Winter had hit the bend with full force. The snow had piled high and the wind nipped incessantly at the wolves' fur to remind them of the chill. Although the temptation to stay bundled up with his nose tucked securely into his tail was strong, Serach's restlessness had gotten the better of him. With a yawn, Serach leaned forward, breaking the cocoon of snow that had surrounded him during the night. Hoisting himself to his feet, he shook himself from side to side, clearing his fur from the snow flurries that had collected there. With one last wistful glance behind him, the young adult spared only a moment urinate on a nearby tree trunk before leaving his naptime spot behind, setting off towards the creek for a drink and a spot of adventure.

The creek was a small one, and had long-since frozen over completely. Gone were the days when getting a drink meant the quick dip of the head to the creek's surface. With a grunt, Serach reared up into the air for a moment before slamming his front legs into the ice that had collected along the shallows next to the bank. The ice cracked beneath him and he felt himself momentarily stumble as his left paw fell through into the icy cold water below. Withdrawing it from the hole, he bent his head and lapped up his prize.

As he did so, the wind shifted in direction and the boy lifted his head and narrowed his eyes as he stared upriver. He had smelled beaver. Just the thought sent his stomach rumbling and he grinned as he abandoned his drinking hole and began to walk upstream, his head bent to the ground as he attempted to sniff out the beasts. He found them a few miles up, or at least, a sign of them - a dam. He didn't see any of the furry beasts, but the smell was strong here and so he assumed that they were there.

Tilting his head back, he howled, calling for Sahalie to join him. She was old enough now that she would make a good companion for hunting a beaver, and besides, it was an opportunity for Serach to pull his weight in trying to teach the youngest member of the Bend how to hunt.

Lowering his head back down, Serach began to investigate around the base of the dam while he waited for Sahalie. The creek was not very wide, and could easily be crossed in 3 or 4 strides by an adult wolf. The bulk of the dam was built closer to the western side of the creek, rather than in the center of the water. Long sticks and branches had been knocked over, spanning the length of the creek with a bigger grouping at the western end. Sniffing at the base, Serach's tail wagged eagerly behind him. The furry beasts were home.

But he smelled something else to, and as he looked up and turned around, he saw Sahalie coming towards him. With a grin, he stepped towards her, pressing his nose to her forehead in greeting. "Thanks for coming," he returned, his lips upturned in a wolfish smile. "I thought we could maybe have some fun with some of our neighbors," he explained, pulling away from her to gesture at the dam behind him. "Have you ever seen a beaver before?" Almost fully grown now, Sahalie had begun to participate in the pack's hunts. But with a childhood as interrupted as her's had been, he didn't want to assume too much.

Serach watched with interest as Sahalie moved to investigate the dam closer, sniffing at the sticks closest to them. She hadn't ever seen a beaver before, and while he had figured as much, he wasn't quite sure how to explain what they were. A puzzled expression on his face, he didn't answer her question immediately as he tried to think of a good way to explain them. "They're kind of like rabbits, but a lot bigger and stronger. They've got longer tails too, that are big and flat. Kind of like a paw," he picked up his left forepaw and slapped it on the ground to demonstrate. "They can use it to hit things, so watch out for it." He instructed, for the first time concerned that maybe this wasn't the best idea. But the scent of the furry beasts were strong in his nose, and even if they came away without a meal, it was worth the trouble to get to show Sahalie something new. 

He moved past her, closer to the dam. Testing the sturdiness of the structure with his forepaws, he pressed down. The sticks creaked and the smaller ones snapped, but the structure held. Carefully, he pushed back on his hind legs and jumped up onto the dam, sending the smaller pieces of wood sliding down the sides. "And yeah, they live in these things. They find all the sticks and branches they can and drag them over to the water. See how it goes all the way across?" he gestured with his head towards the dam. "This part where I'm standing," he put a paw down on the roof of the lodge for emphasis, "is where they live. It's kind of like a den, but under a bunch of sticks. If we start digging, we should be able to scare them out." Lowering his head, he began to pull at some of the sticks with his teeth, doing his best to maintain his balance on the stick pile as he did so.

The youth's tail was eagerly waving behind him as he attended to the task at hand. His paws made quick work of the loose twigs and branches, and he tugged and pulled with his teeth at the larger ones to get them to move. Beavers were excellent craftsmen, though, and if anything, Serach's antics were more annoying than they were permanently damaging. Lifting his head as Sahalie spoke up, her question filled with both curiosity and panic, Serach looked over at her. Dropping the stick that was still in his mouth, he smiled at her attempting to be reassuring. "Yeah, yeah they do," he admitted, feeling foolish for having left out that particular aspect of the beavers. "They've got bigger teeth than any rabbit or deer does, but ours are stronger. We're faster too, so we can run away if we have to." He added, hoping that the assurance that they could always run if they needed to would help sooth Sahalie's nerves.

If she was still nervous, she didn't let it scare her away. Serach watched with pride as she picked her way across the water atop the dam and began to bite and dig at the sticks. He watched her for a moment before bending back to his own task when his ears perked up. SQUEEAAAKKKKKK It was like the squeak of a mouse, but deeper and louder. Whirling his head, he was able to look just in time to see a brown head dip below the water, north of the dam and the lodge where Sahalie and he were standing. "Sahalie!" he called, his eyes still scanning the water for more movement of the beaver. There was at least one, but likely others just lurking beneath the surface. "Come here. Be careful and watch the water. They've heard us." Standing alert and ready, he waited - ready to pounce should one of the rodents attempt to impede Sahalie's path.

He could hear their growling and squeaking in his ears, loud and angry. It was matched in volume by the anxious beating of his heart as he nervously looked from side to side of the dam looking for one of the beavers to make an appearance. Sahalie was scared, and he couldn't blame her. For all of his confident talk, Serach had gotten them way over their heads. But he had to be strong for her, so he took a deep breath and tried to sooth her. "They know we're here, and didn't appreciate us messing with their home. They're just trying to scare us," he told her, trying to make his voice reassuring.

As she began to move towards him, more and more sticks began to snap, some falling into the water. The angry squeaking got louder, and out of the corner of his eye, Serach saw two brown heads emerge from the water alongside the dam. Snapping his teeth at Sahalie, a large beaver began to climb the dam ahead of her, cutting her off from Serach. The other beaver made a beeline towards the lodge where Serach was standing. "Watch out!" Serach yelled.

Leaping down from the lodge onto the dam, the wolf sent a flurry of sticks flying into the water. But he paid it no mind. Rushing forward, he charged the beaver. The beaver's tail swiped to the side, smacking the side of Serach's shoulder and neck, but the pair made contact and fell together into the water leaving the path clear for Sahalie.