New Problems
The remainder of the journey continued like this. They would drive for about an hour then stop to stretch their muscles and do various training techniques. Some of the training was done in their natural forms while others would be done as wolves. Dietrich won the majority of the time but Emilia was a fast learner and quickly adjusted her techniques to give her a better chance. She used each exercise to study Dietrich's movements and find her own strengths.
They stopped once again and Emilia rushed out into the forest, taking less than a second to shift and vanish into her surroundings. Dietrich laughed at his mate's enthusiasm, thinking to himself about how cute she was. He takes his time to stretch his aching muscles, keeping an ear open to listen for Emilia in case enemies appear.
He stands straight and sniffs the air, preparing to go find her. However, Emilia comes rushing back to his side before he has a chance to shift. "You're supposed to wait for me to find you." He starts, but then it hits him. The scent of blood, fear, and unknown wolves.
He looks over to Emilia, her eyes are wide with terror but she doesn't seem to be injured. "What happened?" He asks quietly while eyeing the direction she had come from. Emilia shifts and responds in a rushed whisper, "Eight wolves…all slaughtered. A pack of five or six grizzlies. They're… they're…" She pauses but Dietrich urges her to continue. "They're eating the wolves. Diet, I'm scared. Can we leave please?" She asks with teary eyes.
Dietrich thinks for a moment. "Did they see you?" He asks but she shakes her head. "I don't think so. They seem preoccupied with their… meal." She says with a visible chill going down her spine. "Alright, I know you're afraid but we need to investigate. You can stay in the car if you want, though I'd prefer you went with me." He says.
"I'll go with you. I know the way, you don't." Emilia says with determination. Dietrich nods and makes a quick phone call for backup. Luckily, he had made sure to have a group of fifteen soldiers follow them along the journey just to be safe. They arrived within a few minutes and the group headed out with Emilia leading the way.
The group stealthily follows Emilia's lead through the forest. The stench of blood and rotting flesh grew stronger with each step. It gets to the point that Dietrich and the others have to pinch their noses in an attempt to avoid the overpowering smell. Finally, they arrive at their destination. Dietrich takes over the lead as he peeks around the bushes and bears witness to the most gruesome and vomit-inducing scene he had ever seen. There, standing a mere ten feet away was a group of six large grizzlies with green ooze pouring from their snouts as they gorged themselves on the remains of what appeared to be scraps of fur and flesh. Upon closer inspection it was obvious that the scraps of fur belonged to deceased wolves who had fallen victim to the larger predators.
Dietrich gags at the sight. How could this happen? Bears and wolves rarely interacted in the wild. And… wolves had never been prey to a bear, let alone eaten by one. And yet the strangest part of this event, bears, especially grizzlies, have always been known as solitary creatures with the exception of breeding season. What on earth is going on here… He peeks back over to the position of the bears but they have vanished. He gets an ominous feeling and acts quickly as he throws Emilia over his shoulder and heads back towards their car. Something wasn't right here.
He rushes through the forest as fast as his legs would carry him, hoping with all his might that his gut was wrong. Too bad for Dietrich, his luck had run out as he skids to a halt just a few feet from his car. Three of the bears, muzzles soaked in blood and ooze, were standing in his way. They had blocked his way. He turns around in an attempt to find a new escape route but the other three bears were there, growling madly at him as they closed in the gaps. There was no escaping this time, they were completely surrounded.
Dietrich sets Emilia down and gulps. "Well sweetheart, looks like we only have one way out of this mess." He laughs half-heartedly. Emilia smiles encouragingly at him. "Good thing you've been training me. But I think it's my turn to train you a little bit." She says with a wide grin. Dietrich tilts his head in confusion. What does she mean by that? And why is she smiling? He shrugs and watches for Emilia to give him some kind of instructions or signal to tell him what to do.
Emilia extends her claws and uses them to cut her wrist. The action causes all six bears to go into a frenzy and storm into her direction. She remains still as the large predators near her position. Dietrich begins to panic, "What the hell are you trying to do right now? Get yourself killed?" He whispers to her. Emilia winks, "just wait." She stands firm up until the moment the grizzlies are close enough for her to smell their wretched breath, then she jumps into the air. Dietrich and the others copy her movements and watch in amazement as the bears crash head on into each other.
Emilia uses this as an opportunity to make a run for the car, the team following her closely and keeping an eye on the bears. By the time the grizzlies regain their composure, Emilia and the others have successfully reached the car. They waste no time getting in and speeding off down the road. Emilia laughs and Dietrich breathes a sigh of relief. "Seriously woman, you couldn't tell me your plan before acting? I thought you were really about to sacrifice yourself to those things." He scolds her.
Emilia shrugs, "It wasn't really a good time for explaining. We needed to act so I acted. Simple as that. We got away, didn't we?" She says nonchalantly. Dietrich shakes his head and sighs. "At least let me see that wound of yours. Self-inflicted or not, it probably still hurts like crazy. And it still needs to be properly treated." He says while reaching for her injured arm. She quickly moves it away from him. "You can look at it later, when I'm not needing to be focused on driving and we are able to say with certainty that we are out of harm's way." She points out.
Dietrich's cheeks grow light pink as he realizes that he wasn't thinking clearly. It was more important to make sure that they were safe than to inspect a wound that had absolutely no potential to cause irreparable damage. " Alright, you win. But as soon as we stop I am taking care of that arm and you can't refuse. No ifs, and, or buts about it. Got it?" He says. Emilia chuckles, "You sound like an overly concerned mother fussing over a tiny scratch on her pup's knee." She teases and Dietrich's face grows a deeper shade of pink. "That's not very nice. I'm just worried that your parents might kill me if you show up with a single scratch on you, let alone a freakin gash in your arm!" He defends, his voice rising an octave as a result of his intense embarrassment. His soldiers watch the entire exchange in silence, their expressions showing awe as they watch their normally expressionless leader turn into a melted pile of mush before their very eyes.
They all silently praised Emilia for the speedy and drastic change she has caused in Dietrich, the cold-hearted and stony prince of the Northern Packs. This was a sight to behold indeed. They all felt blessed to witness such an event, yet also felt as though they were witnessing an intimate exchange that should've happened in private. It was clear to anyone paying attention that Emilia and Dietrich had completely forgotten about their spectators and entered into their own world as they bickered back and forth like a married couple.
"Look! The bears are already long gone by now! Let's stop here and check your wound." Dietrich insists for the umpteenth time. "No. The more distance between us and our deadly friends, the better. We can check my wounds later on. There's no urgency for a wound like this. There IS urgency for making certain that we have enough distance between us and them that we are no longer in any immediate danger." She retorts with irritation evident in her voice. Emilia was beginning to quickly grow tired of Dietrich's incessant fussing over a tiny scratch.
"Come on Em! Just let me check it really fast and then we can continue on our way." He presses again. Emilia has had enough of this. "You say that now but it's easy to tell that you will insist we rest and disinfect and bandage it. Then you'll tell me that we need to eat. Lastly, you'll end up saying that I have to take a break from our sparring sessions because you're worried that it will agitate the wound. Jeez, you're acting just like the Snows did." She snaps. Dietrich falls silent for the remainder of the ride until Emilia finally stops the car.