Kyo hit the ground hard. The air within her lungs left suddenly and intensely, leaving her winded and stunned. The snow that had seemed so soft before now pressed against her body from below as something else restricted her from above. Shoving itself against her chest and making it difficult for her to catch the air that had been forced from her. For a long moment, she couldn’t see anything, could only feel it and the hot breath that fanned against her face in broken intervals. Then she realized she’d closed her eyes. The moment her body slammed into the ground, her eyes had reflexively shut and never opened. Gritting her teeth and fighting against the urge to keep them that way, the ninja opened them.

Her stomach dropped. Above her, pinning her down was what looked like a giant snow cat. Its fur was as white as the snow around her and spotted with marks of black. A paw that easily encompassed a quarter of her torso was pressed down upon her ribcage, restricting it and sharp teeth were just inches away from her face.

Instinctively, Kyo jammed her one forearms under the beasts jaw and pressed against its throat, straining to keep it from biting her face off. Her other arm reared back and slammed her fist into the side of the creature’s head. Her small hand impacted upon hard bone and had she felt something break, she knew it would have been her and not it. The giant snow cat barely flinched. Instead, it opened its large maw and growled deep within its throat, releasing dank smelling breath. Knowing she was as good as dead beneath it, Kyo reached behind her for her ninjato. At the angle she was pinned upon, she could only reach one of them. She lashed out with the small blade. The sharpened edge dug into the side of the cats face and went no further. The thick fur protected it from her smaller weapons, preventing them from penetrating the skin.

Shifting the blade around, she reared back her arm and shoved it into the creature’s paw. She felt the tip of the blade sink into the flesh of the cat. Bright red blood welled and began to stain the fur. Before Kyo could pull the blade out, the cat screamed out an ear piercing sound and shoved its paw away from her.

She rolled away from the cat. Reaching behind her, the ninja wrapped her fingers around the sword Lorenor had lent her. Just as the sword came around in front of her, Kyo was forced to dive off to the side. The snow cat pounced at her, attempting to pin her down once more.

Coming to her feet quickly, Kyosku rushed the large animal. With the blade off to the side of her body, she slashed at its open side. Once again the thick fur helped slow the blade down, but this time it bit skin. The cat cried out, the sound echoing throughout the mountain. Then reared back its leg and slammed a paw towards her. She tried to move out of the way, but the deep snow made her sluggish. The large paw slammed into her arm and shoulder. Sharp claws ripped right through her clothes and dug into her flesh, staining the snow with her own blood.

Holding back the cry deep in her throat, the ninja stumbled and fell to one knee. Knowing she couldn’t stay there unless she wanted she die, she quickly pulled herself up. As the next swipe came in at her, she jumped and dove under it, rolling through the snow as best she could. She came out less than a foot away from it. Its large face snarling, sharp white teeth at her. Snapping its jaw, Kyo rolled again, ignoring the burning sensation running across her arm and hampering her movements even farther. The moment she came back to her feet she was knocked off as another paw slammed into her back. Taking the movement into another roll, Kyo came to a stop in a crouching position.

Digging her feet into the snow, Kyosku dove towards the cat, just making it underneath the large animal. Spinning the sword around in her hands, she jammed it up into the cat’s stomach, once, twice, three times, listening to it scream and cry out in pain. With the adrenaline pumping through her blood and the ache of her muscles forgotten, the ninja continued to dig the blade in over and over again until finally the creature moved to collapse and she had to roll over or be crushed beneath it.

Taking a moment to calm herself and the rapid beats of her heart, Kyo pulled her ninjato from the creatures paw, cleaned it and sheathed it. She did the same for the long sword that Lorenor had given her and then applying pressure to the three slashes in her arm and shoulder as best she could, she began to trek back to camp.

The camp wasn’t far, but by the time Kyo got back she was shaking from excursion. Blood had soaked into her jacket and dripped down from her fingers into the snow. She was leaving a clear trail back to their camp, but couldn’t seem to care at the moment.

“Lorenor?” Her voice sounded too soft even to her.

Slipping her pack off, she ripped her jacket from her body, no longer caring about the cold. Falling to her knees, she quickly rummaged for her medical pack. She needed to get her wounds cleaned and bandaged.