The warm winds of spring had finally graced the lands, coming with the bright sun to melt the white blanket that had covered much of the valley during the winter. Snow and ice gave way to a slick wet slush and then finally, as the sun would dry the land, it was no more. Any day now Zanire would be waking from her deep winter slumber, and honestly the brute couldn't wait. Traveling with Zanire, much the way they had during the warmer season before the female bear started her hibernation. The male would pad through the territory quietly, stalking prey through the undergrowth. He wasn't too terribly hungry, but he was certain that Zanire would be when she awoke. Lime green orbs would lift to gaze upon the flora as Kar came to a slow stop, tail swishing back and forth slowly. He was in a good mood, a light feeling in his paws as traveled across the sun touched earth. Things were looking up again, and he couldn't wait to talk to his companion again. It had been terribly lonely laying next to her in the den during winter, without only the sounds of her sleeping to soothe the brute. Kar looked upwards, hearing the fluttering of birds overhead. He would sit down, lime green eyes watched as a pair of robins flew around each other in the tree tops. Spring wasn't just your typical season. It was a season in which many creatures found love. Honestly he was interested in finding someone for himself eventually, though he wasn't in any rush. He was sure he would meet someone sooner or later, and then travel with his special someone and Zanire. They would be able to form their own type of pack. Kar allowed his lime green eyes to slide closed, a content look on his face at the thought. Traveling was one of the best things that the brute had ever done. It made his heart feel free, without constant laws and rules to be worried about within pack life. But part of him still missed that life, and so Kar was hoping that, maybe one day, he would be able to start a pack of his own. A wandering pack. One that never truly settled down in one place for too long. Though they might need a base of some sort somewhere. Oh, and they would accept bears in the pack of course. He wasn't going to do anything in which he couldn't include the beautiful bear. Kar would open his eyes again, ears twitching happily. A ray of sunlight fell upon his face, warming the gray fur. Everything would come along in good time. Though he still wanted to check out the other packs somehow, if they could manage it. Kar glanced to his paws, mind working. Was it really to risky though to gain that knowledge? Zanire's words echoed in his mind. Not all wolves were good. They could break apart your family. Right now the only family Kar had was Zanire, and he wasn't going to lose her. No... he would kill before he allowed that to happen. Speech, Thought

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa came upon the male with a sly grin on her face. She watched from the shadows newly provided by thick, green newgrowth. He was shorter and slimmer than the well built fae, and she wandered what he was doing here. It was not an angry sort of curiosity, or a malicious one, which was odd for her. The change in seasons had put the female in a good mood. She knew it was her birthing season, and while she was not in heat, if pressed she could blame her amicability on that. She looked down to Koros, who stood beside her. He looked up, a dry light in his eyes and reflected it with a dry tone. He whispered to her, "And what plan are you concocting to be horrible to this particular wolf?" She tsked at him, and ruffled the fur atop his head with a paw. He grimaced, and she chuckled. "So little faith, Koros!" She pushed forward from the plants, feeling more than seeing the small silver piebald fox at her heels. She danced into the clearing with light, dainty pawsteps. The spring air made the fae feel a bit coltish, and it was all she could do to not dance forward and cuff the brute's ears. "And what exactly are you doing here?" Her words may have given off the feeling that Raisa had some particular claim to this land. She wanted to see how this male would respond. Would he hold his ground, or give in? It was the most important thing she could find out, before moving further. "Speech" Think "Koros"

Kar would be so caught up in his thoughts that the approach of another went unheeded until her voice reached his ears. The gray, black, and white brute would turn his head to the femme's direction, his lime green eyes remaining calm. Her words were spoken as if she might be trying to hint at the fact she was the authority around here, but Kar did not worry about such things. If this territory did belong to the female it was a more recent claiming, and she didn't seem to have any other wolf scent on her, so he wasn't of the strong belief that this was the case. "At the moment I merely waiting and thinking of what is to come while I anxiously await my companion's awakening." He gave no sign that he was threatened by her, or that he was simply going to leave if she pressed the fact she had a claim to the land he was on. A gentle smile would spread across Kar's maw. He was raised to be kind, and still quite naive at heart. He remained in his sitting position, his tail flicking a bit with curiosity. "If I may be so bold please allow me to introduce myself. I am Kar Savvil. May I have the honor of knowing your name as well?" Speech, Thought

