[Gift] Zataro hunt - Theodora and Higatami

ZATARO HUNT – Snowy mountains, cold paws


It was cold, up in the mountains. For Theodora, it felt as if needles were stinging her paws and legs at every step. She was there with her cousin, to retrieve a important tome about some sort of dark magic.
Whatever it was, it was important enough that her cousin left her in the cold outside the village's chief's house. She couldn't hear what they had to say about the tome, so she supposed it must have been a very evil one. Maybe one with curses and such.

Still... The snow was piling up on the roofs of the little houses, and nobody was outside, only her. She huffed, then decided that if she had to stay outside, she might as well explore the surroundings a bit in the meantime.

She walked around the village, trying to keep herself warm: she had a very fluffy coat, but the snow and the wind were freezing cold.
As she trotted around, she found herself near the edge of the village. It was dark outside.

“Hoh? What's a lil pup doing around here now?”

Theodora jumped back, when from under the snow a dark creature crawled out, shaking off the cold and white blanket she had on her back and wings. An Empyrian, with creepy red eyes was looking at her... More or less. She was staring at the air a couple of feet over Theodora's head.
Blind, the Vayron's mind suggested.

“...I'm bored, I'm taking a walk. Why do you ask?”

The rust coloured runner kept her eyes on the shadow coloured Empyrian, who just grinned darkly back.

“Why, can't I?”

“...You don't usually ask things like that to strangers, you know?”

Hissed back Theodora, remembering all the stuff her parents had said about criminals and strangers. That was clearly a “stranger danger” moment, but she wasn't going to run away like a scared pup. She could hold herself just fine!

“My my, angry, huh!”

Higatami, as the Empyrian introduced herself, was only there as a bodyguard for some rich guy. She, like Theodora, was from Vitalus and also had to stay outside.
More because she was too big to walk in from the door, though.

“Well, if you don't have anything else to say, I'll return to my sleep now.”

Mumbled Higatami, stretching her wings before shivering a bit. Sleeping like a sled dog outside was not really comfortable.
Theodora nodded and started to go back to the village's chief's house, but stopped in her tracks when she heard something.

“Mh?”

A sled, pulled by two Pullers and one Chaser, nearly crashed in the snow outside the village. Higatami raised her head, ears perked.

“What's going on there?”

The two walked to the sled, where the Pullers were trying to get someone off the splintered thing. A man, human, was heavily injured and covered with furs to keep warm in the cold. It looked like something had attacked the sled, pulling off the human that was driving it.
By the shape of the bite that nearly tore his leg off, Higatami knew what it was.

“Ugh... A Zataro.”

“A Zataro?”

Higatami nodded, a grimace on her lips.

“Yeah. Stupid beast apparently plague this gods forsaken mountain too now!”

She grumbled unhappily, while the Chaser ran to the closest house to look for help. One of the pullers turned toward the two reos, with a bleeding ears and snout.

“Please... We injured the Zataro, but it escaped before we could finish it off. It's still too close to the village... Can you..?”

Before Higatami could turn down their request, Theodora jumped in with a quick “We'll help!”.

---

“I hate you.”

“You already said that.”

Higatami, hissing like a kettle, was walking with Theodora in the snow, following the tracks left by the sled. That way the would be able to find the wounded Zataro.
While the Empyrian didn't want to even see the beast, Theodora was way more excited. She had never seen one alive, and she imagined her parents would be having a meltdown if they knew what she was doing.

The two reached the spot of the attack pretty soon, and Theodora perked her long brown ears. She sniffed the air, smelling the blood.

“Close...”

“Unfortunately...”

Grumbled Higatami, following the other.
Neither of them saw or heard the bluish creature sneak behind them. The wind covered it, hiding its smell as it stalked its prey, waiting for the right moment.
It had been injured, and had to secure a big meal before going to hide and heal those shallow wounds. Those two ignorant reoseans were the best thing it could find.

The Zataro smelled the air, licking its lips. Its blue eyes were staring at the smaller runner, ready to jump and bite her in the neck. But before it could do that, its prey suddenly turned.

“THERE!”

Higatami roared, turning too toward their stalker: true to its name, the Stalking Zataro had been following them for a while, neither of them noticing until Theodora felt a little too watched for it to be normal.

