Cedarwood Forest the bear and the maiden fair

The howl had caught her attention - more so than the initial yap of fright. Vlarindara had been quietly patrolling the borders of her home, looking for some morsel of food to fee her slowly growing physique.. At least until she'd heard the unfamiliar call.. So close to her home. Quietly, the white female looked back towards Grizzly Hollow - wondering if any of the other pack members would hear it.. but the call sounded.. scared.. no.. not scared. Commanding. Something was wrong. Without waiting, she kicked into the instincts that she'd thought long dead. Curled tail arched high over her back, the ivory wraith dashed through the familiar trees of her home.

A growl built in her chest as she approached, not sure of the reason for the call, but knowing full well that judging by the scents of Grizzly Hollow that she was following this way - her pack was involved. Vlarindara's long legs carried her through the forest with ease - made easier by the fact that her large frame was still thinner than it should be. A misjudged step sent her left hip smacking into a tree - reopening the half healed wounds, a yelp bit back and disguised as a snarling growl as she moved. Vlarindara might not be much anymore - but by god, she could be useful when the time called for it.

She cleared the trees and froze only long enough to take in the scene before lowering her head and baring her ivory fangs. Vlarindara had run into a bear once before - a long time ago.. They scared her. but she saw Kiche being dragged away by an unfamiliar sort.. and two larger wolves toying with it. The white female cut loose with the worst snarl she could manage before she charged, long legs practically flying to cover the distance. Pointed, but injured ears honed in on the beast as the wolfess sought to charge in where the bear had just recently swiped at Marsh.

Jaws snapped at the things front paw - the one that remained on the ground to balance it. She had every intention of latching her jaws around the bend of its ankle - where the bones were thinnest. Fur along her entire form bristled, adrenaline surging through her veins in a way she'd not felt in a long..long time. Despite being te lowest of Grizzly Hollow, Vlarindara couldn't stand by and do *nothing* when a friend, a packmate was obviously in danger. She couldn't simply ignore the bear.. it was far too close to Grizzly Hollow.. To the younglings they still had - and to the pregnant Jaysyek.

table by katsuma

The initial wave of courage brought on by her duty to her pack was quickly waning as she watched the bear roaring and swinging around paws the size of her head. One well aimed swipe would knock her head right off her shoulders, and probably clear into the next territory. Her knees wobbled beneath her and she ducked her head underneath a leaf of the fern she was hiding behind. Sibyl was about to call it quits and make her escape when she saw another, smaller bear appeared in the shadows, but as the brown creature bounded into the scene and began yelling and jumping at the real bear she realized it was instead a massive wolf. What in the world was going on here? She edged farther under the tiny little plant which was serving as a shelter, trying to stay invisible. While the bear-like wolf seemed a bit simple, he was still a little bit frightening. Sibyl was unsure of what to do next, she sure as hell wasn’t going to go try and run circles around an enraged bear.

