Stavanger Bay not broken

This post is just really one long ramble, rofl, feel free to skip to the last paragraph. Atreyu to the rescue! Maybe >_>

The impish spark had faded from his eyes, his boyish face seemingly aged from a perpetual downcast expression, his dirty and neglected coat even more ragged than usual. Atreyu felt hollow and useless. Only days after he had been told to go to the Caldera to speak to their leader, he had become ill (which is totally not just an excuse for Lauren's laziness with posting, shh). After recuperating, it had taken another week for the boy to even think about emerging from his den. What he had been sick with he did not even know, but it had sapped the strength from his limbs and replaced his thoughts with an unrelenting buzzing sound and a dull pressure that seem to press upon his very skull.

Whatever it was, he seemed to be over it now. Still, his mood remained sullen and dark, the mystery of the Jarl's murder still playing on his mind. It seemed Aesop too had disappeared, and Atreyu worried for the pack. Who was left now? Thistle, himself, Charon...and the pups. Half of the pack weren't even adults yet. A loud sigh escaped his mouth as he trailed out of the forest, following a track he had worn in, circling through the forest and back out onto the beach. It was somewhat therapeutic to continuously walk along the track, and it helped him rebuild the muscles in his legs.

It was on perhaps his second round of the track that he suddenly spotted the trio on the beach. The two smaller figures were unmistakable — the twins of Thistle's litter. Jorunn had already made a name for himself while Floki was the quieter of the two. Thankfully they were different in personalities, otherwise it was downright impossible to tell them apart. Atreyu would have been content to watch them from his position among the tree line of the forest, however the third figure caused his heart to race. A brown lumbering beast, a silhouette of stark contrast to the young pups — one of which had suddenly challenged it.

The creature swung it's head towards Jorunn, and it took a few seconds for Atreyu to fully comprehend it's intentions. When it began to move towards the young boy, however, he suddenly spurred into action, releasing a savage bark to get the bear's attention as he raced towards it, fangs bared. He had never seen a bear before, let alone such a beast as big as this one. Fear gripped his chest, but his focus was only on protecting Thistle's pups.