Great Bear Wilderness Where the mountains are less annoying and have a name

@Valour 

Three weeks ago...

Sarah was not a fan of mountains, but the search for food had driven her far away from her usual hunting grounds. And as the hunger grew more intense, she lost fear and walked the untrustworthy terrain despite the instincts that screamed at her that this was not safe. They should have saved their voices really. As we know already, Sarah had pathological no-fear of dying. 

It had paid off. A goat kid, injured during a rockslide and nearly dead. She ended it's misery quickly and ate it's meager flesh until there were only few bones and a skull left. Picked clean. In better spirits and more motivation she walked the path that led through narrowest part of the Sunspire range and ended up on the other side of the valley. 

It did not look much different from what it was on the other side, but Sarah cared little for appearances. It was practical matters that drove her inland and, once her paws were on the flatlands again, she began her search for tracks of any game.

Now...

Still feverish from the concurrent lung and wound infection Sarah made her way to the mountains again. Her situation was not improving as quickly as she would have wanted. So, the best choice seemed to turn back. When near the place, where she had had her meal, a memory stirred inside her feverish mind. She began to sniff around and search for something vigorously, until finally, under a little pile of rocks she unearthed a cache and pulled out the remnants of the goat bones.

Not much meat was left there, but at this point she her standarts as a not-picky eater had become even lower. She settled down and began to chew on the small thigh bone to get to the bone marrow. The smell suggested that it was still there and ready for being eaten.

The lack of food had him wandering more often than not, in search of scraps left behind, carcasses he could scavenge and more darkly, he considered the idea of finding a pup his size and eating them. There was a faint sound off in the distance that got his attention, a scraping and crunching sound that had his stomach growling. He changed course and followed the noise, hiding behind a Bush and watching the she wolf chew through a bone. After a few moments of contemplating he stepped out of the bushes and growled ears pinning back. He was hungry, hungry enough to try to take on a full grown wolf twice his size. "Drop the bone and go" he said coldly, licking his muzzle as he eyed the bones.

Sarah realized that sooner or later someone would catch the smell of her meal and be drawn to join her, which meant that she worked her way through the marrow bone quickly, her powerful jaws grinding the bone and cartilage like millstones. So focused on the task at hand, she took no notice of her surroundings, until the adolescent, hungry looking wolf came in the middle of the stage and made his demands.

She did not stop eating, but gave the young man an inquiring look. Didn't he have anything better to do than harass injured wolves for scraps. She continued to stare at him, chewing the last bits, swallowing and finished the act by licking her lips and yawning. "You could have asked nicely," she told him and smiled coldly.

He could smell the sickly stench coming from her and regarded her with disgust, muzzle wrinkling as the breeze blew the scent of a festering wound right up his nose. He inched closer as she quickly devoured the rest, licked her lips, and yawned at him as if she didnt have a care in the world. His fur bristled and as she spoke he gave no response, his stomach aching and roaring loudly as he grew increasingly more pissed off by the second. "You smell like you're gonna die anyway, why would I bother?" he finally said and growled trying to refrain from taking his frustrations out on her. It wasn't her fault food was lacking and he knew that it was wrong to demand what wasnt his yet...if he couldn't learn to do whatever it took to survive what business did he have trying to rise to the top of the Nightwalkers?

"If I got a hare every time I have heard someone saying this," Sarah drawled, pretending to lose her interest in the matter and gnawed contemplatively on the bone again. She could sense the boy's desperation and a decision forming about taking the food by force. If the positions were reversed, then she would probably think the same. But, if the old battle axe from the Bearclaw valley had taught her anything, then it was not to under-estimate people's ability to survive against the odds. The boy's mistake was in thinking that just because her state was poor, she was weak. Just because her chances of dying were probably higher, this made her somehow weak. He did not know that Sarah had nothing to lose.

Valour did in fact believe she was weak, that is weaker than an adult wolf usually was. Even so he logically figured he would have some trouble and leave with at least some wounds. He hesitated at her words, paying attention to the confidence she held. Confidence like that usually spoke of some sort of hidden prowess, he recognized it from theNightwalkers. None of them ever acted crazy, or with much emotion at all while he still struggled to contain it all. 


"Then you wouldn't be this starved" he said ears rising as his gaze left the bone and fastened to her almost as if he was calming down though it was a manipulation, a trick to throw her off and make her think he was more interested in her words. If she relented then he would spring without warning, jaws parting to try and fasten his sharp canines into the lips of her maw. 

