”Roan! The bear!” Dapple’s voice filled his inky ears as the bulky titan raced over the sand towards his sister. Their quarry was an old cave bear, they’d recently heard it had quite the taste for wolf. The silver marked beast had been appalled when he’d heard it had stolen some pups from a den. He and his sister were determined to end it.

The sibling pair tracked it into the desert and were now making an attempt to draw it from the cave. Dapple had been the first to take it into her sights and she sought her brother’s presence. The bear was more aggressive than either of them had anticipated. Right out of the gate it charged after the silver woman as Roan brought in back up.

The two of them trained together since they were cubs and their movements were practiced and easy. However, their opponent was anything but. The creature was violent and unpredictable. It was playing for keeps and fully intended on killing both wolves that harassed it. Neither of which were able to get in a good hit as they dodged its massive blows. They danced with danger, and with one wrong move the battle would quickly come to a bloody finish.

Roan was slashed in his face, hard enough that his huge body was sent flying into the sand beyond. Blood quickly soaked the sand around him. He was blinded by the liquid and the hit, after a few blinks a bright light over took his vision and He saw no more.

---

Pain laced through his body but Roan did not cry out. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t see. The air was cold and silent, the sun long since dipping beyond the horizon. The man was confused as his whereabouts when the days events came rushing back to him. With a horrific realization he called out to his sibling. ”Dapple?!” His voice was harsh and filled with dread. He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t look around to confirm the dreadful thought that took hold when she didn’t answer back. Only a few lengths away lay his sister’s body. Cold, lifeless, and obviously consumed by the giant bear.

This was a place that the small healer had never explored before. She walked around the edge of the opening, nose working to test out just what was inside. It was difficult to get a clear gauge on what was going on inside the hole because of the strong, rich scent of blood. It was wolf blood and it was very, very fresh. Concern etched the woman's face and she cast a glance back towards where Ila stood by the cart. She had unhitched the caribou to let her roam about and she was snuffling about the ground. Iolaire called out to her, "I'm going inside. If you hear me yell, go get Sirius!" The dwarf caribou responded with a little bleat and Iolaire made her decision to go inside.

Sliding down the sandy pathway where other paws had obviously trodden, Iolaire picked her way slowly to the bottom. Dusty blue nose continued to work, pointing her in the proper direction. The smell was so thick... It seemed to be coming from everywhere. Since her nose failed her, ears swiveled and eyes swung this way and that. She followed fresh tracks. Wolves and bear it seemed. Not a good combination.

Up ahead a low burring growl sounded and Iolaire tucked her ears against her skull. A bear was coming her way. She moved quickly backwards into the vegetation, her body becoming enveloped by shadows. A massive cave bear lumbered past. It stopped a moment, lips and nose curling as it tasted the air, then it continued on its way. The blood was too thick for a bear to smell through too, it seemed. She had noted that there was blood coating the ursine's pelt. Hopefully Ila was paying attention. She could easily outrun the lumbering bruin, but only if she saw it coming.

Deeper into the cavernous orifice the woman went. Up ahead she could see a pile of red mush. She really didn't want to approach the pile, but she'd come this far. Sadness crossed her features as she neared. It was a wolf. Had been a wolf. Half of its body had been consumed. The woman's lifeless eyes were open and glassy. A pity. She had been rather pretty. Rather than let the bear come back and eat her, Iolaire would bury the woman's remains, though there weren't too many of them.

She had wandered off a bit to find a suitable place and had just sunk her claws into the earth to begin digging when a voice called out in a panic. The small woman literally jumped with fright. Spinning in place, wide eyes panned about until they fell upon another form. This one of a giant man laying in a pool of his own blood. Io rushed to his side, careful to make sure that he saw her approach. "Hush now. The bear is still fairly near. I'm going to send someone for help. In the mean time, you need to stay still until I can see just what your injuries are." Turning, Iolaire released one single, abrupt call. It would be enough for Ila to recognize and she trusted the reindeer to go fetch her brother. Turning back to the man in question, she offered a soft smile. "I'm Iolaire and I'm a healer. We'll get you sorted and then we'll..." she was going to say 'see to your companion,' but she couldn't quite bring herself to do so.

Roan could hardly see with the dimness of the cave and the blood in his eyes. His breathing was raspy, his heart pounding in his chest when he didn’t get an answer from Dapple. They both knew well the dangers of their lifestyle, knew they were dancing with death every time they went after a bear. The realization that this was the last time they would ever fight together hit him harder than the voice of the strange woman.

He felt his heart fall as she answered him instead of his sister. She soothed him, let him know help had arrived and was further on the way. He wanted to get up, he needed to make sure Dapple was okay. He couldn’t hardly lift his chest to breathe let alone get up to find his sibling. Roan tried to keep his breaths even, tried to quell the panic in his chest as Iolaire introduced herself and drifted off from the second part of her words.

