"He's closing the gap on us!" Ezer knew that in a matter of minutes they could see it on their backs.

"Let's go faster!"

"The other one is getting closer now too!" The soul of his body screamed for him to get away even if it meant running into the bear.

"It's almost in front of us! Don't let him push you down the slope!” Ezer unsheathes his sword and Lyaria holds her new spear steady, which until recently she used as a staff to help herself through the snow.

The feeling of pressure increased every second, it was as if the weight of his body doubled and he was breathing the air of a room that had not seen the light of day in decades. Closer and closer, Ezer knew that whatever was in front of him would already be visible... but it wasn't. The uncertainty was the most frightening of all, at least they could fight or dodge if they saw it, but since this was not the case, both had to resign themselves to keep their place and wait for the reaction of whatever was watching them.

It was at this moment that Lyaria spoke quietly, though loud enough to be heard through the blizzard, startling the tense Ezer who almost jumped back.

“There!”

“What? Where?” Ezer looks desperately looking for what she meant, follows the direction of her finger finding what it indicated in the rocks of the mountain.

"That's…" Lyaria instinctively lowers her spear as she watches the small animal.

“He can not fly? He must be waiting for the storm to die down.”

“Ezer, few birds don't migrate during the winter... and I don't think this is one of them. Also... I think I saw one of his kind recently...”

“I don't know, maybe it resists the winter. Its color is... dazzling.” A strong blue coated the bird's plumage making it invisible in the sky, no matter how hard you searched for it.

“We have to continue, we can't waste any more time. Don't you feel anything in front of you?”

"No, whatever it is, it's gone." Ezer shakes his head, walking ahead once more. But just as he takes his first step, his second is blocked by the bird descending and landing on the snow. His two small eyes were fixed on Ezer's and he was in his way no matter how he tried to avoid it.

"What's wrong with this thing?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Perhaps he wants us to take him?" Lyaria suggests as she bends down to pick it up, but the moment she does, her glove is punctured and her finger begins to bleed from a deep peck.

“Are you okay!?” The bird moves away without taking its eyes off them at any time.

"Yes, it's just a small wound. Ezer, the night is near, if we don't find a place to shelter...”

"I know, let's keep walking." However, when they are about to do so, the bird gets in their way again, this time emitting a clear hostility and oppression of its small body. His eyes, which at first seemed devoid of any intelligence other than instinct, now seem to darken, forcing them to look away.

“This thing...?”

“Yes, I don't want to believe it, but that little bird is capable of killing us both.”

"Is it what was in front of you and you stopped noticing?"

“Apparently he has the ability to appear unnoticed at will.” It was the complete opposite of the bear announcing its arrival with a distinct change in atmosphere. This takes Ezer by surprise who was not expecting it, to tell the truth, neither of them wanted to admit that a simple bird was so dangerous, nobody wants to spend their life looking to the skies for an invisible death.

"Do we turn around or try to avoid it?"

“We've already seen that it stands in our way and going back is not an option. We know that there is no refuge and there is always the threat of the white bear.” As they both argue nervously, the bird takes flight and perches on the snow-covered mountain wall once more. But this is not what attracts the attention of Ezer and Lyaria who did not take their eyes off him for a second, but the fact that he begins to scrape the snow with his paws and make a kind of sign with his head interpreted by both as an indication.

"Do you want us to dig that up? Is that why you won't let us through?” Ezer puts away his sword knowing that even if he uses it, he won't stand much of a chance against the bird.

"We should try, although I don't understand why he want to clean the snow off the rocks." As they both approach hesitantly, the bird retreats giving them space to start working while he watches them.

“We should have hit the rocks at this point.” They're keep digging being lucky to be wearing waterproof animal leather gloves.

“Yes, there is definitely something else.” Both remove the snow hoping to find a cave to shelter.

They soon find a hole and continue to remove the accumulated snow until it is large enough for both of them to crouch down. What lay beyond was uncertain and the evening light, partially blocked by the blizzard, illuminated only a few meters of the deep darkness of the cave.

“The bird?” Lyaria asks noticing his disappearance while they were engrossed in their task.

"He must have left at some point." They don't have much time to think about it since the temperature was starting to drop every minute with the coming of nightfall.

Ezer makes his way through the cave accompanied by Lyaria as he drives back the darkness with his newly lit torch. The walls were narrow, although they allowed walking without problems except at some points where one of the walls curved, forcing the body to twist to pass them.

They don't get very far when they hear a loud sound of something heavy falling behind them and notice how the window of light behind them closes. Rocks and snow once again seal the pass that they made an effort to clear.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about the bear."

“We just have to move on.” Lyaria takes Ezer's hand in case one of them slips to an unknown place. At least that was the excuse they both mutually agreed upon.