gentle beast

9

With the wind and snow blocked out, the temperature rose a little but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu felt chills along her entire body.   Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s light of sight fell on the bear man’s deerskin vest and her heart contracted in her chest.

Looking carefully, the deerskin was withered and old, not as if it had just been stripped off, and her heart dropped with relief.

It seemed that Eric hadn’t meet him.

In the 21st century, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu frequently saw on the news that “human beings met with danger in the woods and were eaten by brown bears.” The pictures were cruel and considerably bloody.

Back then, she had thought herself very distant from the issue, but she hadn’t expected it to be her turn so soon.

She did not know even brown bears had evolved into beastmen. Did he have preferences? Could he separate right from wrong? Was it too late for her to lie down and pretend to be dead?

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu watched the brown bear attentively and, without a trace of retreat in her eyes, quickly analyzed the situation again.

The only exit was blocked by the other, and she only had her knife in hand. Although she had a leopard with her, he was also underage. If the bear wanted to attack the two of them, they would have no chance at winning.

Realizing this cruel reality, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s mood became even heavier.

“That one. . .” Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu attempted to converse with the other, but just as she opened her mouth, she saw him bend his huge body over and entered the cave as if it were uninhabited.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hurriedly backed away until her back was stuck to the tree trunk to give him way. This tree was thick, looked about a hundred years old, and the cave was relatively wide. More than enough to accommodate Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu, Eric and the little leopard.  

Now that the bear was inside, the cave suddenly seemed a lot narrower.   The bear beastman occupied almost half of the cave. When he sat down, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu and Ryan were crowded into the corner.   Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu recalled Eric’s words. This cave was desolate, and when they first came in, the temperature was very low and there were no signs of a living creature anywhere.

She watched the bear beastman as he leaned half his body against the trunk, and he seemed unfamiliar here.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu felt a glimmer of hope. Since this was not his territory, perhaps they could communicate nicely?

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was just about to open her mouth, showing no signs of nerves, when the bear ordered in a low voice, “Get out.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: “. . .”

She knew he was a solitary animal. Especially when hibernating, he wouldn’t want someone around to disturb him even more.

But this place was one they found first, couldn’t he see sense?

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu took a deep breath, lightening her voice as much as possible, and tried again, “The snow outside it very high, and there seems to be no other place to hide nearby. If you don’t mind, we can stay here for a while and wait for the snow to lighten up. . .”

The brown bear turned black eyes towards Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu. She did not know if it was his natural disposition or whether he was dissatisfied with her words, but his face was expressionless.