Roan shut his eyes tightly, the dried blood poking into the soft tissue as the scent of Dapple’s blood filled his senses. He was alive, and she was not. ”Dapple…” He mumbled back to the healer as she tried to comfort him and soothe his worries. The bear was close, his sister was dead, and his own injuries had him laid out in the sandy cavern. He should have been the one laying dead, not his brave sister. ”She.. She…” He gasped for breath and would have struggled to find his feet had Io not told him to lay still. Roan groaned heavily as he fell back in on himself, the trauma fully catching up to him as he realized how much his life was changed in the last day.

The sadness and panic in the mans bloodied features broke Iolaire's heart. He spoke what she assumed was the deceased woman's name. Iolaire placed a paw gently upon the brute's side and fought to make his gaze meet her own. "She's gone." It wasn't easy news to relay, but she felt that he knew it already. It just needed to be said aloud to be made into reality.

Iolaire began going over his injuries, assessing each one and formulating a plan to begin the healing process. The wounds upon his face were deep and would leave scars. She would try to make them minimal, however. His shoulder would be an issue. She wouldn't be able to set it until Sirius arrived. It would take a great amount of strength and the dainty woman just didn't have it in her.

Moving through her pack. Iolaire took out a few squares of soft doeskin. She began gently cleaning the blood and grime from the man's facial wounds. They were deep indeed. For now, she could put a protective salve upon them that would shield them from the dust of travel. They had to get him out of here, after all. With the darkness of the cave and the somewhat sandy bottom, it wouldn't be easy.

The caribou found him, and he recognised in a heartbeat the companion of his sister. The strangely shortened creature was hard to mistake. “Is it Io, is she okay?” he asked, dropping what he was doing and getting quickly to his paws. Of course, her companion could not answer him, so he bared his teeth at it. “Quickly” he barked, and followed after it at a dead run.

The creature took him around the Oasis, across the hot sands of the desert, the shifting land beneath his feet slowed his pace, but not by much. He arrived at the Descensum in short order, and looked at the recently well-worn path down. He took it without hesitation, sliding and half falling as he moved too quickly down the sandy ramp.

But then he was there, and Io was there, and well. She had not been injured, but rather she had found a wolf in such a state. He breathed a soft sigh of relief. Callus, perhaps, but he would rather misfortune fallen to a stranger then one he loved.

His eyes fell upon the dead wolf, and he walked first to her, the marks on her body matched the scent he could taste in the air. “Bear” he growled. And fresh, too. Blood still lay fresh against the partly consumed flesh. The body was yet to shown signs of decay, and her battle companion was alive, if only just. There was no sign that the bear had been defeated. “Io, we are leaving, now” he growled softly. He was not having his sister in this cave with a bear.

He wasn’t certain if his sister would care about leaving the man to his fate or not - he had been summoned here, and that seemed an indication she was unwilling to leave him. With that in mind, he latched his teeth about the injured wolf’s scruff, set his back, and began to drag him up the slope. Io could finish her business outside of the cave. Or, even better, within the safety of their pack.

Focus came with Iolaire’s touch as her dainty paw was pressed to his side. He blinked open his eyes, unable to really focus but he could feel her gaze on him. ”She’s gone.” Roan knew it, the words weren’t a surprise. They did bring a finality to his sister’s fate as he realized he’d failed his dear sibling. He allowed the bear to land its blow and after he was knocked out the bear had made easy work of Dapple.

He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, Roan could handle the physical pain that held tightly to his physical form. The mental anguish of knowing Dapple was gone tormented the bloodied wolf. There wasn’t anything else to say, Io moved to gather her supplies as Roan accepted his sister’s death and replayed his mistakes endlessly in his head.

Her snow tipped paws brought her back to his side, and gently she began to clean his wounds. Roan didn’t shed any tears, but his sorrow would be plain in his expression. He didn’t jump as her leather was drawn over the gouges in his face. The thought of ‘what’s next’ had yet to reach his mind. For now Roan would be stuck reliving the worst moments of his life.

Roan was silent as Iolaire worked and he mourned his loss when the deeper voice reached his inky ears. ”Bear.” The silver marked titan flinched at the word, knowing his failure and knowing the beast was still alive. Then he was being dragged from the cave. Roan didn’t make a noise, but he grimaced at the pain of being moved so recklessly. Pain jolted through his system, his muscles stiffened, and his ears pressed against his skull as he was removed from his sister’s tomb.

