The journey here had taken them most of the day. The leaders had been careful to round up the pack at first light, and to keep their pace to something manageable so that the whole group were not completely exhausted by the time they arrived. She and Gent had yet to pick a pack den on their first trip out, and for all they knew the rest of them would have to help dig a new one if a den could not be stolen or adopted. The Queen's first idea was to track along the base of the fijords, with the springs and the river on their right. If a shelter could be made into the side of these hills, they would have much needed protection. 

As the group moved along the foliage began to change; pine trees and other conifers took precedence the further north they went, until almost all that seemed to be around them were majestic firs. Raela spotted a thicker cluster up ahead, and picked up her pace. Perhaps a den could be created and hidden here, but as she padded closer it became evident that there was no need to dig. A wide, well-constructed bear den was tucked deep into the base of the hill, just where the slope began to shift upward. It had to be a grizzly den; nothing else made a hole so large. Excitement beat in her chest; if they could take this one over, they would save many hours of labor and precious energy after the trek. 

She should have known that this was too good to be true. As she stepped toward the opening, the heavy scent of a male bear overwhelmed her nose. It was no longer inside, but not far from them either. The stench was so fresh. She pulled back, casting a slightly concerned and serious stare Gent's way. They had smelled and seen evidence of multiple predators in the area, likely due to this place being unoccupied by wolves, but had avoided every encounter so far. The matrarich's gaze spoke for her. They needed this, and they also couldn't deal with allowing the creature to dwell within their future borders. The Alphas' eyes locked on one another, and finally her jaws parted. "We have to get rid of it anyway," she was speaking quietly, but not only to Gent. The rest of the pack would have to hear too. 

This was not a decision to be taken lightly. Raela moved toward the gathered wolves, squaring her shoulders and steeling her nerves. "It's a grizzly bear, and its not far." The sentence seemed to fall heavily from her lips; weighted by its own gravity. She let the fact sink in, passing her eyes over the group. "It woke early, and its probably pretty sluggish right now, but also pretty hungry." These bears were some of the most dangerous; she was only glad that it would be groggy and slow after its long winter nap. "We're going to have to run it off at some point, and we might as well get some shelter out of it," She would have grinned a little with the comment had the situation not been so deadly serious.

"We just need to chase it off, I don't want anyone loosing life or limb over this." Raela's tone had grown harder. "We still have to claim this land once its over." The Queen let the silence fall over them, still running her brilliant yellow eyes over each gathered soul. When it seemed that everyone had understood she turned, flicking her head toward the forest with a stony expression. The woman was afraid, afraid for all of them, but if she showed it openly they were doomed.

It was not difficult to follow the animal's trail from their position at the den. When eventually the male's towering brown form appeared distantly between the trees the Queen's pace slowed. Her tail began arching at her back; she wanted to be sure everyone saw the thing before they moved. She slowed to a walk, and then a stop, looking over her shoulders to connect with each wolf in solidarity. A long sigh passed her lips and she glared at the threat. Maybe anger would cover this fear that was clawing at her chest and legs. The creature was just now beginning to notice that something was amiss. Between pawing desperately at the snow it kept glancing into the distance, but perhaps luckily, they remained undetected. It would not last long.

Gent's war cry burst in her ears and she snarled, darting forward with the boldness given by each surrounding wolf's charge. Together they were a formidable force, and something for the grizzly to reckon with. The bear was startled, pulling up onto its hind kegs in an attempt to scare the dogs off with a threatening roar. For her own part in this battle Raela took to rushing the creature from behind, though it whirled each time to try and face the nearest threat. Her jaws clicked together with the promise of blood, should she get ahold of him, and she dodged away just in time to avoid getting smacked by his monstrous paws. Even if the Queen threatened to bite, locking her fangs into the bear was a sure way to get killed. Her feet danced and skittered to the side, frantically trying to keep the distance between them to something reasonable and safe when it charged out of frustration. This wasn't about drawing blood anyway. Raela kept up her snarl. They were going to make it leave whether it wanted to or not. This was their land now. 

