Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori had taken himself to the weeping woods hoping to find some special mushrooms or fun.  There were some mushrooms with red tops with spots that were supposed to make wolves go into trances but could cause upset stomachs and twitching and even make them forget stuff sometimes.  It didn’t sound deadly so much as fun, but lots of the deadly stuff was apparently farther away.  Wolfsbane would be great to find but from what he understood it wasn’t around here.

The other option of course was a fight would be good fun.  His snow leopard Splash wasn’t in sight at the moment and that was on purpose.  The cat was supposed to try and surprise him at some point.  It was kind of hard to really focus on searching for some rare mushroom when knowing a fight was incoming.

Oo! Kotori raised his head up partway then rushed it back down as he heard something and assumed it to be Splash.  Some of the crazy tree leaves were brushed aside which was more noise than he expected of Splash.  Kotori had wanted to act surprised but finally, he raised his head intending to tell Splash to take things more seriously but this his wide-eyes opened up at the black bear heading towards him fast.  Apparently, it woke up cranky.  

Kotori leaped away with a running-leaping gait for a few strides before the thought of his being a coward kicked in and he turned to face the bear with a snarl.  Splash was suddenly close and the cat likewise snarled at the bear.  Kotori had never fought a bear before but that was fine!  The more he sized it up the more his confidence grew.
 
The bear reared up and Kotori lunged in to try and bite at a leg, leaping back as a huge paw tried to swipe at him.

Odhran stalked through the willow trees, his skin tingling in anticipation. For what, he wasn’t entirely sure, but he knew he would find something. Anything to add some intrigue to his otherwise bland day. He was more than willing to go sniffing out a fight if it came down to it, but he was open to other possibilities. He was unsure of where his brother was at the moment, otherwise he’d be pestering him for a hunt or a spar.

As he walked he caught the scent of a black bear, and curiosity got the best of him. He moved towards the scent, wondering if this could be the answer to curing his boredom, pausing only one he caught sight of the scene. A young horned wolf and a snow leopard faced off against the bear, and if he hadn’t been so eager to spill a little blood, he may have been content to sit back and watch how the scene played out. As the boy lunged forward, so did he. He burst from the bushes, jumping up to snap at the bears shoulder as it went to swat at the other canine. The bear's head turned, jaws snapping at Odhran’s face and catching his ear. Luckily it was only a deep scrape, rather than a full tear, but it was enough to excite him.

"Speech."

Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori was shocked when another wolf burst onto the scene.  How many animals had been out here that he hadn’t noticed?!  Apparently, he’d been focusing too hard on finding mushrooms after all.  At least this surprise was in his favor with the wolf attacking the bear.  Kotori smelled the blood more than saw it when the bear got a bit of an ear from the other wolf.  No huge blood spray so probably nothing bad but at the same time, it sure wasn’t good.

The boy felt a lot bolder with another wolf in and apparently, Splash felt the same.  As the bear turned its attention to the stranger Kotori charged in, attempting to bite its opposite shoulder even as Splash tried to actually get around to leap at its rear shoulder.  One could ask where Fang his mongoose was during all this but perhaps the bear was one thing the little demon mongoose wouldn’t try to get a bite in on.

As the bear spun around to grab at Kotori and Splash they leaped away.  Kotori had a feeling his bite hadn’t done much more than anger it but glancing back he could at least see a spot on its fur that seemed a bit darker than before, blood mixing with its fur. Kotori could have sworn he felt the breeze of the bear's swing on his legs.  Close call.  Splash and the boy angled away from each other, making the bear choose its target.  Rudy tried to look past the bear to see the state of their ally as well.  This bear didn’t stand a chance now!

With the bear distracted by his surprise attack, the other pair jumped back in, the leopard even making an attack of their own as well. His lips curled back over his teeth, a low snarl vibrating deep within his chest, but once more the bear was focused on the pup and his companion. At the moment, the bear must have seen the two of them as a bigger threat, but Odhran wasn’t about to be counted out so quickly.

He lunged forward again, moving around to grab the side of the bears neck, but his thick winter coat offered more protection than it might have in warmer months. Still, he sunk his teeth in until he felt flesh before planting his paws firmly in the ground and pushing himself back, trying to pull the bear and hoping to give the team on the other side a chance to get a good hit in. His grip wouldn’t hold for long though, as he danced back to avoid a swinging paw.

"Speech."

Walk | "Talk" | think

This was a great example of how a poisoned weapon could be useful.  Kotori would need to ask dad to get him some sort of weapon then the boy would need to find some type of poison for it.  This, really wasn’t the place to be thinking about these details. In shock, he saw the other wolf actually grab and pull the bear’s neck.  To keep hold of it versus bite and flee seemed crazy to Kotori but he had never fought a bear before so maybe it was his own failing.  Either way, he couldn’t waste the opening the stranger was giving them.

Kotori ran in with a snarl and grabbed for the paw opposite where the other wolf was holding its neck.  Like a horrible tug of war pressing back but the bear was a lot stronger than he was!  Splash was still immature but the young leopard decided to help by running forward and leaping onto the bear's back, claws slashing viciously at the neck from directly above.  

The bear was going from anger to fear with so many attacking from all sides, more intent now on escaping the group over trying to attack.  Splash lost his balance quick enough and Kotori had to give up his hold with the bear yanking and pulling, his gaze turning to make sure the other wolf also was safe for the moment as they regained their balance from the last round.

It looked like they would be winning this fight!

His potentially risky attack paid off, and the kid and his leopard were able to land some good attacks, and the bear was beginning to get desperate. He could feel the creature's confidence waiver, fading into something more like desperation. The other wolf had grabbed it’s paw, and the feline lept to its back, and the bear was thrown off balance for a moment, but it’s panic must have given it a boost of adrenaline. All three attackers had to retreat, releasing their holds and moving away together. He met the boy's gaze with a grin, knowing the battle was almost won, but his attention quickly switched back to their opponent.

His tongue swiped across his lips and he tasted blood. The bear didn’t know where to shift its focus now, it’s gaze shifting back and forth as it began to back up, but Odhran wasn’t about to let the kill get away. There would be no retreat for the bear.

With a snarl, he leapt forward again, slamming his body into the side of the bear and latching his fangs down on the bears neck once more. The creature's paws swung up to swat at him, but he could feel important flesh beginning to tear. Despite the new gash on his shoulder, he refused to release, shaking his head from side to side and ignoring everything else around him.

"Speech."