Chapter 30 - Finding The Black Bear.
Chapter 30 - Finding The Black Bear.
[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
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Third Person POV
North, 100 AC.
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The bear growled immediately upon sensing the presence probing its mind once again, but Jon didn't seem to give up on it, he was full of anger, with his hand resting on the heart tree, he searched for that bear's thoughts.
He saw the chaotic mind of the animal, which had grown in the depths of the Wolfswood, where no man could venture.
Jon was able to see countless battles that creature had fought throughout its life, facing animals even larger than itself and triumphing, until it became the alpha of its region. Nothing could bring it down.
Then, the various predators began to disappear. Either they fled to other areas, or they were slain by the insatiable hunger of that animal, which was forced to migrate.
That was when Jon saw something that surprised him in those memories...
A pack of giant wolves in the middle of the forest.
'So Ghost wasn't the only direwolf south of the Wall...', Jon thought.
There were at least about twelve giant wolves.
However, what came next left him even more surprised. The bear usually didn't have scars, but when facing that pack, it truly suffered severe damage in the bloodbath as the wolves attacked the bear ferociously. The direwolves were not like Ghost, they were at most 90 CM, otherwise, if there had been just two Ghosts among them, they could have dealt with the monstrous bear.
In the end, the bear began killing wolf after wolf, until the last three fled. It nearly died facing the group of wolves, but emerged victorious.
But there was something disturbing in that bear's mind.
It was as if it sought to become stronger and stronger — to devour everything in front of it.
Jon had never seen or known an animal like that. That was not an animal that could be dominated.
It devoured all the wolves' bodies and continued migrating again, until, upon finding a region with a large amount of prey near the farm, it stayed there. It managed to survive the winter without constant food, until it found that new territory.
It was there that it encountered humans a few moons later. This was the encounter when Jon was almost killed...
At that moment, the bear began by playing with them, but realized it was being watched and discovered a little before attacking. Even so, it managed to deal with them easily.
Then it encountered another direwolf, larger than the others — which was none other than Ghost — who appeared, bringing some memories to the bear's mind.
Jon, at the time he fell from the horse, was surprised — and even frightened — to feel the creature's reaction toward Ghost. Until he saw his wolf being hurt.
At the same time, the bear remembered very well the small human who stared at it with anger and fury after it had injured the wolf.
That frightened it for the first time.
The bear began to question, as if it had its own intelligence.
What was that inside its mind?
It spent the last five years without forgetting that moment.
He wanted revenge.
Jon couldn't help but shiver upon realizing it. A bear... wanted revenge.
What kind of anomaly was that?
Since then, it began to hunt more and more, while the animals in the region dwindled before its insatiable hunger. It encountered several humans who hunted in that area and killed them one by one, with ease.
Until none appeared anymore. Then, that winter, it decided to migrate again, moving further toward the edge of the forest, getting closer to the farm.
That was how it found the men's camp. It didn't think twice before attacking them. When it killed the last one, tearing off his arm, it didn't even have time to react to what came next.
That presence.
The same one it had felt years ago.
Invading its mind again.
And, no matter how consumed by fury it was, it was not prepared to deal with that.
So, it fled. Once again.
Now, it was there, raising its head and roaring in anger, while once again feeling that presence entering its mind, trying to understand where it came from — and why it couldn't find anything.
Jon watched in silence the bear's rage and roars.
That animal could not be controlled.
That animal could not be spared.
There was only one way to stop it.
Someone would have to kill it.
Jon opened his eyes again before the heart tree. He stood up and looked toward the farm, at the house in front of him.
He needed to protect that place. He needed to keep his family safe.
Perhaps he should call someone... ask for help. But he was sure no one would agree.
No one would take the risk.
Jon stepped forward to the front of the house. Ghost was resting with his cousins and siblings.
He opened the bag he had brought from Winterfell. Inside were the short bow and the arrows he had stored.
He was going to use them.
Closing the bag, he approached the house.
He could ask his uncle Roman for help, but his uncle would try to stop him.
He could ask Lord Stark and his soldiers for help, but he knew it wasn't that simple — and he also didn't want to risk other people.
Jon had trained with the bow until he became good enough not to miss targets at a certain distance, surprising everyone in Winterfell.
He had confidence. Enough confidence to face that madness.
So he himself would deal with the bear.
Jon entered the house. His cousin Mari had been watching him since he came into view, following his actions in silence.
Jon said nothing. He simply walked to the table, where his mother was finishing preparing the meal, with his uncles already seated.
"You're all tired," Jon said.
They let out a light laugh. "Look who's talking... for someone who came from Winterfell all the way here in the middle of the night, that's madness even for a giant," Roman commented.
"Well... Ghost is powerful... Did you know that a direwolf is usually less than half his size? Ghost is very special!", Jon shrugged, picking up some bread.
His uncle let out a dry laugh and Jon returned to the meal.
It was a much more humble meal than he was used to in Winterfell, but there was something there that nothing could replace: the warmth of his family.
As much as he felt welcomed in Winterfell, nothing replaced being there with his relatives.
Jon ate in silence.
"I think I'm going to sleep a bit. Garren is safe... but you can call me if you need anything," Sarra said.
"Alright. Let's get some rest...", Roman replied.
The two began to leave the house, but not without pulling Mari and Caim along with them.
"Mom, I'm not tired," she murmured.
"Tired? You barely slept. None of us slept. Your brother can barely stand anymore! Come on, let's get some rest. You can talk to Jon as soon as you wake up," Sarra said, while Mari stared at Jon with a piercing look, despite her heavy eyes, but said nothing and just nodded.