The moment he got a whiff of the errant grizzly, Gent could not be moved from Raela's side, refusing to stray more than a foot's length from her shoulder as the pack hunted through the pine forest to track it down. The trek forth to this new territory had been filled with nothing by high notes, the king especially excited to claim this idyllic land and plant himself firmly onto the path of a shining bright future. To meet with an obstacle such as this right at the end of their journey? He supposed the hurdle should have been expected; paradise couldn't come so easily.

Perhaps he might have even found a sense of thrilling reward within the challenge, if it weren't the danger this presented not just to his factotum subordinates, but specifically Raela; the queen who now carried the whispers of what would quickly become his children within her. The monstrous shade had considered instructing her to hang back, but even that would not do given all the secrets this valley still could hold. No, the safest place for her was right at his side where he could protect her.

"Don't take any risks," he asked of her, whispering into her ear so that only she could hear as they neared the origin of the bear's trailing stench.

When the beast was found and the moment right, Gent's aggression peaked and with a hearty bellow he launched them all into the fray. It was his duty to monitor the entirety of what was now their battlefield, ensuring the safety of each and every wolf that worked beside him to secure their new home. Yet he could not help but focus nearly entirely on Raela. Each inch that disappeared between her and the enraged monster heightened the pace of his heart, and it was difficult for him to remember that they wanted only to chase the bear from the valley rather than maim it.

Each time its pinprick eyes settled upon his mate, a snarl ripped through Gent's throat and his deepest instincts demanded that he tear flesh and spill blood. With great self-control he limited his maneuvers to lunges and loud clacks of his jaws, as well as a few choice words barked out to hopefully take the bear's attention each time it drew too close to hurting someone.

"C'mon, y'fucker," the raven-black leviathan growled, quickly growing frustrated with the game as the bear continued to attempt to hold its ground. "Run!"

The trip had been long and boring, the white male did not like the idea of walking for this long but he knew it was for the best. The king deserved a legacy of his oven and the one who had been left him at the crest was not one whom the white male could see anyone be satisfied with. The former ruler had been a female who´s children had been the rightful airs to the land, but they had all up and left it. Ungrateful monsters. But he did not feel sadden by the children's disappearance, it was more of the opposite. The children of the wolf known to him as Minka was not worthy of the royalty bestowed upon them.



Zilas stopped as the king and Raela halted by a large den dug into the walls of a hill. But something was looming around the corner. The stench that drifted from the opening had his belly turn into knots and his lips pull back into a silent snarl. The King and woman talked quietly together, before she turned to them. So she were expecting them to hunt it? Chance it off? The white male felt bothered by her commanding voice, he knew she were the wolf beside Gent and her scent had changed no longer caring the aroma of spring. Yes she would be the queen soon enough. Her wish to chase it off seemed to surprise him, would it not just come back? Or were bears really that stupid? "My king, won't the beast come back for its territory at a later time? ". his question was doubting as his oven knowledge if this kind of beast was small.




Following its track seemed easy, its stench stood strong and had the male growl for himself as it clawed in his nose drills. Soon the beast stood in front of the pack its brown frame scraping at the ground, as they remained unnoticed.

 

As the kings war cry rang in his ears, Raelas snarl as they jolted in to action. The monster stood tall trying to scare them off its roar rang in his ears as he like the others jolted forward teeth snapping close to its hind legs before he jolted away. A snarl as the beast did not seem to get the message they were trying to send it.


      
"Talking".

The feeling of charging anything as a group was incredible. She heard the footsteps of the wolves around her; wolves that trusted her and Gent to get them through this successfully, and saw their surging forms on all sides. Even Sylva was displaying courage Raela had not expected to see from her, and it bolstered the Queen's own. Once engaged, the others fell to doing exactly what they were supposed to. Some distracted in front, others in back, and the creature was kept on its toes, switching target too often to make any good hits. No bear would run from them right away when they were only seven strong, but with coordinated attacks the pack was an impressive force; especially with the towering forms of her mate and both of their seconds. Even the new male was impressive in size.  

