Making her way back toward Elysium after her brief visit to the northern pines, she decided to make a little stop in the Polar Sound. She had to go around it anyway so she might as well pay a visit to the place that had such sentimental memories for her and Saracyn. It crossed her mind to send one of her ravens up ahead of her to see if Sara wanted to meet her here for the night, but she ultimately decided against it. The Sound was very close to Elysium so they could visit any time. There was no need to bring him out here when she was already going to be a bit tired from a day of travel and exploration. Planning a night out at the Sound was certainly not a bad idea though so she made a note to work that into their busy schedule soon.

Carefully making her way down the steep slope, she followed a winding path that had formed from the many individuals that had passed through here time and time again. By the time she made it down to where the water cut inward the sun was nearing the horizon, the sky lit up with bright reds and purples. She wouldn't be able to stay long, but she walked down to the edge of the water regardless, looking out over the horizon and enjoying the view. The only problem with having such a breathtaking view was that she didn't notice the grizzly bear cubs that was playing a little further down the shore line or–more importantly–their mother looming protectively in the trees behind them. By the time she noticed the low growling behind her and turned around toward it the mother bear was already stalking toward her. Ava immediately started backing away, baring her teeth with a warning growl of her own and her hackles bristling. She thought that if she put enough distance between herself and the cubs the mother might back off, but it didn't seem like the mother was going to back down without a fight and she braced herself as the bear charged toward her with a bellowing roar.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Taiga had been spending more and more time away from the rest of her little group as of late. Even Rannoch was left behind as the lioness' hungry paws traveled, eating up the land. Today she was in the Polar Sound; a place that she'd visited more than once. Big, bad things seemed to follow her and so the feline was always expecting a fight. Perhaps it was her size or the fact that most creatures had never seen a beast like herself, but Taiga was a magnet for trouble. Everyone wanted to test their chops on her.

Today it seemed that trouble would find her, but it wouldn't be directed at her. Today, she would willingly head face first into trouble as she had many times before. Taiga was a protector. She naturally wanted to keep things weaker than herself safe. So, when she saw a big brown bear going after a little wolf, the cat had no other thought than offering aid.

The bear bellowed at the wolf and Taiga, who stood behind the bear, roared in reply. The cubs scattered but the mother turned to face this new foe. Lips peeled back to bare horridly long canine teeth and the lioness squared up, ready to meet her attacker if the bear chose fight rather than flight.

"Seniorita Murder Mittens"

Avacyn had already resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have no choice but fight off this bear or attempt to run from it when the bear's roar was outdone by the roar of another, catching her and the bear off guard. Blinking with surprise she peeked past the bear as she spun around to face this new opponent, her dark gaze landing on the figure of an absolutely towering feline. Ava's eyes widened with shock for a moment and she thought for a brief moment that this was her chance to run so that the big cat that towered over even this grizzly bear could handle this, but then recognition hit her all at once. The memory of being ambushed by a tiger when she was little in the territory that hadn't yet become Elysium's land came to mind and she immediately recognized this massive lioness as the one that had come to her rescue back then. A little smirk crossed her lips with a soft chuckle. What were the chances they'd cross paths like this again after so long?

Returning her attention to the bear that now stood between the two of them, she decided to stand her ground now that she recognized the lioness as a friend instead of another foe. She slightly hoped that the bear would just realized that she was outmatched and would run off, but bears were never the brightest or most logical creatures. The moment that the bear tried to lunge forward toward Taiga Avacyn leapt into action, hooking her large tiger-like paws around the bear's hind leg, her claws sinking into its flesh while she bit down around the back of its knee with a quick, hard twist to tear through muscle. The bear immediately roared, its leg beginning to buckle even before she released their opponent and made a graceful leap backward out of the bear's reach once more. She smirked and licked the blood off of her lips as the bear turned with a bit of a stumble so that both of them were in view, its confidence clearly shaken. Avacyn side stepped a bit so she was closer to Taiga's side, baring her teeth at the bear threateningly once more. Would she learn her lesson this time or did they still have a fight on their hands?

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Taiga didn't recognize the wolf that she was assisting. Wolves kind of all looked the same to the big cat. There was a little niggling there when she caught the canine's scent, but there wasn't time to sort through her memory banks for a match.

The bear came for her but before it could reach her, the purple wolf had crippled one back leg. Taiga hoped that it wasn't a permanent injury. The only reason that she didn't want to kill this bear was simply because it had children. They would die without her. Taiga didn't like bears, but she wouldn't cause the death of cubs if she could help it.

