Chapter 12 (Who became the prey)

His two hands held the tiger's jaws apart, holding them from Clamping down on his fingers.

The Caspian laid its paws on Severus's chest as it drove his mouth further to bite out his face,

Rugged struggles from the wild animal, caused its claws to unintendedly make shallow scratches on Severus's chest, Severus held the tiger's jaws firmly, its canines tore the flesh on Severus little fingers, he threw the tiger to the side, it landed heavily on the floor.

Severus heaved himself up from the ground sharply, as well as the tiger, it whipped its furs and his body sprightly to brush of sands and dust.

Severus tore a tall straight piece of clothing out of his shirt, tied it around his left little finger, and closed his hands tight over the bandage.

They prowled at each other with crouching postures and Circular motions, looking into each other's eyes, and gnashing dangerously. They both have something in common, brutality to prey, bravery, strength.

The rest backed away, hiding under the horse carriage, Marchisio hid behind the second horse carriage, peeping at Severus and the tiger behind there.

Its claws swiped sharply on the Sandy ground, it approached Severus with great speed, Severus kept his hands as though he was about to grip, he drew his legs apart one at the back, the other placed in-front.

It deployed itself into the air like a falcon, as its body was about to land on Severus, Severus caught its neck, he drove the tiger to the ground, Severus put his whole weight on the tiger, he kept his legs astride the tiger's belly and held it's neck firmly while landing fierce punches on its eyes and nose, bloodstains wrapped over its face, it didn't take long, the tiger's hands and legs went limp.

Severus still drove punches to its face, hard blows cracked its skull, shattering the soft bones in its face, one could hardly still recognize it was a tiger face.

Marchisio went at Severus, he held his arms firmly, "That's enough Vir bellica." He said.

Severus got off the tiger, panting, his whole body bounced up and down, he went over to where Valentino's body was laid, and heaved the dead body onto his shoulders, he walked heavily over to a spruce trees, that had multiple branches.

"Marchisio, come and hold this body for me, am climbing up."

Marchisio came over.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo and the rest had already crawled out of the horse carriage, they all stood, viewing what Vir bellica had in mind by climbing up a tree.

When Severus climbed onto the tree's first branch, he called for Valentino's body, stretching his hands down to Marchisio, Marchisio, drew the dead body hand up to Severus, Severus's hands met with the corpse's hands firmly, he drew up the whole dead body while sitting on the branch, the head of the dead body laid on his shoulders, he carried the rest of the body up to his feet, Severus leaned on the tree in other not to fall off the bouncy branches of the spruce trees,

He laid the body on a higher branch, to prevent predators from making away with the corpse,

Severus jumped down the trees, he took confident steps over to the second carriage, Lorenzo watched him as he walked, as well the other, they were all having double minds about putting him back in shackles, who knows what danger they might meet in the road that would need his impeccable strength, bandits ambushes, they won't be enough time to unshackle Severus if they are ambushed.

Before Severus got into the horse carriage, he turned towards Lorenzo and said.

"We have the move now, blood scents could be walking across the forest, in no given time, remote scavengers would arrive." He warned, and sat in the horse carriage, waiting to drove to Assisi,

"And let me make something clear mister.

My husband is fearless, he is Vir bellica, the man of war, no fight as strong as it may, can leave him defeated." - Lorenzo remembered what Martina had told him about his husband.

"This man is indeed unkillable" Lorenzo whispered to himself, whilst pondering in his mind, he stroke his hands beneath his mouth slowly.

"You heard what he said Lorenzo, I think we should heed to that." Said Marchisio, as he approached the carriages.

Howls intruded the moment, it sent everyone scurrying and entering the carriages, Valentino was dead so Padre the fifth soldier replaced him as the first carriage rider.

A pack of Grey wolfs emerged from the bushes, propelled to their location by the scent of blood and carcass,

They all stroke their ropes, the horses bolted off, with them in the carriage.

Lorenzo put his head through the carriage curtains, he looked behind, he saw a grey wolf prowling around the spruce tree where Valentino was hung, looking up to the corpse, hoping it would fall, while the rest of the pack dragged the tiger's lifeless carcass into the bushes, at that location competition would arrive for the grey wolves.

After a while, other views came in and stole away Lorenzo's view of the grey wolves and carcass, he put his head back into the carriage, and set sights for what was ahead of them, Assisi wasn't too far away from them yet the rode speedily under the glazing morning sunlight to get away from the forest.

Nobody knows what else would come at them If they stay long in the confines of the forest...