It had taken some time for Astraios to knock down the bees hive. Straight into the water, where it smothered the unsuspecting bees before they could react. He was just fishing the hive back out of the water - and getting stung by one last heroic bee before it died - when a black bear stared at him in astonishment. It had one paw already hooked up on the tree, as if it had been about to climb it. Perhaps this had been its source of honey, or perhaps it was just an opportunist. Either way, it looked at the bear, and the beehive in his paws, and it came for him. He yanked the beehive from his paws to mouth, crunching down on it as he turned and ran. He wasn’t fleeing, he was protecting what was his. Not to mention a bear, even a black bear, was much bigger than a pup. He went flying across the plains, heading for the ruins. His only thought was that he could either lose the bear, or get somewhere defensible in its crumbling walls. What he would not do, was give up his prize. "Speech"

It was... very obvious how tiny Delphi was. While she couldn't cover ground as fast as some, she made up for it by being agile and capable of climbing trees. This particular skill became useful when she needed something that was way out of her reach. Today? It was the last of a bunch of apples that were one limb too high. The orchard was small, off to the side of the steppe, most didn't notice the small green apples that tried their best. She had though, and she knew that if she brought enough to Ulfr, he'd make cider. A warm cup of cider sounded delicious as winter rang through the mountainside. As she was in the middle of trying to make her way up the tree, it began to vibrate.

Hesitating, she looks down at Binti who is waiting for her at the base of the tree. Binti looks up and then around before rolling her eyes and then pointing a crooked finger in the direction of some commotion. Heading kind of their way, the boy she loathed came barreling at full speed with a... black bear following him. "Oh fuck," she exclaimed, hurrying to scramble up onto the branch and motioning for Binti to follow.

"Aye! Lead it over here!" Delphi called out loudly toward Strai and waved her paws to get his attention. If he could lure the bear over toward the orchard, she could get the drop on the bear and help take it down.

He was running in a headfirst sprint towards the ruins when a voice called out to him. He hesitated, glancing around, which cost him precious moments. He almost didn’t see the tiny pup in the tree, until he saw the movement of her paw as she waved him down. Stupid toxic wolf. Almost reluctantly, he changed course. Wondering even as he did so if she just wanted front row seats to his demise. More the merrier for her once she found out that black bears could climb! He gave a dark grin at that thought, even through it meant he would already be dead before it came to pass. Then he had no more thoughts for anything but running, as he heard the sound of the bear's paws on the earth behind him. It was gaining on him! He put his head down, and he sprinted. Hard as he could, especially with the damn beehive obscuring part of his mouth, and then he was at the tree. He was already skidding at that point, trying to angle around the tree. He had no idea what Delphi was planning. "Speech"

"You really are stupid," Binti hisses at Delphi as they watch Strai hesitate before making his way toward them. God, was he the stupid one? What was taking him so long! She can feel the adrenaline building up inside of her, gnawing her belly, threatening to make her throw up, eyes never leaving Strai and the black bear. Also, since when were bears so fucking fast? Her brow furrows as she leans over to explain her plan in a whisper to Binti. That heard her a hiss and an eye roll, but her companion didn't say no either. Why the binturong always told the girl yes was far beyond her comprehension or care.

It began to feel as if her body was vibrating as the running duo grew closer to the orchard. Suddenly, Strai was hurdling around the tree and the black bear was almost on him. In the next moment, Delphi and Binto were both dropping down from their branch. Unfortunately for the bear, it was not paying attention to anything except for Strai. Which for Delphi was a good thing until it wasn't. As soon as she and Binti landed upon the bear's back, the bear was yowling with rage and raising up onto its hind paws. It began to twist back and forth, arms flailing around trying to reach them.

Both Delphi and Binti clung onto the bear and slowly made their way up toward the back of the bear's head. Delphi opened her mouth and quickly clamped down on the back of the bear's neck. Blood fills her mouth quickly as she focuses on hanging on. Meanwhile, Binti is climbing over her and headed for the bear's eyes to try and claw them out.

