You Are In Charge of Your Own Destiny...[Starting &Accepting

[stormy tom]

Kenton --panther -- alone

Kenton found himself sitting. As he bent his legs, eyes still closed a wave descended, hit the rock and splashed high. Concentration broken, his knee gave out and he fell sideways. Kenton's eyes flew open and he twisted his body, landed in the water with barely a splash. The current swept him against his meditating rock and churned, forcing him down under the surface.
Ah, a little fun and exercise. This would work his muscles. Some people would panic. To Kenton, this was amusement, and a test. I have three minutes worth of air, and two minutes worth of heat in my body before my muscles cramp and freeze. He closed his eyes again and focused, assessing the current as it turned around him. He was upstream of his rock, hence the fact that he was trapped against it, so that was a disadvantage.
When the blonde opened his eyes, he was upside-down, water entering his nose. He righted himself with a light spin and pushed to the bottom of the river. It wasn't particularly deep, but he was easily submerged. He wouldn't be able to stand upright.
Okay, both banks were of equal distances from him. The current pushed equally at both. What he needed was an eddy.
One minute and twenty seconds. Flexing his fingers, Kenton chose his course. In panther form he was stronger, certainly, but in human form it was easier for him to swim and manipulate his body in a current.
Time to get moving. Somehow, he couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. He loved the water, and he loved the thrill.

[huddson]

Arthes Grizzly Bear☀Rogue☀Female☀Open

Arthes moved her hand away. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, nothing to live. And she doubted she would ever re-create the cure, or even get caught away in a current. She had done all there was to do, and she was sick of it. Day after day was the same. Wake up, go hunting, sleep. There was the day she climbed the mountain, the day with the tornado. She nearly wanted for it to happen again, or for some hoard of infected to come. She almost longed for it, even. "Is this all life is? An endless circle of boredom?", she exclaimed, biting her lip and stamping her foot. "What's the point of life if you can't really live! What is it?", those last words were only a delicate whisper. She covered her face with her hands. "What is it?"

[stormy tom]

Kenton -- panther -- alone

Beneath the surface, the game continued. The countdown was calmly ticking in Kenton's head. His blonde hair swirled, occasionally getting in his eyes. Most of his air and body heat was being spent calculating. What to point of moving if there was not point? He would only waste more energy and oxygen. This was the fun. Thinking under pressure.
His eyes scanned the water. Now, what would be really fun, would be a wild card. Something unexpected. Something...disrupting. The currents were calculated, yes....but, ah, here it came. The log, and a big one too. Something to really throw him.
Kenton set his gaze upwards. The huge piece of wood spun in the water and was suddenly sucked downwards. The blonde ducked and the wood smashed in half against the water, narrowly missing his head. Ooh, how exciting. Twisting away from splinters, he pulled his body from the water and onto the bank.
Wrong bank. His shoes, socks and jacket were on the other side. Cusses. Kenton lay on his back to catch his breath, soaked and, he had to admit, a little chilly. It would take a bit for his muscles to thaw, before he could safely cross to the other side.
Ah well, he thought, that was fun while it l --
The Englishman looked up. Standing above him was a brown bear cup. It didn't look too dangerous, it was curious in fact. But Kenton wasn't worried about the cub.
He was worried about the much larger, much more aggressive mother coming in from the bushes.
Oh, Lillian would love this, he thought, wondering if he should slip away into the shadows or take his opportunity for further exercise and fight the thing. It was faster than him in this state, he knew that.
Ah well, these things happen. I suppose when one drags himself into bear territory, one must expect a bear. I haven't stretched this good in some time. Picking himself off the ground, Kenton pulled one fist back and levelled his other palm at the target. It would be a crime to harm this ear too much, so he would send it running. Running, but still alive. She had a cub to care for.