Frozen in place with fear, she remained beneath the fern leaf, which was wriggling around with her shaking. She was stuck, her mind whirling around imagined scenes of bears and wolf-bears chasing after her. She did not notice the silver-grey wolf appear on the bank, but the bark directed at her drew her back to reality. He then rushed towards the unconscious wolf and started dragging him off by his scruff. Oh yeah, that was why she was here, she remembered. Someone needed help, possibly a pack mate, and as long as she didn’t have to fight a bear she would try the best she could to assist. She flinched as a snarl and flash of white joined the battle. So many had shown up to defend the prone wolf from the bear, Sibyl figured he must have been important. She reluctantly left the safety of the fern and darted over to the silvery wolf, who had made very little headway on moving the passed-out wolf. The pale wolf already had a hold on the back of his neck, so Sibyl bit down on the collapsed wolf’s hind ankle, just hard enough to keep hold of it in her jaws. Her red snout wrinkled at the awful scent of urine, and she realized too late as she held his damp ankle in her mouth that it was probably a bad place to hold on to. She removed her jaws from the limb and coughed, then moved around to grab and pull his foreleg instead. Her feet slid against the needle-covered dirt as she tried to give her feet purchase, and the dragged wolf barely moved any faster with her help. At least with this task she was getting farther away from the bear.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at Marsh. As he streaked down to grab Kiche he didn't throw his Second a glance, the instincts to protect and survive surging through him. Likely, he would've stopped and doubted if he'd seen the looks crossing over Marsh's rugged face, the disbelief, confusion, anger. As it was he just plunged on, heading for the downed wolf and cursing his size. Even with his scruff firmly locked in his strong jaws, the fainted male was heavy. Briefly he wondered if it was a Tainn, and decided that, if it was, he'd have to set up a breeding program for them and diminish their sizes! They were impractical to save in life-threatening situations. That was when a wraith of a wolf he'd not seen in a very, very long time streaked by, all snarls and flashing white and the wrong scent of fresh, untreated injury. Blinking his eyes and halting his advances on the forest, he watched the underweight she-wolf launch herself fearlessly at the damn hulking creature. He wished he could say she looked better than last time they'd met, but truth to be told, she looked about five thousand seven hundred and thirty four times worse. She'd just been a bit thin back in November, now she was all bones and stringy, slowly rebuilding muscles, and those injuries... They smelled and looked nasty, and Ice's lips curled back in distaste. He would've given anything to be able to plunge his nose into Kiche's urine to clear his nasal passages of the scent of her wounds. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the same wolf, though, her facial scars were far too rare. Hells, he didn't even know her name, but did it matter? She was the ex-Second of Grizzly Hollow, lost her fight, left the pack, and nearly got herself killed in the process. It looked like she'd made a habit of the latter... Ice gave a muffled snort around Kiche's scruff, backing another step and dragging the limp form over the uneven ground. "I hope chou wake up shoroughly bruished," he snarled under his breath, allowing his frustration to feed his strength. The little female, so small, had finally managed to find her way out of the ferns, and with yet again did he obtest her to help. She was working on it, but not fast enough for his fraying nerves. Reality was catching up, and that was a damn bear right there toying with a russet wolf he wanted to live for a bit longer. Still, he gave a bark of laughter, muffled by the fur pushed into his mouth, at her face when she decided the wet ankle wasn't good for holding. She picked a front leg instead, and briefly Ice thought it'd be a damn shame if she accidentally cracked it. Here they were trying to save his life, giving him a limp would drastically reduce his chances of recover! Still - not his pack... After another yard or so, he let the limp wolf go, tongue lolling out for a moment as he watched the bear. If it wanted to eat Kiche, it didn't matter if they dragged him up into the Serpent's Pass - unless they dropped him into the lake, the damn creature would just stalk them until the ends of the earth. The brave trio of warriors needed to send that creature fleeing, and fast. Cursing, Ice renewed his grip, and redoubled his efforts, not caring if the skin on Kiche's neck broke. There was little to harm there, and he could do with a bit of bleeding. Might even bring him back to life, so he could escape properly. Ice wasn't sure how much of a dignified retreat being dragged away unconscious was. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

So sorry for the delay guys! I didn’t even realise it was my turn and I kept reading this waiting for someone to post. XD! Honestly, I’m such a tool sometimes. :c

If Bear had been a human, he would have wished for a cape and mask at that moment. He felt like a superhero, running in to rescues the damsel, well Kiche, from distress against his mortal enemy. Of course, the bear wasn’t Bear’s enemy; he was a stranger but he was being awful naughty. As Bear’s large paws danced ungracefully upon the floor trying to get his attention, he was aware of the scents, noises and finally bodies of a variety of wolves throwing themselves into the thick of it. On some levels he was thankful for the help, he might be a big boy but he couldn’t take down a real bear by himself, that was silly, yet on the other hand he wished he had been able to be the hero for once and done this alone- maybe then wolves would like him for being brave, rather than hate him for being big.

With all the commotion, the bear seemed spoilt for choice and its attention had left Bear some time ago. The chocolate wolf had been watching, waiting for his moment to strike when the bear had its back to him. Marsh, the River second who he hadn’t yet spoken too, well apart from Indru and Corrina he hadn’t spoken to anyone, but that was another matter, had dived into the thick of it, ducking and dodging the swinging bears paws. Another wolf from the River, Ice, then fled onto the scene and was trying to drag the smelly damsel in distress out of the way. Other wolves darted in then, each trying to keep the bear’s attention on them as the fallen wolf was slowly dragged to safety.

