Learning Experience

To those of you who have never seen a bear, they are huge! I'm talking like a smart car sized 500lbs of muscle and teeth. Now, to those of you who have seen bears, whether in the wild or in the zoo, I can tell you it isn't the same when that 500lb death machine is throwing itself through a bush with hate in its eyes. To say the least, I wasn't exactly on my toes or expecting the local wildlife to give a visit. When that bear came through the brush, I tripped over my own feet and landed on the ground right in front of the thing.

Glen reacted better, he managed to clear the path of destruction and ducked off to the bear's right. He looked professionally calm, though he was startled by the sudden appearance of the beast. His right hand had darted to his thigh, I'd assume to go for a pistol or knife of some sort, but there wasn't one to be found, so he took a few steps back.

Thinking about it, I've never heard of bears being this quiet. Sure, I've heard of them getting pretty close to people out in the wild, but this thing didn't make a sound till it was at most 10 feet from our group. I'd expect Glen or Nigel to have noticed it earlier than that.

Speaking of, Nigel reacted the best out of us, he's jumped clear of the bear's swing, apparently he looked the most appetizing. He ducked into a short roll where he landed, but he was up on his feat a heartbeat later. He seemed surprised, and that in itself was a cause for concern. This bear had to be more than meets the eye.

John took the sudden furry not-so-friend just a little better than I did. He hadn't fallen, but his eyes had a good deal of fear in them. I guess he's more confident with people than pets. His frantic movements and general fear seemed to have gotten the bear's attention, even though I was closer. Maybe it was the shouting he was doing.

"What the hell?! Does this beast really think it could attack me like that!"

Johnathan put out his hand, and a holographic screen, this one blue like you'd expect, appeared out of his silver ring. It was full of text and images, and I was having no luck trying to look through it backwards.

"That won't work-"

John cut Nigel off, shocker I know.

"Why isn't it working, there's no way they knew where I kept it!"

The bear had enough waiting, it started marching towards John, and it was growling, low and guttural. It seemed mad, or hungry. I don't think the specific's matter, it was definitely after John.

"One of you lot! Do something! This beast seems to think I'll be its lunch."

Glen concentrated for a second, and a small flicker of fire began dancing in his palm. He put his hand out towards the bear, very wizard like, closed his eyes, and finished his magic. The flame danced away from his palm, like a butterfly, and landed harmlessly onto a nearby stone, sputtering out a half second later. The caster opened his eyes, looking surprisingly nervous, and was immediately confused.

"You aren't putting enough in it Glen! You need more oof! With that much magic it wouldn't do anything even if it hit!"

The bear roared when it noticed the flame, maybe it was scared? Whatever the reason, it chose to charge towards John, and he panicked. He curled himself into a ball, a sight you didn't expect to see from the normally refined man.

"Oh, what good will that do?"

Nigel moved, faster than I've seen anyone move before, only a moment after the bear lunged. As the beast swung it's paw at John, Nigel tackled the larger man to the ground, earning himself a deep gash in the shoulder from where the bear nicked him.

"Agh! He didn't hit me! I think this isn't an ordinary bear."

Some things were starting to add up. Nigel might be smarter than me now, but I pride myself on my crossword solving skills. Aside from crosswords though, it wasn't much of a puzzle because of what I know. The bear was using air magic. How else would it's claws reach beyond their own form invisibly? How could it move so silently that a trained soldier didn't notice it until it meant to be noticed? What else would it be?

But that begs another question, animals here have magic?!?

"Get off of me! I'll deal with this beast, I just needed a moment to prepare, that's all!"

John shoved Nigel away as Glen began channeling another, larger flame into his hand. Despite John's brave words, he still looked as scared as a cat standing up to a dog. Sweat dripped down his face, and his eyes betrayed his emotions. The bear noticed too, and roared again as it moved towards him and the wounded Nigel. John raised his hand again, but this time he didn't try to use whatever trick he tried before, this time he tried to rely on his magic.

"Hm. I don't really like you."

A woman was suddenly standing between John and the bear, though the bear seemed frozen in place somehow, it's eyes darting around in a panic. Her black hair fell past her chest, shimmering with a red of some sort that highlighted the inside of her hairstyle, bordering her rather... Impressive figure. The buttoned shirt she wore seemed almost too tight, and the jacket over that was open because it wouldn't fit closed. Her light blue eyes shone with a subtle anger, but a surprising curiosity. Her mouth was set in a firm line, and she seemed rather thoughtful.

"Whoever you are, I'm not some tool, and I happen to be quite fond of animals like this one, they remind me of someone special to my master."

"I thought-"

"It doesn't matter what you think, you asked for my help, I'm doing this my way. I'm not killing this thing for you, but I'll give you time to get out of the way before I release it again."

"Listen here-"

"No. You're running low on mana, I'd recommend you leave the talking for later."

John, his fear suddenly renewed, stumbled to one side, leaving Nigel where he lay.

"Wow. Are you that cowardly or do you just have no heart? I guess that's just how you are though, not that it matters much, you'll be dead within a week if you don't have this one's help."

The woman disappears, as quickly as she came, and the bear unfreezes.

And it's claws rush towards the vulnerable Nigel. I guess it's time I pulled my weight, huh?

I pull on that power in my gut again, but there isn't much left. This must be what he meant when Nigel said I used too much, it's like I'm trying to fill my pot with a broken faucet. I might get a few drops, but it won't be anything like a garden hose. But I'll need to use what I have regardless, and a little bit of intuition.

