Summer meant one last tour of the west before heading a bit farther north until the temperatures cooled down. Skælingr had been working his way along the shore, seeking a good place to find shells and other odds and ends but instead they ended up in an estuary. It was a strange and swampy land but it was full of fascinating birds so it wasn't a complete waste. He worked his way through the soggy ground when he thought he saw something move nearby. Skælingr paused, ears up as he focused on a shrubby area nearby. At that moment a grizzly bear wandered out. His ears went back and he eyed the bear warily. Were they going to have a problem? "Speech"

Ragna crouched down as she examined some marshmallow. It was a good looking plant but they'd left their travois hidden farther back and she didn't feel like going for the rest of the walk with plants in her mouth. She'd have to try and remember which way they'd come so she could grab some on the way back. She looked up expecting to see her husband but when she saw him he was facing off against a bear. Oh no. The bear eyed the wolves and walked steadily forward. As she watched Ragna saw a cub hidden in the bushes. Oh shit… no sooner had she seen the pup then the mother bear charged with a roar of fury.

He wasn't so far from Valhalla this time, since he only had a short time before his patrol so he needed to be nearby. He was basically burning time, kicking his heels off pack lands until he had to go back. It felt like a waste, like he should be actually out there in the world, gathering wolves together, actually doing what he'd planned. Admittedly, he could be spending time with his siblings instead, knowing that when he left the three of them who remained in Valhalla likely weren't going to be following him. But he hadn't admitted to any of them that he was leaving to start his own group, and he had been avoiding them to avoid the subject. He didn't kid himself into thinking that they didn't know he was leaving. He'd made no secret of his disdain for Aurielle, her false Adravendis, and Valhalla itself. But telling them he wasn't just leaving, but creating a group that might, theoretically, be someday in opposition to Valhalla... that made him unsettled. He didn't intend to go after Valhalla, not with several of his siblings settled there quite comfortably, but he couldn't guarantee that something wouldn't happen, and he certainly didn't know how they would react to the idea of him making his own group. Would they see it as a betrayal, if he were to leave the pack their mother had raised them in?

His head came up swiftly at a roar and sudden crackling of brush not far in front of his nose. If he'd taken a few steps more, he might have been right in the eyesight of the bear now rushing furiously towards... he squinted in amused disbelief for a fraction of a second. The very same duo who'd fought with him against the lioness, this time with trouble of their own. Artur rolled his shoulders, setting himself to his task. They'd thrown themselves into harms way for his sake, it was only duty for him to do the same. He wouldn't owe anyone anything.

Springing forward in a splash of mud and leaves - and ignoring the squalling infant bear - he dove forward, skidded, and pivoted neatly at the bear's hindquarters to sink his fangs into the back of her thigh, his not-inconsiderable weight slowing her in her charge. She jerked around in an attempt to grab at the infuriating creature who'd interrupted the potential murder spree, but Artur hopped awkwardly along keeping a step ahead of her grasping claws and jaws, keeping his own firmly in place.

The bear dove for his wife and Skælingr sprang into action. He hadn't seen the cub but it wouldn't have changed his reaction either way. He charged for the bear and at that moment a familiar form latched onto one of he bear's thighs. He recognized the youth who'd battled with them against a lioness. He was grateful for the assistance of the skilled warrior. As the bear twisted around to try and get at the other man Skælingr latched onto her armpit opposite of the thigh Artur had grabbed. It seemed an odd target and the bear roared and tried to reach him as he shuffled along with her movements. He was to far back for her head and her other arm to reach. She couldn't attack with the arm he had a hold of either. "Speech"

As the bear charged Ragna turned to run but then the bear let out a roar of pain. Was her husband going in for the fight. She whipped her head around to see Artur, the young male they'd fought a lioness with. He was engaged in the fight as was her husband so she quickly turned and dove into the fray. Ragna focused in on the bear's other thigh. She leapt for the limb, jaws latching onto the knee as she hoped to keep the bear's hind leg from scratching at her husband. The bear struggled against the wolves. She roared loudly again and then seemed to try to tip on her side. Ragna immediately let go and scrambled out of the way. She didn't want to risk getting pinned.

The awkward shuffling as the bear tried first for him, then for the other male, might have made him chuckle if they weren't in peril. If either of them let go and the other were to stumble... The other male's mate joined the fray, and the infuriated sow tried a different tactic - squashing them. There being more wolves to squash the other way, the bear toppled towards the other two wolves. Artur couldn't see if they'd gotten out of the way, because he was abruptly dragged off his paws as the she-bear rolled, and he ended up tangled in her hind legs, practically laying on her belly like a little plush bear for her to cuddle oh so lovingly in her big bear arms... before he could scramble away she had enveloped him, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. No matter how much he writhed, he couldn't get enough grip with his paws to push away. Well... hopefully the dynamic duo wouldn't take the opportunity provided them by the impromptu cuddle session to escape.

Skælingr felt the bear shift suddenly and he sprang to the side to try and get away but the bear's sudden shift in weight was too quick for him to fully escape as she rolled to the ground, pinning his hind legs beneath her bulk. Shit! He twisted around, jaws wide open as he bit and hassled the bear, trying to get her to move. At that moment he saw the youth was wrapped in the bears arms. His only thought was that they were absolutely screwed. He attacked again, jaws tearing at anything he could get ahold of. The bear roared, her neck twisting over to try and bite him. He shrank back, desperately trying to come up with a strategy. "Speech"

Ragna twisted around, ready to continue the fight when she realized in horror that her husband was partially pinned beneath the bear and the other man was being smothered in a bear hug. Oh great, this fight was going straight to shit. Ragna snarled, defenses set as she dove for the bear's head. She seized one of its ears and thrashed he head violently, ripping the appendage right off the bear's head. A pained roar ripped from the bear's throat as it released Artur, both arms swiping out at Ragna. The bear rolled to her feet and dove for the femme. Ragna quickly turned and took off running, hoping the boys would get to their feet before the bear caught her.

Well, Artur had hoped that he'd go down in a blaze of glory. He hadn't expected it to be so soon, or for it to be 'crushed to death by greasy foul smelling bear' but one didn't really get to chose one's time to go. He felt his bones creak (his spine clicked into place with a rather satisfying pop, actually, it was nice) and the edges of his vision going black, stars dancing in his head... And then the sow was roaring right in his fucking ears, which he laid back in affront (and disgust, for her breath reeked like rotten fish) at the horrendous noise that compounded the misery of his ignoble death.

And then suddenly the steel-trap arms around him were gone, and he sucked in a breath greedily, wobbling to his feet and staggering slightly. Somehow the female half of the dynamic duo had lured the bear off, giving him and the squashed male counterpart a chance to escape. A chance he wasn't passing up, hypoxia or no hypoxia. He staggered forward, clumsily attempting to jerk the other male along with his jaws in his scruff even as his oxygen-starved brain told his paws to start running. They could regroup with the heroine of the hour later and make sure she'd survived, but they needed to get out of the area before Mama Bear came back for her cub.