Seraphine had been making her way along the crumbling rocks towards the stream. Thoughts of fishing on her mind when another Elysium wolf paused at the border. Kichi, she believed his name to be. He stopped, looking as if he had forgotten something, and then turned to her. She blinked at him, almost surprised to be seen. She felt like she had spent the majority of her life fading into the woodwork.

His words, when spoken were short and to the point. He wanted a hunting partner. “sure” the scaled woman said, giving a short nod in agreement. Together, they could bring down something bigger than a fish or two.

She followed him out of the pack lands and across to firefly lake. The lake was an attraction to deer, and often brought the stub-tailed creatures to its shore. She wasn’t much for speech, and it seemed her companion was the same. It left a comfortable silence between them as they hit the lake, and began to track for their prey. With Autumn in the air, the day was chillingly cold. She could almost taste the frost on her tongue. Was that snow in the air? She could only hope they got their prey back to pack lands before it fell.

As they found the right scent for deer, the fur at the back of her neck stood on end. The feeling of something watching them overcoming her. Could it be? Had her self-proclaimed father finally found her?

250/1500


"Speech"

Kichi was relieved the wolf he invited to go with him also was content to be silent.  He’d spent too much of his life alone and too much of his life in hatred of life itself to be keen on making friends.  Still, he was in a pack now and he needed to do better at learning to work with others.  At least this one didn’t need to chat while they moved.

The scent of the deer drew Kichi forward, a sense of joy coming at the hunt ahead but with a bit of hesitation.  Kichi knew how to hunt small game alone but he had much less experience in hunting with other wolves.  His eyes flicked over to Sera but saw something he hadn’t expected.  His pack mate seemed on edge and Kichi took another moment to sniff the air cautiously.

He caught the scent but it was needless as he smelled it as surely as he saw the polar bear charging around some trees that had hid it from them, through the brush and coming straight towards him.  Kichi had lost to a grizzly recently and he wasn’t about to lose to this bear also!

Kichi snarled at the imposing sight, squared off, and ran towards it as well.  Kichi was planning to go to one side and bite for a leg but he wasn’t respecting the bear’s speed enough.  Even as Kichi tried to go for a front leg the bear spun about so Kichi was staring it face to face.  A big paw swept out and Kichi tried to retreat in time but his backside got struck, by the paw and thankfully not claws for the most part but it still ent him tumbling.


"Kichi"

The thought of her father was sudden, and irrational. Despite her desire to hide her reaction, she couldn’t fully contain the way she stiffened. Alert, and sampling the air. There was someone here, she was sure of it. Someone that saw the two wolves as prey. Of course her first thought went to the man that had stolen her. He had been the sole focus of her life for too long for her to consider that it might be another kind of threat entirely.

She saw Kichi next to her, glance at her, and then sniff the air himself. Catching on to her unease. What was that? What was that smell? Musky and large and as icy as winter itself. Not her father, definitely. It was almost like - there! The white, powerful creature came hurtling towards them.

For a moment too long she froze. Fear of a fight and contact and her own inadequacies rooting her to the spot. If it wasn’t for Kichi she would have been bear food. The other wolf didn’t hesitate for a moment. He went charging in, as if the great white wasn’t far out of his weight class, and wasn’t a thousand pounds of raw muscle bearing down on him. Sera paused again, watching in astonishment as a large paw swept him and sent him tumbling. Giving an opening for the bear. At last, Sera’s paws began to move.

Not away, like was sensible and logical and the only practical thing to do. No, the girl went running with a howl towards her packmate. Now that the bear wasn’t charging, she had speed on her side. She moved to the opposite side of the bear. Fainting in, pretending to take a bite and dashing away from the large paws, which missed her by a breath. She felt the air of the hit fluttering through her fur. Then she was charging back to Kichi’s side, clenching her teeth about the nape of his neck and shuddering a full body shiver at the contact as she attempted to haul him back to his feet.

