Fighting a wild animal is far different than fighting a fellow demon, though elves perhaps could not tell the difference. When demons fought it was with the understanding that they were to kill each other and that it would not end until one was slain. When fighting an animal, the animal's only thought is not dominance, but to escape. Unlike demons, wild animals fight when they are forced to. When cornered they become desperate which makes them frenzied and unpredictable.<br/><br/>Ranuk did not want to recklessly charge at the snow cat so he was forced to wait for an opening. He flashed his horns in a threatening display, tossing his head and bearing his teeth, using every fearsome feature he had to get her to lose her nerve and falter.<br/><br/>The snow cat refused, stalwart and stubborn in her stance. He would have to charge her to get her to move. Luckily he did not have to.<br/><br/>An arrow whistled through the air and landed into the snow cat's underbelly. She finally dropped the calf, half dead now, and yowled in pain and outrage. Ranuk could have had her then, gone for her throat and end her life in that split second, but he did not.<br/><br/>She was willing to risk her life over a calf. There had to be a good reason.<br/><br/>The snow cat disappeared into the brush, wounded and bleeding. Ranuk did not follow but instead leapt to Tamlin's side and circled about him excitedly, growled demonic words spilling from his mouth.<br/><br/>Jera and Ursalo came out from their hiding places, and the snake haired demon, just as confused by Ranuk's hesitancy as everyone else, helpfully translated.<br/><br/>"He says it's a mother," Ursalo explained, "he wants to follow her, he says that she'll lead us to her den...."<br/><br/>An elk would have been a satisfying hunt. A snow cat pelt and and a pair of saber teeth would have been momentous, but live cubs to take and raise for himself?<br/><br/>Ranuk could not pass up the opportunity. He was a beast master by trade, and had all manner of animals in his menagerie but of course he could not obtain a snow cat, not when so far away from the mountain. He had one once, the most difficult animal he's ever tamed, and he wished to have another dearly.