He had her now, he knew. Where her alien technology didn’t reach, she was still merely human, and no mere human could hope to withstand a lion’s bite for long. Which was probably for the best, considering the battlefield around them was clearing and Leo was heavily injured himself. He’d do well to finish her off quickly.

But even now, she was refusing to be defeated. With a jerk of her powerful arms, he was swung off the ground and into the air, only for the both of them to slam back down on their backs shortly after. Due to the leverage, Leo hit the ground a lot harder than she did, and the force of the impact caused his jaws to jerk open and his grip to loosen, giving her an opening to disengage.

He growled out in pain as he landed, and made a wild swing  with his clawed hand from his downed position, which just barely missed Morrigan as she escaped out of range of his arms. Rolling into prone position, he saw her retreating back to the meagre remains of her army. He dug the claws of his hands into the stony soil in order to start leaping after her, but when he tried, his leg was filled with a stinging pain and immediately gave out on him, ending his chase as soon as it began. More sparks were flying off it as the strain was only further worsening his injuries.

While a few smaller animals emerged from the remains of his own army to help their wounded leader back to safety, he let out a loud roar in Morrigan’s direction, enraged that he had to let it end like this. He would remember her, that much was sure, and one day they would meet again to settle this conflict. Today, a rivalry had been born.