Bear It In Mind

Eli held on grimly with tooth and claw as the bear sought to fling him off. He knew that if the larger predator succeeded he could very well find himself within reach of the bear's claws and teeth before he could even get to his paws. He was surprised when, rather than take the opportunity afforded by the bear's distraction to flee, Aurielle dove back in to drag its attention away from Eligos. Surprised, but determined to make the most of the distraction, shifting carefully in preparation to release his grip for a more debilitating one.

But suddenly the bear whipped around in fury and pain, and Eligos was not prepared. He was sent tumbling to the ground not, unfortunately, into the river where the water could break his fall, but rather to the ground, which would very much have preferred to break his bones if given half a chance. The breath was driven sharply from his lungs in a whoosh. Even before he was able to drag in his next painful breath he was rolling to his paws.

His head swam a moment and a muscle in his back made him want very much to hunch over, but he couldn't take the time to allow his body its momentary weakness. As the spots in his vision cleared he saw what had made the bear spin so abruptly - a third wolf had entered the fray to attack it from behind. The bear faced the newcomer now, and Eligos had been flung not too far from Aurielle so was more or less behind the creature. So, as he shook off the dizziness, Eli threw himself at the bear's flank, his jaws aiming to rip into the soft, unprotected cavity between ribs and hip. He was grimly preparing himself to be swatted or crushed as soon as his teeth tore skin, not sure if he could depend on either of the other wolves to intervene.