Tikki comes slipping and skidding to a halt at the butt-end of the dead elk, and now the battle begins in earnest. The pack circles. They slaver with the need for meat and fill the air with desperate anger. The largest female darts back and forth, snarling, menacing. Tikki roars her warning to the female even as the largest male circles in on her rear. Tikki spins, bounding up high on her hind legs, forelegs splayed, fangs and claws bared and flashing, and the largest male darts away while others circle in.