The night sky was alight with all sorts of color. At first, she didn't know what it was, but her mother had told her that it was called an aurora borealis. The young ice bear had never seen it before! At least, not that she could remember, anyway. She had only been alive for two years, after all, so there was still plenty she had yet to see or experience. She walked along the shore of the shimmering shore, occasionally wandering just barely into the shallows and setting the water ablaze with the blue glow of whatever magic (she knew it wasn't magic, but microorganisms that lit it up) that made it do that. The blue glow of the water, combined with the colorful, swirling glow of the sky above her was pretty magical in her eyes, regardless of whatever scientific explanations there were for them. She was content in the silence of the night, simply watching the colors swirl around in the sky, that is, until a sudden cackling further up the beach caught her attention. Standing on hind legs to get a better view, she spotted a pair of wolves on the shore...both with...skeletons? No...markings that...looked like skeletons? Weird...though she supposed she had seen weirder, what with that blue and red guy with the strange batwings on his forelegs. Now that was weird! She dropped back down on all fours, ready to mind her business when she suddenly saw the monochrome skeleton running toward her, a cackle on his lips as he said something about...Ripper? Rip what? She immediately threw up her guard, fur raising in alarm as the young male charged straight at her and it didn't seem like he had any intention of stopping! Unsure of who this was or where his allegiance was, she raised her forelegs off the ground and stomped the sand, spraying it everywhere as she issued a warning. "Stop right there! I'm warning you!" 323/1500 "Speak"

The night sky was alive, dancing with color and lights of different shades as they moved past the stars. The phenomenon, one that his mother had told him about, was typically seen in only one region of the world but for some reason it had shown here in Auster too. They were beautiful, Alexander thought as he strolled through one of the neighboring lands of Ethne. This land, one that his sister Lucette preferred, was a pretty one. The waters here held lights of their own, soft blues that stirred up even more when you walked among them. Alexander had been doing just that, allowing the waves to lap at his paws when a familiar voice shouting down the beach caught his attention.

Alexander quickened his pace, especially with the drama of what was going on between Ethne and the Raider’s Hollow he didn’t want to chance anything. He’d find Saga there, doing her best to look intimidating and hopefully chase off whatever had dared come out of the shadows. Alexander slid up onto the sandy side of the beach, tail arching over his back as he called into the night. “If you come in peace no harm will come, but if you intend to cause trouble you will face both my sister and myself!” Their family stood together, no matter what!

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222 Words
Total: 545 Words

"Speech," 'Thought.'

He had taken a trip down to Auster with his mother, wanting to explore this giant bone place she had stumbled upon the season prior! It sounded so interesting and he wanted to go see what he could find for his own personal collection! They skirted annoying pack borders and had ended up at a nearby beach instead, and when night fell, the aurora borealis seemed to stretch all the way here, too! Cool! He had been seeing it all over Boreas, but didn't know it reached all the way down here, too! He and his mother had opted to stop and rest in the cool sea air before resuming their journey in the morning, and while he was busy playing around in the water after discovering it glowed blue, his mother had gone to do some hunting real quick for dinner. He waited for her to get back, and at some point, had half a mind to go find her. But then he saw something even better! Off in the distance, he spotted a big white furry figure further down the beach, and of course, a bear was a bear in his eyes! As far as he was aware, they weren't very smart let alone sentient, and Ripper being Ripper, did what he did best. No further thoughts (did he ever really think?) before he raced down the beach and headed straight for her! He cackled as he ran, sand flying up in his wake. "Hehehe! Ripper's comin'!" He cried out, jagged teeth bared in his usual maniacal grin as he continued running at the bear. It wasn't until she stomped, and then another wolf calling out that he might be in trouble and would be facing the both of them if he didn't come in peace. Oh darn! He put on the brakes and slid to a halt, coming to an abrupt stop just a few feet in front of them. "Ripper saw the bear, and thought it was a bad one, but it is with a wolf! That is weird!" He exclaimed to the pair. He looked between the two, utterly confused as to how a bear and a wolf could be siblings, but he didn't question it. Not at the moment, at least. He looked between the two, a thought forming in his empty little head. It was dark. The only light was from the aurora borealis, and the moon. HHmmm...he wondered how he'd fare in a fight in this sort of light. After all, with one of his eyes pitch black, it might pose a challenge. And challenge accepted! "Hey! Wanna spar? The three of us against each other!" He dropped into a defensive stance (sort of), squaring up against the bear and the wolf. He'd never fought a bear before, and he was eager to try his paw at it! WC: 1,021/1500 "Ripper||"Menace"

The skeleton came to an abrupt stop in front of them, stopping himself as her brother Alex came into view. Saga was glad she didn't have to really defend herself against some...strange...stranger. Because he really was strange. He talked funny. "It's not weird!" She retorted, though admittedly, she knew it was. It wasn't normal for a bear to live among wolves, but she was so used to it she didn't think much about it unless someone brought it up. When he brought up mention of a spar between the three, she glanced at Alexander to see how he felt about it. Though of course, she figured her brother would be alright with it, so why not? It's not like it was a serious thing, and they could both use the practice! Plus, it would be her first melee spar! "Sure! Just no maims, okay? And I'll be careful, too!" The skeleton boy, who she assumed was called Ripper, seemed nice enough. She slipped into a defensive stance, ready to make the first move. She briefly glanced up at the lights dancing across the sky, the moon that was big and bright hanging above them. Shadows danced around them, and the only issue she could really see in this fight is mistaking the shadows as something, or someone else, as she moved. Oh, and not to mention if she didn't keep a careful eye on the skeleton boy, because he seemed like he could blend in with the lights and shadows, too. Grunting to indicate she was ready, Saga moved to close the distance between her and Ripper, looking to swat him over with a paw, while simultaneously shifting her rear end just enough to bump her brother in a playful effort to unbalance him and catch him unaware as she moved! WC: 1322/1500 Saga

A child was what came out of darkness, well, sort of. With only the faintly glowing lights above them it was hard to make out the little skeletal kid at all. His comment caused Alexander to chuckle. “Saga is different. She’s a good bear.” He explained. Saga being part of their family was natural at this point. He looked at his sister with a grin and then glanced back at the kid as he asked if they wanted to spar. It might be difficult, given the limited light, but it was a nice night for it. His gaze shifted toward the aurora borealis in the sky, watching how it waved and wagged, and then back to the kid as Saga accepted his challenge. “I’m down for a spar as well.” Though it appeared it would be more of a melee style thing, him vs Saga vs the kid. Saga set them off, booty bumping him just enough that he stumbled to one side. Not letting that deter him, Alexander dove toward her and the kid - if the kid wasn’t knocked back by her sweeping paw, and aimed to wrap his forelegs around his sisters head and try to bring it down. She was larger, so it wasn’t like he could pin her, but perhaps getting her head locked down would be a way to win! And if he was lucky he might knock at the kid, but it seemed like Saga had him covered! "Speech," 'Thought.'

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