Pine Peak Sanctuary infringe

There was a very good reason he had never been here before. And it actually had very little do with the fact that Levka believed that fencing in a were was an atrocity.

He stood just inside. For the first time in his life, he'd tried to get an access pin to the sanctuary, and he had met none of the resistance that he would have met if this had been a few years earlier. Surveying the land from the over-large cabin, he could smell... no bear.

And for once, such a thing made him very happy.

Cliff had been gone from this place a very long time now. Which he had known, but to stand on the man's former land and witness it for himself? It felt very lovely. Vengeful, but in a giddy way, where the victory was already well secured. Wherever that sad excuse for a bear was didn't matter. Whether he was happy or suffering was completely irrelevant. All Levka cared was that he had been a failure of a king.

And this? A failure of a place. Owned now by some no-name. Not even the local coyotes.

Did hope that wherever he'd gone to, Cliff itched now with some sensation that what had once been so dear to him now sat beneath the boot heel of the bear who had been and always would be his superior.

So... time to put said boots all over the place. It was, begrudgingly, a nice sprawl of land, for Camp Baron. This area was atrocious otherwise. But it would do for a little hiking among the trees. Maybe he'd meet the sort of were who required fencing while he was out there. Who knew? He could not imagine a place like this before now, alien a concept as it was.

It was good to explore new things often, and this wasn’t the sort of place the Zelda really visited, but not for a lack of interest. It was just that there were so many other places to explore, and Zelda could only get around so much.

She was only one wolf after all!

But she was making up for lost time now, backpack heavy on her shoulders as she made her way further through the thick of the trees. She wasn’t really sure where she was heading, but this wasn’t unusual. Let the wolf guide her to where was best to shift and go from there.

Maybe a river or something? It was definitely warm enough for it. Yeah, that sounded like a pl-

The sound of footsteps had Zelda stalling, scent of bear hitting her which was a little strange given that the bears didn’t occupy this land anymore. A new one? A left one? She was about to find out as she followed both steps and scent, eyes pulling yellow as her eyes fell upon-

”If it isn’t the best fisher in Ridgefield!” She called in giddy excitement.

He heard her coming. Felt her presence a bit after that. And when he put eyes on her, his eyes widened for recognition, his mood quickly rising to meet hers.

"Zelda."

It had been several years now, but she had stuck firmly in his memory. Fond, in spite of how the wolves had become a complicated thing with their traitorous king. But Levka had never been good at judging a group as a conglomerate. Like some bears were bad, some wolves were good.

And this redheaded one? Very, very good.

"I did not expect someone like you, inside this fence." But he gestured her over, having stopped where he stood.

No hesitation in closing that distance, between them, smile wide and easy as she took another look around the woods.

”Normally, no.” She hummed moving to offer a hug if allowed, it was good to meet the bear king again even if he didn’t have snacks to offer this time around. ”But a change of pace is always good, and we don’t like to feel like we’re missing out.”

And a fence was just as effective at keeping things out as they were in. If they wanted to explore this land, they had to enter as humans, and that was not as common a form in these parts.

A hug, without hesitation, given and received. Levka chuckled to her point, shrugging. He supposed so. If nothing else, there was novelty here. Even if he was somewhat tempted to go test the limits of these damned fences.

Not now, though, no...

"I have not been here before," he confessed, thoughtful as he pondered her and her gear clearly meant to get her out into these woods. "I do not come to Camp Baron usually. I was not welcome for a very long time."

Zelda did not know much when it came to the bears, knew that there had once been a group that occupied Camp Baron, and that the group was no longer here. Why did she know this? Because only the scent of coyote lingered in the air now when there used to be a mingling of both scents.

Knew that bears occupied Grapuel, and that this bear was the King of that land.

Had never considered why there were two territories… If it was a matter of space then the wolves would have had several cities to themselves by now. Hmmmm.

”But you’re welcome now?” This would answer her ultimate question without being too nosy. ”Because the bears are gone.”

Oops.

"Yes... because I win."

Which felt very nice, indeed. All that fussing, just for them to leave in the end? He would kill Indra a hundred times over just for this moment of satisfaction.

"They were traitors, every single one that was here. I offered them all that I had and they rejected me. So? They fail."

It all checked out to her, all the wolves followed Dakila as far as she knew, and the ones that didn’t? Well, she’d never met them so she imagined that they failed too.

”It only makes sense for everyone to gather under one group.” She hummed thoughtfully, ”dividing your numbers feels a bit silly.” And this bear king had only proven himself to be a very admirable guy in her eyes.

”Makes sense that they failed while you thrive.” Big nods.

