Thick of the Woods

 Among the tranquility of the forest, the sound of rustling leaves and fallen trees disturbed its serene dormancy. What winds that once filled the air were being overshadowed by boisterous howls. A large creature resembling a wolf bursts through several thickets of trees, motioning with its maw as if trying to eat something.

 Upon closer inspection, you can see splotches of blood painted across some of its teeth. As it roared, three individuals were trying their best to evade the rampaging beast. What made the predicament worse was the trail of blood that seemed to be coming from the direction of the retreating group.

 "Can't you close that thing already?!" Ume shouted at Rumin, who was carrying a semi-conscious Maya. She took a stance and thrusts herself forward, using her signature defense as a crutch to strike the beast. However, it didn't appear as if she did much damage and was immediately swatted into several trees.

 There wasn't much Rumin can do to help in the fight. She could only blame herself for running off and causing them to get in this dicey situation. Looking back at Maya, she was still barely holding on to her consciousness, but that was likely due to the condition she wound up in.

 Her right arm was bitten off, still leaking with blood from the leftover fabric she haphazardly wrapped over the wound. Thanks to the quick thinking, she was able to save her friend from dying on the spot, but time was of the essence. If they don't get rid of this thing soon, none of them will be making it out alive, let alone in one piece.

 "You're trouble, you know that?..." Maya barely spoke, with a waning voice as she focused on her breathing. Every now and again, she would wince in pain, which was a good indicator that there was still life in her.

 Unluckily for them, the beast was still hot on their trail. The bleeding needed to be stopped and all efforts of repelling the creature had proven futile, inciting its fury even further. There was no end to its pursuit anytime soon.

 Rumin cursed under her breath. It really seemed that this was the end of the line for them. The thought of dying out here under such circumstances left a sour taste in her mouth. She shouldn't be running from the face of adversity, but it was Maya that remained a liability to the endeavor.

 Ume gave it one more try, tackling the beast to veritable effect. Some damage was done, but the shoddy result of it led to Ume getting swatted away once again. The creature growled in annoyance before letting out a howl that shook the surrounding area.

 With that poor excuse of a deterrence out of the way, it focused its attentions towards the remaining morsels, baring fangs with enough intensity that you'd think it was trying to contain the urge to relish in the delight of consuming prey.

 Rumin had to make a choice:

Leave Maya behind and save her own skin for what would only be a small moment...

or...

Take a stand for herself and gamble on the chance of getting everyone out of here intact with whatever parts of their bodies are still attached to them...

 Either option didn't yield profitable results for the long term, but there wasn't much time to consider a possible alternative as the beast already made its move. Its mouth opened into a gaping maw, preparing to put an end to this needless exercise. Rumin didn't even get a chance to react, dumbstruck by the speed of which the creature approached.

 It all seemed over for Rumin, who couldn't look away from the impending doom in the form of razor-sharp fangs, vastly approaching. What should've been mere seconds felt like forever as the fangs were closing in. Just as the teeth grazed against her flesh to sink deeper, a loud crash echoed out as a large rock smashed into the beast, repelling it from its advance.

 "That was a bit too close for my liking, but still good that I made it..." Gale made an entrance into the scene, stepping out of the thicket of trees to stand in front of her sister. "You better get everyone else out of here while you still can. I'll hold it off from here on out; so don't worry."

 As instructed, Rumin gathered the rest of their group and left the scene in search of a safe zone. Once everyone had safely exited the area, Gale's expression turned serious as she turned gaze towards the creature that was still recovering from the crash. "You sure like to cause problems...

 Don't ya big guy?" The beast snorted in retaliation, howling fiercely as shockwaves emanated from its call. "Heh... Guess you're just as fired up as I am about this... Come on then!"

 The creature charged, trying to go for the killing bite but the momentum was put to a halt by Gale's hands. "Now that was very rude of you, but a nice 'try' I suppose." Her grip tightened as her muscles flexed in preparation for what's to come next.

 Slowly, the beast was hoisted into the air before getting spun around. By the fifth spin, the grip was released, tossing the creature at high velocity as it smashed through a good distance within the forest. It regained itself just in time to dodge a smash attack from Gale, retaliating with a claw swipe.

 Unlike its previous prey, Gale was no pushover, blocking the attack by pressing her arms into the palm of its paw. The ground shook lightly from the impact, but Gale was keeping the momentum of the fight going by striking the beast with her tail. The creature reeled slightly, but snarled in an aggravated manner as it emitted a roar so intense, it created a bullet of air to attack.

 Gale had no choice but to evade it with a leap to the air, but it left her wide open to receive a vicious headbutt from the beast. It was soon followed up with a smashing tail strike, propelling her to the ground with a loud crash. Gale took a moment to get herself up, but opted into an immediate roll to evade the incoming creature's bite.

 "Definitely a close call... This thing's pretty darn tough... I better be careful from here on out." Coming on to her feet, Gale readied herself as the beast swiftly followed up with a sweeping paw strike.

 However, Gale was able to press her hands onto the top of the paw, using that leverage to swing her foot into the creature's face. The beast stepped back in response, regaining its composure as it stared Gale down with a furious glare. The intimidation failed as Gale met its gaze back with a stern look of her own.

 At any moment, either combatant could make their move. Gale wasn't sure how long she could keep this scrap going as the beast was a formidable opponent. For something this feral to possess this much power was proof enough that she had much to brush up on in terms of growth.

 Thankfully, the creature snorted while turning its head to the side. It was clearly fed up with all this hassle just for what was the equivalent of a light snack. It gave Gale one good look as if remembering her image and darted off into the thick of the forest.

 It took a moment to process, but the relief soon took over in attempts of relaxing Gale from the encounter. She took a few breaths before looking at her hands. She was unsure on whether or not to be proud of getting this far.

 Though, she clenched them into fists as she remembered that she had people to get back to. With haste, she rushed off in the direction that they departed at, hoping that they found any of the safe zones placed throughout the foods. It seemed as if she wasn't getting anywhere with how many leaves had brushed against her face.

 She was dead set on knowing the state her friends and sibling were in, pacing herself even faster while catching breaths in between. Eventually, she made it to a natural sanctuary, spotting a familiar face. With no respite, she tackled the individual into a tight hug, only to be met with a stroke to the head.

 "Can you ease up a little sis?" Upon realizing, Gale released her sister from the clutches of a loving death, nervously looking away.

 "I'm just glad that you're all safe, but more importantly..." She focused her attention to Rumin with a somber look on her face. "There's something I'd like to say to you specifically..."

 "Yeah? You know there's really no need for that right now-"

 "NO!!!" Gale interrupted, placing her hands onto Rumin's shoulders.

 "I should've been more vocal and understanding when it comes to you. You're doing your best for me and I am very grateful for every last bit of it... Truth be told, I wanted to have something to show to Dad other than just the fact that I'm still alive.

 You had your art and I saw how proud he was of that... It made me wonder what can I show him, you know? Obviously I couldn't send food through the mail. So I thought, maybe a proof of my growth and development would've sufficed...

 Maybe I was dumb to think of that..."