A coiled up snake hissed at Taiga and she hissed right back before taking a swipe at the reptile with her big, snowshoe paws. The snake went flying, but it wouldn't sustain any damage. The feline simply didn't want an audience while she ate her meal. A small antelope lay splayed out before her, most of it eaten already. Blood coated her snow white cheeks, but the lioness didn't care. She would take a nice, thorough bath when she was finished filling her belly. For now, she continued to munch away. The massive feline lay on her belly, enjoying her meal. Her long, white tipped tail swished back and forth languidly as she ate. Overhead the sun darted in and out of the clouds, creating a decent enough temperature. All in all, it was a good day for the cave lioness. That was, until something decided that a free meal was better than hunting. Emerging from the foliage was a hulking brown bear. It's big nose and hanging lips quivered as it scented Taiga's lunch. The ursine stood on its hind paws and roared at the cat as though that would scare her off. Taiga's ears merely turned backwards to block out the roar. She then licked her lips, stood, and released a roar in turn. The bear faltered for a moment, then decide that hunger outweighed smarts. It rushed the woman and she sighed aloud. When it was near enough, she took a swipe at its face, leaving bloody rivulets in its cheek which only served to make it more angry. "Speech"

Spark wasn't exactly in the habit of jumping in to fighting creatures significantly bigger than herself but the damn bear had snagged her last meal when she'd been out and so she'd started tailing it. She didn't really have a plan yet, but she figured there was a chance she could maybe rope someone into helping her fight the beast, maybe Ryu. She wasn't exactly on the heels of the bear, it was hardly a wise choice when she still wasn't sure what she was going to do.

But when a loud roar rang across the plains the girl picked up her pace, paws hitting the ground even harder when another roar, distinct from the first, responded. A tiny flame marked wolf burst onto the scene, silver eyes quickly scanning and Spark grasped the situation pretty quickly. A large feline, fresh blood on her maw stood before the charging bear, a corpse between the two of the larger predators and though some part of her was very much aware of the large cat and the fact that there was a chance she was about to get way to far in over her head Spark found herself rushing towards the bear's rear end. There was no guarantee that the lioness would help her in the fight, or even not turn on her the moment the bigger threat was dealt with but those thoughts only really flashed across Spark's mind as her fangs were sinking into the back of the right hind leg of the bear.

"Spark"

And Taiga squared off and waited for the bear to rush into swiping range, a small, dark form darted in and appeared to bite the bears rump. The feline tilted her head quizzically as the shape turned out to be a wolf. The wolves of this land truly were strange creatures. Oh well, she wouldn't look a gift wolf in the mouth, she supposed. The bear spun to see what was biting it and Taiga took the opportunity to pounce. Huge claws pushed from soft paws, latching into either shoulder of the bear as the hulking feline landed on its back. Wolf forgotten, the bear roared in panic and did a little spin. With seven hundred pounds of cat on its back, it was a very slow spin. Taiga's teeth sank into the fatty lump atop the bears shoulders to help her hold on. The bear, not being entirely stupid, stopped, dropped and rolled. Taiga, also not entirely stupid, leaped off just before getting pinned beneath its bulk. Landing on her paws, the charcoal and snow woman snorted in distaste. She placed herself between the bear and her kill once more and waited for the next attack. "Speech"

Spark felt the bear moving under her hold and a giant head swung into view out of the corner of her eye and Spark started to release her hold, ready to dart out of the way of what would no doubt be a giant paw swinging towards her soon. But as she ducked out of the way she was surprised not to hear the telltale whiff of a hit just narrowly missing her head. Instead, she heard a roar of pain from the bear and she quickly backpedaled to avoid the sudden spin of the bear as she turned her head upwards to see the cat clinging to the bear's back.

The bear rolled and Spark sidestepped, keeping herself close enough to the bear that she could leap in when she saw an opening, which she did when the bear was starting to roll itself laboriously towards standing she darted forward again, this time her fang biting deep onto a hind paw, she clamped down, feeling her teeth slide into the joint of the bear's toes and she growled, pulling back. Spark was certainly not strong but at the very least the bear seemed a little stopped in its tracks, it grunted in pain and instead of rising to it's paws, rolled itself into a sitting position, a big paw reaching towards her and this time Spark didn't just hear the whiff, she felt the thick limb slap into the top of her skull as her attempt at a duck didn't quite cause the hit to miss her entirely. She gasped, released her grip, and backed up again, shaking the ringing from her ears and gritting her teeth against the slow bloom of pain across her head.