Fox

Raisa's ears perked at the male's calm, sweet way of speaking. He was not aggressive or defensive, but seemed... complacent. Malleable, even. She smiled athim and approached, coming to sit just before the shorter lupe. She was long used to being larger than most males, and it did not perturb her in the least bit. As he introduced himself, Raisa smiled. "Your companion?" she asked, intrigued. She looked around the clearing and smirked. "I see no one, but I suppose I might take your word for it. My name is Raisa Xanilov." She could see no real reason the male would lie, but she had met many kinds in her travels. She looked down to where Koros stood, seemingly struck by her frank demeanor and easy-going manners. She wasn't harrassing this male at all. "Come now, don't be rude! Introduce yourself!" The fox spluttered, and turned to Kar, dipping into a quick bow, barely more than a bob down and back up. 'I am Koros, head steward to the noble house of Xanilov. It is wonderful to meet you, Kar.' He passed another quick glance between the fae and the brute. What had gotten into his bitter Queen?

code by sam & image by lu

Raisa Xanilov and Koros. The fox was servant to the wolf, who was apparently of noble heritage. "It is good to meet the both of you as well." Kar would smile, allowing his gaze to shift back to Raisa. "I'm afraid the reason you don't see my companion, miss Raisa, is because she is still in her hibernation sleep. My dear friend, Zanire, is a bear you see." The brute chuckled softly. He honestly couldn't wait for her to be awake again. The brute was quite curious about Raisa though. She was pretty, for sure, and company of the fairer sex had been lacking in the male's life. "You must be part of quite the family, especially to have a steward with you... and the head steward at that." Kar would shift a bit, eyes shining with curiosity. "If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, would you mind enlightening a simple rogue such as myself with your heritage?" Speech, Thought

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raise could not help a small smile from spreading across her face. A bear? She had only ever rarely encountered bears, and they had never been overly happy to see her. You might even say she had a bad history with them, but if this one was Kar's companion, certainly this Zanire would be different. Raisa hoped she would wake soon, and perhaps the charcoal fae would get to meet her. "That sounds... interesting, to say the least. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the best of histories with bears, but your Zanire must be of a different sort." Kar would go on to ask about her family. Raisa's mood immediately soured, but she did her best to keep it from outwardly showing. She put on a mask, and wore it proudly, hiding her true feelings underneath. If Kar thought Koros was impressive, what would he had thought of the alliance of packs that made of her kingdom, once numbering over two hundred. What would he have thought of the valiant knights, her proud king father, her vain and maniacal mother. What would he have thought of the coup that brought it all tumbling to the ground, collapsing into ashes. Raisa smiled. "I am by right Queen of the Ebony Throne, but that seat is in a land far away, ruled now by a very different band of wolves. Up until a year ago, by line had held it for generations, but we were struck down by a coup. I'm fairly certain that Koros and I are the only remnants of the land." It was terribly sad, but her voice held no sorrow. Instead, it was a light, if monotone, cover. It still hurt, and deeply, but if she allowed herself to wallow in pity, she would never heal. Or at least that was what Koros told her. She changed the subject. "How exactly did you come to be on such good terms with a bear?" "Talk" Think "Listen"

Kar would listen to Raisa's words, a frown finding it's way upon his face. Her kingdom was lost to her, seized from her kin. A look of sympathy and understand of loss would cross onto the brute's face, and he would dip his head as she finished speaking. "I'm sorry to hear of your loss..." How many friends... how many family members had fallen along with her kingdom? The brute would lift his head, looking to Raisa with a gentle gaze. "But as long as your kingdom and people are within your memory, it is not entirely gone. Perhaps you will find a new kingdom of sorts here, in Alacritia." Kar offered her a warm smile. The brute briefly thought to his old pack. It seemed so long ago that he lost it... as well as his closest friends at the time. He look towards the sky again as she asked him about Zanire, recalling the memory of the day they met. "Truth be told, Zanire was already interested in wolves and had met a few before me. She was of an open mind, though she is still learning the ways of our language. I met her not long after I had entered Alacritia. I hadn't ever met a bear that didn't want to maul a wolf on sight, so at first I was rather cautious of her. But it turned out she was kind, and the more we talked, the closer the two of us became. We've been traveling with each other ever since." The brute looked back to Raisa. "The land of Alacritia is a strange place... but unique new paths can be carved out here, if given the chance." Kar's smile widened a bit. "If you and Karos have no other plans why not travel with Zanire and myself for a while? We were going to start gathering some information on the packs of Alacritia after she woke from hibernation." Speech, Thought

