/ 750It had been a few days since the pack meeting, and Severus was wandering again. Since Alaki’s speech, the brat prince had kept mostly to nosing around the various construction projects. He wasn’t exactly looking to help, though he would do the occasional thing an elder asked him provided it seemed interesting enough a task. The young de Angelo was easily bored, and sometimes he’d get halfway through one of the tasks then suddenly drop whatever he was doing and wander off again. His mind was a constant whirl, always trying to figure out what the other wolves thought of him and if they considered him just as wonderful as he considered himself.
After a morning of puttering around the village and poking his nose into the newly constructed stables, he realized he was getting bored. There was only so much entertainment a young boy could gain from terrorizing the horses and other livestock in his Lupus form. With a great shake that started from his nose and went to the tip of his bushy tail he shook the straw and dirt from his pelt and started towards the woods. As he was walking, he shifted easily into his favorite Secui form and made his way just across the pack borders. His paws easily worked over the rocky terrain, and his practiced balance insured that he wouldn’t lose his footing even while picking his way along a path down the Halcyon Mountain.
As he reached the tree-line, the little prince vaguely remembered the bear cub he’d been tormenting before he heard Alaki’s howl. Tipping his over-sized snout into the air and tasting the scents on the wind, Severus was quickly able to detect the same bear scent. The family hadn’t moved, which meant the cub would still be there for him to tease. His young mind didn’t think of the consequences of playing with a bear cub, so when he found the little squirmy ball he bent down into a play-bow before bouncing around the cub in the grass, growling and snapping. To him, it was great fun, but the poor little cub was scared shitless and called for his mama.
It took no time for the hulking black bear to make her way down an adjacent tree. The roar she let out shook the clearing, and caused the brat prince to instantly whirl around. His silver eyes took in the sight of the female bear as it raised itself onto its hind legs and swiped a paw at him. In his Secui form, he was larger than a normal wolf, but still not so large that the bear was intimidated by him. He was still young and growing, after all. That youth did him in when he snarled towards the mother and took another snap at the cub, intent to ignore its guardian’s infuriated roaring. The new game didn’t last, because as soon as he let out a growl towards the cub the mother was on all fours and charging him, causing him to yelp out in surprise.
Fear finally sunk in, and as soon as the mother got within snapping distance Severus took off towards the pack lands. His large paws dug into the dirt and propelled him forward, but the bear was still close behind. There had to be hunters and warriors on the borders ready to protect him, especially since he was the son of their Angela. The moment he started to climb back up the mountain, he realized that he was at a disadvantage. Even though he was used to the trails, the bear was made for climbing where he was not. Not even his Optime form could move as fast as this enraged mother could. Desperately, Severus tipped his head and howled in alarm.
Help! Help me! the howl cried, calling for all the stronger canines of Anathema to come to the rescue of their prince. Severus felt entitled to that protection, and it didn’t even cross his mind that there could be consequences. The bear might kill him, or harm one of his pack mates. Even worse would be the lecture he’d undoubtedly receive once the pack learned that the whole ordeal was due to his pestering the bear’s cub. No, Severus didn’t think of that at all. All he knew was that he’d be protected, maybe not even questioned, and that he had to get away from this bear and into the safety of the caverns now.
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