Call of the Wild

Haiku didn’t have time to notice the way the pale boy froze up when he greeted him. Quick as he had said hello Prose alerted them both to the threat. There wasn’t any thought to spare but the defence of their lives. It didn’t matter who or what he was, when the sign of a threat appeared the stranger was quick to leap to his side. Haiku spared the smaller yearling a quick grin as he bent his joints and lifted himself to his toes.

He expected ablack bear honestly, but Haiku didn’t lose his nerve as a massive grizzly appeared from the forest and challenged the pair of them. They didn’t have to kill the beast, but they needed to show it they wouldn’t be bossed around by some bear. Haiku raised his hackles and barked in return, hoping for a moment his show would be enough to convince it away. It was not.

The bear lowered itself to all fours and charged the two young wolves. Divide and conquer. It aimed to charge between them, so Haiku tried to stay aligned with the stranger and avoid those knife like claws at the same time. He didn’t want to go home bloodied. Or worse not at all. The bear came in swinging, and Haiku kept its attention, carefully dodging blows, the concentration obvious on his features as lose call followed close call.