Never Back Down

Okay, to make this easier, we'll go over characters first.
Background (left to right): Roman (Rottie), Flash (Papillon mix), Malice (lab/pit mix), Buck (wolf/malamute mix), Jeff (golden/wolf mix), and Blaze (finnish spitz mix)

Foreground: Wielder (eastern timberwolf) and Sasika (blue tricolor shiloh shepherd)

Sasika leaned heavily onto her right forepaw, grinning at the pressure she could feel coming up from her victim's throat. The grey mutt under her squirmed in vain, wrapping her own legs around the great shepherd's massive leg, trying to gain enough leverage to take another blood soaked breath. Gasps from the crowd of dogs around them almost drowned out the involuntary coughs and wheezes coming from her prey, but her tall ears were fine-tuned to the suffering of her fellow combatant. The younger dog had been too proud, too angry in the fight, and that had cost her dearly. However, even if she had been wiser, more choosy about her moves, the end would have been the same. Sasika never lost. In fact, none could lay a paw on her but her elder brother, the leader of the pack, the great white and sable shepherd, Kahn. Even though she wanted to silence the mutt's stubborn mouth forever, she would release her, as per her brother's command. The mutt had learned her lesson. Just as she was getting ready to take her burden off of the lesser dog, she heard the faintest of prideful laughter and even felt the tremors coming up from the tired throat through her own paw.

"What are you laughing at, Mongrel?" snarled Sasika as her gold eyes snapped towards Wielder. The eyes of the dog beneath her were heavy lidded...no doubt she was fighting to maintain consciousness even now. "You have lost everything, your pride, your freedom...everything. They thought you had it in you to beat ME. Now you will walk amongst them in shame."

Speaking through bared fangs, Wielder gargled and spat an answer. "You act as though I should be the one who has something to fear."

Sasika's eyes grew wide. How could this bitch have the audacity to smart talk her at this point? "Screw my brother's order," she thought as she leaned lower to return insults, ever so slightly increasing her weight on the dog's neck. "You might have died from these wounds in your den later, but now, you'll die in my jaws!"

Before she could wrap her mouth around Wielder's neck, she felt something warm coming from her own chest. Turning to look at her own body, she saw what up until that point the rush of adrenalin had been hiding from her own sense of pain. The gash was large, and while not life threatening, was seeping her own blood onto the warm grey pelt of the smirking creature beneath her.

Leaning up ever so slightly, Wielder continued menacingly, "You see, they already know that I can bleed..." Sasika caught Wielder's brown eyes flickering around the warehouse lot to the stunned eyes of the dogs surrounding them..."however, they now know that even Sasika the Steel Pelted can bleed."

Jeff and Buck who had been protecting the few pups and adolescents who were trapped against the wall when the brawl had begun, moved to force Sasika back, hoping she wouldn't turn her aggression on them. Even though they were high ranking males in the pack, neither could hope to bring her down. Sasika growled and bristled her fur, but obediently moved back as the males carried out her brother's orders. All the while, as Wielder lay bleeding out on the cold concrete, she continued to grin at Sasika as she slipped into darkness.

As she was escorted by Jeff and Buck to her own den, Sasika thought about what her brother had said about the young mutt. Willing to die before she'd submit to anyone, he had summarized about her character. The fight had been a lesson to Wielder, that she was not above losing to another. However, the most poignant of lessons was learned that day by Sasika. Sometimes the outcome of a fight isn't what is most important, it's how far you were willing to go that matters.

More character development for Wielder and Sasika specifically. If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask them!

Done with micron inks, copic markers, and gel pen in my sketchbook.