quicksand

Aryn felt like she was in limbo, hovering somewhere between the ignorance of youth and wisdom. She had come quite a ways from the gentle lady she'd once been, fainting at the sight of blood and wondering if there was a kinder way to slaughter prey than with tooth and claw. Now she'd acquired her own armor, her own weapon (sort of), and a companion to learn alongside. What had happened in the Nook seasons past would not happen again, of this much Aryn was certain. She had even participated in a raid, and while she wasn't an exceptional fighter she tried to tell herself that she'd done well.

With her dik-dik in tow she began patrolling the perimeter, stopping occasionally to scent the air for potential danger or intruders. It had been a quiet morning, Aryn's favorite time of day. Recluse slept through the majority of daytime, which meant Aryn was able to avoid her for the most part by keeping a normal day and night schedule. The albino alpha was utterly terrifying, reminiscent of the ghostly canine she and Eligos had encountered in the woods. The violent snarl that preceded her attack still lingered in the forefront of her memory, sending shivers down Aryn's spine at the thought.

Her thoughts were broken by a deep growl and she realized she'd been wandering aimlessly past the protected territory of the nook and into traveller's pitfall. Aryn's fear spiked instantly, her paws freezing in place before the grizzly bear. It was a massive creature, but it seemed to grow even larger on noticing her presence. Standing tall upon powerful hind legs the bear roared in warning, posturing strong before a pocket of quicksand. From where Aryn stood she could see a smaller fluffier form in the deadly trap - a baby bear, the source of the mother bear's anger.

Bears with cubs were unpredictable and violent, and one so close to Habari territory? Aryn was torn. She was not a fighter worthy of a grizzly bear, but to turn tail and ignore the beast's proximity would be endangering her pack. Who knew what the beast may do when her cub succumbed to the quicksand?

Aryn's dik-dik made the decision for her, charging in to initiate with the bear with Aryn close on his heels. She could almost taste her own fear, though her muzzle wrinkled back in a snarl to try and bolster confidence in it's place. The bear swung out with one oversized deadly paw, barely missing the dik-dik's horns as it ducked and weaved, utilizing it's speed as a distraction. Aryn lunged as the bear's gaze was off of her, snapping her jaws down upon the creature's wide wrist as hard as she could. Was this where you were supposed to feel a snap? Aryn felt no snap. Releasing her jaws in panic, she backpedaled, her rear paw landing hard into a squishy pit of sand.

Noticing it's master's predicament the dik-dik charged in once more, landing a blow with it's short horns directly into the bear's fleshy rear end. The grizzly whirled in anger, taking the attention off Aryn long enough for her to pull her paw from the sand and readjust. This battlefield was not suited to combat with such a dangerous creature, one wrong move and the bear could take her head off her shoulders - or she could fall into one of the many traps of sand and it could take her life.

Calling out to the dik-dik to retreat, Aryn began to search a clear path back to the nook. The bear would likely not follow - not with the cub still slowly sinking into the pit of sand. She could only hope that once the cub perished, the bear would head west and not into the territory of her pack. The dik-dik nearly took a clawed paw to the side as he fled, but leaped the swing just in time. The pair ran hard and fast, occasionally glancing back into the barren lands to see if they were still being chased. It wasn't until she stepped paw back into the redbook nook that Aryn's adrenaline began to fade, exhaustion building heavily in her every muscle.

She limped back to her den, her recently-healed paw aching with the effort that had been required of it. She knew the next morning would feel even worse, collapsing onto her pile of furs with a weary groan. She hadn't even been able to damage the damn beast, her companion had inflicted more injury to the bear than Aryn had come close to. It seemed there was much more still to learn - like how hard you needed to bite to crush bone. A shudder passed over her spine as she considered it, hating even the idea of how it might feel to crush something beneath one's jaws.

Word Count: 807