And she proved again why he liked her without hesitation.

"They were not strong enough, undermined by their foolish king." He shrugged. He'd liked the twins. Liked Natasha. Might have liked any of the others, if given the chance. But he was not, and they had chosen the illusion of comfort over the reality of safety. Who knew where any of them were now? He had not taken it on himself to care or hunt them down.

"I am here and they are not. This is funny."

A smile, a tilt of his head to offer to keep walking. No reason to depart company now.

They were still here, but they weren’t anything important anymore. She’d seen two of them at fight night, watched as the brothers ganged up on Jasper and took cheap blows.

Didn’t feel that Levka would have done the same, he didn’t need to cheat to win. This made him better.

”Would you take them in if they asked then?” She questioned as she moved to follow, ”I know for sure that two stick around Ridgefield still.”

Two of them, hm? He supposed he was not too surprised by this. Probably had no place left to go.

"If they came to me, I do not see why I would not."

Only Cliff and Maxine had earned an ire so deep that he would not take even the most groveling apology as anything except a beg to be put out of their misery.

"I only want the bears here to be safe. That has always been the case."

Levka was better than her then, because Zelda would likely send them well on their way if she had been in the bears position. If you couldn’t appreciate what she had to offer it the first time, why would you the second?

This was the way of thinking that got her in trouble though, and she was working hard to fix it… Kinda.

For certain people. Person. Whatever.

”You guys are the biggest things around,” she returned. ”Not much could make you unsafe.”

That made him chuckle.

"I think that you are not wrong, but also... a bear is still flesh and bone and blood. Vampires do not care for us. Last year one took an eye from one of mine. I do not forgive this, and I work to be more sure it will not happen again."

A shrug, for all this was a note of conviction.

A curl of her lip at the mention of corpses, the wolf growling in equal distaste as she gave her head a firm shake.

”They’re the worst,” and clearly very stupid if they were going around and messing with bears that were likely three times their size. ”They keep coming after my friends, and I don’t like it one bit.”

It would be best for all of Ridgefield if they stepped out into the sun right now.

"Da... this is what they do. They are not to be trusted. Your wolf king? He is not my friend, but he does do right by mine when he arrests those who come after us."

Sayed in custody had been a brief salve on an otherwise tense association.

"They should all be ended. I think that it would be easy."

If enough of them wanted to make it happen, anyway.

It was a little saddening to hear that Dakila and Levka were not friends, especially when she liked them both so much. Good that neither were enemies though, because it was no question who she would choose if a choice had to be made.

Dakila was her king, and she trusted his judgement above most. Luckily, neither were asking her to choose, and their relationship affected her little outside of that.

”I agree, I don’t know what it is that makes them this way, but it’s clear that their infection changes more than their body.” It warped both their souls and their minds.

”If they aren’t bad now, they will be.” It was only a matter of time.

A firm nod. Grateful to find one of the 'new' weres in the world who had sense rather than pointless hope.

"Too many of our kind wish to make friends with these things. I knew from the start that they were not good for us. That they would try to ruin us. I imagine they are very jealous, how alive we are while they cannot even look at the sun."

A pause, he could not remember...

"Do you know my Katya?"

When he put it that way, it made sense. So much darkness filled them, it only made sense that they would yearn for the light that filled them. People wanted what they couldn’t have, and vampires were no different. They had no soul, and so they felt the need to break those that had two souls combined.

Well, she wouldn’t allow it.

”I know a Katya,” she answered for the question. ”But I don’t think she’s yours. She’s a wolf, not a bear.”

And she missed her very much.

That made him chuckle, the joke briefly private.

"I knew her when she was a human still. I had to protect her from the vampires when we learned of them. She would not tell this to you, but she is my niece."

And he also missed her... terribly.

It would take her brain a moment to process this information, eyes widening and mouth falling open because, yes, she had not been told this.

”Niece.” She repeatedly softly, eyes blinking. ”You’re kidding me?! No way, Katya was the very first wolf that I ever befriended here.”

And now it made even more sense why Levka had immediately caught her attention down by the lake. Alpha wolf was sure to have alpha relatives.

As if he weren't already endeared to this firebrand. This was all the more reason.

"Good, then you are as good as I thought that you were. She was the reason that I moved to here, from Russia. I wished to connect with what was left of my brother, you understand?"

A little personal thing, but it was old and worn enough now that it did not hurt him to share. All the pain that lingered from any of it was how Katya had chosen to step away. This thing he could not fully accept but also could not defy.

"I did not want her to change, but I think she also makes a fine wolf."

