Áskell was going exploring. He wanted to climb Mount Volkan and see what was up there at the very top. Ok, so he probably couldn't climb all of it, but he wanted to see how high he could get before lunch time and maybe he could find a cool rock or something to take back to his dad. He bounded up a narrow path, working his way up the mountain when a dark opening in the side of the mountain caught his attention. Oooooo a cave! He could find some cool cave stuff. Áskell meandered over to the cave, rocks skidding and tumbling down the side of the mountain as he accidentally knocked them loose. He peaked into the cave and a first he didn't see anything but as he wandered farther in he suddenly heard something moving… something big. Áskell stared in horror as a large grizzly bear turned around and stared right at him.

SHIBA KLEIN

Shiba was eager to begin exploring her new home and familiarize herself with the territory. Eventually she would need to seek those in her family that she had yet to speak to since she returned, and maybe she would run into someone while she was out that morning. She set out up the side of the volcano, curious to see what it might look like, if there would be any trace left of the former devastation she’d heard about. The scent of a bear caught her attention, and she was about to move away when she noticed something else. She was going to turn away, a bear was certainly not something she had any interest in catching the attention of, but she saw the pup slip into the cave. "Shit!" She hissed, quickening her pace. She moved in, attempting to step around the pup and place herself between him and the bear. "Carefully back out of the den, and go get help. Slowly, I’ll try to keep it’s attention on me." She spoke quietly, not taking her eyes off of the beast and praying that the pup would do as he was told before they both got killed.

"Speech."

His fur and hackles stood on end and he dared a growl at the grumpy bear but it was not impressed. It took a step toward him and his heart raced. What should he do? His ears flicked back, pinning to his head as he heard someone approach. It was a woman he didn't recognize but she smelt of Habari and boy was he glad to see an adult here.

The woman spoke and Áskell nodded before slowly stepping backwards. Just as he turned to make a run for it though the bear charged and he let out a yell, just narrowly avoiding one of the beast's massive, claw-filled paws. Áskell bounded out of the cave and slipped as he tried to descend the mountain.

Habringr had been focusing on his patrols and had told his sons to stay around the den. Of course he didn't really expect them to listen but as he rounded the old oak tree and caught scent of the bear he just had a feeling. Hari moved swiftly, following the scent in time to see the bear, Áskell, and one of his pack mates standing between the pup and the bear. Harbringr saw the bear lunge and he charged forward, fangs digging into the bear's left shoulder. It roared and Hari quickly let go, nimbly avoiding the bear's fangs. He then bit hard into the bear's knee. Snarling the bear leapt forward, breaking free of the wolf as it turned and snorted, watching the wolves as it seemed to be debating about attacking again. "Áskell, get out of here, now!"

Áskell struggled as he got back to his feet, narrowly avoiding the bear as it lunged again. However, this time his father joined in the fray. He let out a joyful yell and he grinned as he watched his father battle the bear, however it wasn't long before he was ordered to go and he nodded swiftly before turning around and taking off. He worked the rest of the way down the mountainside and scrambled away across the rocky terrain and back toward the red bud nook. He was excited to see his brother again and while part of him was worried about his father fighting a bear, in his eyes his dad was the best fighter ever and there was no way his dad was going to lose.

-exi+-

SHIBA KLEIN

Thankfully the boy listened, moving towards the exit but there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief as the movement caught the bears attention and it lunged to swipe at the retreating pup. She lunged forward, snapping her teeth and letting out a growl to pull the attention back to her. Her heart beat frantically as she growled, the sound of a small body slipping reached her ears. She was at a loss for what to do, but before long, someone else approached. She didn’t see who it was at first, the large figure lunging in and attacking the bear before she could fully register what was happening.

The man’s voice commanding the pup to go pulled her back to reality, and she watched the bear closely, ready to attack if needed. She was certainly not a fighter, but having another adult in there with her gave her a slight edge of confidence that she might not have otherwise had. She was fully prepared to follow the man's lead, assuming he had a better idea of how to handle the situation than she did. The last thing she wanted was to further provoke the bear if there was a chance it might back down and leave them alone, but turning her back on the larger predator also seemed like a very bad idea.

"Speech."

Habringr was grateful that his son actually listened to him instead of arguing. For once the twerp obeyed and scrambled away towards their den. Now they had to just deal with the bear. Hari saw the uncertainty in the creature's eyes. He stalked forward slowly, hackles raised and snarling as ferociously as he could. Now that there were two wolves and it had already suffered injuries the bear opted to back down. It turned and lumbered away. As soon as it was out of eye shot he let out a relieved sigh and turned to Shiba. "Ah, thank you so much. I'm glad you were here, I owe you." He smiled as he gazed at her. It was good to see another of his sisters up and about.

SHIBA KLEIN

It wasn’t much longer before the bear decided to back down, but each painstaking second felt like it stretched on for an eternity. She held her breath, trying to make herself appear as intimidating as she could despite the icy prickles of fear running along her spine. Once it was gone though, she finally let herself exhale, shoulders slumping as the tension left her muscles. Finally, she turned to look to see who it was that had rushed in, and was pleasantly surprised to see her brother. She had come to Habari knowing it was a new leg of the Empire, and had known her family was here, but it was nice to finally actually see a familiar face. She smiled at him, shaking her head at his thanks. "Of course. And thank you for saving my ass, I’m not sure what more I could have done than distract the thing for a while." She then looked off in the direction the pup had disappeared, a question lingering at the forefront of her mind. "Is he… Was that your son?" She looked back to him, curious to hear his answer. She assumed from his words that the child was important to him in a way that went beyond just being another pup in the pack, and with how long she’d been gone it would make sense that many of her siblings would have had children of their own by now.

"Speech."

Habringr grinned and nodded. "Yes, one of my son's. I have two boys now. That was Áskell and the other is called Jigsaw." It was strange how time moved and changed future plans. He never thought he'd have children after the loss of his wife and now he had two. Not only that but they were growing swiftly. Come winter they would be 9 months old. Almost yearlings already. It was alarming how quickly time seemed to pass and he pawed for a moment at the woven, golden band around his left wrist. "Speaking of my son's I better make sure Áskell got back to the den and that Jigsaw isn't also out wandering around here. Kids will wear you ragged!"

-exit?-