As the bear swung about to confront the wolf, Taiga came up behind it. She gave the bear one hefty swat on its rump, barely using claws, but it would still cause enough pain to give the bear a start. Brown eyes went wide for a moment and the grizzly leaped forward away from the biting claws on her rear end. Tail tucked, she began to quickly hobble off in an attempt to flee. Taiga planned on giving a bit of chase just for good measure.

"Seniorita Murder Mittens"

Between the wound she gave the bear and the lioness' encouragement in the form of a hard swat to the bear's rump, it seemed like the bear finally began to realize it had been outmatched. Whether or not it was any real survival instinct or maybe just a fear that she'd be taken from her cubs Ava didn't know, but it finally got the bear to begin to run off with a limp. Ava did feel slightly bad for injuring her leg in such a way, but the tear would heal and she was still very mobile it seemed. Ava followed Taiga's lead and when she began to chase off the ursine she did as well until Taiga eventually backed off, leaving them alone on the shore of the Polar Sound inlet. Yet again the large lioness had saved her. This time around Ava was much more mature and far more confident that she could have handled the bear on her own if she had to, but she was still grateful for the assistance.

Turning toward the monochromatic woman, she looked up to her and offered Taiga a bit of a grin. "Thank you for the assistance... again," she said with a chuckle. "I'm Avacyn. I'm not sure if you remember me or not, but you rescued me from a tiger when I was a pup. It seems like you're always in the right place at the right time." She didn't know why a lioness like herself even bothered with stepping in to help a wolf like her, but she did appreciate the help all the same. "Do you live around here? I pass through occasionally, but I've yet to actually find someone that calls this place home," she said curiously. Taiga was such an anomaly both for the fact that she was a large feline that actually seemed to care about other creatures and because she was so much larger than any other big cat that she had ever seen. It was hard not to be curious about her reunited acquaintance.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Chasing the beast, Taiga gave it one last swat to the rump, without claws of course, before letting it go. The huge lioness slowed to a halt, then turned back to the wolf as she began to speak. Thanks for the help... again? The woman continued, stating her name and that Taiga had saved her once before when she was a pup. Recognition sparked in the lioness and a smile formed on her maw. "I remember you, Avacyn," she rumbled. "I'm Taiga, if you don't remember."

Ava asked if Taiga lived around there and the feline shook her head. "I don't live anywhere in particular. My... elk friend is on walkabout due to the nice weather so I've just been going here and there." Rannoch was off following his instincts so she was left behind while he did whatever big deer did. "I imagine you're still living in the same area where we met before?"

"Seniorita Murder Mittens"

Avacyn smiled as she watched the recognition cross the massive lioness' face as she reintroduced herself. She was glad to hear that Taiga remembered her after all this time. She had only been a young girl back then and much had changed in that time. She nodded as Taiga shared her name again as well, confirming that she did indeed remember her. "You're quite difficult to forget," she joked with a chuckle. How could anyone forget a towering lioness that had come to her rescue? She listened curiously as Taiga explained that she did not live in any one particular place, citing her friend as the reason for this. She nearly missed the fact that her friend was an elk which certainly caught her off guard, making her blink with surprise. It was certainly the first time she had heard of such a thing, but Taiga herself was proof of the unusual being possible so who was she to judge?

When the same line of questioning was turned back toward her, Avacyn nodded to confirm that she did indeed still live in the same area of Boreas as she did when they first met. "I do, in a pack named Elysium. Actually... I've become Matriarch of the pack since the first time we met," she shared with a bit of a proud smile. She wasn't always comfortable with sharing her position of leadership, but she had slowly become more comfortable with the idea that it was something she should be proud of. Sometimes she felt as though it came across as bragging or something of that sort, but hopefully Taiga wouldn't take it in that way.

There was a pause of consideration before she added, "It seems like you're doing just fine for yourself out here, but if you do ever feel like settling down somewhere or at least having a home base to return to I'd be happy to have you be a part of Elysium. I certainly need more skilled fighters in my ranks." As much as she would like to just have her current members hone their skills she knew that would take time if she managed to motivate them at all and in the meantime it could be beneficial to try and recruit new members that already had a grasp on what to do in a fight. "Your elk friend would be free to come and go if he ever wanted to visit you there, of course. I'd spread the word to the hunters not to touch a hair on his head."

"Avacyn Mendacium"