With a lot on her mind lately, she felt restless more than she wanted. Something itched in her bones that she wasn't doing well enough. Why she felt the need to prove herself to the Kaicho was a deeper thought than she cared to question at the moment. For now, she stalked through the forest with her head low and tail flicked over her haunches. Steel blue eyes worked every shadow to find something, someone, anything, to help get her pent-up energy out. The dummies and her pack mates within Tojo were not good enough for the crackle of adrenaline that seeped into her body. There it was. A twinge of a musky scent on a slight breeze. Unlike the tigers or pandas she normally encountered farther south, this one was a different ursine. Large, meaty, and two beady black eyes stared back at her from a small creek. A recently caught fish in its jaws as she raced forward from around the corner toward it. No thinking this time, the grizzly was going to be hers. Lunging toward the massive creature, it barely had time to drop its lunchtime snack before her own paws swiped at its face. Listening to its piercing roar as it reared back on its hind paws, Tenshi danced around it, splashing water and mud as she went. fight large predator (grizzly) 1/3

Auster was exotic, so why did such a basic beast find its way here? Sayuri noted the grizzly bear and followed it, seeing Tenshi engage in battle with it without hesitation. She launched herself at the bear too, unwilling to let her pack mate get into a tight spot without her! She had already plucked her blade from the sheath, with Akira-sama at her heels.

Tenshi got the first blow. Sayuri aimed a slice of her blade at the hindquarters of the beast. It gave another roar, pained and angry and surprised, before it dropped to all fours. Abandoning Tenshi in the heat of the moment, it turned attention on Sayuri. The grizzly was slow and lethargic, so she managed to get another cut in before she, too, danced away.

Akira waited on the outskirts, for an opening. He was not as large as the wolves and any mistake could cost him.

"Speech"
1/3 - fought large predator

She felt triumphant as she noticed the scraping tears across the grizzly's face. Her swipe had been successful and the splattering of blood that graced the ground would soon be forgotten. As she danced around the frazzled bear, a certain koi wolf raced up to the bear. All Tenshi could see was a glint of steel in her moment of minor confusion as Sayuri dug into the bear's thigh. "Why must we always meet like this?" Tenshi quipped her packmate's direction before taking to the other side of the grizzly. Keeping her distance, she pulled out her own bladed stars and tossed them at the bear's side. The sharp points dug into the thick fur as more blood began to trickle from the bear. Pained groans echoed through the forest causing birds to scatter. Tenshi rushed forward while the bear was too pained to attack back to grab her stars and land one more bite into its thigh before pulling away. In the shadows beside Akira Kita and Fuji, Tenshi's mated snow leopards, settled beside the dog, ready and waiting for their opening to assist the two wolves. fight large predator (grizzly) 2/3

She would smirk at Tenshi's words, closing the distance and dodging the throwing shuriken as she neared the bear. At the same time, Akira-sama launched himself on the bear's back, digging his claws and teeth into the flesh below the neck. The grizzly was too distracted by the raccoon dog to stop as Sayuri drew closer.

She aimed her blade and drew it down the bear's side. Flesh parted from the carefully manicured lotus pin easily, blood pooling on the side she sliced. It would not be long before the bear was down for good. Perhaps she would make a necklace of teeth... Well, she only needed one and some leather cord. Perhaps she would gift to Kuroo-chan!

A wishful thinking, anyway. Seemed to impolite to give it to Hanzo Hattori, despite being thankful for being allowed in the pack.

"Speech"
2/3 - fight predator

The forest around them rumbled with ferocity as the bear's body turned from a warm brown to a mottled maroon. Tenshi's own leopards zoomed forward to leap onto each shoulder and dig their feline claws into its flesh. Tenshi circled round until she was face to face with the grizzly. Fear streaked across its face as its lips trembled and frothed. There was no chance for it to survive anymore. Not with the onslaught of companions and two wolves experienced in killing. Lunging forward, the older woman grabbed one of her stars and used it to slice across the beast's throat as it fell to the ground with a thud. Slowly the light would leave its beady eyes as she stood over it. Blood splattered across the small clearing, she glanced up to Sayuri. With her companions back at her sides, Tenshi smiled. "We should take what we can back to the maze," her voice is matter-of-fact, as it usually was. A nice bear skin rug would look nice in Hanzo's den now that she thought about it. Or even a claw or two made into a feather ornament to be worn on her ear. Looking over the once healthy animal, she felt no remorse. fight large predator (grizzly) 3/3

The bear was felled, and Sayuri felt sick satisfaction from it. Drawing her blade free of the mountain of flesh, she turned to her pack mate. Akira returned to her side, bloody but unhurt. "Yes" she agreed with Tenshi, pocketing her belongings as the raccoon dog and her approached the dead beast "our pack will have need of such materials." Winter, summer...

It did not matter.

Tojo-Kai was essentially alone. They survived on their own merit, and anything to contribute to the cache was welcomed. Sayuri began to drag the bear back with Tenshi and Akira's help. It prevented her from chattering happily to the woman, alas. In the end, they returned to the Maze. A bit bruised but otherwise unbroken. Just as they liked it. /end

"Speech"
3/3 - fight predator