Let me know if you want to roll on Discord or here and if so, what method ^_^

There is a phrase - calm before the storm. Sarah had guessed the boy's intentions the moment, he had approached her and demanded her to leave. You did not go from threatening to a calm conversation in an instant. Anger was like smoke billowing out of a volcano. Youths rarely had the restraint and self-control to make it stop. They went from detonation to *BOOM* very quickly.

Despite the boy's idea of being stealthy and clever in his tactics, his attack did not come as entirely unexpected. "Oh, come on... not another one..."  Sarah managed to think, before she sprang to her feet and with the bone still in her jaws avoided the boy's first attack. The wise thing would have been to run off there and then, but, when this was the second attempt by the same pack aimed at her in a matter of weeks, one could not blame for her to become a bit grouchy. Therefore she spat out the bone, and standing over her cache of bones, she snarled threateningly at the boy.

The food was hers and she did not intend to give it up lightly.

As she darted away he turned to face her, tail curled and teeth bared viciously as he stared her down, slowly pacing back and forth. As she growled he lunged and pushed off the ground, jumping up and grabbing a loose bit of flesh at the bottom of her cheeks, holding on and shaking back and forth before slipping off, not coming away with much else than chunks of fur. Once on the ground he slipped to the side, keeping on his feet so he could be ready to defend. 

35/50 for Sarah. 50/50 for Valour

This was a trip filled with bad decisions. In two out of three cases Sarah had got beaten up and as she stood against the younger, hungrier, but healthier wolf than her, she realized that her chances were not very good one. His first hit (15-worth) landed on her cheek, which left her no chance to attack herself and focus on breaking herself free. The last attempt on her life was not something she had already forgotten and the youth was uncomfortably close to her throat. 

There was another attack (11-worth), which struck her directly in one of the open wounds on her body. The pain was sudden and very severe, she snarled and snapped back (7-worth) in retribution and managed to fend off the vicious youth just for a while.

He didn't know whether he had just gotten used to fighting or if it was the sheer desperation for something in his stomach but every move he made was as sharp and precise as possible. He snapped and tore and pinpointed the weaknesses on her body, trying to wear her down while keeping on his toes though she finally snapped at him, her fangs striking his shoulder causing him to jump back and circle for a bit nipping and worrying at her flesh wherever he could sneak a move in. He was determined to leave with at least one bone, something to put some energy back into his step.

Sarah might have had nothing to lose prior the scuffle, but it turned out that kid's desperation measured up to her faked indifference to her own life. With the vigour of youth and simply being better off health-wise, the boy's attacks were precise. Or rather - he did not have to aim too much to hit her something, where it hurt. Her coat was like moth-eaten cloth. Where Black Hat's and Tzila's teeth had not injured her, there the infection and necrosis had done the job. Still the pride urged her on and did not let her leave defeated. She deflected one of his nips with a vicious snap (12-worth) of her own. It did not have to injure him badly, but it had to hurt.

He couldn't do much damage, he was too small and he didn't know how to get in there and strike well enough to make his size work. What he could do was target all the sore points on her body, the healing wounds he reopened without mercy. At some point his focus slipped and his attack was met with a good snap of her own, her fangs clamping down on his side and releasing. The pain was sharp and fierce and he was nearly sure that she had broken flesh. Instead of letting the pain weaken him he used it to fuel his actions, coming at her faster and dealing another blow intending to do damage that time and then circling her, panting softly "I can do this all day" he growled, baring his fangs as he made for the bones keeping his eyes on her to see if she'd let him take one or go for another attack. 

I was vague about where he attacked and the damage so you can write that in yourself!

Well, this was fun. If my toon was not bordering on actual blood-poisoning at the moment, I would offer another round. :D

In the end the bones lost value, because the little bastard hurt every sore spot on her body. There was not really a side or a way she could turn to defend herself efficiently. And the only comforting fact was that she managed to bruise him as well. When he retreated, she did not waste much time, gave him one look full of hatred, then turned on her heal and left the scene. Let him have morsels from her feast table, let him have them all.

Oh nooo poor Sarah! If I had a medic toon I'd offer them

She returned his look with hatred and he watched with bristling fur as she turned and fled the scene, leaving him the pile of bones. He grabbed one and began to gnaw on it, sharp teeth cracking and crunching through after much work. When he was done getting the marrow out he stood up and grabbed one of the larger bones, carrying it back to the pack and leaving it in a low cache.

3/10 mastery