He was very small and very young compared to the woman who had cornered him in the maze of the crags. Alone in the shadows, he knew there would be no one but himself to save him and if she meant to harm him there would be nothing he could do to stop her. Even in the mists and the distorment of the world around them, eventually her mark would hit and he would die from wounds far more serious than the deep tissue bruises and scrapes currently pulsing through his sides.

Instinctively lowering his head protectively, though knowing it would do nothing to save him, he took inventory of his current state. Even if running had been a cognitive option for him, the walls of stone around them and the increasing ache in his body would have rendered such an option less than optimal for survival. No. Red eyes blazing, he looked up to face his fate in the jaws. Youthful body stiffened and spread, taking up as much space as he could. Still fuzzy fur bristled. As a runt, he would never be intimidating, but there was still something to be said that he had survived whatever had given him the scars spreading across the left of his face and his torn and tattered ear. Small as Zharko was, it was clear he would do nothing without a fight.

Teeth bared threateningly, he snapped his answer. No. But it was clear this woman had different ideas. Her face whipped forward, snapping at his legs and biting into his flesh. Yelps came out as snarls and growls, but still he would not back down or run. He would not let himself be herded into the depths of the crags or into the grotto. Instead he lowered his already small body further and took shelter under Grimorie’s own body. Full grown, he would still be able to accommodate this maneuver, this day his youth made it even easier to use herself as a shield. Body low and ready to spring in any direction, he watched her form above him, noting her movements. He did not bite at her feet, it would distract him from what could save him. Nor did he truly want to hurt her. The boy merely wanted to escape and go about his life and to see to the lives he had been sworn to.