The tiger leaps at him just as Martin steps to me, shouts, “What!” and punches me in the face. Raiko darts left, strafing to the side just as the tiger closes in, and I don’t budge an inch. Martin stays put, and, if he so much as sneezes, I don’t notice, paying attention instead to the way the great beast turns toward Raiko and swipes at him with one paw. Raiko backs away but not fast enough; the tiger tears through his left arm, and I unconsciously step toward them when I hear Raiko scream and see blood fly out from his body!
Raiko jumps back, just as the tiger slashes at his face, and narrowly evades as its claws brush against his nose. The tiger slashes through the air again, Raiko pivots, and, with his back still turned to the beast as it lunges past him, he chants and summons a burst
