He had always been a light sleeper. Even in the den he shared with his siblings as pups. Someone shifted, he was up. Someone sighed a little too loudly, he was up. He had never been thankful for his restlessness. At least, not until today.

They had found an overhang for shelter. It was still fairly open, but in the event of a nighttime rain, at least it would keep them dry. However, it wasn’t the rain they needed to be concerned about this time. As soon as a sudden snort broke the silence in the distance, Aresenn’s amber eyes were peeled open- propping himself up on his elbows to get a better look around. He couldn’t see anything immediately, but after a quick scent of the air, he could tell they weren’t alone. “Sephiran.” Aresenn whispered. He hadn’t settled close to the other boy, but he could see his sleeping form on the opposite side of the overhang. “Sephiran, wake up.” He insisted in a hushed tone as he slowly pulled himself to his paws.

Just then, out of the cover of trees came a lumbering bear, white as snow. He had never seen a white bear before- and honestly, it made him wonder if he was dreaming or not. Even still, his instincts took over and he stood frozen- hardly breathing as he wracked his hazy, sleep-ridden mind as to how to proceed.

After their run-in with the leopard seal, and the sloppy patchwork he had completed on Aresenn’s leg, Sephiran was long overdue for some rest. So when they found a decent place to shelter down for the night, he plopped down and went straight to sleep. He kept his back against the wall, his front half toward the opening, to give him quick access to escape should something go down- just like his father taught him.

But he wasn’t the lightest sleeper. So it took some prompting from Aresenn before he finally responded with a gruff, half-awake "Huh," rolling over onto his belly while stretching his front legs out. When his eyes opened, he saw Aresenn standing before him, staring out into the clearing. Sephiran immediately picked up on the pirate’s body language, which made him morph into a defensive posture out of instinct. He stood up, taking a few slow steps to stand beside Aresenn. And that’s when he saw the bear.

“What the fuck is that?” He whispered, eyes widening at the sheer size of the bear. It was bigger than a grizzly, and all-white in color, which helped it blend in with the patches of snow on the foliage and ground. An aura of danger surrounded it, even more so than the seal, crocodile, and grizzly they had killed together. And it excited him.

"Speech"

It seemed that Sephiran was a bit slower to rise than himself. He wondered if that would have gotten the Saxe boy killed if he hadn’t been around, but he didn’t have time to linger on that now. With his hackles rising to attention, the other boy made a general inquiry as to what they were looking at. Not in the mood from interrupted sleep, he couldn’t help the scorn in his voice. “It looks like a massive fucking bear to me.” The color didn’t matter, it was the size and tenacity the set him on edge.

Whether it heard the boys talking, or just happened to catch the movement out of its peripherals, and finally noticed the yearling wolves. Taking a few steps forward, the white bear stood up on its hind legs to get a better look- god it was the size of a fucking tree. “Holy shit.” Aresenn mumbled under his breath, not entirely sure how they were going to handle this. There was no mistaking it now, upon recognition, the bear roared with as much strength and volume as it could muster- drops of spit flying everywhere. Too bad it wasn’t a dream.

At this moment, time felt like it was moving so slowly around them. With every step the bear took, the hair along Sephiran’s nape became more erect, his ears folding flat against his skull. His instincts were screaming at him, warning him of how dangerous this creature was. But he couldn’t bring himself to move, or run away. Even when the bear noticed them and roared so ferociously that he could feel the vibration in his chest, he still couldn’t turn away. In this moment, he and Aresenn had two choices; fight it to escape, or be ripped to shreds trying.

His gaze shifted to Aresenn, as he attempted to catch a glimpse of his expression. Wanting to see if he had realized their fate. But, just as he turned to look at him, the bear charged. With a wall at his back, he was left with only one way out. And that was in the same direction the predator was barreling towards them from. “To hell we go.” He said through a spat of deranged laughter, before sprinting forward to step to the bear's right just before he crashed into it. Rushing past the bear's right shoulder, Sephiran suddenly stepped inward, jaws splayed as he grabbed a mouth full of the thinner skin that connected its back limb to its belly.

"Speech"

As the bear returned to all fours, they were given very little time to react. As it charged, there was simply no way around it. Which only left one option. They had to fight. Aresenn tensed his muscles in preparation as Sephiran took a more reactionary approach. The Saxe boy streaked by him, leaving Aresenn to tail behind. In the dim lighting, he saw the other boy dart towards the creature's side, and to provide the best window for success as he could, Aresenn made the decision to engage with it head-on. He wouldn’t land an attack right away, but maybe he would be lucky enough to keep its attention.

The Polar bear took a wide arcing swipe at him, which the Praetor boy managed to duck and snap at to try and keep the much larger predator at bay. He made himself as large as possible as he faked a lunge to try and regain some ground. But it was then that Seph must have made contact because it was obvious that he was no longer the primary concern. With the bear attempting to spin around to face the attack at its side, Aresenn saw his opening- leaping up and taking hold in the side of its belly just behind its last rib.  

