Silvertip Mountain Wonderwall is the only 90's song visible from space

Aventus awoke with an abrupt shudder and a groan as every muscle in his body spasmed. It took him several dazed moments lying there to remember where he was — buried under a layer of snow in the Scarlet Winding — and several longer to realize what had happened.

When he did, the Bruin-jaw jumped to his feet. His legs felt like jelly. After taking a second to steady himself, the boy quickly buried the evidence and packed the snow down, then ran for the borders. A good jog around the perimeter would help set his mind straight. What is happening to me? He regretted ever taking pharaoh up on his offer in Akashingo. It had done something to him, changed him.

An hour later and he was more settled with himself despite the snatches of his dream that tried to rise in his mind. He wanted someone to tell him what was going on and help him fix it, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about it. Nevertheless, he found himself seeking @Merrick in the vicinity of the glass caves. He didn't know if he was brave enough to ask about that, exactly, but he did have something else he wanted to ask about, and there was the matter of their dwindling numbers as well.

it seemed to merrick that everyone had stopped speaking.
silvertip was silent.
the bear of ursus was seized with a wild restlessness. and yet his single eye did not move from where he watched the great skull of the bruin who had once been here. he stared at its teeth. he thought of how the bear had died choking upon its own blood, how the red had touched him, how —
his tattered right ear flicked. his son's footsteps were in the cave. merrick curved his rawboned shoulders and inhaled. a thump of his tail invited aventus closer. he was not so mercurial today.
only hungry.
"i have been thinking of nyra's blood, and how we might spill more of it."

He knew he would find Merrick here. His father always returned to this place, this or the deeper catacombs where Evien's skull rested. Always staring into the sightless eyes of the dead. Aventus studied the back of his sire's head, wondering if he was communing with the spirits or simply chattering to himself in his grief-stricken madness, and decided he did not want to know.

Do tell, he said, tabling his own topics for now. Nothing could be more important than hunting Nyra. He felt guilty even spending time at home, knowing he should have gone to Moonglow by now to look for signs of her or at least warn them of the monster lurking in their vicinity. There were few of them left to man the borders, but that hardly excused his dawdling when it came to his mother's murderer.

He approached, hiding all signs of his wariness, and gingerly sat next to his sire. The sound of dripping water echoed deeper in the cave. It really was a beautiful place, if you ignored the bear skeleton. Aventus lowered his eyes to the gaping eyeholes and pursed his lips.

"moonglow."
he traced invisible, unknown patterns upon the floor with his claws.
"if they cannot be broken, perhaps we could trade."
"blood for blood."
he rolled his shoulders.
"if they have gone to moonglow, we will take one of their children. hold them here. they will give us nyra. it is their line over the murderer."
his teeth suddenly scythed in a whirling, mad grin toward aventus.
"what do you think?" the madman's voice was conversational.

Merrick's logic was sound, despite the glimmer of madness in his eye while he brushed his paw over the floor. At a more opportune time, it would be easy to lure one of Moonglow's cubs away and hold them captive. Those wolves seemed the trusting sort. He supposed they were rather like Easthollow that way. Surely they would hand Nyra over for the safe return of one of their own babes.

Only one problem.

Most of Ursus is gone, he pointed out, edging on the side of gentle caution and prepared for Merrick's grin to change into something more sinister. To Aventus' knowledge, only Arielle remained. Arielle, and some kid Merrick picked up somewhere between leaving with the drums of war and returning empty-handed, but Aventus didn't care much about the stray. What would Arielle think about Merrick's grand plan? Aventus shouldn't have been worried about that, but he was, much more than he had any reason to.

Moonglow is not Easthollow. They will fight. Family seems important to them. Ursus would lose. Their numbers were scarcely sufficient to hold this mountain, let alone attempting to take a hostage. They would not hand Nyra over if they thought they could retrieve their kin another way. It would only endear her to them that she would help in that effort.

merrick listened. his single eye latched thoughtfully to aventus' face. when his son had finished speaking, the man blinked, sending his features into full and scarred darkness.
"nyra is heavily wounded. she will not be worth anything to them."
he flexed his toes against the earth. "what remains of ursus is you and i and arielle. both your sisters have gone. your brother hardly existed. it was only you. only your mother."
if he was nonsensical he did not care. he hunched and stared blackly in the direction of moonglow. "you are known to them. i will go first to see where she exists. to search its edges. stay close. we will take her at first sight." there was no leverage needed then.
merrick sighed. "i am rushing to blood. it is necessary. but —" and his war-wealed face turned to aventus, "tell me your mind."

Merrick had a good point. If Nyra could somehow still stand and fight with her wounds, it was by the will of something daemonic. Ursus had torn her apart. Still, Aventus worried that if Moonglow was willing to take in a murderer, they would be willing to defend her against a meager force of three.

It frightened him, the thought of his sire delving too close to Moonglow and being caught by them. Nyra would call for his death. It would be up to him and Arielle to ensure that did not happen. He had no better ideas, and so he relented. Yes, Aventus agreed. We must remain close to one another.

He wouldn't mind more time in Arielle's company, in any case. She drifted abruptly into his thoughts, along with distracting snatches of the dream. Merrick asked for his thoughts. He knew his father was looking for thoughts on the plan, but when he opened his mouth, what he said was, I think Arielle should be Bruin-leaf. It was the title Evien had held, and perhaps it was unique to him. He would come up with a new title in that case. Either way, if it was to be just the three of them, let them be equal with Merrick at their head.

merrick flicked a tattered ear.
evien's skull had never spoken to him. 
but ursus had maintained its balance of healing and teeth for a time. now arielle had come and joined, and returned again to follow with the rest of them to war.
her jaws were as willing as of their own to shed blood. she only understood what came after.
"let it be done then. let us tell her soon."
they would do it together, induct arielle into this place of bears as their equal.
merrick leant into the cold air. "i am leaving soon." open-ended, as anything else the bear-king had ever said.