He almost fell on his side as he skidded around the tree. As he was scrambling for balance, the bear let out a sudden yowl of pain and surprise. He made a full turn around the tree now, and was coming up behind the bear. The bear had stopped in its tracks when it had suddenly been ambushed by a drop-wolf and companion. He blinked stupidly for a moment. that was her plan? Stupid wolf. Never mind that her distraction had given him a much needed advantage, he still couldn’t believe his eyes. It crossed his mind that this would actually be the perfect chance for him to escape. He could walk away, and bear and wolf would be none the wiser while he ate his spoils. He thought of Delphi showing him her secret place, and scowled angrily. Stupid, toxic wolf. He dropped the beehive and dove in, grabbing at the bear's tail and pulling as hard as he could. He was still only a pup, so it wasn’t that hard, but he was digging his teeth in as hard as he could as well. "Speech"

Delphi digs in, her elongated canines going deeper into the bear's thick skin until she feels it tearing open. It tries harder and harder to beat at her with its paws. She can feel its claws whizzing by her as her body flails back and forth. Her hind paws could barely keep hold of the bear's fur as it aggressively tried to shake her off. Binti successfully made it ontop of the bear's head and was able to stab a claw into the bear's right eye before being swept off with a paw and launched into a nearby tree. The moan that leaves the binturong has Delphi worried and in tears. Fuck! She screams in her head as she pulls back and goes in for another bite.

Of course, she doesn't notice the boy come back around and go for the bear's tail. Not until the bear's attention is diverted from her to him. Paws are swiping more wildly than before. Roars of pain and anger echo over the steppe. Blood is covering her muzzle and chest as she continues to bite into the bear, over and over and over again, hoping to Odin that the bear will slow down and die before it can get to them.

The bear whirled around, and he was gripping the tail so tightly, that he whirled around with it. Momentarily, the bear was confused, and then he saw its attention shift to something lying by the tree. Her companion, that weird cat-thing that followed her around. The bear started forward, and Strai showed just how far up the looney tree he had gone. He let go of the tail, and leaped forward. Moving in front of the bear and standing between it and cat-thing. He lowered his head, growling and snarling at the bear, threatening it as Delphi appeared to be doing as much damage as she could around its head. It's distracted from him and the easy prize behind him as she hits something vital in its head. Actually, did she pop it’s eye? He thought she might have as it roared and lurched backwards. He ran inwards, closing on it and turning his head, striking the spur in his cheek along its exposed neck. Digging in as deeply as he could with an angry roar. A gush of blood escaped the wound, and drenched him. "Speech"

Just when she thought her life was going to end, the bear's attention turned elsewhere. Slowly, it stops twisting and turning and begins heading toward the tree. NO! Her mind is screaming again as she realizes what is happening. Binti! She can't do anything except kill the bear now. It would have to die or her companion would die as a result. Tears are now pooling in her eyes as she continues to dig her teeth and claws into the bear. Over and over until her white fur is stained a deep maroon. All she can taste is copper. Barely able to see, she is ruthless as she hopes the bear will lose enough blood to collapse. Breathless, exhausted, hopeless, and about to give up, she is surprised when the rumbling of the bear gurgles to a stop.

The weight of the bear teeters as she hears the spray of blood from somewhere else. Concern fills her as she pulls back. Quickly leaping off of the bear, Delphi hits the ground and rolls a few feet away just as the bear collapses. Its large form is breathless and bleeding out before them as she looks up through a glaze of blood and tears. Off to the side, she sees Binti knocked out at the base of the tree and then Strai not far in front of her. Did that asshole save her companion? Delphi can't help but wag her tail out of pure joy that Binti wasn't dead. Tears from adrenaline, exhaustion, and relief wash down her blood-stained face as she puts her face back down into the grass.

"You keep surprising me, Thrall," Delphi calls out with a humored laugh.

Panting from disbelief and adrenaline, he watched as the bear started to fall. He backed away so he didn't get crushed, and watched as Delphi leaped and rolled clear. He might have taken the killing blow, but he knew the only reason he was able to was the sheer amount of damage she had dealt to its head while she was riding it like some sort of crazy cow-girl. He took another moment to breathe slowly, and then shuffled over to the cat-thing and peeked down at it. “It’s alive” He told Delphi, before turning and taking a couple steps towards her. He couldn’t tell if she was injured, she was utterly coated in blood. Actually, much like he was. “So do you, Toxic.” He told her back, a hint of a growl in his voice. Her stupidity was catching, it was the only answer. He stopped in front of her, and poked her with a paw. “You injured?” He asked. "Speech"

Her sigh of relief is loud as he confirms that Binti is alive. Thank Frigg, she thinks to herself as she lets her eyes close once more. Unwanting to even lift her head, she lays there in the grass, panting as heavily as ever, trying to catch her breath. All she wanted to do was take a warm bath and curl up to go to sleep. But as the adrenaline sifted out of her blood, she could feel the aches and pain. Oh, it hurt. A groan leaves her as Strai comes over and pokes her with a paw. Whatever he had said previously was lost to the pounding in her ears.

