Within the murky swampland, the young boy prowled quietly. His red fur, muted by the moonlit shadows of the bogs. Quick and agile, he moved like a practiced hunter, alert to every sound. He was used to the tranquility of night, the soft sounds of frogs and distant screeching of owls. But Redrum did not know that danger was close — four coyotes, with their yellow eyes glinting mischievously, stalked him silently through the wetland. With perfect timing, they closed in on him, hidden by the darkness.

Redrum had little time to react as soon as he heard the faint rustle of leaves and pivoted around on his heels to face his enemies. Four pairs of eyes stared back at him, challenging him despite his bigger size in comparison to them. They had numbers, that was for sure. The coyotes circled him, but he stood his ground, ready to defend himself. The first coyote lunged at him, jaws snapping. Redrum dodged quickly and struck back, teeth meeting the soft flesh of its snout and making the coyote yelp in pain and recoil back.

""

She was...unhappy. Ethne had raided the wolves that had raided them first, and now that all of her adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling quite sore and she could feel her other wounds. They weren't too bad, and definitely not life threatening. So she'd wait to get herself seen since it wasn't of much importance. Besides, she didn't quite feel like heading straight back home anyway. She was having some...thoughts...that she needed to sort through. Trying to figure out still what was right and wrong. How she felt in her fight against the young brown male. She probably wasn't much older than some of them...maybe by a year give or take. She felt bad during her attempt to harm the brown boy, and although she never felt regret before, she swore she was starting to feel it now heavy in her chest. The only times she had ever felt feelings she didn't like, had been when she had been left alone for a few days, her mother having never returned...and when her adoptive father, Gavroche, had passed away. She didn't know where she was. Her feet had seemingly gone on autopilot and brought her to wherever this place was. Her companions were with her of course, worried about the young Northern Bear. But Saga did not speak at all since she left the beach where Ethne had raided. She didn't know what to say. She breathed in a heavy sigh, deciding that perhaps she'd stay here for the night. She was searching for a place to settle down when she heard the sudden yip of pain from...something. It didn't sound like a wolf, but...she also wasn't sure. She stopped where she was and listened, and it definitely sounded like something was going on close by. Curious of course, the young bear followed the sounds rather quickly, and it wasn't long before she came upon the scene of an uneven battle. She watched for a moment from her position among the trees, a handful of coyotes attacking what appeared to be a pretty young wolf with a crimson coat. Well that wasn't fair, was it!? Although she was still tired from her own fighting just a couple of hours before, she couldn't just leave that boy to fend for himself! She charged forward, barreling through whatever was in her path as she plowed her way toward the group, a loud roar escaping her throat as she charged for the smaller canines. Surprised, a couple of the coyotes turned around to face her, their eyes wide with disbelief and panic as they saw the approach of a bear! They weren't quick enough to dodge, however, and Saga was able to plow right into them, sending two of the coyotes sprawling to the ground. She lumbered to a stop, turning to face them, a snarl on her face, ready to fight! Saga

Redrum's heart pounded as he faced off against the onslaught of the coyote pack. He was being flanked, two were circling him, the other two hanging back to jump in when needed. He snarled and warned them off, the one he had clawed right in the snout was facing him head on, overconfident and vengeful. It snapped at him, Redrum recoiling his skull back and out of reach before it could return the wound, but at the same time a searing pain tore through his hip. He snapped his head to the side, his golden eyes aflame with anger as he caught sight of a coyote with its teeth firmly latched into his flesh. The boy bit back a whine, his lips pulled back fully to bear those pearly whites as he spun to grasp the yote. His teeth made purchase, but the damn thing wasn’t letting go! Just when his luck was getting bad, it got worse. The first coyote was back, its teeth taking hold of a mouthful of Redrum’s side scruff, the three of them locked in a three-way tug o’ war of the very painful kind. The vermillion boy was shaking his skull, trying to dislodge either one of them, wishing for his brother, his mother to come and help him-!

Just when it seemed like the odds were really, really stacked against him, a sudden roar echoed through the swamp, catching both him and the coyotes off guard. He could scarcely turn his gaze toward the source of the sound, but Redrum tried to force his peripheral vision to see what was happening. (He really hoped it wasn’t yet another predator. Were they all going to play with the Redrum ragdoll?) He saw something big and white? There was a flash of blue too, but he couldn’t be sure. He was clever enough to take advantage of the confusion, surging forward to topple over the coyote at his hip, forcing it to let go of him. Once his maw was free, he chanced a glance towards the rest of the coyotes – only to see a bear facing off with the other two coyotes. What was happening???