Sirius came and she was glad that Ila had had enough sense to go get him. You never knew with her sometimes. Iolaire was pretty certain that the caribou's head was filled with fluff. She was still working on the mans wounds when her brother approached with a snarl. He shot out a command and, without waiting or asking, snatched the injured man up and began to cart him from the cave. Iolaire gasped aloud and rushed forward, placing herself in the titans path.

Iolaire wasn't one to get angry, but in this case she was livid. The small woman's back arched like a cat and her pelt stood on end. Ears tucked against her skull and lips pulled back from sharp, white teeth. "Sirius, I called you here to help, but this isn't helping. If you keep pulling him like that, he may never walk again. We need to put his shoulder back before he can be moved." She wouldn't take no for an answer. The tiny wolf held her own,refusing to move. "I saw the beast leave. It passed me as I entered. I hid behind one of the boulders and watched it go. We have enough time to set his shoulder." Despite his urgency at leaving, he had to see that he was going to ruin this man for life if he continued to carry him roughly. Io spoke low, but her words were laced with warning and an urgency of her own. "Put him down."

Io got in the way, and he growled at her, eyes a little wild. He could not take on a bear alone. He had taken on a few in his time, and always in a group. The one time he had been cornered alone, a stranger had come to his aid, elsewise he would have been nothing but bear-meat. His nostrils flared angrily, frightened more for Io’s sake then his own. He would never abandon her, he would make her run and meet his fate. He just had a feeling she would not leave him, and they would die together. He could imagine nothing worse, then failing to save her, to make her flee.

Why would he give a shit if some stranger lost his legs? He was the idiot for getting in the path of a bear in the first place. He would not lose his sister to the foolishness of others. Sirius dropped the man with a grunt, and non-to-gently. “I don’t like this, Io. I wont lose you to a bear.” nonetheless, he took a step back, and Bast arrived at the top of the entrance downwards. His companion took point, keeping watch, and Sirius waited (impatiently) to assist Io in healing.

Roan would have accepted his fate if the pair he’d decided to leave him there for the bear to return to later. He would have made a great meal and he wouldn’t have had to live with the guilt of getting his sister killed. If he had only been just a little faster on his feet the bear would have been the one feasted upon not…

As soon as the dragging began it stopped abruptly, he could hear the little healer make the bigger wolf halt in his tracks. He didn’t seem pleased about it. Roan almost mumbled that they should let him die here, he wasn’t worth the air he breathed after he allowed his sister to be murdered. ”I wont lose you to a bear.” A small piece of the silver marked titan did perish as the words struck him deeper than the bear’s claws. Dapple was dead, he had lost her to a bear.

Still the fallen warrior wouldn’t make a sound to his distress. He knew what a piece of shit he was, and even more so for not rejecting their help. After everything Roan didn’t want to die. He prepared himself for more physical pain. His shoulder was dislocated, they needed to put it back before he could be safely removed. At this point though Roan was losing consciousness, he would likely lose it completely when they made an attempt to return his shoulder where it belonged.

It took him a minute,  but Sirius saw reason. Sort of. He dropped the injured wolf and Iolaire winced. Her pelt,  formerly spiked with hell fire,  smoothed and her gaze softened once more.  Padding forward,  she placed a quick lick to her irritated brothers cheek. "Thank you," She offered before going to the man's side.  

Thankfully when Sirius dropped him,  he'd fallen on his good shoulder,  leaving the dislocated one facing upwards.  "Okay, Sirius, I need you to grasp his leg just above the ankle.  When I count to three,  you're going to pull the leg with quick force. Pull towards yourself and swing the leg forward slightly as you do." She wasn't strong enough to do it herself. To help,  however,  the small woman draped her body over that of the black and silver brute, adding weight and tension against the pull that was to come. 

"One... two... three!" She braced herself,  paws digging into the earth and forelegs hooked around his misfire to hold him in place as best as she could.  This would hurt like hell, but she guaranteed he would walk again.

Sirius growled at Io, sure she was making a mistake. She was risking a lot for this nameless stranger. She was risking her life, and his own. The half-eaten form of the man's companion told him that the bear knew food lay here. He couldn’t imagine the creature letting it go to waste. It was only a matter of time before it came back. Annoyed, and antsy, Sirius sat in silence, glaring at the injured man that they risked it all for.

The lick to his cheek satisfied him a little, but not my much. He wouldn’t calm until they were far from this place. Did she not know the dangers of a bear? The proof was right before them, with the carcass of the girl.

When Io requested his strength, he leant it. He did as directed, and snapped the limb back to place with a grunt. The man was shorter than Sirius, but bigger in other ways. He had to be, if he spent any amount of time fighting bears.

“How much longer” he grunted to his sister, voice muted as he considered the injured wolf. If he had more fighters in his pack, he would have called for them all to join him here.