Bearclaw Valley a seminar about whether or not deer feel pain or are just sad

Mandatory pack meeting, next round begins on March 29th or once everyone has posted! No post order, tags within the post are for reference for now. @Arielle @Val @Æsilfír @Stryx @Bernadette @Pandora

It was several days before Aventus had the mental fortitude to summon Ursus to Tumbleview. He had spent the interim locked somewhere in his own mind, spinning out of control and damning the bear and damning his father and damning Laurel and fantasizing about revenge.

Revenge that would never be his to reap, just as it was with Nyra. But he would not let Merrick go alone, oh no.

When he called them, he stood tall, but disheveled. What muted warmth existed in Aventus before was gone now, replaced by something hard and glacial. He called the pack with a voice that urged — nay, demanded, for he was their leader now — haste. When they had assembled before him, he looked at most of them without a trace of emotion. The exceptions were Arielle — the slightest flicker of warmth and of abject fear, as well — and Bernadette, whose likeness to a small bear had endeared her to Merrick, but whose resemblance now only disgusted and dismayed Aventus.

When they stood gathered, Aventus announced, in a voice as numb as he felt, @Merrick is dead.

The pain of saying it out loud was intense. He had never properly mourned Astara, marching to war before her body even cooled. He did not know how to mourn his father, but he knew he could not sit idle. The perpetrator was dead, but there were still traces of her. Here. Now.

It was @Laurel.

He let that hang in the air a moment before his voice turned to jagged stone. I will suffer her infection no longer. @Indra III. @Abel. He would have no more of it. Laurel was responsible for everything. It was time they ended her for good, every bit of her. You know what you must do. And if there was any doubt, he snuffed it out with his next wrenching breath: kill them.

Arielle was worried for the bruin-jaw. She remembered when Astara had died, and how he never mentioned anything about it. Even now, he hardly spoke of her. 

Since the day they found Merrick dead, teeth locked in the throat of Laurel and hers in his, he had turned inward. There had been so much rage that day, and now a concerning coldness. She didn't know what to do, and she shied away from anything that might cause him more pain. She hadn't asked him about the former bruin-witch or pushed him to talk at all. She was just there, hoping his grief would lessen with time. 

Her own grief sat painfully in her heart. She knew the bearking had not given much value to his life after his wife's death, but she hadn't expected to lose him now. Some part of her hoped he would be here for a while, that maybe Laurel's children would give him enough purpose to stay. But he was gone, and they were left with the weight of that knowledge. She would never get the scene from her mind. Their bodies locked together, blood everywhere, his dead eyes—they haunted her; she could see it whenever she closed her eyes. 

Everyone gathered, and Arielle walked over to her husband and sat beside him. Aves wasted no time delivering the devastating news, and her eyes closed as she heard the words spoken for the first time. 

She knew he was beyond angry; she was too. So she wasn't surprised to hear him order the death of Indra and Abel. Indra had a lot of potential but Arielle would not deny the bruin-jaw his revenge. If he wanted them gone, then she would make sure that happened. The last few days, she had longed to be able to help him in some way, and this was it. She could make sure the children's lives were snuffed out and then maybe Aves would find some peace. 

She was prepared to take care of things that moment, but she waited to see who might protest the order. Anyone that did would not be considered Ursus any longer.

The call sent a rush through Stryx as she rose to meet it. Having spent the day scouring the valley for more herbs now that spring was upon them, she had taken some time to herself for a rare basking in the sun and ended up napping; Aventus' tone was insistent.

She arrived swiftly enough and saw her superiors waiting; others would come too, until they were all gathered. The news of the crazed man's demise was a shock to Stryx - strong enough to suck the air out of her lungs. Merrick seemed like the kind of manic creature who would outlast everyone. Growing old but vital, and madder by the year, until he would inhabit this valley alone save for that madness. Or so she thought.

Stryx had been wrong.

Aventus spoke of someone else, and then of the children, and as stricken as the physician felt with the loss of Merrick, she could not in good conscience allow the stolen children to come to harm; her spine straightened as soon as Aventus gave his order - and he had a look not to be trifled with - which told Stryx to be very careful.

