Swiftcurrent Creek "i will lay my people down."

  my only post with ingram.  please let @Shardik post first, and then you can archive - SWCers, feel free to ICly notice this in the morning.

by now ingram's paths through the creek had become rote -he knew the slender bend of hidden trail, the soft gurgle of water in the distance. he had missed the security he felt with a job, and had taken to routinely examining the borders here same as he had done in grimnismal. he missed a lot about grimnismal. his brother, mostly - but he also missed nyx, and wondered how the golden woman was doing often. and furi, and blixen - had they come to some resolution? had his tormented friend finally gotten the happiness ingram knew in his heart she deserved? it was easy to slip into deep thought while performing ritualistic habits, and he found himself thinking sorrowfully of what he had left behind today.

however, introspection was not in his cards this evening, for a scent jarring and unwelcome had come to his attention. the distinct scent of bear -- it caused a chill to ruthlessly climb his shoulders and spine, and to settle deep within his dropping heart. his first thoughts were to alert everyone - to run - but as he scrambled through the woods, breathless and worried, he realized too late his error.

ingram froze, his yellow eyes resting fearfully on the boulder of a creature that had just then, become alerted of his presence. he felt himself shrink back as the rough beast turned around and set its piggish, hateful black eyes upon him.

 for the first time in his life, ingram looked a monster in the eyes -- and knew his fate was certain.

it was with no small amount of pleasure that the porcine-gazed creature stared stentorian at the dark dog that had so misstepped across his path. shardik was not a stupid beast — aware now that he was alone, and not alone, the long prehensile lips pursed loosely, revealing the yellowed cones of wide teeth.
dark dog dark dog dark dog — wolf, breath and blood and bone. shardik hungered. the broad pads of his forepaws shifted against the earth and their long claws were audible in their scrape. he hungered, and in the next moment, saliva flew in greasy globbets from the wide black gap of his stone-fanged jaws.
the dark dog cried in a strangled whimper as its body struck the ground, and shardik followed. in the half-light, the knives on the clublike feet lashed through the air, and came down to tear at the limping dark dog, the sable shape cradled hunching against the earth. and it was in the increasingly garbled cries that shardik found himself coming alive, and bellowed the story of the blood upon his shortfurred jaws. 
in time, ursine god departed the scene, dragging behind him the crumpled form of some long-legged fool, some craven thing that beneath the skies had lost movement and swathes of flesh clung-to by shadow-hued fur. shardik did not look back, nor did he pause. his pound of flesh had been paid and he saw no reason to linger in anticipation of the other dogs that would soon gather where he had seized and carried away their mauled and macerated fellow.