There was low foliage on either side of the road, blending into denser cover with trees, making this a perfect spot for anything, or anyone, to hide. To some in the group, it was hard to tell whether or not it was a breeze making the foliage move. Marceline motioned for Holland to move around to one side while she flanked on the other of a stand of bushes. Holland carefully did as he was instructed, making sure to have constant eye contact with Marcline in case things got hairy. The others took slightly defensive postures, ready to assist in case something went wrong. Marceline slowly inched her way into position. It hardly seemed like she was moving at all. Her expression softened slightly when she saw what was causing the noise. Three black bear cubs were noisily eating berries and harassing each other for them. They were blissfully unaware of the group’s presence. “Bear cubs!” Marcline mouthed to the rest of the group. She shot Holland a doe-eyed look. Holland barely caught it, his focus instead on the mama bear who was about sixty feet away and she looked none too happy the group had found her cubs. The rest of the group also saw mama bear. “That’s a black bear,” said Nick to no one in particular. “Correct,” replied Parsus. “And she’s pissed,” continued Nick. “Yup,” said Aneles. “We’re going to have to fight her.” It wasn’t a question. “We are,” said Parsus. “Fabulous.” Holland began to slowly withdraw away from the cubs and toward the mama bear. “What is he doing?” Meesia asked, unable to hide the incredulity in her voice. “I’m willing to bet he’s going to try to make her stand down,” Aneles said. “But that’s suicide!” Glynn siad in a loud whisper. It was, however, just the kick in the pants Marceline needed to take her gaze off the rolly poly cubs and realize that mama wasn’t amused. “Uh oh!” she squeaked, tucking and rolling several feet away from the bushes. Meanwhile, Holland was getting very close to the mama bear. He stood with an open stance and made some gutteral noises, mimicking the sounds a placated bear might make. It got the attention of the cubs, who briefly stopped playing with each other to see where the noise was coming from. It was then that they not only spotted mama but Holland as well. Mama made a noise only the cubs understood and they stayed where they were. “Do you think it’s working?” Glynn asked, watching while unconscously wringing her hands. Mama bear reared up on her hind legs. “Nevermind,” Glynn answered herself. Holland scooted back to his group, a sheepish look on his face. “You tried,” Glynn said sympathetically. “Yeah, but now we get to rumble with a bear,” Nick grunted, taking out his sword. “Sorry, guys,” Marceline said, loading a bolt into her crossbow. “I got too caught up with the cubs.” “Worst. Rogue. Ever,” Aneles said, ready to lob a spell. “Could we focus please?” Meesia asked, her quarterstaff at the ready, as the bear went down to all fours to advance on the group. Marceline fired a bolt at the bear and hit her in the shoulder. The bear yelled but didn’t slow her advance. Glynn and Aneles lobbed their spells at the bear; both hit and appeared to slow her down a bit. “Nice one!” Nick said, biding his time before rushing in to stab at the bear. The bear growled and took a swipe at Nick. Fortunately, the claws did little more than scratch his armor. Glynn and Aneles tossed a couple more spells at the bear, each hitting their target and causing her pain. “She’s weakening!” Messia said beween a flurry of blows with her quarterstaff. “C’mon guys! We can do this!” Parsus said, laying hands on Marceline briefly before returning to combat.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 20:26:44 +0000
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