So you think that you can take me on?

RE: Sanguine Cove, a group of grizzly bears have been spotted nearby, encroaching on your territory and competing for resources. Nash is calling for anyone strong/fast enough to harass them.

He smelled them first, the acrid stench that had come to plague him. First it had been cougars that stalked their lands and now the bears had taken so much from them - them, and their neighbors who had once been friends. And the bears had taken that, too.

Nash moved quickly and quietly, ears alert and scanning the growth for movement. He could hear them now, in the small inlet to the lake, and after a moment he turned and backed off. Anger boiled in his skin, something that was quickly growing to become a familiar weight. He howled, summoning his pack, and warning the youngsters to stay with Aquene and his own mother.

The Cove would not sit idly by again.

eclypse is facing off a younger/smaller bear to keep it more realistic for no insta-death (:

Eclypse could not be contained at the sound.

She could feel something rise like heat in her blood. As if she carried a torch of her father's anger in that moment. She would not go and hide away. She would not shield herself from whatever horrors had come to them again. This time she would be there. This time she would be something.

Anything to demolish the sensation of being small and useless that had bloomed within her.

Her father had the right idea. Stealth and speed, holding off until more arrived. Eclypse had no experience at her side. She had only a grand desire and the ire of the Cove draped around her shoulders like a cloak. It was, perhaps, a godsend that the one nearest to her that realized her rushed approach was not yet a full grown adult, smaller than the others gathered not so far. She stayed steady in her charge, prepared to greet the beast with a fury unseen from her before...

---

Maybe the bear was a runt who also had much to prove. Maybe it knew that it out matched her greatly without much force. One swipe would be all it would take to temper her fiery assault anyway. One swipe that it seemed fully prepared to deliver to the bratty little princess that played warrior...

She had no strength on her side, but she had speed. She could dart and weave without an issue.

She also imagined that she might owe an act of kindness to the man she had spoke out against in the meeting... Yet as she neared the dark man, she thought she spotted another dark figure further ahead. Hardly a surprise when the pack sported plenty of dark coats. Only she thought that did not carry the weight of age upon its figure.

She neared the leader but her gaze continued to remain out there towards the figure that seemed hellbent on colliding with the ursine visitors.

"Nash..."

Her voice trailed off with an unspoken concern. Was that his daughter?

Alright, since it's a small bear...
We're gonna go with there are 3 bears, one sow and two yearlings, born the previous year.

No posting order.

Nash waited what he thought was a safe distance from the bears, hoping none might follow his voice and attack him while he waited for his pack to answer - and he had full faith they would answer - but it seemed not every member of his extended family would listen to his warnings. His only warning was a flash of black as his youngest darted past, straight into the fray, and one of the yearling bears turned toward her even as Nash was fully processing what was about to happen.

The bear raised its paw, almost in slow motion, its pads almost as big as Eclypse's head though it was not yet fully grown. Nash was moving without thinking, no plan, his mind running on pure panic. With a wild snarl he leaped past his youngest, sinking his teeth into the bear's shoulder even as it batted, knocking into his body and swinging him around sideways. A yelp hiccupped his snarl, but somehow he managed to keep his grip on his quarry. He would not allow it to harm his daughter, his own life be damned.

(This post was last modified: Apr 01, 2024, 01:42 AM by Nash.)

Having Galen lend Nash a hand with the one yearling bear.

Despite his time venturing abroad and the trek up the mountain speed had never been a virtue of his, thus his arrival to the frantic scene had been delayed once his ears picked up on the summons from Nash. Alas, he arrived nonetheless. The molten gold hue of his gaze had only mere moments to digest what was unfolding and register the faces of whomever managed to outpace him before muscles, hardened and developed some thanks to his lifestyle of choice, leapt into action to lend aid once the situation became more clear.

Three bears in total, two much younger than the other yet intruding on their territory. Eclypse was in danger. Nash needed backup immediately.

Guard hairs bristled instantly along Galen's shoulders as the skin along his muzzle just as swiftly wrinkled into a threatening snarl that revealed tarnished teeth witnessing one of the smaller bears collide its paw into that of their leader, closing the distance between himself and them. Another bound allowed his larger frame to land before the inky child and eliminate her from being in view of the yearling bear completely, snapping jaws and a series of barks serving as a distraction to draw the young bear's attention toward himself and away from that of the child to hopefully give the older man an opportunity to either land a harsher blow or get his daughter out of harms way if someone else hadn't managed to do so by now.

