Ursa Nix Alpha, for once, wasn't all that happy to find a cute, fluffy, juvenile bear. In fact, she was quite displeased at the fact. It wasn't because she detested bears nor was she in a bad mood of sorts (well, she was when she had found it). Her negative and conflicting feelings on this abnormal discovery originated by a simple fact that even she, in all her glorious obliviousness, knew: snow bears shouldn't be in the woodlands. As their name suggested, icy and cold climates were their natural habitat and to find one in the grassy thicket of Astoria of all places implied a grave number of things. Especially since the tiny bear seemed to be somewhat injured and timid; as if it had had poor experiences with humans in its brief, innocent lifetime. "It's okay," she tried to calm the timid bear with a soothing lull. Despite her natural affinity for animals, the bear shied away for a quick moment and skittered away to hide behind a particularly large boulder that was planted in the ground. She fought the urge to frown and tense with worry. Doing so would merely make the bear even more frightened and, while she had poor skills communicating effectively and understanding others, it seems that her beast-taming ability had given her some insight on animal behaviors. The thought reassured her. She shouldn't be doing anything wrong with her mastery at an adept level. A quote still used today that would be very fitting in this situation was: don't fix what isn't broken. And, well, Alpha supposed that those words held a grain of truth as she listened to what her instincts (or whatever the game is putting in her head; and wasn't that an awfully fridge nightmare level shower thought?) encouraged her to do. "My name's Alpha. It's alright, you don't have to come here. Let's just sit here for a bit so we can get used to each other," she whispered gently and slowly, enunciating each syllable as to not startle the bear which had only started to slightly relax its posture. Her focus was solely concentrated on this four-legged beast in front of her and she failed to delegate any attention to her surroundings. She was completely unaware of any potential intruders who would come across this scene. "Don't worry...we'll...we'll find your mother," Alpha promised. There was no way a cub like this would be without a mother. As far as she knew, snow bears were awfully protective of their young (or did she mix snow bears up with honey wasps?). Finally, a familiar grin settled on her face. The regular Alphabet Chocolate trademark. "I think I'll call you Icee!" she smiled and that action was what lured the bear from out of its hiding spot, slowly crawling to Alpha with curiosity and a tinge of something (perhaps trust?) in its glistening eyes that seemed to experience everything for the very first time. Alpha tentatively reached out a finger to the bear before mentally cursing, fearing that she would scare the bear cub away. To her surprise, however, Icee gave her a quick lick on her fingertip and, with that, her grin seemed to return full-force and then some, covering most of her face in that Cheshire smile. @Kyupin Felnya
She looked at the pouch of herbs and bandages she'd managed to gather upon seeing the call for help in World Chat. Another cub, separated from its mother, the poor thing! After exchanging some quick back-and-forth whispers with @Alphabet Chocolate, Kyupin had rushed around in Finweald buying whatever supplies she could that might help the little guy regain its strength. Sure, her gold was suspiciously low, and maybe she'd gone overboard with all of the things, but whatever was leftover could be used on Vulcan. Even though her new companion had recovered well from his injuries, it never hurt to have some extra healing herbs for the pup. Looking around at her surroundings, Kyupin slowed her rushed pace. The other had said the cub was somewhere in this area and it wouldn't do for her to get lost. The longer help took to arrive, the higher the chance of infection. At her heels, Vulcan yipped, plowing past her and the boulder she'd come to pause before. "Vulcan!" she cried out, tripping over herself to chase after him. Luckily, the growing wolf cub stopped before he could scare off the bear completely - only succeeding in sending the white animal scuttling into the child crouched in front of it. "I'm so sorry," she said, quickly moving forward to plant a hand on her companion. "Vulcan, please apologise," she chided the wolf, her tone stern. Her apologetic gaze flicked over to the cowering bear. Realizing that her voice and actions might be scaring the bear further, she reigned in her more skittish urges. "Are you Alpha? And the bear?" She lifted her hand, jiggling the little herb-filled pouch. "I've got some medicine that might help." Each word was spoken slowly, her voice so soft it was almost hard to hear. If they could patch the bear up a little more, it might be well enough to lead the way back to its cavern. It seemed to trust Alpha so far, and Kyupin hoped that despite her bad first impression, she'd manage to earn its trust too. Kyupin and Alpha would just have to keep an eye out to make sure no other predators would come around to hurt it again. And so long as no angry momma bears came out to maul them, Kyupin was confident things would be okay. Ever so carefully, Kyupin lowered herself to a sitting position, trapping her legs underneath her body. Submissive, removing any visual signs of threat. She kept her hands out in the open, relaxing every tense muscle and spilling some of the herbs into a pile on the ground in front of her. Keeping her eyes away from the bears', she instead focused on Alpha. "Are there any mountains nearby?" she asked, "I've not explored this area..." Thrown die: 71 +10 187 / 100
