Sadness lingers in the nebula-cloaked boy’s eyes as he looks out across the range. This is where Kore had spent the first few months of his life, where his family is from and now… they are all gone, spread out across the land. A sigh rolls out of the nearly yearlings’ chest as he ponders what he and his sibling will be doing. They have been camping out by the Rio Grande but they have been growing restless, eager to explore what all the world holds. Standing, Kore shakes out his starry pelt before turning back toward where the river is. Slowly, he walks back toward his family, thoughts buzzing like millions of locusts in his head.

A sound catches Kore’s attention and the tall pup looks over to see a pair of black bears rooting through the bare berry bushes. They have awoken early, the berries haven’t even begun to grow but that doesn’t make them any less hungry. They see him, mouths pulling down as they scent the air and find him alone. Paws hit the ground as the bears begin to move toward him, huffing at the boy. Kore looks between them, annoyance written plainly on his face. Paws spread as Kore stands his ground, growling loudly at the advancing black bears before rushing in to aim a bite at one of their muzzles.


"Kore Regni"

He walked through the field. A large, crumbling building in the distance. Curiosity angled him closer to it, and the fading scent of pack left questions on his mind. Who had lived here, and where had they gone? He might have missed the bears himself, if he hadn’t suddenly heard the sounds of huffing and growling. He turned this way and that, trignaliating the sounds in the long grass, before seeing the faint patches of fur that helped to lead him forward.

Going towards the danger instead of away (no one ever accused him of being wise) he would find the two black bears, and the wolf they sought to harass. A colourful yearling, staring down the danger. Mercury stepped closer, watching the scene unfold as the bears stalked closer to the wolf. Under the cover of the sound of their huffing and footsteps, he prowled closer. When the wolf rushed in, so did Mercury. Aiming for the other bear, the older wolf snapped his jaws against a powerful leg.


"Speech"

Kore growls at the black bears, their presence is an annoyance but nothing that the boy fears. A tall form appears behind the bears but the galaxy-clad boy does not allow his eyes to leave the huffing beasts. He doesn’t want to give away the other wolf’s presence to the attacking creatures but a smirk tugs at his lips to let the wolf know he sees him. The black and blue form slowly stalks closer and Kore lunges toward one of the black bears while the stranger takes the other. Roars fill the air, of pain and confusion and the gangly yearling swiftly moves around to stand with the stranger. Darting a glance to the tall wolf, Kore dips his head in greeting before turning back to attacking bears. A clawed pad is aimed at his head but the nebula-hued wolf effortless catches it in his mouth and delivers a painful bite to offending appendage.

"Kore Regni"

After his initial strike, the yearling moved to stand at his side, and Mercury gave him a sharp nod of greeting and mutual respect for a wolf willing to fight the bears. Especially one as young as he was.

As one of the black bears swiped at the younger wolf, he nimbly caught the paw. Seeing that Kore had that bear under control, Mercury attacked the other again. Leaping forward to strike his claws against its snout, drawing blood and a pained yelp before Merc fell back into place beside Kore again. He had learned with predators that the best thing to do was so a unified front, and that sticking around was more effort then it was worth.


"Speech"

The bite is quick and painful, the black bear roaring its displeasure at the yearling as he backs away from another strike. The stranger keeps the other bear’s attention and Kore sticks close to him. Lips pull back as he snarls at his target, snapping his jaws closed near his bear’s face. It is confused, the easy snack they had been hoping for isn’t scared of them and now with a taller wolf in the mix… Kore lunges toward the beast, jaws closing on the tender flesh of its cheek. It back peddles as the boy release his hold and, with blood coating his lips, the galaxy-hued boy shows the bear’s that they are a united front.

Having enough, they turn tail, running as fast as they can away from the pair of wolves. Tongue darts out to clean off the blood on his lips as he looks to the tall male, offering him a huge grin as he says, “Thanks for the help! Those bears didn’t even know what hit them.” A chuckle as the yearling looks to the path the bears had run down. Looking back to the black and blue male, he says, “My name’s Kore. You live around here?”


"Kore Regni"

It didn’t take long after that for the black bears to decide they had had enough. Turning tail, the bears tore off across the field in search of easier prey shaking out his coat, and watching their departure, Mercury reflected on the dangers of winter's end. Certainly a lot of hungry predators roamed at this time of year.

Turning his attention to the yearling, Merc grinned. “Good job grabbing the paw, that was quite a move” he applauded the younger wolf. “I’m Mercury, and I live a little to the North of here” he explained. Nodding his head in the general direction of the north.


"Speech"