She stirred from the cool floor of the den, thick furred form uncurling and stretching out to lay flat on her side. Her body was telling her it was morning, her internal clock was telling her it was time to wake up. Rolling to her feet she crawled from the temporary den and stepped out into the fresh fallen snow. Squinting her eyes she stood there for a while before her eyes properly adjusted to the bright morning. Once they did she took a moment to look around and to listen. It was a quiet morning with a fresh foot of snow on the ground. It seemed a lot of the animals were slow to get moving this morning, perhaps the snow or the cold was bugging them, but it wasn't stopping this wolf from moving. Her coat had come in nice and thick like it normally had in the winter and the cold wouldn't bother her.

She started off by just simply moving, heading away from the temporary den she had found yesterday. Getting herself up and moving to simply take a look around and maybe find some breakfast. Everything was white, pretty, pristine, and for the most part untouched. It reminded her of home, except back home they would get a ton more snow then what this place had. It didn't take her long before she came across some fresh deer tracks which made her stop and alter her course to fallow them. She kept moving, but soon she found a spot of blood in the tracks along with a lot of packed down snow. It seemed someone else had found the deer first. She was curious though to see what it was and carefully kept fallowing the trail until she saw the dead deer up ahead.

She stood looking around, not approaching any further in case it was some other large predator. The snow had been too packed down a little ways back for her to tell.

A mountain lion had gotten a little too close to the pack borders for comfort during one of his patrols, practically scaring the crap out of Lumi. The young foxes had been told to go back to the den until the problem was taken care of while Ignis kept an eye on Vlad. With all of his senses alert, he took off to track down his quarry. The trail led to the nearby territory, Ace's crimson gaze narrowing as he continued to follow. He easily tracked the prints through the snow, still fresh as they left deep marks. He stopped then, detecting the scent of blood in the air as he studied the prints that now seemed to go in every direction. He assumed it had caught some prey...a deer or something. Even so, he wanted to track it down and run it away from Abaven lands. With pups on the way, it would remain a threat until he took care of it... "speech"

She was quiet as she stood there, looking over the lifeless form of the deer. Muscles tense and senses on high alert. If this was another wolf they may be willing to share a meal, but another predator she knew wouldn’t be so willing. She couldn’t see the hunter and the area was oddly quiet. She knew better then to go any closer and just stood listening and watching. Her fur began to prickle along her spine as she felt like she was being watched. She was beginning to feel like she had made a very bad desicion and should have abandoned the deer when she couldn’t make out the hunters tracks. Slowly and quietly she began to back up, keeping alert as she moved a few more steps away from the kill.

Then without warning a dreaded high pitched shriek came from under a tree nearby the kill. Her ears immediately flattened and her deep blue eyes focused in on the large mountain lion that began to charge her. There would be no time to run now, she would have to face this thing. Planting her feet equally apart she readied her stance waiting and waiting until the cat was close enough. When it was she launched herself towards the left avoiding the claws and the teeth of the creature. Landing out of reach she pivoted right to face the cat, her defensive stance set once more. The mountain lion growled and she prepared for the cat to charge again.

Everything was quiet. The only sound he could hear was that of his own breathing as it came out like mist from the cold. Ears tilted in every direction, trying to listen for signs of his quarry. All of a sudden, a loud cry pierced the silence. His hackles instantly rose as his head turned in the direction of the sound. Moving into action, he raced towards the sound, senses alert in case the creature was waiting to ambush him on the way. He soon spotted the big cat just as it leaped at another wolf. She managed to get out of the way in the nick of time, and as soon as she squared off against it, the cat readied itself to charge again. Ace didn't stop as he raced into action. The mountain lion charged at the she-wolf, and as it drew closer, so did he. With a roar of his own, he lowered his head and charged the beast with all his might. The titan slammed his body into the cougars left side just before it was able to reach its victim. He sent it rolling several yards into the snow, snarling as it tried to roll back to its feet. He snarled back, fangs fully exposed as he skidded to a halt and stood between it and the stranger. "You alright?" He asked without taking his eyes off the mountain lion. He was set in his defense, growling and snarling as he prepared for a full on brawl. speech action

She could see the lion ready itself and she copied it, readying for another charge. She hoped she could be just as quick as she had been the first time. Soon the Lion charged and she readied herself, but before the creature could get the distance where she would dodge, a light colored blur barreled into it, knocking the creature and sending it rolling. For a moment she stood in shock, staring at the butt of another, more larger wolf. Light colored fur, mostly white like herself. She was flabbergasted by his sudden appearance and was unable to knock herself from the state. The only thing that brought her from her stupor was when he spoke asking if she was alright.

"Uh yeah for now," she replied, her dark blue eyes looking to him.

