Run In
Logan eventually found Remy in the woods, about twenty minutes after his display at the parade grounds. The two reunited on the edge of a copse of Oaks, where a small clearing was formed.
-Remy over here!-
Thanks little guy.
Of course, the mental communication didn’t exactly indicate direction, but Logan didn’t tell the Rizzel that. Instead, he scratched the little guy for a while as he cradled him in his arms, as much for Logan’s benefit as Remy’s. Logan desperately needed to cool down, and little accomplished that like holding the little furball.
Eventually, most of the steam had filtered out of Logan’s ears, and his head felt cooler and calmer than minutes before. He let Remy hop back to the ground, and the two companions started scouting out the area of the woods they had found themselves in.
Which basically amounted to finding out that they were in an area with a lot of Oaks and Spruce to Logan. His forestry skills were not up to par to really discern much, and most of the obvious wildlife had been scared off by the regular movements of the humans in the area.
Uh, I don’t really know what to do Remy, I’m going to be honest.
Logan didn’t know if they should make a camp somewhere, or if that would leave them vulnerable. With no prior experience or knowledge on what to do, his brain couldn’t seem to come up with a conclusive plan. If he were being honest with himself, his head was still spinning from the parade grounds. Logan had never been a very angry person, but something inside of him pushed its way out from deep inside of him there, and it had left him rattled.
Then, Remy rubbed across his shins like a cat, and Logan’s head snapped back to the present.
-Follow.-
Then the Rizzel teleported ahead, daring his companion to keep up. So Logan obliged, letting Remy take the lead.
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Remy kept the pace high, leading Logan farther and farther from Fort Errstile, teleporting through the difficult terrain to save time. In fact, all of the jumping around they did while on their trek was rather thoughtful, enough to make Logan consider if Remy was more skilled in its usage than him. Considering that the Blessing originally came from the Rizzel in a way, it seemed entirely possible.
With Remy leading the pair, they made excellent time on whatever path Remy had them taking, or maybe it was average time. Logan didn’t quite know, but he was just impressed the Rizzel seemed to have some sort of plan already.
A well thought out plan apparently, as they quickly made upon a decent cave mouth, that Remy stood proudly in front of. Logan was left in awe, and wondering how the little fur ball had managed to find the place.
Remy, how did you track this down? This place looks perfect!
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-Remy noticed this smell when we walked here! Great, right?-
Definitely is, my guy.
Logan walked forwards to inspect it closer. As he did, he realized what smell Remy had been talking about. It was a pungent odor that reminded Logan of food that had gone bad. Looking over at his companion, Logan asked him a question.
Remy, do you know what this smell means?
-Bear inside! No problem for Logan.-
Ah, ok. Good to know.
Logan gulped. His only reference for bears on this planet was an absolute mammoth called Bennett affectionately by Old Jeremiah, back while he was alive. If something similar was in that cave, Logan would be in for a fight. However, instead Logan thought he could just find somewhere else, they were already so far from the Fort and…
Deeper in the cave, and out of the light, some shuffling noises could be heard. They were faint, but just enough to register in Logan’s ears, causing him to back out of the cave’s mouth reflexively.
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As the noises grew louder, Logan slipped even further away from the cave. Eventually, Logan was back again among the trees, as he waited for the bear to emerge from its den. It wasn’t a long wait.
Within seconds the Beast had exited the cave, its size revealed in the light of day. Somehow, Logan thought it may have been even larger than Bennett, its shoulders barely fitting through the cave mouth.
However, standing there, Logan realized something. At the end of the day, it was just a big bear, and Logan had fought larger and more dangerous things. This was a trial, but not enough to truly challenge him. With a breath, Logan’s mind centered on the fight at hand.
Honestly, he felt conflicted about killing the bear. Not only did it remind him of Bennett, both being enormous brown bears, but Logan had been the one to intrude on the bears front door. As it sniffed around the area, Logan decided that if it noticed them, he would fight, but otherwise, Logan would let this Beast roam free.
For a while, nothing happened, and Logan just watched the bear as it investigated its surroundings. The bird song had gone quiet and the only noise he could hear was the soft beating of his own heart. For a long few moments, Logan thought the bear might retreat back into its den, leaving without a conflict. But then, the bear looked up at the selection of trees, its thick snout pointing like a dog’s.
It looked like a fight was inevitable, as the Beast began shambling over towards Logan’s position. Still, Logan stayed still, hoping beyond hope that the bear would walk on past him. Logan prepared his teleportation anyway, if he had to make a break for it. Logan waited up until the bear was just feet away, its every breath audible.
Suddenly, Logan could tell by its soul that it would attack. Mid teleport, and he was sighing about what was about to come. He had repositioned himself with his back to the cave, and only a few seconds later Remy teleported onto his shoulder.
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Logan watched the bear fumble about through the underbrush where they just were for several seconds. Sometimes he forgot to appreciate just how broken of a Blessing he had started out with. At the time, Logan had no real reference, but with his experience’s, he had come to realize Divinity was much harder to accumulate for most people than he had originally thought. Such a Beast would be a challenge for most people with his Kindling, but Logan’s ability to instantly reposition gave him an unfair advantage.
However, just as he was musing his own superiority, a heavy burning pain burst across his back, knocking Logan forward. He spent a second disorientated on the ground, before spinning his body to rise back to his feet.
-Up! Up!-
Scrabbling, Logan realized his mistake. The bear hadn’t been solitary in its den, and its partner must have opened up the new rents on his back. The knowledge didn’t stop the pain from flooding in, and Logan almost fell as he tried to take his feet again.
His overconfidence had led to a brutal injury, just as he had separated from the Legion. He needed to get away, and take care of the wounds before he lost all of his strength. This time, as Logan stood he paid attention to both his adversaries and told his plan to Remy.
Remy, we need to get out of here, if we teleport away can you lead me to some clean water?
-Yeah!-
Alright, on three…
As the bears took their time waddling towards their prey, now that they thought Logan was surrounded. Instead, Logan and Remy disappeared back into the thick of the woods, and got a move on. Logan had heard of bears back on Earth traveling at 35 mph, and Logan wasn’t in any mood to find out about their counterparts here.
Instead, the two of them kept teleporting away, jumping through and around the landscape. Logan had no idea where they were in relation to the Fort anymore, and he couldn’t spare the time to figure it out. Logan could feel the dirt seeping his wounds, and they started to sting instead of the throbbing pain they had been up until this point.
Logan needed to clean the gashes, and fast.