She kept her mouth shut, clenched, and looked around for signs of doubt, or disobedience. Her eye also surreptitiously sought a route of egress should she need it, knowing she wasn't fast or furious like these cultists.

Not a word came from her; she waited, watched, and hoped her nervous energy did not betray her. The two bloodstains were not her children but they were innocent, and Stryx had vowed long ago to place value upon every life. What would killing two idiot children accomplish?

The meeting was called and Ash still felt her life vivid with hormones. She set herself a bit away from the gathering, and avoided eye contact as well as she could with most of them, especially Bernadette. She didn’t want the odd bear-wolf’s creepy curiosity. 

When Aventus deemed it was time to speak, his words shocked her. She gasped, a sudden, high-intake of breath to split the silence. She shook her head and stared at Aventus in disbelief, begging for this to not be true. Her eyes burned, stung with hot tears. 

But when he mentioned the children, she froze and her vision cleared. 

kill them.

Æsilfír nodded and took off like a whip crack. She knew exactly where Abel would be. She didn’t give a shit about the sister. Abel was hers and she felt possessive of his fate. She’d brought him here, after all, and he was hers to end. She hoped the rest of the pack would simply assume she was charging off to make short work of the boy’s life. 

But when she found him, she skidded to a halt, breathless from exertion. She’d never run faster in her entire life. She snapped her jaws at him in a frenzy, not noticing the spittle that had formed at the corners of her mouth. But her intention was not to kill.

”Git up, Li’l Man. NOW. Merrick’s dead; now Aventus wants you dead, we’re gonna make a run for it. Now GO!” She snapped, prepared to bully him into motion as she needed to.

Pandora had been organizing her collection of poisonous herbs when an urgent call from one of her leaders rings out. She sits a touch straighter and fox-like ears perk up at the sound. Her gaze rests in the direction of the howl and her eyes are light with sudden curiosity. 

What calls for such a pushy howl? Must be important. She thinks absentmindedly.

So with a sigh, she gets up and stores her herbs away. Only to head that direction right after. 

Soon enough she too is present, along with  the other members of Ursus. All except the great Merrick of course. But the dark furred man looks tense, tired, torn — absolutely ravaged by whatever has befallen this forsaken kingdom. The pretty, red furred wolf is next to him and Pandora eyes her down just as she does Aventus. She seems just as emotionally ragged as the first, but none of the others seem to share their moods. 

A sense of dread hits her, but her face is blissfully neutral as she steps up to the group. Full tail swishing behind her, only to wrap comfortably around her ankles as she sits. Looking up to the two who lead for the news. 

And, boy, is there news. 

Merrick — oh, the crazed bear-man — the great Merrick is dead. How severely disappointing! She would’ve thought him unkillable — immortal, probably too stubborn to die on someone else’s will. Alas, that does not seem to be the case, for the dark man speaks of the name responsible for such a heinous crime as killing the bear lord. 

Pandora’s eyes go a touch wider and her brows raise, large ears flick back as well, but besides that her reaction is mostly internalized. 

Not only that, but he mentioned two other names; one she knows, the other not so much. He orders their death too. Pandora would gaze around to the others, fighting the smile that tries desperately to creep onto her lips. Oh, the drama! She looks for reactions, though still stricken with the news of Merrick’s death, it still seems this man will keep his savage upkeep in the land of bears.

Though she had spoken to the girl, Aventus orders death to, she does not feel anything for it. She will absolutely not stop it, for she’s been around this kind of thing her entire life. Even as one of them runs off to do just as he says. Her bloody eyes follow their form, but Pandora herself does not move. Surely others would get to them first, especially before Pandora could manage to poison them. How unfortunate, but perhaps she may have a chance.

merrick was dead. a column within val cracked, toppled by the bearking’s mortality. within val little eddies of conflict played.

he had been terrified by merrick. that fear was very real — it was the physical chain that tethered him to ursus. still, he had loved merrick and looked upon him unquestionably. merrick had been the first thing close to a father figure in val’s life, and while the madman could not have been described as paternal towards val, he had instilled a sense of fearful worship in the boy.

