The gray woman's instructions were quick and to the point, and Hephaestus was left worrying over the fact that he'd been assigned to take down a baby bison, and trying to formulate questions when suddenly everyone was moving. Hephaestus blinked after them in confusion a moment before instinct kicked in and he lurched into a run after them. Racing heavily after the golden woman to whom he and Nemesis and Andromeda had been assigned, his mind tumbled ahead of his ponderous feet like an avalanche. For a long moment all was confusion, lurking behind his brother and the golden woman until suddenly Nemesis darted forward to sink his teeth into a young bison. Things appeared to slow down for a long moment as his heart lurched, and Nemesis was dragged forward. He'd be trampled by the stupid calf if he went down under it...
The boy had rarely seen his siblings in real danger, and the sight caused something to bubble up from inside him like magma and he exploded. With a roar he gathered himself and leaped forward, heavy jaws closing on the bison's other leg. He kept himself to one side, both to avoid the bison's kicking legs and to keep from trampling Nemesis himself as his younger brother let go and fell back. His teeth sank into flesh and tore it, hot blood running slick over his tongue and jaws as he jerked his head to the side. The bison kicked toward him and Hephaestus, never a nimble wolf, could not completely evade it as he hopped sideways, the hoof just clipping his left shoulder hard enough to bruise and open a slight cut beneath the golden fur. His blood still hot and furious from Nemesis' danger and with his own stoic nature, Hephaestus shook it off to bound forward once more after the creature that tried to harm his brother.
