FINTAIL

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

He felt the furious carnivore reel him back and forth, his sharp tugs and pulls throwing the albino longsnout all over the place. Fossil gasped; his tail lashed about for balance, and his feet scrambled for a hold, but could not. After one last tug, Speck quickly released his bite, watching Fossil double backward in surprise.

He didn't fall, though; Fossil's footing was too well spaced, and, after a second of deliberation, he caught his fumble before gravity won him over. Then again, the older longsnout had no intention of making this easy.

Alright... Fossil thought with a grin. So he 'can' fight.

The youngster snarled wordlessly at him. He began rounding back toward the façade of Fossil, his right three-toed foot creeping across his left, planting, then dragging the second through the soil where it stomped down. Fossil did the same, keeping his challenger lined to his torso while circling an invisible point. His heart throbbed with adrenaline and promise; many times over he felt disappointment with the lack of effort Speck gave and how often Riptide's naïve little 'life-lessons' diminished his selfishness.

But the scent of his own blood was enough to inspire a slither of new hope through that haze; now this was a challenge.

Fossil's body then dipped, letting his ruby eyes peek behind Speck's hip toward a sight in the distance. He wanted the youngster to delay his next move. The blazing sun was already swelling in the valley's eastern shore, and, if he aimed Speck toward it, blindness would be his downfall. All the while, he could tempt his brother's nimble ego just to loosen his guard — it might give him the edge. So Fossil did just that, teasing him with his very exposed flank and faking a limp like some crippled prey. He expected him to hesitate.

He was wrong.

Speck suddenly lunged forward, lumbering past Fossil's bewildered stare, and snapped his jaws around his thigh. The design of his fishing snout did little to damage his brother's scales, but it was just enough to feel — a rush of pain laced upon his leg from the base of Speck's lower jaw to the roof of his top. Fossil tried to spin him away; the youngster drew off but still caught Fossil a second time, teeth securing to his neck while his massive talons slashed and hacked into his exposed torso.

"Ah! Arrrgg..."

It was starting to hurt now. Fossil could smell his blood bursting free and flashed a hateful gaze over at Riptide. No teeth. No talons. The look on his older brother's snout told him he had to bulk this through, no matter how savaged Speck got.

Now that wasn't fair.

A rough push knocked Fossil from his thoughts and nearly to the ground; his claws moved outward to catch himself. Before Speck could charge in, Fossil swung his tail, bashing Speck's frame and sending the longsnout straight to the ground with a yelp of pain. Fossil shifted back to his hind legs, whirling right toward Riptide in outrage.

Let me claw him, damn it! His eyes called. Riptide's eyes answered him in a flash: No.

A third attack ensued: Speck lunged right for the face, his teeth clamping down on Fossil's nostrils as his head bucked and jerked about. Ow! Fossil winced aloud. His brother continued to squeeze, his fangs sinking deeper, further, harder — burying into his brother's flesh until the blood started oozing between the cracks and into his maw. Fossil saw a fresh opening right at his stomach and glanced back at Riptide.

Still no.

Speck's right claw raked Fossil's side over and over, his other claw slashing through the inner lining of Fossil's torso. Fossil tried using his body to knock him away, but without the use of his specie's power, there wasn't much he could do but take it. It sickened him enough that being submissive was the only way to give Speck his spotlight.