Waiting had done the trick. With the wolves going for limbs and generally trying to bug the bear, he had forgotten Bears initial presence and turned to fuss over them. Taking an opportunity, Bear launched himself towards the other brown bear and kicked upon the floor to throw himself upon its back. His weight wasn’t near that of the bears, but it was enough to teeter it off balance slightly, but it didn’t fall. Teeth pearly white grappled at the back of the neck whilst black talons dug into the hide and shoulders. With all his force he snapped down upon the nape of the bear, though its fur and skin were too tough to penetrate and Bears own weight was too heavy to hold in place for long; yet he felt satisfied as a trickle of woody blood snaked into his mouth and a roar came from its jaws. Instinct, more than brains, told Bear to jump off now and he allowed his talons to relax and drop him to the floor all but a few inches from the non-River female who had been snapping at its limbs. He fell rather ungracefully to the floor with an oof.

<blockquote>Two wolves, one bear... Despite the ferocity in his posture, Marsh was not as confident as he looked. See, <i>four</i> wolves and one bear were much nicer odds, but he did not want Ice risking his life for that waste of breath, and that took them down to three - which was a shame, because the guardian was a most capable creature. Three wolves, one bear. Nope, it still didn't sound good.

However, his howl was still drawing in the neighbours, though for a half-second Marsh had thought that the large white shape was Ice. Another moment's notice and he knew that was folly; where the Swift River third was strong and healthy, this wolf was battered and broken in ways that made him boggle at why she was throwing herself at a bear. Did she want to die? Well, better her than him, and better her than Ice. Oh, and Bear too, he supposed, if only through the merit of sharing a pack. The wolf might have been an oaf, and lacking in respect, but at least he had gumption.

Watching as the wounded wraith and behemoth Bear both launched quite full-on attacks, he concluded that they both had gumption and, indeed, were probably quite insane. Of course, <i>he</i> had been the one to call them all here in the first place, so who was he to judge?

Five wolves, one bear. Nope, not there yet.

The bear twisted and snarled at its two aggressors, leaping forwards once to intimidate them and send them back. Marsh jumped forwards in response, to remind the creature that it had enemies on all sides, but did not try anything more drastic. He wasn't about to die for that crazy wolf. Their only hope was that he woke up again - the fucking useless puddle of piss - and get out of here, so they could leave the bear alone without the risk of it just sauntering up to his unconscious body. Marsh had absolutely zilch intention of trying to kill this thing - five wolves against one adult, healthy bear would leave far too many casualties to make the effort worthwhile. Casualties which would be his fault.

The situation was utterly ridiculous and he hated every moment of it. Barking sharply to further try and distract the bear, he leapt about to the side again, placing himself between the threat and where he knew Ice to be. It was a pointless action, but it made him feel slightly better. There was one casualty that he would never forgive himself for.</blockquote>

Epic revival! *nudges thread*

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. Fuck it, and adrenaline kicked in full-force. He couldn't be bothered to be killed by a bear because a stupid wolf had fainted, and he couldn't be bothered to have Marsh get killed either. So, there was only one thing to do (well, two, but leaving said idiot here to die - he wasn't desperate enough for that, yet). Ice sighed dramatically through Kiche's scruff, and scanned the ground. Full of roots. Uneven. No nearby water to dump him in. They had to get him away, and hope the bear lost interest, and.. they should get away from its downed prey. Breathing heavily he let go of the red wolf, freeing his mouth for verbal speech. "Get away from its prey!" he shouted, hoping the valiant wolves would scatter and leave him to deal with the unconscious idiot. Likely the bear would lose interest in them if they didn't challenge it for the bloody deer, and honestly, Ice had no interest at all in a mangy bear-bitten cervidae. He turned to Sibyl, motioning for her to keep helping, and dug his teeth sharply into Kiche's thick scruff, not caring if he broke the skin beneath. A little pain might help in waking him up, and Ice would certainly appreciate it if he could run away on his own. But for now, he had to contend with being the knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress. Grunting with the effort he turned his butt in the direction he wished to go and began to haul the Hollow male across logs and roots, not caring how hot he grew, how moist his paw pads became, or the way that his tongue comically flopped out against Kiche's scruff. He dug in his hind paws, pushed off, backed, dragged; the bear was getting covered by trees, and he hoped the others had scattered, leaving it to enjoy its deer in peace. He also hoped "wolf" wasn't on the menu for desserts, because if that thing came after him, he wasn't going to risk his ass saving Kiche. .ice aesir

Maybe we could just do another round or so with them scattering and the bear going back to its deer, and call it done?

let the stars above shine in your soul

Sibyl hoped that either the bear tired of the game soon, or that her or Ice would be able to get the unconscious wolf far enough away that they could stop dragging him. Her legs ached, her back was sore, and this wolf just plain smelled horrible. It wasn't a fun job, but she couldn't abandon the work now. She had noticed Ice stop for a moment, to yell orders to those who had chosen to engage the bear. She took the brief pause as a chance to move around and push her head and shoulder against Kiche’s belly rather than pull him by the awkward grip on his leg. The pale wolf motioned for her to continue, and Sibyl quickly went back to the task.

