A sharp encounter

Skrunkly felt odd. He couldn't really put a paw on it, the night had been pretty restful and quiet, he didn't even have to get up to pee. But there had been something strange, something that seemed to suck his energy away. He tried to remember if he had dreamt anything that had stirred his mind and made him feel that way but nothing came to his mind. There was more a feeling of... emptiness?
Trying to shake off the weird feeling he got ready for the day and thought about what he wanted to do for the day. It was pretty warm so taking a nice bath in one of the small forest ponds might be a good idea! He packed a towel and some snacks and left home to get on his way. As soon as he reached the forest the fur at the back of his neck started to stand up though. It was a sunny day, the bright green leaves were rustling in the wind, the perfect idyllic picture. Something was missing though. Skrunkly walked on, looking around the big and sturdy trees. Bird songs. There were no bird songs. Skrunkly swallowed, steeling himself. The towel hanging around him felt heavier, his bag like a hindrance in case he needed to run. The atmosphere was all wrong. A part of him wanted to turn around but his sense of duty didn't let him. If something really was wrong then he needed to try and fix it.

It didn't take long for him to stumble upon one of these wrong things. He heard a deep growl followed by an angry scream. The sounds weren't that far away. The growling continued and it sounded wet, like an animal baring their teeth and salivating while the warning came out of its throat. Skrunkly didn't know what kind of animal it was but it sounded large. Another scream cut through the air and this one shocked him into action. He started walking again, fast but not running, trying to be as quiet as possible while getting closer. He had to get through some thicker bushes and past trees before he caught glimpses of brown fur. The scent of blood was in the air and Skrunkly was being caught by a wave of fear and dread. His legs wanted to stop but his determination kept him going. The scene in front of him finally came into full view.

A big brown bear was standin on its hind legs, making itself big and growled, saliva dripping down its teeth. Across from it was a wild boar with a scratch wound on its side. Skrunkly looked back to the bear and saw some blood on its right prank. The boar didn't want to retreat though, despite being wounded it let out another angry scream and stormed forward. The board was fast but the big bulky bear couldn't be rammed away, it caught the boars attack and slammed at it, making the boar fly against a nearby tree and crumpling down on the ground.

Skrunkly felt cold. This wasn't right. Territorial animals were known to protect their own region, but this didn't seem like that. This just seemed like senseless fighting. His heart was beating fast, blood rushing through his body. He had to do something. Whatever was happening to these felt wrong wrong wrong. The boars eyes were big and bulging, the bears chest was heaving way too quickly, breath going so fast that it was almost hyperventilating. The wrongness had caught them.

The bear roared again and seemingly had enough of just standing there and defending itself. It landed back on all of it paws and stalked forward, hot breath and saliva coming from its mouth. The boar was still laying on the ground and trying to get enough energy to get up. It would probably not stand a chance. Skrunkly rushed forward.
"STOP!"
Despite the call, he didn't get the attention of the bear. It was too far gone, only concentrated on his enemy and soon to be victim.
"Stop!"
Skrunkly flew forwards and put himself between the two. He opened his bag and stuck his paw inside, rummaging around until he found the peppermint candies he had packed. He took a handful and did the insane thing of getting closer to the bears mouth and throwing them in. The bear recoiled from the sharp taste, shaking itself and closing it's eyes as if that would take the pain away. While the bear was distracted Skrunkly did the same thing to the boar, the animal screaming as the peppermint assaulted its tongue. It must not be pleasant but after a good minute the sharp taste seemed to dissolve and both animals calmed down, seeming totally exhausted. Whatever had gotten into them seemed to have gone away, fought by the struggle from inbetween. For the moment at least.