[huddson]

Arthes Grizzly Bear☀Rogue☀Female☀With Kenton / Open

Arthes turned to look out the window again. The second she pulled back the curtains, a large female bear greeted her. Arthes scanned the surroundings. She didn't see anybody, possibly due to how small the window was, but the bear would be dangerous. She closed the curtains again and sprinted down the ladder, already shifted by the time she landed. She kept on running, releasing a large growl at the female, and showing her fangs. This was her land, her home. Nobody, bear or otherwise, was going to take it. Arthes raised a paw in warning.

[stormy tom]

Kenton -- panther -- Arthes

Kenton spotted Arthes on bear form over his shoulder, on the other side of the river. If she ran into this one....
He'd better be quick. This was a full-grown mother bear, protecting her cub. To fight it off without hurting her, or getting hurt himself he'd have to use all his skills. This sort of fight was much harder than going all out.
The bear charged him, and Kenton shut his eyes. Observation was a skill he had gotten quite good at over the course of many year of being a target. When his eyes opened, he'd aimed.
His fist struck the bear in the side of the head, enough to send it stumbling sideways. Giving it no time to think, the blonde spun a roundhouse kick in the same spot. What a creature....big, strong and stubborn. Kenton wasn't getting away that easily.
He lifted his hands and spread his legs a little more. "Go home." He said calmly, looking the bear in the eyes. His knees were shaking a little from the cold of the river. His damp shirt dripped water to the wet grass around his bare feet.
Of course the bear didn't listen. It charged again. How could he dodge something so big?
So he rolled sideways, narrowly missing a huge paw with claws bigger than his fingers, and came up at just the right place. With a calculated palm strike, he paralyzed the beast's shoulder.
The mother bear started to topple, and spun around to knock him down. Kenton slipped in his own dripping water and landed on his back so hard he lost his breath.
The mother bear stood over the unfortunate human, but paused. Slowly, she turned her head and spotted Arthes on the other side of the river.
Ah, another bear had joined the fight. Now what? Kenton could almost see the cogs turning, in fact, he could almost see in general.

[huddson]

Arthes Grizzly Bear☀Rogue☀Female☀With Kenton

Arthes struck the other bear's head. Her vision was a blur s she hit the female over and over. Cub or no cub, this was her territory. "Get off my land", she growled to the other bear, ready to strike again. A cut on the mother bear's nose was bleeding, and there was fear in her eyes. Still, she charged again, knocking Arthes off her feet. She struggled to get up as the other bear advanced on her. Only now did she see how large the mother was. Is this the end..?, she thought to herself, still struggling to get up, and being pushed down. The helpless expression in her eyes turned to fear as the mother lifted a paw, fury in her eyes. Arthes noticed the cub sitting by the river, and it was leaning dangerously close.

[stormy tom]

Kenton -- panther -- Arthes

Okay, this was going too far. Kenton forced himself into full consciousness by hitting his head on forcefully on the ground. That shocked him awake. He jumped up, shifted, and rammed the mother in the side. He kept his teeth and claws in. No need to kill this bear on her own territory. This was her side of the river.
He pushed the bear off of Arthes with a grunt, using every ounce of force he possessed. The mother shook her head, blinded momentarily.
Kenton came to his human feet just as the cub toppled in.
Oh, not again. It was much too young to swim properly, especially in that current.
"Cusses," Kenton growled and took off his soaked shirt. He tossed it at Arthes, ran past the mother bear and dived straight into the river.
It was fast, cold, and brutal. No less relenting than when he'd first slipped in only minutes ago. His muscles had barely recovered, and he was already short of breath from fighting something three times his size at least (in human form). Kenton fought the waves. That cub wasn't going to last very long. With its thick fur, it might be alright, but it would run out eventually and die.
Kicking long legs, Kenton moved with the current and caught up with the thrashing cub. He locked his arms underneath its front legs and secured it in his grip. The cub struggled, waving un-coordinated and panicking slashes. Kenton fought the urge to defend himself when the claws got painfully close to taking an arm off.
Half a kilometre down-river, Kenton hauled both himself and the cub from the river. He'd been lucky enough to find a back-eddy. Coughing water and shaking on the bank, he lay next to the cub who was a bit to shocked and exhausted to move, too.
"Thanks, you damn bear. Saved your life and you slash me up," Kenton spat water onto the grass, his hair hanging limply. His body was cold, but he needed some time to get his breath back before shifting into a warmer, furrier body.
Blood dripped from his bicep. Oh, that made the game even more entertaining.
His bare back muscles clenched. His body looked a little white.... but all the muscles were clearly visible, shaking and seizing as he forced them to relax.
Not bad, he thought, not bad for being out of practise. Not bad for a good day of exercise.

