"You’re it!" Mathew cries as he spins away nearly stumbling over a thick root.

Recovering his balance he dashed into the trees hiding in the small nook of a tree.

He quickly heard footsteps and lowered his breathing in attempt to hide his presence. Luckily his brother paid little attention and stepped past him deeper into the woods.

He then heard the scream of a girl and rapid giggling as the two ran.

In the clear, Mathew breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's a good hiding spot." A feminine voice suddenly says from above his head.

Turning up to the upper branches of the tree he spotted Puri. She had rolled into a small ball and was almost invisible in the tree.

"You too." Mathew says blushing. "I almost couldn’t see you."

"Ah? What happened to never taking your eyes off me?" Puri teases with a smirk.

Mathew, remember his young words couldn’t keep the blood from rushing to his cheeks, turning him another shade darker.

"S… Shut up. I never said that." Mathew refutes hiding his face. "Or… I was just kidding back then, so…"

"Ah words like that can’t be taken back." Puri giggles, "Don’t you think its rude to give a heart back after its been stolen?"

"Sis! Found ya!" A shrill voice calls pointing to the lump in the tree who had crawled out to better watch Mathews blushing face.

"Ah! You made me get caught." Puri again laughs down the tree trunk. "You’d better take responsibility."

"Responsibili…" Mathew begins before his whole body turns a shade of pink.

"Are you playing or not?" Tim, Mathew’s brother asks walking up and glancing at the two who seemed to be chatting more than hiding.

"We are, we are." Mathew says, looking at the teary eyed Tim.

"Hmph! Come on Kaylee, lets get out of here. Since these to would rather talk than play with us." Tim shouts gripping Kaylee by the hand and running away.

"Right!" Kaylee laughs waving at Puri and following after Tim’s long steps.

"Ah! Oy! Come back! It’s dangerous to go too far!" Mathew says standing up and running after the two.

"Oh leave them be." Puri says, landing down beside him with a huff. "We can have some private time."

"Wa…" Mathew stammers glancing at Puri’s suggestive look. "We should catch up with them."

Puri grumbled but followed the boy without hesitation. She should probably be glad he turned her down. Puri hadn’t a clue of what to do if Mathew said ‘ok’.

The thought of it made her cheeks go pink. But luckily Mathew hadn’t spotted it, so her image was maintained.

She knew one day her teasing would unleash something like a flood gate. She just hoped she would be ready.

"WAH!!!" A real scream this time cut across the forest. Puri and Mathew both shook the gutter from their mind and sprinted towards the source.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

What faced them struck fear into their very souls.

Amassing over nine feet tall and weighing likely more than a few tons stood a bear with tufts of white fur lining his gums.

All four children froze solid. Each had heard differing approaches to dealing with a bear. A teacher they had suggested making yourself look large. Another suggested rolling into a ball. While the adventurers down at the pub always say the best option is a knife to the throat.

Unfortunately these children were to stunned to do any of the above options.

Life had moved from carefree to terrifying in a split second.

They all understood now why they were told not to go too deep into the forest by the older kids. And now because they didn’t listen, they would all be eaten. Not even able to warn the younger generation.

That was all their expectation.

In reality this bear was just as scared of them as they were of him.

What came next calmed the entire group greatly. You could call the next player a guardian angel.

"Ah, Bear. You found people?" The man asks stepping from the other side of the wide creature.

Bear lightly nods towards the man and lowers himself back down to all fours. With the man now taking control of the situation Bear turned around in search of his next target.

"Are you all lost? You seem surprised? Whats going on?" The man asks, as if he weren’t aware of his all around strange demeanor and image. First his green hair, although not impossible, its something more often seen on Elves but this was clearly a human. Second he easily spoke to this bear, and even called him by name. A rather lousy name, but still.

So of course they would be surprised.

This can be considered a ‘surprising event’.

"Hey mister, who are you? What are you doing out here?" Puri asks with glimmering eyes. "How’d you do that with the bear? It looked like it was scared of you! Are you strong?!"

"Ah Puri! …" Mathew stammers looking at her in distress, but simultaneously curious about her questions. "You… you shouldn’t pester him. It’s rude."

"It’s no problem." The man smiles. "But I’m not strong. Bear is my friend. He’s a good guy."

"""OOOO""" The kids all says in amazement. His ‘not strong’ was completely ignored in their minds. He had a bear as a friend. Of course he is strong.

"How did you all get out here anyway? Isn’t this pretty deep in the forest?" The man asks glancing around the area he had only recently begun exploring.

"Town is just over there." Mathew says pointing in the distance through a clearing of trees.

Indeed in the distance the wall of Aelwick’s capital city was clearly visible.

"OOOO" The man couldn’t help but say in amazement. "It’s really so close. Wow…"

"Come with me. I’ll show you the way." Puri smiles innocently gripping at the man’s hand.

Mathew again frowns but endures it silently.

The group walked quickly through the forest along the small trail the children used. A few places the man had to duck under a few branches and logs but the trip was indeed only a few short minutes.

At the wall a large hole could be seen. It was little more than a single missing board but the children could easily take advantage of it.

"The gate is a few miles that way. But we already have papers so we just go through here." Puri explains holding out a small scrap of wrinkled paper.

"I see." The man says nodding his head in understanding and glancing at the group who clamored around the small hole. "So if you enter without papers… Is it bad?"

"""Yes!""" The children all say without hesitation.

"It’s really bad. They lock you up."

"Teacher said people who enter without paying are ripping off all the families who live here."

"Mm. Mm"

"I understand." The man says nodding and glancing in the direction the children had told him the gate was.

"I will lead you." Puri again says with a smile extending her hand.

Mathew again frowns but remains silent.

"It’s fine. I’ll just enter here." The man says with a smooth voice. As if he were picking each word from a harp. "After all. I’m a bad person."

Puri immediately draws back her hand and steps away from the man who calmly stepped through the small crack in the fence.

Mathew swore he saw the man nod at him but he couldn’t for the life figure out what the man meant by it.