[Maria is already charging in before the beast turns its attention to her, aware that if Vi has gone down, the only way ensure she's safe from its teeth is to give it something else to snap at. But the other woman isn't so easily felled; though her focus remains on the monster, she can see Vi getting back to her feet out of the corner of her eye.
That's good, because her experience is still largely in killing men, not beasts. The sudden assault-by-tongue is a surprise, and she barely manages to dodge it in time — was it really so prehensile that it would have grasped her arm, or would its foul spittle have had other unpleasant effects? She swipes back at it in response, but it too is fast; instead of cleaving its head in two, she only manages to inflict a bloody vertical wound down its face. Nothing life threatening, unfortunately.]
no subject
That's good, because her experience is still largely in killing men, not beasts. The sudden assault-by-tongue is a surprise, and she barely manages to dodge it in time — was it really so prehensile that it would have grasped her arm, or would its foul spittle have had other unpleasant effects? She swipes back at it in response, but it too is fast; instead of cleaving its head in two, she only manages to inflict a bloody vertical wound down its face. Nothing life threatening, unfortunately.]