Moonspear bear necessities

Her mothers words confused Hydra. But then she (thought she) understood—Korei had found Galaxy's corpse, and refused to leave it. Take her with you, you idiot! But that moment came as quickly as it went. The bear disregarded them all, shoved Korei aside, and went for the (assumed) corpse. Hydra snarled loudly as she turned around, bristling. But Hydra at last heard a tiny voice, and looked to see Galaxy alive. 

The bear had even spoke. How she could understand it, Hydra hadn't the slightest idea. It spoke their language, or perhaps the Ostrega's spoke theirs, because looking to Lyra she noted that her sister understood, too. The only thing that stopped Hydra from fighting further was the fact that the life of her sister was literally in the paws of the bear. One careless move could kill her—for real this time. Even still, Hydra found herself resenting Korei—she had a chance to save Galaxy, to pick her up and run! She stewedThat is our cub. She is a wolf, she is my sister. Let her go, she directed, her ears pricked. Hydra looked to Galaxy, who made a request they could never possibly keep. But no one needed to know that then and there. Axe, tell her to let you go, her voice was a little softer. Kala might not listen to them, but she might listen to her.

Korei stood still. The thought to get Galaxy out of there never crossed her mind, she thought she could stand up to the bear. Try to prove herself to her sisters and everyone. But once she saw the bear right upon her, she realized then it was a stupid way to go about things. Before she could do anything about it, she was shoved aside, falling on her side and scurrying to get back up, only to look in horror as the bear had Galaxy with her. 

Everything seemed to grow still, even the air. Then, the bear spoke. It made sense now, it believed Galaxy to be her cub. She looked to Hydra as she spoke, and she nodded in agreement. She was rather close to the bear as she realized, and took a couple of paces back, in case it got angry.

Sheer determination and sharp teeth did not appear to be enough to keep the situation from slipping further, and faster, out of her control. The bear seemed to pay their onslaught no mind, so instead, matters with her daughters escalated--Korei was shoved aside then Galaxy scooped into the bear's arm. Everything about the sight had her hairs on end and with that instant, her newly found, not dead daughter was suddenly in grave danger all over again.

This also came with a confusing, infuriating new detail the bear so kindly provided them. She rarely spoke to beasts of their sort, so the voice had her ears switching by itself--but everything soon recollected, and her ire palpable. How did this happen? "She is mine." she snarled, venom laced and standing defiantly before Kala. Galaxy's plea to stop kept a very shaky hold on her patience for more. "A wolf! Nothing of yours!" she emphasized with a snap in the addled ursine's direction, not sure how to make it any clearer than that.

They might have let her slip to the mountain, and she might have been deciding to simply move on from it--because what else was she supposed to do believing she had died at the bottom of that crevice? But leaving her to waste away held hostage with some bear, no matter the circumstances that separated Galaxy from her side, did not seem feasible. She wasn't interested in bargaining and best case, the bear let her go, yet she prepared for worse. She was determined to leave here with her, one way or another. The pup was hers so she took another step closer, poised to circle again if this did not resolve almost immediately.

confused terance post ...

terance did, very literally, what everyone else was doing. attack, be shoved aside, stand on the sidelines and stare in confusion... well, at least, he was confused. was that galaxy? and why the hell was she here? did this bear... think that... it was... hers? terance did not know what to say. everyone else-- hydra included-- tried reasoning, which he kind of thought was stupid. with wolves, maybe, but this was a bear, they should just get rid of her and take galaxy back.

but he wasn't in charge here, so he kept his trap shut.

instead, he pressed close to whichever cerberus was near him, fur bristling along his shoulders. he'd fuckin' wreck this bear if she made one wrong move... well, that is if amekaze allowed it. but still, he'd do it.

When little Galaxy begged the wolves not to harm her, Kala squeezed the youngster more tightly to her bosom. "Oh, sweetie..." she sighed, nuzzling the top of the cub's head. She ignored the twinges in her hide where the wolves' teeth had scored and the smell of her own blood on the air. Her ears flicked but she did not otherwise acknowledge the canines as they shouted at her.

There was no sudden moment of clarity. Their message did not sink into her grief-addled brain. In Kala's mind, Galaxy was a bear, her offspring to protect. And since the wolves weren't going to back down and leave them alone, that left her only one choice. It wasn't one she wanted to make but there was nothing else to be done.

"Stay underneath me," she murmured, nudging the pup between her hind legs. "I won't let them hurt you, little one." Kala licked her jowls as she peered down at Galaxy, then finally lifted her attention to the angry wolf pack. Her face hardened and she gave a quiet roar as she lumbered back onto all fours, then rose to her full height once more.

