Before Asa could react, he’d tripped over the Lapis Bear. He stumbled right on top of her, eyes wide in a panic. Her Bone Club skittered away form her as they fell. He was sweaty and breathing hard as he scrambled off her, picking up his hat and apologizing over and over.

As he put on his hat, she saw the black ring around his brown forearm with the letters MAER inscribed into them. It was just like the mark around her neck. But before she could ask, a large creature appeared from behind a tree and bellowed so loudly that Asa almost wet herself.

It was like furious thunder. Asa clapped her hands over her ears. “Holy fuck,” she whispered when it stopped and glowered at them from atop a vine, its green horns shimmering in the sunlight.

Maer grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. “We have to run. That thing is too strong.”

She couldn’t take her eyes of the monstrous bear. Her legs were still trembling from its roar.

“It’s an Emerald Bear,” hissed Maer. He pulled her away. “I’ll explain later, but that thing wants to eat me. And you probably smell like an appetizer. We have to run before it decides who to eat first.”

The Lapis Bear stood its ground, staring up at the much larger creature. Lapis? Emerald? Were they related in some way? “Come on,” said Asa to the smaller bear, and the three of them raced away.

She looked back to see the Emerald Bear stepping forward, sniffing the air. Whatever had stalled it before had lost its effect. It roared again and launched itself on all fours.

Its overbearing presence reminded her of the Corrupted goddess in the temple. The imminent danger right behind her, the rumbling power in its every step.

She didn’t want to think about that. The horror. The pounding of her heart. The flight sensation screaming in the back of her mind. Asa focused on the stranger who had a black band and a name.

He had a broad back, a shapely muscular form, and he raced ahead with ease, leaping from root to root. He hacked away at branches with a large blade that appeared and disappeared in his hands.

The Lapis Bear panted beside her. It didn’t race ahead like before; it too seemed wary of the stranger.

Her stamina bar was depleting as well, but on top of the green bar was a smaller blue bar that refilled quickly as her green bar went down. That must be the boost from the mushroom, she thought.

Her wooden geta sandals slapped against the roots, the dirt, and whatever else she stepped on, but that was nothing compared to the tremendous footfalls of the bear. The branches and things crackling under its weight. She knew they wouldn’t be able to outrun it just by the proximity of its overwhelming presence.

Her breaths grew labored. Her legs burned. This wasn’t like the temple where she’d managed to escape by sheer luck. If she tripped here, she was food. Her stamina bar was almost completely gone now, flashing red.

The beast was just about upon them when Asa saw a little space between two large roots. It was just like the one where she’d gone to the bathroom earlier, except this one had a covering of vines and leaves that almost formed a curtain. It was just up ahead, and a bit to their right with a thick root on the other side. She had to time this perfectly.

She picked up the Lapis Bear then threw herself forward, grabbing Maer’s arm and pulling him to the side, right into the little pocket between the roots.

The Emerald Bear raced by like an enormous train, and she felt its raw strength thundering through the ground as they scrambled behind the leaves and vines. She felt it on the furious wind summoned by its speed. But they’d made it into the little space between the roots, and she collapsed against the stranger, the Lapis Bear between them, all of them panting in the dark. Her stamina bar went from red to orange to yellow and returned green as she caught her breath.

“It’s going to find us,” whispered Mare, huffing as he sat up. He clutched his arm where a red mark was on his skin from the fall. The Lapis Bear sat on Asa’s lap, licking the sweat off her shirt.

“Yeah,” she said, watching him apply some sort of cream to his arm. “It was going to catch us, so you’re welcome.” Asa summoned another long bone, her last one.

Maer laughed. “That’s not going to do anything.”

“It’s all I have,” she said, scowling. She was going to say more, but they heard the bear again, nearby. Its large body betrayed its presence as it growled and scratched things. Her plan to hide worked at least, but the more it sniffed around, the closer it got.

