Ezra glanced toward his cousin as they walked out toward the wildberry grove with her jackals and his dog trailing behind them, giving her a friendly grin. "Thanks for coming to patrol with me. Patrolling always goes faster when it's done with company." Most of the time he was comfortable doing his patrols or hunts on his own, but every once in a while he just got tired of the same routine and it was nice to break it up a bit with some company. "Usually the patrols are pretty calm, but the grove does have bears to deal with from time to time. Apparently the temptation of berries is worth testing the wolves for," he mentioned with a chuckle. "Hopefully they'll all be asleep since it's winter, but sometimes they'll come down from Boreas since it's so close to the top edge of the continent."

The crunch of their collective paws through the light layer of Auster snow filled the air as they went, crossing over into the patchy shade of the grove's trees from the plains. Most of the leaves were gone with just a few patches of lingering yellow and brown leaves here and there. Most of the berry bushes had gone dormant as well with just the evergreen, red-berried plants standing out in stark contrast with the otherwise bland landscape. He started following the border of the territory, leading the way around the well worn and familiar path. "How are you liking The Hallows so far?" he asked conversationally, shifting his gaze occasionally between Memento and the path ahead of them.

"Ezra Adravendi"

They had met up that morning with Ezra after agreeing with him to go on patrol in Wildberry Grove. She figured it could be a good bonding experience for all of them. Their path had taken them out of the castle grounds and toward the grove, set at a steady pace. Though it was cold the company made it all the more bearable. “It is no problem at all! It’s an excuse for us to hang out together so a win-win I say!” She glanced over her shoulder at Rein and Jacques. She was glad that she had been able to bring the two of them along, even if, for the moment, they were conversing between themselves. “Given how tasty the berries are here I can’t really blame them. When you’re thinking with your stomach instead of your head you can make some pretty ballsy moves.” She had never fought a bear before. To her knowledge neither had her jackal companions. “But if some bear wants to rear its ugly head we’ll just have to take it down. Simple as that.” At her words Jacques gave a soft snort. Simple as that indeed. Then the conversation took another turn; to herself. Memento Mori smiled a little as she spoke. “You know? It wasn’t what I was expecting from a pack at all. From the moment I met with Artorias, the creatures here have been so kind, welcoming me in as one of their own despite merely being a guest. I’m happier than I’ve been in a very long time.” She paused and then continued. “You know, I think I’ve made a final decision on what I want to do.” Her pale gaze shifted Ezra. “I’m going to ask Artorias about becoming a permanent member of the Hallows and lend my skills to the pack’s cause.” Her smile widened into a grin. “Then we can see about taking more patrols together. Then you’ll have less of the ones that seem long.” Behind her, Jacques suddenly stopped, the hair on the back of his neck bristling. “Hate to ruin this perfectly good moment but I smell bear, and it’s close. Be on your guard.” Meme furrowed her brow, the grin fading way to a more somber expression. “Looks like this patrol just got a whole lot more interesting. Come on, cousin, let’s take down a pest. I call dibs on the claws though - I want to make something.” She began moving forward, keeping her steps light as she searched for the bear Jacques had mentioned. "Talk, 'Think.'

Ezra listened curiously as Memento began to talk about her experience with The Hallows so far and he was pleased to hear that her time here so far had been a positive experience. There was so much he didn't know about her life prior to them meeting, he was sure, so he didn't really know what all she had expected of their pack, but it seemed like his lifelong home and the members of it had made her feel at home which made him happy to hear. Then she mentioned how she had made a decision on what she wanted to do and his head tipped slightly to the side with curiosity, his pale gaze lingering on her with an inquisitive, "Oh?" When she went on, saying how she was going to see about making The Hallows her permanent home he grinned happily, his tail wagging gently behind him. "That's great! I'm glad you're so happy here—and that I'll have a new partner to patrol with," he replied with a chuckle.

Their casual chatting took a turn, however, when one of her jackal companions pointed out the stench of a bear on the breeze. His ears perked and he immediately turned his gaze out to the trees around them with a more serious expression crossing his face. He gave Memento a quick, curious glance when she called dibs on the bear's claws, but he didn't have any qualms with it and simply responded with a nod. He was very familiar with fighting these predators by now with as often as they liked to move in on this territory, but that didn't make them any less dangerous to fight so as the moved forward quietly through the trees he was very much on high alert. Luckily bears were pretty smelly beasts so finding it was easy. He lightly tapped Meme's shoulder with his own to get her attention when he spotted the rear end of the bear around one of the trees, catching it with its head stuck into one of the berry bushes. With a glance at his cousin he nodded toward the bear and then gestured for her to go around to its right while he went to the left before heading off through the trees to circle around a bit. When he was in position still out of sight of the bear that seemed intent on scarfing down berries, he looked across the clearing, looking for Memento and letting her make the signal for when they would attack.

