Tenaro stopped clutching his injury and looked down at his palm. The blood looked inky in the darkness, only the dim moonlight causing it to glisten a little.

  His eyes moved back to the tiger, the beasts’ tail flicking. It covered its nose with its tongue, licking off the blood trickling from its left nostril. It wheezed, the sound of its rattling breath echoing through the clearing, the toll of crashing into the tree taking effect.

  The mud clung onto Tenaro's clothes and water made his clothes damp again, the fabric sticking to his skin, the wet ground to thank for that.

  Tenaro's eyebrow twitched, *All that cleaning yesterday.*

  His shoulder throbbed, sending pulses through his arm, as if it had its own heartbeat. He panted, his nostrils expanding every time he inhaled.

  Then, a cold breeze came upon the two fighters, Tenaro's hair and the tiger's thick fur blowing in the winds’ direction, Tenaro shuddering from the breeze.

  The tiger bared its teeth, snarling in frustration and exhaustion deep enough to vibrate the nearby leaves.

  Suddenly, it lunged at Tenaro, mud spraying and blades of grass flying, some of the mud splatting on the tree behind it.

  Tenaro's eyes widened, his body bracing in alertness, but a corner of his mouth twitched into a small, knowing smile.

  He straightened up and kept his hands loose by his sides.

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  When the tiger pounced, tenaro moved sidestepped to the right and the tiger flew past him, its head tracking Tenaro's movement, but its body was already devoted to the leap, and it landed hard, skidding across the ground as it tried to face Tenaro, and eventually found its footing.

  It twisted around and glared at him with a mix of fury, exhaustion and stubborn will.

  It charged again, the sound of heavy paw steps sounding through the air, but Tenaro didn't move until the last second.

  He hopped back as the tiger's unsheathed left paw cut through the air where Tenaro had just been, growling in frustration, the tiger threw a flurry of swipes, claws and snarls.

  Tenaro danced around the attacks, stepping aside, stepping back, but he started panting.

  He heard the tiger's wheezing grow heavier, as it wore itself down, its eyes desperate to land a hit.

  That's when Tenaro felt it; another tree behind him. His mouth twitched again,

  *It worked.*

  The tiger wheezed loudly now, fed up with this human not dying and it lunged again, full force.

  Tenaro shifted his body.

  He slipped to the right, feeling the wind of the tiger's momentum moving past him. The beast jerked its head midair as it tried to track him, but its body was already committed to the leap.

  Tenaro surged forward.

  Every muscle pulled tight in his arm bunching up as he clamped his right hand onto the back of the tiger's head, and with a raw, guttural shout, he drove its head into the tree.

  “AARGH!”

  The tree violently shook under the brutal impact, a crashing “THUD” followed by a loud but sharp “CRACK”.

  He let go as he breathed heavily.

  The tiger dropped instantly, collapsing in a heap. No final cry, no twitch, not even a last growl.

  Just silence.

  Tenaro stood over the body, chest heaving, his right arm shook from the exertion as he looked down at it. He shook out his hand and stretched his arm, grimacing.

  A long breath escaped from his lips as he looked down at the befallen beast, the predator became the prey.

  The breeze blew harder, as if mourning the tiger's death. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, and exhaled in relief,

  *I finally get to eat.*

  He cracked a small smile and looked up into the stars again with relaxed eyes, enjoying the wind as it blew his hair, despite the cold air trying to bite into him.