but he was dead; his cruelty forever banished to the dirt which now held him. val felt relief, sorrow, horror, and anger all at once. relief that the unraveling madman was now put to rest. sorrow that merrick’s soul, however twisted, died in torment and pain. horror to see that merrick’s cruel edicts lived on in his son, who val had always looked to as a friend: he saw friend no longer in aventus’ steeled gaze. anger; anger that merrick had been taken from them, that the world was so full of malice, that those that followed the bear would never find peace.

in val budded an awakening. he started as aventus’ command registered. kill them. val looked incredulous — first to aventus, then to arielle. why wasn’t she saying anything? his gaze widened as he realized each of his peers accepted this ruling unilaterally. not even stryx raised her voice against the unspeakable.

and then ash, the wolf he least expected to support such a command — she was already running. val hoped, in his darkly upending heart, that she was not streaking towards abel now to lend his blood to the snow.

what?! they’re kids. val said disbelievingly, knowing that if he spoke up now he would forever be in contempt of the bear.

he was unworthy of ursus and he had known this all along. the bear had spared him, not because he was one of them but because he was beneath them — the bear did not trouble itself with the maggots beneath their feet. they’re your blood too! if you kill them, you are just continuing the cycle! val pleaded, voice twisted by the betrayal he felt knifing his pounding heart.

she knew what immorality was, the definitions of it, and so the warlock's death did not shake the scholar's convictions. she did not doubt the bruin-witch would live on in soul as a great acolyte to his primal god, and in name as a mighty wolf and priest of the bear on this flesh-bound world.

that, however, didn't mean his passing hadn't complicated earthly matters.

bernadette seated herself a bit away from the crowd, as was in her nature. she was to observe and learn - and with intent to learn she offered the voice her firstborn, which she was sure now formed in her womb. 

it was a trade, and it seemed as natural to spend a child for greater purpose as it was to conceive it. besides, to have one of her own offered to a spirit such as the one merrick seemed to believe in without doubt or question (bernadette envied him for that; she considered her own indecisiveness her greatest failing) was certain to move her closer to that which she truly desired to reach.

and so when the cult decided that their captors were to die, bernadette merely observed, dejected, scientific, and at the forefront of her mind was a calculation; how much spilt blood of a newborn is required to truly understand the divine?

Next round ends March 31st or once everyone has posted, no post order, @Indra III and @Abel can post this round!

No one spoke. Aventus took it for the stunned silence of shock. Merrick was the sort of wolf who seemed to be everlasting, evergreen despite the ragged quality of his body or the tattered edges of his psyche. The Bruin-jaw knew he would never wield charisma how Merrick had, that these wolves were more likely to go their own way now than to band together beneath the son. That was simply how things were, and he had always been a hidden component of Ursus, in a way. Never the outspoken leader that his sire was.

It eased him some that none spoke out in defiance. His silver eyes warmed only a sliver when Ash took to the command like a hound on a raccoon trail and took off to where Abel hid higher in Tumbleview. No one else moved, at least until Val finally lifted his voice in protest.

Aventus swept down from where he stood in a pantherine prowl, advancing until he was nearly nose tip to nose tip with the swarthy sea wolf. Val would find no hint of Aventus' hidden warmth in his eyes now. Both of his parents were murdered. Only Merrick had asked for it, but that did nothing to ease Aventus' grief. Nyra had somehow got away, denying him retribution for Astara's murder, but he would not accept only Laurel's death as payment for Merrick.

Kids grow, he said softly, tilting his head, and become killers. Merrick killed Laurel. They will grow and hone their teeth and come for us again. He clapped his jaws together, lashed his tail once, and boomed, I end the cycle. That they were also his blood mattered nothing to Aventus. He had never measured family in blood, nor was he moved by the blood of a woman who had started the entire cycle with her self-involvement. His family was Ursus, and he would not let them grow up to hurt his family.

Perhaps you should run back to yours if you are such a coward, he suggested, pinning Val with a stony stare, and then he brushed past and streaked toward Stillrift. He cleared the distance at a flat run, stopping only when he delved into the depths of it so that he did not fall and break his neck. He thought errantly that it would not be so bad to die right now, but then he would leave Arielle alone. It was her worst fear. He could not do that to her.