She did understand, and this was another thing that she had not known about Kaida. And this brought with it the idea that she might not have known the woman as well as she had thought. Brought on the worry that they their closeness had simply been in her head…

But bad and wrong thoughts because Zelda knew that they had been friends. Knew Katya cared for her just as deeply as Zelda had her. Just because certain pasts hadn’t been shared didn’t mean that their friendship had been any less.

Silly to even consider otherwise.

”She’s a wonderful wolf,” Zelda sighed. ”I’m sorry that she isn’t staying here any longer, but I bet she was happy to reconnect with you while she was here.” And maybe she’d come back and reconnect again.

With everyone!

"For a time, yes, we were close. She felt I betrayed her before she was a wolf and made me stop being around her, but... it was alright. I still cared for her with all my heart and I miss her. I am sorry that you must miss her also."

A real tragedy, that departure. If he had not had so much here to stay for, perhaps he would have followed her at a distance. As it was, he had to trust that she was powerful enough to care for herself.

There was a part of her that wanted to know what had happened, and there was another part that was telling her that it was best to leave it be.

Except, one voice was much louder than the other, and Zelda wasn’t the best at drowning out that voice. She’d do her best for now.

”I do, a lot.” So so much because of all the wolves, it had been Katya that understood her best. ”It’s been hard to find my place with the wolves since she left.” Katya hadn’t technically been a part of the pack. But she had been at the same time.

Ah... a very sad thing.

"I am sorry for that. It can be difficult, when someone you care for leaves."

It had happened to him so many times.

"Are the others not like you? I know only... perhaps Natalie? I do not recall if others I know have stayed."

A furrow of her brows as arms came to cross along her chest.

”They’re not not like me,” she corrected softly. ”It’s just, I kinda did a bad thing and sometimes I feel like that bad thing is the only thing that they see.” No one had ever claimed it, or said it, but it weighed heavy on her mind regardless.

”It’s my fault for putting distance between us, but I also worry that I can be a bit too much for them too.” All worries that could easily be cleared if she talked them out, but Zelda wasn’t sure she was ready for that next step.

Because that next step included Dove too.

"Please. You are a gem wolf, they should be happy to know you. What sort of bad thing did you do?"

It could not be as bad as some of the things that his own reputation carried.

A gem wolf, if only Solomon and her parents could see it that way.

”Well,” a guilty press of her lips. ”I might have been doing too many city shifts, and one of those shifts ended with me infecting someone.” A sigh, as her gaze pulled towards the trees.

”She didn’t like it. I didn’t care.” Still wouldn’t care if it wasn’t for the fact that she was Matti’s sister.

Levka failed to see the problem.

"Is this wolf in your pack now?"

He eyed her as they walked around, assessing the situation from his own, narrow perspective.

”Oh yeah,” she answered with quick nods eyes moving back towards the bear when she sensed no judgement stemming from him. ”She was in the pack before she was even a wolf.”

She’d gotten caught so quick after that night.

"So then there is no problem. This is natural and you did not leave her only to suffer alone."

Turning someone and leaving them adrift was one thing. It was irresponsible. But if you infected someone and they were taken care of?

"You gave her a gift."

And there is was. Finally. Someone who actually agreed with her on that.

”That’s what I said,” she gasped. ”And everyone said I was wrong about that.” Consent and all that, and she would do better about it if only because she didn’t want to go through this again.

And because she respected Matti enough to try.

”She acted like I ruined her life, but she got stronger faster than I did!” Clearly she was doing just fine!

Modern weres were fools. He knew this. But it was always disappointing to hear of someone like Zelda getting backlash for simply following her nature.

"She complains only because she wishes to spite you. There is no other reason for this. And she misses out by doing this to you." Spurning a sire like this? Ridiculous. "My own sire tried very near to biting me in half, and he was my best friend after for many years."

She had tried to rip off an arm. It was a pity that she hadn’t been able to… WRONG THOUGHTS ZELDA!!

”She’s sooooo spiteful,” Zelda huffed with a roll of her eyes. ”Which is so weird because her brother is like the complete opposite.”

She didn’t have siblings, but she imagined if she had, that they would have been a lot more like her than Dove was to Matti.

"Is this brother a friend to you, then?"

It tracked to his mind, if she was enemies to her progeny and opposites were to follow. Especially if Zelda knew enough to know this of him.

”Oh yeah,” she answered easily with a widening grin. ”Like one of my best friends, I didn’t know he was her brother at first, otherwise I might have avoided him, but I’m glad I didn’t.”

Also super glad that he hadn’t avoided her because apparently he’d known. Haaah.

”He’s a Were too, but not a wolf. He’s a fox.”

Best friends with her ungrateful progeny's brother. This was very entertaining.

