or I'll skin it." The hunter seemed to find his voice and his confidence grew. To emphasize his point to the large cats he pressed the edge of his dagger to the open wound on Micah, slicing deeper so the silver touched causing a shrieking hiss of a cry to erupt from Micah as he curled and thrashed. The wound across his side left a rivulet of blood stark red against his ebony coat.

Under another circumstance, the rushing feeling Nadya had flying through the undergrowth of the forest would have been wonderful, exhilarating even. Now, however, she was unable to enjoy a single moment of the normally picturesque scene that a bath of full moon light cast on the Were playground. Nadya gave no care in the world to the amount of noise she made as her feline form crashed through sending small animals and birds scurrying for cover. It hadn't taken long for her to pick up Tobias' scent once she had reached the forest. Even though she had been looking for him, the finally finding his tracks sent a mixture of anger and renewed anxiety coursing through her.

Her stride faltered as the first rumbling roar of Tobias' echoed through the forest. Cranium tilted and yellow eyes widened as her ears flattened against her skull before pivoting her course ever so slightly to follow the sound. The closer she got the stronger that pack pull became, guiding her like a large magnet to their Alpha. She didn't need much else to guide her though as she came upon the scene, seeing Micah picked up and the horrid sound he made ripping through her. The hunter had been too distracted making sure Tobias and Tetra were kept at bay to even think about the possibility of another pack member.

Nadya's form launched out of the shadows from the hunter's left, slamming into the human like being hit by a semi-truck. The impact threw him off his feet and into the ground, releasing Micah from the force of it and sending the kitten tumbling. Nadya was very much an enraged mother at that point, seeing only red as her claws dug into the flesh of the man like soft butter. Her jowls parted in one spitting hiss before clamping down on his skull, cutting off his shouts with a sickening crunch with the power well-known to jaguars. Nadya had never before killed anything but the odd meal...never took a life. She had fought, yes, but that of course is vastly different than feeling the hot blood of a human in your mouth.

Those thoughts would perhaps come at another time. For now Nadya backed off the limp and crunched hunter, her body twisting and cracking to swiftly resume her own two-legged form. The fact that she was naked didn't even register to her as her wild eyes immediately fell to where Micah had tumbled to. Micah had returned to his human form as well...and wasn't moving. "No!" She scrambled past Tetra to only land on her knees in the dirt once more, pulling Micah into her arms. He was unconscious, the wound on his side looking worse by the minute, but he was alive.

That wild fury latched onto Nadya once more as her gaze shot up to find Tobias. "What were you thinking?! Where's Izzy?!" She was torn between wanting to rip Tobias to pieces and the need to fix Micah. Her hand tried to find purchase to staunch the flow of blood from the wound and pressed a kiss to Micah's forehead. "Tetra...Tetra, it's not working, something's wrong." Renewed frenzied worry laced her whispered words after a moment. Her touch, her kiss, meant to heal the wounded wasn't making any difference. Nadya's panicked gaze left Micah's form to seek out her brother. It was the same scared look she had the night they were ripped apart as children and their whole lives came crumbling down around them.