It was a quiet evening, at least for now. With spring having arrived, that brought new life of all species. Wolves would be birthing litters of pups, caribou and elk would birth calves, and mother bears would have cubs with them. The russet colored wolf padded through the trees, his good icy blue eye flickered upwards. This wood held trees that were especially tall, and glancing down at the trunks around his level, it wouldn't be very hard for a wolf to climb up one of them. His nose twitched as a scent wafted to his nose. Carrion. He wasn't a very picky eater. Freshly killed or carrion that had been sitting around for days - he would eat whatever he could find. Food was food, and only a fool with pass it up if their stomach could handle eating it. He came across a partially eaten caribou carcass. It was a female, and he imagined the thing had been hunted down by some sort of predator. The scent of it's meat was overwhelming, and he couldn't resist slowly attempting to approach it. A deep, rumbling roar all of a sudden hit his eardrums, and he whirled around to see a bear. A mother bear that was not too happy to have him close to her cubs and the kill with which she was feeding them with. Keeping his head parallel to his spine, his tail lashed back and forth and he widened his stance. He was never one to give up a kill so easily, and this bear brought a fighting challenge that he had been craving lately.   "La oss gjøre dette,"[norwegian: let's do this] he spoke with a smirk in his voice, more to himself knowing that bears couldn't understand wolves. The animal huffed heavily through its nose as she moved towards him. His heart pounding with excitement, he didn't waste much time - lunging, he attempted to sink his teeth into the bear's neck. He landed a blow at the base of her neck, but the mother bear brought up its paw and swiped at him, effectively knocking him away. He rolled away, feeling a stab of pain in his shoulder, though the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his own pain tolerance rendered him able to snap up to his paws, facing the bear once again, planning his next move.

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Night crept through the sky but the fading light did not halt Éldi on his journey northward. Kylar had gone on ahead to Waterfall Peak while he and his raven companion, Askr, had lingered behind. With spring blooming across the north he felt it was high time he returned to the lands most frequented by Hjarrandi. He was eager for news from Valkyrie of their first raid upon the lands of Boreas. Though, there was a part of him that didn't feel ready. He'd seen how the wolves of Boreas fought when he battled in the tournament. A raid here would not be easy. Each pack seemed to have its fair share of war bent minds.

Éldi continued his way west when he came to a strange forest filled with tall, spindly trees. They twisted and twirled as they climbed up to the darkening sky. How curious a sight. Perhaps some phenomena of the weather here or a deficiency in the soil was reason for the trees to grow in such a manner. He didn't seek to linger on it to long. For all he knew this was the work of the gods boredom. Askr landed in the lower branches of once such tree, bobbing for a second on the slim branch before his dark feathers melted into the blackness.

The wind shifted and he caught the scent of death. Someone had made a kill. HIs tongue ran along his ivory fangs for he'd had a long, hard journey and the idea of a snack sat well with him. Of course, the trick would be persuading the hunter to share his meal. He set off toward the source of the scent when a roar make his hackles stand on end. Ok, that was definitely a bear. He was about to turn to leave when Askr called out. "Éldi, there is a man squaring off against the bear. Will you let him fight alone? When there are spoils to be had?" He turned to glance at the bird and weighed the pang of his hunger against the risk. He'd had enough of bears over the winter and he didn't look forward to tangling with one in the spring but he was terribly hungry. Besides, he wanted to know who was crazy enough to face off against a bear solo.

Bounding toward the source of the roar he soon came upon an average sized male with a muscular build. However, there was always strength in numbers and Éldi was all to happy to provide additional muscle in return for a meal. He'd always been a solidly built wolf. Even when he was young others would joke about him being built like a musk ox. Askr took to the skies to observe. Éldi set his defenses then charged in. He made no growl or snarl that might give him away, instead his jaws opened wide and ripped a slashing blow across the bear's rear end. Furious it twisted around much faster than he anticipated. Éldi had to duck sharply to avoid its claws. Quickly he bounded away and glanced at the other male. The bear eyed the wolves looking between them, seeking a target. Éldi kept his eyes on the bear. "I don't suppose I could trade my assistance for a share of your kill?"  

Before he could do anything else, a brown looking wolf gave a blow of his own which caused the bear to turn around. He watched as they swiftly ducked a blow from a massive paw, and Ragnar studied him quick enough to gather only that the wolf was tall, and strong. He turned his eye back to the bear, his eyes flashing with a challenge. "I don't suppose I could trade my assistance for a share of your kill?" "Feel free. I am not going to refuse another set of jaws," he spoke to the male, not taking his eyes off the massive mass of muscle in front of him. Her teeth were exposed in an angry fashion. They were sharp, white daggers, hanging inside the dark cavern of her mouth, ready to slice his body until he bled to death. Her paws were rooted to the ground, and as she darted her gaze to the other wolf quickly, he made his move. He kicked off with his hind legs, closing the distance between him and the mother with ease. He reached her as she was bringing up a paw, slamming his body into her as his outstretched jaws attempted to slash against her throat. It was slightly to the left of the bite he left earlier, leaving a new opening where crimson liquid escaped but still not quite deep enough to reach the artery. Frustrated, and desperate to try and kill these wolves, she brought her paw up to try and get him but he managed to leap back out of the way. His own blood leaked from his shoulder, though he was able to ignore it. Keeping the front portion of his body facing her, he sidestepped to his left and snapped his jaws at her to distract her. Preoccupied with Ragnar, having just attacked her, she followed him with her movements and gave another roar at him. A younger mother, he had time to notice now. Hopefully the wolf that was fighting her along with him would take this split second opportunity to attack.

Sorry for the wait!

dark mists are cloaking what the eyes can see

Askr circled above them as Éldi eyed the bear who showed no signs of backing down. Her jaws were open, teeth glistening and she took a few thunderous steps forward. The stranger rushed forward and Éldi followed close behind, knowing they'd have their best chance if they worked together. While the other wolf assaulted the bear from the front, Éldi rushed towards the bear's hind left leg, seeking to angle himself in toward the front of the bear's thigh. He charged in and latched his jaws around the bears knee, quickly thrashing his head to do as much damage as possible before bounding away. If he could hit important joints and tendons perhaps he could help slow the bear's movements and make his companion's work easier.

Speaking of companions he heard Askr cry out. "Éldi, there are cubs nearby!" He swore. No wonder this bear was being particularly aggressive. They'd have to step up their game. He wished for a moment he could speak bear and explain that they had no interest in her cubs, only in the kill but there was no time to waste on suppositions. With the bears attention on the other wolf it was time to make another move. He dove in once more for the bear, this time aiming for the back of her left ankle. His fangs dug in deep as he thrashed his head, this time maintaining his grip. She stumbled and snarled before twisting around to get at him. Éldi hung on and tried to move with her but the sheer force of her strength ripped her ankle right out from his jaws and a solid blow from her paw sent him tumbling away. His head slammed into the ground leaving him stunned for a minute. At that moment Askr dove for the bear's face, talon's extended and slashing at the bear's face.