There was a beat of silence where she hovered there, glaring down at the wolves. There were many but she couldn't let that matter. Kala's great jaws suddenly opened and she let out another thunderous roar, then bent forward like a hunchback and swiped one of her paws with murderous force and intent at a random wolf (@Terance).

She could hear her mother and sister shouting at Kala. When Hydra commanded her to appeal to the bear, Galaxy bobbed her head weakly. "Kala—" she opened her mouth to say, only to find herself suddenly shunted between the grizzly's legs. Galaxy was too weak to put up a fight of any kind and found herself curled in a ball beneath Kala's shadow as the bear rose onto two legs.

But just because Kala thought she was in danger, that wasn't actually the case. Using her very last reserve of strength, Galaxy sprang toward Amekaze. "You don't have to hurt her. She saved me..." she whispered weakly before collapsing at the Alpha female's feet.

She was alive. Lyra stared as Galaxy's head emerged from amongst the thick, brown fur of the bear's arm and shout something. She was defending the creature? Unconsciously, the girl felt her lips pull back into a snarl, angry for a reason she didn't quite understand. She didn't take her eyes off the beast as first Hydra tried to reason with it then Amekaze viciously demanded to give them back Galaxy — their daughter, their sister, theirs.

The bear seemed to disregard their threats, however, instead dropping the frail puppy by her hind legs before rearing back up to her full height. Another booming roar echoed forth from the creature, and Lyra felt her heart skip several beats, nearly stopping entirely as it swiped at the nearest wolf. "Terance, look ou—!" she stared before her attention was caught by a white figure making a mad dash for her mother before collapsing.

She instantly went instead for her sister, speeding past Amekaze and grabbing Galaxy between her jaws in one quick movement. She was a blur of darkness, hoping Terance would keep the bear distracted long enough for her to take off with her little sister (as well as not get himself killed). She gave a quick glance to her other two sisters, one that simply said hold her off before she took off into the forest, holding as tight as she could onto Galaxy's scruff to get her safely out of danger.

If that was even possible.

Everything happened too quickly after that. Galaxy flew, and Hydra felt rather than see her sister move to catch her. And that she did, and Hydra felt the look but remembered and translated the words. In that same moment, Hydra turned and lunged to push Terance out of the way—he had been nearest to her—ducking to not catch the brunt of the hit, hoping to cause Terance to fall out of the way, recollect himself, and run. But who knew if she was quick enough? She was certain Alya and her mother would distract the bear from their own weaker position—she hoped.

honestly, whatever was going on, it happened SO goddamn fast. one minute he was watching the danger, the next he was watching amekaze and then the next...

at first-- being so on his toes-- terance was ready to bounce. even though she didn't finish her statement, the sound of his name in lyra's voice  stole his attention, and he stupidly and frantically turned to see where she was. the next moment he felt hydra slam into him, which-- although a force-- was not quite enough to knock him out of the way. instead, hydra fell behind him while he stumbled forwards, a hard force slamming against him and raking against his flank. He was thrown sideways, and tumbled a bit before lying still on his side-- dizzy and bleeding. if anything, terance's only saving grace was that he was far enough away now to be the center of any attacks. 

fleeting consciousness left him spacey, but as he laid he could only feel more and more like poor, dumb korei julia.

Alas, it did not work. That she might have even pushed him into the bears trajectory did not occur to her either. But she hadn't been hit herself, and so she rose to get her own damn self out of the bears trajectory. She wheeled around it so that it would be forced to spin and heed her, knowing the objective was to distract the bear—but they also needed to get it out of the territory. Korei! Help Terance, she commanded, knowing Korei would not do well in this fight. It was now her mother, Alya, and herself against the bear. Hydra felt mounting aggravation that no others were here, but felt the three remaining had the tenacity to cause the bear to flee... hopefully. She bore her teeth, circling where she could to distract the bear.

Korei watched everything happen, feeling helpless herself. Terance was thrown aside, and then Hydra spoke out to Korei, urging her to do something to save him. That she did, as she went over to him without hesitation, aiming to take the nape of his neck to attempt to drag him out of there, her eyes still on the bear and Galaxy.

So much happened in the space of a few seconds. Galaxy ran away from her, only to be scooped up and carried away by one of the black wolves. Another dark wolf lay at the bear's feet, bleeding. Kala's anger ebbed abruptly as each of these developments processed. She had never wanted to hurt anyone. And now her cub was lost to her.

She was tempted to plop to the ground and let them tear her to pieces. But then she would truly never see her cub again. Kala couldn't bear that thought. Feeling despondent, she fell forward onto all fours, doing her best to avoid stepping on or bumping into any of the wolves as she tearfully fled into the nearby cave with every intent to disappear back into the earth.

