Keoni really did like the prairie and it’d be a lie to say he had considered just making a place for himself here. However, a place to live wasn’t a real home without others. His future family with other African wild dogs might be another day of travel away. Kotori had just killed a rabbit and, luckily for the rabbit it had died as Kione had no problem and frequently ate his prey before it was fully dead.

Keoni jerked his head at a surprising sight. A giant of a bear was heading his way and letting out a loud and impressive roar. Kioni glanced down at his fresh kill and up at the bear. Most likely it had the notion of taking his food. Wasn’t a very large meal for the monster but that made the most sense. Didn’t it? Looking past the bear there was another bit of brown hidden by trees. A cub possibly? Ah, possibly a protective mom.

Regardless, this was his kill and the spot he had decided to eat it. Keoni snarled towards the bear, and even as the bear came charging at him Keoni went running straight towards it. As the bear lifted its weight more to its hind end, a meaty paw swiping out in Keoni’s direction he bounced away easily. The painted dog had no problem fighting in willingness to fight large predators alone but the fight could last a long time as he would tire out the predator first to stay relatively safe.



"Speech"

The sickness was finally fading from his mind and everything was becoming right with the world. Above him, a shining sun warmed the earth beneath his paws. His once mangy form began to fill again as he grew hungry once more. It was the reason he searched this day out in the plains. Tall grass tickled at his belly as he kept his head low and eyes searched along the distance. Scents came and went with him but none quite caught his interest. There had to be something good to eat out here.

His muscular frame paused when an interesting scent did cross his pink nose. Lifting his chin to glance over at a cluster of trees, he noticed a large brown form move with ferocity. Curious, Gil picked his way through grass and dirt toward the bellowing roar of a bear. It wouldn't be the first time he would come face to face with a snarling mouth full of teeth. What was even more curious to him was that it appeared to be fighting a spotted dog. Large ears and tan fur blended well with their surroundings as the other male danced with the bear.

Ah, this would make it all the easier to fight the bear. Gil wouldn't say no to a little two-on-one fight. Curling his lips up as he folded back his ears, he set off at a quick pace to close the distance between him and the attacker. Letting out his own snarl to distract the bear from swiping at the dog, Gil lunged for the bear's shoulder before bouncing away himself to keep the bear at bay.

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A distraction! Help! Kione was born to do everything with a large pack and not alone.  The colorful dog’s muscles twitched and had this not been a fight he would have shown a broad grin at getting help.  Of course, if not for the fight the help wouldn’t have been needed but, there was nothing better than working with companions.  The bear no longer had a prayer, at least not in Kione’s mind.

The moment the bear’s attention was turned the painted dog ran to the bear’s beefy paw and bit into it, shaking his head, successfully ripping off a patch of skin.  Kione was ready to stay there and go for another bite but apparently, he had upset the bear who stopped his attack towards Gil to snarl and once more try and hit him with the massive claws.  Kione was grinning like this was all some type of game even as he avoided the blow.

Kione wasn’t crazy enough to take his eyes from the bear to this wolf yet he still kept tabs out of his side-eye for what this wolf would be doing next.  


"Speech"

The bear snarled and roared in fury as its paws swiped wildly at them. Its attention had been turned on him and Gil snarled in response. Lunging forward to nip at its legs, the attention was quickly turned back to the dog. Noticing from the corner of his own eye that the dog had been able to get ahold of a paw, he smiled. Ah, it was nice fighting a predator with someone who was competent.

Focusing again, Gil took his opportunity to deal more damage while the bear's attention was drawn away. Pressing toward the ground, he bunched up his muscles before springing forward and leaping onto the bear's shoulder. Digging his teeth into the thick fur and sinewy muscle, he listened to the bear groan in pain. Shaking his own head so that he could rip his own bite off of the bear, he released as the bear turned back to him.

It was obvious now that the bear was confused. Who was it supposed to focus on? Keeping his distance, Gil lunged again as he circled around toward the bear's haunches. Biting aggressively at the bear's legs, he continued to dance and puncture the bear while dodging potentially fatal blows.

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The bear started to lift its front end off the ground, head and a paw showing signs of intent to get this wolf off of him and away from his shoulder however possible. That would work just fine for Kione. The second its attention was on Gil, and its chest open Kione charged in, front paws leaving the ground as he stretched up to bite the bear’s stomach, thrashing his head as he did so. Now the bear had one wolf attacking high and a dog attacking low and neither of them was playing nice.

The bear decided to stand fully on two feet instead of just angled, clearly hoping to shrug off Gil. His arm that wasn’t being bitten into swung out for Kione, an attempt to make both canines put some distance between them and the bear. Kione preferred to rip off flesh but this time hadn’t got enough of a mouthful and was forced back to not get mauled by the bear’s strike. Still, even if he hadn’t torn the bear open there was obvious blood darkening the belly fur. Kione could only imagine what its shoulder looked like as well.

The bear roared, aiming to intimidate and at this point would be just happy to free himself of these two just to run away. Kione ran back in, facing the belly but already planning for the paw. When the bear swung at him again Kione bit deep into the wrist, thrashing his head to rip off a piece of flesh. The bear knew it was in danger but with its arms taking damage it wouldn’t be able to escape them. That’d teach it for trying to steal his food! Hopefully, at this point Gil could easily get a good shot at its neck, the bear was slowing down.


"Speech"

His body flailed as expertly as he could manage with the bear raising up on his hind legs. Lurching back to pull at thick skin, Gil ripped off a good enough chunk that he could spit out. Most of the attention was on the dog now as the bear swung wildly at him. Blood began to flow from various parts of its body and Gil could tell it was beginning to tire.

Stepping back so he could assess where to attack next, Gil continued to dance around the bear to avoid its strikes. He watched as Kione went for a fatal bite to the wrist and listened as the bear gurgled in pain. It began to fall back down to all four and he knew this was his chance. Circling back around to the other side, Gil lined himself up with the bear's neck. Folding his ears back once more, he lunged in with proficiency as his mouth opened up and aimed directly at the bear's neck.

Leaping into the air, Gil latched on to thick fur and dug in deep. Blood filled his mouth once more as the warm and soft meat of the neck become punctured. Shaking furiously to drive his bite farther, he could feel the bear begin to sink to the ground in pained groans. Hoping that the dog would help him finish the bear off, Gil refused to let go until the bear's last dying breath.

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