Alpha was startled by the sudden intrusion of a wolf of all things. She hesitantly raised her blade, cuddling the little cub closer who had reluctantly scuttled into her embrace from the surprise encounter. The canine seemed to be a juvenile; small and awfully reminiscent of her former companion. While harming it wasn't something she'd like to do (in fact, she was quite convinced that she'd regret the action should she go through with it), she knew that she had to protect the injured animal. As much as she hated to admit it, mauling and consuming others was something that was as closely intertwined with nature as the preservation and beauty of life itself. It was instinct and, no matter how small the wolf pup may be, she knew that it would kill and eat Icee if given the chance. Even Terry, her late and beloved dingo, had had no qualms with hunting down smaller animals. With that thought in mind, she tensed up and waited for any sudden movements before she heard a shout from the distance closing in. Her eyes widened as a blonde-haired catgirl (Felis, she corrected herself) burst out of the bushes and stopped the eager dog. Immediately calming down once the girl had attempted to get the canine to apologize, she offered them a grin and removed Icee from her suffocating hold. Alpha thought of herself as an amazing judge of character (not actually true in any sort of way but she remained ignorant of that fact) and offered the girl a hand as she slowly got up, Icee calming down as well. "Haha, no worries!" She did, however, frown when the girl had said her name. She was confused for a quick second before her eyes brightened in realization. She did send that request for help on the world chat a few minutes ago, hadn't she? She just didn't expect someone to respond immediately or within such a quick time-frame. "Yuppers! Name's Alpha and this here's Icee; I just met him though. Thanks for your help, Meowmeow! And Vulcan," she added as an afterthought. She didn't know that girl's name but Meowmeow sounded fitting considering the girl's appearance. As Meowmeow offered her the medicine, she swiftly swiped it from the girl's hand with a quick nod of thanks and appreciation as she rubbed the soothing balm on Icee's injured flesh. Scratches and burns that would, hopefully, be easily fixed with enough time. Then she looked back to answer the girl's question. "Nah, Adecus—Astorea, I mean, doesn't have any mountains, I don't think. Maybe a really hidden one? Who knows but I doubt it," she shrugged. "I spend a bunch of time here but I haven't seen any snowtops in the background. Believe me, if there were then me and—uh, well, I guess just me now...I'd have went skiing by then." She drifted off in her thoughts, her hand subconsciously digging into her satchel to wrap her hand around the familiar warmth of the Mist Wolf fragment pocketed there. "Anyways," she snapped out of it, a grin returning to her face. "We gotta find Icee's home or something, right? Oh, and by the way, nice to meet you!" Thrown die: 86 +20 293/100 @Kyupin Felnya
Meowmeow? It took her a while to realize that Alpha had been referring to her. It fit, she supposed, since she had cat ears. And a tail. But Meowmeow? "Um, my name's actually Kyupin," she corrected gently, flushing and bending her head to peek at the quiet polar bear. "Nice to meet you Icee, Alpha." She hoped the bear was satisfied with the name the younger had given it. It wouldn't really have much of a chance to complain, though. She smiled politely as Alpha rambled about the lack of mountaintops and skiing. Wouldn't the actual ski equipment have to be build first, though? Even as Alpha paused, seemingly distracted by something, Kyupin wasn't sure whether she'd interrupt by trying to speak up. "So, we–" Oh. She returned Alpha's grin with a subdued smile of her own, slightly overwhelmed by the way the smaller girl jumped between topics like a hyperactive bunny. Scratching at her cheek, Kyupin hummed in thought. Finding Icee's home was a high priority, yes. A polar bear wasn't really designed for warmer temperatures. "Should we… head north then?" she mused, her smile turning into a thoughtful frown. "Vulcan's too young to hunt down scents, so we can't track the other bears like that…" She vaguely recalled an earlier mission, where Garta had used his inspection mode to find the tracks of boars. Even if they could find the tracks, would they run into a monster? Whatever had separated Icee from his mother? "Do you think Icee can lead the way back?" she spoke a little louder, turning to look at Alpha. She'd just arrived and had little chance to bond with the polar bear, but it seemed the small girl and small bear had already interacted enough to build some sort of trust. Kyupin would've loved to learn about them, but the sooner they got the cub back to his mother, the better. Maybe once everybody was safe and sound she could spend some time bonding with both Alpha and Icee. Until then, she'd have to hope Alpha could encourage the little bear into guiding them. Pulling her bow from her inventory, she tested the weight and tension of the weapon. Newly crafted, it fit nicely into her hands. "I can keep an eye out for anything in the distance," she suggested, "while you keep close to him and protect him?" @Alphabet Chocolate
