The water gurgled and, for all intents and purposes, Kala was happy-- or at least as happy as an emotionally stunted swamp monster could be.

It paddled leisurely in the water; lazily approaching the shore where the tunnel to Eridanus lay just beyond. Sometimes, when Kala was feeling particularly adventurous, it would come here just to feel the distant heat that flooded in from Eridanus.

There was no real desire to go there. It was only interested by the faint warmth-- a commodity which felt a little rare in Cetus.

Kala surfaced from the water; a good solid week or so of swamp-gunk streaming down its hair and dribbling back into the marsh. It barely lifted up to walk; silently crawling along sunken grass and muddy dirt akin to an alligator and falling still as soon as the warmer air rolled across its snout.

It did not move further. Kala was happy enough here, getting increasingly dirtier as the seconds ticked by.

Kala, largely, didn't care.

It didn't care when Erebos got in its space and it didn't care when Brandle began talking to it. Its snout inclined upwards to the pale hybrid first, masked face watching Erebos's display and calculating it with the same intensity a cat would when staring at a fly on the window.

To boot, a deep-bass clicking sound rose in its throat, followed by a tired sigh.

Its head then slowly swung around to Brandle, studying him next-- and that was when a new revelation clicked in Kala's little brain. It knew of children and it knew that they were little and should be protected. It knew, based on the size and the excitement and the volume of this one, it was a child.

It knew the other would kill it for being too close, if Kala didn't do anything about it. Kala knew, in some instinctive, animalistic way, this was bad.

"My space," it snarled from deep within its lungs. It was a response to Brandle's question and, simultaneously, a stern threat to Erebos-- but this was also the only warning either of them got before Kala was lunging.

Mud went flying as the creature sprang from its hind legs and latched its jaws onto the only vulnerable body part it could see-- Erebos's face. Tail lashing, teeth and claws alike started trying to rip flesh from bone with a series of hideous, guttural growls coming from its throat.

Its weight pushed back onto its hind legs to keep itself upright while it clawed and gnawed at whatever it could find, teeth clacking like gunshots whenever its jaws struck air on its way to Erebos's head.

round 1/??
attempt: just fucking tear up erebos by any means possible
injuries: none

It knew the metallic tang of blood in its mouth and Kala, in the back of its mind, made a note to grab something to eat later if it survived. It felt weight underneath it twisting and for a split second it reached out to grab a closer hold of Erebos's torso, but struck nothing but air.

Talons tore through the fur on its jaw and ripped upwards; tearing through the thin wood on its face and driving into one of its eyesockets. The squishy orb was wrenched out with it, sending a spray of fluorescent blue blood pouring down its face, pluming out like a flower onto the marsh.

Kala screamed, dry and rasping and bellowing with pain. It could see too much now that all its eyes were exposed; even if it were partially blue, with either its own or Erebos's blood-- it could not tell. The hybrid pushed it off themselves and Kala hit the marsh with an inward splash and a furious roar.

Out the corner of one of its eyes it saw Brandle running-- but it sure as hell didn't stop him. Instead, it started snapping at Erebos's tail with blood still gushing down its face, matting the filthy fur with its touch, jaws clacking loudly as they clenched in the air.

round 2/??
attempt: trying to bite erebos's tail (partially just trying to chase it off)
defense: none
injuries: face torn, missing an eye