Chapter 5: First True Fight
Sneakily navigating through the forest while either jumping between trees or running on the ground to avoid different threats roaming about the forest. It hasn't been long since I've left the waterhole, probably about fifteen or so minutes, and while I've come across a few possible hunting options, I decided to stick with my initial plan of hunting a lone wolf, which is turning out to be just as difficult as I imagined.
'Haa, defeating the wolf isn't even the biggest problem; it's just finding a lone wolf that's stupid or brave enough to wander the forest alone. If I can't find a wolf in the next 10 minutes, I'll choose something else; I can't stay here all night searching for a wolf.' Thought Diddy as he landed a tree branch high above the ground, using his fiery golden eyes and acute sense of smell to search for possible prey.
As if right on cue, I inhaled the scent of a wolf, causing me to swiftly turn in my head left as that is where the smell originated from; without a second of hesitation, I jumped from branch to branch while quickly approaching the wolf.
'Hmm, the scent isn't as potent as usual; there is a chance this wolf is alone.' Pondered Diddy with a feral grin as he quickened his speed.
As I neared the scent's origin, I slowed down so as not to alert the wolf; looking around, I spotted a large white wolf in the distance, cautiously wandering through the forest.
'A pack leader, killing him will be slightly more difficult, but I suppose only a pack leader would be brave enough to wander the forest alone. However, If I wish to kill him, I should lure him away, I can smell other wolves nearby, and it's most likely his pack.' Thought Diddy as he silently trailed behind the white wolf.
While following behind the white wolf, I continued stalking him as he slowly but steadily distanced himself from what I assume was his pack, and it wasn't until he turned around and began heading back to his presumed pack that I decided to strike.
With the white wolf directly below me, while standing upside down, holding myself from the branch with my awesome feet, I pushed off the branch, and with the help of gravity, I speedily launched myself toward him. As I quickly neared the wolf, I opted to avoid the opportunity to injure him heavily, mainly because I didn't wish for him to summon his pack; as long as I didn't seem to be a threat in the wolf's eyes, he shouldn't call his pack.
'Hopefully, this ends up being a good fight!' Thought Diddy with a smirk, displaying the other reason he avoided injuring the wolf.
When I was right above him, I made a slicing motion with my hand while aiming precisely for his tail, and the moment I collided with the ground, I was holding a long white and bloody tail in my hand. Hearing the wolf howl in pain, I quickly backed away, just in time, too, as it had kicked where I was previously standing with its hind legs.
After acquiring a little distance between each other, the wolf quickly turned around while angrily baring its razor-sharp teeth while eyeing me with the intent to kill, to which I merely smiled while playing with his tail.
"C'mon, you oversized dog, don't you want your tail back?" Mocked Diddy, smiling as he turned around and held the white tail directly beside his brown tail.
It seems my mocking worked as the wolf roared angrily before speedily charging toward me, to which I responded by running away, intending to lure him out before engaging him in battle.
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'Welp, there we go, the flashback is finished; just in time, too, as I've finally found a nice little clearing.' Thought Diddy as he leaped forward to dodge a slash attack from the wolf.
Throwing the tail away as it was now useless, I swiftly turned around while cautiously eyeing the wolf, to which he continued charging at me with eyes full of fury. When he neared me, he raised his left paw and aimed to slash my chest open with his giant claws; seeing that, Instead of backing away, I swiftly approached the left side of the wolf, effectively evading the attack while also allowing me to attack.
Stabbing my sharp nails into the wolf's right side, I carved five long gashes, causing his white fur to be stained with blood as he howled in agony, though I wasn't thrilled with my damage.
'Tch, my nails may be very sharp, but they aren't long enough to cause significant damage; unless I wish to bleed him to death, I won't be killing him anytime soon. His body is just too big.' Pondered Diddy with an excited frown, which looked quite weird.
Dodging another paw swipe from the wolf just as I was about to try attacking him again with my nails, my eyes widened as I looked at the wolf's legs.
'Hehe, I may not be able to cause significant damage to him with my nails, but I sure as hell can immobilize him!' Thought Diddy with a vicious smirk as he closed in on the wolf while dodging his paw attacks.
As I was directly in front of him, the wolf suddenly opened his maw and swiftly lunged forward before slamming his jaw shut, and thanks to my reflexes, I could drop to the ground just in time to dodge the attack.
