by the skin of our teeth

Strai suppressed a sigh, knowing he wasn’t big enough yet to take charge of a fight like this. Truth was, he’d be easy prey to a bear alone. But it wasn’t a truth he easily admitted, and he was foolish enough to engage despite knowing it. So when the dark shaped stranger spoke out to him, and shifted their stance, Strai did the same. Taking off the bag and dumping it on the floor beside him. Its awkward weight would only slow him down.

The larger and older wolf went for a more frontal assault, taking the bear's attention. Strai angled himself around and behind the bear. Creeping into position, he waited and timed his attack with the strangers. When the black wolf engaged, Strai launched himself upwards. Using his feline-like claws to gain purchase as he dug into its flesh and scaled the bear’s back as quickly as he could. He needed to keep near its spine where he was harder to reach - at least until the black wolf distracted it again.

"Speech"