Technically, it wasn't as if Nike had a choice. The crown prince called for volunteers. She was not only his commander and his bodyguard, she was also his best friend. On the one hand, she was honor bound to go if only to watch his back. On the other hand, she was never going to say no to what technically was a friend's request for help.

So there she was, twenty year's young, newly inducted into her position as head of guard duty and at what was basically a hunt to kill. Now, see there was one tiny problem. People usually hunted with bows. Artemis and her hunters were reknown to be good with bow and arrow, and their aim was deadly. Nike was... deadly, that for sure she was. She was a military officer, she had to be deadly or she would be dead.

Deadly with a bow and arrow? Now that was a questionable topic. Nike had trained her whole life with hand to hand combat, her dagger or her longsword. These were perfectly legit weapons which had kept her alive in her last six or seven years in the military, on top of her skills in speed and cunning. Nike had had to have earned her reputation as a commander somehow.

On a hunt? That, she wasn't too sure. But the commander was nothing if not willing to try.

She had grabbed a few extra, smaller throwing daggers - at the very least, her aim was true when it came to throwing, as long as it didn't involve a bow. The smaller ones she slotted on the belt around her waist, the one that held her tunic and pants against her body, but left loose material at her chest. Her usual dagger was slid in to her right boot as usual - Nike was unwilling to use that unless situations was dire. On her back, was the sheath to her longsword. The weapon in question was currently in her hand as she gave it one last lookover to ensure she had thoroughly polished and sharpened it, before the woman finally took a deep breathe, and swung it over her head to slid it back in to its sheath strapped on her back. It's now or never.

Time to hunt for a bear.

When his friend and the Prince of Colchis, Vangelis, calls, of course Lazaros will answer. He had called out to all those capable to help to rid Lyncea of a horrible beast and because he would want the same if Almosis was having an issue with something as well. To Lazaros, standing united as one made sense to him. However, this might just be the commander in him.

It did not take him long to have himself in his armor and grabbing his longsword and sheild. Sure, this was not a 'war' thing and he could probably dress differently, however, his armor seemed the most justified in fighting a wild beast whom has removed the legs of men. Just the thought of losing a limb sent chills down Lazaros's spine. Yes, even he got an uneasy feeling just thinking that going and helping find and kill the beast could also have much dire outcomes. But alas, he could not think of such things. He was going because he felt it his duty as both a soldier but also as a man who would ask for such help if it was his home, his family at risk.

Lazaros rode hard to reach Lyncea, to the forest entrance where the group of the few brave people would meet and gather themselves to take down the beast. As he neared, his steed covered in sweat from the trek, he finally saw a few figures near the tree line. As he expected, not many had shown. I did not surprise the commander in the slightest however. With the risk weighing much more than the reward, he only expected to see the most daring and those most loyal to the Prince. As he got closer, Laz saw just who was there. Nike, another commander and the bodyguard to the crowned prince himself and Timaeus, a fellow militant and from one of the noble houses here in Colchis.

He rode up to the two of them and slowed his horse, sliding from his back. The ebony steed stood proud, glistening with sweat but still proud, his nostrils flaring and his breath quick. He was a warhorse and was used to being on long strenuous journeys. A ride like this was not something he was not used to. Patting the stallion, Lazaros turned to his company, "E'lo." He gave his normal greeting and a nod to each. Both men he had come to know in one way or another.

The first to arrive after Nike was a young lad - could he be more then a teenager, really? When the sixteen year old and shown up with a longsword and his supplies, Nike had been half-pressed to ask him to turn around and return home from whence he had came from. For a moment, Nike forgot that at sixteen, she too was training with weapons and thrown in a war, and all she could see was the young boy all eager and filled with young bravado. Until she had watched him scrabble his way up a fairly tall rock and perched there like he was a bird of sorts.

A small smile had appeared on Nike's face then, but was distracted when another soon loomed on the forest entrance - a commander Nike knew to be named as Lazaros. He was one of the few who, while had not seen kindly to Nike upon the early days of promotion, would eventually be a friend in later days. Nike had fought hard and long to prove her worth even despite her size being of no comparision to the rest in her campaign. Lazaros was a friend to whom Nike greeted in return with a smile and a nod of her own.

Turning around, the woman used her teeth to snag the leather band off her wrist, quick to wind it around her hair. She tied up her locks which had grown longer then she'd like, making a mental note to have it cut again once she could return to Midas after this hunt. Winding it so the knot was tight and her hair would not get in her way as she hunted, she finished just as the sound of hoofbeats made her turn again, smiling when she saw Vangelis approaching. Grabbing the leather breastplate that would form the last part of her clothing for the day, the woman strapped up, tying them where the straps were.