Taking a moment, she takes a moment before opening her eyes and looking up at him standing over her. "Bruised to Hell and back," she says with a cheeky grin, still laid out flat in the grass and covered in blood. "How'd you fare?" Delphi asks as her eyes then move over his body to ensure he doesn't need medical attention.

He watched her as she lay sprawled on the grass, staining it red beneath her. He shrugged at her question. “Just a bee sting” he said, wiggling a paw at her, before using that same paw to nudge her again. “Come on, lean on me” He told her as he wiggled his paw in her fur. The longer she lay there, the harder the blood would set, and stain her coat. They were better off washing themselves out sooner rather than later. As she got to her paws, he positioned himself to lean under her weight. Even going so far as to grab her stupid cat-thing in his maw and gently deposit it on his back. He grabbed his honey next, before he led the sorry group down to the lake where he and Delphi had first met. At least the mud wasn’t as soft today, and he could deposit her down on the shore. He started to splash water lightly into her coat, and rub out the blood. Saying nothing as he worked. What was there to say? She had saved him, he had saved cat-thing. They were both stupid, and now he was washing her stupid coat. The looney-tree. He was far up it. "Speech"

After being banged around on the bear's back, Delphi was ready to sleep. Her head felt light and her energy completely sapped. She didn't even have enough in her to snap back at him as he nudged her. Wrinkling her nose, she lifts her head to peer at him. Huh? He wanted her to lean on him? Confused, but not protesting, Delphi gets to her paws and rests her weight against him. Thank goodness she was so tiny. She barely noticed him picking up Binti and carrying her too. Not until they made it to the lake and he was helping her plop down into the hardened mud.

Delphi sighs, ready to fall asleep again, when her eyes suddenly widen and a yelp leaves her as he splashes cold water onto her coat. About to protest, she lifts her head to watch him begin to rub the blood out of her coat. Her mouth hangs open slightly, surprised and honestly to exhausted to give his shit for helping her, again. Letting out a breath of relief, she puts her head back on the shore of the lake and begins to listen to the lake lap against the ground by them. "Thanks, Thrall," she mumbles, half-awake and half-aware.

He was surprised and a little alarmed by how sleepy she was. He kept an eye out for injuries as he washed the worst of the blood from her coat. It was almost impossible to tell if any of it was hers until he got it out. He wasn't sure he believed her when she said she wasn't injured. She had ridden a bear, after all. 


"Yeah, whatever. You saved me. Just don't wanna owe you" he muttered in response to her thanks. Feeling his white cheeks flame. He knew exactly what his mother would have thought of his actions. Weakness bred weakness. If you couldn't recover on your own, you didn't deserve your place in the pack. Yet here he was, washing the blood from the fur of the granddaughter to the Demon that had stolen him. Make it make sense… 

He ignored his thoughts, and splashed a little more water into her coat, massaging out the deep red stains.

Delphi grins at his muttered words. "You would've been a bear snack," she laughs as she stretches out her legs, enjoying the massage he was giving her as he washed out the blood. Though her belly is flip-flopping and in a way, she feels nervous as his paws work through her fur, she chooses to ignore the feelings. Her family had always been the emotional sort and personal space was never a thing she had comprehended. So why him being so close to her was making her feel all warm and fuzzy now had her slightly confused. She must have hit her head pretty hard, right?

Feeling better now that she had been given a few minutes to relax and regain some energy, she props up onto an elbow to get a better look at him. He too was also covered in quite a bit of blood. His white fur is a myriad of pinks and reds. Her lips pull up into a wider grin as she quickly leans forward, dashing her paw forward and then swinging it back toward them so that a spray of water is aimed at him. "Thought you needed some help washing off too," Delphi said through another fit of giggles as she splashed another spray of water at him.

He scoffed at that "I would have been fine, you just saved me a few steps" he said, his words still a mutter. He rinsed out some more red, after rubbing at one of her red spots for a moment and realising it was just a part of her coat. She had an interesting work of patterns through her fur. Not that he cared or anything.


He turned to the side, and suddenly grinned. Removing his paws from her cost as he turned to the side to grab -- and was suddenly sprayed liberally by water as she splashed at him. He turned back and glared at her. "Toxic wolf." He said, baring his teeth at her, before putting two of his own paws into the water, and throwing a great big splash at her. He jumped back a few steps to avoid whatever retaliation she would do, and swiped his honeycomb off the ground. "Just for that, I'm not sharing." He said, as he cracked open the beehive and took a big scoop of honey out. He looked right into her eyes as he licked it off his paw.