They would prove their point to this monster. The others seemed to be heeding her warning and keeping themselves safe, for now. In between lunges and frantic dashes to safety Raela turned her eyes up to watch the bear. They had to frustrate and frighten it so thoroughly that it took its chance in a mad dash, and she was ready for that first sign of weakness. What broke her concentration, if only for a few moments was the agitated rush of the new recruit, Merys, a wolf she had yet to really get to know. He was barking an order to her and everyone else, an order perhaps useful but a bit premature. Coming at it from one side right away was a sure way to get everyone slashed. Her pack had spread out just as the matriarch had wanted, so that the bear had many moving targets to deal with at once. A collected force was much easier to hit. Even the direction it ran  was of little concern to her; it just had to go away. 

She snarled back, dismissing his command with a brisk click of her teeth. "Not yet," she barked gruffly; there was no time for her usual courtesy and tact. The woman's attention needed to return to the task at hand. Thankfully no one had begun to change their position according to his words, and she was afforded another opportunity to gauge the animal's resolve. She could explain her reasoning to the man later when nothing was at stake. Hopefully he would understand her attitude in the moment, and excuse the correction. Raela didn't need to get off on the wrong paw with someone so new to the group. Golden eyes switched frantically between her pack mates and the grunting, slashing bear. No one was hurt, and she was more than grateful. Raela loped a pace or two to the side, trying to meet the beast's gaze. 

Dark, beady eyes locked on her for only a single breath, before the actions of another wolf forced him to redirect his attention. It was attacking less, and roaring more. The matriarch's hackles bristled. Resorting to scare tactics only meant good things for them. She dove in again, halting her advance just as it spun and skittering backward until a pack mate drew its ire instead. A harsh growling sound had followed the woman back in that last moment; it was getting fed up. Her tongue lolled from between twitching, parted jaws. The exertion was finally beginning to get to her, and probably the bear as well. Adrenaline made focusing on the creature that much easier, so when it took a shuffling step back, and then another after lashing out, she lunged forward. Her front legs landed stiffly in the snow; body trying to appear as intimidating as possible.

The dance continued for only a handful of seconds, before it started to move away. The stubborn animal tried to face them even then, but Raela knew now was the time to push it over the edge. "Rush him!" She called, arching her tail high and bursting into action. The Queen was a swift wolf, so darting away had been easier than it might have been for the larger members of the group. Now she used her speed to incite them into another charge at her heels. The wall of snapping wolves was enough to change the starved bear's mind about sticking around, and with a hasty grunt it turned. Success drove her legs to pump faster, but she no longer moved to bite the creature. If anyone drew blood it would turn back in defense. They just needed to keep it running until the land was safe.  

The beast was thin and ragged, the bulk of its mass having been siphoned off by hibernation, yet still it was a fearsome sight. With great audacity it continued to stand against them, enraged and determined to stay its ground. While he was confident that this feat was well within their capable paws, it still took bravery to rise up against such a creature. Moraxia and Zilas he expected to be faithfully at his side. That small Sylva, Jynx and not-even day-old recruit Merys would so promptly enter the fray with them? It did much to raise Gent's opinion of them and bolster his confidence that despite the oddities amongst them, this assembly would be a solid foundation upon which to build what would one day soon be a formidable pack.

With all the maneuvering to and fro, especially attempting to keep up with Raela, the mammoth luminary was swiftly becoming worn. His muscles burned indignantly as he refused to allow them to slow, jaws parted in a wrinkled snarl as heavy pants escaped him. Cardio stamina was far from his forte, but willpower was certainly a strength. The blood racing through his veins thundered within his ears, and he barely heard Merys' shout. Between dodging the Grizzly's sporadic swipes and keeping tabs on Raela, it took a moment for him to focus upon where the other bulky male had placed himself, but in the interim he caught sight of his mate's response. Whatever that was about, it seemed this autoschediasm expedition was falling right into place thanks to their concentrated efforts.

The bear was lunging less and less, taking its eyes from them more often to seek out other options. The only one it had was to run, to get the fuck out, and Gent couldn't help but let a snarling grin sweep over his face as the beast at last began to attempt to retreat away from the intimidating shield they had created. Acting upon the weakening of the monster's resolve Gent rushed forward at Raela's command, pushing his powerful limbs hard.