And bonus: "I have met a fox recently when I was doing a hike. Perhaps it is your friend?"

He knew the man's name, but not swiftly enough to summon it in offer. The fox had seemed quite open and stable. The sort of were that Levka appreciated, who had not modernized so hard that he had lost his way.

Perhaps it was!

”His name is Matthias,” she began looking Levka over. ”Maybe taller than you? Maybe not, hard to tell. Blonde hair. Blue eyes.” Other descriptors….

”And he talks like this” Said in a decent enough Matti accent.

That made the (equally accented) man laugh. "Yes, that is the one. He seemed to be very good. More when he realized he did not need to be nervous of me."

A lot of people had good reason to give Levka wide berth. But a well minded fox who liked his dog? Certainly not.

"You choose good friends. This includes me, of course."

She liked it when others could see the good that she saw in her friends, not that it was particularly hard, especially when pertaining to Matit.

He was a good egg.

”I’ve got an eye for this sort of thing.” She giggled tapping an index finger against the corner of one said eye. ”Gotten pretty good at separating the good from the bad.”

Might give a few bads a chance, but they never lasted long.

"I have always liked you also, so this is good for us." They could see each other's worth easily, even if others might give them a hard time. It was one reason of many that Levka did not subscribe to general opinion in almost anything.

They had hiked a ways and he paused to look around. This place had nothing on his mountains, of course. It was just place with trees and places for animals to hide if that what was what they desired.

If his name had not been written on the log at the check in place he thought it could have been fun to try and set at least a portion of it on fire. Just to see how the reaction went.

”Me too,” she returned as wide yellow eyes took in the trees surrounding them. They’d walked a good distance, or felt it felt as if they had, and yet everything looked relatively the same.

Easy to understand why humans found themselves getting lost in the woods, especially when they didn’t have a Weres sense of smell at their disposal.

”Are you gonna shift out here, or was this a human expedition?”

"I am always prepared for either of these. If you wished to become wolf and have some company also...?"

It was warm and nearly too waterless to be extremely appealing on its own for Levka. But if he had company he would be happy for a short romp. Maybe push down a few trees, cause some grief just for his own satisfaction.

Bear wolf shift

YES!!

”I was!” She beamed, hands clapping together once as her fingers intertwined together. ”And I’d love to play with the biggest bear on the planet again.”

Already her muscles were aching in preparation, and her wolf’s pacing increasing with every second that they kept themselves bound to this body.

"Then we play," he agreed, and he felt a similar anticipation. "Ahead there, we stop?" Just an area that was a little less 'middle of the woods' so they could find their way back to it without relying on 'just another tree' as a landmark. A good nose was always helped by a visual cue.

Another nod of her head as she picked up the pace a bit, would drop her bag off near an easily recognizable bush before offering a salute to the bear king.

”See you in a minute, just wolfified.” Didn’t really have modesty issues, but she’d save Levka from dealing with her stripping as she jogged just a few feet further into the woods.

Wasted absolutely no time in getting started, and soon enough there would be a liver colored wolf in her place. Two hard shakes of her pelt, and everything felt good to go as she raced back into the small clearing that Levka had chosen.

BEAR BEAR BEAR!!!

BEAR!

He was a whole one by time she got back. And a big one, as anticipated. Shaking out his own strange coat with a snort, swinging his own head around to see her with unnaturally bright eyes.

Wolf.

Not his wolf, but not not his wolf, either. He came toward her, huffing in her scent, remembering her.

She had definitely forgotten just how big a bear could be, especially when said bear was a polar bear. Wolf steps stuttered to a half just a few inches from the other, and her tail would give an uncertain wag as the bear approach, her own nose giving a few tentative sniffs.

They’d played with this bear before, she knew that, but memories hardly gave this bear any justice when it came to size and she was just a little daunted at the moment.

It would pass though.

In fact, she’d force it to pass now with a few rough shakes of her coat and playful bow of her body.

Nervousness was not an unusual response to his presence.

As such, it did not summon any particularly predatory thoughts. He knew he could harm the wolf entirely if he wished, but he also knew that she was his friend. She was also not an animal he sought to bully for his satisfaction, unlike some others in his time.

So as she play bowed he gave a growl and shook his head low at her, his own 'just playing' gesture.

Then he feigned a swipe at her.

If it were possible, Zelda's tail might have flung off with the speed at which it wagged behind her.

Whole body arching backwards in a backwards hop as the paw swiped out towards her. Another hop backwards for good measure before she was back to that same low positon.

A sharp yip of encouragement before she was bounding past the bear.

He was big, but she was for sure the fastest thing in this forest. >:3