It was early morning and particularly warm that day. Excitement raced through her as she bounded down the carved steps toward the shore. From the castle, she knew her father would be keeping a watchful eye. Unlike last time though, Bramble had practice swimming and would be capable of keeping herself alive. Above her, Bristle, her raven soared in the pockets of salty sea air. Holding back was her fisher, Berry, as he wasn't too fond of getting wet. Instead, the weasel sat on the rocks and stared at the small tide pools hoping to catch a snack. Colors of orange, red, and pink tinted the surface of the water as the sun continued to rise. As her large paws hit the sand, Bramble spotted a peculiar creature lounging on the shore. Both of her ears tilted forward as her head lifted up high. Widening her eyes with curiosity as her lips released a quiet gasp of awe, she began approaching. Whatever the lump of an animal was, he looked so cool! The rounded head with long whiskers and large tusks of a male sea lion lifted to watch the young girl bound over. An alarm call rose from the marine animal's throat in warning. Bramble would stop, tilt her head, and stare at him curiously. The sea lion continued to stare at her apprehensively. Unsure if the sea lion was friend or foe, the girl bent down into a play bow with her wagging tail curled over her back. Barking loudly a few times at the creature, she let her tongue lolling from her mouth happily. Unfortunately, her new friend didn't like that. Suddenly, the sea lion was super pissed and began charging at her. "Hey, whoa, not cool!" Bramble screeched as she moved fluidly from bow to lunge and aimed to swipe her sharp cat claws at the aggressor. Fight large predator (Sea Lion) - 1/3

Beauregard had finished patrolling a portion of Lazuli Falls and, as he came towards the edge of the territory, he decided a little trip couldn’t hurt. With Blind trotting at his side, the arctic fox was quick to whine and complain about the warmer weather. “I liked it better when we were in the North, Beau…” She told him, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted. Beauregard offered her an apologetic smile. There was nothing left for them in the North, not when Menagerie had fallen. Ethne was a new home, and… after visiting the Shore with Tan and the others that day, he had come to fall in love with the place. It was a beautiful beach, breathtaking as the sun began to set. He wasn’t sure if Blind would like swimming, but on a day like today, it felt like a wonderful opportunity to swim against stronger currents and test his muscles. The closer he got he noticed the texture of the earth between his paws begin to shift. Soil started to mix with sand, becoming softer, spongier, and the smell of salt invaded the air. That wasn’t all though. He heard the warning bellow- the call of a marine beast. Not quite like the rumble of a walrus, but Beau felt his heartbeat quicken at the sound. As if urged by the call Beauregard quickened his pace… and good thing he did. It didn’t take long before he saw the sea lion, and the pup it was charging. No! Something shot through his heart as his expression became more serious, and the wolf snarled, putting on a burst of speed towards the sea dog. Well… sea lion, technically, but it barked, so it was a sea dog. Blue gaze narrowed as he called out to the beast, hoping to alert it to his presence and get it to focus on him instead of the girl. “Leave her alone!” Fangs flashed as he made his way through the sand, sending it every which way. The sleek brown beast turned toward him as Beauregard lunged, hoping towards the blubbery beast’s back. Fangs sank in and he regretted it. Yuck! He cringed as it started to thrash, flailing its flippers at Bramble as it also tried to dislodge the ashen cream male on its back. Now he knew why he’d used his dagger the first time around! Blind came in too, barking and yipping as a little antagonizer. She shot a cocky grin at the pup, calling out to her. “Come on kid, let's show this oversized hunk of fat not to mess with pretty girls ever again!” Maybe not the best encouraging a pup to fight a larger predator but, well, it’d be fine as long as they won! Fight Large Predator (Sea Lion) - 1 / 3 "Talk, 'Think.'