The gruff words from the general were not unexpected. Six years in his campaign and she knew better then to expect flowery words of gratitude and expressions of thanks from him. He was a man of action, and of little word. But she has come to know how to read his actions well. It was perhaps that very reason that allowed Nike to react well as she fought by him, as well as ensure he stayed out of danger's way just by keeping an eye over him.

And like him, she too had picked up on his habit. With one last nod at Lazaros and the young Timaeus, Nike unsheathed her own longsword, and with watchful eyes and careful steps, the woman commander followed behind Vangelis's lead into the forest.

The cold was biting, even with the multiple layers they had on, but winter was perhaps the most comfortable season in which someone like Nike functioned. Having to perpetually wear her bindings beneath her clothings, unlike her male comrades, the commander could never take off her shirt in the hot summer months. Therefore, the woman was always thankful for the cold of winter, and the crisp air invigorated her as they trekked on their way through the Zofos forests, alert for any sign of movement.

By all logical sense, the bear should be hibernating by now. As to why the creature was up and around terrorizing the people of Lyncaea, that was the question that was likely on everyone's heads.

But that was why they were here.

Her booted feet crunched the frozen ground, and she was thankful the heavy footwear gave her a firm grip on the otherwise slippery ground. The rocky terrain was tough to navigate in softer shoes, but the military trained woman had cut her teeth on rough and rocky terrain. Trudging along, she drew to a stop when the pathway diverged to two. One led to higher ground, where weather got colder and the trees would thin out. Should they take that route, it would definitely be easier to spy their quarry without all the dense foliage blocking their sight.

On the other route, was one that led down instead. From where they stood, the hunters could possibly already hear the rush of the streams from uphill going downwards. Presented with two choices, Nike's brows furrowed as she quickly calculated their chances with either or, the same way her brain quickly made decisions on a wartorn battlefield.

"Down." she murmured, a suggestion to the remainder of the hunters. Her eyes gave a look around, before she explained. "The bear is supposed to be hibernating - but it isn't. However, it would still seek warmer places, and a bear tends to make its den in hollow trees." Using the tip of her sword, Nike pointed it at the tall trees and the upward pathway. "If we head up, the weather will be colder, the currents stronger - no condition a bear in winter would face." Nike did nothing without giving it though first, and it showed in the careful way she explained her decision, and watched for the rest of the hunters decisions before trudging onwards to their chosen pathway.

As the last few members of the hunting party arrived at the meeting spot with Nike and Tim, the young boy slid off the rock to hurriedly follow them into the woods, taking up the rear. His eyes drifted to the blond commander, Lazaros, who he was also familiar with, but it was only vaguely. The boy knew that like him, his family was of noble blood and if he remembered correctly Laz was the heir to his household. Though he wasn’t too sure on that. Nicomedes was the one who was good at remembering all the names and ranks of the Colchian nobility. It was just Timaeus’s job as the younger Valaoritis to know the Men of the Heights. One brother handled the politics, one handled the military. It was a simple system and what allowed the sixteen-year-old to already be a captain in his own right.

He trailed behind the rest of the group as they made their way into the forest, staying quiet until he felt as if his opinion could be of some use when the paths diverged into two different options.

“He’s right,” Tim said, supporting Nike’s decision as the group’s de facto expert on winters in the mountain worked, “There’s no way it would be spending his time up on the mountain when what it needs is down here.” Although Tim didn’t say it aloud, the implication hung in the air. There were no established communities up the mountain and no easy sources of food, the probable reason as to why this bear was causing everyone so much trouble in the first place. It would probably stick closer to where the humans were.

However, there was another concern that the boy had with the group hiking up the mountain. “The air is also a lot thinner up there. It’ll be hard to breathe.” He said simply as he eyed the larger, more muscular men of the group, “The cold only makes it worse.” If the group had to travel upwards, the teen expected that Laz and Vang would take the worse hit from the change thanks to the fact that they probably needed the most oxygen. As foolishly brave-hearted as Tim was, he still recognized that the pair of them would be the might behind this endeavor. It would be best for everyone if they avoided situations that may weaken them if they wanted the best chances of actually taking this bear down.

With that being said and not really being patient enough to wait for the others to toss in their opinions too, Timaeus moved past Nike and the others to the rock path that sloped downwards. He expected that the others would follow suit given that half the party was openly in agreement, but as soon as Tim took the first step, a little nagging doubt crept into his mind.

