Claws fought muscle, and the fish thrashed onto shore. It wasn't an easy task; it would take time, be wearying, and generally require a lot of strength to pull off. By the time the fish struck shore it was tired, on its own; a few thrashes and it flipped, struggling to get a shredding, knife-fanged bite on the wolf pup that had brought it here, that had dragged it from its home.

Carja, at least, only had the little ones to deal with, for now.

The Redfang bite on Comet can be avoided with any roll of 6+.

@Carja

Carja snapped her teeth and dove down, long fangs on full display, many time bigger than the Redfang's. She sank her fangs into flesh and let out a roar of triumph, rearing her head back and flinging the fish as far back on the shore as she could. Let the thing suffocate, for all she cared.

"Got one!", she crowed, and went for another, teeth snapping in the water as her claws, extended and inches long, slashes through it, creating a torrent of bubbles with each slash.

At this point it was a game again, the pain in her mouth dulled by adrenaline. She was angry, yes, but not raging. The taste of victory dulled the sting of anger too.

@Comet

Yes! It was working! Comet fought with all her strength to keep the fish swimming towards the shore. This, added with the effort of holding her breath, consumed all her energy. By the time she had beached the Redfang, her muscles were exhausted.

The happy yells of Carja told the pup that at least there was a good turn of events there. There was a loud plop as the Redfang she threw hit the sand near her. But her attention was brought back to the one she was trying to subdue. It was giving up very easily, despite being out of water, it still had a lot of strength. Then, it tried to bite her. Comet mustered the last of her strength to try and dodge it.

The twelve-pound Redfang was lobbed up onto shore by Carja, leaving her with only the two miniscule, inch-long fry to contend with.

Certainly she'd be up to that task..?

Meanwhile, the forty-six pounder on the shore thrashed, flinging itself here and there, back to rodeo mode. The wolf pup having dodged away, it started its few flops back toward Fornax' sea, trying to reenter the water.

It seemed to be struggling, with all its weight; and a little further distant, the twelve-pound Redfang was also flailing.

It might have been the commotion: the thrashing, in the stormy water. It might have been the scent of blood. But the fighting had... disturbed something deeper in. Drawn something.

A lash of what looked like a tapering, meaty arm some twelve feet long thrust up from the water--and then another, and another; slick black-violet, thrashing against the current, approaching very, very fast. The mass of tentacles were visible for only an instant, and then they vanished beneath the surface...

@Carja

Carja laughed as the fish she'd thrown landed far up the bank, looking back at the fry to stomp on them. She raised her front legs and slammed them down, hoping to catch them under her claws. Satisfied, she looked up to call to Comet, but her words died in her throat.

What the Hell was that?

She took a step back, eyes wide as she watched the... tentacles? They rushed forward and she was frozen in place, eyes wide.

"Comet!! There's something coming!", she cried, her concern for the pup overruling her fear as she took flight, rushing towards Comet as she looked back to the thing, eyes wide.

The storm was terror against her wings, but she could make it to Comet, despite her having been a bit further out to sea. If she remained close to the water, it wasn't so bad. Her claws were inches above it, leaving a wake behind her as she flew.

@Comet

Comet risked a glance to see that Carja had thrown the bigger of the three Redfangs she was dealing with onto the sand. That was good, now the dragon would only have to deal with the two small ones, which were too small to do much damage.

The larger Redfang she was dealing with was trying to flop back into the water. She couldn't let that happen! Comet ran forwards to try and yank the fish further into the shore so it wouldn't flop away.

As her eyes looked towards the direction of the lake, she spotted HUGE tentacles come out. It was only for an instant, but that had been enough to shake her. She was not over the lake, but Carja was! "Carja come back!" Luckily the dragon had already started flying back, and Comet hoped that she would make it in time before the tentacles came again.

Carja's feet came crashing down. The water displacement safely swept one baby Redfang away--the other was crushed, its tiny one-inch body twisting and jerking before going still. The next wash of surf dragged it out, dead and vanished.

Redfangs were rare, in the caves; a clean-up crew for the injured and the dead. Carja and Comet had now successfully captured or killed three of those in Fornax, leaving only a tiny fry alive--for sport? Entertainment? Well, at least the fish were good eating--the larger ones, anyway.

Ahh, but the tentacles-

In a sudden flash of lightning, blinding bright against the rapidly-darkening storm, the tentacles again burst from the sea. They were fifteen feet long, thickly-muscled, and the creature to which they belonged seemed to have no intention of settling for smaller prey: with a single thrust, four of these tentacles tore from the water, reaching for Carja as she flew--an easy mark--just above the raging surface.

If she failed to somehow evade them, they would swiftly entangle her, and potentially drag her down.

@Carja

Okay- this wasn't fun anymore! Her wings beat hard and she flew as fast as she could, hoping that she could last the winds long enough to get to shore. She didn't want to be tentacle monster food! She felt the gust before it came, going under her and then directly up against her left wing, sending her spinning with no hope of righting herself.

Into the water she went, her eyes sliding shut and her nostrils closing, her paws and tail thrashing at the water desperately. Her head breached and she gulped in air, the whites of her eyes showing as she desperately tried to get away, whining and even aiming a hiss or two at the tentacles in a weak attempt to scare them off.

"Comet run!!", she yelled, "Leave the fish and run!!"

Carja paddled weakly, flapping her wings to try and get some extra push, feet scrabbling at the silty bottom.

@Comet

Comet grinned in victory when she saw that the Redfangs were now dead, leaving only the smallest fry left. Those fish would not terrorize Fornax any longer! They had kept the gembounds that lived here safe-- for now. She looked around for Carja, who would hopefully make it in time to shore before the tentacles came again. But right when she turned, she saw the dragon crash into the lake.

Oh shoot, that was not good. Ignoring her tired muscles, Comet leaped into the water and struck out for Carja, ignoring her orders. She was really straining her legs, and luck, on this one. She could already feel her muscles start to cramp, but she forced herself to continue swimming, and eventually reached the dragon. Now it was a question of whether she could help.

The tentacles wrapped tightly around Carja: suctioning, constricting, dragging her rapidly beneath the surging surface. The creature beneath was one she'd see only in brief glimpses beneath the drowning, churning froth of the surf: a massive, misshapen piece of flesh with one great, toxic green eye staring at her, unblinking.

Then several other of these eyes opened across its mantle, and with a rush, it began to speed into the depths.

Ahh, but the little other morsel of meat had followed--and this creature was not one to pass up any meal. Another tentacle shot out, aiming to snag Comet, and to drag her down as it receded into Fornax's deep.

@Carja