Great Bear Wilderness Walla walla

With his crown restored, Peregrine knew he was welcome to leave the caldera and foray out into the world again. He found he didn't much have desire for it, though. He sensed that everyone out there was pissed at his pack for their behavior over the past few weeks. If he ventured out there, it was only a matter of time before someone came along, demanding an explanation. He wasn't sure what he would tell them. Would he admit to his involvement in Junior's death? He didn't think anyone would understand, if they even let him explain. It was all a headache he would rather avoid. And that's exactly what he was going to do: avoid everything and everyone who wasn't directly relevant to the caldera.

But they could really use some fresh blood in their ranks. With everyone working toward their Warrior or Warden trades, he didn't worry about the pack's fortification. What they needed at present were Gamekeepers and Caretakers. The entire reason he was here on this earth right now was to arrange the best possible future for Redhawk Caldera. The most obvious way to do that was to make sure the pack's offspring had the best possible start to life. His litter was already well on their way, yet now they would all need to pitch in to raise the Beta pair's litter as well.

Cagily, the Alpha male stepped outside his territory for the first time in around a month. He set off at a brisk trot, heading into the general expanse of Great Bear Wilderness. All his senses were highly tuned. No sight, sound or smell would go unnoticed as he attempted to evade any wolves he did know in favor of the company of nonpartisan strangers.

To the coast.

This journey was a long one.

Why had she left?

A long, throaty groan fell from her as she lumbered. One foot in front of the other.

Her cubs were grown, that duty was done. Year after year after year she conceived and year after year after year she had raised young, but this year, no male could be found to continue the future with. So she left. Somewhere new, somewhere coastal. But this place, the Wilderness, was a miserable one.

She smelled wolf. Bear wanted no trouble. It showed as she marched on by, letting loose a low sound that might sound to some like I don't want trouble, leave me alone and to others like I will destroy all you know. The latter was not at all her intent. The thing just wanted to survive and get to the coast.

When Peregrine saw a bear lumbering in the distance (no surprises there—he was in the Great Bear Wilderness), he didn't conceal himself nor change his path, though he did give her a wide and respectful berth. The sight of her reminded him of poor bedridden Finley. Should he kick this bear's ass in her honor? Better yet, should he try to recruit her? She was a stranger who knew nothing of the caldera's dramatic past and he didn't even have to meet her to know she could kick ass and take names. How rad would that be, having a bear in his ranks?

He smirked at the silly thought, dogging the ursine's steps from afar. Although he wasn't actually keen on either kicking her ass or recruiting her, he couldn't say he wasn't curious. She was a majestic beast and Peregrine found he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. In fact, he sped up without even realizing it, closing the distance between wolf and bear.

It took her some time to gather she was being followed. It took more time to remember she had no cubs to protect, so there was no reason to be followed. Bear stopped and her dark eyes looked for the figure. Easy to find, with such a keen sense of smell. If she was not so distracted, she would have noticed it sooner. The nose of a bear worked far greater than any bloodhound.

Here is what she knew: there was no coast nearby, she needed to keep going. Also, there were no bears nearby. No other sows, no other male bears.

And now she knew she was being followed. The bear parted her jaws and roared again. I'm going, the sound would tell some. I will kill you, the sound others would hear.

The roar effectively stopped Peregrine in his tracks. He blinked hard, listening as the noise tore through the air and echoed into the distance. She did not look in his direction, so he didn't know if the warning was meant for him or... possibly other bears? The wolf began to walk again, slowly, falling further back. He wondered where Finley got the guts to actually get up close and personal, much less pick fights with bears. Peregrine didn't know whether this made him respect her more... or consider her a suicidal idiot. Maybe a little bit of both.

Suddenly, he was wondering whether he and a bear could possibly understand one another. He barely gave it any thought before calling out, "Hey! Bear!" to see if and how she responded. Peregrine slowed even more, bracing his legs to make a break for it if she began lumbering back in this direction.

She lumbered on. Bear did not speak wolf. Wolf likely did not speak bear. She did glance over her shoulder, due to his shout, but when he did not come for her aggressively she assumed he was not speaking to her. Heavy paws left large imprints as she waddled onward, jaws apart.

The Coast. She could smell it with her brilliant nose. The coast...

Fallen prey. That too she could smell. She headed in that direction, first. Guaranteed food would be good fuel, for the coast.

