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Ugh, snow. Cototzhuaqui hated snow. Ice, wind, rain - anything to do with colder climates, really. There was a reason he chose to roam the southern regions of the land, never venturing too far north...

“Absolutely insufferable...” It had been a long day of seemingly aimless walking, and with night making it’s arrival soon, it would probably be best to seek out some sort of shelter from the ongoing storm. If he could find anything, that is. The plains offered very little in regards to shelter, which suited Cototz just fine... under normal circumstances. This s**t? This was certainly not normal. But he wasn’t about to sleep in this damned snow. No, not again. He had tried that the day before and failed, miserably, deciding he would much rather go a night without rest and attempt to hunt than struggle to sleep uncomfortably in the cold.

Cototzhuaqui didn’t want to leave the plains, but really, what choice did he have at this point? He was growing weary, his belly was still empty, and another sleepless night just wouldn’t do.

And so, with a begrudging huff, the shifter began to make his way east, seeking out more forested lands that would hopefully offer him a bit of cover for the night.

Having shifted earlier into his larger form to cover more ground, Cototzhuaqui’s late night of travel was finally rewarded as he arrived at the edge of the woods. There was no hesitation on his part as he quickly made his way under the cover of the forest, ridding himself of the snow stuck to his fur with a thorough shake. With little grace, like a cat that had suddenly touched water, he violently shook each of his paws as well to rid them of snow. He would be perfectly happy if winter never graced these lands again... A sudden sneeze left him and he grimaced, ears pinned back in irritation at... well, everything. “Great. Just great! I-”

Wait. What was that?

Nose snuffling at the crisp winter air, the shifter confirmed it. Oh yes, he had caught wind of something delicious.

At this discovery, Cototzhuaqui’s grimace morphed into a wide and toothy grin. “My luck seems to have turned...” He thought, venturing deeper into the forest to locate whatever sad sap had met their end. He wasn’t a picky eater, and he certainly wasn’t above stealing or scavenging another creature’s kill. As long as it hadn’t gone rotten, and as far as he was concerned, food was food. Invigorated by the prospect of a free meal, the coyoteshifter was enthusiastic in his search, and he soon located the source of the scent: a slain bear, laid out on the forest floor. Impressive. Cototzhuaqui’s nose scrunched up at the additional smells that met him as he arrived at the scene, all mixing to make an overwhelming stench that clearly, undoubtedly screamed bear. Only bear. “How odd...” He could smell little else in the area, no matter how hard he tried. What had killed it then? Natural causes? A sudden accident? Another beast?

Nonetheless... “Food is food.” He muttered as a reminder to himself, giving a shrug of his shoulders before approaching the carcass to finally - finally! - get something in that hungry belly of his.

Roused from her sleep by someone’s voice and the familiar, messy sounds of flesh being torn apart, Sagavanirktok lumbered outside to investigate who, in the dead of night, had the audacity to bother her at this hour.

Ah. There, just outside her door, was the unexpected visitor, indulging in a meal that was not his. This whelp was either very stupid or fearless, or perhaps both.

With nothing to fear, the bearshifter announced her presence with a few loud and heavy huffs, immediately drawing the other shifter’s attention. For a brief moment, brown eyes met green. Then Saga rose, hind legs supporting her full weight as she stood and allowed herself to tower over the intruder.

She should probably try to be a polite host and greet them properly.

“That food is mine, you cur.”

Driven by days of hunger and so occupied by the food in front of him, Cototzhuaqui had hardly registered that the beast had drawn close until he heard the huffs and puffs of it’s heavy breathing. His ears perked at the noise and his eyes snapped to find his newfound company, bits of meat and stray tufts of fur still held in his mouth, having been interrupted mid-feast.

His eyes had to look up, and up, and up - a long way up - until they finally met the gaze of the great white bear, her form easily looming over Cototz and the remains of the kill he was feeding on. Their kill, it seemed, judging by their speedy arrival and sudden claim.

Of all the things he had considered, another bear being the cause of the young one’s death had never once crossed his mind. Putting all the clues together now though, it made a lot of sense. s**t.

Highly aware of the danger he was in, the coyote roughly swallowed the mouthful of food he was currently holding onto and gave a single nod to acknowledge the bear’s presence, flashing a sheepish smile. “Sure, sure! All yours! Of course.” He began to back away, one back foot followed by the other... Then Cototzhuaqui launched himself at the carcass one last time, diving to snatch up whatever he could sink his teeth into first before he made his swift escape - meat, organ, bone, whatever had the potential to serve as a passing meal. A hefty hunk of something edible now in his possession, he tucked tail and began to make a hasty retreat, back in the direction he had originally came from.

