I woke up, which I immediately decided was the first good sign, but I wasn’t resting on a bed. I groan as the stiffness from yesterday's injuries impedes my ability to get up. Looking around, I see that we are on one of the lower branches of a tree. Beside me was Callen, and a tired but vigilant Reesia was watching.
Reesia gives me a happy smile, but from the bloodshot eyes, her extensive watch had clearly taken a toll.
“I’ll watch for now, Sia. How about you get some rest?” She nods reluctantly but quickly flops over. I give a careful scan around, and while I don’t see any trouble, I can see the traces of the struggle against the bear. Deep prints from the bear's charge, splattered blood from wounds, and an area cleared of debris with a short line of scorched earth leading to an imprint, which must have been where the bear fell.
However, my heart sinks when I notice the wreckage of another glider. It seems leaving won’t be as simple as I had hoped, but with Callen and Reesia I felt we stood a chance. It’s a bit early, but I think adding another set of points to my stats is warranted in our circumstances, and I open my Status.
I add the points into strength and dexterity. More physical capabilities would be key, especially with our big mana battery with us. I gaze over to my brother and see him stirring awake.
“Hey Cal, didn’t you say you’re bringing Dad?” My sarcastic comment about how Reesia wasn’t Dad was cut short by the sudden tight hug. Callen grabbed hold of me, and I could feel the relief pouring off of him. I just gently rub his back before guilt about the whole situation sinks in.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. Your sister is a bit silly. Will you forgive me?” I gently break contact with him and wait for him to answer.
“Silly?! Your prank traps are silly! I nearly lost you! All you had to do was wait a couple more months to adjust to our stats. You didn’t even bring your good arrows!” Callen rants at me, but I don’t just hear the concern in his voice but also feel the frustration begin to break down as he airs all the grievances. The bond we share is more than what our status simplifies it as. It’s a deep understanding that transcends words and conveys our hearts to each other. No excuses will ever hide the truth of how we feel, and Brother's frustration fades as he feels my genuine regret and gratitude. His rant slows to a stop, and in a pout, he finishes.
“Fine, I can’t stay angry. It’s not the time or place here. I didn’t bring Dad because he was off on a patrol. Which is why you weren’t training with him.” He glares at me in accusation, and I can’t help but be a bit embarrassed because I did reserve my longer flights for days I couldn’t spend with Dad. It seems I forgot that detail with all the panic of my crash.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a spare set of gliders for us, would you?” I feel obligated to ask even if my gut had already told me otherwise, and just like I suspected, he shakes his head in denial.
“Then I guess it’s time to lay out a survival plan.” We get into a quiet debate considering what actions are viable from our position.
What we had.
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A single-person copter. Unable to fly the whole journey back to town even with Callens' mana.
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Callen’s arsenal of wands. After making the first batch for the festival, Callen had taken to making a wand for every occasion. Most had limited effects and notable mana costs because of the material limitations, but still we had every cantrip we could ask for.
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Callen’s stock of uncommon tools. Every tool Callen had made but also didn’t frequently use (chainsaw, hedge trimmers, extendo grabber arm, and others)
We divided plans into three strategies based on what we could do and made a list of every idea, disregarding the absurdity of some.
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Return - plans like sending Callen back with the copter to make a new glider to retrieve us, or working together as a team to try crossing the forest on foot.
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Stay - included the ideas of building a tree fort, finding the bear's cave and fortifying that, or contacting Nightshade and seeing what she could do to help us. All of which hinged on Dad or someone from the town tracking us down.
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Push Deeper - A stupid and insane idea, but maybe we could seek shelter with the elves? We suggested this simply because we felt obligated to name all options.
Our first go was contacting Nightshade, but when Brother tried his meditation, he found that while he could feel her condition with his familiar bond, it lacked the strength of our twin bond. In addition, he was too far to connect with her through his meditations, so beyond expressing a need for help, we were limited. However, Nightshade was a plant and apparently relying on stored power, so if we did express a need for rescue, it could have serious consequences later.
Brother insisted beyond being attacked by something we couldn’t handle, it might be best if we try everything else first. Feeling his apprehension, I accepted that we still had options. So now the question became a simple question of waiting or travelling back. We are a day out at my full sprint, 2 for Reesia and 3 for Callen, but Callen could use his personal copter to keep pace. However, that kind of travel would invite all kinds of issues, so instead we set the plan to travel by day, cleaning all traces as we travelled, and shelter in concealed locations by night.
Travelling cautiously might drag out the journey to more of a range of 4 days, but it felt better than sitting and doing nothing. With our plans set, we suited up for battle and waited for Reesia to finish her rest.
Mama bear
Mama lay in her cave quietly sleeping peacefully through the night. Not much disturbed her these days. When she was younger, all sorts of creatures would challenge her, but she grew and grew, and now everything knew to leave her alone. Everything except her mate, a younger male who had been eager to win her approval.
That was some years ago, and she had been blessed with a number of young ones who each fought for their own territories around her. Of her three cubs, one had been slain by the big mushroom, and avenging her child had taken several years and many troublesome fights. However, she had managed to scatter the remnants and avenge her child.
One child left for the mountains in search of a mate, and the last had settled north of her near the really big trees. Mama bear was content to spend most of her time sleeping. The fight with the mushroom had satisfied her desire to hunt, and she liked spending long stretches of time sleeping.
However, an instinctive sense triggered, and she knew. Her closest cub to the north was slain. That made her angry, just like before she crawled out from her cave. Whatever harms her young would be torn bit by bit, and then she will go about destroying everything she finds until her wrath settles back down.
She entered the forest, her body frame so massive it reached half the height of the trees, and even though she shouldn’t be able to fit between the trees, they bent out of her path. The forest cleared her path as if it acknowledged her authority as the master of these woods. With a steady rhythm her steps echoed around her, alerting all that after 10 years of sleep she was again on the warpath.