Six jaguars, fighting against each other.
Five humans behind the trees, most with bows and arrows in hand.
A jaguar hissed as it pounced at another.
One managed to swipe their claw over the face of another.
Two were locked in a standstill.
Another two were unsure whether they should rush to the gorillas or run off, but their growls towards the other four told Blanc all that he needed to know.
They did not plan to run.
However, just to be safe, his arrows will be for those two first.
*Tch, Tch, Tch*
All five leaped from behind the trees.
Blanc, Celine, Kael, and Lune with bows in hand.
Only Miyanna drew her sword.
Arrows were loosed one after another.
They whistled through the air as they approached their target.
Kael and Lune's arrows missed.
Blanc and Celine had the same two jaguars in mind, the ones who could run off.
Both found their target.
Blanc managed to hit one male jaguar in its eye, the arrow traveling deep into its brain.
The jaguar was long dead before, with a heavy thud, managed to hit the ground.
The female next to him was enraged.
Her roar resounded deeply but was cut short in an instant by Celine's arrow, which, as it turned to watch its partner lying dead, was struck straight in its heart.
Two jaguars were dead in less than eight seconds.
The other four did not even notice it yet.
Wonderful!
The jaguars who were caught in combat, both males, were getting closer to killing each other.
While the females still caught in their standstill were only taunting and faking an attack, waiting for the other to make a mistake.
None of this was acceptable.
They were not allowed to kill each other.
"Kael, again, don't be afraid of missing," Blanc said, "Lune, you too."
At Blanc's words, the twins nocked another arrow and loosed it.
Kael's arrow managed to find the ribcage of one of the male jaguars, which made the other aware of Blanc and the rest.
As the wounded jaguar collapsed to the ground while growling and whimpering in pain, the other took a few steps back toward the two females.
But as he did, Lune's arrow struck one of the females in its neck.
Two Jaguars were dead, two were bleeding from lethal wounds, and only two remained unharmed.
"Should we keep firing, Brother?" asked Kael.
"Don't," Blanc replied.
"We'll let them go?" Celine asked, drawing her sword, "Or should I go in and kill them?"
"None," Blanc shook his head, "I want Miyanna to harvest both of them."
"What?" Miyanna muttered, still near the tree, with her sword in hand.
She was not able to do anything yet.
Not only because it took them less than forty seconds to get here, but also because she couldn't approach the jaguars alone, under the danger of arrows.
"Should we catch them, then?" Celine asked, ignoring Miyanna's surprise.
To which Blanc nodded sharply with a grin on his face as he drew his sword, "Can you manage, my love?"
"Oh, please," Celine giggled, "You know I'm better than you with the sword."
As the two were talking, the two remaining jaguars drew closer to each other, stepping back ever so slowly.
In the hopes that they could escape with their lives, even though they bore their fangs and their stomachs were empty, they were more than glad to run away.
But they were at a crossroads, as they watched Celine and Blanc running towards them, swords at the ready.
Either they attempted to run away or fight until the end.
They were predators but also partners.
So, the answer was simple.
Their instincts yelled at them to fight.
And fight they did.
As with a growl, they both plunged at Blanc and Celine.
Blanc found itself against the female jaguar as it jumped towards him, fangs and claws ready to tear his neck apart.
But Blanc was already used to this speed.
He was in his element.
And the angle at which the jaguar jumped gave him an idea.
As the jaguar approached mid-air, Blanc dashed to the side, and with the sword placed horizontally, the jaguar couldn't stop or change direction as its side began scratching against Blanc's sword.
It was a shallow cut. Not lethal yet.
But deep enough to make the jaguar unable to fight properly.
And the proof came not even a second ago, as the female jaguar touched the ground.
Usually, the jaguar would have stopped itself with grace.
But this time, it fell to its side but managed to recover just as quickly out of sheer will.
Blanc was already looming nearby, placing his sword on the ground next to him before sprinting toward the wounded jaguar.
The beast even attempted to stop him with a swipe of its claw.
But Blanc only had to stop outside of its range before grabbing it by its fur, raising it high in the air, and sending it straight back to the ground, incapacitating it completely, but still alive.
Celine, though, chose a simpler approach.
One that showed her intellect even in combat.
The male jaguar she found herself against became thirsty for blood as it drew closer to her.
And she could sever that look from its face with just a swing of her sword.
But Miyanna needed this harvest more than her, and Celine already had a share of this harvest.
So, she chose not to sever it, but instead put the beast to sleep.
As the jaguar was mid-air, with a graceful front flip over the beast, she struck the back of its head with the pommel of her sword, knocking the beast instantly to the ground.
"Wow…" muttered Lune as she watched Celine with eyes wide open.
Even Miyanna was looking at her with a shocked expression.
She couldn't help but wonder when she would be able to fight like she did, and not just stand on the sidelines, sword in hand, waiting for Blanc and Celine to bring her rewards as if she deserved them.
But that did not matter now.
Two jaguars dead, two at death's door, and two incapacitated, ready for Miyanna to harvest in less than two minutes.
They have won yet again.