“Fuck,” said Maer. “It’s going to smell us.”

“Why’d it even chase you?” whispered Asa, crouching beside Maer. They would have to burst out of the curtain of vines and make a run for it, but she decided she’d offer up Maer if she had to.

“I, uh…”

She could almost feel his face turn red in the dark. “What?”

“So, I thought it was a tree and I needed to pee really, really bad.”

She almost hit him with the club, but she couldn’t say another word. The Emerald Bear was right next to their tree now, sniffing. The Lapis Bear struggled on her lap, eager to fight. But that would be like sending a cub against a beast.

Asa felt around, trying not to make a sound or touch Maer by accident in the dark. She felt the roots on either side, but then she felt a gentle breeze that tickled her sweaty skin. “Do you have a light?” she whispered.

Blue light filled their little space, and Asa saw an orb on Maer’s hand.

Illumina Sphere

By its light, she saw the hole in the root, like a little tunnel. It looked just big enough for them to squeeze through, but if the bear found their spot before they got through, they’d be trapped.

Maer summoned a long sword in his hand, and Asa paused for a moment to study its screen.

Explorer’s Sword 70 DMG A sword brandished by brave explorers who venture into the unknown seeking gold and glory.

She looked up at his brown face and straw hat. Brave wouldn’t have been her choice of words, but she got an idea. “Put that away,” she whispered. She remembered how the Lapis Bear had devoured her platter of meat earlier.

“What?” asked Maer with a look of disbelief.

“Put the sword away and get as far back from those leaves as you can.” Asa licked her lips and waited for Maer to move. The Emerald Bear had to be right outside. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead and face. She summoned a platter of meat in her hands, and the space filled with its strong aroma. The Lapis Bear struggled in her arms, and she patted its head with her free hand. “I’ll give you another one later.”

Immediately, the movements outside stopped. The bear could smell it too. She pushed the plate out beyond the leaves and vines and placed it atop a loose root, then darted back inside. The bear shuffled around outside. Asa shut her eyes and begged for this work. She smiled when she heard the unmistakable sounds of its snout against the plate, chewing on the meat.

She poked outside to see its great head only a few feet away, its emerald horns glistening right in front of her. So close that she could touch them.

Great Emerald Bear 1000 HP

It was huge, she thought. A swath of brown and gray fur. On its hump and down its back grew trees with branches and leaves that looked like a shell around the bear. No wonder Maer mistook it for a part of the forest, it camouflaged nearly perfectly.

She looked to the snout beneath its great emerald horns. Its sharp teeth. Its muzzle caked with meat and sauce and rice.

“Now what?” hissed Maer as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “We’re just going to sit here and wait for it to want seconds?”

She shook him off and grabbed the light from his hand. “Look,” she said, pointing to the little hole. “We’re going to crawl away while it's distracted.” The Lapis Bear licked her leg, then crawled into the hole and disappeared.

Maer didn’t look convinced. He took the light back and looked towards the sound of the Emerald Bear.

Asa knelt down, feeling the breeze coming from the other side. Wherever it led had to be better than dealing with the bear. “Suit yourself if you wanna stay here,” she told Maer before dropping onto all fours and squeezing into the hole.

It was a tight fit, but crawling on her elbows and knees, she managed to get inside. The tunnel walls felt like rock even though there were roots, but she moved forward, seeing the light at the other end.

After a bit, she heard Maer grumbling behind her. With a sense of satisfaction, she crawled further into the tunnel, the Lapis Bear leading the way. She didn’t realize her mistake until the bear paused.

“What is it?” she whispered. It growled at the light ahead. There must be something outside. “It’s okay,” she said. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

That was when Maer caught up, and in the dark, his head collided with her, making her almost cry out.