She looked at him but did not respond in any meaningful way. She didn't appear to be bothered by his presence. When she faced forward again, Peregrine began to lose interest in her. But then he, too, scented carrion on the air. It was relatively fresh too, by the smell.

He knew he couldn't compete with a bear, yet he shadowed her footsteps more stealthily now. He would follow her to the meat and see if there was enough left over when she was done. Although he was happy to hunt for his own supper, Peregrine wouldn't turn away an opportunity for free food, not with so many hungry mouths back home.

Bear did not care to harm wolves if they did not care to harm her. The other wolf followed behind. She could hear him. But he presented no trouble. Bear lived long enough to know that she had nothing to worry about. That one wolf was easy to kill, and even one wolf backed by five could be killed, too. So the heavyset creature continued onward to her prey to scavenge. If the wolf kept to himself, he could finish what she did not. This would not be her home.

They closed in on the carrion. Rather, she closed in while Peregrine ghosted after her, both light and fleet of foot as he hung out in the background. While she presumably fed, he began sniffing around the general area about one hundred yards away. There were so many interesting scents out this way, including the strong odor of a mountain lion. Peregrine's fur prickled. Perhaps the cat had made the kill they were about to finish.

At length, he paused, then sat on his haunches and licked his chops. He watched the bear in the distance, ears continuously pivoting and nose wriggling. He waited patiently, even when his stomach started to growl audibly.

*chucks another WF in!*

The bird, too, had spotted the carrion, her erratic flight pattern suddenly becoming similar to a missile's as she zeroed in on the target. Leftovers from a kill made earlier, fresh and ripe for the taking — not that the small magpie could take much. However, when the source of the delicious smell came closer into view, there was another already there. A lumbering creature, bigger than any Shiv had ever seen, was hunched over the carcass, tearing strips of meat off as it fed. She came to a stop on the ground a fair distance away; closer than the wolf was but sharing his respect and wariness around the massive bear.

Only when it had finished and began to move onwards did she hop forward. One, two, three cautious jumps before she fluttered onto a rib bone that protruded upwards. With her sharp beak she began to peel off the meat that remained, pausing every so often to keep an eye out for fellow scavengers who had come to enjoy the free meal.

Thanks for rescuing this! :)

Finally, the bear lumbered away. Peregrine's eyes followed her until she vanished into the distance, then he jumped to his feet and loped over to the kill. Paying absolutely no mind to the bird already sitting at the supper table, he dove toward the inside of one gored haunch and began to feed. He ate ravenously, wolfing down hunks of flesh before turning to the nearby leg and beginning to tug on it. The force of his yanking caused the entire carcass to shake back and forth.

No problem!

The wolf emerged after the bear had finished, appearing in the peripheral of Shiv's vision as a dark shadow. She, too, paid the other no attention, happy to share this meal...so long as he hadn't a pack behind him like the wolves here usually did. She glanced up from the rib bone she was working on butchering, glancing around the area for other wolves before suddenly her perch began to suddenly wobble.

With a cry of surprise, the magpie fluttered her wings as she was rocked along with the rest of the carcass, swinging her head around to fix the perpetrator in her angry gaze. She released an irritated chirp in his direction. How rude.

Even when the magpie protested, he paid no attention to her. He continued working on the leg until, at least, he tore it free. Peregrine lapped up the blood and gristle around it, then bent down and sank his teeth into the meatiest part of the haunch. He hoisted his load into the air, then began to awkwardly shuffle back in the direction of home. The rest of the scraps would belong to the birds and beasts of the surrounding woods.

Had she not been so determined to strip every last morsel of meat from the creature's rib bone, Shiv would have given the wolf a mouthful for his impudence. She clung desperately onto the carcass as it swayed, courtesy of the man who worked on tearing off his portion. Did he have to be so rough about it? However, she didn't dare give up her spot for fear of losing her precious bone.

Finally, her perch stopped shaking as the leg was torn free, held securely in the dark wolf's jaws. The magpie watched as he trotted back to wherever he had come from, feeling slightly jealous he could just lug away whatever part of the animal he wanted. Whatever. Ribs were tastier, anyway.

With another chirp, she deftly slid her beak down the bone again, stripping off whatever meat she could before the coyotes and larger birds arrived.