Can't Catch a Break

In the moments he had been lost in thought, he heard a loud crash somewhere behind him followed by Lumi's frightened cries. He whirled around and spotted the silver fox bursting from the trees that surrounded the grove, followed shortly after by her brother as he came running from the other direction. Crimson gaze darted up towards the treeline, and he spotted a figure barreling towards them. Hackles rose as he turned to face the threat while his foxes hid behind his legs, the pair shaking with fear. In a few short moments, an angry black bear burst through the bushes just a few yards in front of them, its thunderous roar echoing across the field. A rippling snarl broke free from his throat, his teeth bared as he took up a protective stance. He hadn't detected a bear on the way into this place, but perhaps it had been hidden and minding his own business before one of the foxes got too close on accident. He knew they weren't stupid enough to approach a dangerous predator on their own and had been taught to avoid them if they could, but Lumi at least had been unfortunate enough to get caught in its crosshairs.

He watched as the black bear stomped its feet before rearing up, exposing its teeth. He had encountered a grizzly bear once before when he was about the same age as his foxes were now. He knew how dangerous they could be, especially if he were to try and fight it one on one. His foxes certainly didn't have the strength to help him, and they were much too terrified to take it on anyway. But this wasn't a grizzly. It was a black bear. Still dangerous, he knew. But perhaps he might still be able to accomplish the task of fighting it off on his own. He didn't know much about black bears, but he knew they usually weren't as aggressive as their larger cousins. Maybe it had been disturbed in some way... Maybe they were trespassing on its territory. Whatever the case, it didn't seem like the black bear would back down anytime soon, so Ace knew he had to resort to some aggressive tactics of his own so they could get out of here with their hides intact. He didn't exactly feel like walking all the way back to Abaven with new wounds.

Ace took a step forward in a threatening gesture to try and get the bear to think twice, but instead, it charged forward. Beady black eyes were locked on him as it charged. Ace would mirror it, charging forward to meet in the middle, however, at the last moment he would step towards the bears left side and aim to bite the bear's ear as he went past. He felt his teeth catch the ear, ripping flesh and tasting blood. The black bear roared with pain before whirling around, claws swiping for Ace's rump. It barely missed, however, since Ace didn't slow down and all it managed to catch was fur. To him, the creature seemed pretty slow. But he wouldn't underestimate it just yet. He hoped the black bear would drop this whole thing and leave if he fought back, but then it laid eyes on his foxes and decided they'd be an easier target. It charged towards them, its paws drumming the ground with a quickness that Ace didn't think they were capable of. "Move!" He roared as he followed after the bear.

Stunned with fear, Finn and Lumi were practically glued into place until the bear reared on its hind legs and stood over them. Ace pushed himself faster until he was within striking distance. He lunged at the side of the bear's neck, using his body weight he put as much force into the attack as he possibly could and effectively unbalanced it, knocking it over. Flesh and fur were gripped firmly in his mouth until the bear smacked him in the side of the face. Releasing his grip, he stood protectively over his companions again until the bear got back on its feet. Barking and snarling, Ace lunged again in an attempt to scare the bear away...

And it worked. Thinking twice now, the black bear seemed unsure if it should continue its assault. It began to slowly back off, grunting and whining for several steps before turning and taking off. Ace, however, remained in his protective stance until he was sure the bear was gone. And once he felt it was safe, he slowly started to calm down before whirling on his companions. "You two need to be more careful! That could have ended with one or both of you injured, or worse." Stepping away from them, he motioned for them to follow. That was enough excitement for one day...

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