They then looked to the mountain lion as it sized the male up. On her own she didn't have the confidence for a full out attack on the lion, but Now she had back up and together the two of them could take it. He seemed to know what he was doing and would let him take the lead, but she would be there to back him up and land more attacks on the creature.

"Uh yeah for now," came the woman's reply, but that was all Ace really needed to know. "Good, let's try and keep it that way." He knew he could take this beast on alone, he had done it many times before now, but it never hurt to have help if it was provided. He didn't know if she could fight or not, but at the very least her reaction time seemed quick enough the first time around. Maybe she would help him, but he wouldn't blame her if she decided to stay out of the way. The cougar hissed, its tail lashing as its eyes narrowed to angry slits. Likewise, Acere rumbled a menacing growl of his own as his fur stood on end, his muzzle wrinkled in a fierce snarl that could potentially make an opponent think twice about attacking. But not this beast. It was hungry, and apparently willing to risk fighting a wolf of his size. Or two wolves, if the alabaster woman decided to aid him.

"Keep your head about you," He warned, but almost as soon as the words left his lips the cougar attacked. It charged at him, zig-zagging towards him to throw him off on which direction it was going to try and attack him on. Acere stood his ground until the cougar leaped at him, a slim paw slapping him all too quickly across his muzzle. He felt the sting of claws graze his nose, but not enough to daze him or even leave scars. Reacting as quickly as he could, he burst forward to slam the creature again with his chest, forcing it to back off for a moment as his jaws sought its left shoulder, his fangs gaining a momentary hold before it pulled away. He tasted blood as his fangs tored the outer layer of skin, causing the cougar to recoil for a few moments before it started to circle. Ace kept his eyes on it, ready to move at a moments notice. He decided to remain on the defensive with this fight, half hoping that the cougar would find its senses and leave, but he doubted it.

speech Thought Quote

Somehow this very scenario reminded her of home and... her brothers specifically the two in her litter. They got a kick out of doing things like this, teaming up against larger animals and predators and fighting them. They had even saved her from an encounter with an angered grizzly. Though this man was not one of them she felt like she was traveling down memory lane. Although this wasn't memory lane and the pounding of her heart from adrenaline reminded her of that. His words barely registered as the cougar rushed fourth again and tangled head on with the male. Her eyes narrowed as he fallowed the cat's movements and she settled into a more defensive stance. Keeping her legs evenly distributed and her lips peeled back to bunch up the skin on her face. Her eyes watched as it circled, fallowing it's movements and keeping an eye on it. It charged towards the male again and this time Elara did not just stand by she rushed forward and past Ace. Charging towards the cougar's front right. Launching off her paws with her head up and her muzzle pointed slightly downward. Smacking into the cat she was able to bite down on the back of it's neck just by the shoulder as her weight smacked the cat to the ground on it's left side. Once Elara's feet hit the ground she squatted and launched, letting go of her grip on the neck as she hopped over the cat just before it began flailing it's claws. she then dropped her front end and grabbed a hold of the back of the cat's neck again. Once she had a hold she began to shake her head back and forth. The cat then began to roll and she quickly got to her feet and jumped back so that the cougar was now between her and Acere. speech action

He was about ready for an attack from the mountain cat, but before he knew it, the woman behind him raced past and straight at it. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment as he tried to register what was going on, simply watching as she flat out attacked the cat. Well, well, well...this woman had true guts. It was pleasing to see that he wasn't the only one with some balls around here. And he briefly wondered if maybe this wasn't her first time fighting one of them off.

When the cat was left between them, he snapped back to the situation at hand. Eyes focused on the cat as it turned its attention first to her, and then to him, then back at her. Its ears were flattened against its head, jaws parted as it hissed and slunk closer to the ground. He could see and smell the blood that stained its neck now, but Ace wasn't convinced that it was ready to back off. He lowered his body to the ground, taking a single step forward in an attempt to intimidate the beast but that's all it needed for it to attack him again. It whirled around and lunged towards him, and while Ace had been ready, he was apparently not ready enough. It hooked his left forepaw just as he was trying to backpeddle out of reach, and it ended up dragging his forepaw forward while its head lunged forth.

Ace scowled and an involuntary yelp of pain escaped him as the cats fangs buried themselves in his forepaw. With the cat having an iron grip on him, there was no way he could just yank his foot away without tearing every muscle in it. So instead, he brought himself forward and threw his weight on top of it, forcing the beasts face into the snow while his paw painfully twisted with the motion. It hurt like hell. He grit his teeth and hoped that it had enough sense to release him and go away before he ultimately did decide to kill it instead.

