Steven Universe: The Diamond Legacy

Nora's Bear

This will be a short chapter where Nora makes a new furry friend.

Enjoy!

Pine needles crunched beneath my sneakers as I hiked the trail near the mountain fortress. I needed time to myself to think and collect my thoughts over recent events. The gem shard at my chest pulsed like a relaxed heart, and I touched my hand to it, sending an aura of calm from my mind to hers. The whole time I was hiking, I felt a tightness in my chest from her being worried about me alone.

We really are connected now, and I'm never alone even when we're apart. The whole concept was a huge adjustment, and I was still trying to figure things out. So far I knew not only did we share our pain, but our emotions transferred back and forth across our minds like a telephone wire. Which sounded awesome, but in reality I felt it left me without privacy.

Who knows what else this entails.

I stopped in my tracks, gripping the sword hilt ( a weapon I took from the fortress's armory.) I sensed I was being followed. I thoughts raced to Aragonite and Gypsum. "They think I'm dead, surely they couldn't track me down again. What emerged from the brush behind me was just as frightening as the two Remnant Gems.

It was a full grown male brown bear.

The animal was massive, his shoulder reached five feet , and he could've given even Lion a wallop if it was enraged, yet he didn't show any signs of aggression. Cocking his ears toward me he made a low groan, smacking his lips.

I tried to keep calm, standing in place I made myself as big as I possibly could, unsheathing the sword and raising it above my head, and screamed at it as loud as I could muster to scare it off.

"Go away bear!"

This is what you're supposed to do if you encounter a bear in the wild (sword not included), because bears are not out to attack people and will avoid them if given the chance. Most attacks happen when they're startled, they feel threatened, they're protecting a food source, or they have cubs. Neither of these were the situation with this bear, maybe he will run away if I spooked him enough.

" You don't wanna eat me! Seriously I'm fat around the edges and full of bad cholesterol, and if you try your luck you'll choke on my bones! I am part Diamond and I'll pack you a wallop you've never seen if you dare to mess with me!"

The bear responded to that threat with a charge.

I immediately lay on my belly, covering my head and neck with my backpack. This is what you're supposed to do if a bear decides to attack. Closing my eyes I waited for the teeth to sink in. Instead felt a huge nose press against my backpack and a heavy snuffling in my ear before the bear licked me in the head.

What the frick!? I slowly sat up, facing the bear as he sat on his haunches, wiggling his ears as he stared at me. "What kind of apex predator are you!?" I saw a chain around his neck, dragging on the ground, it had been on him for quite some time, rubbing his fur off in bald patches.

"Who put that on you?" I whispered, slowly approaching him. Looking at him closer I saw the he'd been well fed, and I wondered if he'd been stealing picnic baskets or being handfed by friendly hikers.

"Easy there. I'm not going to hurt you." I said when he made a rumbling growl. I removed the chain and threw it aside. "There, you're free." I nodded. "I guess that explains why you're not afraid of me, you must've been raised around humans. How could they have been so cruel as to chain you and then set you lose in the wilderness, unless you escaped. You must have an interesting story to tell."

The bear grunted as if he meant to say 'yeah tell me about it.' He approached me and I reached out my hand to touch his muzzle...

A gunshot cracked and the bear collapsed at my feet.

I screamed in shock, hearing two hunters approach the clearing.

"Did you get him?" a husky voice asked.

"Yup, clear shot, boy he was a big one."

I saw the hunters as the appeared in sight, dressed in deep woods camo with rifles. They looked at me in shock, apparently not expecting me to be there. "Woah kid, what are doing so close to a bear like that!? He could've gotten you killed!"

I looked at them with trembling fists. "What did you do?"

The men backed away. "Take it easy young lady, we're just hunting. Where did you even come from? Are you hiking alone?"

"GET OUT!" I screamed, sending a rattling shockwave through the clearing, uprooting the surrounding trees. The hunters were knocked off their feet before scrambling madly and fleeing into the forest.

The pink glow vanished from my body and I stroked the bear's corpse, fresh blood pooling from it's neck, hysterically crying as I hugged its fur, hating the humans who shot him and hating myself for not being able to protect him.

I didn't notice the pink glow enveloping the bear's body until I felt its heat on my face. Jumping away, I watched astonished as the bear's fur changed to pink. When it opened its eyes I thought I'd faint from disbelief.

"Oh my stars."

The bear rose onto his paws, shaking off as if he'd awoken from a nap before sniffing his fur curiously. I could see the near sapience in his eyes as he stared at me, wiggling his ears. "Hi." I chuckled nervously. "Love the new look." The revived animal reared up on his hind legs, towering over me and with his front paws wrapped me into a literal bear hug

One could say it was almost unbearable.

"Agggh it a trap!" I gasped, smothered by his immense power and thick fur. "An adorable trap!" He playfully mouthed me, sniffing my hair and nuzzling my head. "Nice bear! Good boy! Please don't break me by accident." He released me from his embrace and fell onto all fours, letting me touch his muzzle. "You're a friendly guy aren't ya?" The bear chuffed.

"This is the second time I revived someone from death this week." I laughed . "Oh man wait until I tell the Gems about this, they'll never believe it! I don't even believe it! I can't believe I have healing tears too!"

My insane laughs echoed through the forest as the bear nuzzled my cheek with his huge nose. "Holy Stars...How am I gonna explain this to the Gems!?"

....

Bear with me, the next chapter will be up soon!