[huddson]

Arthes Grizzly Bear☀Rogue☀Female☀With Kenton

Arthes saw whoever the mother bear attacked save the cub, but she couldn't think out that now. She thrust her paws forward to push the mother bear back. She was going to chase it, all the way to the hills. Should she get a bow? Na. She didn't want to kill the bear, only get her away. Arthes growled deeply and slashed the mother bear's nose, stepping closer and closer. She kept doing that, over and over, and she would, until the mother got the message. It would seem I don't care about territory, seeing as I'm not a true bear. Still, it's important, she thought between growls. Baring her teeth, she growled a final time, her biggest warning yet. What about the cub? Maybe I could deliver it now. Or I could give the mother her cub and make her go away But she didn't get a chance as the mother ran away, deep into the forest. Arthes slowly walked back home, pausing every once in a while to look over her shoulder and lightly growl. She knew the mother bear wouldn't hear, but it was still a way of marking her territory. What about the cub? I could take it in With every pawstep, she was more and more worried for the little bear. Stopping at the river, she looked downstream if she could see it and it's saviour. She figured to go after it, and started scaling the course downstream.

[stormy tom]

Kenton -- panther -- Arthes

A good day turned....interesting. Kenton closed his eyes and pressed his cheek into the cold grass. His jacket was on the other side of the river bank, and he didn't feel like expending the energy to shift. It would scare the cub. He hoped it would be alright.
He clawed the grass a little, coughing and spluttering water. Mountain water was cold. Very cold. What if he got pneumonia.....
Na, wouldn't happen. He'd been pushed into lakes and pons as a kid plenty, and he hadn't gotten very sick. Possibly a cold, but he'd been smaller and weaker then. Now he was a grown man, with a stronger body. This body could take a bit of frigid, churning water. At least his cut wouldn't bleed much. It had stopped already.
Hah, fought a bear, and come back with something to show for it. Kenton sighed and smiled tiredly. His blonde hair, thick as it was, was returning to his recognizably scruffy look already. Sure, it was a bit damp and floppier than usual, but it was still untameable as always.
In the corner of his blurry vision, he could see Arthes coming towards him. He let out and sigh. Not a bad place for a nap, really.

[huddson]

Arthes Grizzly Bear☀Rogue☀Female☀Arthes

Arthes reached the bottom of the small slope, and her curious eyes found Kenton, laying on the riverbank near the cub. Of course he wouldn't be able to understand her, but she made a noise in greeting, then turned her eyes to the cub. She walked over to it and sniffed it, it's soggy fur clenching to it's skin. The cub looked up at her with bright eyes. Even through the scent of water and fish, Arthes could tell it was male. Her ear twitched as another sound from behind her arose. She craned her neck to look at the bush which it seemed to be coming from. A strong scent hit her nose. Oh no... She sniffed and walked over to it, nosing branches out of the way until they revealed a trembling little cub. Female, probably the sister. Arthes greeted it, and nosed her ear. "I'm sorry", she told the cub, certain it would understand. "Your mother is far off towards the hills by now, but I can take you and your brother to her. I'm Arthes, and I'd like to know the names of you, your brother and your mom" "T-Talia", the cub stammered, and dipped her head. Poor Kenton, not able to understand a word, Arthes thought with a smile, and her expression warmed.