Bearclaw Valley glossy teeth

assume that they took indra w them! :D

he did not know how he made it back to the valley.
but it was with a prize in tow.
merrick stumbled along the red walkway, beyond the boulder, and collapsed. his single eye burned toward @Aventus. "treat him first," he growled to @Arielle. he expected that the bruin-heart could assess herself for injury before proceeding.
merrick grunted, pulling injured, shaking paw into his chest. his body felt gleaming and velveteen with blood loss and adrenaline. but his single eye burned with pride as he looked to @Val, to @Bernadette, to ash (@Chacal). 
violence begat the pride of the bear.
merrick lay back upon the snow and stared at the sky.
"bring me the girl. bring me @Indra III."

going to be a little vague about aventus/arielle injuries. lmk if i need to change anything <3

She had done her best to support the bruin-jaw as they made their way home (if he would have even let her). She had a feeling there would be words with her mate regarding her decision to fight instead of keep going, but it would have to wait until later. Her own wounds were starting take their toll. She couldn't put any weight on her right rear leg without blinding pain. Blood caked the fur around the jagged gash in her right flank where the Rivenwood wolf had torn her flesh away. Her adrenaline was starting to wear off, and the pain of her injuries was steadily more noticeable. She didn't care about that though; she only cared about treating Aves and Merrick currently. 

The bear king growled his order at her and she had to fight the urge to glare at him. I can treat you both at the same time, she sternly pointed out. Merrick needed tending; she worried he might still die from his wounds, and she wouldn't just leave him here. 

Val, Bernadette, and Ash had all proven their worth, and Arielle knew they were meant to be here. The bruin-witch ordered them to bring the girl to him. She was important to Merrick and to the bear, Arielle knew this, but she felt cleaning his wounds first was more important. He would likely disagree, though.

val limped back to bearclaw, the sorrowed owner of a new pair of eyes which took in the world in a thousand yard stare. the harridan that met him and stryx had been, by far, the most terrifying wolf val had yet to encounter -- and he shuddered to think of how his other clanmates fared.

he stumbled upon them late, his nose burned with pain and eyes swollen half-shut. even in his sorry state, his cuts were but scratches compared to the hideous patchwork of cuts which seared merrick's pelt. he managed a weak smile at arielle and regretted instantly as a snarl of pain worked up his muzzle.

merrick was staring at the sky. val was so tired - he wanted to lie down in the snow too - but he was ordered off. a girl. indra. val's throat constricted as he wondered to what errand he hurried.

wordless, little droplets of blood in the snow, val turned. great, painful gulps of wintry air lanced him as he sniffed, scenting for a lost little girl he hoped to god wasn't dead.

Somewhere among the throng of savage wolves was the girl; she wasn't aware of being scooped up and taken, and only came-to when she was thrown to the snow again. The thwump of her body jostled her enough to startle her awake. Her body was stiff, her nape burned; around her were long-bodied strangers.
A black shape — a boy — drew near to her and Indra startled, trying to rise and to run. There were too many others, though. She barely got to her feet before someone stopped her. Down she went again, brought forward, thrown towards 
— the man, the man was here?
Where was here? — 
The girl felt her body quake.

Blood matted his shoulder. Blood caked the side of his face. Pain lanced Aventus' side with every step. Adrenaline carried them out of Rivenwood, but when there was no sign of pursuit and it began to wear off, he was forced to rely on Arielle more than he cared to just to get back to the valley. When they got beyond the boulder, he sank into a shaky sit and began to lap the blood from his shoulder as best he could.

Merrick was in much worse shape, so when his father instructed Arielle to treat him first, Aventus responded with a toothsome snarl. No, he told his mate in a voice that brooked no argument. I am fine. He will die without immediate care. Aventus was a right mess, too, but so was Arielle. She needed help as well. Where was that self-proclaimed physician? He looked around but did not see Stryx among the gathered.

The red-furred child was brought forward. The edges of Aventus' vision shimmered and swam. Val was wandering about with a painful looking tear in his nose. Now that he was still, weariness dragged heavily at the Bruin-jaw's bones. Blood still seeped from his wounds. He would not die... But his eyes flagged and he slumped to the ground, barely staving off unconsciousness.

this can be last post or we can go another round! <3

merrick stared at the red girl

"bring her to stillrift. see that she is fed."

his remaining orb blared hotly down into the terrified young stare of the prize he had liberated from rivenwood. 

"i'll do the rest."

merrick waved her away and pulled closer to aventus. "stay awake, bruin-jaw," the bearwolf commanded. "we live to kill for ursus another day."

