[Bronze Wood] The Trouble with Bears (Aiken)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

13th Summer, 510 A.V. The day had started out well enough. For the past hour, the wind had been at their back, like Zulrav Himself putting his hand in the small of Sam's back and gently urging him forward. Of course, Horse was doing most of the work, sauntering along the game trail. All Sam had to do was match the roll of his gait and enjoy the peace of the woods. The peace, though, was false. Gusts of wind whipping through the ample summer foliage made enough wind that even Horse didn't hear the angry snarls until it was almost too late. That and the sudden burst of speed he put on for the sheer joy of running, a trait common to windrunners, and they happened upon a pair of bears finishing a fight for territory. The younger one went shambling off in shame and fear, the elder bear roaring in triumph before turning on them, its muzzle matted with fresh blood. Horse reared as Sam instinctively drew his scimitar, but the order he gave Horse in Pavi was to turn and flee. Finding a new stretch of wood for trapping was not worth a brawl with a bear. He really did need to buy a new bow; the distance such a weapon would allow him would be a luxury that might keep him alive in the future. Assuming he survived the day. Wheeling about was all well and good, but he realized that the angry bear might be able to run them down on the game trail. "Shyke," he muttered.

[Aiken]

Aiken had traveled far over the last few hours, electing to take a trip out of his normal hunting grounds for a while. He rested now, lying down in a small patch of flat, soft land. There was the stench of bear in the air, a hate-able and disgusting stench that made his hair stand on edge. There was fresh blood mixed in as well, and an injured bear was worth killing, if not to prove himself better for it.

He stood, gray and strong in the wind-whipped brush. He ran, dodging rocks and footfalls until he came to a trail. His sensitive ears heard the thunder of hooves before he turned to see a massive beast with a rider on top of it. What was more interesting, was that they were engaged with the bear, whilst running.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Even as the windrunner gained speed, he would have to slow around a tree or a rock. The game trail was not conducive to the full gallop of a horse with rider. When Sam saw a bit of a clearing, he urged Horse to slow and stop, wheel about and face the charging bear. If they timed things aright, Horse could leap to one side at the last moment, allowing Sam an exposed stretch of bear at which to slash. Or if Horse reared, keeping a rearing bear at bay, Sam could reach over his shoulder to plunge in his scimitar. Or they could die. Two years of survival for a horse and his boy, it wasn't such a bad run. The world was a dangerous place, as most people learned to their dismay. Despite his instincts, Horse had grown to trust Sam, and wheeled about in the small clearing at Sam's silent urgings. Of course then an errant gust of wind brought scent of another predator, lupine and near. Horse neighed with fear even as Sam sighted the bear and adjusted his grip on his blade.

[Aiken]

Aiken saw his chance and ran behind the bear, a good thirty feet away. With the bear's attention firmly on Sam, he charged full speed and jumped. His claws dug into thick flesh and fur, and his teeth were gripped tightly around the bear's spinal cord. Aiken thrashed as hard as he could, trying to snap it's neck or rip through arteries. He let all his hatred for bears - and other creatures that were less deserving of hunting territory - out in his attack. His whole body shook with the effort, 70 pounds of sinewy muscle all working for one common goal: to kill.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam blinked, not believing his luck. His heart beat a grateful prayer to Caiyha for her wild things and how they sometimes could protect a boy as well as attack him. The bear went even wilder if that were possible, confused and distracted by the wolf who had sneaked up on him by the same trick of the wind that had led Sam to the scene of the territorial fight between bears without Horse smelling danger. Acting as much on instinct as anything else, he spurred Horse forward, toward the bear, wheeling just short of him and raising his scimitar to strike. The lone wolf had tricked the bear into turning in a vain attempt to catch the wolf in his teeth, and he plunged his blade down behind the bear's front leg, aiming for the heart. At the very least, he could help the wolf out long enough that it would stay to finish off the bear while he and Horse made their escape.

[Aiken]

Aiken never let his jaw relax during his attack, still well within the bear's blind spot. There was plenty of blood matted with fur. Its torn skin pulsated with fear and anger, his heart beating hard enough to shake its fur. Claws grazed Aiken, and he knew it wouldn't be long before the bear got a good angle.