'I definitely would've died if I didn't dodge that.' Thought Diddy with a nervous smirk as he extended his arms and grabbed both of the wolf's front legs before kicking him in the underbelly.
While kicking his underbelly, which I'm pretty sure is all four-legged creature's weakness, he suddenly rose to his hind legs, and since I was holding onto his front legs, I was now in the air as well. Just as I was about to release his legs, he slammed me onto the ground, causing me to get the wind knocked out of me, but other than the painful sensation in my back, I was fine.
Feeling myself lifted into the air again, I quickly released my hands and darted toward his hind leg, intending to make it useless. Once I was near his back leg, I stabbed my nails as deep as possible into his thigh before ripping it to shreds, and just to be safe, I did it a few more times.
Surprisingly, the wolf still had function in that leg even after making it look like a bloody meat stew as he kicked me in the chest, sending me flying several meters until I slammed against a tree.
"Ugh, that hurt." Muttered Diddy as he pulled himself out of the tree he was partially embedded into.
Landing on the ground, I wiped some of the blood leaking from my mouth while eying the wolf, and although he was still able to use that leg, it seemed like he couldn't do much as he was just standing there watching me.
With a slight smirk, I charged toward the stationary wolf, and when I neared him, he once again tried to slash me with his paw, yet, I was able to easily evade it. Quickly grabbing his paw, I began swiftly stabbing him with my nails repeatedly, only stopping when he attempted to bite me.
With his left two legs both injured, all I needed to do was make him lose his balance, and then I'll be able to go to town on him while he's down. While waiting for him to attack me, the moment he did, I darted toward the right side, and just as I was about to stab my nails into the five long gashes, he suddenly tilted his body toward the right before slamming his entire body into me; resulting in me getting stuck between a tree and his large body.
'Fuck, I think I just felt my rib cage partially collapse.' Thought Diddy as he coughed out some blood while using this chance to stab the wolf repeatedly.
After repeatedly stabbing him, I managed to force him to back away, and I used that chance to quickly move as I was in a dangerous position; however, while gaining some distance, I heard the wind behind me moving, which prompted me to duck, allowing me to avoid getting hit by his claws safely.
Though while I was in the process of standing up, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the wolf lunge at me with its maw wide open, and from how close we were, I wasn't going to be able to avoid it. So I did the next best option I could think of, clutching the top and bottom of his mouth, and I managed to stop his advance with great difficulty. Though that wasn't for long, as the ground beneath my feet wasn't strong enough to withstand the amount of force, and the wolf began pushing me back until I once again collided with a tree, which was both a blessing and a curse right now.
As all my focus was on stopping him from biting me, I didn't even see his right paw until it had already sliced my top arm, though even if I did notice, given my situation, I wouldn't have been able to do anything.
"UGH, FUCKING BITCH!" Exclaimed Diddy as he dug his nails into the head of the wolf in response.
While the two of us were fighting for our lives, I began hearing a cracking noise, and to my dismay, the tree behind me was showing signs of breaking.
'Fuck me! If this tree breaks, I'm done for!' Thought Diddy as he ignored the tree and focused on the wolf he was struggling to hold back.
Knowing I had to do something right now, I took a deep breath, and with all the might I was able to muster, I began attempting to lift the wolf into the air, causing my muscles to flex so hard they began tearing open my skin; resulting in my golden brown fur to take on a shade of red. Although it was slow, once I finally managed to lift him in the air, I viciously smiled as I looked up into his eyes.
"I'm going to enjoy you!" Stated Diddy, and with a roar, he slammed the wolf onto the ground, causing a small dust cloud to erupt.
Even after doing all that, I knew he wasn't dead, so before I dropped my guard, I approached the wolf who was struggling to stand up and stabbed his neck multiple times as he released several whimpers of pain, and only when he went silent did I knew for sure he had died.
"This was much more difficult than fighting that old Lion, although, I won't lie, it was exhilarating." Remarked Diddy with heavy breaths while standing next to the wolf's corpse.
"Alright, let's return home before any beasts approach; I'm not in any condition to fight another battle." Said Diddy as he picked up the wolf and plopped it onto his back.
With the wolf on my back, I gave one last look at the destruction we caused before running back home; after that battle, I was famished.