""

She bared her teeth as she faced off against them. Amber gaze lit with a wild, innate fierceness she had felt before. It wasn't quite the ferocity and anger she felt during the raid, but something similar. Just simmering underneath. The two coyotes she was squaring off with were hesitant, but overly confident. They outnumbered both the young wolf and the bear, did they not? With that in mind, the pair attacked Saga, lunging at her with snapping jaws. One went for her face, the other dove in to attack her side. She twisted around, following the one that went for her side, swiping at it with extended claws just as its teeth pinched her skin. The annoying feeling irritated her, and she sent the coyote flying just as the other one bit her shoulder. With a fierce roar, the young bear twisted her head the other way, smashing her head against its body and sending it careening into the body of another. She could feel the warmth of blood seeping onto her dirtied fur, but she ignored it for now as she stomped her feet, daring them to get up and try her again. Turning her attention to the ones going for the younger wolf, she swiped with practiced ease, catching the leg of one and causing it to lose balance, but she wouldn't get a chance to do much before the first coyote she hit attacked her rump. These coyotes were either desperate, or stupid. And she was betting on the former because they really didn't seem like they wanted to give up the fight anytime soon! She was exhausted enough as it was, but she refused to let herself go down without a fight! Saga

He couldn’t believe his eyes, but the incessant pain at his scruff told him otherwise. He was not dreaming. Redrum erupted into thunderous growling, his body pinning one coyote down, his secondary opponent still latched onto his scuff like a damn leech. He could not afford to watch the grand show of the ivory bear fight – he still wasn’t fully sure it was helping him or saving him only to have his hide for itself!

Redrum was trying to snap out towards his shoulder, trying to grab the coyote and tear it off of himself when it suddenly lurched away. He twisted his neck again, limbs grappling with the coyote below him as he caught a glimpse of the bear again, closer – but it’s attention back to its own pests. Huh? He searched for the second coyote, seeing it regain its footing, yellow eyes back on him as it spat out a clump of red fur.  It must have swiped that coyote! His veins burned with adrenaline, eyes wide as he bit and tore at whatever he could – sending one his coyotes packing with more than a few tufts of fur missing. Then he spun, facing what might have been his mortal enemy at the moment. The boy and the coyote met in a clash of fur and fang and claws. A rolling ball of growling and the occasional yelp, before of course Redrum bit it on the ass and it high-tailed it out of there like a coward.

Now, how was that bear doing? The boy huffed and puffed, spitting out the gross taste of coyote butt from his mouth as he turned to see how his maybe savior was doing?

""

She was tiring, and quick! But she wasn't about to let these mangy mutts win! They were apparently, too stupid to give up when they were clearly outmatched. She briefly saw bits of the fight going on between the red wolf and his attackers, and before she could fully assist, a coyote had grabbed onto her ankle and had pulled it from under her like it was a game of tug-of-war! She lost her balance for a moment before she tore her leg free and whirled around, a giant paw raised once again as she swung with all her might. A sickening crunch was heard as her heavy paw and sharp claws made contact and the coyote suddenly slammed the ground, a resounding cry of pain from the stupid beast as it scrambled to its feet. The sight that greeted her? Blood pouring from where the coyote's lower jaw used to be! Her own cry of surprise sounded as she took a step back from the unexpected sight, shock clear in her form as the coyote stumbled away, a trail of blood following behind. The last coyote thought about it, staring her down with bared fangs before lunging. Saga broke out of her shock just in time, faking a charge as her forepaws stomped the ground, a snarl ripping from her jaws that caused the coyote to stop in its tracks and flee. She huffed as she watched it hightail it back to whatever hole it had come from. Catching her breath and making sure they didn't come back, Saga exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding before turning to find the smaller red wolf. "I didn't mean to do that, but he kind of asked for it," She was still kind of disgusted by the sight and shocked by what she'd done. She often forget the power she had when it came to fighting animals much smaller than her..."Are you okay?" Saga

The red boy watched as the bear utterly mutilated a coyote, her strength taking the smirk right off the damn thing’s face. He wasn’t squeamish, nor was he particularly more sadistic than his family – but he did laugh. He padded up slowly as she(?) took care of the last coyote and sent it packing, stopping a little ways away as he determined the bear’s temperament with the lack of smaller creatures to throw around.

Redrum's ears perked at the sound of her voice, relief flooding through him as she seemed much more sociable than the other bears he’s run into in his short life. Despite the chaos of the moment, he felt a sense of gratitude towards the massive she-bear who had come to his aid. At least this wasn’t as mind-boggling as when a cat saved him from another cat. “Redrum is– fine. Thanks- uh, friend– bear?” He replied, his voice still tinged with adrenaline as he approached her further, asking for her name through his choppy words as he offered a respectful dip of his head.

He couldn't help but glance at the blood trail from the coyote she had injured with such force, a mixture of awe and morbid curiosity swirling within him. He was wondering how long it was gonna live for, you know, without the jaw. “Impressive. Strong.” He admitted, his gaze flickering between the bear and the trail.

""