Malicade kept going, he had to. It's what Reculan had ordered. He'd been running full speed for what felt like an eternity but in reality was only a couple minutes.

Reculan's face flashed in his mind.

He slowed his run down to a jog, then a walk, and then stopped entirely. Head bowed down.

"I can't. " He said to himself.

"Lycaon help me" He said out loud this time.

Malicade turned around and ran back towards where he'd abandoned Reculan, drawing his sword as he did. Tears formed in his eyes once more.

----------------------------------------

When he got back to the place he'd left Reculan alone, there was nothing. No sign of commotion, no sign of struggle or conflict.

The forest floor looked perfectly normal.

No blood, no crunched up branches or dug up moss.

Yet everything was silent.

"Reculan," Malicade said in a loud whisper. He paused waiting for a response.

But none came.

"Reculan," He said again.

Still no response.

His body felt cold, stomach uneasy and throat dry. He'd never felt fear this strongly before, sword shaking in his grasp. But his loyalty and concern for his friend and mentor outweighed the fear he felt. At the very least he was determined to find his body and give him a proper burial.

Crouching down he began searching the area.

Looking in every nook and cranny for some sign of his friend, or the bear.

"There!"

Hidden within the shrubbery there was a bear print. An untrained eye would've glanced over it entirely, but Malicade, like all members of his village, was an expert tracker. It was one of the first things taught, he'd been doing it since he was old enough to run.

Examining it more closely, he noticed something in and around the pawprint.

Blood.

His heart sank.

"Oh no." He said.

Knowing there was no time to waste, Malicade squatted down low to the ground and followed the tracks.

They went on for quite a ways to the south. Malicade had to remain in his squatting position in order to see the track's and as a result he was forced to travel much slower than he wished, but he couldn't afford to lose the trail. His friend's life might very well depend on him.

"How could a bear so big make tracks so shallow?" He asked himself.

Ordinarily bear tracks stood out, the animal was so large and heavy that the ground was pressed down deeply wherever they stepped. The tracks he was following however didn't even press down half of what a bear smaller than the one they'd seen would.

"Something’s not right."

There was a break in the tree's coming up ahead. Light from the midday sun shining down effortlessly through this section of the forest.

Malicade dropped down onto his belly and began crawling along the floor towards the outskirts of the clearing.

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He crawled into a small bush and used it for cover, pushing away enough leaves and branches for him to get a view of what lay in front of him.

The clearing wasn't too big, only a couple hundred feet in either direction. The floor was littered with small multi-colored flowers that Malicade had never seen before. The sunlight glimmered down from the sky appearing to shimmer as it entered the area beneath the canopy.

It was very calming. As soon as he laid his eyes on the clearing a wave of ease washed all across his body

"Strange." He thought, "I've never seen those flowers anywhere before...or this clearing."

The calmness he felt was short-lived. At the opposite end of the clearing there stood a tall tree, and at the base of it a figure was resting up against it.

Reculan.

Throwing aside all caution, Malicade jumped up and ran as fast as he could across the clearing to his friend.

"Reculan!" He screamed out as he ran.

Reculan lifted his head slightly, seeing the boy running at him. "Damnit Malicade." He winced as he spoke, clutching his left side tightly. Blood was seeping out from underneath his hand.

Malicade hastily removed his small leather satchel from around his shoulder and began frantically searching for his medicine kit.

"Malicade… you have to get out of here." Reculan managed to force out.

"No. No, no I can't. Not without you." He said as he pulled out the kit.

He pulled out a small snakeskin vial and removed the cap.

"Here this will help with your wound." He said.

Scraping two fingerfuls of a thick slimy gel out of the vial, he moved Reculans hand and began rubbing it on the wound.

It was a special medicine his tribe created, made from the juice of the Redlip fruit that grew native in the Western Woods and the sap from an Ever Fall tree. It helped to dull pain and coagulate wounds.

"There's n-no point." Reculan protested. "You need… to leave before, before it comes back."

"I won't abandon you again. I'm scared of no bear, they're false God's just as you said."

He finished applying the ointment to Reculan's wound.

"Y-you don't understand Malicade. This one wasn't normal."

Malicade frowned puzzled. "What do you mean? The bear we saw earlier looked like a normal bear to me."

Reculan shook his head softly, "That's not the bear that brought me here." He said.

As if right on queue, the bushes rustled behind Malicade. He could've sworn he felt the ground shake. A deep low growl resonated from behind him.

Thump

His throat was dry.

The growl came again, this time louder.

"Run Malicade." Reculan said to him. "I'll make noise to draw it's attention."

"No." Malicade said sharply.

He gripped his sword tightly, turning around to face the animal.

He nearly dropped his sword when he saw it. Reculan was right, this wasn't the same bear as before. It wasn't like any he'd ever seen before. It was at least twice the size of the largest brown bear he'd ever seen, massive and powerful with razor sharp claws and teeth. It's eyes tore right into his soul. A faint orange glow surrounded the animal.

The beast reared onto its hind legs and let out a deafening roar that echoed all throughout the forest. It took every ounce of resolve and courage Malicade had to not turn and run screaming.

The bear dropped back onto all four legs and charged him. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer, accepting his fate. Knowing he wasn't going to make it out of this meadow alive. He held his sword straight out in front of him, in hopes that at the very least he'd puncture the beast fatally as it mauled him.

A howl boomed from somewhere deep within the forest, engulfing the clearing in its sound.

It caused the bear to stop in its tracks, roaring in response before charging Malicade once more.

His body moved on its own, he jumped to his right avoiding getting trampled, rolling as he landed.

"What's going on?" He asked himself.

The weakness and fear he'd felt all through his body was gone.

He stood tall, grip firmly around the smooth leather that wrapped the hilt of his blade.

The beast stood across from him, snarling angrily, preparing to charge again.

As it took its first step, in one smooth motion Malicade drew his throwing dagger and sent it flying at the bear's front leg.

He jumped to his left no sooner than his fingers left the cold blade.

It struck home.

The beast roared out in pain, veering to its right as its leg failed it.

Right towards Malicade.

Malicade scrambled hastily to get out of its way, dropping his sword as he did. He managed just slightly to avoid the skidding animal. He rolled over from his belly and nearly swallowed his tongue.

Less than 10 feet in front of him, the bear stood up. Staring directly at him, eyes filled with rage and hatred.

"This is it." Malicade thought to himself

The bear snarled once more as it took the first of few, slow, plodding steps towards Malicade.