Alpha paused, stared at Kyupin with wide eyes, and then looked back and forth between her half-human, half-feline companion and the snow bear cub beneath her. "Kyupin..." Alpha started as realization began to dawn on her. And then her lips cracked into a smile that stretched from ear to ear with both eagerness and tenacity befitting a young, energetic soul. "You are a genius!" she squealed, grabbing both of Kyupin's hands and launching their arms into the air vigorously, excitement running through her veins and sparkling underneath her eyes. As she turned her attention back to Icee, hoping she could convince the bear to lead them to his family, she made sure to reach out and attempt to give Vulcan a small pat. Although they were both strangers, Alpha felt a tad bit bad that the small canine would be left out of most of the action. He reminded her of Terry (just a bit; albeit the white coat and markings had left her with the startling reminder that the pup was, in fact, not Terry) and the pang of nostalgia pulled her to comfort him. She resisted and pulled herself away last minute from contact, instead addressing Icee directly. "Can you take us to your place? We promise we won't hurt anybody; we'll help you get home, okay?" she explained gently. A moment of stillness passed on through without a peep or sign of recognition and understanding from the bear. And then, finally, there was a discreet and nearly unnoticeable nod as the bear turned away and walked with one of his hind-legs in a perpetual limp, slow and calm as if he were beckoning the party to come closer. Alpha turned to Kyupin with a grin. "Kay! So, I keep close to him? Got it! Oooh, can't wait to get there! You're the best Kyu!" she laughed and slung an arm over the blonde girl. Alpha's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when reality sank in and she noticed that the baby-faced girl who had stumbled in to help was a full feet taller than her. A depressive aura slunk around her as she slouched and sadly followed Icee, close by his side. "Ah," she mumbled before being reduced to a crawl. Why was everyone taller than her?! Eventually, after much stumbling, a small cave was seen in the distance and Icee's docked tail began to wag eagerly, swaying back and forth with happiness like a rabbit who had just found a carrot garden. Alpha, unfortunately, was still wallowing in despair and hadn't noticed. @Kyupin Felnya
She flushed under the praise, moving to crouch a little so Alpha could comfortably sling an arm over her shoulder, but she'd moved too slow and the younger girl slouched off after their polar bear. "Alpha?" she murmured, too shy about the new face to really call out and figure out what was wrong. Instead, Kyupin hung back, scratching Vulcan's ears and keeping a careful eye out for any predators. Eventually they came upon an opening in a formation of rocks – a cave! Kyupin looked from Icee to @Alphabet Chocolate, the realization not really sinking in because of Alpha's silence. Surely they were in the wrong place if the other girl wasn't celebrating? They hadn't known each other long, but it seemed fitting. Slowly approaching, Kyupin hesitantly rested a hand on the shorter girl. "Alpha, is this it?" she asked, voice gentle and searching. She hoped the girl wouldn't freak out on her or anything. A roar shook the ground, and then the stampede of paws smacking the ground rang out of the cave, followed by a large polar bear pouncing out into the open. "It's Momma Icee!" she said in awe, elbowing Alpha. Anything to cheer up the shorter girl. Still, she kept her careful distance and gave a small wave as Icee ran forward to greet his mother, bumping into her leg with his snout. "Hello," she greeted, clamping down on any nervousness, "these are good for Icee to chew on." Gesturing to the pouch she still held in her free hand, she crouched down and poured out the contents (mostly herbal branches) between them. After a while of staring, the large mother bear approached it and sniffed, probably checking for anything dangerous. Then, with a low grumble, several other bears tumbled out for the cavern opening. A whole family of polar bears! Kyupin giggled as the smaller ones toddled towards her and Alpha, eagerly butting heads against her shins. Reaching a hand out, she let them sniff at it, one even daring to lick her salty flesh. "Hello there, little ones!" she chirped, nudging Vulcan forward to let him play with some of the other cubs. She kept a careful eye on him, just as the mother bear did on her own cubs.