 speech Thought Quote

The mountain lion's gaze darted between the two of them and Elara eyed it. She was ready if it tried to attack her again. It seemed like for a moment it didn't know what it was going to do, until the male decided to try a bluff move. Instantly the mountain Lion completely focused on him and making an attack. Eyes watching, but she winced as she saw the cat bite down onto his forepaw. She watched as the male threw himself forward and on top of the lion's from half of it's body, shoving it's face into the snow and trying to get it to let go. She rushed forward, jaws wide open and she headed right for the lion's hind end. With it's hind end exposed she headed right for the back legs. Once she got to her choice spot she snapped her jaws down, sinking her canines deeply into the muscle of the lion's rear back leg. To add to the damage she again began whipping her head back and forth attempting to dig her teeth deeper into the cat's muscle hoping this attack would be painful enough to make the lion let go of the man's paw. Her blue eyes looked to Ace as she studied his movements, if he would jump off the cat then so would she, but they could end the cat right now as long as it would let go of Ace's paw. speech action

His face contorted with pain as the beasts teeth embedded themselves into his paw. Perhaps trying to force it down wasn't the best idea he had to date, but with the pain shooting up his leg, he couldn't think clearly. With desperation, he managed to grab one of the cougars ears in his mouth and started pulling. He shook his head violently, trying to yank the cougar off of him while inflicting pain in the hopes it would help. Heart hammered against his chest as he realized he was making it worse, and he wasn't in the best position to be able to move enough without losing his footing now. Shit! He was in this predicament all because he had to play hero...all throughout winter he seemed to be fighting nothing but other predators, and he wondered if it was just bad luck or maybe he always ended up in the wrong places at the wrong times. Or maybe I'm looking for it... He thought bitterly. Subconsciously, he knew he did sometimes. He had always been a thrill seeker, but even he had his limits. Fighting predators all winter wasn't exactly on his list of winter activities, but the ones he had fought this year seemed to just be his bad luck. The winter was harsh this year, which led to many predators becoming desperate for food. As he frantically tried to think about what to do, the woman he had initially tried to rescue would end up becoming his saving grace. The alabaster female attacked the cougar's hind legs. His ears pinned against the furious and pained howl of the beast, and the moment it opened its mouth Ace pulled free and stumbled back. The Cougar twisted in an attempt to reach the woman, and though Ace was in a lot of pain, he didn't want the woman to get hurt on his behalf. With a final ditch effort, he scruffed the cat with his teeth and yanked it away from her, tearing its leg from her mouth and hurling it as far as he could into the hardened snow. The cougar landed with a heavy thud, bleeding and angry. But it realized it could not take them on anymore, and finally decided to limp off into the trees. Ace remained on guard for several, long moments. His teeth bared and all defenses still up, waiting to see if it would come back. But as the scent of the cougar began to fade, Ace let go of the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He fell back onto his haunches, eyes closing with relief for a moment as he sighed. He was glad that was finally over..."Thank you for your help," He opened his eyes and turned his head to look the woman over. She didn't look too hurt, which was good in Ace's head. He had thrown himself at the cougar to take the brunt of the attacks. Clearly it wasn't one of his best ideas, but he just couldn't let an innocent get mauled. He, on the other hand, was used to getting mauled. But perhaps he let himself go a little too far with it... "speech"

She didn't know if her attack would help or make things worse, she was praying that it would help because that bite to his paw looked very painful. With the loud pain filled roar of the beast she knew it had work and her blue eyes saw the male stumble back once his foot was free, but in an instant he was back on the cougar before it could whirl around and get her, yanking it away from her and letting her create deep lacerations within the cat's leg and throwing it with all his muster away from them. The cougar was defeated and limped away from them without a look back. Her tongue would briefly swipe across her muzzle to try and clean the blood off her pristine white fur. She watched the cougar limp away and for a while she just watched, still on edge just as he was. She was expecting it to come back, to trick them and come hauling back with a full force attack, but it's scent would fade. Her nostrils flaring as she took in the fading scent. She relaxed and her blue eyes would turn to him just as he himself relaxed. The fight was over and they could finally rest easy. He thanked her for the help and she smiled. "Your welcome... It was a nice reminder of home," she added. Reminded her of her brothers and their shenanigans as young males. This was really a fight to simply protect each other, but the way this man asserted himself and took the brunt of the attacks were just how her brothers had been. Protecting her, but letting her get some cheap shots in. The difference now is this male had let her lay her part in fending off the cougar, her brothers not so much. "I'm Elara Durand. That was a Nice introduction of showing off your butt," she smirked playfully, clearly amused. She thought it would help to bring some humor into this whole situation. She was no healer and wouldn't be much help with his wound, but if need to she would certainly help him to get where he needed to go. speech action