I shape the power, what little there is, into the spell I plan to use. The fire in my thoughts burns to life, literally. My head is pounding, and it feels like someone set my back alight, but all the same the spell rushes out from my hand and onto the ground, a trail of fire rushes across the ground between me and the bear, weaves its way through the beast's feet, and rushes up into a wall between it and Nigel.

The bear roared in fear and agony, the wind around it's claws feeding the fire as it's paw dove into the sudden rush of flames. It drew back, away from the wall, and directly towards me.

I didn't think this one all the way through.

"James don't-"

I reach again for the power in my gut, and if the last time was a broken faucet, then this is a dry well. I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this spell, huh? At least it's a little less complicated than last time. The spell takes form in my mind, a wall of fire again, just in front of me this time, but unlike the one I used for Nigel, this spell makes my mind flash white with a fiery pain, and as the spell begins to leave me, I can feel the mana around me forcing its way into my arms and through me to the spell. I guess the well really was dry.

As the spell finally finished, after what felt like an eternity, the wall of fire, not much of one, just a little foot high line, stood between me and the bear. It really wouldn't be much of a defense if the white fur coated car decided to break through it, but it seemed to deter it enough.

I could see Glen working another spell, his face contorted in concentration, and another flicker of flame dancing in his hands. He hadn't thrown it yet, so I can only imagine he is still working on it.

"I can't just let that woman call me a coward, now, can I?"

John speaks up, loudly, getting the beasts attention again. He's standing with more confidence now, his hand outstretched, the back of it shining a blue light against his face.

"Hm. You're a proud one, but I'm not one to judge."

This time, what stood in front of John wasn't something you could even mistake as a human. In front of the tall man, stood a beast that dwarfed even the bear. An 8 foot tall monster, standing like any human, but layered in muscle so much the ground sunk beneath him. He had the face and paws of a lion, but with a coat of pure white fur, much like the beast he now faced. The mane around his head was a bright red, covered his head much like a man's shaggy long hair and beard. His cat-like eyes had no color, just white to an enlarged black iris and pupil. His muscles rippled beneath his fur, and he wore nothing but a loincloth and cloth wrappings around his wrists and ankles.

Well, except for the plates of bone starting from his right shoulder and following the back of his arm to end in a spike as long as half his height, held to his forearm like you'd expect a shield be strapped. The massive weight of the thing barely seemed to even offset his balance, as he stared down the bear.

"So, I'm to assume this is the thing you wanted dead?"

"If you'd be so kind."

"Save the false face, I can see what you think of me."

The Lion faced monster lunged towards the bear, and before the bear had much time to react, he'd stabbed his bone spike through its undamaged front paw and into the ground, with a spurt of blood hitting the monster in the face, before he faded from view with a small sigh and a final few words.

"I'd hope you don't have the misfortune of meeting me outside of these circumstances, contractor."

The bear was roaring in agony once more, though it was shocked from its injury, it seemed more mad than anything. It glared at John with eyes full of hatred and bloodlust. John held out his hand again, and the blue glow emanated from his hand once more, but before anyone new could appear, he collapsed to a knee.

"Like I said, three to a minute."

Nigel spoke up, his voice tight with pain.

That's about when Glen finally finished his second spell. A tiny little ball of fire went zipping through the air, faster than any of us could truly see, and hit the bear square in the back of the head. Smoke curled up from the tip of Glen's finger, and it seemed badly burnt, but the results were nothing to scoff at.

His spell may not have been flashy, or big, but it hit the bear with enough force to make it stumble, and it didn't stop there. Where the flame bullet had hit, it had pierced through a veil of wind the bear wore to protect itself, and set a small section of its fur ablaze. And due to its own magical armoring, the fire quickly engulfed it's back, before it finally managed to stop its own defense from hurting it further.

Glen seemed mentally exhausted, I was definitely out, hell I was barely even conscious, Nigel was hurt, and John was still on cooldown, I'd say we're about out of options.

So it's a good thing that bear decided we weren't worth it, and took off running into the forest again, as silently as it came.

"Nigel, are you okay?"

Glen sounded as exhausted as he looked, shambling over to Nigel, clutching his own burnt finger.

"I've lost quite a lot of blood, and that spell it had going made the bleeding a lot worse. Don't put pressure on the wound, that would make it worse, the wind spell would make the blood slip out and you'd just help it drain me faster. That things claws are nasty."

"I'll call someone to heal you, it's the least I can do."

John seemed humbled, at least a little, by the whole ordeal. He was shaking with adrenaline as he raised his hand again. He took his time to gather enough mana for the spell, and once again called upon another to do his dirty work.

"I'm almost ashamed to be summoned by someone of the likes of you."

A woman of tall stature, likely more than 6 feet tall, appeared in front of John. Her long fern green hair fell behind her to mid-calf, and over her shoulders to level with her belly button. She wore an ocean green form fitting dress, cut at the waist on either side, showing far too much leg to be appropriate for anything. The dress's collar was lined with what I could only assume to be golden thread, and where the dress opened into a large window over her modest breasts, it emphasized her lack of undergarments as much as the slits at her waist. Her sapphire eyes were blatantly disgusted in John, and she quickly turned away from him to focus on her task.

"That injury is from a Wind Bear. An especially rare breed even in your world. Luckily for your friend, you happen to be where I'm at my strongest, so this wound should be child's play."

And a moment later, as magic gathers in the woman's hands, John falls to a knee, panting. He's run out of mana again. The woman and her healing spells disappear from view, fading out.

"Hm. Turn's out you were too weak, even here. I'd hope your personality improves with your power, mortal."

With her final words said, the woman fully disappears. John pants breathlessly, unable to do anything more. Glen is frantically thinking, probably leaning on some training he was given in the army.

And Nigel's wound spurts more blood onto the ground in front of us.