His sorrowful words did not move her. Raisa had heard them before, and scorn, and pity, and she wanted none of it. What was done was done, and no amount of well wishing or condolences could bring her kingdom back. The sound of his voice rolled over her flicking ears. She shrugged. "It matters little, now. I am learning to adapt." She was grateful for the subject change, when her began to speak in greater detail about his ursine friend. Her suspicions were confirmed that she was odd for a bear, and her curiosity grew. With every word she found herself wanting more and more to meet this creature Kar spoke so highly of. His offer for her and Koros to travel with them, brought her up short. She was not often a wolf that enjoyed companionship. Koros' surprise at her friendly demeanor was not unwarranted. Most often she was quite difficult to get along with. She chuckled, and bobbed her head from side to side, showing her uncertainty. "Well," she said, a light chuckle in her voice, "I'll be honest with you here Kar, you've got me curious. But at the same time it's worth warning, I'm not always the easiest to get along with." A sharp movement in the corner of her eye caught the dark girl's attention, and she turned just in time to see Koros vigorously nodding, before freezing and turning to gaze at the trees. The fox hummed innocently. Raisa sent him a quick glare, then returned. "I suppose it's worth trying. I want to meet this bear of yours." And with that her mind was made up. She lay down beside Kar, willing to wait it out beside him.

code by sam & image by lu

With Winter turning to Spring, it was the end of Zanire's hibernation, the warmth of these new days starting to make its way into the den, causing the beast to stir. An ear would twitch, moving down her body, shoulder, paw, side, tail. Within minutes eyes would finally open, blinking a few times and turning in their sockets. A bit longer for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and at last her body would shift, paws picking her up and dragging her out into the open. This time however, the usual friendly bear was not too happy. Lips would tremble in irritation, head swinging left then right, nose flaring as she took a good wiff of the air. Something wasn't right, her companion wasn't here to greet her, and there was a strange scent on the wind. Eyelids would close the slightest in a glare, a loud huff coming from her as she lumbered forward. She would move with haste, large paws crushing the plant life that had begun to grow with the changing season. Violet orbs scanned the land, running over each hill, nose going to work to find her friend and whatever it was lurking about. And after a couple minues of searching she would come to a stop behind a hill, voices reaching her ears. Zanire would listen, identifying one as Kar, talking about... her? How they met and how she was towards wolves, telling someone how them and somebody else named Karos could tag along with them. Brows would come together, holding back a growl. Why would he do that, just let somebody join them? A woman's voice would speak next, talking about how she wasn't easy to get along with and that she wanted to meet this bear... Body would swing around, paws moving quickly to climb the hill she was behind, the voices just on the other side. A look of great irritation was upon her face as she climbed, and once she reached the top it would only get worse when she saw a woman laying beside Kar, the source of the other voice. The beast would huff, front half of her body lifting off the ground a foot before roughly dropping back down, causing a loud thud for the two to hear. A series of growls and grunt would escape her jaws, head swinging left and right while she clawed up the grass. With one more grunt she would bring her front half all the way up, standing upright with a paw lashing out at the air. It was then that she would release a ferocious, thundering roar, before roughly dropping back down to all four and charging down the hill. Basically a large boulder zooming down for the wolves. hear me ROAR Awesome table by KatG6 <3

