Bearclaw Valley Parents sometimes show love through velocity

Aventus sniggered to himself all the way home from the glistening mountain in the forest by the river, imagining to himself how the pack wolves might be ripping apart their bold and brash visitor. That Apisi had materialized out of the territory proper, but was not even a member, told the little bear all he needed to know about the "might" of the Glacier pack. He grew giddy with the imagined chaos that could be sown in such a place.

When he entered the valley, his first stop was the river to slake his thirst. Once he was satisfied, the boy carried himself to the rendezvous, took a moment to himself to calm his nerves and giddiness alike, then rose a low, fluted howl for @Merrick. He believed his sire would be interested to know all about their new neighbours.

merrick patrolled. ursus was quieter, but he did not like the silence outside his home. easthollow too, picked over and given a long surveying look.
he came to greet aventus with a low growl of pleasure, roughly bumping the other with his hip. something had filled his son with a dark pleasure, and his tagged ears flicked forward, hoping that the boy had heard from the bears that had gone silent for merrick.

Aventus returned his father's jostle with a low rumble of his own, feeling for once that Merrick was beginning to respect him the way he respected the Bruin-witch. He thwacked his tail against Merrick's hip in passing, then shot a glance to the shining glacier in the distance.

I've been north, he reported, lips curling mischievously upward. There is a pack at the shining mountain. Many young, I think. You can smell puppies from miles away. But, contrary to what that should mean for any pack, Aventus shared, they are poorly defended. A loner came out from inside their territory and was only just caught then. I think he was there for a while before they realized.

That is to say, easy pickings, I believe.

the paper edges of merrick curled with verve and approval;
that his eldest had become so fine a wolf of ursus; that he had begun to learn the very artwork of discovering weakness and using it.
he listened to aventus describe these in list detail, face carved from pure pleasing jetwood, lit now with diabolical intellect. "easy pickings," merrick grinned back, fixed upon the ice-sheet that shone from here. "how many to take it? how many to leave behind," he hummed. ashlar had the misfortune of being misplaced no matter if he was taken upon such a liaison or left behind. either way, the bearwolf did not believe the brownstone boy would be capable of fighting or defending.
he wondered if the spirit of the bear would echo in both their minds on that front.

Merrick's dark face, kiln-lit as if by his single eye, mirrored Aventus, which traced chaos across his wrinkled gums and cold silver gaze. Duskfire Glacier, a beacon in the north, and woefully short on defenders, if the display he witnessed was any indication. A more enticing target had not presented itself since Easthollow, with its elders for leaders and frightened lambs for followers.

Duskfire would defend itself more fiercely than those soft-bellied stone dogs, but there was only so much they could hope to do. Only so much time for Ursus to prepare, and unbeknownst to either of them, Merrick would find a reason to depart long before they could launch their raid upon the ice wolves.

Two sentinels, he shared, neither aware of the intruder in their midst until they heard him blustering at me. The stranger remained a source of curiosity for Aventus. Surely he must be a skilled stalker if he was able to infiltrate pack territory for days on end, but the man was crude in his arrogance. How could that be?

Ashlar must come, Aventus said, licking idly at one fang. Too long he has cowered in these walls. He must see. And we must have you, also, father. Perhaps Arielle, if things go awry? He had no reason to believe they would. Vesta was also an obvious choice, but Vesta wore blood in the name of Ursus. The other two were made of softer stuff and could do with some whetting, just as Aves himself could.

unaware guards. his son, stealthy among them. two! and duskfire had lain unguarded. 
when aventus began to speak, sliding names along a proverbial surface into plots upon a map, the bearwolf smirked in flagrancy. "do you believe that ashlar can truly be molded, after all this?" merrick gently pressed, testing the reasons for their bruin-jaw's deeper reasoning.
"arielle would do well in such a situation. keep her to the shadows; her healing will be invaluable when our teeth meet theirs."
an our; of course; merrick thrilled to the idea. but then his face grew more solemn, and he looked to aventus with a more resigned air. "i am bidden to stay here. your siblings. they cannot be left vulnerable."
and still he wished to be there!
"take surya. he wishes to shed blood."

I believe that Ashlar is a failure within Ursus, said Aventus, unabashed to speak his mind, but he must rise, or he must go. There was no room for weakness in Ursus. Aventus meant to force Ashlar to show his teeth and show his worth to those who fed and protected him. The boy suspected Ashlar only remained because he was terrified of the alternative.

He will either prove himself a man of Ursus, or prove a distraction for the rest of us to get away if it goes wrong, he decided. Perhaps it was callous of him to dismiss Ashlar so easily, but he had yet to see anything of merit in the other wolf. A soft man, with none of the steel required to run with bears.

Except... He wished me to fight him, right after Avicus... Aventus didn't finish the thought, twisting his face into a pained grimace instead. But he cowered when I commanded him to. He fell silent, contemplating Merrick's suggestions.

Surya. He had forgotten about that one, and resolved to keep him in mind from now on.

avicus had held the same opinion of ashlar. merrick said nothing as aventus spoke, detailing the boy's failures and requirements; he said nothing for he agreed. in accordance with the law of fang and claw that had ruled ursus, ashlar simply did not fit.
and yet he stayed.
"your sister and i once bid him sharpen his teeth on an inferior beast. we caught it, held it. there would have been no risk and yet, he could not."
merrick sighed. "he believes in the hope of a living soul. he does not yet understand that it is the bear who creates that hope."
"everyone can be unlocked." the remaining eye rested now on his son. "it only requires knowing. if ashlar cannot be commanded to war or bloodshed, then he must choose to do it, and believe it is his choice."

Aventus harrumphed quietly. Merrick was right, of course, but the Bruin-jaw saw no point in wasting time to see what made Ashlar tick. He had shown already that it was not the leadership of Ursus who would move him to fight for his pack, and what good was a rogue in their ranks? Sooner or later, Ashlar would betray them. Of that, Aventus felt absolutely certain.

Better we cast him into the world where he can learn that he must fight, and quit wasting time and resources on him, Aventus opined. Surely the bear could not have a favourable eye upon the chocolate pacifist. Was it possible that Ursus' stagnance was the result of allowing such weakness to fester among them?

figured we could wrap this one w ur last reply <3 or here!

merrick admired aventus for a moment. his son was a true servant of the bear, righteous with passion against those who did not fit his vision of ursus.
"the bear led him here. let the bear judge ashlar."
he did not forget that so few had ever been well-made for that rigid place maintained by the bruin-jaw.
"come. let us eat blood," he invited casually, and with that merrick turned away with an eye for the chase and the hunt.