SHE SAYS THAT BEAUTY IS PAIN

On the way, Magg knew that she would need to limit her involvement, that she would only be safe herself as pressure and distraction. As she ran toward the call, all her thoughts focused on how she could be of help in those specific ways. When she arrived? When she saw her father hanging off of one of those beasts, her best friend throwing himself in front of her little sister, the other two monsters rounding and racing to defend their kin? She ceased thinking at all. Magg sprinted the remaining distance, and threw herself into the rival predator's flank. Well aimed and with plenty of momentum behind her mass, she felt it's hip give and buckle. Her goal of throwing it off-balance was achieved. Now what the hell came next?

AND THERE'S BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING

Magg hit the same bear that Nash is on.

(This post was last modified: Apr 03, 2024, 05:28 AM by Magg.)

The stench of bear made his chest contract, panic rushing through his veins. Why did they keep coming back here? Are we really cursed? But there was no time to waste on philosophy, Nash was calling, and Leo would answer; Always! Despite running at his fastest, the scene was already mayhem when he came upon it, the flurry of bodies hard to distinguish as they tangled with a midsize bear. What Leo did see was Nash clinging to the beasts back, horribly exposed as the bigger beast came barreling right at him; No! No more thoughts passed through the guardian’s head, no plans or calculations, a furious snarl simply escaping him as he threw himself forwards to knock the bear off course. His jaws parted, teeth finding flesh as he rammed into the flank of the adult bear. Back legs scraped at the gravel for purchase, as he sought to tear at the soft spot under the beast shoulder while it was still recovering from the unexpected attack, but it didn’t take long before he felt himself getting lifted off the ground as the bear rose to its hind legs. But he clung on, for now. ”Speech" Thoughts

dawnthieves.de & Twimperology @DA

superficial hit at best, but my goal was always for her to get some kind of hit. this is coming from the other yearling since i think that's the only free bear right now! if there's any issues please DM/PM me! (:

So much movement.

A bear swinging, fighting for its ability to stand. Her father had hung off of it while it struggled. It seemed that the Cove had answered the call but she could not compete with all the motion. It dizzied her and she stumbled. She had been given an out in the form of defensive guardians, but she could not tell which way was out in all of this commotion.

One yearling had been piled on, it seemed the adult was being worked on as well. Eclypse only knew that she needed to move, to go.

Eclypse back peddled in her frenzy. It seemed the other yearling bear was no different than Eclypse. Worried and worked up by this whole affair. They had both been on their way out when they encountered one another. When the young bear swung, it was hardly to kill or really even main. Only she still had been close enough to feel the delicate slice of a claw over the thin skin of her muzzle. It certainly looked worse than it felt.

It had been enough for her to learn her lesson, either way.

Sorry for the delay! Next round 4/30

Everything was happening so quickly. His teeth were buried in fur, in flesh, and his paws were off the ground, and then he was flung sideways as the bear lost its balance. Nash tumbled to the ground, unable to keep his grip as the ground drove all the air from his lungs. Burning pain pulsed through him, only growing sharper when he was finally able to inhale again. The leader blinked the stars from his eyes and shook his head as he slowly sat back up. He could hear the chaos, wolves snarling and bears bellowing and a high yelp. His ears swiveled and for the second time in a matter of seconds he was unable to breathe: one of the yearling bears had swatted his youngest.

Nash scrambled back to his feet, the rest of the battle coming into focus again as he looked around. The bear that hit Eclypse seemed to be fleeing despite the successful blow, but the borderline-panicked father raced to her anyway. "Where are you hurt? How bad is it?" he asked, frantic, looking her over. He needed to be quick; if she was okay, he would send her on her way back to her mother - where she should have been to begin with - and return to the battle. At least they were down one enemy.

On orchestra of snarls and bellows alike filled the mountain air while more members of the Cove joined the frenzy, golden eyes widening in response to the blur of agouti fur and a trio of legs belonging to none other than Magg that jetted past him in order to tackle the flank of the yearling bear. Her assault had been successful in sending the young beast teetering, their leader tossed away like a rag doll in the process until the weight of itself could be heard falling with a heavy thud onto the gravel below. Another bellow was sounded off, Galen's teeth responding back with a constant series of clicks that threatened to nip at dingy fur. Clear, wordless expressions for the bear to get lost while it still could before becoming a nice adornment to the communal dens flooring.

Meanwhile a quick glance off to the side revealed his brother going paw to paw with the only adult of the bunch, another swift shift of his gaze elsewhere spotting a fleeing Eclypse. Good. Or was it? Molten gold irises widened in horror at the scene unfolding. Like two barrelling trains it was too late for the guardian in training to stop the impending collision of pup and bear, a swipe here and a yelp there sending a rush of fresh anger coursing through Galen's body despite the young beast making a hasty beeline for the treeline.

That meant there was now only one obstacle left.

Mama bear.