As soon as he thought it, fate decided to oblige. The bear swiped behind its head, catching Aiken on the right side of his ribs and part of his front leg. The wolf fell from his perch, a high pitched yelp escaping from him as he hit the forest floor.The bear turned to see Aiken limping a predatory circle around him. It was less than intimidating, but its own injuries were likely his own downfall.

Blood dripped slowly from his side and his right leg had a slight limp. His face was snarled and a loud growl was easily heard by all present, and the bear responded with a roar of his own.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam had scored true, but not deep enough to pierce the bear's heart. This was, perhaps, to the best. Getting his scimitar that deep into the bear would have made it difficult to pull out before getting himself or Horse hurt in the ensuing battle madness. The wound was deep enough, however, to slow the bear down, and the blood flowed, seeping strength from its limbs. It just might be a mortal wound, but whether mortal enough for Sam and the wolf to escape with their lives was still anyone's guess. As the bear turned toward the wolf, Horse sidled and danced to try to stay out of his line of sight. Perhaps Sam should've urged a quick retreat then, but something bade him stay. Perhaps Caiyha had sent a wolf today to help him. It was not so far-fetched a thought that a goddess might truly give a motherless child a bit of help when all seemed hopeless. After all, it was a lone wolf attacking a bear. The bear was wounded, but not so much that a wolf should attack it alone. Perhaps the wolf was lonely too. Going against his better judgment, he squeezed his knees into Horse, sending him forward into the back of the bear that he might lash out with his forward hooves and Sam strike again with his scimitar, this time in a silvery arc trailing blood from the first score. It was a quick, furtive attack, more concerned with creating an opening for the wolf, whose predatory instinct would likely take over, than finishing the bear off. "Hah!"

[Aiken]

With the bear's attention split, and now turned towards his latest attacker, Aiken sprang forward with as much force as he could muster. He saw his target, a soft, fatty throat at just the right angle to not require a jump to reach. It was perfect, Aiken could practically see the throbbing, delicate arteries that would cut off all life to the bear in mere seconds.

His maw open, he let out one last roar of pain as Aiken's sharp and bloodied teeth pierced the flesh, tore through fat, and finally ripped apart its windpipe and major veins. All was lost to him, the gray wolf whose eyes spoke of rage and power. His last sight was Aiken's thrashing jaw, ripping his neck to nothing.

Aiken stepped back, licking his lips. He wasn't particularly hungry, not enough to go through the work of tearing past dense fur and thick hide for the tough meat beyond it. He looked to the mounted human, questioningly, before investigation the still bleeding gash on his side. It was out of his tongues reach, but probably wouldn't prove to be fatal if left to heal on its own.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

His heart was beating a mile a minute, but there was the sudden thrill of victory making his blood sing in his veins. He laughed as the bear went down, a pure joy at winning, at surviving. The wolf he offered a salute: brow, lips, heart. Caiyha he offered another silent prayer of thanksgiving, and one for the bear's soul, too. He would have liked to have skinned the bear and filled his game bags with preserved bear meat, but he wasn't going to fight a lone wolf for it. The wolf was the reason he was alive, and a lone wolf probably didn't eat as well as a pack wolf. "Thank you, brother wolf," he said, urging Horse with the pressure of his legs to slowly back away. There was no sense inciting any sort of violence from his ally. "The bear is all yours." It wasn't until Horse stumbled under him that he realized his equine companion was injured. "Shyke," he muttered, slithering down from the saddle, keeping his eye on the wolf and his scimitar at the ready as he moved to gauge the damage. This would complicate things if the wolf started getting territorial or aggressive.

[Aiken]

Aiken realized too soon that this human felt threatened and fearful. He was in an ideal tactical position, until he remembered the still bleeding wound. And now with the horse injured, his best chance was to make an ally in this man, and perhaps get himself some help as well.

In a flash of bright light, his fur and tail vanished, and the feral form became human. He stood as the lights disappeared, looking back to see his bleeding ribs and the back of his shoulders.

"There's a river not too far away. If your horse can walk, its 5 minutes away." He spoke as if he were only telling facts, with little emotion in the way of accomplishing getting the point across.