You're welcome...it was a nice reminder of home," Hm? He was curious as to what she meant by that, but before he could ask what she meant by it, well..."I'm Elara Durand. That was a nice introduction of showing off your butt," His mouth dropped open, eyes wide as he became flabbergasted. He was lost for words, unsure of how to respond. Never had he been in this situation before, it felt...strange. But not in a bad way. He felt embarrassed for some reason, and he knew it when he felt heat rise to his face and he swore he was turning lobster red. "I, er...well..." Yeah, he had no clue what to say. He shut his mouth and turned away, uncharacteristically distracting himself with some non-existent thing over yonder. He didn't miss her smirk, so while he knew she was teasing him, he wasn't sure how to take it with a stranger. Finally, he cleared his throat and tried to find his words. "Well uh...maybe I was just distracting you so you didn't have to worry so much about that cat," Not the smoothest recovery, but it was the best he could come up with given the situation. He appreciated her humor though, it helped to distract him from the wound he received during the fight. That is...until his adrenaline started to wear off. Then the pain really started to hit. Being who he was though, he did his best to keep it from showing. He had been through worse before. He just had to ice this and maybe have it looked at when he got back to Abaven. "My name is Acere Praetor, it's a pleasure to meet you, Elara. And an even greater pleasure to have fought alongside you. I must admit, you handled yourself well. Most of the time, wolves freeze when confronted with unexpected situation." He'd seen it firsthand, but he was quite impressed with her. speech action

She almost wanted to snicker at his reaction, finding it all too amusing. Instead she would just smile as she could read how flabbergasted he was to that. Tail wagging lightly, but it seemed he wasn't too taken aback by it. He seemed to be able to recover after turning away from her for a few moments. She at one point questioned herself if that had been too much to state, if she just should have kept it to herself, but he made a recovery statement which made the amusement in her eyes grow even brighter. He then introduced himself and she composed herself as he spoke. She smiled at his words stating it was a pleasure to fight along side her and how she handled herself very well. It was nice to be complimented, especially when she would have never been able to get this far into a fight with her brothers around. "Thank you it was a pleasure to fight along a wolf like you to, you can tell your very experienced." she stated in return. "Growing up my brothers and I used to always have some sort of sour encounter when we went out hunting, so I'm used to seeing dangerous situations, but normally I would only be able to get in sneaky shots." speech action

He nodded to her words, a small smile appearing on his scarred muzzle. "I've had my fair share of encounters. Nearly all of my scars are from other predators, not so much other wolves." He chuckled lightly. It was funny how that worked out. Of all the fights he'd gotten into, he hadn't gotten as many scars from fighting other wolves. The more prominent scars were from fighting bears...and cougars...and, well...everything else. He had a few left from fights with others of his kind, but they were nowhere near as potentially threatening as his other scars. "Me and my brother used to get in all sorts of trouble with bears and other dangerous creatures when we were younger. I'm sure if your brothers had given you the chance, you would have likely shown them up by taking down a bear or cougar all on your own, eh?" Heck, even now he was still getting into trouble with dangerous creatures..."Although...while my brother and I aren't out fighting bears anymore, I feel like I tend to attract other predators...pretty sure I've been fighting them all damn winter," He muttered the last part, the male feeling like the newer scars stung with the pain frome each attack when he thought about them. It seemed he could hardly hunt all winter without something trying to kill him. speech action

She would nod, her eyes taking in the visible scars she could see on him. He had a few that she could see from her spot and wondered what scar came from what predator. Although she was sure they would literally be here all day if she began asking about each one. At his comment she would laugh a bit. "Oh I think you might be overestimating me a little," she said with a bright smile. She couldn't deny that she liked the compliment and her smile showed it. She could never say she really had many compliments from others aside from her family. It made her feel good for someone to think she was that good at fighting. His next statement made her shake her head a bit. "Eh maybe just a bit of bad luck?" she said. "Might be something odd with the predators too, like an overpopulation of them? She would give a light shrug not really sure if that was why but it was worth offering. One thing she did know is if he was fighting a lot of predators and here he was still standing then he had to be an excellent and strong fighter. speech action

"I find that hard to believe," Underestimating her? Maybe. But he wouldn't admit to that. For all he knew, she could very well take on a predator by herself just like he had so many times. She had spirit and guts, that much he could tell. She went on to comment that it was perhaps bad luck, or even an overpopulation of predators. Heck, with the amount of predators he had taken down over the winter, well...there might very well be some truth to that. "It's possible, though perhaps more predators have been driven into showing themselves more as of late. This winter has been hard on everyone, and they're no different from us." Other predators could very well be just as civilized as a pack of wolves, but when it came to surviving and competing for food, he was sure he'd be just as dangerous and mean as them if he were starving. He had starved before shortly after leaving his birth pack. The competition for food where he came from left little room to be picky. Sometimes he had to settle for scraps and old carcasses, but after finding Winter and learning how to hunt better? He became stronger. He became a better hunter, and he learned to appreciate every kill he made after that. Without death, there was no life. So he made sure to thank the animals that he ate even if it meant having to take their lives for him to survive. speech action