Her furious glare locked on whatever piece of Galaxy she could glimpse. She seethed, riled by how inherently wrong the sight was to behold: a bear keeping a puppy, her puppy no less. How it had come to this, exactly, she did not want to process right now. Not when, once more, everything escalated in the seconds to follow. What mattered, and where her focus was immediately, was on a pale scrap of a wolfpup freed from the bear's grasp. When said menace roared, and towered so far above them, the relief was ice cold. She reached out her muzzle and whined when the pup fell to a limp unconscious heap before her. But, Galaxy was free--a major turning point in this, she sensed.. she hoped.

Now with the others at the ursine menace's mercy, this brought the beginning of a chance that came at a cost. Lyra wasted no time seizing it to its fullest advantage, precisely as Amekaze needed her to right now when the bear swung for her own as well. This quick thinking in turn freed her to turn upon the bear in earnest to run all the interception. Keeping it away from Lyra's flight was now her main mission.

With it already having damaged their numbers by one, she worried. But she swung opposite Hydra to circle anyway, now with a renewed focus. She was no longer inhibited by the presence of her pup in such a wretched, chaotic situation. She would default to violence while she still could, which brought her lunging in close yet again. Her aim was for the bear's thighs, wanting to further irritate any damage done by them earlier. She aimed to dive past fur and flesh both. The more distance between her fleeing daughters and right here and now, the better. Every second was in their favor.

Yet even when she showed no signs of heading in that same direction, the dark alpha still refused to relent. She trailed after her with more snaps as she began her route to the cave, and only backed off long enough to howl to @Charon: Lyra has Galaxy.. there is a bear..! She didn't take the time for more than that and knew it would only raise more worrying questions from her mate. Desperately, she willed Lyra to make it to safety, and even better, to her father to detail this. Only then would she even begin to feel truly better about this unexpected mess.

At the cave herself, she squinted into the darkness at the sight of the bear's retreating back. She growled at the threshold, still riling and heart pounding. The bloodlust singing in her veins said follow it further, go deeper, do more! Better sense advised caution, at least for a beat. Her tail lashed and she stepped aside long enough to breathe and see how the others fared.

Alya was at her mother's right hand. She didn't know how she'd gotten there, in all the confusion. The girl had done her best to warn off the bear along with the rest of her family, but she wasn't sure she'd done very well. Previously, she'd stuck by Hydra and Lyra's side, but Hydra had sent Lyra off, and the bear was gone now, and seeing her mother staring into the cave terrified her more than anything.

She tugged on the fur of Amekaze's shoulder, a beseeching whine fleeing through her teeth. "Wait for Daddy," she begged, not sure if her mother was crazy enough to go after the bear with just Hydra and Alya for back-up. She knew she was brave enough, but Alya wasn't sure she could be.

For once, Julia listened. She felt thankful for a millisecond, though remembered her frustration. The source of all this was still Korei, after all. And if Lyra had not swooped in to grab Galaxy, Hydra had felt with an unsettling certainty that again Korei would have caused Galaxy to perish. Truly, this time. Kala did not race after Lyra, though Hydra had been prepared to do whatever it took to prevent this. She was surprised to see the bear retreat into the bowels of its den... and bristled. There was no way that it could stay here, not now that they knew it was capable of believing their cubs to be its own. While most might think it sweet that the mother bear was a nurturer, Hydra thought no such thing—the bear had kept her sister from her, and a daughter from her parents. She could absolutely see why her dad did not like them. They weren't the brightest of creatures. 

When Alya spoke, Hydra looked toward her. We should wait for him, she agreed aloud in a faint murmur. The more wolves on their side, the better. She agreed with her mothers earlier sentiment all the more, now: it could not be here.

In her haste, Kala slammed into the edge of the cave's mouth, badly bruising her shoulder and causing her to bump her head on the low-hanging threshold as well. The grizzly paused, a little dizzy, then continued her scramble into the cavern. The shadows swallowed her and she quickly vanished from sight.

But she hadn't gone more than a hundred yards into the underground labyrinth before she skidded to a halt with a cry of surprise that echoed all around her. Kala blinked rapidly, then reached up a paw to rub at her eyes. When she put her foot back on the ground, she squinted for a second before her eyes flew wide. It was her cub!

Kala stumbled forward to embrace her baby when the cub grinned and dove at her. She went straight between her mother's legs, causing the grizzly to awkwardly pivot in the narrow passageway. "Wait!" she called, watching as the cub scrambled in the direction of the light at the end of the tunnel—right toward the waiting wolf pack.

