Valentine was returning to Legion with two of his grandsons in tow. More than anything else the old king wanted his family to be close knit so he'd resolved to do what he could to bring the factions back together again. His family had scattered after Imperium disbanded, each going their own separate way. The rise of Legion was fortuitous; it gave them all a chance to unite once more and become the close family they'd been just a few years ago. Sure, the family today was very different than the one that had been around in the Imperium days, but Valentine was confident they could have that again. It was with that in mind that he'd dragged the two nearest grandchildren out for some hunting. The trio had bagged and feasted on an old deer together. Valentine hoped that this activity and ones like it would bring together the youngest generation. They may not have grown up together, but they were family and at the very least they had that in common. Surely they shared more than that and just needed time to discover it. An angry bellow brought Valentine's head around. He turned just in time to see Jupiter backpedaling away from a baby bison. Its mother was stomping towards him brandishing her horns.Valentine was about to yell at his grandson and advise him to back down, but a series of huffing and stomping alerted him to another problem. The rest of the herd, believing one of theirs was in danger, had come to the rescue and now surrounded the wolves in a semi circle. Well, hell. It was one thing to chase a herd of bison in search of an easy meal. It was another to be surrounded by a protective herd bent on keeping one of their babies safe. "Alright, boys. No sudden movements, try not to look interested in any of them. We might be able to just back out of this." The only way that was clear led up to the top of one of the knolls the buffalo hated so much. If they could reach it before the herd got brave enough to charge them they just might make it out unscathed. The closest mother bison bellowed again. Even though her baby was almost within reach she was incensed that the predators had gotten so close. Her small dark eyes promised a goring if she got close enough to one of the wolves to stick them. Valentine was familiar with what bison could do. He had no intention of getting stomped on or stabbed today. Word count: 429

The star clad boy was enjoying the day out with his grandfather and cousin. It had been a while since he spent quality time with family...and perhaps the first time he spent quality time with family that wasn't his father or siblings. They were returning from a meal they shared together, the young sabertoothed male was licking his chops as he trailed after his grandfather. His father had told him of some stories about Valentine, and Ares was still excited to learn more about him and hopefully one day, live up to his image. The family before he was born had been a great one, but at some point had been scattered to the winds. He wondered if things would go back to the glory days, or if maybe it was all over. After the slave raid, Ares was keen on hoping more raids would happen...but nothing yet. Legion felt quiet at times, but he was hopeful that would change. He didn't regret joining his father's pack. He enjoyed the company of his packmates, and he didn't have to go far to find adventure or someone to heckle.

At least this way too, it was a little less lonely.

He was pulled from his train of thought when an angry bellow from a familiar-sounding creature caught his attention. He quickly turned around to find an angry bison with her baby, and for a moment, he was confused. They had just eaten, they weren't going to try and bring down one of these right? His cousin was backing away from the calf, but the mother continued her threat as she brandished her horns and stomped the ground. Before he knew it, the rest of the herd had gathered around them and formed a half circle around them and he suddenly felt uneasy. Ears flattened against his head as he bared his teeth, his long fangs glinting in the sunlight.

At his grandfather's words, Ares stepped back towards Valentine's side. He tried to avert his gaze from the herd, but he also wanted to keep a critical eye on them in case they decided to charge at them anyway. He had seen other animals get gored by them before, and he didn't want to end up skewered anytime soon. While he tended to be reckless, he was smart enough not to be when it came to bison. Much less with his grandfather and cousin here. He'd get his ass beat if he did something stupid and got either of them injured or killed..."What do we do?" He asked in a low voice. Sure they could probably back out, but that mother looked angry. One wrong step was all it took for them to decide they were too much of a threat...

Word count: 457

Jupiter was enjoying his time in Legion. It was good to be around family. Finally he was getting what he had so desperately craved as a child. He had his sister, his cousins, his aunt and his uncles. They made for an interesting bunch. It was funny how wolves who were so different, who had grown up apart from one another, could have so many traits in common. He did not know many of them well, but some of the ways they moved or talked reminded him of those he did know well. In a nutshell it was nice. He felt like he belonged; like he was among those who were more likely to understand him when others could not. Perhaps that was naive, romantic take on an otherwise mundane situation, but he found it comforting.

