Redhawk Caldera i can feel your halo

A bear. 

It chilled Niamh to hear Fennec's call, and she halted, her breath forming small puffs of haze on the air. The amount of natural delay from Fennec's howl informed her roughly where her step-daughter was, and she hoped Fennec had the sense to stay away from the densite. Niamh was miles within the pack's claimed territory and as such, the bear's roar hadn't travelled to her, but a wolf's voice was made to carry. "What in the bloody hell-" She murmured to herself. First a cougar at their borders, and now a bear was trespassing? How was a bear even awake, with such foul weather promising to wreak havoc for at least another week? She could feel the oncoming storm in her bones; she could only imagine how disoriented the bear would be, having gone off its hibernation schedule. And a disoriented bear could be twice as dangerous as one fat and healthy from a summer's worth of feasting on fresh salmon. 

As much as Niamh wanted to howl back, she would not risk luring the bear into their packlands. She had no idea where exactly the bear was- but it was out of earshot, so chances were good if Fennec had picked up on its presence, it would be somewhere in her area, and far enough away from the densite. She willed for Fennec to stay out of reach- to avoid engaging it, and to run rather than attacking it, but she couldn't risk calling out. Not when she chose instead to guard the densite she attended, which she hoped would remain hidden within the sprawling miles of the Caldera's plateau. Even the battle-scarred Sergeant-at-Arms knew when not to pick a fight. She could only hope that the bear wouldn't find the location, which she couldn't bear to leave unattended. 

So she quickly scurried back into the den, which she now haunted in light of her own injuries, sneaking inside to make a quick, redundant tally of all within- Meerkat, Alyx and Bronco, just as they should be. She signalled for Meerkat's attention. -"Stay down. Stay quiet. Keep them quiet."- She indicated Bronco and Alyx, before she swiftly turned, and hunkered down on the ground within the mouth of the den just behind the line of shade that fell across its entrance, a silent guardian hoping that either the bear would pass through peacefully, or that her packmates could lead it out.