"Baby, wait!" Kala screamed at the top of her lungs before plunging after the cub. A thunderous warning roar escaped her in the hopes of frightening away the wolves even as she exploded into the sunlight again. She tossed her great head side to side, searching for the cub, and saw her disappear into the trees off to her left.

Ignoring the wolves and whatever they were doing, Kala dashed toward the cub, who'd suddenly stopped. The mother bear stretched out a foreleg to scoop her offspring to her chest. Only the cub vanished into thin air and Kala tipped forward over a ledge hidden by foliage.

This must have been what Galaxy felt like when she'd tumbled down the mountainside. But there was no soft landing for Kala. She hit the bedrock about twenty feet below with a loud smash! Her vision dimmed but didn't go dark. But as she lay there, gasping for breath, twitching weakly and moaning at the pain wracking every inch of her body, Kala's cub reappeared and snuggled up beneath her (broken) jaw.

I won't be posting again, so do with her what you will! THANKS FOR PLAYING! :D

For all the relative stillness that came to settle, her heart was still pounding and reaching for the chase--and all the vicious satisfaction any success could bring. Yet Alya's touch kept her where she was, grounded before the edge of something potentially reckless.. though her hackles were stuck upright and tension was manifesting in the grit of her teeth still anyway. Ame looked between the two remaining pieces of the cerberus in reluctant agreement. She exhaled a great sigh, and would wait.

It was not a thought made lightly, or happily, but leading either Alya or Hydra to harm was not her intention. Neither was a solo flight plausible, they wouldn't allow it.. and very much like their father did, they reminded her to think of not only right here, and also the path ahead as well.

"Are you both alright..? And what about Korei and Teran-" she clipped her jaws shut and whipped her head towards the depths when she heard the voice calling out from within. What now..? Another of those deafening roars chilled her blood and she balked out of the way of the large predator's return with a snarl. It left her torn between startled and angry, she couldn't take her eyes off the bear.. its motions were far too unsettling, and simply did not make sense to her despite how purposeful it still seemed. She could find no reason why and before she could uproot, she drank in sight of the newest twist--an edge, and just like that.. it was out of her view. Shit.

She sprung forward to move to the hidden ledge, desperate to get her eyes back on it.

It was a considerable, unforgiving drop.. and at the bottom was the bear.

Relief was quick but incomplete. It wasn't dead. Not yet. She hissed her low snarl of dissatisfaction as she turned away from the edge to face her daughters and shook her head. Fleeing Lyra was still safe from it, but Amekaze did not trust it so readily and this got her tail lashing again--agitated. She wasn't leaving until it was absolutely, entirely dead. Nothing less. She liked her odds against a bear far greater now that it had dropped off a cliff, and wordlessly, she slid into motion.

Carefully she sought a wider, gentler pathway down to where the addled beast had landed and closed in steadily--yet slowly, still technically waiting it out and technically only seeking to watch it more closely without any vegetation blocking her view still. All the while, she saw it suffer between picking her footholds. It struggled and moaned. Life had to be fading fast.. but not fast enough.

As soon as Lyra had come to him, Charon made his way back to the bear scene. He wasn't sure what to prepare for, having exchanged no more than a few words and mostly being focussed on Galaxy all the while. Now he made his way back there, racing towards the danger. He wouldn't let the bear get away, wouldn't let it take his precious baby again.

Upon arrival he saw Amekaze looking round in bewilderment and then she started making her way somewhere. Charon followed her and asked as she made her way down, "What happened? Where's the bear?" The wolves were scattered and it was only them going down for now — he was sure Hydra was here somewhere but couldn't pinpoint where at the moment and everyone else seemed out — so he hoped that Ame had a plan.

She ran as fast she could, faster than she had ever run. Both the urgency of the situation and the adrenalin still coursing through her veins spurred her on, though her grip on Galaxy's scruff remained tight. The last thing she wanted to do was injure her little sister further by dropping her. She worried, however, as the frail child was extremely limp and bounced as she ran, Lyra only hoped she was out cold and nothing worse.

She arrived at the den, chest heaving and limbs shaking as she gently brought Galaxy before her father. She didn't know what she expected to happen, and so didn't say anything. He immediately checked her over and gave her a small nuzzle, before giving an order and disappearing from the den. It was all a flurry of movement and, still high on the nerves from the scene she had just left — as well as being worried for her mother and sisters and Terance — Lyra had to take a moment to catch her breath.

