Tide would be staying far the fuck away from water, at least for a good long while. First the sturgeon, then his brother baiting him into a shark's line of sight? Nah. Absolutely the fuck not. Never again, if he could help it.

Was he being dramatic? Always.

Grumbling and moving through the tall, dry autumn grasses of the Knolls, the boy isn't too bothered. Certainly not as fussed as he should be, actually. There's something stalking him through the brush, though Tide doesn't see them until it's nearly too late.

Three coyotes are upon the pup in a blink, and he starts the process of snapping and snarling his way out. Already feeling teeth on his back, the boy is pound for pound savage as he springs to life.

"Tide"

Wendigo was bopping through the grasses, a stupid offkey hummed song in his mouth, mind wandering, when he heard the sudden commotion of yipping and snarling just over the rise. He bounced forward and peeked up over the peak, popping his big head up like a gopher popping up out of its hole, and peered down. There he spied a pack of coyotes getting after something. Hardly surprising, with the amount of squalling and squealing going on, coyotes were hardly known for being quiet assassin types. Annoying. What did they have, a fox? His eyes narrowed, focusing in to see, rather than a fox, it was just a kid. Someone's little wolf pup, wandered off from home apparently, only to be set on by coyotes. Tragic! Oh well. But actually - a little coyote massacre would liven up the day, wouldn't it? And if the kid was still kicking when they were off, maybe the parental units would feel a little gratitude in their hearts for brave, kindly Wendigo and cough up some rewards in return for their precious bouncing child.

Or you know, he could always return the body, if the kid keeled over first. Whichever.

Wendigo launched himself over the crest of the hill without any further thought making it through his brain, a dead leaping sprint down the other side, but his oversized self and the terrain unbalanced him and he was going too fast, tripping, somersaulting down the hill to crash into the melee like a bowling ball made of fur and teeth and flashing metal weaponry, knocking one coyote flat and lashing out at another with metal claws that definitely didn't already have a smidge of his own blood on them from his grand entrance.

The coyotes form their own chorus, yipping in possibly the most obnoxious way. Tide can feel the annoyance building in his gut, perhaps louder than even the fear. Sure, they're trying to pummel him into the dirt, but did they have to be fucking obnoxious about it? Rounding on the first, the one that's trying to get the firmest hold, he can feel the teeth ripping and tearing at the skin of his scruff. Whatever, dude, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter as long as he's able to get free and shut them up.

Tide isn't alone in the fight for long. The man that's come to join him is accompanied by a flash of metal to his paws-- while he doesn't have the faculties to dwell on it, Baitboy absolutely wants a better look at that later. Though he's bloody, the stranger buys him enough space to climb back to his feet. Head low to the ground, shoulders forward, Tide is able to get a good grip on the bastard that had tried to keep him pinned. Going straight for the throat, as long as his comrade can handle the other two, Tide has this one under control.

"Tide"