"What the fuck…" Blanc muttered as he looked at the beast in front of them.
It was a large bear, ten feet tall at least, watching them intently, hungry curiosity deep in its eyes.
Its coat was a light brown, closer to gray, and its mouth had saliva dripping from its lips as it watched.
It was safe to assume that either the commotion or the scent of blood had brought this beast to the scene.
From the way its bones were visible under the thick fur, it was clearly hungry and ready to fight for whatever meal it could find.
The issue was that the bear looked odd. It wasn't like those described in books, or like the one Blanc killed and harvested in the past.
It also did not resemble Allegra's Spirit Bear form, neither in color, size, nor facial shape.
It had a short face, a large nose, and even larger teeth.
This wasn't a beast you would want to face alone.
"What are we to do?" asked Celine.
"We can't give the wolves, not when Miyanna is harvesting," Blanc explained, his mouth moving quickly as he drew his bow, "Prepare for battle."
No further explanation was needed, as Celine, Kael, and Lune dashed in different directions as they prepared their bows.
Only Blanc remained between Miyanna and the short-faced bear.
The beast returned to all fours, walking slowly down the hill towards the wolf carcasses.
It did not seem to be concerned with the others preparing for combat.
Its target was the food dead on the ground, not the one that still crawled through the snow.
They would get their turn soon enough.
Blanc nocked an arrow, aimed, and loosed it.
Three more flew from the rest.
All four found the large target, each hitting different parts of the bear's body.
It roared, but as it got down into the small valley, it kept walking calmly.
"Did that just annoy him?" Blanc whispered, clicking his tongue in frustration as he got ready for another arrow.
Nocked, aimed, loosed.
The cold got in the way of Blanc's accurate aim as the arrow managed only to hit the bear's front left leg.
Two more found their target a second later, one in its butt, another in its side.
The short-faced bear grew more annoyed, yet still walked forward, now less than thirty feet from Blanc and Miyanna.
He nocked another, aimed, and loosed.
By the time the arrow found its target, he loosed another one, straight into the bear's eye.
Now, Blanc had its full attention.
The bear got on its feet and swiped at the arrow stuck in its eye, snapping it as if it were a twig, the arrowhead still stuck in its eye.
It roared and pounced towards Blanc at great speed.
Another arrow managed to hit the bear.
And another one soon after.
But the bear didn't stop its fast approach.
Blanc discarded his bow and pulled his sword as he jumped to the side.
Luckily, the bear did not continue in Miyanna's direction but instead followed after Blanc.
Blanc rolled in the snow, his jaguar pelt catching much of the snow as he got up and dashed forward.
The bear was faster than Blanc, as with each of its steps, which sent the snow near it in the air as if it were dust, it closed the distance.
It opened its mouth, aiming for Blanc's head.
Blanc suddenly stopped and crouched, the bear going over his head before realizing where Blanc had gone.
Blanc pointed his sword upwards, trying to cut open the bear's stomach wide open.
But the skin was tougher than expected, only receiving a thin cut from it.
Another three thuds were heard from the bear, another roar, annoyed at the arrows that were filling its body.
As it turned to face Blanc again, Blanc was dashing towards the beast instead.
The bear did not waste such an opportunity.
It dashed forward to meet Blanc face-to-face.
But a smaller beast is always faster on its feet than a larger one.
A lesson the short-faced bear learned the next few moments, when it clenched its jaw, hoping it would rip Blanc in two, but instead bit at empty air.
The bear felt a pull as something grabbed its fur on the left side of its neck.
It tried to fight off whatever was climbing on its back.
However, they held strong.
The short-faced bear got back on its hind legs, but that too did not change the situation.
It felt rage, annoyance.
It needed blood and food.
And they will have it, no matter what.
The bear ignored the annoyance on its back and looked towards its next target.
Miyanna, as she slowly opened her eyes, her hand still on the wolf.
That was it.
The bear dashed forward, towards Miyanna, who had just then noticed the situation the others were in as the bear approached her.
Another arrow at the bear's hind legs.
Then a warm, sharp pain clung to the bear's neck.
It felt nice.
It felt peaceful.
But the bear was hungry.
A deep hunger it had to satisfy before enjoying the peace.
But as it ran, its front legs gave out, sending it sliding headfirst into the snow toward its food, which watched terrified as it approached.
It was close now.
It opened its mouth wide, but not wide enough.
It closed the next moment.
The bear tried again, but its mouth barely moved.
It was exhausting.
But the warmth grew warmer, and the peace it felt grew more peaceful.
Maybe the bear was not hungry any longer.
Maybe the peace was enough.
The bear stared at the food it was about to consume as it watched terrified, two feet away from its face.
The food's eyes were bronze.
The bear's eyes were yellow as it closed them.
The warmth overtook its mind, and the peacefulness took its soul, dragging it away to a place where food, pain, and arrows were just weird dreams.
It was really peaceful now.