Indra! he called out in a thunderclap compared to his normal soft tone with her.

The news of the bearking's death spread a cloud of disbelief and despair over the gathering, or at least that's how it felt to her. It was hard to believe he was gone after everything he had been through. Her thoughts aligned with some of the others as she remembered how immortal he had seemed. His spirit would live on with the bear, but it would be a while before that brought her any comfort. 

Arielle was watching the group as her husband gave the order, and at first there were no words. Ash left to take care of Abel, which only left Indra. 

Val was the one to speak in protest of killing the children. His words were disappointing; she had thought him worthy; he had passed their tests, and now he sought to deny the bruin-jaw his justice. It was the will of the bear, and Val could not see that. She felt his betrayal in her heart—one more wolf to grieve.

Her gaze held contempt as she stared at Val; Aves stood face to face with him, his words like a whip. The bruin-heart could feel every bit of his rage as he spoke the hard truth. 

Then the bruin-jaw was sprinting away towards stillrift, and seconds later, Arielle was running after him. She wouldn't let him do this alone, even though he was perfectly capable. She didn't know who else would show their true colors and come to protect the girl.

Aves disappeared down into the rift, and Arielle soon after. He called for Indra. It was time for her to pay for her family's crimes.

any budding defiance val planned was vanquished immediately by the way aventus came for him; his gait slinky and eyes chilling.

the eyes of a killer.

merrick had been a killer. his mate a killer. his children killers. val felt this salient point held against his throat like a sharpened fang. aventus too, was a killer.

he cowered beneath the leader’s pinning stare, wounded worse by the way aventus addressed him. coward. go back to your family; insinuating then and there that ursus was not his family and never had been.

Val’s stomach twisted in grief. it broke his heart to go against aventus’ command, but val knew who he was — and he was no pup killer.

he wanted to say something poignant, like point out how it took courage to stand for one’s conviction amidst a sea of contrary views — but it would be time wasted, and frankly, he lacked the presence of mind to form any sort of articulate counterpoint. aventus had already discarded him, his voice thundering down through tumbleview like the ominous snarl of a storm.

first, it was bernadette who thought him a fool. that had hurt, but who was she to know? val had buried that scathing thought, and it hurt a little less. now it was someone val cared for deeply calling him a coward. those words ripped open a disparate wound in the boy who had never felt his pieces truly fit. arielle’s gaze, laced with a confection of contempt, served to cut him down further.

the hour of val’s reckoning drew near. was he a killer? or was he a coward?

he looked to those around him and felt his legs shake. fuck that. val knew who he was, and now it was time for the rest of the world to know too.

he tore after aventus, sending a howl into the air for indra to run, and run very fast. no! he begged, each step growing more desperate. i won’t let you! aves, this isn’t right!

Things went from bad to worse, and it was as if a rift to hell opened up in the next moment, because the hounds went pouring away from the meeting place on the hunt for the children. The woman that had been tending to the boy - Stryx did not know Ash or Abel's names - took off first. Stryx watched them go and only pivoted back to the conversation at hand when Val voiced opposition.

She looked at him as if he had three heads; more appropriately, he hadn't considered how dangerous voicing such opposition could be. Stryx tensed and thought quickly on how best to circumvent the growing tension between Aventus and the fool, but after some sharp words Aventus tore off as well, towards Stillrift, with Arielle on his heel.

As if that wasn't enough, Val shot after them too. You're going to get yourself killed, you idiot! Stryx couldn't help but think, and against her better judgement she flanked them all. Val was quick; Aventus was powerful and he had the backup of his mate; it took all that Stryx had left to keep up with them, and it was in these moments she realized her age.

Val! Stop! She tried to call to him - not because she didn't agree with the fight he had chosen, but because Stryx knew the children were doomed from their conception if they were born of this mad blood; at least she could save Val now, if she could be quick about it.