“Great idea,” he said, his voice muffled by her ass. “Let’s crawl into a tunnel.” His nose was pressed against her, and she could feel and hear him inhaling deeply before she jolted forward away from him. She could feel his breath against her.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed. She wanted to kick him, but it was impossible in this position. The sensation of his face against her soft parts, her lack of underwear with only a pair of thin shorts on. How sweaty she’d gotten from running through the forest. It loomed in her mind as Asa grit her teeth and kept moving, painfully aware now of the proximity of his face to her ass.

Come to me…

The whimper escaped her throat before she could stop it. The voice had startled her.

“I’m sorry,” said Maer from behind her. “It was by accident.” Every few steps, she felt his hands brush her feet. He was being more careful now, but she couldn’t shake this feeling off.

Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa.

That voice twisted around her thoughts, urging naughty thoughts. She wanted to pull off her shorts and let him accidentally bump into her again, just to hear his reaction. Just to feel him against her, skin to skin. And maybe they could stay like that for a while. In the dark, curled up in a little tunnel.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, trying to push those thoughts away. But the Lapis Bear took slower steps now; it was taking them much longer to get through the tunnel. She wondered if these tunnels were how the smaller creatures move around inside the giant forest to avoid predators.

The Lapis Bear came to a halt right before the end, and she stopped, squinting at the brightness to see what was ahead. All she saw was more forest. Its thick trees and greenery, but the little bear seemed so sure something was waiting.

Asa almost yelped when she felt Maer’s face against her ass again.

“Okay,” he said, scrambling back quickly. “That time, it was you. Maybe give me a warning or something when you stop like that?”

“There’s something up ahead,” she said through clenched teeth, wondering if he could tell what she’d been thinking about this whole time. If her body’s arousal betrayed her. It was a confusing mixture of lust and fear, but she focused on the possible danger ahead.

His hands found her feet. “What is it?”

“Don’t know,” she whispered back. The Lapis Bear’s fur was on end. She could feel it trembling against her arms. “Can it be worse than that big bear?”

As if on cue, the Emerald Bear roared again. Its sound filled the tunnel, rumbled through the earth. Maer cursed and pushes against her again, making Asa cry out, and all of them tumbled out of the tunnel.

They found themselves between large roots again. These were coated in green and blue mushrooms, and the sun bore down on them from above.

“I’m sorry,” said Maer, standing up and brushing off his knees.

Asa looked up at him, her face red. She was ready to throw something at him or hit him with a weapon, but he was blushing too. His straw hat appeared on his hand and he put it on. He apologized some more. Talking about how nice she smelled and how it was all an accident, but she felt the Lapis Bear trembling in her arms.

A large beetle scuttled by them, but it didn’t give chase. The little bear buried itself in her lap, and Asa wondered what it could be so frightened of. That was when she looked up.

A large tiger. Its striped orange coat shimmering in the little bit of sunlight as it stood over them on a large root. Its whiskered face was so close, that Asa could see the dark flecks in its amber eyes. She could see the scales that lined its underbelly and the webbing between its enormous claws.

RIVER TIGER 800 HP

Her breath caught in her throat, and she wrapped her arms around the Lapis Bear. Maer swore loudly and drew his sword, and the tiger’s attention turned towards him.

Just when it looked ready to pounce, and Asa pictured it tearing out Maer’s neck before attacking her, the forest thundered around them again. the Emerald Bear came crashing out of the forage, running on all fours. It rammed the tiger with its glistening horns.

Both monsters screamed as they rolled off the root and crashed against a tree Asa sat where she was, her heart pounding like mad, her legs gone weak. She couldn’t take her eyes off the shuddering trees as the titans fought. The bear smacked the tiger with its meaty paws. The tiger weaved around the bear and bit down where it could.

“Let’s get away while they’re killing each other,” Maer whispered, snapping her out of the trance.

“Yeah,” said Asa, her voice raspy. Her throat had gone dry, but she held the Lapis Bear against her chest. Maer looked as terrified as she was. They climbed over a root and dashed away as roars and growls filled the forest.