Their father had issued a decree amongst the Hallows: a standing order for all bears in Auster to be eradicated to help slim down their growing populations. Already there had been a number of instances where Hallowed wolves had been attacked by the predators, including some of their own siblings, and now the bears were beginning to encroach on their territory with impunity. Ember was obviously concerned about the wellbeing of her family and the pack, but being just shy of her first birthday, there wasn't much the almost-yearling could do on her own. So she came up with a foolproof plan: she'd get one of her big brothers to help her.

Ember had tracked down Ciaran and asked him to help her take down a bear. She wanted to ensure the Hallows would be safe from all threats, and with him being so much bigger and stronger and also having a sword, there was no way they could fail! Ember had snuck into the armory before their scheduled rendezvous and nicked a dagger—nothing fancy, but a blade was a blade—and then waited outside the gates of Hearthstone for Kea to join her. He was a much more skilled tracker than she was and she was eager to learn his techniques and see him in action, but more than anything, Ember was excited to get to do this quest with her brother.

"Ember Carpathius"

Kea was both amused and honoured to be picked by his little sister for this mission. Fighting bears was always fun, and he still had enough belief in his invincibility not to be too worried about taking the pup with him. He made his way to the Castle gates, and found Ember waiting there for him already. He grinned at her, and glanced at the dagger she held. His brows rose in surprise. He hadn’t been allowed one until he was older. Typical, older siblings pathing the way for younger…

“Alright small fry, you ready?” He teased her lightly, stepping outside of the castle grounds. “Do you know what a bear smells like?” He asked her as he did so.


"Ciaran Carpathius"

It didn't take long before Ember heard the heavy footfalls of her dire-sized big brother coming closer, and she greeted Ciaran with a warm smile and regarded his stature and his sword with approval. Oh yeah, no bear was beating them today! A look in Kea's eyes caught Ember off guard, but when she followed his gaze down to the dagger strapped to her foreleg, she understood. The young Carpathian turned a look up at her older sibling that urged him not to question it. "What? The door was open, I let myself in. Besides, Dad's not gonna miss it for an afternoon," she remarked. Sure, their father might not have exactly given her permission to take the dagger, but really it was his fault for leaving the armory unguarded in the first place.

Kea asked if she was ready, and Ember's long tail swished back and forth with eager wags. "Heck yeah I am! Let's go!" she replied, bounding off alongside her brother in the direction of the dense woods to the southeast. He asked if she knew what bears smelled like, and Ember couldn't resist the opening he had given her. "They smell kinda like Thorn, right? Maybe a little better?" A wry, teasing smirk on her lips as she poked fun at their other brother. In all actuality, no she didn't. Artorias hadn't permitted any of his young pups to accompany him on the predator hunts the warriors led. "To keep them safe" or so he said...

"Ember Carpathius"

“You're going to get banned from having your own sword at this rate.” He teased her lightly, but he wouldn’t be the one to dob her in. At his encouragement, Ember bounded forward, ready to take on some bears. Hopefully this all worked out okay…

As they headed towards the woods, he occasionally glanced down towards the smaller wolf, seeing how she was doing. He did give a surprised bark of a laugh at her comment. “Exactly like that” He agreed easily. They reached the woods, and he started to keep a little quieter. Walking more carefully, and sending Spud out to the side to cover a little more ground. “If you catch any weird scents, let me know” He whispered to his sister.

"Ciaran Carpathius"