69 – Sisterhood

While occasionally glancing at Kat's face, Anne neatly bandaged my colonist's forearm.

"Hey, don't you feel any pain?" Lara grimaced.

The amber-eyed girl answered. Her facial muscles have not moved since earlier. "Of course."

"Girl, your face doesn't show it at all."

Rox let out a groan as if hits was in pain instead. The dog's eyes looked sadly at its master's forearm. As usual, Kat gently stroked her pet's fur.

"Just so you know, Kat." Anne did the last knot in the bandage. "That blood vow you did can't be taken lightly. I will keep your promise to take care of my big sis."

"Come on, Anne." Lara snorted. "Kat just slit her forearm for you. Could you be a little nicer?"

"Lin always said that, right? We all have different personalities, so...." Anne stifled her words, closed her eyes, and spoke again, "Sorry."

"By the way, why would you want to do that, Kat?" Lin asked. "You just met Anne yesterday, right?"

Kat slightly rubbed the bandage on her forearm. It took a while for the girl to finally answer. "I don't know myself either. Maybe it's because I feel . . . Well, I have an older sister too."

"So, you remember your older sister?" Lara replied. "Are you two close too, like Anne and Leva?"

"Not really." Kat was silent again for a moment. "We never speak except when it's necessary."

You've had a lot of talks today, Kat.

Lin, Lara, and Anne looked at Kat, who was silent again. They were, of course, waiting for the continuation of the story from my colonist.

"I want to pee." Instead of speaking further, Kat stood up.

Lin and Lara looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders.

"I am coming along." Anne also got up to catch up with Kat.

Kat, who had already walked a few steps with her dog, stopped and looked at Anne for a few seconds, then continued on her way.

"Once again, I apologize for what I said." Anne sighed.

Seeing that Kat didn't answer, I had to whisper to the girl again.

"No problem, really."

Seriously, you have no intention of answering that, Kat?

"My big sis really means a lot to me." Anne gulped. "You know that I speak very harshly, and I often get into trouble because of it. It was Leva who always protected and defended me, even though I was wrong sometimes."

Anne looked at Kat, who didn't answer again. I was about to whisper to Kat a second time when Anne finally continued.

"In the past, our mother also often acted and spoke carelessly. She admitted that she stopped doing such things after having children." Anne smiled faintly. "She focuses on taking care of her child and doesn't think about other problems. Therefore, our mother always forces my big sis to get married and have children.... Ah, that's enough about me and my family. Let's talk about yourself... Maybe we can start with your mother...."

"Just like my older sister, my mother rarely talks to me either. She is busy with her own work." Kat cut off the conversation in a quick tone. "So did my father. We as a family rarely get together."

Damn. What kind of family do you have, Kat?

"Oh, I see." Anne still opened her mouth, but she couldn't utter a single word anymore. A few seconds later, she chose to remain silent.

Yeah, that's Kat. It's so awkward talking to my colonist. You'll be at a loss for words.

"After you?" Kat offered when they came to a bunch of banana trees with big trunks.

"Ah." Anne shook her head. "Actually, I don't want to pee."

Kat froze for a few seconds, then hid behind two adjacent banana trees while Rox stood guard nearby. I certainly didn't follow my female colonist because it was her personal business.

Anne crossed her arms and looked the other way. And that's when I realized her breathing had stopped. Her body and face also didn't show any more gestures.

Auto-pause.

I looked around, and it didn't take long to find the source of the pause. I found a creature with dark brown fur, large in stature, with clawed fingers, and two ears that were small in proportion to its body.

A bear. The beast was walking on all fours from about 100 meters away. I don't know if it's coming for us or not. However, I must remain vigilant. As far as I know, even with such a big body, a bear still has a fast-running speed.

I rushed over to Kat. Finding that the girl had crouched down to do her business, I looked up, only then lowered my body to whisper to her.

"There's a bear from the east, quickly bring Anne back to the group, then tell Tosa about this." I spoke to Kat while trying not to see her underside.

After that, I exited the bunch of trees and pressed the play button.

Anne yawned, then looked east. She flinched when she saw the bear. Fortunately, Kat had rushed out and covered Anne's mouth, who was about to scream. Rox, who must have been ordered not to bark, was ready to attack with a fierce face, staring straight at the beast.

"Stay near me." Kat hissed quietly.

Anne nodded while biting her lip.

Kat turned to the bear and began to slowly walk away from the place.

Too bad, there was no place to hide other than the bunch of banana trees. Of course, they couldn't hide there because it seemed the bear had seen Anne.

Then, what I feared happened. The bear began to speed up its pace.

"Run, but don't scream." Kat whispered into the little girl's ear.

Anne nodded again, with her body starting to shake.

The bear's movements quickened, and the two women ran as fast as they could.

However, the bear seemed to be faster.

"Kyaaaa!!!" Anne couldn't stop herself from screaming anymore. "Helllpppp, there's a bear!!!"

Luckily, they had almost reached the group. The women and men who were there immediately stood up, prepared with their weapons. There were indeed some who looked panicked or confused, but their companions tried to calm them down.

"Take your bow and arrows and hide to shoot the beast!" I gave orders to Kat.

The bear is getting closer to Anne and Kat. I can even hear the sound of its running.

"Don't panic! Don't run away!" Tosa gave the command in a loud voice. "There are many of us, we will be able to deal with it! Remember our practice!"