Oathbreaker

IV: The Barbarian

Yellow stained fangs freshly drenched with blood. Piercing green eyes staring through the night and the falling snow. The dire wolf snarled, blooded teeth laid bare, hackles raised. She lowered her head and raised her rump, ready to pounce again.

The goliath barbarian spat toward the beast then gritted his teeth, wrapping a torn piece of fabric on the fresh bite wound on his bicep.

"You die for that."

The dire wolf barked a deafening threat. She stepped back and leapt towards her attacker. The barbarian raised his uninjured arm, and winced in agonizing pain and the wolf sunk her teeth deep into his left forearm. She planted both front feet in front of her and began to thrash; flesh tore from the goliath's forearm as she swung her gargantuan head from side to side. Blood sprayed from both wounds and painted to freshly fallen snow around them. The barbarian gritted his teeth again, and swung his fist at the beast. He delivered one solid blow on her right eye, and he felt her grip weaken on his arm. He swung again, aiming for the same spot, and collided with the area in between her eyes. She weakened her grip on his arm again, now dazed from the two concussive blows to her head. The barbarian stepped back, brought his right arm back then wrenched it forward, connecting an absolutely devastating punch to the side of her head. She released his arm and stumbled backward, trying to recover her senses. The barbarian, seizing the moment of reprieve, grabbed the freshly sharped hand axe from his back and charged the dire wolf. She blinked, shook her head, then looked up just in time to see the first axe swing. She dipped her head to dodge, then thrust her shoulder forward to slam the goliath in the chest. As their bodies collided, the barbarian grabbed a handful of fur with his hands and held tight to the wolf. He pulled his body against hers and dug his heels into her hind quarters. The wolf shook from side to side, jumping and bucking to try to get the goliath off of her. She threw her body against nearby trees and boulders, rolled in the snow and the dirt to no avail. The barbarian shifted his weight on the beast so he would be more center, then reached his arm up and grabbed the wolf's right ear. He did the same with left ear, then dug his heels into the inner back legs of the wolf. He pulled on both ears with as much strength as his injured arms could summon, causing the wolf to yelp in immense pain. She continued to buck and shake and slam against nearby obstacles, but still without any luck.

She shook her head to the left and managed to free her right ear from the goliath's grip, throwing him off-balance. As he tried to regain his control over her, he brought his arm forward enough for her to reach up and clamp down on it. The barbarian screamed in agony as now his right forearm was in the jaws of the beast. Still being semi on top of her, hanging off of her right shoulder, he swung his leg down and swiped her front legs out from under her. They both tumbled to the ground in a puff of snow. Taking his opportunity, he reached up and grabbed onto the wolf's nose with his free hand, and began to pull her snout back with all his might, in an attempt to free his arm from her maw. She responded by biting down even harder on his arm, feeling the blood spurt from the new wound. The barbarian, now desperate to free his arm, clamped down on the wolf's ear with his teeth. The wolf squealed and released his arm from her maw. The barbarian took his chance, reaching around the beast's head and grabbing her bottom jaw. He wrapped his other arm around the other side of the head and squeezed her in a tremendous bear hug. The wolf shook and bucked, trying to break the goliath's hold on her. She thrashed to and fro, snapping at any body part she thought she could reach on the man. He tightened his grip on the wolf, and once he felt his feet plant on solid ground, he threw his body backwards and wrenched the wolf's head to the side. A deafening crack echoed off the snow and the trees above, the wolf sighed a deep, bellowing sigh and slowly went limp. Both dire wolf and barbarian collapsed into the fresh fallen snow, both covered in blood, mud and sweat. The barbarian slowly crawled out from under the dead beast and came to rest against a nearby tree stump. He tore two tatters from his tunic and wrapped his two new wounds on his forearms. The pain that wracked through his entire body swelled and rippled as he wrapped his wounds. He could feel himself growing weaker by the second. The palms of his hands began to feel clammy and his breaths became short and quick.