Ashan 69th of Arc 711
Yana returned to the clearing on her own. She and Nicole had started making their way through the understory together. When they’d almost reached the tree-less open space however, Nicole had thrown her hands up in wide-eyed realization. “My gear!” the scatterbrained cadet had exclaimed, “I forgot my gear!” Without a second wasted, she’d rushed off once again, racing through the scattering of ferns and brambles and bushes. “Don’t wait for me!” she called out before disappearing.
Of course, the Yludih hadn’t even considered waiting for her unwanted companion. Just like she hadn’t bothered telling her about the forgotten sword and armor pieces. Nicole’s forgetfulness was not Yana’s responsibility. That said, she’d expected Nicole to notice she’d left her weapon and armor behind only when seeing the others. Or when getting back to her spot, where she wouldn’t find her stuff. Surprisingly, the girl had discovered her error beforehand.
And so, Yana emerged from the underbrush by herself, met with a wall of sound many times louder than she remembered. Away from the group, between the trees, the ambience had been muffled. Audible still, but quieter. The clearing itself hadn’t changed while she’d been gone. Most had finished lunch, and the cadets sat scattered in small groups, cliques of roommates or friends, resting with their backs against the trunks of trees. Several seized the opportunity to get some more sleep, napping with their head on the backpack. An impromptu pillow. Not terribly comfortable, but better than nothing.
She maneuvered through the different circles, avoiding hands and fingers, as well as the gear haphazardly strewn about. Drillmistress Jeesa and her assistants had been sitting a bit further, close to the main host of the cadet group, but a little removed. Perhaps to have some privacy, or to be able to better keep an eye on everyone. Maybe both. It needn’t be either or. However, they weren’t there anymore. Only one remained, leaning on a boulder, arms crossed and eyes watchful.
During her approach Yana finally spotted the drillmistress and her other flunkies, standing in a half-circle a couple dozen feet beyond the boulder, near the far edge of the clearing. One of the assistants –the person who’d roughly shaken Yana awake that morning-- sat crouched, pointing at something on the ground. From the looks on their faces and the gestures made, it was clear they were discussing something. The crouched assistant pointed from the ground to a tree, worried, and the drillmistress nodded slowly.
As the Yludih cadet passed the assistant at the boulder, the latter, a rough-looking woman with a scar on her chin, gave her the side-eye, but said nothing. No effort was made to stop Yana, so she kept walking. While closing in, the sidekick who’d been crouched earlier noticed her. He spoke a few quick words to Jeesa, who promptly glanced into Yana’s direction. The cadet herself was too far away to hear what was said, and the angle of the assistant’s face made it too difficult to attempt reading his lips. She wasn’t well versed in it anyway, only able to make out the most obvious words.
By the time she joined the drillmistress and her two assistants, all three of them were waiting for her. Arms crossed, backs straight, faces unreadable, eyes fixated on her. It was difficult not to feel slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of her superiors. She couldn’t tell if they were displeased by her interrupting them, or if they didn’t particularly care. Clearly they’d been discussing something important, and wanted to get back to it, unwilling to do so in presence of uninvited ears. Either way, Yana suddenly felt as if she was doing everything wrong.
The way she walked and let her arms lightly swing with each step, was that natural? Did it look like a normal person approaching, or some kind of scarecrow come to life taking its first staggering strides? Was the way her hips swayed and her body held itself straight abnormal? Her Yludih nature felt suddenly so very obvious, her illusion so flimsy.
She pushed the doubts away. For years she’d lived, and for years no-one had riled up a vengeful mob with torches and pitchforks to capture or kill her. Hell, the first fourteen years of her life she hadn’t even been aware of her true nature, thinking herself to be a normal Eídisi. There was no significant difference in her mannerisms and those of the average person. She didn’t walk differently, she didn’t hold herself differently. There was no reason to feel unnatural. She wasn’t slipping up.
The drillmistress and her sidekicks were simply waiting for her to get close, do what she needed to, and leave. They weren’t analyzing her every move. That was ridiculous. No-one here knew, and no-one would ever find out in such a stupid manner.
“Something the matter, cadet?” drillmistress Jeesa spoke when Yana finally stopped right in front of them. “Are you missing some of your gear?”
Confused, the Yludih paused for a moment. The events of the early morning emerged from the fog in her mind, half-forgotten because of more important matters.
“Oh. No.” For less than a second, there was silence. Then she quickly added: “Ma’am. Nothing missing. I don’t think…” She cut herself off. “No, never mind, that’s not important.”
The two assistants raised their eyebrows, as did Jeesa herself. “Speak up, cadet. What were you about to say?”