Sleep was all she had these days. When nobody came to visit her, that was all Indra could think to do. She was lethargic at the best of times because of this; alert to the sounds of tiny birds in trees she could not see, or the scattering of stones down the scaffold of the rift's edge, but she never once tried to climb out. She waited, patiently, like a good girl. Someday the one-eyed man would come back and take her on more walks. The woman might come to tend to her gnawed wrists. The boy-king, with the rabbits, might even make an appearance.

She was oblivious to the tumult brewing beyond the rift. There were sounds carried from afar, of course - a distant howl, and then a sharp crack in the air that sounded like her name - and so she was alert and watchful of the rift's edge. Indra did not know what to expect.

Except it was abruptly quiet.

The birds had stopped their singing.

As the girl began an internalized battle between her unease and the weak foundation of trust that the cultists had tried to build within her, she heard something else: the stamping of feet, thundering closer by the moment.

The clearest sound above the others: a howl, commanding her by name to run.

This had to be another test! Indra looked fervently to every precipice she could spy, seeking the familiar face of one of the adults. She had done everything else asked of her - honored the bear at the altar, given her blood, listened to the lessons as they were presented to her - and this, this last command, it came from nowhere. It came from a voice she did not know. Was it the bear's voice? Indra had begun to pace; she went around and around, matching her circular thoughts.

There was a shuffling sound as something - or someone - careened for the edge.

Should she go, should she stay? What did the bear want? What did these people want? Oh — she couldn't decide for herself. They'd worked to strip her of that ability. Now as she sought an answer she went to her false altar, where she'd kept the dried flowers for her mother and the stones for her brother; she stared at them a moment and felt her soul split in two.

Mom, where are you?

Behind her loomed a shadow.

Abel’s eyes — raw and weary — weighed down within his skull from a lack of sleep. At this point he rejected sleep whenever he was physically capable. His reoccurring nightmares denied him of any proper rest anyways. He went through enough anguish while he was awake. He would not allow himself to be tortured in his dreams of he could help it.
Too exhausted and unmotivated to do much else, the child lays on his sides and watches his chest rise and fall from the corner of his eye.
Beyond his prickly fur he sees Æsilfír running towards him. She’d come to torture him in her own irritating way, no doubt. 
With an exasperated sigh, Abel lifted his head to glare in her direction. His scowl was swiftly wiped from his face when she began to snap at him however. He’d expected such lashings from the one eyed man, but not her. She’d always given warning signs between her chatter, but today was different story.
Abel whined beneath his breath as she spoke, too shocked by her actions to comprehend the weight of the situation at first.
W-why would you… what? Git up. Her urgent commands were registered slowly, so too did the information. Merrick is dead. He didn’t know who that was, nor Aventus. But he did know he didn’t want to die. So he stood, and fell into an awkward, hasty trot. All the while he looked back at the woman.
Where are we going? I-I can’t. He’ll catch me. He’ll- he’ll kill me! He began to quicken the longer he thought on the situation. 
What about Indra? She came to his mind suddenly and his heart twisted around itself. Wherever they went, they couldn’t go without her. We.. can’t.. leave her here!, he wheezed. His rapidly pumping lungs set his throat aflame, and the fire moved through his body.

Æsilfír whipped her head around to glance fleetingly over her shoulder, but saw no movement on the horizon. The boy protested but she could hardly hear his words over the rush of her breath and thundering of her heart. He was ushered into motion, but not fast enough so she nipped at the air near his hocks to shepherd him into a faster gait. 

”RUN, damnit!” She seethed, snapping her jaws together emphatically. She didn’t have time for his questions. If he continued to stall them, someone would eventually catch up to them. Anyone following their trail wouldn’t be able to tell immediately if she was chasing him or trying to herd him out of the pack to safety, so she didn’t think anyone would be too suspicious. They’d have a margin of time- but not much. 

He said his sister’s name and she snarled. Of course, he wouldn’t want to leave without her- but Indra wasn’t her problem or her responsibility. ”Someone else is gettin’ her out, we’ll find her after- now stop starin’ at me an’ move it!!” She knew it was a lie but she needed him to stop looking over his shoulder and worrying. She’d perhaps been too gentle before- and began to snap at his flank in earnest, intending to pinch the tender flesh there if he didn’t pick up the pace. 

