“Can’t even keep track of each other! How [i]have[/i] you survived this long?” Elayra called as she stepped beside Ghent. She cast him only a quick glance, not wanting to take her eyes from the shadowmire as she waited for them to sort themselves out, their forms currently one unpredictable mass of snarling fur, scales, claws, and teeth.
	[b]“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”[/b]
	“Immensely,” Elayra answered, twirling her sword once beside her. She was surprised Ghent had chosen to stay instead of run, and unsure which she would have preferred.
	At least now he was asking the right questions.
	“Keep them angry, and you’ll keep them stupid and out of their shadows,” she explained as quickly as she could as the beasts nearly freed themselves of each other. “Inside, they’re virtually untouchable. Outside, they can be killed like any animal. Leave the leader—the [i]red one[/i] to me. Watch out for any others, and do [i]not[/i] let them escape!”
	Untangled and enraged, the red cat stood on its haunches, its body spreading out as it slashed out with a clawed hand at the black one, making it cower away with another series of grinding hisses.
	Elayra twirled her sword once more. “And do try to not get yourself killed!” she called as she sprinted off toward the red cat.
	Not wanting to take any chance of her legs not offering full cooperation, she ran closer to the beast than she thought comfortable, the cat still stretched out on its hind legs so it towered above her, and attention on the black shadowmire. As its body began to bend down and turn toward her, she jumped onto its back near its extended neck.
	The moment she touched it, the beast roared and started to buck, trying to throw her off, but she gripped a handful of the beast’s fur and skin as hard as she could and held on, its movements making it difficult to position her sword where she wanted it.
	“No wonder you’re such a low suit, little clover-kitty! Such a disposable creature.”
	With another snarl, the cat arched its back violently.
	Elayra released her hold, letting the cat’s action propel her upward and forward the last few inches she needed toward its head, and gripped her sword in both hands, blade facing down.
	She hissed when she felt the cat’s tail wrap around her leg, and angled to make herself fall faster as the beast’s tail tugged.
	It was difficult to tell which happened first; the cat let out a pained, gurgled howl when Elayra’s sword drove into the space between fur and scales where the textures met at the base of its head only milliseconds before the cat’s shockingly strong tail yanked her from its back and flung her across the alleyway.