Mercy was absolutely fucking stir crazy. She'd been sticking close to home, with all the weird eruptions from the grounds and ensuing worm damage. Not like anyone was making her, just, a girl uses her brain. A girl has to use her brain, else she'll get swallowed right up. No fucken thanks, not on that front.

It didn't prevent her from immediately making the worst possible choice, the moment she was let out of the house. Winding her way through the Peak, immediately separating herself from Wake, and following a rather distinctive scent trail. This is the kind of exploring she loves, the kind with a prize at the end. The rushing of the waterfall in her ears, trailing through the scrubby grass. Already getting cold in the north, the girl is having a good time. Brisk in her lungs, leaving her feeling more alive than usual. A spring in her step and a glimmer in her eye, Mercy is having the best day. It was getting pretty late in the season for bears. They'd be sleeping soon, and she'd have far less to harass. Better take the shot while she still had it.

Zeroing in on the den, she catches sight of the big, brown lump. It rests at the foot of some large rocks, a cave that looked like it was only shallowly resting within the mountain. A cozy spot, one perfect for disrupting. She needs more teeth and claws for her collection, thanks so much.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Citadel followed the path up the peak, letting his powerful paws propel him, and ignoring the ache in his muscles. He loved this freedom. Exploration, and chaos, and never knowing where his travels might take him or who he might meet. So long as he could make it back to the Armads before nightfall, of course. 


He reached the top, and realized quickly that he wasn't alone. There was another wolf already there, and she was looking at… was that a bear? Bigger than Rook, and sleeping by the looks of them. He crept closer, through perhaps not as quietly as he could. “Whatcha looking at?” He whispered, though what had her attention was pretty obvious.

Mercy's explorations had brought her to the cave, tucked beneath the Peak. It's a quiet spot, one that would probably make for good hiding and a nice long winter nap. With the scent of the falls carrying something piney, Mercy at least has some idea what she's near. This is the north, for as little as she knows about it. Learning. Right, that's why she's come exploring in the first place.

Not alone for long, her head snaps around to the boy. Narrowed eyes, squinting for a moment. "Are you stupid?" Mercy's tone dripping with false sincerity, as she looks from the boy back to the bear. Boy. Bear. Bear. Boy. "Do you not know a bear when you smell it?" Mercy made a show of rolling her eyes. She, too, was struggling to keep her voice down.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Citadel immediately stuck his tongue out at her when he heard her tone. “Obviously. Just you know, why you staring. chicken?” he said, his voice almost rising before he fought it back down to a little whisper. She was trying not to wake the bear, and he wouldn’t ruin that for her, not just for the sake of a little teasing. Whoever this stranger was.

Hey, maybe they’d be able to poke the bear together. Maybe they could find some coal and draw a mustache on it before it awoke or something… He grinned lightly at the thought, as if they were facing a house cat instead of something bigger and meaner than they were.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Her gaze flicks between the bear and the boy once more. Tension in every muscle, a trap ready to be sprung. There's freedom here, and that includes freedom to make bad choices. Far enough away from family, geographically in a place where only Wake knew how to find her. Yeah, bad choices were par for the course, out here. This is the north, farther north than the rest of her lot. Everything is exciting, even with the grey autumn sky stretching above. Mercy remains stiff, excited, and raring to go. Any noise they made would be dampened by the waterfall itself, so theoretically this should be good. Her explorations were culminating in something far more fun than just exploring. Mercy was fucking excited.

"I was looking for a good angle on it, so the fight doesn't get caught in the den. Duh." Grumbling, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Dare you to poke it. See if you can confuse it." Grinning, a glimmer in her yellow eyes. Tensing, the crystalline fur in her ruff standing on end. Mercy would make herself look as big as possible, especially to the bear. It's game on, motherfucker.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

His eyes brightened at the confirmation that she was going to fight the bear, and just didn’t want to get caught up in close quarters. He wanted in, and she offered him a way. All he had to do was poke it. He grinned, cheeky and ready for trouble as he stepped carefully away from her. Heading to the bear.

She wanted to get a good angle on it, right? So he made sure to put himself in a position that when the bear woke up, it would come at him away from the caves. Because it was definitely going to come at him. He stepped quietly up to the bear's butt, looking over at Mercy, he extended his claw, raised his paw so that she could see it, and jabbed it right on the bear's butt. Its reaction was loud and immediate. It roared, and began to unfurl itself from its sleeping position.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma