Alright, so this was a new one for him. Valentine was being stalked by a bear. Why was a bear following him around in the middle of winter when it should have been hibernating? He hadn't the slightest idea. Okay, that wasn't quite true. Although he couldn't say why it wasn't hibernating, he thought he knew why it was following him. He could be wrong, but the beaver he was carrying seemed like a pretty plausible explanation for why it was following him. That or it was a relative of the bear he'd commanded Shaye and Rhyme to take the tail from. Who knew. The old king wasn't really in the mood for another fight. His wounds from the brawl with the coyotes were still bleeding and while he'd caught his breath, he hadn't had much of a chance to recover yet. What he needed was a warm place to curl up and nap in. Up ahead Valentine spied one of his new packmates. He didn't know the woman, but she looked capable enough. While he loathed the idea of asking for help, Valentine didn't think he was in good enough shape to chase the bear from Legion on his own. After glancing back to make sure there was still plenty of space between himself and the bear, Valentine dropped the beaver and called out, "Hey! Help a poor old fool out, would ya?" He jerked his head in the direction of the bear to make his meaning clear. It was obvious by the way the bear was watching him that Valentine was the focus of his attention. "I put a lot of work into getting this beaver." His many bleeding wounds were proof enough of that. "And I'm not about to lose it to this asshole. If you help me chase it off I'll share the kill with you." ""

Somewhere the trail had gone cold and Valdís furrowed her brow in intense concentration. She supposed it was to be expected. The trail of the bobcat was old at best and likely the creature had opted to move on rather than live so close to wolf territory. A wise decision. Valdís carried on through her patrol, pleased for the cooler temperatures in the south. That meant she could walk on solid ground rather than trudging through mud. She enjoyed her patrols thought. It was a time for her to work through the thoughts crashing about in her head and for once they were mostly happy. Valdís had a lover. Just thinking of Ásvor brought a smile to her face. Of course neither of the northern born women were thrilled with the southern climate but they had each other and that made up for most everything else. And now that they'd expressed their feelings toward each other, well, all sorts of possibilities lounged tantalizingly in the future. Her thoughts were starting to tip toe into lewd territory, the curse of her heat, when a voice caught her attention. She turned to see one of her packmates. She hadn't met the man before but she knew he was an older relative of Chaos. Seemed he had a good kill. She moved toward him, stance alert. "What is it you need help with?" There was time for introductions later as she suddenly spied the bear. It was still a ways back, nearly hidden by the dead winter brush. It was watching Valen intently. She was surprised to see a bear up and about rather than hibernating but she wasn't an expert on bears by any stretch of the imagination. Could it be that southern bears did not hibernate like their northern cousins? "If you help me chase it off I'll share the kill with you." She liked the way this man thought. He made the effort worth her while without her even needing to ask. "Deal. Any strategy you want to use or shall we just go for it?" She set her defenses, hackles raising to make herself look larger and she growled as she took a few bold steps toward the bear. His nostrils flared and it stood on its hind legs, peering at the pair of wolves and the precious kill. "Talk" "You" Think

The woman was amenable and while Valentine wouldn't admit it out loud, he was relieved. Bears were no laughing matter and this particular one, seeing as it was bucking the hibernation trend, concerned him. While bears didn't sleep the winter away, they did (in his experience) stick pretty close to their dens. This one was an exception. In response to Valdis' second question, Valentine shook his head and said, "Harass until it decides its had enough and goes home." Killing it struck him as both unnecessary and too ambitious. He shrugged, then grinned, the expression somehow both eager and tired at the same time. He'd had a long day. "I say we just go for it. 'If you can't beat 'em with brawn, baffle 'em with bullshit' or however that saying goes." The old king whirled around and set off towards the bear at a haughty jog. His plan was to harass and confuse until the bear decided to find an easier meal. He jogged a wide circle around it, his hackles and tail raised in a menacing display so that the bulk of the bear's attention would be on him until Valdis had a chance to pick a good, strategic position. Once they were both in place or once she attacked he'd join in, but he was a little too tired (and old, but shhh) to be starting the fight. ""