Alpha laughed with such merriment that it would've befitted a red-clothed, white-bearded man who rode on a sleigh rather than a young child. "Yup!" she slapped her hand over Kyupin's back, joyous in the reunion between Icee and his family. The girl had just offered the medicinal plant to the family of bears and that seemed to have been enough to gain their trust. She was, however, stuck between dismayed and jubilant that they had found Icee's kin. Snow bears just weren't native to the area and that thought kept her worried. Still, she tried not to worry. Snow bears were sly and strong creatures that would be able to make it back to their habitat in no time; the only real worry was helping Icee find his highly-capable mother. Nothing she needed to trouble herself with and, judging by the relatively healthy condition of most of the litter, she supposed that having unfounded anxiety would sooner clip off a few years of her life rather than actually help anything. "Hiya," she grinned, twiddling her fingers in a playful manner for the tiny bears to try to nip. They were adorable and watched with such innocent eyes and a trusting demeanor once their mother had gotten over her own nervousness and proved that Kyupin and her wasn't a threat. Icee had already begun to make his way towards his siblings when Alpha turned around. It was a sudden, brisk move that had no trigger or warning. One second she was amusing the young cubs and, in the next, she had swooped off in the other direction. Her back was still faced to her new acquaintances. She gave a wink that was concealed by the back of her head. "I gotta go somewhere!" she gave her arm a stretch as the lie slid through her parted lips. "See ya Vulcan! See ya Kyupin! Adios, Icee and the rest of you bears!" she waved before beginning to walk away, a bounce in each one of her steps. It wouldn't be nice to get attached again. It was already too late for her to abandon her bond with Terry (with that thought, she slipped her hand through the satchel at her hip to palm the Mist Wolf Fragment which resided there) but she could definitely try to cut some potential relationships at the bud while she still could. A part of her regretted that she wouldn't be able to help the bears return home (in spite of her own self-reassurances that they would make it just fine) but she knew that bringing a tiny cub with her on a dangerous adventure wasn't the best idea. Maybe Kyupin would help them along, she pondered as distance began to grow between her and the family of bears. The game was fun, certainly, but she'd rather go through it with people she could actually revive. Quite ironic considering that she had taken up beast-taming as a skill. @Kyupin Felnya
Kyupin giggled, fussing around with the cubs a little more, her eyes twinkling in delight. But it all came to an abrupt pause as Alpha turned around and bounced off, calling a farewell over their shoulder. The Felis frowned in concern, her brows furrowing. "Alpha!" she called out instinctively, though there were no words to say. She hesitated a little more. "... See you!" Tugging at her skirt, she looked down to the cubs, then over to the mother. Now it was just her, Vulcan, and the bears. Her pup whined at her heels, noticing her slight distress. She laughed awkwardly, trying to shrug off the concern weighing heavily on her shoulders. If she got too upset, the animals would feel it too, and that would just stress them out more. Pulling back her shoulders, Kyupin worked on offering the gentlest smile she could. She had to be strong for these bears. "Vulcan," she called gently to the pup, smiling as his ears perked up, "how about a little camping trip?" It didn't feel right to just leave these bears alone. Maybe... maybe just for a while, she'd accompany them, keeping an eye on the little ones to make sure none of them got separated from their family. Although none of the animals (probably) understood her, there seemed to be an air of excitement brimming in the beasts regardless. Looking to the large mother bear, Kyupin grinned. "Lead the way!" she cheered. ... They stayed at that cave for four days, because apparently, the bears had made camp there. When she finally ran out of supplies, the Felis and pup said their goodbyes. Maybe she'd come by and say hello to them again sometime. Kyupin headed back to the city. [[ FIN ]]
