"Pippa, we should go. Let's head back to—"
Leon stops talking when he realizes he's alone. He shuffles to the ledge where they were, giving them the vintage point to watch all of this nature unfolds at a safe distance. He looks down to see that Pippa is closing the gap.
"What are you doing?" His whisper comes out louder than he liked.
"Did you see that? That cub is done for if we don't do something."
"What are we going to do?" What if the mama bear comes back?"
"That's why we have to hurry up."
He wants to go after her, but he knows it's pointless. Pippa is small, but agile. It doesn't help that she drags him to the rock wall all the time. She always gloats when she's looking down at him. Plus, he knows better than to get involved when her mind is made up. He figures he could help elsewhere.
#
The ledge is easy- the slope wasn't even that steep. She half-expects Leon to come lumbering down after her, but that chicken shit wouldn't even try. They aren't even that high, and the ledge connects to where the little ridge the bears were on. From what she can see, she has two feet of solid ground to shimmy where the cubs tumbled to.
Speaking of which, she only saw one of them.
It is still a distance from her, but it is close enough to climb down and retrieve the missing cub.
Am I quick enough? She thinks.
She is a good climber. It is her stress relief in a world full of stressors. If a relationship could be as satisfying as completing a climb, she would have three boyfriends at a minimum. She realizes that she's thinking about it too long, and the whimpers of the cub get to her.
Let's do this.
#
Leon isn't quick, but he moves as fast as he could to get a better look at the brawl. He is still 30 yards away, and hidden in some brush.
The wolves keep their distance as the bear waits, delaying her charge. The stalemate surprises him. It's three on one— it's like a no-brainer. The bear must have about hundred pounds on the wolves. She was towering over them. Both parties growled at each other, and Leon started to zone out.
This is getting kind of boring.
One of the wolves think it has a blindside, but the bear swipes at the wolf when it lunges. The wolf tumbles to the side, rolls then charges. The bear misses the tactic- the second wolf attacks in this window, chumping down on one of the bears legs. The bear roars. It takes its massive jaws and bites on the pursuer.
The whelp of one of the wolves is the loudest thing he heard so far, and then, as if being called, the third wolf charges. The leader wants it to end, lunging towards the mama bear's neck. A powerful paw bats the alpha away. The bitten wolf withdraws. The first attacker doesn't waste the opportunity; though still groggy from the first swipe, the attacker lunges.
Mama bear smacks him away, and again, they're at a stalemate.
Both parties growl. Whimpers mix in with the posturing. The bear shifts its weight once more, and roars, making herself twice as big as she was before.
The wolves retreat, taking slow steps backwards, not giving the bear a chance to follow them. They back deeper into the woods, and disappear. The adrenaline continues to flow into the mother, who concentrates on each breath. Leon realizes that she is focusing on its breathing, trying to relax. She realizes that she won, and wants to move on.
Into The Wilderness
Start from the beginning