Screw his original plan of staying in this forest, he wasn’t going to deal with this brute the rest of the night. No way, no thank you, goodbye.

Sagavanirktok wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or disgusted by the male’s behavior. She had expected some amount of cowardice from the other shifter, based on his foolish decision to feed from her kill. But this? Trying to deceive her with sweet talk, pretending to retreat, and then having the gall to take more that did not belong to him and run off with it with no repercussions?

Punishment would be delivered. She fell on all fours and charged after Cototzhuaqui and the food that was rightfully hers. She pursued, thundering paws tearing up the earth and foliage beneath them as she kept up with her foe. “A spineless pup is what you are!” Hot on his heels, she took advantage as one of his hind legs came into range and swiped at it, toying with her prey, long claws grazing the coyote’s heel. “Feeble! Pathetic!” He let out a pained noise, muffled by the stolen food held tightly in his maw, but managed to keep the speedy pace of his retreat as they made their way to the edge of the forest. “And oh so very weak!” Saga reached out to swipe at him again with amused laughter, but the dog was smart this time, yanking his leg safely out of reach and moving even faster, dead grass and snowfall kicked up as he pushed his tired self forward.

The immediate fury Saga had felt was dwindling at this point, leaving her more... annoyed than anything else. She would love to see him dead, of course, and she probably could keep pace with him. She was built for hunting in the cold, after all. Positively thrived in it. But was it really worth it, spending all of this energy to chase and hunt this scrawny mongrel down? Besides, he was heading right into a snowstorm, inexperienced and ill-prepared, judging by his reaction to the harsh winter winds buffeting the two of them as they began to enter the open plains. Did she feel like rushing into these nasty weather conditions when there was a comfortable den and food waiting for her right around the corner?

Mm... No. Right now, all she wanted to do was rest in her claimed hideaway, as she had been, undisturbed this time.

The sound of crunching footfalls soon dwindled down to just one set as Sagavanirktok came to a slow stop. Rising up once more to her full height, she let loose a deep, guttural roar as she allowed - no, permitted - the other shifter to dash off into the bitter cold, her call echoing into the storm. “Enjoy freezing to death, boy!” Freezing, starving, being killed by some other creature - all of those sounded like pleasing outcomes to Saga, unfortunate fates she felt that the cowardly mutt deserved. He was bound to be struck down at some point due to his foolish antics.

...Then again, she could be that cause of death. It had been a while since she had been on a long hunt, stalking prey across endless stretches of ice and snow. That injured paw of his was leaving a nice, bloody trail to follow. Maybe, just maybe, she would come back out here the next day and follow that trail. Catch him off guard and hunt him down, properly this time. Sink her claws and teeth into that leg of his, gut him open, paint the snow red... Finish what she had started... It was an enticing thought.

But that was a decision that could wait until morning. Sagavanirktok was a patient creature, and really, she had all the time in the world. The polar bear watched Cototzhuaqui’s fleeing form just a minute longer, committing him to memory before turning away, attention now on other matters.

One way or another, nature would weed out the weak.

Injured Cototzhuaqui continued into the storm, ignoring the pain radiating from his hind leg as he ran. Even when Sagavanirktok’s footsteps fell silent and it was just his own paws leaving imprints in the snow, the shifter refused to stop for roughly one hour more, until he was positive that the foe pursuing him had been left behind. He finally relaxed his jaws, teeth sunk deep into his stolen prize the entire chase, and paused to inspect the damage that had been done to his back leg. Geeze... It would definitely scar, but luckily for him the slashes received from the bear’s claws didn’t seem to be too deep. A little unsightly right now, with that blood doing a good job of staining his white fur and the snow, but otherwise fine. It would make traveling a bit slower, but the bleeding would eventually stop as long as he went easy on it and allowed it some time to heal. Besides, he had three other legs to rely on. He would be fine.

Speaking of travel...

Casting a look behind him to confirm that he wasn’t being followed, Cototz gave a small, albeit slight pained, smirk. He didn’t have to sleep out in the cold just yet. That forest to the east, occupied by his new... friend... wasn’t the only one out there. There was also a small stretch of woods to the north of these plains, another prospective shelter from the snow. As much as he hated traveling north... If he pushed on for just a few more hours, he could make it there and wait out the rest of this damned storm, however long it wanted to last. And there would be no need to immediately go out and hunt - after all, he had some food in him now and this stolen hunk of meat. He could doze off all he wanted to and relax, once he made it up there and found somewhere to hide out.

Settled on this new plan of his, Cototzhuaqui began his long march north, eager to find a proper spot to rest. The shifter couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, a rumble deep in his chest, pleased despite the danger he had wormed his way out of just a while ago.

Was he a “spineless pup”? Sure, why not. It suited him just fine.