Kar was undeterred by her warning that she was not always the easiest to get along with. Everyone had different personalities, and sometimes those personalities were harder to get along with but that didn't make them bad. The wolf would chuckle softly, shaking his head. "Honestly, Raisa, I believe that you are worrying far too much. We will all just need to learn to adapt to each other, that's all." The brute would glanced at the fox, chuckling. Yes... Kar was terribly naive. But the sound of a loud thud caught Kar's attention. He would rise, turning his body around. He would see his friend and companion, Zanire, but she was far from in the type of state he remembered her in. She looked... really... really mad. Kar flicked his ears back. Had he done something wrong? Was Raisa and Koros' presences not welcome? But she had been so open with other wolves before... he didn't understand. But as Zanire tore up the grass there was little doubt in Kar's mind that they were in trouble. Hell, he could be in trouble too for all he knew. He shot a quick look at Raisa and her fox companion. "Run, now!" He barked sharply. Then he would turn to face Zanire again, moving between the bear and her straight path to the two he had just met. He would throw up fighting defenses, pinning his ears, widening his stance, narrowing his eyes, and tucking his tail. He didn't want to fight Zanire... and hell he didn't think he even had a chance... but he didn't want her to hurt Raisa or her companion. "Zanire stop!" He would shout at her, hoping his words would give her pause. If not... well... he was having a full grown female bear charging right for him... and he didn't doubt that if she crashed into him there was going to be some serious bruising. Speech, Thought

Holy water cannot help you now A Thousand armies couldn't keep me out Raisa did not need to be told twice. An instinctual fear had struck her as the grunts and growls sounded in the afternoon air. She had looked up, alarmed, only to see a great brown bass standing before them. It's aggression was obvious, and she cast a horrified glance at Kar. Was this his so-called companion? This was his best of friends, his loyal compadre. He commanded her to run, and she sprang to her feet. Just as her body was screaming run, her eyes sought out Koros. He appeared to be frozen with fear. She bounded towards him, grasping his scruff in her jaws, and took off towards the tree line where the scrub and underbrush seemed thickest. You've gotta be shitting me, she crowed within her mind. She lowered her head, trying to tuck the fox in towards her neck so that he would not get battered by the limbs. Raisa realized that she could only hope Kar knew how to calm the ursine behemoth, as she heard his plea somewhere behind her. Raisa ran a long few lengths, casting a glance over her shoulder to see if they were being pursued. The sound of her own flight could very possibly be masking the sound of pursuit. If this bear meant to chase her to the horizon then so be it! Kar had seemed nice and all, sure, but it wasn't worth getting mauled over! She had had her share of bad experiences, sure, but she was certain this one would top the others if she allowed it to pass. "Talk" Think "You"

ooc: permission given for pp towards Kar

Down the grown beast would go, racing, her momentum adding to her speed. Her gaze was focused on the female with her companion, glaring, grunting. You couldn't just share such information with anyone you didn't know, they could use it against them. What if Kar was taken hostage, by knowing she had a soft spot with wolves someone could manipulate her into doing what they wanted in return for Kar's safety. Just seconds after seeing her at last, the female would run off and Kar would put himself between her and his companion, putting up his defenses. It was that moment, when he called her name, telling her to stop did she put on the brakes. With a low grunt the beast would dig her paws into the ground, shifting her weight and slowing herself down. With seconds the angry beast would come to a sliding stop just in time, coming to a complete stop, nose just barely brushing against the wolf's. Violet orbs would stare deep into his gaze, swirling with all kinds of emotions. Words could not explain how she felt at this moment, and so she would just stare, her breathing heavy. Suddenly she would move past him, jaws parting and grabbing a firm hold of his scruff, trying to pull him in the opposite direction of where the female went. hear me ROAR Awesome table by KatG6 <3

Scared? It didn't even begin to describe the things he felt as he watched his friend charge down at them. Though the tri-colored brute did his best to stand his ground he couldn't help but feel his legs shaking. A bear could tear through a wolf so easily... and... in her current state of mind, Kar couldn't but just wonder what she was thinking. But all the same he couldn't just let Zanire go and maul Raisa or her companion. The brute would swallow hard, breath catching in his throat even as the bear slowed down. Honest Kar thought his life would flash before his eyes. Zanire would slide to a stop, their noses brushing ever so slightly. He could see so many emotions in her eyes, as confusion, sadness, and guilt mixed in his own. Kar didn't know why Zanire was so upset at the moment... was it his fault? He would glance over his head, back at Raisa and Koros, before he felt Zanire take a firm hold of his scruff. Honestly he felt like a pup being scolded, but he didn't resist as the female started to pull him in the other direction. He would turn his gaze away from Raisa her fox companion, lowering his and tail as he moved with Zanire. His eyes would be fixed on the ground, a deep sigh leaving him. Speech, Thought