She was tired, hurting, and worried; now she could add irritated to the list because instead of letting her do her job her mate and father-in-law were ordering her around and deciding for her who needed to be treated first. There was a command in Ave's one word that told her he wanted no argument from her; if he had not collapsed to the ground shortly after speaking, she might have reminded him that she was the healer here. Worry overwhelmed her instead. 

She rushed over to the bruin-jaw and touched him gently with her nose. She fought back tears that were no longer kept at bay by adrenaline and the need to focus. He was still alive, but she knew he needed rest and treatment to stay that way. 

Merrick encouraged him to stay awake, and Arielle licked the part of his face that wasn't torn up. It's only a little bit farther to the den, she told him softly, her anger from before gone. The were others in Ursus with only minor injuries; they could help her move him. She would insist that Merrick follow them too so she could treat his wounds, as well.

last from me <3

sorry to be so late! I've been a very busy donkey but Muttn and I have worked this out together :)

When Merrick's call came, she'd been torn. He demanded then that he be brought the girl whom she could only assume was Laurel. He'd called his raiders off the attack, but Æsilfír had a feeling that young Abel might still have some use. And if not, they could either dispose of him or send him packing.

So she shepherded the youngster, pressing in to add a threat only when necessary but otherwise...Unless the boy protested much, they could walk in relative peace. Æsilfír was uncharacteristically quiet, reeling with anticipation as she brought young @Abel Redleaf with her. 

The bloody tracks left behind by the others was easy to follow. Still- she didn't believe they'd lost anyone. Merrick's fur was matted and darkened with blood, and the same could be said for Aventus and Arielle. She wondered if they'd been able to dispose of the alpha male, and if Merrick had killed Laurel. But her eyes fell upon the other youngster- must have been the one he'd asked them to bring him earlier. 

She reached out to give a shove go Abel, and prompt him to step forward, to show off her own prize. "Thought you'd like to have the set," She said with a grin.

Despite whatever cries, pleads, or screams ripped from his throat, the madwoman had torn Abel away from his home. The longer they walked, the quieter he became. Not from lack of fear or an acceptance of fate. He was more exhausted than he’d ever been in his entire life. He so desperately wanted to collapse and drift into a deep sleep. But he had to keep moving. He had no choice. 
The woman brought him to valley that reeked of her own scent and blood. Abel forced his eyes wide open as the smell became stronger. The fur on his nape shot up as he scanned the terrifying faces that surrounded him. He froze when his eyes laid upon him. The one eyed man. His mother’s killer. A pathetic whimper forced its way from his throat as he was shoved closer.
But the worst of his fears dissipated, if only for a moment, when he saw a familiar ruddy pelt. Indra! The fear returned when he realized how close she was to the man. Abel was then rooted in place, even though he wished to run to his sister’s side.

There was ringing in his ears and gravity dragged at his bones all of a sudden. He had never felt so heavy in his life. His father and his mate were speaking but the words were lost in static. Aventus blinked at both of them and tried his best not to sway. Their tones said more than their words did to him now.

When he was bid to stand, he did so with a grunt and tried to ignore the way the edges of his vision nearly collapsed inward. Adrenaline had given way to pain and soon pain would give way to hot and cold and he would shiver in Mosskeep until Arielle had tended to him and he could slip into a dreamless sleep.

He was still so angry with her for endangering herself by getting involved with Mahler, but he had no energy to start in on that now.

merrick would have limped off elsewhere had not ash appeared then, a boy in tow. the boy he had first met in rivenwood.
he cried out for his sister.
merrick's mouth curled into a cruel smile. "very good, ash," he purred despite the weakness of his body, single eye resting hotly upon her proud features.
what a credit all wolves in ursus were to their chosen spirit.
"what is your name?" he growled toward the boy. they couldn't very well be kept together; that was how escapes were plotted. 
"there is a high den in tumbleview," he murmured to to ash. "take him there." the cyclops'-stare rested on the boy. "you will be maimed if you try to escape. i don't need two eyes. you will do without both if you try to run."

Last lil reply from Indra

Indra! Someone shouted behind her; she thought it was Abel. The desire to turn and look came to her, but she was so afraid that she froze in place instead. She watched the man with all of his wounds; she saw the twisted toes of his foot and wanted to vomit.
Someone grabbed her by the scruff and began to move her manually. A few beats later she was scrambling to move her legs so that they didn't drag, and by the time Merrick was showing interest in the boy at the end of the caravan of wolves, the girl had been carried off somewhere else.
There was very little protest within Indra at this point - too much had happened and nothing made sense.