She couldn’t see the bear with her back turned to it, which was a little bit concerning. It only served to make her push with more force, paws scrabbling for hold against the dirt, rocks, and roots. Her pink tongue dangled out of her mouth, matching the rhythm of her hurried breaths. It was difficult to hear over the pulse in her ears and the panting of the two wolves, however she could hear the grumbles of the beast becoming quieter, more distant. She felt they had moved the wolf quite a distance already, and so hazarded a peek over her shoulder, only seeing trees. Sibyl supposed that was a good sign, and perhaps they could leave the reddish wolf in a quiet nook somewhere. She certainly didn’t want to or even have the energy to pull him back all the way to the den site. Perhaps it would be for the best that Kiche would not wake for a while, so that the bear might have time to finish its carcass and leave. Sibyl turned to Ice and quietly whispered, <b>“Do you think we’re far enough, yet? Can we just hide him somewhere?” </b>

The white female heard the calls, saw that Kiche was safe.. er.. and relented her attack on the bear, snarling as she backed away slowly. The wolfess moved to place herself between the gathered wolves off to the sidelines - the ones protecting Kiche, her plumed tail curled tightly over her back in a dominance display she knew was lost on the lumbering beast. Ears were pointed towards the thing, her tainted ivory fangs glistening in the light as she stared it down with a single amber eye. If she had to, she knew that she'd draw it away... but for now intended to stand her ground.

Fur stood up along her neck and spine, seeking to make her appear larger - more of a threat and less of a wolf that the bear wanted to fight with. Her aggression would cease however, should the lumbering thing wander away.. in the OPPOSITE direction of the gathered wolves.. and on its erry way.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. The sounds and smells were still thick and strong in ears and nose, but the bear was out of sight, together with the three wolves trying to distract it. His small helper stopped for a moment to peek over her shoulder, and Ice's movements ceased for a moment as he waited for her to say or do something. It came in a whisper, and he blinked. He mulled over it while he let go of the wet, red scruff, looking thoughtfully at the distance they'd come. The yips and yaps of the taunting wolves had quieted into snatches of rumbling growls. He guessed that meant they'd relented in their attack, and was more keen on protecting the path to the downed Kiche than actually trying to draw it into battle. "Probably. We should wait by him until the others say it's safe, though," he agreed, before biting down on the scruff again. They weren't exactly hidden as it was, but Ice wasn't going to ask the small female to drag Kiche the last yards. She'd done more than enough already, seeking to help where someone of her not so imposing height could, instead of barging into the combat like an easy meal. With a grunt, Ice began to haul the downed wolf aside again, forcing the thick branches of a snarly bush aside with his pale butt. Once inside it, he let go of the male, and wrestled his way out. To the best of his ability he tried to smooth the branches out, to provide a not so easy path in, if the bear should come looking for the red devil who'd started it all. When he was done, he turned around to face Sibyl. His tongue lolled outside of his jaws, sides heaving with the exertion of dragging the heavy male. "Thanks. I'm Ice. I hope someone shows up and gives us the go-ahead to scatter. I don't like being near that thing." The slight growl to his quiet voice implied that that thing was the giant, monstrous bear. Ears alert and eyes focused on the forest, he waited for one of the other wolves to show up.. or for the sounds of real fighting to break out. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>(Ahh we're so close, you guys!!!)</span>

Sibyl nodded her agreement at his words. She wasn't sure that just the two of them would be able to hold off the bear from Kiche if it was really intent on getting a wolf-flavored snack, but if this wolf thought it was a good idea, she would wait. Her legs were sore and shaking from the impromptu exertion, so she just watched as the snowy grey male pulled their charge into a nearby shrub. She tried to help a little by sticking a couple little branches over the hole that had been torn through the bush. The twigs she placed wouldn't stand a chance if the bear wanted in, but Sibyl liked to think that they might hold it up a moment longer if it did.

She gave Ice a small smile, though it was tinged with worry as she kept glancing back in the direction of where the bear was. <b>"Me too. I just hope it doesn't head towards the Hollow... Ah, I'm Sibyl by the way."</b>