She knew that if they were caught, Abel wouldn’t be the only one whose life was at risk. All she could do was hope that she’d bought them enough time to escape before anyone else realized what was really happening.

Everyone is spurred into their own movements and Pandora takes in everything with satisfactory eyes. The drama here is intense and she can’t help but love it. Though she usually wouldn’t be one to involve herself, she believes that she might just have to here. 

First, Aventus moves to take care of the poor cherry pelted girl. Pandora doesn’t blink an eye. His pretty wife goes with him until the dark furred male with the pretty green eyes actually speaks up. Pandora’s brows raise at the tone he speaks to their new leader too. Aventus gives the boy an ultimatum, but he doesn’t listen, trailing after the man and his wife. Finally, oh finally, Pandora allows a smirk to curve her lips as the female medic yells for him. A pack torn apart from the inside out. How crazy is that? 

Pandora connects Aventus, Ariel, and Val going to Indra. So pandora assumes the other female, dark with white patches, goes for the other kid. Pandora elegantly gets up, swishing her tail at her ankles with a smirk on her maw. She looks towards the direction the woman ran and drops her nose to follow her scent. It’s rich and sweet and Pandora’s mind instantly goes towards the smell of heat. An easy trail to follow. 

And follow she does. 

Moving and moving, she brings herself into a swift run. Her small form may not hold much strength, but damn is she fast. 

Pandora is also in for a little surprise when she gets there. She sees what she assumes is the second kid and the woman right behind him. She’s letting him go. How interesting. Isn’t that fun? And to make it even worse, she’s running alongside him. Another betrayal?

Pandora wonders what she can even do. Fighting isn’t her thing, but…she thinks just this once she’d do it for the great bear king himself. Even though she already fought for him once, perhaps she’ll do it again in his honor. Plus, the black and white woman isn’t that big, with luck maybe Pandora could take her.

So she doesn’t stop running and that smile never wipes off her face. She can see them and see trails right after them. 

“Where are you two leaving in a rush?” She asks the pair in a soft yell, voice still smooth and alluring as honey despite its volume. Even going as far to send up a warning howl through the sky to inform the new leader of Ursus and his wife of their whereabouts.

She wouldn’t stop running either. Not until she gets a bite of that pretty girls flesh.

Dodnt know if anyone wanted to do separate threads for separate fights, but I was thinking of making a new thread for the three of them if you’d guys like :)

I think breaking @Æsilfír, @Pandora and @Abel off into a separate thread will work best! For everyone else, this is my last post here, so I think it makes sense for this to become a regular thread with a post order from here on out, which will be @Arielle > @Val > @Stryx > @Indra III. Powerplay in this post was OK'd by Lauren!

Darkness yawned below. Several more levels to go to be on ground level, but he wanted to watch the girl skulk out of the gloom. He wanted to see the horror in her eyes when he descended on her. He wanted to know that his great aunt's blood was ended in fear. Merrick had conquered his fear, but his son still struggled. By striking the greatest of terrors into Indra, he would conquer it as well.

He lingered on that cliff edge a moment too long, and Val came a little too fast. Aventus turned to snarl at the Earthclaw, only for Val to overextend and lurch into him. He clapped his jaws shut, but not to taste fur and blood as he intended. It was shock that muzzled him when he stumbled sideways and his paw met thin air.

Aves could not correct his balance in time. He tumbled over the edge, and though the drop was not so far, he spun just so in the air that his head smacked against an outcropping of stone on the way down and blackness swallowed him. When he hit the bottom of Stillrift mere feet from Indra, it was as a ragdoll. A bright spot of blood bloomed where his scalp had connected with rock.

Breathing, but wholly unable to continue his crusade against the children.

Arielle didn't realize that the bruin-jaw had stopped at the edge while she dropped down. She was too focused on what needed to be done. 

When she made it to the bottom, she turned to look at Aves but he wasn't there; he was hitting the ground in front of her. A sickening thud echoed against the stone walls when his head met the rock. Arielle couldn't breath. His body was just crumpled there in the dirt. Shock and the promise of agony froze her in place, she didn't know for how long. But when the pain finally hit and shattered her heart, she cried out: NO!

