- Sky -
He watched the bears land one at a time around the barn in the distance. He was sure the mortals who lived here would be awake after hearing those roars, but they would never dare to leaver their homes. A mortal could never hope to take on a flying grizzly. These must have been weak and unintelligent spirit beasts to come after farm animals. He wondered what could have displaced them from their territory in the forest. This was abnormal behavior. Not to mention that flying grizzlies were solitary animals. They didn't travel in packs. The bears started attacking the barn, and he could hear the terrified animals making a ruckus inside. He made up his mind. If he didn't do something, these beasts might attack the farmers next. He'd have to be careful about his approach though.
As he watched, he saw that they didn't make any effort to stay within each other's line of sight. He was gambling on their being less intelligent than flying grizzlies usually were, but it was a serious risk. He needed to take them out one at a time. He saw that the smallest one was more isolated than the others. That was convenient. If he could kill it before the others noticed, he could retreat to cover.
He was nervous, but it was now or never. He ran as quietly as he could, using the movements Senior Hall taught them. One form, in particular, was useful for striking a balance between speed and silence. He sprinted along, with his swords out, sticking to the shadows. He lined himself up with back of the barn, where the small bear was trying to tear a hole in the reinforced wood. Moving through his stances, he was on the bear in another moment, all three swords aiming for a vital point. The bear never noticed him, until a sword was cutting open its throat, another cutting off a wing, and a third plunging deep into its chest. It took several painfully long seconds for the bear to bleed out before he could move its corpse into his storage ring. Then he backed off, moving through the stances of his form, hoping the other bears would mistake the scent of blood for prey.
When he was comfortably hidden behind some fence posts, he saw that his luck paid off, and the bears seemed to be fighting the wall more ferociously, instead of looking for him. The next bear would be riskier. There was a bear on the roof, a bear on a longside, and another trying to get the barn doors open. The one on the roof was the biggest concern, because it could easily turn and see him while he attacked one of the bears on the ground. There was no way he could fight two at the same time, especially while they maintained the aerial advantage. The bear on the roof had its back to the bear on the longside, but the longside bear was much closer to the other two than the small bear had been. Plus it was bigger.
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He took a deep breath to calm himself, then snuck through his stances, making his way as quietly and quickly as he could toward his target. This bear noticed him, and turned to look, but it was too late. His swords were already penetrating his flesh. Unfortunately, while he had removed a wing, and plunged a sword into its heart, the neck blow landed off, and it didn't die well. It let out a loud pained whine before he could make another strike with his sword to finish the blow. He cursed at his luck that seemed to have run out already. There was no way the other bears hadn't heard that.
He sent his smallest body around to act as a distraction, while the other two made their way to the opposite side of the barn. A pincer attack was their best bet. They needed to keep the other two from flying. As Sam made his way towards the bear at the front, he saw that the bear was making its way towards him already. The bear on the roof had turned around and was watching Sam, but didn't seem to think it needed to help its comrade. It also hadn't turned around in time to see the other two bodies running past it. That was good.
As Sam ran through a form aimed at keeping a larger opponent engaged, while maintaining distance, the other two had been using a form for maximum speed, and were already completing their circle of the barn, making their way up behind the winged beast. Unfortunately, the bear on the roof noticed them, and roared in rage at his deceit. He kept it in his peripheral vision, but he had to finish his target before it noticed too. While he slapped its paws, and snapped its jaws towards the little blonde boy, the other two leapt on top of it, swords pointed straight down into its chest. Neither of them hit its heart, but it wouldn't be able to fight with its lungs punctured. He withdrew his swords, and with a single long step along the bear's back, he plunged his swords into its neck, finishing it before it could retaliate.
He immediately gave the last bear his full attention. It was in the air now, plunging toward him like an eagle descending on a mouse, with its back paws extended to lash out at him. He held his two swords forward, while he moved Sam away, around and behind the bear. The bear soon got within striking range, and he rolled out of the way at the last moment, in opposite directions off the third bear's corpse. Meanwhile, Sam was already riding the flying jade disc toward its back, with his sword extended. The bear wasn't expecting to be met in the air, and was helpless as one of its wings was scoured off. It landed with a THUD, and he was on it with all three swords before it could recover. The swords were deep in its flesh, relieving it of the burden of living within moments.