Chapter 1158
Ten days. Ten brutal days in a row, Bear Hug repeatedly threw themselves at the briar patch, hoping for any sort of interaction beyond violence. Anton was willing to give up the briars as hopeless. On the tenth day, the long stemmed creature didn’t whip any blades at Bear Hug as they approached. Instead, they reached out a single spiny branch.
Bear Hug reached out, wrapping a portion of their algae strands around the proffered limb. About the time elation filled Anton’s friend, the thorn patch attacked all at once. Anton nearly annihilated the briar patch despite Bear Hug’s insistence. Surely, they hadn’t meant for him to allow that.
Bear Hug was constantly making active use of their own energy to retain a form, so they were not caught entirely stagnant by the sudden move. Much of what remained was torn away, Bear Hug’s energy control stripped away as the briar patch captures chunks of algae. Yet half of Bear Hug’s effort was to tell Anton not to interfere, while the rest went to shooting a chunk of algae the size of two fists towards Anton.
The small clump was only a tiny portion of Bear Hug. “I don’t think…” weak energy limply spoke. “That our friend is ready to talk to anyone right now.”
With that, Bear Hug collapsed, entrusting their corporeal form to Anton. His senses told him the other body back at the lake was trembling- this was far too close to true destruction.
It wasn’t too late to tear apart the briar patch and steal back more of Bear Hug… but Anton followed their wishes. However, he didn’t take the situation casually.
One step, and Anton was at a nearby lake, dipping his friend into the waters. Hungry fish that like to nibble were kept away by a barrier of energy. Anton amplified the incoming sunlight to bolster the water, and was pleased to see that his friend was hungrily drinking in the power.
At every moment, Anton was tempted to just destroy the aggressor. Bear Hug had to learn that sometimes, people weren’t nice. Not everyone was going to be a friend, or even cordial. Sometimes, people wanted to tear you apart and devour you. In that way, they were worse than beasts. At least beasts were acting without malice simply out of hunger, but it was clear to both Anton and Bear Hug that the briar patch was more than simply mobile plant matter.
Three days passed with Bear Hug’s secondary body in a bitter state. Anton still didn’t understand what the split meant, but whether his friend was dying or merely maimed the circumstances hurt Anton as well. Perhaps as the strongest party present he should have taken responsibility and stopped things long before.