She softly nosed Galaxy into a more comfortable position and, noting the gentle rise and fall of her chest, finally fell into a comfortable position herself. She looked to Vela and Jarilo who, understandably, looked and probably were completely confused. With a weak smile, Lyra offered only a shaky, "everything's going to be okay." She hoped.

Until she realized Charon here, and following after her, she had been painfully locked onto where the bear had fallen and then where it had landed. Sight of him brought her a little more down to earth, at least. She swung her muzzle his way, panting, then gestured towards where the bear had found a hidden ledge leading to her demise. "It fell.. I do not know.. exactly what but I think it hit its head or was not sane in the first place before that," her words came in a hurry between deepening breaths. Focus. "Not sure if the fall alone will kill it, but I have to make sure it is dead. It had Galaxy.." she hissed, very clearly bothered by this and while she was relieved her daughter lived, the circumstances of it all were ugly to her. "Lyra took her out of here, she looks like hell. Terance also took a swipe I think, Korei was there too.. shit, what a mess," she muttered the last of it beneath her breath before stepping down towards the bedrock again to close in on the heap of fallen bear. The dust was settling here on this whole frustrating wreck, and it was about time to focus on regrouping and mending--but she knew she'd not rest until she made absolutely sure this thing was dead.

Hydra moved opposite of her mother, picking her way downward. When her mother paused, Hydra paused—she looked beside her, and there was @Alya, as she knew she would be. Soon the figure of her father materialized, but Hydra watched the bear. Its breathing seemed to grow slower and slower, though no less labored. Hydra fumed where she stood, thinking of the injured Terance. If Korei had grabbed Galaxy and ran when she could have, that was an injury that did not need to even happen. Hydra took a tentative couple of steps downward before looking to her mother and father, wondering if they would permit proximity to the bear if all of them brought it to its end. It looked as good as dead, but it breathed still—they needed the assurance.

Amekaze caught him up to speed and he nodded when she finished speaking. He then moved towards where the bear had fallen, following Amekaze, Hydra and Alya. For now he focussed on the task at hand and what they must do rather than worry about all the wolves; the ones that'd gotten hurt and Galaxy who was safely with Lyra, but very weak and frail still. He needed to put them from his mind in order to keep the family safe that was with him now. "Galaxy's safely with Lyra and the pups," Charon reassured after Ame had mentioned her and he nuzzled Ame's cheek.

They went down the slope and Charon's eyes fell upon the bear. It was breathing still but its light was clearly dimming. Its jaw looked weird, as if it had been dislodged by the fall, and he saw patches of blood. He glanced at his daughters and at Ame. "Kill it," he instructed coldly and he sat down to oversee. He could have helped, but he felt it would be good for his daughters to make this kill. The bear was no longer a threat as far as he could see.

The last of the relief she needed came and with a deep nod, she exhaled a great weight. It was an odious one, one that with the bear immobilized like this, had been the heaviest on her heart. Now it freed her for other purposes, though she chuffed far more gently than the situation seemed to the notion of their safety. "Good," she murmured, pleased with Lyra's maneuver and Galaxy's return from the dead.

Soon, she would go to her starved daughter and be with her-- where she was also needed. But for now, she nodded with her mate's word and raised her head to lock eyes with Hydra; Alya may not be far away either, but she knew which third of the cerberus would do the task best and would not leave until it was done. She rose a ridge of renewed hackles and encouraged her fiercest daughter's initiative, herself not far behind in stepping away from Charon towards the bear's final resting place.

She'd delight in its final demise, and ensure it was good and thorough. Now it was left to fatten their caches, and bones to be stripped for playthings for her pups--because she would be damned if she did not see them make the best use of this, considering the risks involved to bring it to be. And of course, her contempt for the beasts remained strong as ever.

her last here ;)

my last too!

 

By the time her father spoke his words, Hydra was beside it. Though that alone would have been enough, even her mother encouraged her. With Alya beside her, Hydra bore bore down upon the beast until its very last breath—and shook the beast even after, to ensure it. But the thing was limp and dead, and she removed her bloodied chops from it. Her tail waved in a loose arc behind her as she looked to Alya. The blood of the beast had brought about a hunger in Hydra, and she decided she would eat before going to check on Lyra and Terance. We should bring Lyra some, she said thoughtfully. They should all gorge themselves on this monster they had defeated, to celebrate its demise and Galaxy's life. Hydra, for her own part, ate her fill.

His daughters followed his command swiftly, leaving Charon satisfied. Once it was done he too approached to feed. There was enough meat on it for all of them. After they were done eating they'd bring some to Lyra and the pups and make sure that the rest was cached eventually. He couldn't believe his luck at having his daughter back, but Charon knew better than to question it so for this moment he decided to simply savour it.