The young Carpathian princess would never back down from a fight! Even as the sea lion aimed to bite and smack her with its flippers, she pressed toward it. Barking and snapping her own jaws in its direction, she kept lunging at it until a flipper got her good against the shoulder. She yips as she leaps back. In those few moments as she shakes herself to rid of the pain, another wolf comes charging in. Bramble watches him leap onto the sea lion and dig his fangs into it. Her eyes widen in awe as he begins to take on the sea lion. Completely awestruck at the valiant behavior, she blinks as the companion barks at her and encourages her to fight too! A brilliant smile crosses her lips as she barks in response. “Yeah, we’ll teach him!” She yips back before diving back into the fray. Aiming for a flipper, Bramble is able to latch on as the stranger distracts the creature. Holding on tightly, she is flung back and forth across the sand as the sea lion is also struggling to keep going. Fight a large predator (Sea Lion) 2/3

Blood pulled in Beauregard’s mouth as he kept biting, letting his fangs sink through thick blubber. He was sure that with how the beast was thrashing, so long as he held on, it would allow him to get to its skeleton. Snapping the thing’s neck would be the most ideal, to keep it from moving or ever daring to charge at a wolf again. Still, as the metallic liquid pooled around the fatty meat in his mouth Beau would furrow his brow and wrinkle his nose in disgust. Next time he was going to take a different approach to fighting such an opponent. He really wasn’t fond of the taste of this beast at all. It was too salty, too fatty, and a pain in the ass to stay on top of. As it thrashed, now with the young woman on its flipper, he slipped and slid on its back, claws slicing into its back as he dug them in with the hope of holding on. On the plus side it was starting to slow. The sea lion was still protesting, but with the weight it was now battling, and the blood it was losing, it was on the losing side of a battle. Beauregard began to pull back, bracing himself on the back of the sea lion. It would give a drawn out bellow, and Beau figured it wouldn’t be much longer now before he could to a weak point and could break it down. He could hear Blind in the background, yipping and snapping at the sea lion and it flailed the yearling its flipper back and forth. But even those flails were becoming weaker. Beauregard wouldn’t give up, and, from the corner of his eye as he glanced over at the girl, he was sure she wasn’t going to relent either. ----- Fought a large predator: Sea Lion - 2 / 3 "Speech," 'Thought.'

Feeling her head swell with dizziness from being flung around, she knew she had to stabilize herself soon. Her own mouth filled with blood as her canines dug in to the thick rubbery flubber of the sea lion’s flipper. The coppery flavor combined with the salty and fatty flavor of their opponent was definitely not the most appetizing. She would rather get this over with and have fun with the rest of her day. Or maybe a nap because this was tiring! Thankfully, to the efforts of the stranger, the sea lion was beginning to slow. It slowed enough that she could gain purchase on the sand beneath her. Now able to dig her paws into the packed sand, she leaned back so that the flipper was pulled away from the sea lion’s body. She could tell her jaw was getting tired, but so was their opponent. It’s efforts were slowing and she was able to dig her teeth in more until she was able to fully keep the flipper away. Taking a moment to look over at the man, she hoped he could see the pleading look in her eyes. If he could at least knock the sea lion out or something so that they could be finished, she would be so grateful of him! Bramble Carpathius

Sure enough the sea lion was starting to tire enough that the yearling was able to find her footing in the sand. That was the opening that Beauregard had been hoping for. The beast at their paws was panting, and it was time to end this once and for all. He didn’t care for the taste of this beast, but he knew one of Bellamy’s children was a polar bear. Surely the child would be delighted with such a feast, and so would any wolf who could get over the weird fatty and salty flavor of this thing. He’d release his hold on the sea lion’s neck and draw his dagger. All he needed was a good blow. He’d grip the hilt in his fangs and bring it down toward the base of the sea lion’s skull. Another couple seconds and a twist of the blade and the sea lion went limp beneath him. Beau sheathed the dagger, jumping down into the sand below beside Blind. The fox was panting, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she grinned at the Hallows wolf. Beauregard spat - he couldn’t help it and he wanted the taste of that thing out of his mouth - and then looked over at her with a smile as well. “Glad that’s over… you weren’t hurt by that thing, were you?” Now that the threat was neutralized it would be important to check for injuries. Introductions could come after… and some rest once the adrenaline wore off. "Talk, 'Think.'