*** DOUBLE UPDATE!! BACKPEDAL IF YOU'VE NOT YET READ :)

Chanyeol, too, almost dissolved into a fit of panic, the black wolf bringing back the searing pain, the slice of claw through skin, and the glowing red of Xiumin's eyes, like something straight out of the pits. Then Baekhyun was there, slapping him on the back and yanking him away from the snapping maw of the beast. 

"Pull it together, Chan," he said seriously, letting Chanyeol sag against him as he held eye contact, trying to regulate his breathing, slow his palpitating heart.

Five wolves followed after the first, coats of blacks and steely greys, and then two men were emerging, eyes wild and hands brandishing heavy metal clubs, lined with spikes and looking quite literally fatal. 

JinJu stepped to the side, mind made up to target the human ones despite the irregular tremors that shook her hands. She tried to shove it aside, readjusting her grip on her wickedly long knife, but not even the soft, familiar leather of the hilt could calm her nerves. Chanyeol's presence appeared beside her then, face composed and set, and a wave of relief calmed her, silencing the anxious thumping in her head. The pair exchanged glances, and the looks seemed to be enough; stealthily, they begun to slip around the group, targets locked and in sight.

Almost immediately, Luhan was in tiger form, his clothes turning to mere rags clinging to white and orange fur. He snarled, pacing lithely, vision going red as he gave himself over to the animal that lay dormant; a wolf snapped, lunged forward, and he was away, tackling the thing to the ground, feral war cries abound as they writhed to the side.

Another wolf, larger than his friends and a browny grey, made to pounce; and both Jongin and Xiumin were instantly turned, the latter growling predatorily in front of the slighter small feline, who hissed and tensed.

"Zitao," Sehun muttered as he shuffled frantically to the side, watching from the corner of his eye as Xiumin all but threw the brown wolf aside, like a rag doll, and Jongin looked on restlessly as the other strangely protected him from any oncoming attacks.  "Zitao, Zitao, Zi- Zitao I can't..." He gulped in air, heat pricking at his cheeks and constricting his neck, "I'm not... Zitao, I think I'm going to die if I..." He gulped and something in Zitao's eyes softened; after all, the rational part of Sehun's brain thought quietly, what good could a horse do?

"Then sit this one out," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the control room. Sehun nodded in earnest thanks, all but sprinting to the door wallowing in this strange, paradoxical feeling of overwhelming relief and bitter disappointment. It was in himself, mostly, the disappointment; as he peered out the dusty window (pointedly ignoring the navigator sitting at the control desk, cool as a freaking cucumber) he felt a devastating cloud of worthlessness constrict his chest. Hell, even the Defectives were out there, that girl beating a man almost double her size, leaping nimbly to and fro; that lanky Walker had gone leopard again, and Sehun flinched as his teeth ripped a chunk of flesh from along the opposing animal's back, roaring in triumph as it howled in pain. 

He felt useless. Setting a horse loose on a boat was like letting a bull loose in a china store, and he knew he'd only be a burden; and yet, animal restlessness fluttered weakly in the depths of Sehun's stomach, aching to join in the fight but held back by the fact that physically, he couldn't.

So, he just settled on morosely watching Kris and Zitao, a force of nature in their own right, beating the crap out of a wolf while still in their human forms.

JinJu and Chanyeol had reached the human pair the minute the fight had broken out; Chanyeol veered straight for the taller one, brandishing his own club - wooden and decidedly modest in contrast to the attacker's glossy, studded affair - and while he'd planned on keeping an eye out for JinJu, the guy made to land a blow to the side of his rib cage, so he all but dived into a roll, straightening out with his back to JinJu and his eyes fixed on the enemy.

Chanyeol had gone in thinking he had an advantage, sleek knife hidden at his wrist in addition to his heavy baton of sorts, but the man was obviously a Shifter, and Chanyeol was working double time in his effort to dodge every well-aimed swing. The spikes grazed Chanyeol's sides and his thigh, thankfully only shallowly scraping the skin as it cut through mainly clothing - Chanyeol's club came into harsh contact with the intruder's shoulder, and he yelped as he went stumbling back against the side of the ship.

Seeing the opportunity - and he would've been stupid not to take it - Chanyeol lunged forward to drive his blade into his side; he sidestepped just in time, and Chanyeol could only scrape off the skin down the side of his abdomen.

And even with this injury, the man was not impressed.

He'd been hoping he'd be able to beat the guy before he shifted, but alas, it was not to be; Chanyeol gulped as a low growl reverberated, edges of his form beginning to blur. Deeply breathing he tried to remain unfazed for the seconds that passed as the man's shape fluidly contorted; and then, when Chanyeol could see the outline of a hulking wolf, he brought the club down hard over it head, repeatedly, grunting like some crude axeman, until with a lethargic thump the animal flopped uselessly to the floor.
 
Chanyeol doubled over, nerves shot, sense rushing back in a heap and reducing him to a state panting and involuntary jitters. There was a swell of pride though, looking down at the black wolf - his hand rubbed once over his cheek, and this, this almost felt like revenge rightfully exacted.

The sudden squeak from behind him drew him out of his state, and he whirled around only to freeze in panic. 

Behind him, a wolf had JinJu pinned to the ground, and while she had a knife poised, it could easily bat away the weapon should it choose. It was almost as though it was toying with her, staring her down, snarling and blowing rank air into her face. 

Stealthily, JinJu bent her knee up, still defiantly staring the wolf in the eye. Chanyeol almost smirked, shoulders relaxing as he stood. Whether the thing knew it or not, she had the upper hand now. Striding around the outskirts, Chanyeol went searching for something, anything, to detain his own somewhat comatose wolf.

JinJu brought her knee up, getting him just underneath his rib cage and grinning at his winded cough of surprise. He staggered over her; she slipped out from underneath and rose fluidly, kicking it once, twice more in the stomach and relishing in each pitched choke of pai