The reoseans were in deep snow, the beast had an advantage there, with its strong legs. Higatami wanted to fly up, but the wind was probably going to knock her down, right in the fangs of their opponent.

“Great... Now? We don't have even a weapon!”

Hissed Higatami, snapping her fangs toward the Zataro when she heard it crush some snow, advancing.
Theodora, instead of panicking, felt confident enough, looking at the bright side.

“It doesn't have poison whiskers! It's like a bear or something!”

“BEARS AREN'T THAT BIG!”

And as Higatami screamed that, the beast launched itself on the runner, trying to secure at least one meal.
Theodora scrambled away, stumbling in the deep snow, while Higatami smacked her tail in the white cold, trying to hit the beast without success.

“Ugh- this stupid wind!”

Theodora heard her grumble. Apparently, she was used to hear her opponents, but with that wind howling in the high peaks of the mountains it was far from easy to hear stuff.
When the snow crunched, she could pin-point where the Zataro was. But when it jumped, it was hard to tell where it was trying to land.

Higatami growled, Theodora snarled. The Zataro didn't fear them, and charged again.
This time, it tried to go for the Empyrian, snapping its fangs near her neck.

“Higatami!”

“I know, just bite it or something!”

The Zataro was enormous in comparison to the little runner, but she was a very determined Vayron.
While the beast wrestled with Higatami, who kept it away from her throat with her long claws, the runner sneaked behind the Zataro.

She could see some shallow wounds on the scaled and furry legs of the creature, still weeping blood in the snow. Those were... Very shallow. She huffed, while she racked her mind for any plan that could help them out. They had supposed the Zataro would be weakened, but it was not as they hoped.
The creature was hungry, hurt and ferocious.

“OI! GIVE ME A PAW HERE!”

Cried out the Empyrian, when the claws of the beast dug in one of her wings. It was unfortunately not the time to think, for Theodora.
With a strangled battle cry the little runner jumped on the Zataro, digging her laws in the beast's side and soft fur. The Stalking Zataro roared, angered, and then tried to turn and snap its jaws at the runner who dangled from its back, struggling to stay on.

Higatami sprung up from where she had fallen, opening her maw and digging her fangs in the side of the Zataro's neck. The creature roared furious... And Higatami shivered. She couldn't reach the soft flesh, her mouth filled with fur.
The beast trashed, nearly crushing the Empyrian in the snow with its weight while Theodora lost her grip on its back, getting flung in the snow.

“Ugh...”

She whimpered, getting up slowly. The Empyrian kept struggling to gain some footing in the snow, her big wings in the way. The Zataro growled again, ready to attack again.
In that moment, Theodora felt fear. They weren't going to beat it, it was too strong...
She took a step back, then another, then... Then she nearly fell down in a big cliff, slipping with a paw on the cold and wet rocks.
With the dark, the wind and the snow it was hard to see, but behind here there was a deep precipice. Deep enough that if the Zataro were to fall in... It wouldn't be a problem anymore.

Theodora felt her paws in the snow, digging to find more purchase in the cold soil and rocks under the cold. Then, she turned toward Higatami who had now a big wound on her stomach and a bite in her left wing.

“Higatami, fly!”

“What!?”

“I need its attention on me! Go, now!”

Higatami groaned annoyed, but... Well, if the little one wanted to sacrifice herself, she couldn't say no, right?
Slipping away from the Zataro was more easier said than done, but with a final slap of her plumed tail, she managed to jump away and soar briefly in the night sky.
The Zataro roared, but soon moved its focus to the Runner.

It charged, but as it pounced, trying to dig its fangs in Theodora's back, she flattened herself in the snow.
The Zataro missed her back for an air, to the point that the runner could feel its claws caress her spine.
Then, with a yelp, the creature fell... Down.
It took a couple of seconds before she heard a smack on the rocks down the cliff, then everything was silent.

Higatami glided down from where she was, landing near the Runner.

“...That was genius.”

“Thanks...”

The younger reosean answered, shaking a bit.
They started then walking, dragging their claws and paws in the snow, back to the village.
Luckily for them, a patrol of Vayrons and humans of the village reached them before they could collapse, bringing warm soup and furs for the trip back.

Theodora was happy: had she stayed in Vitalus, she would have never been able to fight and win against a Zataro.


***(1705 Words)***