How Many Times I'd Live For You

Chapter Five

BAM!

The pot smashed with a hollow clang against the closest head's snout, clanking off its slobbering teeth and back to the ground meters away. The monster bellowed out, strings of saliva flying through the air like streamers. Fiore didn't even care to cover his face, sacrificing his image for once to stay alive.

At this point, Fiore was barely recognizable, just a figure underneath a grimy and ripped cloak. If not fo his handsome face and expression he'd be labeled as a beggar.

Being a beggar is better than being dead!

With bear saliva splattered on his face, Fiorello let go of his years of princely training and scrambled across the rocks for the stream, straining his poor, tired legs to run as fast as humanly possible. Adrenaline replaced the fatigue, the liquid energy coursing through his veins as he splashed through the freezing stream.

Yet, no matter how fast he ran, six bear legs were faster than two human ones. The monster bear's shadow fell upon Fiore once more as his legs reached solid ground. Fiore grunted, eyes practically bulging in panic as the gigantic bear's huge fangs came into vision once more.

A fear instilled so heavily upon his body his limbs froze. The bear's mouth was inching forward in slow motion, and at that moment Fiore could see every detail as the creature lunged; the way its eyes bulged in rage, the way its blood-stained teeth were chipped away and sharpened, the way it's mangled fur clumped and bristled over scar tissue, and he could already see how his head would be crushed instantly in the creature's jaws.

"ABIR!!!" He screamed in a last-second panic, limbs finally unfreezing just in time for him to leap back. The jump wasn't at all graceful, Fiore only putting raw strength into his legs to propel himself as fat away as the head's jaws as he could. He landed on his sore backside, jaws snapping with a defining clank inches from his face.

Fiore let out another yell in his panic, grabbing whatever he could to hurl at the creature's face. Rocks and dirt bounced off the bear's thick hide, barely even making the creature blink. The heads only let out growls of annoyance, shaking away Fiore's pitiful attacks as if the rocks were just flies.

Fiore grunted, scrambling back in hoped the creature was distracted. All he needed to do was run back to the cave and get his sword. It wasn't too far away if he could just beat-

Before he could even get off the ground the monster bear reared up on its back legs, two pairs of sharp claws and one pair of open jaws aimed right for his head!

Nonononono

"ABIR!!!"

Fiore watched as his little life flashed before his eyes, the epitome of a failed and worthless life that he barely even had the chance to fix. At least he stared with a comfy life.... Maybe this was retribution for his ignorance.

"Fiore?! FIORE!!"

Fiore's moment of self-pity came to a halt, Abir's Shadowbringer slicing through the air and sticking squarely into one of the bear's heads! The head let out one last roar before falling limp. To Fiore's surprise, the rest of the body stood unaffected, the head just dangling disproportionality from its shoulders. Fiore took the time to scramble up, running in the direction SHadowbringer came from.

For once in his life, he was happy to see Abir- No, thrilled! Of course, he'd never admit it, but Abir looked like an angel in that very moment, his halo glowing just as bright as the sun. If not for his pride Fiore may have just hugged the man! Absolutely ridiculous! Fiore would think getting mauled by a monster bear was more probably than hugging Abir.