The beast within

Chapter 2

Oh, my sweet Jesus.

It was huge. A black bear with unusual yellow eyes was standing before me, oh and did I mention it was gigantic.

Being a formal Girl Scout, I've seen a few bears in my time but none of them looked like this. " Oh my. Okay, calm down Stacy breath. It's not attacking me so it's going to be Okay... I think." I back away slowly and reach my hand towards my taser which I keep In my side pocket. "Alright big guy." I lift my free hand towards him in a defensive stance. "Back way please, I wouldn't want to tase you."

Though I sound like a bad ass right know truth is... I'm currently having a panic attack. The bear tilts its head and stepped forward. I flinch but don't move, scared it might attack if I do. I keep my face firm and unemotional. Why? Because the only thing I can remember or even think of right now is that bears can read facial expressions. Or at least I think they can. I don't remember anymore, now I'm just winging it. 

Hand on taser, I watch the bear slowly walk towards me closing the gap I tried so hard to make. I close my eyes ready to run if necessary and squeeze my taser. I felt something soft touch my hand. I open one eye scared I might see it eat my arm or something, but instead I see it place the top of its head on my palm. I lower my hand from my taser and drop my hand from its head, the next thing I know Im sitting on the ground looking up at a bear that looks like Godzilla's distant cousin. "You're not going to eat me, are you? Like I don't know, maybe you're going to be nice to me now then save me for a bedtime snack or something." It just stares at me for a while before it flops down next to me. 

Hesitantly, I reach out and touch its head again. It grunts and closes its eyes, who knew testing the waters would be this cute. "I guess you're nice after all huh big guy?" Actually... "You are a guy right?" He opens his eyes and looks at me.

 It winked. Or at least I think it did, I mean its a bear for Christ sake.

 "Alright flirty McFlirt, mind staying still so I can take a picture? It'll be quick I promise." It closes its eyes again and I smile. I reach to grab my camera and finally realize that in my few moments of shock that I dropped it. Frantically, I look around for any signs that it could be close to no avail. "Hey bear."  It opens its eyes again. "Can you understand me?" It responded by slowly getting up, revealing my small little camera. I sigh and grab it, using this opportunity to make sure to check if It is a male.

It is.

I stand up and position my camera towards him and frown. "Geez, you really are big. OK, so how about you try sitting down?" This is now only about half the picture, I want to know if he can understand me or not. He stares at me for several moments before he stands on his hind legs instead. "Well, I guess that question was answered then huh?" I mumble dryly. He waddle my way and flops on me. I scream and somehow manage to hold him up- though im fifty percent sure he's only putting a third of his weight on me which is odd for a wild animal. He plops his head on top of mine and makes a bear noise. I giggle, buts it muffled by his fur, then I realize something. I inhale. A spicy, kinda woody sweet smell fills my nostrils that creates a weirdly warm feeling in my stomach. Shouldn't he smell like a rotten fish and not like a lumberjack who showered in pine needles?

I take a few more whiffs before I pat his side. "Alright buddy get off so I can take picture OK?" He doesn't move. I sigh. Who knew a lethal killing machine could actually be a giant teddy bear. That's a good name actually. "Come on Teddy get off."

 That does it.

He hops off of me and puffs air in my face. I grin. And take out my camera taking a quick picture before he could do anything. "Aww does the big bear not like his new name?" I purr, using the voice I use when talking to jet. He licks me- which I was expecting to smell like rotten eggs on a hot summer day, but was hit with a strong smell of mint. Okay, what? "Do you have an owner or something big fella? Because last I checked wild animals don't smell good like you do." I lean forward towards his mouth. "Open." and surprisingly he does. His teeth are clean and white. I rub my chin thoughtfully.

"OK, we're going to play a game. I want you to sit down for yes and stand for no OK?" He sits down. I snap a picture and he sits up. "Do you have an owner?" He stands up, another picture. "Do you like the name 'Teddy'?" He waves his paw. I guess that means no. I pout, "Aww but Teddy is cute plus you're like a huge teddy bear it's only fitting." He makes another bear noise and goes back on all fours again. I think for a bit. What exactly do you ask a bear? "Do you like me?" He sits.

I sigh. Good to know that some male likes me. "Let's see... do you eat mint or something?" He tilts his head and waves his paw. "Alright then, can you understand me?" He waves his paw. I mean after all this I guess it wasn't that hard to understand.

This went on for about an hour before I got all the info I needed. "Alright big guy, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you." I don't know why Im talking to him like I just did a job interview but whatever.

He seems to have better plans. He stands and blocks my exit plopping his furry butt on the ground. I place my hand on my hips. "You gonna eat me now?". 'Harrumph' was his reply. I sigh. "You remind me of my dog," I mumble. He lays down and stares at me. An idea comes to mind. "Can I sit on you?" He abruptly picks up his head, and I swear he squinted at me! "Tilt your head for OK, Shake your head for no." He hesitates before he slowly tilts his head. I squeal and make my way to his back. 

Now trying to climb this giant was a struggle. With my clumsiness, along with me trying not to pull his fur too hard I almost ate dirt. Once I finally managed to get on his back he decided it would be funny to stand, resulting in me yelling like a 2-year-old at a circus. "Wait, wait, wait, wait don't move I just wanted to sit on you not ride you!" This bear was smart- or dumb, It was hard to tell at this point because he begins to walk.  

Griping on for dear life, I watch the forest zip past us. He was walking, right? I look down and confirm my suspicions. Must be his huge bear legs. We walked for a while before we reached some sort of clearing. A large river could be seen up ahead surrounded by wildlife of sort I've never seen before. The water was crystal clear and looked clean enough to drink.

 "Did you want something to eat big guy? If that was the case I have some sandwiches you can have." He stops in front of a flat rock, that looks kinda like a table, and lays down. I took that as a sign to get off and explore my surroundings. I place my things on the table like rock and head to the river, camera at the ready.

I take pictures of everything, not wanting to leave a single detail unnoticed. I find a rose bush near the edge of the river and stop to smell them. As I stare at the flowers my eyes land on a single lily sitting under a small tree. A big smile spreads across my face.

Teddy comes up behind me and plops his head on mine. "Such beauty a small life could hold." His head appears next to my face and he licks me. He turns, walking over to the river, staring at the fish as they swim upstream. I take off my shoes and sit down next to him putting my feet in the very cold water. 

I look at my watch and see that it's 5:42 pm. 5:42!? I got here at 12:00 Am! There is no way I've been here for five hours. There's just no way. I Lookup. The sun was about to set. Oh jeez. "Teddy?" He looks down at me and tilts his head. "Can you take me back to the pond?" Oh wait. "You know what I mean right?". He nods? Again im not to sure considering he is a bear. 

But he's a bear that can understand you.

Got me there.

I walk to the table rock and put on my shoes. Once I gathered all my things he lays down for me to get on his back again. With as much grace as a toddler in ballet, I climb on his back once more. Once back at the pond I thought he was gonna stop, but he doesn't. Instead, he keeps going. Down the path. past the mini pond at the fork in the road, and at the nature made parking lot.

He finally lays down allowing me to climb off. I turn towards him and rub his snout. "Thank you, Teddy. I'll be back soon okay?". He stands and rubs his cheek against mine, his fur tickling my nose. I give his snout one last kiss before turning and heading toward my car. Once safely inside I start her up and pull out of the clearing to the road, Teddy watching my every move.

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Oh jeez. After months of procrastination and empty promises I finally finished chapter 2. 

So what do yall think of Teddy? Quite the catch huh?

Time to keep it up I guess.

Till next time <3