Valdís nodded. The plan sounded good enough to her. She didn't care to fight the beast longer than she had to and hoped to be able to annoy it quickly. She chuckled at the saying. "It goes exactly like that as far as I'm concerned." The old man set off towards the bear but she held back, approaching in a slower, easier gait as the larger man drew the bears attention. Valen started circling it and the bear swiftly returned to all fours, turning as the wolf did so in an effort to keep it's eyes on Valentine. Valdís approached slowly and careful so as not to draw the bears attention. It was better that it's focus remain on Valentine until she saw an opening and then she would move in to attack. The bear let out a groaning growl, clearly getting agitated at the male wolf. When it turned so that it's back was facing Valdís she sprang forward, her limbs eating up the distance as her fangs ripped into the bears ass. She sought to strike and run, knowing full well that she'd have the creatures attention after that stunt. The bear yowled in pain and whipped around. With a roar it dove for her. "Talk" "You" Think

His diversion was a success; Valdis was able to sneak around the bear and get in a good bite while it was distracted. Valentine resisted the urge to laugh at the bear's startled roar. Served it right for tailing him. Probably had singled him out because he was old an an easy target. Well, he'd show it.

With the bear's attention fixed on Valdis, Valentine crept around behind it and then lunged for its uninjured butt cheek. He sunk his teeth in and let go immediately. The bite wasn't very deep, but he didn't move like he used to and he wanted to get in and out (ha) as quickly as he could.

Valentine spun and ran, and the bear, torn between pursuits, swung around to swat at him and then swung back to look at Valdis, before deciding to give chase after Valentine.

Valdís scrambled out of the way, diving to her right, the bears claws just nicking her left shoulder. She was grateful that she didn't receive a worse injury but she didn't want to keep this up for long. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. Valentine seized hold of the bear's other butt cheek. Furious the bear whipped around and swung at him, then turned back to face her. She snarled, ears pinned to her head and defenses set but the bear decided that Valentine was the better target and it turn and gave chase, once again revealing its hind end to Valdís. She dove for the bear, her long limbs eating up the distance between her self and her target as she dove at the bear's butt again, ripping deeper into the earlier wound. The bear yowled and flailed and she danced away before letting out another snarl. Did the bear get the point yet? "Talk" "You" Think

Oh, fuck. He really was too old for this. Somehow Valentine managed to pull a burst of speed out of his tired limbs. If asked later he would swear he felt the bear's breath on his tail as he beat feet away from it. Whether or not that was true was another matter entirely, but it sounded good, right? Regardless of the exact proximity, it was close. Far closer than he would have liked.

It was exhilarating, though. Valentine could honestly say he missed this. He didn't know what all dead wolves could do in Somnium, but perhaps after he kicked it him and Cascade could fight dead bears after they finished terrorizing the living. But, that was talk for another day.

Another roar behind him told him Valdis had struck again. Good. Served the bear right.

Valentine arced around and came back towards the battling pair just in time to see Valdis retreat. The bear attempted to rise up on its hind legs but the pain in its rump stopped it. It fell back to all fours with a pained grunt and then stood there with its mouth open and its beady eyes darting from wolf to wolf.

The old king stalked closer. His lips were parted in a toothy snarl and his stance made it clear he was ready and willing to continue the fight. He jumped forward suddenly with a growl and the bear, though it remained where it was, leaned away. It tore at the ground with its front paws, a clear warning, but he could tell it was close to giving up.

OOC: feel free to have the bear retreat in your post c:

Valentine leapt forward and Valdís pulled up next to him, joining his movements as she snapped and snarled at the bear. It took several steps back and she charged further forward, seeing the hesitancy in the creatures eyes. It was ready to give up that much was for sure. She darted forward again, fangs nicking the creatures muzzle as it full stumbled back with a snarl, jaws open wide but as it eyed the two wolves it seemed to decide that the trouble just wasn't worth it. With a lumbering moan the bear turned and moved away. Valdís left her defenses up until the bear was finally out of her sight. When it was she let out a deep breath and turned to Valentine with a grin. "Good work." "Talk" "You" Think