Bearclaw Valley pelagic

unnamed river

a smattering of silver dust like falling stars over the moss-blanketed stones of tumbleview. asperas blinked at the sight of it, unperturbed in their inexperience with the world. every day the unknown rushed to meet the changeling like bolts of lightning lunging to clap against the earth; this was no different to the bearberry, who had no way of knowing that this version of reality was not shared by the rest of the valley.
even if she did, she would not care; would think it proof of her godhood among mortals.
the stardust swarmed, gathered to a shimmering cloud, danced like a mischievous faerie queen on the breeze. asperas rose in a sudden fit of discontent, hackles rippling along bony spine. the cloud winked out of sight, reappeared in a quick flitting whisper over asperas's crown. a startled snarl erupted from the spiderling, who launched into disgruntled pursuit of the slippery thing without delay. the insolence! plots of vengeful destruction brewed in the unchild's cursed little skull, punctuated with little leaps where the gaps between boulders was too wide for lanky legs to cross. eventually the path took her down, then flattened to dirt road scattered with all manner of forest debris. asperas paid no mind, set on their prize.

the hunt wore on, and the anger faded from the spiderling, leaving a hollowed out space in its wake. only sheer tenacity drove them forward now, a need to see the task done even with the heart carved from it. true curiosity was nowhere in asperas's vocabulary, but willful whims were a cornerstone of her innate agenda of chaos. the unchild pressed on, until instinct demanded a ceasefire in the interest of self-preservation; the rush of water mere inches away from their toes, a threat recognized only in the deepest recesses of the lizardbrain that had kept her and all her most ancient ancestors alive long enough to reach this moment. all her fur stood on end as she stared down at it, rigid and outward in the manner of a threatened porcupine.
she took no notice of the bear across the river, which studied her with the mild interest of one who has noticed a trickle of ants between concrete slabs.

looking for one or two participants @Merrick @Aventus @Ashlar if any of you have time, but please don't pp the bear (yet) <3

Aventus trailed Asperas from a distance, puzzled and perturbed by the way his aggressive younger sister snapped at and chased nothing. She reminded him of Avicus so much that in some ways, he associated her with his sister's betrayal and expected the same from her, through no fault of Asperas' own. It made him keep his distance, unwilling to waste his time bonding with her when he expected her teeth turned upon him in the future, despite his original plan to ensure these cubs respected him where his littermate had not. But she was more disturbed than Avicus had ever been, reacting to air as though it struck her. More peculiar, and worth studying.

He observed, then, choosing to take an indirect approach to babysitting duty for now. That is, until Asperas reached the edge of the river and halted. Aventus swept toward her with slow, measured steps, eyes not on the girl, but on the bear lingering placidly on the far bank. Asperas didn't seem to notice it. The Bruin-jaw contemplated leaving her to her own devices — her constant hostility was exceptional for a child and he wondered if she would take her chances against the beast for which Ursus was named — but not today.

Look up, he rumbled quietly, locking his eyes on small Asperas for a moment before glancing back at the bear.

nearby cameo

how strange and beautiful that the bears had seen fit to fill ursus with names the same once more. astara, aventus, apophis, asperas — arielle;
ashlar.
merrick did not think he had ever been faced with such a decision. nothing had hardened the boy into the spearpoint he had wanted. not even aventus had been able to mold that clay in his bruin's jaw. ashlar was kind and delicate as ever, not a warrior, not a mediator, not even a hunter.
battle had always driven out their weakest, but the seasons had been long without it.
merrick thought hungrily upon his eldest son's talk of the glacier.
ursus was small once more, but not without their own strength.
it was embodied in the sootgrass spiking of his littlest girl, who crackled with a fel and blackened energy toward the bear who only watched the wolves of ursus.
aventus, approaching; merrick yet too distant to hear what the bruin-jaw told his sister. he had stopped to watch them, keeping from earshot. but soon he turned, bowing toward their sacred one, scarred lips moving in a soundless prayer.
the single eye beheld with love the crown of ursus.

look up, a phantom voice bid from behind, from above. asperas stilled. blood turned to fire, scorching veins to ash and coal. only the vague sense of familiarity stayed her fangs, dulled her sharp-edged impulses for the moment. only necessity had thus far taught the spiderling anything of abiding the words of others; here, in the face of danger, necessity was a natural next step. stiffly, the unchild obeyed.
their reward was swiftly bestowed, taking a form so foreign asperas was briefly addled by the sight. not wolf; not prey. these things were intuitive, and little else. puppy blues searched the bear's massive features, finding them wolflike yet... not. the creature yawned, and made eye contact. motionless; heartbeats that spanned an eternity. a thundering rumble filled the bearberry's skull to bursting, while silence permeated the surrounding space.
asperas stepped back, muzzle tilting up, eyes finally finding aventus. and then, so quiet it might be the rustling of the wind:
he say... we leave.

i already had this planned but i'm amused that current events have given it an unintended double meaning (': bear can be pp'ed now

skipping w permission!

he had not forgotten his red-girl.
what sort of sister would this one be to aventus, and he to her?
eventually the bear-witch sauntered among them, reaching down to brush his chaos-child and bump aventus with his blackened shoulder. "he is watching us now," he said of the bear, gesturing to where it had stepped forward a single step in the direction of the wolven trio. 
"ursus passes its judgement of you, little one." merrick's voice was scarce a whisper.

no response from the familiar shadow at her flank. instead, the voice of the usurper-father ringing clear and ear-piercing as a bell. we leave, asperas repeated silently to herself, bristling. another glance cast toward the bear, and then the spiderling leapt back like a cat confronted by a cucumber — and in the next moment, was off, fleeing back toward the safety of the caretaker's den so fast it was a wonder there was no smoke trail left behind.

Aventus remained silent, contemplating the bear as it considered Asperas. Their eyes met moments before his sister indicated that the bear wanted them to leave. A rumbling chuckle, little more; children were so very imaginative. Bears could not speak.

Not that he would say that in front of his sire, who embodied the bear spirit so wholly he might take offense to his son's inner doubts. For Aventus, it was all metaphorical. He certainly wondered at his connection with the bears after telepathically commanding one to kill Evien, but assumed it was some understanding rather than anything divine. He could not communicate with them the way he might with a fellow wolf, and sincerely doubted anyone, even Merrick, truly could.

Asperas was off and fleeing, the bear turning its heavy gaze next upon Aventus, who dipped his head reverently. He had doubts about the true nature of their cult at times, but believed wholly that bears were to be respected. Their approval and coexistence ensured Ursus' continued survival. Bears chose places that were defensible and safe. He was happy to cooperate.

She is skittish, he remarked, turning to Merrick next with an almost smiling amusement dancing in his silver eyes. He wondered about Asperas' proclivity for violence, but she was kittenish in mannerism. He hoped he might find a kindred trust in her that he had lost with Avicus. It would be a shame to have to drive away another sister hellbent on his position instead of earning their own.

off asperas skittered, a being of sootdust and anger; merrick kept his eye upon her until she had gone. "i hope one day she has the words that her sister does not."
merrick smarted at his own mention of the red girl — blood flower where have you gone — but he would not shy away from any memory. as much as aventus, asperas, apophis: avicus belonged, and in the spirit of her mother, that unsaid melonii glinting which merrick had never understood.
as much her mother as her brother.
he jerked his head toward the borders, wordlessly moving away.