His fangs sank deep into flesh, puncturing down into muscle and through vessels. But it wasn’t enough to cause the damage he was aiming for. Now that he was up close, he realized just how large the polar bear was. And, with that size, came an immeasurable amount of strength. The moment he made contact it was already twisting around, a massive paw swiping at him and making contact with his side. It smacked him against itself given his position, his side slamming against its thigh as claws raked across his skin. He yelped, then snarled through the fur and flesh in his mouth, before letting go and trying to stumble away in a daze.

The wind had been knocked out of him, which left him hacking and coughing. Blood splattered onto the ground, but he didn’t know if it was from the bear or him. Luckily Aresenn had initiated an attack, which made the bear turn its attention back to him. Which gave Sephiran a few moments to collect himself. He lunged forward, working against the fog that had started to settle inside of his head, and the pain that scoured across his ribs. He bit down on its shoulder, clawing at its body with his front paws, while he tried to use his strength to pull it down and anchor it. But he was no match for it.

"Speech"

The bear’s whole body shuddered as it twisted and swiped at Sephiran. It must have made contact judging by the sound of sudden pain from the Saxe boy. Followed by Seph’s hacking, the blow likely was the cause of some serious damage. But judging by its sudden redirection, the massive predator must have been successful in dislodging its initial attacker. When its attention finally shifted, and it spun back to him, he didn’t feel like he was ready to face it. The bear tried to get ahold of him with splayed jaws, but couldn’t quite reach. Neither could its paws when it tried to take a shot with open claws.

With a snarl of frustration, the bear staggered a couple of steps- not accustomed to the extra weight. Aresenn made his best attempt at bracing himself against the unsteady movement of the Polar Bear, but it was all for naught when he was slammed against the rock wall of their cliffside shelter. Whether it was intentional or not, he was uncertain, but the bear hit the wall with its entire weight- crushing Aresenn in the process. As the air was forced from his body, all he could manage was a grunt as he released his hold- trying to fight his way free. 

As he bit down on the bear’s shoulder, he felt it staggering towards the opposing side, which dragged him with it. He dug his back feet into the ground, splaying his toes and clawing at the dirt but it was futile. He wasn’t able to anchor it into place like he intended to, and was being hauled around like a rag doll. Then, the beast suddenly stopped, as if it had stumbled into something. And a loud, pained grunt of Aresenn being crushed followed.

Sephiran snarled in protest, shaking his head viciously as he tried to make a dent in the predator's shoulder. He felt flesh tearing inside of his mouth, blood dripping into the back of his throat which made him cough again. And, this must have enraged the polar bear further, as it staggered back towards him which received some of the pressure it was putting on Aresenn.

Twisting around again, Sephiran was lifted from the ground and flung several feet away, having lost his grip from the momentum of the predator's movement. He rolled in the dirt before scrambling to his feet just in time to hear another roar erupt from the foliage just a few yards off from them. Another fucking bear.

"Speech"

When the bear finally pushed itself off the wall, Aresenn fell to the ground in a heap- no longer being held up by the oppositional force of its body. He didn’t fight to get up right away- laying against the rocky ground in a disoriented state. He thought about how easy it would have been to lay there and die. But as the blood and oxygen began to return to his head, he started to remember that his pathetic life might actually be worth hanging on to for a bit longer. Sitting up, he tried to take stock of the situation just in time to hear a more distanced roar. Blinking in confusion, it didn’t register how bad off they were until a second bear came charging out from the cover.

Aresenn scrambled to his paws, trying to put as much distance between himself and the new threat as possible. But the way the bears had them positioned, their only exit had been cut off. The second bear pressured him toward the drop-off, near where Sephiran had been thrown, and there wasn’t anything he could do to fight it- and live. These fucking bears knew exactly what they were doing. With the descent into the gorge at their backs, the Praetor boy’s attention remained fixated on their two massive opponents. Though his cloudy mind was doing its best to find a path out of this predicament. “Got any ideas?” He asked Sephiran through bared teeth.

Still disoriented from being thrown, Sephiran was slow at getting back on his feet. He stumbled a few steps, his mind filled with fog as Areseen came beside him. The first polar bear had been pursuing him, but it came to a sudden stop several yards away as another bear erupted from the tree line. Together, they pushed forward, vocalizing threats through low growls and bellowing that was just short of a roar. Got any ideas? Not any that wouldn’t get them killed. “Hell is coming sooner than we thought.” He retorted, puffing out his chest and bristling his pelt to try and look more intimidating. But it was a waste of time. The two bears weren’t scared of them at all.

And then, Sephiran felt the earth suddenly drop off at his back feet. Which meant they had reached the edge of the cliff they had been chased to. Behind them was a long drop to the bottom of the gorge, which was littered with rocks and snow drifts. It became apparent, that the two wolves had two choices; fight to the death, or jump and hope they survived. Sephiran drew one last, deep breath before his gaze shifted to Aresenn. He assumed the pirate had the same realization.

His jaws opened, but before he could speak, the two bears abruptly charged forward with the intent to kill. Sephiran twisted around, attempting to shove his shoulder into Aresenn, prompting him to follow. And then he jumped off the cliff, free-falling for what seemed like an eternity. Hitting small branches that sprawled out from the cliffside until he finally landed in a snow drift. The impact knocked the wind out of him, causing him to gasp for air as he sank into the snow. But at least he was alive.

-end-

"Speech"