“Well… it’s just… it’s not what I’m here for, Ma’am.” Her eyes wandered from the face of the drillmistress to the ground behind her, spotting an animal print in the mud. Jeesa shifted her body to block the view.
“Tell me anyway, cadet. I’m curious now. If you think you know something, I’d like to hear it.”
“But, Ma’am, it’s not--” A harsh and commanding glare from Jeesa shut her up. Yana sighed. “I don’t think there was anything missing from any pack, Ma’am. I think it’s a ploy to get us to thoroughly check our gear. And to teach us the importance of it.”
Around Jeesa’s lips played a thin smile. “Is that so?” She shared a knowing look with her assistants, who suppressed grins of their own. “Who knows, maybe you’re right. And maybe you’re not. And the part you’re here for?”
“Right.” Yana nodded, pointing to the tracks behind the drillmistress, and then to the part of the forest she’d gone to with Nicole. “We found some tracks of a large animal, along with droppings that might be relatively fresh. We think it may be a bear?”
Again, the three superiors shared a look. Worried this time. Jeesa nodded towards the bed-shaking assistant.
“Can you describe what you found in more detail?” he asked, frowning. “Are you certain the tracks and scat were from a bear?”
“I’m not certain, no. It’s a guess based on what we knew.” She paused for a moment, recalling. “The tracks were about this large--” she made a circle with her hands “—but had few details. Mud had flowed back in, making it difficult to recognize any distinguishing characteristics. They just looked round. The bush around it was partially flattened, so I figured it was big. The droppings were a heap of stout cylinders. Blackish brown in places, but mostly dark brown. Soft all the way through, no cracking. It smelled strongly. There were bits of hair or fur in there, along with seeds and shards of bone, I think."
The assistant nodded. “That does sound like a bear. It might still be in the area.” He looked at Jeesa then. “What bothers me is that everything points at a bear, but an abnormal one.” A glance was shot in Yana’s direction, but drillmistress Jeesa shook her head almost imperceptibly and stepped away from the tracks. Her assistant hesitated for a moment, then continued. “It’s too big to be a normal bear. It’s claws are too long too, not to mention thick.”
Indeed, the print resembled the ones Yana had found, only with claws. Long, and wide pointy triangles that tipped each toe.
“The depth of the tracks suggests it’s heavy too. They’re deeper than they should be, especially now. It’s been Ashan for a while, yes, but with all the weight lost during hibernation, no bear should leave tracks as deep as these.” The creases on his face deepened with concern. “Seeing that rub tree there,” he continued, pointing at a tree with scratch marks all over it, and a couple deep grooves scratched into it. “I’d say it’s above average in power too. It’s claws have taken out some large chunks of wood. I’d hoped those weren’t recent, but if you’ve found fresh scat…”
“We’re in agreement then,” Jeesa stated.
“Yeah, we better leave this place as soon as possible. It may just be an abnormally large and powerful bear, but maybe it’s something else. I don’t know how it will react to our presence in its habitat. Normal bears would stay away, but…”
Jeesa nodded. She turned to the assistant left at the boulder and signaled her with a series of gestures. The female assistant replied with a thumbs up, and began drawing the attention of the cadets.
“Return to the group, cadet,” Jeesa ordered Yana, “get your gear. Make sure you have everything. We’re leaving as soon as everyone’s ready.”
The Yludih gave a brief salute, then rushed off. Seeing her superiors unnerved by the findings made worry spread to her as well. The potential for danger came with the job, of course, but she hadn’t expected a threat to show up during a training exercise. Naïve, really.
Well, hopefully they could leave the area before the monster bear showed up—
Behind her, a hoarse yet thunderous roar echoed. Yana skidded to a halt, turning to look behind her. The drillmistress and her sidekicks stood tense, weapons drawn –two with sword and shield, one with a bow—glancing around to determine the source of the sound. More noise closed in; branches breaking and snapping, a body brushing past leaves, pushing flexible stems away. They snapped back a moment later.
She could hear it now. The thudding of a large quadrupedal beast racing through the woods, the impact of its forelegs as it caught the weight of its body with each bound. Bushes and trees began moving to the side of the three instructors. They turned as Yana began to cry a warning, but they were too late. The huge brown furred creature slammed into them like a battering ram. Jeesa and one of her assistants were sent sprawling, launched backwards like bowling pins. Only the sidekick with the bow narrowly escaped by flinging himself face-first into the mud.
It grunted, then turned its head to the loud noise coming from the cadets gathering their gear—Yana standing in between it and them. She gulped.