His disgruntled reaction left her reeling. Eyes wide as a spray of water came back at her, she scrambled backward. The words he spits at her and his quick movements have her heart racing. Sopping wet and half in the water and half out, she blinks at him as he sneers that he won't share his honey, licking his paw while doing it. For a moment, she had believed he would attack her. Her ears fold back and she tries to catch her breath. All she can see or think about is the day that her tail had been ripped off. The same sort of thing had happened. She had been trying to play and that douche had attacked her.

Frozen in place, Delphi just sits there, staring at him. Her eyes are watering and she can't control her heartbeat. With a shallow breath, she tries to breathe. He isn't going to attack her. Strai was an asshole, but he wasn't that kind of asshole. Blinking a few more times, she lifts a paw and wipes at her eyes. "Just dirt or somethin'," she tucks her chin and finally looks away as she rolls over to stand up on all fours. Rolling her shoulders back, she then gives her fur a good big shake, sending water flying in all directions.

"Didn' want any of your honey anyway," Delphi says half-heartedly as she shows him a snarl with her lips raised before turning away from him. "Thanks for the help, I guess I should get going," she says over her shoulder, words nearly a whisper as she chokes against the tears fighting to spill. That feeling of terror still eats at the back of her mind. Would she always be like this? Terrified that someone bigger is going to try and take a piece off of her?

What the hel reaction was that? He stared at her dumbfounded as she reacted with fear and horror at his actions. He'd been playing, in his own sort of way. Her watering eyes was a shock to him. Crying was something very, very private. He'd seen her get a little terry eyed a couple times now, but this one seemed different. His fault.


"Tox, wait up" he said as she turned to go. He dropped his food prize on the ground (shocking!) And ignored the honey dripping from his paw. He took a half-step towards her, looking and feeling awkward. "I didn't..  I… we… it was play, right? I was trying to play…" he just didn't know how.

"Tox, wait up."

She pauses. Ears flick backward as she glances over her shoulder. Even she was surprised when she watched him drop the honey. What was up with him? Then his words are pressing into her and causing her to turn away again. Emotions bubble up and press against her eyes. No. She wouldn't cry in front of him. Gritting her teeth, she inhales deeply, sucks it all in and shoves it down deep until it can be locked away. Turning to face him head-on, she puts on a fake-as-shit smile and nods.

"No, of course, Thrall. We were playing. What're you talking about?" Delphi asks as she tilts her head slightly to the side. Her eyes are red, her nose is slightly runny, its obvious she's trying to hide what just happened.

He frowned at her in frustration. Now she was just straight up lying to him. He knew her well enough to read it across her expression, and when did that familiarity happen? He stepped closer to her again, leaving his poor abandoned honey behind him. He had all the nervousness on him of a boy who had absolutely no idea how to deal with female emotion. But he couldn’t just do nothing.

Actually, he probably should do nothing. What did he care if he accidentally upset the stupid Viking Princess? It wasn’t like he gave a shit about her feelings. Despite this acknowledgment, he took another step towards her, and then paused, awkwardly. Ignoring her words for the lie they were, he addressed how she was actually feeling, instead.

“Did you… want a hug or something?”

by Odin, it sounded stupid. He was also not a wolf that liked touch very much. Personal space mattered, and he generally didn’t trust any other wolf enough to let them get that close to him. But what else could he say?

"Speech"

He is approaching her and giving her that sort of look that means don't lie to me. She can see it in his assessing gaze as he closes the distance between them. Fuck. Was she really that obvious? How stupid of her. She should've just run off when she had the chance! Grinding her teeth together, her lips wrinkle as he steps forward again. Unsure what he is going to do, she grows nervous. Half-worried that he is going to smack her, she begins to flex, her muscles straining in preparation to react.

Until his voice breaks through her anxiety. A hug? From him? A hug from the Thrall? Delphi is caught off guard. More confused now than ever. Didn't he hate her? Why would he hug her? Or want to for that matter? Did she want to hug him? Wait, she thought she hated him... So what was this feeling in her chest and belly? As if the idea of him holding her... would feel... nice? Ew, gross, no. Okay, she had to answer soon.

Delphi gives her head a little shake and blows a raspberry. "A hug? From the likes of you? I mean..." she hesitates, and a grimace appears over her lips.