The bruin-heart ran forward, not sparing one thought to anyone else. 

She fell to the ground beside him and placed her head gently on his chest, pinning her ear against him to listen for his breath and the sound of his heart. Her eyes glistened with withheld tears. Then she heard the soft thud of his heart and felt his chest rise and then fall; a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks as she stood. Her anger turned to resolve. She was ending this now. She refused to let her husband poison himself with anger and grief; he would turn into his father and she would have to watch Aves kill himself. She refused.

Arielle turned from her unconscious mate and walked with slow purpose to where she knew Indra would be. 

She swallowed and steadied her breath. Indra? she called out, like it was any other day and the bruin-heart was taking her on a trip to learn about the bear. 

The bear has spoken to me, and he has a very special test for you. She hoped that would lure the girl out if her presence hadn't already.

before val could react, things were set into motion.

he'd run after aventus, only to careen into him as the bruinheart turned around. the thud of flesh echoed in his skull, followed by the click of teeth and --

aventus' wide silver eyes

falling

"no!" val cried hoarsely into the air, nearly stumbling downward himself as he peered below:

aventus' form outlined like a silhouette. a trickle of unmistakable red from an invisible crack somewhere along his skull.

val's heart quailed. arielle was down below, tending to him. listening.

he had no time to second guess. no time to see if aventus was alive (dear god please be alive, whatever bear god there is, please ) -- he knew time was running out for him and for indra.

and stryx too, wherever she was.

near gibbering with horror, val dashed into the cover of darkness searching for indra. should he find her before arielle he would seize her with unusual urgency and urge her to run, and run for her life.

The domino effect of too many bodies crammed upon the ledge caused one hell of a twist: Aventus plummeting the test of the way, with Val nearly following suit where their bodies tangled. Stryx reacted to the shifting body before she could think - snapping her teeth across Val's hip and pulling, which happened to be enough leverage to stop the boy from falling too.

When she released him, Stryx was out of breath but trying to condemn him for such a stupid, reckless move; but as she gasped, he ran. Down in to the dark, where Arielle was shouting.

Stryx hurried after him and reached the bottom as Val lunged in to the darkness. She paused to inspect Aventus first, and then looked for Arielle, whose voice clearly carried within the rift.

Arielle! He needs medical attention. Stop with all of this. I can't help him alone! Stryx shouted, unwilling to leave the man in the dirt unless she absolutely had to.

Arielle!! Do you really think killing this child is more important right now? At the very least Stryx's voice would flood the darkness and lend awareness to the child waiting within. Get her, Val. Save her.

She heard a thump, and startled.

There was a shout that rang as clear as could be, furious with panic, and it sent a chill down Indra's spine. She stood before her altar too stunned to run; then there was a skittering sound, and two bright eyes appeared.

At first she thought it was Merrick - but no, this wolf was younger and had two eyes. He was breathing ruggedly. Indra backed up immediately and in the process, kicked over the small rocks that she had piled in the dirt.

Wh-who are y-- she began to ask, but there was another voice - one she did know. The woman who had been kind to her was here now, asking for an audience. Indra glanced in the direction of Arielle but didn't go to her immediately.

The young man blocked her way and the girl was too timid to tempt fate. Her haunches quaked, and her eyes quickly averted. She tried to think of the best way around this stranger to reach the lady - but would not attempt anything yet.

Somewhere between Aves and Indra, she heard Stryx yelling after her. Maybe she should feel guilty for prioritizing killing Indra over treating her husband's wounds, but she knew when the bruin-jaw woke, he would want to know that the children had been taken care of. 

She ignored the other healer and continued farther into the darkness.

When she found Indra, her way was blocked by Val. Arielle gave him a murderous glare; she would kill him to get to the child if that's what it took. 