Jon sighed as he watched her leave. He knew Mari already suspected something. It would be a bit difficult if she decided to interfere while he went to the forest.
"Mom, put Sam to sleep too," Jon said.
"Yes, but you should sleep as well," she asked.
But Jon shook his head. "No... I'm not sleepy at all. Actually, I started creating some liquids better than milk of the poppy. I'd like to gather some ingredients in the forest."
"Jon!", Rowena raised her voice, almost scolding him.
"What is it, mother? I'm just going to the forest. It's surrounded by animals we know!", Jon replied.
She sighed, a bit calmer. "Sorry, son... I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," she said, recognizing her own desperation just by thinking he could be in danger, even if it didn't make sense. Even so, it made her cautious.
But it made sense... Jon wouldn't have many problems walking around there, near the farm, right?"
Then she went back to the room, to take care of her husband after putting Sam to sleep. A healer should arrive soon, and Rowena should be there to receive him.
Jon picked up the bag again, removing everything that wasn't necessary to take into the forest. Ghost approached.
"You know what we're going to do now, right? It's going to be dangerous... and if we fail, we might die. Are you with me, buddy?", Jon murmured, as the wolf stared at him.
He had only ten name days. And he was about to face a beast.
But if he didn't do this, what else could he do?
Wait until he received the news that the farm had been attacked and his family reduced to corpses? It was a feeling he never wanted to experience.
The wolf licked his face and made a sign with a small sound. Then, he mounted Ghost and began to leave.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Unsurprisingly, Mari stopped him before he entered the forest, running from her house.
"What is it?", Jon looked at her.
"I saw what was in that bag when you went to the heart tree. You're thinking of going after the bear, aren't you?", she said.
"Are you going to tell them?", Jon asked, his eyes firm on his cousin.
"No...", she replied, surprisingly. "But only if you promise you won't die. And that, if anything goes wrong, you'll come back immediately."
She spoke firmly, but Jon could see her eyes starting to water.
"I promise I'll come out alive," Jon said. He was certain that Ghost was much faster than that creature.
"Then come back... I know you're doing this for us, Jon," Mari murmured.
"I'll deal with this problem so you won't be in danger," Jon said.
As Ghost passed by her, Mari replied:
"Don't die, understood? If anyone can deal with that creature, it's you... but your life is more important than trying to kill it. Don't be a petty idiot, living in a castle full of nobles, to the point of thinking you're too brave and not knowing when to retreat!" She began to rant, and Jon couldn't help but look at her, surprised by the vocabulary so full of words, just to say one thing.
"You have to be more direct, you sound like a hyena saying so much just to say one thing..." Jon simply said.
"Idiot." She just replied.
He merely curled his lips upward and turned his back to his cousin. He continued with Ghost, disappearing into the forest.
They advanced at high speed, passing through the first area, where the farm animals stayed, until reaching the area where his father still hunted. After half an hour, following the path steadily, he found his father's camp...
"Let's keep going, he's not nearby... but still in this area..." Jon said after making Ghost smell the place and catch the scent of the bear itself.
"Ghost, we need to move in silence... and that's not something you struggle with, right?", Jon spoke quietly.
They moved through the forest trees. Jon felt his consciousness expand, connecting with the raven.
"How can I see through them?", he murmured, wanting to understand how he could see in his dreams, he made the animals understand him and obey, but he didn't have the power to control their vision and movement, like he saw that Jon Arctic having in his dreams.
However, without warning, the answer came right after. Suddenly, his mind split. His vision fragmented, and he was startled to realize that his eyes saw at the same time as he saw through the raven's eyes in the sky.
He blinked, returning to normal.
"What was that?", he murmured, feeling his head spin and a wave of nausea coming right after.
'How was that possible?'
Somehow, he could have two pairs of eyes at the same time, seeing from two different angles, with distinct characteristics.
One thing was to dream and enter an animal. Another completely different thing was to see it in real time.
But at the same time, wasn't that what he had wished for?
He focused again.
His vision shifted once more. The raven let out a sound in the sky, while Jon, even without controlling it, could see through its eyes.
"This is so weird...", he laughed quietly, still a bit dizzy. He stayed like that for a while, until he began to get used to it.
Now, he could see from above — although the dense forest limited his vision a bit.
Even so, it was an advantage.
He moved with Ghost through the forest, keeping his eyes both on the sky and ahead of him, guiding himself in the direction of the creature.
He didn't need Ghost to keep smelling the bear. Since he had gone to the heart tree, he had marked the bear. Jon could feel where it was in real time.
He didn't know how to explain it, but he was certain.
He took the bag off his back and began to prepare himself, organizing the arrows in the quiver as he positioned it over his shoulder.
His sword was fastened at his waist.
He also took the bow.
He threw the bag into the middle of the forest, so it wouldn't get in his way.
"I'll get you later," he said to himself. And kept moving forward.
"It's close...", Jon said after 20 minutes, as he began to cross a clearing.
The raven let out a cry in the sky. It was a warning! He couldn't see very well through the dense forest, but it had noticed something.
When he passed through the trees, finally seeing what had startled his raven so much, he found the creature.
It was there. And it was staring at him.
Jon's eyes widened. The bear, somehow, already knew he was coming.
Its eyes were fixed on Jon — and on Ghost.
But, strangely, it did not bare its teeth.
It simply stared, with fierce eyes.
"Stay calm...", Jon murmured carefully to Ghost, as he slowly moved his hand to an arrow, pulling it out and placing it on the bow.
Then the bear finally growled at the movement.
The sound was monstrous.
Ghost responded with another growl.
In the next moment, the bear charged.
Jon steadied the bow, firm, raised it, aimed and released his first arrow — aiming directly at the creature's head.
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