Levi had found a wide set of paw prints alongside the borders between Ashen and Armada,  He pressed his nose to the ground, sniffing and drawing in the scent as he rolled it around the back of his nostrils. It smelled just like the Warlords bear companion, but not safe or familiar and therefore a threat. What was it doing here? Pacing back and forth as though it couldn't decide whether to run the rik and trespass maybe?

Either way, it just wouldn't do. Levi had to do something about it.

Hurrying alongside the paw tracks, the bear was heading northwest, skirting towards the Ashen's eastern border. It didn't take long for the pup to catch up on swift, golden paws. With a snarl building in his throat, he leapt forwards, teeth and talons ready to rip and tear.

"speech."

Takeshi, too, had been skirting along the border between Ashen and the Armada when he caught the fresh scent of the bear. The boy paused, his massive paws coming to a stand still as his charcoal nose twitched, glowing red gaze narrowing. What was a bear doing along their mutual borders? It wasn’t uncommon for them to get brave and come in from the north or south, but to be so brazen as to sandwich itself between two clearly marked lands? Well, that just marked trouble. Even worse, he could smell the scent of a pup trailing after it.

The yearling moved quickly from a standstill to a run, a bit of panic in his chest. For a massive boy such as himself, a black bear wasn’t much of a challenge, but for a pup it could spell certain death. The scaly boy flew onto the scene quickly, finding, to his horror, an Armada pup that looked to be, if he were being generous, the size of his paw, bearing down on the predator. He grit his teeth, a growl of his own thundering from his chest as he rushed forward to take the lead, his thick frame bowling into the bear before it could retaliate against either of them.

"Speech"

Levi wasn't all that concerned, nor did he think this was something he couldn't handle. As the-much- larger Ashen wolf ran into frame, the bear whipped around and turned to focus on him as Levi put his claws to use and scaled up onto the creatures side. Yanking them in deep, he scrambled to the line of it's back, deftly holding on as he sank his long sabres into the meat of its scruff. He would be hard to shark off, especially when a big dire wolf in front of him like that.

Roaring in pain, Levi savoured the taste of blood upon his tongue. For his tiny size, he was making a right mess of all the places the bear could not reach.

"speech."

To Takeshi’s surprise, the boy wound his way up the back of the bear like a rat, clinging on with his odd talons and long sabers. It was a peculiar sight, one that did make him a bit nervous that he would be flung off and hurt, but they had bigger problems in front of them. He’d crashed into the bear, sending it stumbling and the pup set to distracting it in hard to reach places. While it wasn’t paying attention, Takeshi was able to slash at its eyes in an attempt to blind it and keep it from further being able to defend itself properly. It gave another roar of pain, bucking and thrashing and the Ashen prince just hoped the pup could hang on effectively.

"Speech"

The bear knew it couldn't fight on both fronts, not when both of its opponents were so intent on doing damage it wasn't in the right mind, or state to return in kind. With blood slashed across its face, it began to shake its head violently, dislodging the pup who simply slid his way down its side, using his claws to slow the fall. Landing with a light thud, he pranced out of the way, easily dodging its massive paws as it backed away in a hurried panic.

Levi considered it a job well done, point made and driven in so deep the bear would not soon forget. The yearling could chase it off the rest of the way, Levi needed to go and clean himself up, had better things to do than stand around and watch the Ashen wolf finish the job.

"Bye." He said, not thanking him.

It seemed, to his dismay, that the little kid couldn’t hang on after all. He watched as he began to dislodge, Takeshi beginning to rush to his side to prevent him from being flung forcefully into the ground, but it seemed the pup wouldn’t need it. Instead, he slid down like he was on a waterslide, his tiny needle claws raking ribbons into the side of the bear. He landed on his feet like a cat, looked at him with a concerning discernment in his eyes, uttered a bye, then left. Takeshi was utterly speechless. He watched him, forgetting for a moment that the bear was still there, until it gave another pained roar. The yearling cursed, turning and rushing toward the predator. It was blinded by pain and blood and the wounds he’d inflicted on its eyes. He was able to easily dive in and deliver a bite to its throat. He released and ducked out of the way as the animal swatted at him with another, this time choked, roar. Takeshi darted in, delivering another bite, and another, until the bear stumbled and fell. It was then that the glowing boy climbed on top of it and pinned it on its side with his weight, securing its forelegs down so it couldn’t swat at him. He sank his teeth into its throat one last time, holding tight until it took its last breath. He stepped over it, chest heaving from exertion and blood dripping down his mouth and chest. He gave another glance in the direction the pup had gone, shaking his head in disbelief and giving a sigh before he grabbed the bear by the back of the scruff and began dragging the body back toward the palace to be skinned and dismembered.

"Speech"