“Careful,” He called back as he cautiously kept walking down, eyes glued to his feet, “There’s ice.”

The rock path was absolutely covered in it, slowing the group down as they all focused on making sure they could have some sort of traction and stability on their descent. Luckily the path was lined with little saplings and other low hanging branches they all grabbed to steady themselves. For the most part, the journey down was silent, save for the occasional hitch of someone’s breath as their boots slipped and the rustling of branches as they clutched to whatever was in reach. Tim needed to do this himself a few more times than he would care to admit, his cheeks growing red not from the bitter cold, but the perceived embarrassment that came with each frantic grab. He was a child of the mountains. Rough terrains and sloping descents were in his blood. But ice? That was something he wasn’t as sure-footed with and it bothered him. It dug under his skin and it mocked him. Tim already knew he was probably going to be the weak link on this team because of his age and his lack of experience compared to the two commanders and the general. He had seen the slightly annoyed look in Nike’s eyes. He didn’t his slipping feet to confirm what he knew the commander had been thinking; that he had no business here. He would prove that notion wrong, just you wait.

In an ironic twist, thanks to his accidental focus on the volatile thoughts swarming in his head, Tim stopped paying as close attention to where he was stepping. So, it wasn’t a surprise that once the teen reached a point where the rocks began to curve, moving to wind along a steep hillside rather than just heading down, he didn’t think to avoid a clearly thicker ice sheet. If he had been paying attention, he would have realized it would be impossible for him to find any sort of traction on it.

But he didn’t notice these things.

Not until it was too late.

The moment he stepped down onto the ice, his foot slipped out from underneath him. Knocking him off balance, Timaeus tumbled backward with a strangled gasp of shock. Luckily for him and the group, he fell at an angle away from the rough stones as well as the people behind him. Instead of causing a bunch of reverse dominos with his fall, he only briefly brushed against the person directly behind him, Nike, before landing on the thick snow next to the path.

No harm, no foul, right?

Wrong.

What Tim and the rest of the group didn’t realize that this part of the mountain must have had a recent frost that settled on the snow beneath it, creating a thick icy-crust-like layer on top that glittered like a polished gem that would continue down the large hill. A surface hoar. Back home, this was the kind of conditions children wanted for their sledding games as the surface was slick and the impressions left by their descents would be minimal. There was no getting stuck or slowing down with this kind of snow. It was ideal for them, but it was the last thing Tim wanted as he found himself now suddenly flying down the slope… as if this couldn’t get any more embarrassing.

On the way down, his arms scrambled out for the small trees he passed and luckily missed, but he zoomed by them too quickly for them to slow his descent. It was all a blur until it petered out at the bottom and he found himself caught by a pile of exposed leaves and soft moss, protected by the snow from the overhang of a cave entrance.

With a small groan of pain, Tim pushed himself onto his elbows, now very aware of how the fabric on his back was now soaked through, drawing a few shivers from the boy. Beyond that though, he seemed to be unhurt. Thank Zeus, he silently thought to himself as he pulled himself to his feet and started to pick off the stray bits of leaves that had clung to him. Glancing back up the mountain, he could see the clear figures of Vang and Laz, still on the hillside… but where was Nike?

A small noise drew his attention to the other side of the leaf pile where he could see the commander, just as dazed as he was, “Commander Nike,” He said to grab his attention as he moved over to them and helped his comrade to their feet, “Are you alright?” Physically they seemed fine, but Tim knew that they probably weren’t out of the woods yet.

After all, how were they going to get back up to the others?

While the commander pulled himself up off the ground, Tim glanced back up at the two members of their hunting party still up on the hillside. Knowing that it would take the two of them a bit of trouble to get back up them. So was it worth possibly waving them down, especially since the two at the bottom of the hill had an easy landing?

The two of them were bigger than Tim and Nike, so there was a greater chance that they could get hurt if they decided to take a tumble down like they had a moment earlier. It also didn’t hurt that one of the two safe people was the crown prince. If Timaeus called them down and he hit his head on some tree or rock… well, it wouldn’t be the bear’s hide Laz and Nike would be leaving the woods with. No, it was much safer if they stayed up there for the time being. Plus there were plenty of caves in the area, it wouldn’t make sense to risk injury over this one, no matter how deep it seemed to be as Tim heard the distance drip-drip-drip of water falling from a distance away made louder by the cave’s echo. It just wasn’t worth it to him.

Though, would they listen to a captain much younger than the rest of them?

