She had always been careful when hunting for those of her own kind. When she was on her own she liked to stake out at a particular place and get to know who comes and goes so that she may catch them off guard. This always allowed her to get in and out as smoothly as possible. But with Sekhmet’s presence there was some reckless confidence that appeared within her. With her friend around how could things possibly go wrong?

It was a foolish mistake to not think twice about that false sense of security. As she was flying through the air, teeth soaked with saliva and aiming at the boy’s neck, an intense pressure grasps at her left hind leg. Her blind eye was incapable of seeing this assailant’s approach and at this point it was too late to escape. The boy stumbles away with a tattered ear as her neck twists quickly to snap at her attacker, a snarl of defiance rolling from her throat as her front paws touch ground. But there is another dark figure barreling into her chest and her jaws clack together at the tips of his fur as he knocks the breath from her lungs. The sheer force of his blow sends her flying to the right and rips her leg from the other’s jaws before her back paws can reach the ground.

She lands on her side and swiftly jumps back to her feet to right herself again, her neck hunched downward with hackles raised and a warning snarl resonating from her bared fangs. Her eyes glance toward the first to attack her, a male about her size but otherwise unknown, and to the other whose appearance had her eyes widening in shock. It was her pseudo-father. She spat the shredded remnants of the boy’s ear from her teeth as she stood her ground but slowly began to inch backward. She did not plan for this. He was not supposed to ever know of this side of her; none of her family was.

Sekhmet’s broken words called out and when she was sure that they were distracted by them she turned to run. Her legs raced beneath her at a speed she was sure that at least Exodus could not keep up with. Her back left paw lifted from the rhythm every now and then as pain surged through the nerves at the motion. She needed to get away from him and she knew that she could never go back. Tears welled in her eyes but she let the wind ripping past her face steal them away; she would not let her companion see her cry.