878/1500

"Speech"

Kichi had to get his breath but he wasn’t the sort to give up easily.  Kichi’s own blood burned to spill the blood of everything else that breathed.  He’d enjoy stopping their breath, spilling out all their blood, and watching the reality of death shown in their eyes.  The fact the bear had knocked him down made the desire all the stronger.  Even on his side, Kichi’s fangs were bared and his hate soaring.

Sera was shown appreciation in the form of Kichi getting up quickly and separating without a glance.  Kichi ran in a wide circle trying to get around the bear.  His lower part of the back was sore but nothing was broken and while there was surely some bleeding back there it wasn’t enough to fear bleeding out.  Kichi’s body had numerous scars from other predators or other wolves so what was a little blood to him?  Nor did he care how his back informed him of pain, it just fueled the inner rage.  

Kichi snarled at his own body trying to be slower, forcing it to speed up so that he managed to get behind the bear, attempting to leap on its back, biting for the shoulder.  For a moment it worked, he was on the giant bear, teeth in its shoulder, working to pull away flesh and muscle but the bear lifted its front end off the ground and Kichi was forced to half leap and half fall off.  The bear did have some blood on its shoulder but Kichi barely managed to get away when it lunged in to bite the grey and white wolf.  

The blood in his mouth tasted wonderful.

WC 1156

"Kichi"

The man was madness. There had to be no sanity behind his baby blue eyes as he got to his paws, separated from her, and went charging back into the frey. Back into the arms of the largest bear she had ever seen in her life. She was certain she was going to be holding the body of her broken packwolf before the day was out. Would Manea blame her? Throw her from the frail safety of this pack?

She stood there a moment, and then leaped forward herself. Prancing just outside the bear's arms. Running support, and looking for an opportunity to distract it. Not trusting her ability to lay an actual bite and not get crushed into the earth like meaty paste. This went on for a moment, Kichi lunging in, and Seraphina attempting to buy him time to get out again. On the last attack, as Kichi tore blood from its shoulder, and Sera howled for the bear’s attention, it turned to her too quickly, smacking her with a paw that felt like the trunk of a tree and smashing her to the ground. She saw stars dancing above her eyes, and tasted blood on her tongue. Foolish. All her caution and life on the run was wasted. She panted heavily, and tried to find her paws, but the stars wouldn't shake.

All she could do was lie there weakly in the snow, and wait for the end to take her. She closed her eyes, and the world around her dimmed. The blow to her head had been nasty, and she let the darkness take her.

1425/1500

"Speech"

Kichi was ready to go at the bear again!  All the hate that lived in him wanted to lash out at it.  His fight with Sara against the bear they’d lost and it was the last thing he wanted to have to happen again!  Still, as he was getting ready to rush the giant monster a problem occurred.

The bear’s strike hit the other wolf he’d brought along and she went sprawling.  Kichi quickly moved between bear and wolf, snarling at it and waiting for her to get up.  Waiting.  Why wasn’t she trying to get up?  The bear was moving forward and Kichi snapped at it to try and keep it at bay, getting a paw swiped at him for it.  

Damn it!  Kichi grabbed the wolf by her scruff and started dragging her back, rage fueling his strength to and he tossed half the wolf’s body onto his back.  She was technically smaller than Kichi but not by much.  She was heavy but he was determined and rage-fueled his strength and the pressure on his sore back added pain that pushed him forward.  Hate in his eyes was turned on the bear as he started walking off.  Running with the weight of this other wolf on him wasn’t possible.

Whether it was the glare he gave the bear or more likely the fact they were admitting defeat and the bear was at least in some pain it didn’t charge them.  The bear did stand up, roar, and boast a lot pissing Kichi off more if possible but it didn’t attack.  Kichi kept a cautious gaze on it but was able to get him and this other wolf out of the bear's area and headed a trek towards home.

WC 1715

"Speech"