The burly alpha was faster than Hati had expected, appearing on the scene before the battle was even over. But Hati was hardly aware of the man's presence; the pounding of his heart and the ragged breathing tearing painfully from his chest consumed his world as he glared at the silver body laying in the snow, drenched with red. He could feel his own life blood pouring from various wounds, blinding his eye, creeping into his mouth and making him gag. The battle was over and yet he still felt over-heated, ready to spring, to defend himself. A snarl tried so hard to rip from his throat but was forced to remain hidden. It was a curse, never being able to rejoice in something.

Blinking the blood away from his golden eye, the victor turned and met Maksim's stare with confidence and regained pride (mixed with a little pain) before nodding an answer. Though his strength had already begun failing, the trip home would not be even half as long as it had taken them to reach this point if the two moved quickly (for the cat had traveled in zig-zags leading only indirectly away from Cut Rock territory) so traveling would not be impossible. But of course he was never able to betray these thoughts with speech so he just waited for Maksim to direct their next steps. A calm resting place suddenly sounded extremely attractive, along with some water. Sleep was what the black subordinate needed, but could not have. Not yet.