Natha peered down from her perch high in the scarred oak tree. Parts of it were burnt and limbs were missing but it still stood tall enough to allow the lynx to perch out of reach of the grizzly bear that lingered below. The grizzly bear grumbled and circled around the tree. He'd been doing that for the past five minutes and Natha was really wishing he'd just go away already. She didn't want to start a fight, especially alone but she also didn't want to spend her evening being treed.

The bear stood on its hind legs and reached up its paws, testing the tree. The oak was a narrow tree and she could see the bear trying to decide if it was going to hold his wait. Natha's ears flicked back and she hissed loudly.

Sparrow was enjoying being able to stretch her legs. Soon enough she would have to start looking for followers for her pirate band, she had decided. And they would need a place to hunker down. Her dad really liked this orchard, and Sparrow was always trying to figure out why. Due to the volcano, she hadn't gotten to see it in its full bloomed or in production, nor could she yet understand the production and enjoyment of alcohols which spurred from this orchard.

Something interesting DID happen, however. Sparrow heard a hiss from over a little ways. Hissing meant cats, and Sparrow was basically part cat given her claws and she was pretty sure she could hiss if she really tried. If a cat was hissing, that meant it was upset... or in danger. Either way, Sparrow HAD to investigate that. She rushed over and was stopped in her tracks by the sight of the bear. Bears didn't hiss. It was leaning up against the tree. Sparrow followed the trunk up to reveal- yup, she guessed it- a cat. Sparrow looked around and decided her best way to talk to the cat without getting mauled would be to ALSO climb a tree. She found a nearby one and tested it, then worked on hauling her heavy ass up the tree. The older she got the more it became difficult and even painful to really climb. Once she finally got up to a thick enough branch, she walked out and shout-whispered to the cat, "Pssst! You in trouble?"

The bear was particularly stubborn. He tried to pull himself up but the tree was too narrow and the bear quickly let go. The tree wobbled but Natha kept her balance on her branch. The bear stretched up again. Why wouldn't he just go away?

She heard something climbing up a nearby tree and for a moment she thought it was the bear but he was still where she'd left him. Natha turned to see another wolf with claws. Let's see, was this the third one? There was definitely something going on in this land. Well, an ally was just what she needed assuming this girl had an adventurous spirit. Natha grinned. "Not terribly. I was hoping this nuisance would get bored and leave but he's certainly stubborn. Are you brave? Adventurous? What say we teach this bear a little lesson?"

Sparrow show the cat an excited, lopsided grin  when their eyes finally met. She held her tail still only by sheer will knowing that if she were to let it loose, it would wag her right off the branch and crashing into the ground below. That would also probably hurt and double also bring the bear's attention to her, leaving her there as chopped liver. So, yeah, she wouldn't be wagging her tail, she was sure the cat would understand.

The cat told her that the bear was being incredibly stubborn and wouldn't leave. She asked Sparrow if she was brave and adventurous, earning a slight and very controlled tail wag. "Both," she replied. "And maybe a little too stupid to know any better." Sparrow stuck out her tongue for effect. Her father had explained the line between bravery and stupidity, and since then Sparrow liked to think she tread that line pretty well. The cat asked if they should teach the bear a lesson, and Sparrow gave a curt nod, a plan already forming in her head.

"Gonna get you some moving space," she said, scurrying down the tree as best as she could while letting out a few loud barks at the bear. It lazily turned to look at her and she charged at it, waiting until she knew she had its full attention before curving away and barking again. The bear let out a loud, seemingly unimpressed snort and trundled in her direction. Sparrow shot the cat a look as a cue. It was her turn now.

Natha was thrilled to have an ally. Finally, she could get rid of this pesky bear and this wolf seemed to have the necessary spunk. The yearling proved it a moment later as she scrambled down the tree and proceeded to get the bears attention. She locked eyes with Natha and the cat prepared to pounce. Her hind end wiggled for a moment as she leap from the tree and landed right on top of the bears butt, all her claws sticking into it like a vicious, vengeful pin cushion. Natha held on as the bear let out a roar of pain and started frantically spinning and twisting as it tried to reach her with its claws. It was incredibly strong and whipping around at a much greater speed than she anticipated. Still, Natha clung on for dear life, intent on seeing the bear got the message.

Sparrow's distraction worked and the feline pounced from above, getting in on the action as she came at the bear from behind, grasping it as it flung around wildly trying to get her off. Sparrow had half the mind to sit and just marvel and see how long the cat could stay on, but that was not an actual good plan of attack. Instead, she readied herself and as soon as the bear made a big arc to swing back, Sparrow launched herself at its chest. Now, she knew she couldn't stay there long because its claws could tear her to shreds. So as soon as she barreled into it, she made her best piercing bite and slashed with her claws before trying to rebound back off of it. The bear roared and doubled over in an attempt to protect itself from the frontal attack.

At that point, the other cat could get off and they'd have a little time to run away or...

"You wanna keep going?"

Her toes started to ache from clinging on and with each wild pass the bears flesh began to tear more and more. Natha knew she was moments away from losing her grip. She prepared herself to go flying off but thankfully the young wolf had a plan. She barreled into the bears chest with perfect timing causing it to double over. Natha seized the opportunity and leapt off the bear. "I've had enough of that. I'm not sure what this bears been eating but trust me, you don't want to be hanging out on his rear too long."

Her fur was still on end, ears back and ready to fight again. The bear turned toward the duo, his eyes locked on Natha and he charged. She swiped deftly at the bear's face, grazing it's muzzle just before she skittered out of the way. The beast's large forearm just grazing over the top of her head. Yikes!

The cat jumped off and made her way around to Sparrow's side. She made a joke about hanging out around its rear and Sparrow laughed short and loud, "Then let's stay towards the front, things are more exciting here anyway!" The cat swiped at the bear's face as it roared at him and then she jumped away just in time to (mostly?) miss the bear's attempt at an attack.

Sparrow growled in excitement and as soon as the bear was trying to stabilize itself, she jumped around to his outstretched arm and sliced at it with her claws. It was a glancing blow, but her cat claws sprung out and hooked flesh, causing the bear to recoil and bat at Sparrow with its other paw. She pulled back just enough for its longest claw to scratch the tip of her nose. Her ears flicked back. Now it was personal.