"Spark"

The bear sat up and when it did, it was facing the wolf rather than Taiga. The wolf must have injured it somehow, for a moment later one big paw was swiping out and thunked the canine right in the head. the feline winced, lips pulling back from sharp teeth for a moment. With the wolf no doubt reeling from the strike, the lioness moved forward and, pulling back, let fly, giving the bear a little bit of its own medicine. The woman's wide paw struck the bear clean in the side of the head, pulling an instant grunt from it. To dodge any more attacks, the bear rolled onto its side almost comically before getting up once more. Blood was trickling from wounds in the bear but the lioness and the wolf were mostly uninjured. It was clearly losing and it knew it. The lion and bear circled then, without warning, the bear turned, grabbed the remainder of the antelope, and went flying off across the plains. Joke was on the bear, there was damn near nothing left to eat. Letting the bear go, Taiga turned to the wolf. "You okay, kid? That was a big knock to the head you took there." If the girl's brain was addled or something, Taiga would have to take her home, wherever that was. "Speech"

If Spark's head didn't bruise she'd be very surprised, the fight was still ongoing and Spark struggled to shake her rattling off, wobbling on her paws for a few seconds before she managed to shake off the worst of the blow. The bear and the cat were facing each other down, and Spark took a step forwards, the bear hardly reacting to her movement though she saw its eyes flickering towards her for a brief second and Spark was definitely aware of where exactly she stood in the creature's threat management, definitely lower than the cat at least. Finally, it seemed to decide it wasn't worth keeping up the fight, grabbed the carcass, and fled. The adrenaline fled Spark and she wobbled again and she sat down heavily suddenly, feeling the throbbing starting up in her head.

She allowed herself to collapse onto her haunches, her chest rising and falling rapidly. The cat approached and her paws tapped out her uncertainty and surprise to hear her speaking so clearly. "I have faced worth, nothing rest will not heal." Her voice was flat and though she turned her attention towards the cat her face remained blank, only her paws spoke of the emotions she did not outwardly show, the signs reading: Placating, serious, to anyone who was familiar with the signs of the Ademre.

"Spark"

With the bear having fled, Taiga's attention was all for the girl. Her head had taken a pretty nice whack. Too good of a whack, it seemed. As the feline questioned her, she noticed the delicate little tippy taps of the girl's paws. When the young wolf spoke, Taiga frowned. She didn't understand the paw flapping at all and was pretty convinced that the blow from the bear had knocked something loose in the girl's brain. Oh boy... Taiga lowered herself, elbows bent, so that she could more easily look into the girl's eyes. "Do you have any family close by? Someone to take care of your head?" She would have to walk the addled girl home. If she didn't have a home or family to go to... well... Would the herd have a fit if she brought a wolf home for a while? Taiga kind of felt responsible for the youngling. "Speech"

Spark's paws stuttered for a moment, pausing as the cat's question reached her. Her face remained blank but there was a slight shift in her posture. Her paws returned to movement tapping out: Pained. "No, I do not have anywhere on Boreas to go, no one to help." For the first time since she'd left her mother, since she'd gone out on her own to be bombarded by the emotions of strangers, since she'd subjected herself to the odd stares and the way others held her at arm's length when they saw her blank stares and heard her flattened voice. Her voice broke. It was just a tiny break, on "no one" but suddenly she ducked her head. The tears would flow down her face; though she sobbed quietly she did not try to repress them, crying was too primal an emotion to bother to hide and as the feeling of loneliness finally settled on her she let herself cry. For the briefest of moments, she had thought she had found a place she could eke out for herself, someone who might care enough to try and meet her where she was.

But they had since gone their own way. Spark missed her mother, she missed her twin. She wanted to feel like she belonged again, instead of an outsider only worthy of spectacle and not of any kindness. She was tired of being alone.
"Spark"

Gods, what had she gotten herself into? The girl admitted that she had no one, then... began to cry. Taiga pulled her lips back, flashing fang. What did she do? What did she do?! Uh... Stepping forward, the big cat gently licked the top of the small wolf's head, careful not to jostle her too much, lest she further injure the child's addled brain. "It'll be okay," she assured the girl. Would it? Taiga had no damn clue, but for now it would be okay. Man, she wasn't good at this stuff. What would the guys think if she brought home a puppy? Kyren had a difficult enough time accepting her. Adding another predator to the mix... Oscar would welcome the pup for sure and Rannoch, she wasn't sure about. "You should come with me back to my pri...my, uh... herd?" There were more hooves than paws, so their group would remain a herd. "We're all orphans and outcasts. We keep each other safe and travel together." Maybe during their travels, they could find someone that the girl knew. "Even if you don't stay forever, at least stay with us until your head is better." Taiga gave the child a hopeful look, rounded ears swiveling forward as she waited. "Speech"