The sickness is in the blood

Kotori wrapped himself around the hallows turf, choosing not to pause to visit his family this time.  He was on a time crunch to get to Ochi before she decided to settle into another pack.  He had wrapped about the hallows territory, close but not going over for the sake of respecting the boundary.  He was following Ochi’s path as best as he could follow it.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one on the path.  It wasn’t as simple as just another angry bear to kill.  The bear should either be further north or hibernating in Auster where it was now winter.  Underneath the scent of bear, there was a fainter smell, something sick smelling.  It roared and charged toward Kotori.

Was it even safe to bite the damn thing?  Kotori avoided its charge, circling around the bear as he considered his options.  Kotori could run away and not bother with it but there were two reasons he couldn’t.  Kotori didn’t run from predators and this bear was far too close to the hallows and the family Kotori had there.

Well then, he’d use his horns.  Kotori lunged in towards the bear’s sides, slashing sideways with his horns as he passed, leaving a gash along the bear’s shoulder.  A fight would take longer with only using his horns but there was no way he was going to taste a sick bear's blood.  

"Kotori Fatalis"