Switzerland [Hep!]

[moxi]

Yet bitterly cold, the river ran quick with melting ice and snow, crumbling blocks of ice swept along, promising a current quick enough to do away with any and all that challenged it. Sure, gentle eddies formed further down the way, but the closer you came to the roaring of the waterfall, the more violent the waters became. Churning with pale foam and a fearsome grumble, the water seemed not to deter the quick-footed female, bundled in her winter's finest. Rather, it excited her, spurring her on as she dragged along a limp rabbit. Occasionally she would tease the water, devilishly skirting broad puddles, stomping through muck and mire with a proud little shake of her hinds kicking off thick globs of dark mud. Seemingly aimless (or perhaps flaunting her prize to the woodland critters - "You're next!"), her path became steadily more erratic as she finally tore away from the river's side and shook a rather heavy coat of mist from her fur, ignorant of the cold and any possible onlookers.

Into the wood and over exposed roots she hummed, curling around trees like a snake, leaving tufts of fur where she rubbed too close to the bark of passing trees, going out of her way conquering boulders and small cliffs when they appeared. Steadily her contendors "fell" and her trip grew longer as the terrain grew even rockier, the rabbit's once limp sway becoming heavier and more stiff as the cold set in, bringing with it rigor to the dead flesh. She would occasionally halt to adjust her hold on the meal now and again, shaking her head and working her jaws loose again before starting off again into the wood.

She was seemingly unaware of just how terrifyingly close she came to and danced through bear territory and in fact made a definite turn, beginning deeper into the dangerzone. Oblivious, she sniffed the mouths of dark dens, and perhaps she was daft, perhaps she couldn't catch the reek of bear... but without so much as a a hint of hesitation she began into the 'den of evil', so to speak, rabbit in tow and sure to wake a very crabby bear easily this late in its annual slumber.

[iscourge]

H E P H A E S T U S

Life in the pack changed drastically after the disappearance of the Eastern Alpha. No patrols were being set up, (dangerous, considering the rebel Moonrunner held her pack borders with their own,) Nothing was being hunted as a group collective, (how could it be, with the Alphess having pups, and the rest of the pack slightly confused without someone calling the shots,) and finally, said borders were not properly being marked.

This led to many an appearance of a strange wolf who scented the old markers, back from when the snows still blanketed the earth.

The male kept his furrowed gaze upon the bushes, and after coming upon an eager scent- a fae and some blood, he lifted his leg, made a mark, and quickly set off to follow her, curious as to her general direction.

Her path led easily into bear territory, and his muzzle raised quietly, sniffing the exposed air. His lips drew back- this fae was young, and likely to get herself hurt.... She probably believed this trail was nothing more than a shortcut. So, he hiked up his tail, and padded forward, afraid of nothing. He himself was the size of a small bear, and with his ferociously shining teeth, he figured no bear would dare cross his path.

The scent grew heavier and heavier, until he could see her tracks in the damp ground. "Hello~?" he called out in a baritone voice, hoarse with misuse. He never spoke much, only calling out on occasion whenever it was unnecessary for him to speak up, or when it seemed like he needed to bring up a valid point in a pack meeting.

[moxi]

She jumped, shoulders scraping the entrance of the den (less a comment on the den, more on how much air she'd managed to gain in a rather straight-legged bounce) as he called out. Thoroughly startled, she maneuvered awkwardly in the small den and dropped her prey, kicking the body back behind her and against a rather solid wall of dark fur with a sleepy glint of narrow eyes peering from behind a rather powerful shoulder somewhat wasted from a winter's fast.

She'd come to wake her playmate, to rouse the bear and begin their adventure again for some while again before settling somewhere safe and secluded, even if they never got particularly far from this tract of land. Still, the voice was unfamiliar but begged reply in its rasp of misuse, and her haunches shivered not unlike those of a cat prepared to pounce, her chest snuggled against the damp wall of mulch and mud many years compounded. And she waited.

The giant crossed her path (presumably, she was unaware she was being actively tracked), momentarily startling her. Unused to meeting wolves so large, she gave him a moment of slack-jaw awe before rocketing out of the cave and bouncing to a sudden halt, comparing herself mentally to the beast before darting forward with a sharp click of her teeth, shooting back the way she'd come and striking a rather bold 'play' posture, if only for a split second, tail curled lazily over her back as if she did not question her own claims to dominance (and who would with the hitting power she had behind her? Although that wasn't quite how one rationalized having been adopted, more or less, by a bear). "You smell like others, do you have a family?"

Small and rude, she certainly made quite the impression, now dancing one foot over the other in a half-hearted, impatient shuffle near the cave, raising her voice just a bit too much for anywolf's comfort. "What are you doing out here? Doesn't your pack have what you need?" She made a strange sweeping gesture with one paw, tone shifting to a might bit of annoyance as she turned to duck into the den again, unimpressed.

Within the cave, the sleeping giant stirred restlessly as if trying to catch only a few moments more of shut eye.

[iscourge]

H E P H A E S T U S

He seemed genuinely shocked, his gaze watching the pup-like wolf bounce around the forest floor like it was a massive playground, like there wasn't a horrendous monster of a bear dozing behind her.

"Uhhhhh...." His ears pressed flat against his skull, and he began to get a slight headache from the hyperactive fae. The scent of bear grew ever clearer in his nostrils, and with one paw stepping back, his gaze hardened, and narrowed.

His tail curled high into the air, and his stoic gaze pushed deeper into the cave- that flash of light that alerted him to the bear- it startled him, but didn't seem to bother the pup at all.

Though he was slightly confused, he bounded forward, his teeth gently falling over her scruff, and pulled her from the mouth of the cave. Though he said nothing, the motivation was clear- save this dim-witted pup from the mean and nasty bear lurking inside.

[moxi]

Ansa gave a sharp yelp, not having felt the teeth of another in quite some time it was both eye-opening and hurtful to the ego-monster and she kicked and fought the reactive cringe, managing to only to pull her fur and leave a few unpleasant marks where he'd grazed through the overcoat, although by the grace of winter's passing she did drop from his jaws with a wet 'thump', leaving him with a mouthful of dropping hair, staring up at him with a look of utter confusion.

It was at that moment that the den erupted with the bellow of a groggy, furious bear, her bulk shaking dirt and rocks loose, her bellow making the bare and budding limbs above quiver pitifully. Like a tank she zeroed in, making a bee-line for the young female who'd hardly earned the title of adult and the perceived attacker, rearing up on her hinds with another deafening roar and a swing of her great fores. Ansa, shocked not only by having been snatched up, but by her companion's reaction, seemed in momentary shock before bringing her feet back beneath her, tail lofted defiantly with a sharp click of her jaws to follow. "No."

Hungry and only barely awake the bear hesitated a moment, jaws slowly closing as her paws tucked to her belly, posture swaying before she landed with a heavy 'thump' on her rear. Her ears slid back, brow furrowing intently as she studied the male with an unsettling level of scrutiny, fores wrapping possessively around the younger wolf when she slunk forward and under those great paws, snuggling up in the thick of the beast's fur with a pleased sound in the back of her throat, a look of triumph spread on her long muzzle, a grin of jagged teeth bared in a most friendly manner.

This victory again lifted her to her paws, tail yet lofted as she half climbed, half vaulted the bear's grasp, clicking her teeth to punctuate. "No." Mistress of the wood would not be denied her command, and she commanded all, great or small. Hep might have done better to tuck tail and run when he'd happened first upon her scent.