A Grizzly Situation

Winston decides to sit near the trunk of the tree that Emilia was resting in. Feeling comfortable and secure, he decides to close his eyes, keeping his ears focused on his sister in case she tries to take off suddenly. Winston starts to feel drowsy and yawns a few times before unintentionally falling asleep.

Emilia wakes with a start as she hears nearby rustling. She looks around for her brothers but the only one she spots is Winston. She jumps out of the tree with ease and looks at her brother's face. Seeing that he's sound asleep, she decides to go investigate the rustling she had.

Emilia shifts and sniffs the air, catching an unknown scent. Her curiosity gets the better of her as she quickens her pace and follows the foreign smell. She goes from a sprint to a full on run as she searches for the source.

Running wildly in pursuit, Emilia skids to a halt. Unable to stop herself in time, she crashes harshly into the back of a large grizzly bear. The bear turns towards her, growling angrily.

Emilia freezes with terror. She had never met such a large grizzly, let alone any bear. Unsure of what to do, she cowers down as the bear stands on its hind legs and moves its front paws to go in for a swipe with its sharp claws.

Just in the nick of time, a blur of grey fur pushes Emilia out of the way. The shove snaps Emilia out of her trance and she stands up. The bear snarls in annoyance and begins rushing in her direction, remembering her training, Emilia uses the strength of her hind legs to push herself into the air.

She uses the momentum to jump onto the bear's back and sinks her fangs into its scruff. The grizzly winces and tries to shake off its assailant but to no avail. Emilia uses her claws to dig into the bear's back, angering it further.

The bear rushes towards a nearby tree and uses it to slam Emilia, making her release her grip and fall onto the ground. Before the grizzly is able to make another move, the grey blur returns and body slams the bear away from Emilia.

Emilia tilts her head to look at the one who saved her twice now. The savior was moving so quickly that Emilia couldn't tell what or who it was. She shakes her head and jumps back into the brawl, now isn't the time to worry about small details.

Emilia and her unknown helper battle it out with the large grizzly, nipping and clawing it all over in an attempt to make it give up. She sinks her canines into its left ear and pulls as hard she can. The bear winces in pain and flings Emilia off of its back. Finally giving up, the bear growls one last time before fleeing into the forest.

Emilia stands triumphantly and spits out the bear's fur from her mouth. Temporarily forgetting about the mysterious grey blur, she hops around in circles with happiness at her victory. This was her first real fight and she actually won!

An amused snicker to her left causes Emilia to pause and snap her head in the direction of the sound. Her eyes widen in shock as spots the grey wolf from the day before. She immediately moves into a defensive stance and snarls at the other wolf.

The grey wolf snorts in disbelief at how quickly Emilia had forgotten that they were just fighting as comrades. Emilia, fully embarrassed, sits down and sniffs the air. 'So it's a male and he's definitely not from our pack but doesn't smell like a rogue either.' She thinks to herself as she watches the male warily.

The male wolf studies Emilia for a moment before standing up with a grunt. He waves his tail in the air as if saying goodbye and then sprints off into the woods.

Emilia tilts her head, confused why he had left without attempting to talk. Her ears prick up as she hears a sudden thumping of anxious footsteps heading in her direction. Without hesitation, Emilia quickly shifts and hides any evidence of what had occurred in the small clearing.

Winston comes hurdling into the clearing and looks around frantically. When he spots his little sister, he releases a sigh of relief and starts interrogating her.

"Where were you? Why did you take off by yourself like that without a word?! Are you okay? Did anything happen?? Why the hell did you leave without at least waking me?! That's it, forget it! Our little deal is off!" He huffs angrily.

"What?! Come on Win, don't be like this. I didn't do it on purpose. I got woke up by a weird noise and went to investigate before running into a stupid bear." Emilia whines.

"A bear?! What do you mean you ran into a bear?! Are you okay?? Where is it now?" Winston asks in a panic. Emilia sighs and slaps her brother. "Bear is gone. I…ran away when I saw it because I knew it would be too much for me to take on alone. I lost it in the woods." She explains calmly, trying her hardest to hide the truth.

Winston thinks and checks his sister for injuries, once satisfied he sighs, "Alright, I won't cancel our deal. Just… don't make me regret it please. And don't tell anyone else about this whole thing, especially not Cedric."

Emilia hugs her brother gratefully. "I promise it won't happen again and I won't tell a soul about it." She says excitedly. Her brother eyes her one last time before turning around.

"Well, let's get going before we're late." He says with a wink. Emilia tilts her but decides not to ask and walks alongside her brother as they head to their next destination.

The siblings walk in a comfortable silence as they head back home. Emilia replaying the events with the grey wolf over and over in her head. Winston cheerfully thinking about all of the food that they were about to feast on and the party they had planned for Em afterwards.