They were within shouting distance when Noir first heard the sounds of an upset creature. Rhyme had taken himself and Ignis on a rather long trip, and though he might have complained about his paws hurting a couple of times Noir was grateful to be out of Abaven. Now that he was getting older, and bigger, he was more keen on seeing the world. He had only been able to tease his sisters about the trip for a couple of hours before they left, but their jealous faces were still burned into his mind. Except for Poem, she had come along too but she was closer to Rhyme.

Noir looked over to Ignir, his father’s apprentice before the blue marked boy had been born. Noir liked him well enough, he was better than his sisters at least. The boy had frozen still as the underbrush began to rustle, blue and lavender eyes glued to the spot as the bear burst from the brown vegetation. Young Noir had little fear, and he stood his ground as the black bear barreled toward him.

He felt himself slip into his defenses, just like Rhyme had taught him. Legs equidistant apart weight evenly distributed with his ears to his skull and his striped tail a banner behind him. He felt his lips lift into as menacing a growl as a six month old pup could manage. He was only half a year old, but he was nearing his adult height. Though he felt himself brave and invincible the bear did not believe so and ran right at him.

Noir braced himself for the impact. The bear raised its right paw as it drew more near and aim to blow Noir right out of its path. The boy had woken the bear and now he had to face that consequence. He lost his nerve at the last moment, and instead of getting throw 20 foot into the forest he leapt out of the way. The thought that he had almost died was not in his mind, what he was worried about was Ignis thinking him a coward.

The boy skittered out of the way as his gaze returned to Ignis, an unspoken question lingering in his features. Did they take it on their own, or call for his dad and Poem? Noir thought the two of them capable enough to take down just a black bear.

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To say he was excited was a complete understatement. Ignis had never been to Auster before, and was more than happy to take the opportunity to go when Rhyme asked him. He knew his uncle wouldn't mind, but he had told him anyway at least so he'd know where he was at in the event something bad happened. But with all the training he was receiving from both Rhyme and his uncle, he felt like he had nothing to worry about. With eagerness he followed Rhyme and the pups away from Abaven, across the land bridge, and into the wild on the other side. The lands here were vastly different than what he was used to seeing, and there was nothing that didn't catch his attention. Even when Rhyme and his other kid split while he and Noir continued their venture, he felt a certain responsibility for the younger boy. Maybe if he showed he could be responsible, he could show everyone else he was capable of conquering anything! And that chance would come sooner than he thought. He wasn't too far from Noir, maybe a few yards when he heard the rustling. At first, he thought it was Noir checking out the different berries that grew here, but then he caught an unfamiliar smell and furrowed his brow. Turning around, he spotted Noir staring at the underbrush ahead of him. Alarm bells didn't initially go off, not until a black bear came running out of the bushes and straight towards the boy. It took him a short moment to kick his ass into gear, and in the short moments that stood between him and the bear and the pup, he watched as Noir seemed to try and stand up to the predator, but as the black bear raised a paw to knock the boy out of its path, Ignis' heart dropped for a moment. "Watch out!" To his panicked relief, however, Noir moved out of the way just in the nick of time as the bear swung. His own heart pounded in his chest, his adrenaline pumping, and as he caught Noir's gaze, he nodded. And that's when it happened. The protective instinct he felt over Noir, knowing he was his responsibility right now and the danger that the black bear presented to the boy. Ignis had never really been put into a situation that he could potentially control. When his sister had almost been coyote fodder, he had been too young to do anything. But now? He was a full grown mass of muscle and teeth. Not only that...but he felt something shift in his mind. Like a jolt of electricity and his brain rewiring. He barreled towards the black bear, teeth bared and a vicious snarl ringing in his ears. It was very much unlike the time he fought the tiger, but at that time, it was Rhyme protecting him. And now, he was protecting Rhyme's kid. Feet pounded the ground, heart pounding in his ears as his vision seemed to turn red. As he neared the black bear, it turned to face him in an attempt to scare him with the same tactic it had just tried on Noir. Except Ignis wasn't phased, and instead, crashed his entire body into the bear and effortlessly knocked it onto its side. Snarling, he turned his head inward and clamped his teeth firmly on the bears left shoulder, the crimson boy shaking his head to jolt and rip the flesh as if the bear were nothing more than a chew toy. He felt completely fearless, and somewhere underneath...felt the thirst for blood rising up. Word Count: 605 "Speech"

Art by Naiterion

By the time Ignis called out Noir was already on the move, for one so young he was fearless. However, he could see the sabre like claws that sought his flesh. He remembered what Shaye had been reduced to after the encounter with the small mountain lion. Noir wanted to be brave a fearless, but he wasn’t stupid. He cleared the claws as the bear regrouped and the bright red wolf who was his partner wordlessly agreed to his unspoked plight.

Ignis didn’t hesitate then, Noir could see the fire in the other boy’s eye and it ignited within him as well. Not the protective instinct, but the need to put his teeth to flesh. Like any wolf he lived by the blood of his prey, Noir wasn’t a great hunter but he had the killer instinct. That same urge awoke within him now and the blue marked boy raced after Ignis’ impressive form.

The boy only slowed when the bear was knocked on its side. Ignis was right on the bear, who had picked the wrong day to attack the pair of wolves. Noir skirted around behind the black furred beast and was splattered with blood from the ferocity of the red yearling’s attack. Noir was grinning when he added in his two cents. Avoiding the pointy parts Noir aimed to sink his teeth deep into the bear’s thick haunches. He mimicked Ignis’ movements and shook his head vigorously as his teeth sunk in.

Blood filled his mouth as adrenaline rushed through his young form. His eyes were bright and Noir felt more alive than ever before. The rush was incredible, he was so close to those giant claws. Though Ignis would be taking most of the brunt. He was a bigger target and closer than Noir, a fact the boy had been fully aware of when he attacked. He re-positioned his grip and shook his head violently again, managing to start a huge hole in the bear’s thigh. Blood covered the dark furred boy’s front. From his chin down to his toes bear blood began to stain.

The sudden foot to his face would displace the boy completely. The black bear had managed to kick at the pup, Noir felt the impact to his face and was forced to back down. He did manage to hold in his pained yelp as dark paws scrambled to retreat. Gritting his teeth he looked for another opening, unwilling to get kicked in the mouth again.

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He had managed to keep Noir out of harms way for the most part as his teeth tore away at the bears shoulder. He was vaguely aware of Noir's position, but his mind focused mainly on the bear in his jaws. The pained sounds from the bear grew in intensity when Noir sunk his own teeth somewhere else, and Ig's eyes darted to the boy for a brief moment before darting back to the bears face. It was contorted in pain as it struggled against the heavy weight of the crimson wolf, and he wasn't full aware about just how much he had grown until this moment. This young bear was about the same age as him if not a little older, and they probably matched each other in weight. He was sure that when he turned two, his weight would probably be double what it is now. Ignis released his grip on the black bear and readied himself to lunge for another bite, but not before the black bear batted at him with a heavy paw as it rolled onto its feet. Snarling at the brief distraction and contact, Ig uttered a fierce bark and prepared to fight again, but the bear turned away instead. Realizing that it was already severely injured, it grunted with pain and hobbled away, glancing back once before heading towards the bushes. "Let it go," He didn't take his eyes off of the bears path, just to make sure it really was leaving. While he would have had no problem killing it if he had to, he didn't want the extra bloodshed and risk if it wasn't necessary. Once he was sure the bear had gone and its scent was fading, he slowly lowered his hackles and stopped snarling before turning to Noir, "You alright?" "Speech"

Art by Naiterion