Rern (Ashleg) versus Argunath (The Skarzs)

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath slid to a halt at the tree. He looked up at the rat. "Are you scared?" he yelled, chopping at the tree with his sword.
  He paced about, calming himself gradually. "I can wait, rat. But how long until you must come down?"

[Ashleg]

"You will tire!" Rern shouted down, ripping off a piece of his tunic to tie around his arm. "You may have food, but soon your eyes will close. Then I will come down."

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath said nothing, but looked to his wounded shoulder. It was still oozing blood, as was his side. The sting of pain could be felt again, and he winced as he moved.
  He needed to cauterize his side, and possibly dig out the arrow head.
  The cougar looked up in the tree again, then began gathering materials to start a fire.

OOC: Do we want to time skip?

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Sure. Want to start? Your character is doing stuff. Unless you'd rather have another "Rern-in-tree" post.

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath paced around the tree, experimenting with the pain in his side. He cauterized both his wounds, having taken out the arrow head, but that didn't stop them from hurting.
  Now, the sun was beginning to rise, and he had not slept at all. It wasn't the first time he had been awake this long, but it was not comfortable. Rern, however, must have gotten a little sleep.
  But now he could see properly.
  "Hey, rat," he called. "Are you ready for target practice, or do you want to come down and I'll let you escape?"

[Ashleg]

Rern yawned tiredly and opened one slit of an eye to peer down at the cougar. So, the beast was still here, much to his disappointment. He sat up straighter (for he had been slumped against the back of the tree) and stretched, and then began to scratch behind an ear--giving off the vibe that he was completely unmiffed and had not a care in the world.
Silence.
"What? Let Rern go, Cat?" said the rat at last, as if noticing Argunath for the first time. He draped his tail over the edge of the branch. "I know it. You speak a lie."

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath held up a long stick, the tip still burning. "See this? It's a javelin. I can sharpen this, and more, and kill you there. Or you come down and run. You choose."

[Ashleg]

"Hmmmmmmmmm," said Rern, scratching his chin. He analyzed the area with his beady eyes before glaring down at his aggressor, a taunting smile slowly overcoming his rattish features.
"You do it! You stand and throw sticks, Cat!" he called. "Rern will do it his way while you do that."

Before Argunath could throw it, the rat jumped out of the way and climbed higher, as fast as he could go. All he had to do was buy time.

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath growled in anger. Stupid rat was going to play the long game. And the cougar was in no mood to play.
  "Very well, rat," he said with a slow smile. "Wait as long as you want."
  With that, Argunath smothered the fire with dirt, picked up his javelins, and walked away, back the way he had come. Once he figured he was out of sight, he began jogging, searching the forest floor for his footprints from the chase. There was the place where he had hidden behind the tree. And the rat's bow, cast aside in the fight.
  Argunath picked up the bow, then pulled out his sword. Putting the bow against a tree, he swung his sword and severed the weapon in two, wood and string, dropping the pieces to the ground and continuing on.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Wow.
IC-
Rern waited for Argunath's scent to grow dim, stale, before edging out onto a thick branch and propelling himself from it to land in the arms of another tree. His needlelike claws hooked in deep to the tree bark, and his chest rose and fell rapidly. He had almost missed the jump.
Tenderly, the foreign rat maneuvered around the thickest branches of tree, eyes set on a small stream that ran eastward.
Catching his breath, Rern inched to the edge of the branch, afraid it would break under his weight.
He jumped.
Splash!

[The Skarzs]

  Argunath looked about to determine which way he had come from. There, broken branches and disturbed earth.
  He followed this, and then came to the bramble patch. Now he was getting closer. The cougar massaged his side. He would have to slow down a bit if he didn't want to rip open his wounds.

[Ashleg]

Shivering from the sudden onset of cold, Rern trudged through the lake. The water went up to his knees; it was better than leaving paw prints.
Now...if only he could find his bow.
Quietly, not once removing his paw from his dagger, the rat walked down the river.

[The Skarzs]

  A little further, thought Argunath. He drank from his canteen, and stopped to take a glance behind him. No sign of the bald rat, but the cougar furrowed his brows in thought nonetheless. If the rat was so intent on getting his provisions, then he would track him down and possibly kill him in his sleep. The cougar rubbed his eyes. And he was so tired.
  He had to keep going. Find the rest of his things and move as quickly as he could. Do his best to cover his tracks. He had no intention of coming across Rern again.

[Ashleg]

Once Rern had splashed downstream, he climbed out and lingered around in the sun, drying off.
His tail lashed. That insolent cougar, off on a giddy trip through the woods with his--Rern's--provisions!
Once the Furless One had claimed something, he had claimed it. His teeth gritted in unsuppressed aggravation.

[The Skarzs]

OOC: Soo. . . What now?