Worse than the noise, however, was the knowing. Knowing that hoping it would stay that way was nothing but foolishness, that something just like that was coming for me.
Sure enough, fear sank its teeth into me, dragging with it a mess of questions. Was my mentor still alive? What about the fire wielder? But equally, I remembered the advice I got. Their battles weren’t mine, though. I had my own survival to worry about.
Even so, all the steel in my spine crumbled when Esu bent low, his growl sharp as claws. ?Your ... turn ... to ... learn, cub.?
?I u-understand,? I forced out, my eyes darting over the clearing. "W-With whom?"
?The ... other ... young.?
Undeniably hearing that made me feel relieved. Sure, it was what he'd said earlier, but still, for whatever reason, I half-expected him to throw me against a full-grown mossbear. Not that it really answered my question.
?W-Which one, great Esu??
?You ... challenge. Fight ... the ... first ... one ... who ... accepts.?
'Shit!' So much for hoping he would just choose one for me. Well, I had to get on my feet at one point. Better now than when the mossbear rushes me. My knees wobbled like a newborn fawn’s, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. 'Challenge, challenge - how am I supposed to go about that?' Not really wanting to fuck it up, and refusing to ask Esu for help, I did the only thing I could and mimicked the adult mossbear.
?Rawr!? The sound barely passed for a roar, more like a strained squeak, but it was enough to get their attention and the meaning across. Most of the young mossbears, unlike the adults waiting patiently, raised their heads in my way. Not one of them showed the faintest interest in fighting me, though.
For a fleeting moment, I dared to hope that I could weasel my way out of this training. That hope didn’t last long, though. Shame hit me like a claw to the belly. So weak, so useless - they couldn’t even be bothered. 'What if... what if Esu decides to ditch me? Abandon me as his cub?' Maybe the mother mossbears were right. Maybe I should become part of the forest.
But before I could sink too far into that dark pit of moss, one of the young mossbears shifted, rising to stand.
?Roarrr!? the challenge was accepted.
"Well ... done. Train ... cubs," Esu purred with approval, his voice warm, like a father’s pride.
- 99th sigil was engraved on your array
'Huh? What? How? Why? I didn't have a collar?’
To say that the tingling of the Great Runes notification in my skull caught me completely off guard would be an understatement. My mind was in total disarray - but the mossbear didn’t care. It couldn't give two shits that my legs still shook beneath me, barely holding steady. It started toward me. A runt compared to the adults running wild through the woods, its steps didn’t thunder, but it was still a creature three times my size and a mountain heavier than me.
'What should I do? What should I do?' The young mossbear didn't seem to mind that I was standing in the shadow of Esu and charged forward with no sign of slowing down. There was no way I could face a beast like that - or was there? 'Think, Korra! Think - be smarter, be faster.' The beast was nearly on me when my mentor’s words hit me—along with the memory of how the young human male had outsmarted his enemy. These creatures weren’t built for endurance.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
I turned and bolted away, putting as much ground between us as I could.
It worked. Barely. My legs almost buckled, and I came far too close to the mossbear’s fangs for comfort, but I managed. Just in time. Not that wearing the thing down was my goal. Sure, the thought was tempting - easy to picture, really - but Esu wouldn’t have it. He wanted his cubs to fight, to learn, and he considered me one of his.
'Wait, is that it? Nah - no way.' It shouldn't matter if he saw me as his cub or not. The old librarian made it clear that for [Slaves] like me, it was how we saw others…
?Rawr!? The young mossbear's frustrated roar as I nimbly got out of its reach for the umpteenth time stopped me from the urge to look at Esu. Even if I was right and behind that 99th sigil was my bestial self, which it saw Esu as someone to listen to, it would just mean I should try that much harder to live up to his expectations.
Thankfully, it seemed like it wouldn't be as much of a problem as I had initially thought. The more I weaved through the roots and moss, the steadier my legs felt. The fear still coiled in my chest and churned in my gut, but every dodge and step made me believe - just a little - that maybe I could do this. Each step, each heartbeat, made the fight seem less impossible.
With every breath, my courage swelled, drawing me closer to the mossbear. Each escape became sharper, tighter. The thrill of it hooked me, setting my heart pounding. Before I knew it, I was yelping and wagging my tail like an overeager pup.
[Mossbear: lvl ??]
Sure, my joy was spoiled a bit by the fact that this was the weakest mossbear I have met so far. But weak or not, it gave me a chance - a chance to stand my ground and maybe learn more than just how to dodge or take a hit.
'Should I? Should I go for the pounce?' The bold thought made my tail twitch. Up till now, I’d done nothing but dart and weave, dancing around the beast. 'Yeah, let’s see what happens.'
With every breath, my confidence grew. The moment I saw my chance, I lunged in, claws flashing, and raked them across the mossbear’s flank. The sickening tear of its flesh made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t deny the grim satisfaction of feeling my claws sink in.
Not that it did much, anyway.
The wounds weren’t much - just faint, bleeding streaks along its hind leg. It hardly slowed the beast, and if anything, it looked angrier than before.
Its growl thundered through me, but I met it with a snarl of my own, a grin tugging at my lips. I was enjoying this far too much.
With that small victory, the unease that had coiled in my chest unraveled. I felt lighter, quicker - more eager to strike than just dart around like prey.
'The best defense is offense - isn't that how it goes?'
When the mossbear lunged again, I dodged, close enough that its rough fur brushed my tail. My chance came. This time, my claws dug deep, tearing a sharp cry from the beast. Pride flooded through me, warm and wild.
Maybe this fight wasn’t so hopeless after all. Emboldened, I pounced. And again.
- 2nd glyph carved on Pounce (?)
The bloody Big Runes thundered in my skull, enough to trip my footing. That single misstep was all the mossbear needed. Its claws found their mark, tearing into my side. The pain was searing, blinding - like a flame fist in the face except burning across my ribs.
I reeled, choking down a whimper as I ducked clear of its reach, my side aflame with pain.
'Stupid! That was so stupid! What the fuck was I thinking?!' No, this wasn’t on me. The Great Runes - they’d done this. Thrown me off, made me stumble.
'Be prepared for the unexpected.' The words of my mentor, now also out there somewhere in the woods facing his opponent, came to mind. I hadn’t taken those words seriously before, not really - they just didn't make much sense. Now, they hit differently. You couldn’t plan for every twist. The trick was not to be caught off guard when things spiraled.
Lesson learned, or so I hoped. Either way, I pushed past the pain, and not taking my eyes off my opponent, more cautious, heart pounding, muscles tense, and hopefully ready for the unexpected, I circled the beast, looking for my next chance to pounce.