I slowed down when I felt like I ran a bit further deep in the forest. It had been a while since I last saw a white mark, so now that I thought about it, I wondered if I just didn’t notice. I looked around the forest lane, seeing nothing but trees and bushes.
"Where are Ivo and the twins?" I murmured, thinking that I didn’t hear them after coming deep into the forest. Was it because they thought they can catch up imdiately? How could they kill my confidence that way?
I sighed at the thought, considering running back to where they were. But just as I turned around to return to where I ca from, I looked back with furrowed brows.
"Who’s there?" I asked while looking around. "Is there soone there?"
Ivo and the twins told about this forest. Although it was safe, there was still sothing that was lurking further beneath. I believed I didn’t go that far to reach the hazard zone they warned about. Also, the voice I was hearing sounded like they needed help.
"Hello?" I treaded carefully to the cry I was hearing, planting my palm on the trees. I didn’t notice I was going deeper while following the source of the cry.
It grew louder at every step until I froze. The cry was still there, but along with it were low snarls. There, ahead of , was a gigantic black bear looking back at with hostility. It had a huge scar across its one eye, moving its paw forward while growling.
My eyes fell on the blood underneath it and the cub behind it. My breath hitched, sensing that it was sizing up and was ready to pounce on at any second. With how huge it was — bigger than Tito in his wolf form — it would crush and kill instantly, even before it could tear my limbs apart.
"I..." I trailed off, setting my eyes at the cub behind it. That cub was the one who called for . I shifted my eyes on the black bear and the blood that was dripping down its paw. That was the cub’s mother. It was wounded, and this stance was to protect its cub.
"I didn’t co here to harm you," I said in a soft voice, taking a careful step forward but stopped at its growl. With my hand up in front of , I sported a weak smile.
"You’re hurt. Your baby is crying and worried. I will just take a look at you —" I jumped back when the mother bear gnarled loudly. This sohow reminded of when I t Hugo in that forest years ago. The situation was the sa and the only difference was that this was a bear.
Ivo had told an interesting story in Belcoot about werewolves and bears. Apparently, the bears beyond the northern borders were more like demonic creatures. It was said that bears were strong and could defeat an entire pack of wolves. But I couldn’t sense any evilness from these bears.
To , it was hostile just to protect its cub despite that it was heavily injured. I felt my heart clenched, balling my hand into a fist as I took another step.
"Your cub... how will you protect it if you are dead?" I asked in a low tone, suppressing the tears that were tempting to fall from my eyes. "I ca here because it was crying."
I didn’t know why my heart was in so much pain at what I was seeing, but that didn’t matter. I mustered my courage and took another step forward, eyes on the black bear.
Seeing that it wasn’t lowering its guard, I raised my hand. "See? I’m unard. I just want to take a look at your wound and call for help. I promise I will not harm you or your child." My brows elevated as I smiled desperately.
"Please..."
But to no avail. When I took another step, the black bear growled at . It was pointless. It doesn’t trust despite its current state. To my surprise, a mont later, the cub walked over and stood in front of its mother. The latter was still letting out a low snarl as if scolding the cub.
But the cub was unfazed until the two of them just looked at each other intensely. I kept quiet, darting my eyes while they argued.
"Please listen to him," I pleaded along with the cub, clutching my hand close to my chest. My shoulder tensed up when the black bear raised its gaze on . It sized up once again before it walked back and lied down under a fallen tree.
A smile dominated my face as I looked at the cub. It was smiling back at , and I heaved a sigh of relief. Despite that, I approached them carefully.
"Can I take a look at your wound?" I asked, stopping at arm’s length while squatting down. The cub snuggled at its mother’s paw, looking back at worriedly. Since it didn’t show hostility anymore, I walked closer and noticed the claw marks across its black fur.
The claw was huge, more like the bear inflicted it after an intense battle. Did it fight another bear? Also, the wound was too deep and I could tell it had been bleeding by the traces of blood around. It needed imdiate help.
"I will press on your wound to stop the bleeding, alright?" I gave it a heads up, raising my hand to plant on it. I stopped midway when it glared at , but the cub huffed. I smiled at it as thanks and continued to press my palm on it.
"How did you get this injury?" I wondered, looking around to find sothing that could be an alternative to my hand. I couldn’t just press on the wound because I needed to run back to get help. "Baby, can you watch over your mother while I look for so leaves to bandage her?"
The cub looked up at before walking near my hand. It looked adorable when it snuggled above its mother, but I didn’t have too much ti to adore it.
"Thank you. I will co back, hmm?" I smiled and sprung up, walking away in a hurry. However, just as I did, I looked back with furrowed brows.
"What do you an, leave you alone and take your child with ?" I asked while grinding my teeth. "Just wait for here, alright? I will get so help. Stop being stubborn."
I didn’t like what the mother bear told , but that fueled my determination to help. So I rushed and collected large leaves to stand as a bandage. Maybe it was the adrenaline that I acted fast enough, hugging everything I could find useful and running back to where I left them.
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