Cupping his hands over his mouth, the boy called up to the others, “Wait up there! We’ll take a look around and then make our way back up.” He motioned towards the cave, hoping that the men understood that he wanted him and Nike to take a look around and see if there was any sign of this bear they were chasing after. Bears liked caves, right? If there were some sort of signs like scat or footprints, that may tell the group that they were heading in the right direction.

Though, it may just bring them face to face with a hibernating bear.

Or even worse… they could run into the bear.

But even still it seemed to be the best decision. If the two of them got hurt, well it wasn’t like they were the heirs to kingdoms and baronies. Their loss wouldn’t be as devastating. So, turning to Nike with a small shrug he shrugged his supply bag off of his shoulder and pulled out a half-burned torch, it much easier to carry one in than to fashion one on the fly, and a small flint stone. “May I?” He said asking for one of the throwing daggers at Nike’s side, which they handed over to the teen.

With a few strikes of the stone, a small flame danced at the end of the torch. The pair now had a viable light source. That would make searching this cave so much easier. “Thanks.” He said, passing the knife back before he readjusted the bag back over his shoulder.

The orange light illuminated the kid’s face and made the sense of adventure in his eyes seem just a bit brighter. “Wanna go see if we can find signs of this bear?” He asked as he turned to Nike, but the clear sense of glee in his voice made it clear that regardless of what he said, he was going in.

The speaking of the sixteen year old surprised the commander, who turned to him, and then gave a satisfied smile, almost like a teacher watching a student getting the right answer. Nike had not meant to undermine the younger one, the Gods knew she knew exactly how it felt like being the one who other's thought to be a deadweight to a team effort. But perhaps her worries for their younger member was misplaced, for he seemed knowledgeable, if a little over eager. Nodding in support of the other's words, what she had not expect was for Timaeus to skip forward, much to her surprise.

With the slippery grounds and uncertain terrain, Nike was quick to follow, unsure of what would happen to the other should he be left bounding ahead like an overeager buck. His warning came as no surprise, considering the cold weather that was turning colder by the hour.

Her muscles tensed as she more or less grinded her feet to the ground with every step, almost forcing the grip to hold in her heavy boots, breaking the ice in certain parts. One hand holding her sword, the other sought out tree trunks and branches for firmer hold - she was a commander and a smart tactician, but she was no egoistical fool who thought she would be able to navigate the icy grounds without some assistance or hold. The commander moved as fast as she could, trying to keep the young boy in view as he got to the rocky bend of the downhill climb.

What she had not expected was for the boy to fall back, knocking the hand she had held out to catch him off, and in the process knocking off her whole center of gravity. Nike fell backwards, grunting when her shoulder hit a particularly frozen patch of ice, before she found herself sliding all the way down, at a speed too quick to catch hold of anything.Not that she could, with the odd angle her shoulder had taken a hit.

By the time her world had stopped whizzing past her at an alarming speed, the commander's mind cleared enough for her to realize that for one, she was now damp and shivering, the extra cloth beneath her leather vest and bracers seeping with the dampness. For another, her shoulder now throbbed, although thank goodness it was not her sword-wielding arm. Even so, to have one shoulder out of comission probably did not bid well for them, and as the commander groaned and shook her head, she winced as she tried to lay weight on the throbbing shoulder, only to fail.

Making a mental note to keep off that one, Nike turned when she heard a voice, and a small part of her mind heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the teen peering at her and moving over with his question. She nodded, shifting so she now sat upright instead of face down in the pile of leaves they had fallen in. With one glance, it was clear that they had fallen into some sort of cave, and thankfully as Nike looked, the other two did not face the same fate as they did. With her mind still spinning as it tried to block out her shoulder's odd angle, she did not react as Timaeus told the others to wait, and left it as that. The commander agreed with his judgement anyway - it was better for the other two to stay up, for who knew what was in this cave? Had Lazaros and Vangelis came down, they would all be in an unknown area with no way out.

Besides, they were looking for a bear. And this was a cave.

With a final groan, Nike pushed herself off the ground, grabbing her sword and pushing it back in its sheath with a flinch as her shoulder shifted again. When asked, Nike merely pulled out one of the smaller throwing knives and handed it to the younger one, grinning as he used it as a flint. Deftly catching the knife back, Nike slotted it in its place again, chuckling at the way the teen seem to seek for adventure. He was alright, a sort who wanted to work hard and eager to prove himself, if a tad young and green around the edges. Someone who Nike would watch out for in all honesty, because he'd be someone she wouldn't like to see dying.

Nodding, she winced again as she rolled her shoulder, before motioning her head in a way that showed she would be right behind him. "Let's go."