"Ezra Adravendi"

It seemed that her decision was something that had thrilled Ezra, and her heart warmed at this. She had found where she belonged, though Jacques' warning had her attention on the pending danger. Upon breathing in she could smell it too, some bear had decided to make its way into the grove. She was ready to get to work on taking this thing down. They moved forward, the two jackals fanning out as they quietly stalked through the trees. Ezra would take note of the bear first, its rear end turned to them as it had its head stuck in one of the berry bushes where it was feeding. Ah, perfect. It seemed it was just waiting for the four of them to come to handle it. Ezra motioned her to go around to its right and she gave a nod in response, drawing her blade as she shifted off to its right. Rein came with her on one side while Jacques remained off with Ezra. She could feel her heartbeat thumping in her ears. She had never taken down another predator before, but she felt confident with Ezra on their side. Once she had moved into position her pale gaze lifted to see Ezra and Jacques waiting for her. So her call, huh? Memento Mori bound forward, moving swiftly across the grass and snow. The bear hadn’t had time to lift its head from the bush as Memento went straight for its right hanch and dug the blade in deep. She was rewarded with a furious roar of pain and, just as quickly as she stabbed, she removed the blade and dodged the grab from the beast’s forelimb. It hit the earth instead, and Rein, who had moved up behind her, leaped for the bear’s arm now before sinking his teeth in. On the other end, Jacques was making his way to the bear too, waiting for the most opportune moment to leap in so that he wasn’t in Ezra’s way. "Talk, 'Think.'

As soon as Ezra saw Memento leap from the bushes and start racing across the clearing toward the bear they were focused on, he began to move as well. With his larger stature and heavier build he didn't move quite as swiftly so Meme ended up reaching their target first, but that might have been for the best. The stab that she put into the bear's leg and her companion that assisted in the endeavor pulled the bear's attention and allowed him to get close without the bear noticing him—the shaggy predator too distracted by what Ezra imagined to be an awful pain in its leg. With it's head turned away, Ezra was able to lunge in and sink his serrated teeth in at the back of its neck near the base of its skull, biting in deep and quickly shaking his head to worsen the damage as the extra movement caused his unusual teeth to tear more easily through muscle and skin.

He didn't hold that grip for very long though and quickly jumped back out of the way as the bear staggered a bit from the sudden onslaught of attacks, stumbling into the bush it had just been eating from. It took a moment for it to regain its bearings, but that was enough time for him to shift around to its side and as soon as it was about to try and reach for him he lunged back in toward their opponent again, leaving another deep bite on its foreleg. The bear attempted to rear up onto its hind legs, knocking him off and making him fall back once more, watching as the extra weight that the bear unwisely tried to put on it's back leg made it buckle and sent it back to the ground again.

"Ezra Adravendi"

The bear had focused on herself and Rein, giving Ezra the opportunity to attack. Her cousin was heavier, able to deliver a harsher attack than she was, and he chose to attack the bear by biting into the back of its neck by the base of the skull. The bear roared furiously, staggering from their attacks. Memento Mori didn’t wait to see how that turned out, however, keeping on the move, holding her blade carefully in her maw. She moved in again, slashing across the skin, wanting to cause further blood loss in the other predator. The bear seemed to be focused more on Ezra, at least for the moment, and when the bear tried to reach for him her cousin left another deep wound on its foreleg. The bear attempted to rear and both Meme and her jackals danced back, but the bear shouldn’t have attempted the move. While it had knocked Ezra away it had put weight on an injured limb and that caused it to crash back to the ground again. Memento lunged forward again, toward the injured rear leg, hoping to worsen the wound. She was mindful of those forelimbs - dancing too close to those could get her into a spot. But the bear already seemed to be getting disoriented and struggling with the attacks it was receiving. Jacques came in on the other side of the bear, latching onto its other rear leg with a snarl. This bear wasn’t going to last. Ah well, that’s what it deserved for interrupting her and Ezra’s family time! "Talk, 'Think.'