Pelli was deep in thought about Eva, her form, her determination.
He had admired her tenacity and love of the hunt. But even more so, he loved that she wasn’t aggressive for the sake of it. In fact, she had retained much of her femininity in spite of it. Like any bird of prey.
His heart thumped heavily with that thought.
“Hey!” Eva yelled. “Get your head outta the clouds!”
She came in with a strong left kick aimed at his ribs, which he was just able to block. But it still pushed him back, and knocked the wind out of him.
His arm stung from the force of impact.
He stepped back, shook off the pain in his arm, and lunged forward to attack. She may have had a finely-honed sense of battle and razor-sharp talons, but he had his own. Though his talons were hidden.
Pelli performed a simil
