Put Up Your Dukes

Shilah was on patrol. Now that he was more used to the territories the Hallows occupied he was spending his mornings patrolling the borders and making sure there was nothing amiss or if anyone needed help. This morning he was working his way through the Sunset Falls. He carefully climbed from one level to another. The falls here were beautiful, stunning in the way water rippled and flowed down he mountain side. He'd seen a wide variety of waterfalls in his travels but never anything quite like this. The fact that it was possible to walk along the levels of he waterfall made it all the more enticing.

He did have to admit that the Hallows had settled in a nice set of territories even if it was quite different from what he was used to. Having grown up on a vast steppe it was taking him a bit of practice to get used to the level changes and forested areas of his new home. He was used to looking out and being able to see clear across the horizon. Now his view was obstructed much of the time. He needed to rely more on his hearing and sense of smell, not just his sight.

Speaking of hearing. He heard something stirring below, off near the eastern border of the Hallows territory. Shilah carefully started to work his way down. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something big and dar slip into a shallow cave near the base of the falls. He knew it was a black bear. Shilah did not know for sure what the rules were when it came to sharing their land with other predators but in truth he didn't need to. The Hallows had young pups. Bears ate pups. It was really that simple and so the bear had to go.

Shilah worked stealthily downward a paw at a time to the eastern border where the bear was currently squatting. He was so used to doing things on his own that it hadn't occurred to him to call for back up first. Shilah moved cautiously, slinking down the mountainside until he found he cavern the black bear had wedged itself into. Shilah growled, ears back as he set his defenses and prepared for a fight. He didn't plan to beat it into submission but he was quick on his feet and felt confident he could annoy the larger predator right out of their territory.

The bear was not happy with the wolf's presence. A low growl rumbled forth from is throat but Shilah was not put off. He had a mission. Shilah darted forward, snapping his jaws at the bear, fangs nipping the bear's front left arm. The bear snarled and swatted at him but it was only barely out of the cavern. Shilah barked and bounded forward, snapping again, nipping and biting at any bit of exposed flesh. The bear leapt forward as it tried to bite him. Shilah ducked under the bear's head, twisting his jaws up to grasp the underside of the bear's lower jaw.

Startled the bear growled and pushed out with its forearms, knocking Shilah away and sending hims kidding a short ways down the mountainside. The bear was fully out of the cavern now, moving closer to the edge to see where the wolf had gone. Nimble on his feet, Shilah was already circling back around behind the bear. He leap forward, jaws delivering a harsh bite to the bear's backside. The bear shot forward and twisted around just in time to avoid tumbling off he ledge. Shilah moved protectively in front of he cavern. If he could keep the bear from what it wanted long enough then perhaps it would leave.

The bear seemed to hesitate. It roared again, trying to frighten him but Shilah simply growled back, hackles on end as he took a step forward. The bear charged once more and Shilah moved in low, ramming his chest into the bear's front right leg. This caused the bear to stumble and thanks to his own speed Shilah was able to slip out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by the bear's falling form. The bear struggled back to is feet. Shilah placed himself precariously near the edge on purpose and growled. He yelled insults at the larger predator though he doubted the bear understood him.

Anger blazed in the bear's eyes as it charged once more, determined to cut the wolf down to size. Shilah leapt forward at an angle away from the bear at the last possible second, just barely avoiding impact. The bear was less fortunate. It didn't have enough time to slow itself down and it went tumbling over the ledge. Shilah heard the frustrated yowl and the cascade of falling rocks as the bear tumbled all the way to the bottom. It got up and limped away.