Time slips by Unagi with the girl hardly noticing. Since the news of her mother, Celeste’s passing, she has retreated into herself, hardly speaking or seeking out the company of others. It is strange, losing someone you love and, as she navigates the choppy waters of grief, she often finds herself feeling lost and confused. She has finally realized that locking herself up in her den is not the answer, so she decides to trace the familiar pathways down the mountain and out into the neighboring land.

Fall can be found in the air as a familiar chill has settled up on the Maw but, down here, where the lush green grass is only broken up by the moss-covered ruins, there is a pleasant warmth. Pausing, Unagi sucks in a deep lungful of air, savoring the scents that she had locked herself away from for so long. A thick, heavy musk hits her square in the nose and makes her eyes water as she wheels around to find an angry grizzly barreling toward her.

How had she missed that?

With a snarl, the black and white wolf kicks off, charging the large beast, moving into its space to bite at its face as she refuses to back down. Questions swirl in Unagi’s mind about why a predator is trespassing but she pushes them aside as she is forced to dodge a clawed paw and scramble backwards to avoid getting hurt.


"Hattori-Klein Unagi"

With the back to back losses, Erik didn't feel right leaving his father alone on the mountain. Though he'd been planning to return to the south after escorting him home from the Hallows, news had come while he recovered. In the days since, he'd just been helping out where he could. The loss was all of theirs, but his father was taking it... as well as could be expected.

So he'd help with the day to day, pick up the slack, give the old man space to grieve. Erik would pick up his father's patrols, and it's there, that he scents the bear. Gross. Head going high low, he changes course. From the border, pathing inward, hot on the predator's trail.

As he closes in on the grizzly, it's already staring down Unagi. Fuck. Picking up speed, Erik barrels into the bear's shoulder. He'd distract it, keep it busy, keep it focused on him. Teeth digging into the oily hide, all bets are off. A berserker come to life. Brawl time.
"speech"

The bear roars at her and Unagi growls deeply as she faces the stupid beast, hackles raising as a crystalized form suddenly barrels into the grizzly’s shoulder. Blinking is surprise, she quickly assesses the situation and realizes that the crystal studded form is a wolf. They fight with the ferocity of a berserker, harassing the huge beast and not giving it a second to breath.

Without wasting another moment, Unagi dives back into the fray, pressing their advantage and forcing the predator back. It roars its anger and surprise as the lone wolf had multiplied and the pair now actually stand a chance against it. The fat girl rushes in, snapping at its face and grabbing ahold of the tender flesh on its cheek to open a nasty wound.

Its head snaps up and away as a paw swings out toward Unagi but she continues to press forward, not wishing to the leave the boy alone with the beast for even a moment.


"Hattori-Klein Unagi"