If there was one thing he could not get over with this particular cousin it was that the boy was not unlike Jupiter and his siblings. The rest of their family sported natural coats (an exception might be made for Chaos, who sported odd markings but was otherwise 'natural') so it struck him as a surprising twist to find that his cousin bore an uncannily resemblance to Orion, fangs, swirls and all. They were slightly mismatched twins and every time Jupiter looked at Ares for a brief moment he was startled by his brother's sudden appearance.

Jupiter was so lost in thought that he did not realize how close he was to a newborn bison until it stumbled away from him. The long grass that had all but hidden it from his view swayed and briefly blocked it from his sight again. He had just enough time to squint at it and confirm what the glance had told him before the bellow if its mother reached his ears. Jupiter turned and had just enough time to swear and backpedal when the huge beast plowed through the grass in front of him. Her angry cry rallied the rest of the herd and as he watched their massive shapes glided through the tall grass towards him. Uh oh. The loosely held together herd quickly solidified around the wolves like a massive, muscley wall. Some were so close Jupiter could see grass flecked drool dripping from their heavy lips.

Slowly so as not to alarm the beasts, Jupiter slunk over to Valentine. While not the nicest of wolves, his grandfather was pretty wise when he wanted to be. Perhaps he would know what to do; the best way to get them out of the herd without getting stomped on.

As he had suspected, the old man was quick to offer advice and Jupiter dutifully dropped his gaze. He still kept an eye on the beasts closest to him, but he was careful to avoid their eyes lest they mistake his nervous gaze for a predatory one. Back out of this? Jupiter lifted his eyes to the knoll. He had forgotten the bison's aversion to the big hills. "If we can make it to the knoll we'll be fine, right? Because they won't climb it?" A nod from Valentine confirmed his suspicions.

"Just kinda..." Jupiter took a few casual steps towards the knoll as he answered Ares. "Mosey in this direction." Nice and easy. No sudden movements. This was totally fine and definitely going to work. Yep. No need to fear...

A huff on his heels made him jump but Jupiter forced himself not to turn around. There wasn't a rush of hooves so none were charging at him. At least that's what he told himself. Still, as he made his way up the knoll and to safety, Jupiter was ready for a sudden impact should it come.

Word count: 615

Valentine nodded as Jupiter asked his question and was pleased when the young Imperialis beat him to answering Ares' question. That was exactly what he had been getting at and was, in his opinion, their best bet at getting out of the herd without a whole lot of running and dodging. "Follow him, Ares," he said in a low voice before heeding his own command and following the young Imperialis.

The herd seemed torn over what to do. Many pawed at the group, clearly willing to give chase, but an equal amount just milled about and seemed unhappy at the prospect of fighting a group of wolves even though the predators' numbers were few.

In Valentine's case the indecisiveness lasted long enough for him to make it to safety.

OOC: sorry both posts are crap, I'm running out of posting time xD At least we have enough words!

He swallowed down the nervousness that threatened to rise. Yeah he was a big guy with big teeth, but the bison were bigger and could be downright mean. Especially now when they felt threatened by them. His cousin slipped towards them while he remained as close to his grandfather as he could get. An ear tilted towards his cousins questions, the star-clad boy sneaking a glance to see Valentine's nod. Okay...they could do this without getting stomped, right? He didn't want to take his eyes completely off the herds whereabouts, nor did he want to look at them. But he wanted to get out of here, especially before his nervousness threatened to overtake him.

At Valentine's direction, Ares slowly followed his cousin up the knoll. The stomping and huffing of the herd behind him set him on edge, nearly threatening to send him scurrying the rest of the way. But he steeled himself and instead, moved carefully. He did keep his wits about him, practically walking on his toes so he'd have a better chance and reaction time to get out of the way should they decide to charge after all.