Her focus shifted to the shaking, hunched form of Indra. Come over here, Indra. Val wants to keep you from the bear, but you know I will help you be worthy. Arielle smiled at her. It's okay, she cooed. She was banking on the fact that Indra would trust her over anyone else.

behind him, he could hear stryx's voice calling arielle back. val's heart pounded a wardrum beat into his ears.

please go back to him, he begged -- and his stomach dropped when a shadow darkened the tunnel.

arielle.

val's gaze turned to the frightened child, who only just had managed squeaks of words. there was no time to explain; of this daggerlike reality val was keenly aware.

arielle's voice filled the cavern in a promising croon. even he would have fallen for it, if only hours before. her eyes were icy and promised his death.

val stepped away from the doorway, a swath of sunlight replacing his form. run, he begged of indra.

he might not escape the wrath of the bear, for he was never worthy -- but maybe she could.

Stryx did not hear a reply directed at her (there hadn't been one) and with a rising panic in her breast, turned again to inspect the wounded leader. He was breathing; a quick touch upon his neck found his pulse. There was blood on his head which was a bad sign - but it did not pool. He wasn't laboring, he was asleep. Stryx knew she had a choice to make: protect the bear prince or stop the culling of an innocent life.

As Arielle's voice carried through the dark again, Stryx was moving swiftly after it.

She hadn't known what her purpose was during the raid that won them these children. There was no understanding the bear for her, or the people that elevated its concept to such extremes. It wasn't her place to question it either; Stryx knew what fanaticism bred, how deeply rooted it could become, and it was not her duty to correct that kind of malignancy.

Or so she had told herself.

Arielle!! Stryx called in to the dark as her reaching steps carried her along, seeking the woman's strong scent. The physician picked up fervor as she found Val's path too, and swept forth to see the dark boy's silhouette. Arielle was close.

Stryx lunged between them and as she stared down Arielle, she knew she had made a choice that would not end well at all. The old woman was no warrior - but she had sworn an oath, once. Do no harm. Somehow during her time here she'd let this slip away.

Indra was afraid to move or do anything. This had to be another test - from the sounds of the lady's voice, the final test that would determine her own validity when facing the bear; yet there was a boy here trying to stop her. What could she do?

He told her to run. Owl-eyed, stealing glances through the dark to where Arielle lurked, Indra wished she could see a way through to her, and let out a nervous whine - and then lunged haphazardly through the dark towards the cave mouth.

It felt like she had gone back in time. A dark, sinuous body blocking her path - and then another one further back, eyes bright despite the darkness, voice crooning.

Indra remembered the voice that had reached out to her in pieces; the scars on her neck and shoulders throbbed as if awakened to the memory fragments. Merrick had said the bear had saved her - and as Indra stared upon the scene unfolding before her eyes, it was stiched together by these remembered pieces.

He's lying, don't listen, just keep going.

Indra heard this as if Arielle had called it out to her - but it wasn't her. She knew that voice didn't fit here. It came from over her shoulder, further along the corridor of the cave, and Indra snapped her attention back to it, horrified.

You better hope i die or i'll make her pay for this.

There was another body - old and gray - which merged in the dark with the boy. Together with Val, within Indra's overwhelmed mind, it gave the boy more bulk. Indra felt vulnerable; she watched his shadow thicken up, coagulate, and knew in her heart that it was the bear come again to save her.

This - this was the test! The bear was here with her. It said to run; she had to run! Indra sprang to life, bolting from the mouth of the cave where the wolves had gathered and finding her way through the dark; she had been left here a long time, she knew this space better than anyone else by now, and she knew there was a way out, emptying to another part of the rift; then she only needed to go up, and away, forever.

Her attempt to lure Indra to her would be unsuccessful. Her anger grew the more Val and Stryx tried to interrupt and intervene. Their betrayal was like a knife in her heart; the wound would be there for some time. Val was the most disappointing. He had passed their most sacred test; the bear had chosen him, and now he sought to deny the spirit what it demanded. 

As Val urged the girl to run, Arielle prepared herself to attack. Her muscles bunched but before she lunged, Stryx jumped in her way. She also sought to deny the bear what it demanded. The bruin-heart lunged for the older healer instead. 

Her teeth were aimed for the woman's sensitive throat. If she could take care of Stryx quickly then she could take care of Val and find Indra. Hopefully the girl wouldn't get too far away.