Owner	Pose
Klavdiya Vasiliev	Diya insisted on bringing Alexia back to the Mansion; she can be incredibly stubborn like that. After seeing the young woman safely inside, the homeless Russian vet stayed in the area, circling the property. The sensors have been tracking her for most of a day at this point. But now, with nightfall having come, the sensors have lost all sign of her. It seems incredibly unlikely that she would have just left with dark coming on, but the sensors cannot find any sign of the Russian woman out there in the woods. Some of the animals inside the Mansion's property boundaries, however, have started spooking and acting out. Horses stomping their hooves against stall doors. Smaller animals bolting for cover, insisting on coming inside the Mansion rather than being outside. And the birds in the trees have gone silent.
Lexi Nemo	While this is of some concern with those in the know about the security system, there are two problems. 1) Alexia is not in the know. 2) Alexia is a bit scared of large animals, being a city girl, so she doesn't really hang around the table to have seen this. And, 3) Alexia tends to run off herself into the woods, and, being a city girl, doesn't immediately twig to the missing animals as she starts swinging her way through the woods in her normal practice patterns, tendrils flicking out dexterously as she pulls herself from branch to branch. Worse, she's actually wearing earbuds.     In short, Diya would probably smack her for her lack of situational awareness. Were she present!
Klavdiya Vasiliev	With earbuds in and music playing, yes, Diya would swat Lex several times. But as it is, the city girl won't notice anything at all out of the ordinary as she makes her way along, until suddenly she comes around one tree and goes for another, and a bitter, coppery metallic taste floods her mouth and a dark, heavy scent cloyingly fills her nostrils. There, at the base of the next tree, is a large pool of still-warm blood. And a trail going off a ways.
Lexi Nemo	Lexi mostly notices as she nearly lands in it, pulling up short at the last moment as the scent registers with a little gasp as she lands in a crouch about ten feet back from it. She reaches up to tug out the ear buds, eyeing the blood, her nostrils flaring. Still...fresh? How fresh.     She looks around a bit nervously now, looking for signs of what might have left all the blood...including up in the tree it's under.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	There's a trail of splatter, and signs of dragging. Less than twenty feet away, big glowing amber eyes peer out of the darkness around the bole of another tree. And there's a tearing, crunching sound. A really graphic, disgusting sort of tearing, crunching sound. The sort that base instincts label as 'oh crap'.
Lexi Nemo	The mutant girl freezes, eyes widening as she hears the crunch...smells the faint scent of offal...and most important, sees eyes glowing a bit like her own do in darkness staring back at her from the shadows. She swallows, then very slowly begins backing away, not moving fast. NOt taking her eyes from those eyes. Which is really the wrong thing to do with a predator, but she's, again, a city girl. Her fear becomes part of her scent as she moves, however.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	A deep, rumbling growl builds from the darkness, around those lovely glowing amber eyes. The predator scents that fear, watches that slow backward movement, and eyes remain stapled firmly to the girl's form despite the darkness. There's another sickening crunch as bone gives way beneath the might of a very powerful jaw. And another crunch. And another. A sense of pregnant expectation builds, stretched taut between predator and prey.
Lexi Nemo	Lex is breathing out a little bit faster, her heart pounding. Her nostrils flare a bit, taking in the scents of the area...not that she recognizes whatever THAT is, even if it...seems...where has she smelled something like that? a portion of her mind asks.     The rest of her continues the slow, careful retreat, as she starts to extend a tendril. If she can just get into the trees...maybe whatever it is can't follow her.     A quick glance around, however shows none that are particularly tall. So. Distance. And if it comes at her...she runs like hell, she figures.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	There is a wuffling sound, a deep indrawn breath. The growl deepens and takes on an intent. More crunching, faster this time, active chewing. Then swallowing. Something slashes through the underbrush. Thumpswish. Swishtump. Swishthump. Something is moving behind those eyes, back and forth, almost like a slowly-set metronome. Back. And forth. Back. And forth. And then, when Lex finally breaks eye contact to look around for her escape route, making up her mind to run, there is an explosion of motion. It's coming!
Lexi Nemo	Lexi lets out a cry she hears the crashing, and she just bolts in the direction she's facing, rather than looking for the best route. Her hands pump as the tendril on her left arm snaps out at the nearest good sized branch she can see, as she tries to yank herself forward into the air to get airborne towards it.     She's well into the 'flee' part of fight or flee, more interested in putting distance between herself and wahtever it is! A bit panicked...the instinctual part of her certainly recognizes a predator, and while she's not exactly prey by instinct...she defintely is by temperment.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	Leaping, bounding, moving swift and sure like a giant furry arrow, the predator gives chase. Interestingly enough, the predator does not initially close with Lex, but instead keeps bracketing her, running her back towards the Mansion grounds and the fence line, almost literally herding her along. Only as they finally draw close to the wall does the predator start gobbling up the space between them, closing in, warm breath brushing along an ankle or a wrist or the tip of a tendril, that panting growl sounding painfully closeby ...
Lexi Nemo	As the beast closes, as she feels that breath against her skin, an sob of terror escapes the girl's lips. She's fast...but not this fast, and she's run out of trees as they both approach the wall. If she can just.... "Ohfuckohfuckohfuck.." she chants under panting breaths.     And the girl can't help but think as she does: she's not going to make it.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	And truth is, Lex doesn't make it. She makes it very close, but again there is a sense as if the predator has specifically //given// her that lead, that chance. Right up to the last moment. And then the predator pounces, leaping, a mass like an entire loaded truck slamming into Lex, carrying her to the ... Warm. Soft. Furry body? The predator actually intentionally twisted around so that Lex landed on her, rather than on the ground, pinned beneath her. Then the massive tigress rolls them both, pinning Pex to the ground beneath her. No claws. No teeth. Just huge, soft, furry form, pressure. And whiskers tickling face and neck. And my God, that tail is huge!
Lexi Nemo	She can't help it. Lex lets out a scream as she's knocked into, then woofs as she lands on the furry body, which breaks her fall perfectly. She's still almost flailing however, too panicked to really take in what just happened for a moment before she's suddenly pinned to the ground. Her gold eyes are wide as she looks up at the huge cat, her chest heaving a bit, as they fill with tears, spilling over down her cheeks.     Even then, she bares her canines reflexively, instinctively letting out an almost cute growling hissing noise, before it gets sucked into another gulp of air as she trembles under the huge creature that has her captive.     "P-please...please don't eat me...n-not now..." she says, her voice shaking.
Klavdiya Vasiliev	No biting. No chomping. No crushing, rending or tearing. No claws. No teeth. Just warm, furry weight. And burnished amber glowing eyes, peering down at the hissing, distressed girl. And the gigantic cat leans down, pressing its wet nose to Lex's little nose. Big soft paws push down on tendrils trying to escape. Pinned girl. But unharmed. Even with all the thrashing about and angry protesting.